Munster coach Rob Penney understandably cut a disconsolate figure after last night's 16-15 Pro 12 sem-final loss to Glasgow, his final game of a two-year stint in charge in which he has brought the province forward in terms of patterns and the introduction of new players.

The New Zealander admitted: “It doesn’t get much worse, obviously the whole squad is very, very disappointed but they gave it a good crack. The boys really fronted up today, that’s all we asked of them.”

So where did things go wrong in a game of fine margins? “I thought not having an in-goal camera was crucial. Aw, I just couldn’t believe it when we looked upstairs and, in a semi-final, there’s no in-goal camera to confirm or deny a try. It was a very crucial part of the game and that blows me away.

“It is small margins at this level, I don’t know why the odd time our scrum got penalised, the one before half-time was a critical one, you know when you’ve a one-point loss those things are so crucial. That’s the way it goes, it’s small margins at this level.”

“They had a lot of ball but we didn’t think they did anything with it. I was rapt with our defence and our discipline, we denied them a lot of opportunities at 7-3. We got in a position to put the squeeze on them; a couple of errors, it was small margins.

“I am gutted it was the last game. I am more hurt and more concerned about the boys. You become attached to them on a lot of different levels. I just wanted to see them succeed for their own sakes. It’s heartbreaking to see them in the changing room at the moment.

“They will react well, there is a good bit of resilience there. That will be knowing away at them when they are lying on the beach. Let’s hope it spurs them on. The group that is there is capable. I wouldn’t like to think they will use it as motivation but it is just another level of experience that they have all got. They know what they have to bring to get themselves in a position to win these games.”

He now heads for a coaching position in Japan.