They say all good things must come to an end and the Blues’ mini-revival, which consisted of two successive Guinness PRO12 wins, was halted by Munster in the Arms Park wind and rain.
A sense of inevitability surrounded the outcome the moment the home side headed down the tunnel at half-time with just a 6-3 advantage, having played with stiff wind and sweeping rain at their backs.
It never looked enough and so it proved, though not without the hopes of the Blues faithful being raised by a dogged defensive performance after the break from Danny Wilson’s charges.
They should be given credit for that, but the delay in Munster establishing scoreboard superiority was also down to their own wastefulness.
Time and against the Irish outfit spilled the ball in promising situations, allowing the Blues to preserve a slender lead for far longer than most neutrals probably expected.
Come the final few minutes the Blues were chasing only a bonus point after Munster drew level at 13-13 in the 74th minute, and then made safe the victory with a drop goal by centre Rory Scannell and a try by replacement flanker Conor Oliver.
But there was to be no consolation, and the Blues remain marooned in mid-table their hopes of reaching the top six dealt a telling blow.
They weren’t helped by the 46th minute sin-binning of centre Willis Halaholo for a high tackle on full-back Andrew Conway.
The decision was 100% correct even though the challenge was careless rather than malicious and ensured that an already daunting second half task became even harder.
At that stage the Blues were still ahead 13-10 having stunned Munster by claiming the first try of the encounter shortly beforehand.
Wing Aled Summerhill got it, snaffling a flicked pass off the floor by Scannell and racing away for a touchdown that Steve Shingler improved.
But the away side hit back immediately through replacement centre Francis Saili and were level with 12 mintes left through a Scannell penalty.
Aside from the kind of out-of-nothing score Summerhill snatched, it was difficult to see how the Blues were possibly going to work the scoreboard again and they soaked up prolonged pressure before their fate was sealed.
And yet that relatively fruitless first half is where the game was lost.
Had the Blues gone in with, say, six more points at the interval, it may have given them the added impetus they required to keep Munster at bay.
But it wasn’t to be, and coach Wilson was left to reflect on a day that saw his side lose ground on sixth-placed Glasgow, who hammered the hapless Dragons at Scotstoun.
It’s a desperately disappointing predicament for the capital city side who began the season with such promise in chalking up four wins from their first four games, including one against Munster.
That led to talk of a potential appearance in the end of season play-offs, but that isn’t going to happen now.
For the time being the Blues’ revival, such as it was, has fizzled out.
Scorers
Blues: Try - A Summerhill; Con - S Shingler; Pens - Shingler (2)
Munster: Tries - F Saili, C Oliver; Cons - R Scannell (2); Pens - Scannell (2); Drop goal - Scannell.
