Munster shouldn’t worry about who’s next at Thomond

And then there was eight, writes Donal Lenihan. 

Incredibly 14 sides from all corners of Europe still entertained a mathematical chance of joining Leinster, the sole qualifiers to that point, when their game against Montpellier kick-started proceedings in Round 6 in France at lunchtime on Saturday.

By yesterday morning, four more teams had fallen by the wayside while a three-hour delay to the scheduled kick-off time in Thomond Park, due to torrential rain, meant the drama surrounding the identification of the four quarter-final ties was extended even further.

From one extreme to another. The indoor U Arena in Paris last weekend may not have been to everyone’s liking but on days like this, it has its merits. As a consequence of the delay, Castres’ appetite for the fight must have diminished somewhat after Racing 92’s win over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road meant that their chances of advancing to the knockout phase had all but evaporated.

For Munster, nothing had changed — win the game, qualify. The fact that the two games in Pool One had finished by the time the second half resumed in Limerick meant that Munster knew when returning to the field that a four-try bonus point wasn’t even required to cement a home quarter-final, removing the necessity to chase tries.

With both sides having to retreat to their respective hotels to kill time, the build-up to this game must have felt like an eternity. Much would depend on who dealt with the delay and the inconvenience better. One would have expected that to favour the home side but Castres were the ones to boss the exchanges early on when they kept Munster pinned back in their own half.

Indiscipline has been an issue for Munster of late and when a penalty was reversed on the back of second-row colossus Jean Kleyn verbally antagonising his opposite number after a powerful Munster scrum, resulting in three points for the visitors, one sensed Munster had to make some readjustments.

To their credit they did just that, conceding just one more penalty over the course of the opening 40 minutes while Castres conceded eight. Inevitably referee Ben Whitehorse had to brandish a yellow card for persistent infringement with centre Thomas Combezou the eventual victim. A clever try from Keith Earls within two minutes of the yellow card put Munster firmly in control of the contest at the break.

Munster may not have needed the try bonus point but chased it anyway. By racing into a 17-point lead after another well-worked lineout maul try from hooker Rhys Marshall within four minutes of the resumption, Munster killed off this contest.

If their lineout and maul were efficient throughout, it was the quality of the Munster scrum, despite losing influential loose-head prop Dave Kilcoyne after only 17 minutes, that will really please the Munster coaching staff.

Having four international props in Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer — who is enjoying his best season in the red jersey — John Ryan, and James Cronin is providing a highly effective scrum platform to play off. Castres are noted as one of the strongest set piece sides in France yet were well beaten on this occasion, suffering the indignity of conceding a penalty try for consistent scrum infringements.

The improvements in Munster’s attacking play this season have been well documented but the roar that greeted the four-try bonus point try from departing crowd favourite Simon Zebo, after yet another superb break from Earls, raised the biggest cheer of the afternoon.

It also meant that instead of meeting tournament newcomers La Rochelle in fortress Thomond next time out, three-time tournament winners Toulon now provide the opposition. Only time will tell whether or not Munster will rue that bonus point.

Right now, given the way they are playing, Munster won’t care who they meet. Securing home advantage appeared highly unlikely only seven days earlier when those two late penalties from Racing 92’s Maxime Machenaud denied Munster a win in Paris.

After a subdued start, the platform laid up front enabled Conor Murray and Ian Keatley to control matters to such a degree that a six-try return and a 45-point winning margin against a team who currently lie fourth in the Top 14 — one place ahead of Toulon — augurs well for the challenge that awaits down the road.

Hats off also to Leinster for maintaining the only 100% record in this season’s Champions Cup with a gutsy win over a fully loaded Montpellier side to grab a first win in France in three years. By finishing the pool stage as top seed, not only have they secured a home quarter-final but also enhanced their chances of hosting a semi-final in Dublin.

Despite facing the best Montpellier could throw at them without key figures in regular half-backs Johnny Sexton and Luke McGrath, centre Gary Ringrose and key forwards in Scott Fardy, Sean O’Brien, and Rhys Ruddock, Leinster prevailed in very demanding circumstances. They really have a remarkable squad.

Behind at the break and under pressure having coughed up two tries after a very promising start, Leinster recalibrated at the break and became far more clinical and direct in their approach after the break. The rewards were instantaneous with an eight-point return within 10 minutes of the restart. When the chips were down, Leinster had the stomach for the fight. They badly wanted a win in France and will derive great satisfaction from this result.

If Munster are not too perturbed about facing La Rochelle or Toulon in their quarter-final, it does appear cruel in the extreme that Leinster’s reward for finishing unbeaten as the tournaments top seed is a clash with reigning back-to-back champions Saracens, in a contest fit for the final itself.

Once Mark McCall’s men kept that possibility alive by registering nine tries and 62 points against an appallingly inept Northampton side on Saturday, if Wasps beat Ulster then that dream clash became a distinct possibility.

Ulster were in prime position going into their game at the Ricoh Arena, knowing that a win of any description would see all three Irish participants advance to the knockout phase. Inconsistency has dogged their performances all season though and having overturned La Rochelle in Belfast last time out, they were in prime position to deliver.

Once again they failed miserably on that front despite playing in conditions that don’t really suit the way Wasps want to play. To lose by 19 points, without firing a shot, represents a major setback. It also opened the door for Saracens to cling on to their title aspirations.

Connacht’s inspired march through the pool stages of the Challenge Cup means that Ireland will now host three European quarter-finals on the same weekend next April. Before all that, Joe Schmidt is tasked with redirecting the players’ focus on recapturing a Six Nations championship. These really are heady times for Irish rugby.