'Unacceptable from Munster. They should be embarassed'

Munster legend Donncha O’Callaghan has blasted his former team following their shock to defeat to minnows Zebre Parma in Round 2 of the URC.

The Italians recorded a famous 42-33 bonus point victory over Munster Rugby, their first-ever win over the Irish province.

Munster led 28-15 at halftime, with two tries from Gavin Coombes, but Zebre mounted a second-half comeback. Jacopo Trulla, Alessandro Fusco, Giovanni Licata, and Geronimo Prisciantelli all scored for Zebre, overturning the deficit. A late penalty from Giacomo Da Re sealed the historic win, despite Munster’s late effort from Shay McCarthy.

Speaking on RTE Sport, O’Callaghan was fuming at his former side’s poor showing at the Sergio Lanfranchi Stadium in Parma.

“You don’t want to take away that Zebre were full quality for it but it was totally unacceptable from Munster,” said O’Callaghan.

“Their performance there, both as individuals and as a team, to go on the road, like we know what Zebre are. They were bottom of the league last year. Of course, they have shoots to come about but Munster’s performance there was completely unacceptable.

“Delighted for them [Zebre], as Donal [Lenihan] you mentioned, they are a development team and you want to see them come on. We want a competitive league but maybe I have Munster glasses on. The amount of errors, the amount of poor performances. The individual sloppy mistakes were totally unacceptable. It is great for our league, it’s brilliant to see Zebre coming on but Munster will look back on that and they should be embarrassed by that performance.

“You absolutely have to point the finger at somebody.”

He was also backhandedly complimentary of Zebre.

“What’s great about them [Zebre] is they know their role. They are [there] to develop Italian players. Not only will we see them get better but Italy will get stronger in the Six Nations as a result of them being competitive.”

The retired second row described Munster’s breakdown “as disgraceful”.

“For [Oli] Jager and [Jeremy] Loughman – two internationals – to be caught at a ruck by a fourth-choice Italian nine is nowhere good enough. I know we have to respect opposition but I can promise you as the first pillar at those breakdowns, from under 18s level you practice that and make sure you’re on message.

“You do your job right when you’re in the right positions. You can’t coach a pillar to do his job. He should know that.”

"You don't want to take away that Zebre were full quality for it but it was totally unacceptable from Munster. They should be embarrassed by that performance" – Donnacha O'Callaghan was shocked by Munster's sloppiness as they suffered a first ever defeat to the Italian side #URC pic.twitter.com/9smRTN4uDM

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 28, 2024

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree said after the game that: “Zebre are playing very good rugby. They like to run the ball from everywhere. We’ve got to be smart about where we play the game.”