Gaffney expects hard challenge from Castres

Munster coach Alan Gaffney has warned his side to expect a “very tough” match as they step up their bid to secure a place in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the seventh-successive season against Castres tomorrow night.

Munster, top of Pool Four following hard-fought victories over Harlequins and Neath-Swansea Ospreys, welcome back Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer, Paul O’Connell and Anthony Foley from Ireland duty.

However, Gaffney is under no illusions about what to expect from a Castres side whose line-up features former Wasps pair Paul Volley and Mark Denney, Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma and former France winger David Bory.

“These home-and-away head-to-heads with Castres are massive matches for us,” said Gaffney.

“But it is going to be tough, very tough. We know a fair bit about Castres, and they were certainly busy during the summer, recruiting in a big way.

“Castres are also going strong in the French Championship, and it is going to be extremely difficult for us over there on Friday night.”

The Castres line-up includes former Ireland prop Justin Fitzpatrick, a member of Ulster’s 1999 Heineken Cup-winning team, who acknowledges that a home win is essential to his team’s quarter-final ambitions.

“With probably only one team from our group going through, these are critical games for both sides,” said Fitzpatrick.

“Munster have consistently reached the quarter and semi-final stages of the tournament, and are serious competitors.

“They have a strong front five, and I am looking forward to playing against John Hayes, who had a fantastic game for Ireland against South Africa recently.

“The fact that Munster provided so many players to the Irish team last month, and are still winning in the Celtic League, shows what strength in depth they have in their squad.”

The European Challenge Cup second round also gets underway tomorrow night, with Dean Richards’ Grenoble – first-round conquerors of Leeds – travelling to Beziers for what could be a lively first-leg encounter.