Munster machine grinds Castres into the ground
The six-try demolition of Castres also means Munster finished the pool stages as third seeds behind Leinster and Clermont and have the luxury of a home quarter-final, against three-time European champions Toulon, who must visit Thomond Park for the first time since 2011, before the silverware started flowing towards Stade Mayol.
The last-eight tie is also a first meeting between the clubs since the 2014 semi-finals in Marseille and if Munster are to reach the same stage for a second season in succession, they will have to return to France, to face either Clermont or the province’s Pool 4 rivals and runners-up, Racing 92.
That is a way off. Munster and head coach Johann van Graan can, for now, sit back, relax for a couple of days and take stock of a difficult campaign successfully negotiated.
The heavy rain that waterlogged the Thomond Park pitch and forced a three-hour delay to kick-off had been an unfortunate start to the day’s proceedings but it did not dissuade too many of the 23,116 ticket holders from returning to their seats.
That was not lost of van Graan, just nine weeks into the job having succeeded Rassie Erasmus after the first two pool rounds. Asked to comment on Munster’s qualification for the last eight he said: “My initial reaction is that I am very proud to be part of this club.
“Everybody will think about the result and the way that we did it. To the people of Munster, the ground staff who did so well that got that field in playing condition, and for the supporters to come back after three hours and stayed until late night, to give the support that they did (is amazing).
“To the management, to really adapt our diet of what we ate and to the players for that performance out there. It’s not the score, it’s the way we won. The initial reaction is one of pride to be part of this and that’s the reason I came here. I said on the first day when I came here, the Racing game at Thomond (which he watched as an observer last October in round two), was magic. The magic of the people - I am very proud to be part of this.”
As the groundstaff continued to work to rid the playing surface of puddles, both teams went back to their hotels to watch pool rivals Leicester and Racing 92 slug it out at a snow-covered Welford Road.
The Parisians’ narrow away victory dealt a blow to Castres hopes of squeaking out of Pool 4, and that undoubtedly helped Munster’s cause but they still had Racing, who had moved three points ahead of them, to reel in and secure a place in the last eight.
They set about their task in an efficient if not spectacular fashion, their discipline intact with no penalties conceded until the fifth minute. Even when Castres took the lead on 14 minutes it seemed a harsh call on Jean Kleyn by referee Ben Whitehouse, overturning a scrum penalty when the South African lock entered into a heated discussion with an opponent.
Rory Kockott gratefully accepted the gift but those were the only three points his side would muster in the first half. Ian Keatley kicked Munster into a 6-3 lead with 18 and 26-minute penalties and as Munster turned the screw a little more, Castres’s breakdown inaccuracy was causing them problems with the Welsh official. A team warning in front of their posts put the French side on the back foot and when Thomas Combezou conceded another penalty he was off to the bin.
Munster took another scrum as their reward and eked out a free-kick, taken quickly by Conor Murray with fast hands through Keatley and the excellent Simon Zebo finding Keith Earls on the left wing. The Ireland wing, his sharpness not blunted by a bloody nose, pounced in the corner for the opening try and Keatley’s touchline conversion sent Munster into a 13-3 interval lead. It would be enough, for Castres might as well have stayed in the dressing room rather than show their faces for the second half. Their minds were clearly on the plane home already and Munster took full advantage.
First the Frenchmen’s maul defence gave up the ghost as Munster trucked up the left flank, first earning a penalty behind the 10-metre line, with Keatley’s kick to the corner providing the platform for hooker Rhys Marshall to score off the ensuing drive on 44 minutes, Munster’s fly-half continuing a perfect night of goal-kicking from wide out.
Then the Castres scrum, already under pressure, imploded as the home pack cranked up the power in the opposite corner. Another penalty gave Rory Scannell the chance to kick left-footed into the 22 and with his brother replacing hooker Marshall, the lineout pressure was maintained, a drive producing a ruck penalty five metres out. Captain Peter O’Mahony opted for the scrum. Two penalties at the set-piece later and Castres tighthead Damien Tussac was called ashore, replaced by Daniel Kotze. Another penalty followed and with the advantage Murray sniped down the blindside, only to lose control of the ball when grounding. Back to the penalty and another scrum followed by a by-now inevitable penalty. Off went Kotze, this time to the sin-bin and with Tussac back on the next scrum brought a penalty try from referee Whitehouse on 56 minutes.
By the time the hour came up, Munster had their bonus point, man-of-the-match Earls cutting in off his left wing after catching a Castres high ball on halfway. At the 22 he passed inside as the supporting Zebo danced his way over for a try under the posts. Keatley converted for his fifth kick from five and Munster were 34-3 ahead, home and hosed.
The two tries, both converted by Keatley’s replacement JJ Hanrahan, followed from Zebo’s replacement Alex Wootton, whose nose for the line was just as impressive as the starting full-back, and substitute prop James Cronin, whose introduction on 17 minutes marked the one real disappointment of the night, the sight of starting loosehead Dave Kilcoyne hobbling early from the scene.
That is now Joe Schmidt’s problem as the Six Nations looms.
Munster have the visit of Toulon to plan for, nine weeks from now.
S Zebo; A Conway, C Farrell, R Scannell, K Earls (A Wootton, 62); I Keatley (JJ Hanrahan, 65), C Murray (D Williams, 69); D Kilcoyne (J Cronin, 17), R Marshall (N Scannell, 48), S Archer (J Ryan, 42); J Kleyn, B Holland (D O’Shea, 61); P O’Mahony - captain, C Cloete (J O’Donoghue, 66), CJ Stander.
G Palis (A Taumoepeau, 60); K Jaminet, T Combezou (Y Le Bourhis, 60), R Ebersohn - captain, D Smith; J Dumora, R Kockott (Y Domenech, 71); A Tichit (T Stroe, 45), J Jenneker (K Firmin, 45), D Tussac (D Kotze, 53); A Bias, T Lassalle (V Moreaux, 45); Y Caballero, S Mafi, A Tulou (Tussac, 56-65; B Delaporte, 66).
Combezou 31-41, Kotze 55-65
Ben Whitehouse (Wales).
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