Munster widen attacking options

CJ Stander may be Munster’s go-to ball carrier but he takes exception to Leinster head coach Leo Cullen’s analysis that if you stop him, you stop the reds in their tracks.

Cullen targeted the Ireland and Lions back rower during Leinster’s PRO14 victory over their derby rivals last Saturday, sending his defensive troops out to stop Stander in his tracks and halt his side’s momentum.

Yet as No. 8 Stander prepares to depart for Castres and a Champions Cup Pool 4 opener in France on Sunday, he does not buy into the theory that Munster are overly reliant on his hard yards.