Perpignan skipper Mas left reeling by ‘hard to take’ defeat

PERPIGNAN captain Nicolas Mas admits Sunday’s 14-37 defeat at the hands of Munster was a “huge disappointment.”

The French international prop saw his side bow out of European rugby for another season, but the manner of the comprehensive defeat shocked not only the local Catalan support but Mas as well.

“This is really hard to take,” conceded Mas. “We pretty much conceded 40 points at home. It really is hugely disappointing. We had a lot riding on this match. Having lost by only a point [at Thomond Park] gave us a lot of hope but Munster are used to these big challenges and came down here to win without worrying about playing on our pitch.”

Centre Maxime Mermoz echoed his international colleague’s disappointment, focusing on the Catalans second-half performance in particular.

“At half time I felt we were still in it,” said Mermoz. “We had a few chances in the first-half but just couldn’t finish them. The match last week had given us a lot of confidence.

“But, in the second-half, psychologically, we shut down and [Munster] stayed at the same tempo. They then picked up points that did the damage. In the tackles zones and in the rucks, they were really difficult to combat against.”

For Perpignan Director of rugby Jacques Brunel, the heavy defeat, while difficult to take, was “logical”.

“Munster were incredibly strong in the combat areas and at ruck time,” said the 54 year-old Director of Rugby. “They dominated every sector of play.

“Their power and experience made a huge difference.”

Writing in l’Equipe, former French international fly half Alain Penaud admitted the performance of the Irish side had made a big impression on him. Penaud explained: “With their pragmatism, their rigour, their efficiency and their ability to put pressure on opponents for 80 minutes or mixing up their game, the Irish are impressive.”

The venerable rugby journal Midi Olympique described the match and the result as “a Christmas punch” for Jacques Brunel’s men, while local Perpignan newspaper l’Independent focused on how the club anthem l’Estaqa had, by the end of the match, been supplanted by ‘Stand Up and Fight’ in the stands.