No big steal for the men in red

Castres 19 Munster 12

While there were stages in the second half when Munster gave their fans hope that they could steal a victory they scarcely deserved, this was one visit to the south of France in which the men in red came up short.

Even though Castres were deprived of key players before and during the game, they were allowed to build a commanding 13-3 half time lead by a Munster side that looked to be off the pace, made a number of unforced errors and certainly lost out in the physicality stakes. Again, they couldn’t produce a try and had to rely on the trusty boot of Ronan O’Gara for all their points. The only consolation is that they picked up a bonus point and are now two behind the French side heading for Thomond Park.

There is little doubt Munster can win that game, for this Castres side are no world beaters and, as always with French sides, it will be a different story when they set foot on foreign territory. Equally, however, few would argue that Munster must eradicate the mistakes, front up better in defence and somehow, somewhere, discover the penetration that will put seven-pointers on the board. It might be harsh to criticise the three-quarter line given how little ball they saw, especially in the opening forty minutes, while Christian Cullen was given little opportunity to stamp his class on the game. Nor was it altogether surprising that Ronan O’Gara didn’t quite repeat his magnificent form of the recent internationals as, more often than not, Castres slowed down Munster possession and he received man and ball together.

There was drama before the match began. Castres hooker and captain, Mario Ledesma, who had warned the Munstermen of dire happenings if they turned up for the game, was forced to cry off at the 11th hour because of a leg injury sustained during training on Wednesday. He was replaced in both roles by Remy Vigneaux. Given all he had to say during the dinner after last week’s Ireland-Argentina game, all of Ledesma’s threats carried a rather hollow ring!

Nevertheless, the pace from the outset was as fierce as had been expected. O’Gara and Laurent Marticorena exchanged penalties within six minutes of the start. Anthony Horgan was in trouble when the flying Kiwi Brad Fleming bounced him and then all but broke the defence for what would have been a devastating setback for the visitors. Mossy Lawler on the other wing got into a muddle in front of his own posts but it looked as if Munster would get away with it when Rob Henderson was handed an intercept in front of his own posts with the pitch clear in front of him, but he bungled the catch.

Castres capitalised, forcing Munster to run offside and Marticorena tapped over. Quite simply, Munster could not afford such errors against a side as pumped up as Castres and playing extremely well, much to the delight of their fanatical supporters. It was then that Peter Stringer made a mockery of those who claim he doesn’t have a break. He slipped through twice in the space of a minute to raise Munster morale and produce the first serious rendition of The Fields of Athenry from the red army. However, these were only fleeting moments as the French assumed almost total control.

The loss of Fleming and Mark Denney, the former Wasps player, might have seriously weakened the Castres back division, but that was far from the case. Plied with constant quality possession by a dominant pack, they attacked in waves and the breakthrough came on the stroke of half time. David Bory, the former French international winger, finished off a move that began only because live wire scrum-half Alexandre Albouy was allowed to scorch past a series of Munstermen who seemed rooted to the ground. When the ball reached Bory, he didn’t hesitate as he virtually ran through Cullen to score a fine try that Marticorena converted.

It was 13-3 to Castres at the break. Munster had made enough errors in forty minutes for a whole match and they couldn’t complain in the slightest at the score line. A good start to the second half was absolutely essential and within two minutes O’Gara rifled a penalty between the sticks. However, the physicality of the Castres attack continued to confound and were it not for the most stupid of indiscretions by former Ireland prop Justin Fitzpatrick, they might well have had their second try. It was game on big time when O’Gara struck twice more to leave only a single point between the sides with 24 minutes to go.

At long last, the big guns, Paul O’Connell, Anthony Foley and John Hayes began to deliver. O’Gara had found his range and now it was Munster doing most of the attacking. Alan Quinlan came in for Jim Williams on the hour as it took desperate Castres defence to keep Munster at bay.

Enter Welsh referee Nigel Whitehouse. Three crucial penalty decisions, two deep in their own territory, the third when they broke out of defence, went the way of Castres. Martincorena found the target from 45 metres. Four points between the sides again and it wasn’t long before Castres had regained the initiative.

Whitehouse again found against Munster and Marcus Horan at a scrum under their own posts. Marticorena tapped over, opening the gap to seven with three minutes to go.

It was nail biting stuff as the game went into its sixth minute of stoppage time and Munster did everything they could to save the day, but the Castres defence held firm.

CASTRES: U. Mola; B. Fleming, L. Marticorena, M. Denney, D. Bory; X. Sadourny, A. Albouy; J. Fitzpatrick, R. Vigneaux capt, A. Galasso, L. Nallet, N. Spanghero, A. Bias, R. Capo Ortega, P. Volley. Replacements, B. Lhande for Fleming 23 mins; R. Dourthe for Denney 29; M. Reggiardo for Fitzpatrick 59 mins; R. Froment for Capo Ortega 60 mins; J. Deen for Sadourny 67.

MUNSTER: C. Cullen; M. Lawler, S. Payne, R. Henderson, A. Horgan; R. O’Gara, P. Stringer; M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, D. O’Callaghan, P. O’Connell, J. Williams, D. Wallace, A. Foley capt. Replacement, A. Quinlan for Williams 60 mins; M. Mullins for Lawler 73.

Referee: N. Whitehouse (Wales).