‘We came off second best. Although we played well in patches the intensity was a bit too much for us,’ said Jones.
‘Munster were a better team, but the real problem is that our domestic competition just isn’t good enough to prepare us for matches like this. We found the same problem with our game against Leicester in the Heineken Cup.
‘Let’s face it, the Welsh Premiership is a second class competition compared to the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup and although we knew where Munster were strong, we just couldn’t do anything about it.
‘We need to play in competitions week in, week out that give the palyers the intensity they need to be able to compete against teams like Munster and Leicester.
Jones pointed to man of the match Alan Quinlan’s breakaway try as the turning point in the game when he galloped 45 metres to score and hoist Munster into a 19-6 lead. From there on there was only going to be one winner.
‘It was obvious after the first quarter-of-an- hour that it was going to be difficult for us and Quinaln’s try just made our task even harder,’ said Jones.
‘When side’s make mistakes you have got to punish them. The difference was that Munster punished us, but we didn’t make them pay.’
Neath’s cause was dealt a bitter blow even before Quinlan struck when Barry Williams went off in the 16th minute with a broken jaw. He went to hospital for an operation last night and will be ruled out for six to eight weeks.
‘It’s a terrible blow for Barry because he was just starting to regain his best form and had hopes of getting back into the Welsh set-up,’ said Jones.
