WATCH: Munster Rugby's Clayton McMillan: "It hurts to lose in that manner and not really fire a shot"

MUNSTER Rugby head coach Clayton McMillan admitted his side's display was 'nowhere near the standard we want to set' in Friday night's bitterly disappointing 28-3 defeat to Ulster in their United Rugby Championship interprovincial clash at Affidea Stadium in Belfast.

A lacklustre second half showing in which Ulster scored 22 unanswered points ended Munster's hopes of claiming top spot in the URC table. 

The result saw Munster suffer back to back defeats in their URC fixtures over the Festive period following their 13-8 reverse at the hands of Leinster at Thomond Park six days earlier.

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Reflecting on the defeat to Ulster, disappointed Munster head coach Clayton McMillan told Premier Sports:  “We came up against a good side and we really produced nothing in the second half for us to get excited about so there is no sugar coating over anything really, we just never got our game going, we were never allowed to get our game going.

"You've got to give credit where it's due and that's to a good Ulster side" ️

Clayton McMillan speaks on his team's performance tonight pic.twitter.com/a0YmTNl2jJ

— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) January 2, 2026

“You have to give credit where it is due and that is to a good Ulster side.

McMillan insisted that the 10 changes in personnel Munster made - a number of which were enforced - from the defeat against Leinster six days earlier had not contributed to their poor showing in Belfast.

“No, no. It just wasn't good enough, nowhere near the standard that we want to set. It was an opportunity for a number of people to put themselves in the jersey in the coming weeks and really just walk away with more questions than answers, so not a great day at the office, but as coaches we own it first and foremost.

“We have been a little clunky in our performances, haven't quite hit our stride. We have tried a few different things obviously haven't struck the right chord just yet, so it starts with us. We will go away, reflect on what we can do better.

“We have an 8-9 day turnaround now, so we really need to leverage off that to try and find the solutions.

“Right across the board (improvement needed). You go to a quality outfit like that, a performance anywhere near what you saw tonight wouldn't be pretty, so look, there is lots to fix up. We have plenty of quality in our team and we will bounce back but it hurts, it hurts to lose in that manner and not really fire a shot.”