"We're hoping that the injury to Ian isn't too serious, " said a Munster spokesman yesterday. "We'll find out the extent of that over the next couple of days but the injury to Barry is a lot worse. He spent last night in a Cork hospital and while we don't know exactly how long he'll be out for, it doesn't look good."

The injury to Murphy is certainly a blow to Munster's Heineken Cup ambitions. The 23-year-old centre has added a new dimension to Declan Kidney's side on the front foot.

Trevor Halstead and Ronan O'Gara, to take just one example, appeared to have been more comfortable in their roles with Murphy in the side, while the natural addition of youth to a fairly established Munster set up appeared to spur everybody else on to greater performances.

Now, talk turns to who will replace Murphy, and potentially Dowling, for the quarter-final on 1 April. Gary Connolly is the most obvious choice, although the mix of the former rugby league player and Halstead in the centre hardly inspired when they came together in the early part of the season. The return to action of Christian Cullen in the next couple of weeks could open up a couple of options, with Shaun Payne representing a decent option at 13 should the New Zealander, who's just resumed light contact, be fit enough to take up the full-back slot. A lot of thinking to be done, certainly.

As for the match itself, it really was men against boys stuff as the experience and know-how of an Ulster team at home proved far too much for a Munster team down nine internationals. Mark McCall's side now leapfrog Munster to the top of the Celtic League table and with three of their five remaining games at home, and no Heineken Cup interests to distract them, they're more than well placed to win the title.