Munster’s Champions Cup hopes dealt fatal blow after loss to Leicester

Munster's Champions Cup hopes suffered a huge blow after they were beaten 17-6 by Leicester at Welford Road this evening.

The two-time European champions desperately needed a win to boost their quarter-final prospects ahead of a January back-to-back against Stade Francais, but despite a good start and several spells on the front foot they were unable to pull it off. Munster stole an early lead through the boot of Ian Keatley but Ed Slater's try put the hosts in front with Leicester's first real foray into enemy territory after 23 minutes. Anthony Foley's men then weathered sustained Tigers' pressure that yielded just three further points, and when Keatley kicked an injury-time penalty things were delicately poised at 10-6 the interval. Munster began the second period with a man advantage as Dom Barrow spent ten minutes in the bin but could not make it count as the game became increasingly frenetic. https://twitter.com/thepaulwilliams/status/678647606105518080 Both sides spent time in the other's 22 but could not force a breakthrough, with the impressive Francis Saili unable to outrun Leicester full-back Telusa Veainu after intercepting a pass near his own try line. https://twitter.com/btsportrugby/status/678649107666345984 Munster remained right in the thick of it until they were caught off guard by a quickly taken penalty led to a try for Vereniki Goneva which gave Leicester a 17-6 lead and forced the men in red to really chase the game for the final 15 minutes. Here's the current table in Pool 4, it's not looking good for Munster.