Frustrated Munster face away day in Champions Cup Round of 16
AWAY: Munster's Craig Casey makes a break in Toulouse on Sunday.
Munster’s battling performance came up just short as Toulouse claimed victory in the final round of Heineken Champions Cup pool games at Stade Ernest-Wallon as Joey Carbery’s two missed conversions cost the visitors at least a share of the spoils.
Both sides will advance to the Round of 16 in April after an absorbing contest which saw Munster fightback from an early 11-0 deficit to take the lead in the second half at 13-11 and 16-14 before Toulouse were rescued by the boot of full-back Melvyn Jaminet.
Carbery started at fly-half three days after his shock omission from Ireland’s Six Nations squad but he missed the chance to make a point to national head coach Andy Farrell after failing to convert tries from John Hodnett and Tadhg Beirne, replaced straight after the second of them after just 50 minutes.
Toulouse had opened the scoring through the first of five Jaminet penalties and a try from Juan Cruz Mallia in a blistering opening 10 minutes from the five-time European champions that did not bode well for Munster’s hopes of climbing further up Pool B.
Munster had known since Saturday night that their place in the Round of 16 was secure thanks to Ulster’s defeat of Sale Sharks but their finishing position in the top eight in the pool standings and with it their opponents in the knockout phase was still to be decided.
With three wins from three, Toulouse were also safely into the latter stages but they had ambitions of their own in terms of securing the victory that would hand them not only a home draw in the next round but a top-two finish that could see them host potential quarter- and semi-finals.
As it transpired, Toulouse would manage just a single try and Munster failed to rise above sixth place, meaning they will face an away draw in the Round of 16.
The way the contest began it certainly looked as if the home side had most at stake, Toulouse tearing into Munster’s defences with huge carries and the pressure paying off when captain Peter O’Mahony was penalised for a side entry at a ruck. Full-back Jaminet, in for the suspended Thomas Ramos, opened the scoring with his kick after just two minutes and Munster could have replied almost immediately as Carbery kicked a penalty to touch inside the 22. Yet the visitors spurned the opportunity, their resulting lineout missing Jean Kleyn at the tail and allowing Toulouse to escape their backfield.
There were soon at the other end of the field and piling the pressure back onto Munster, who defended defiantly but could not resist a relentless red wave of Toulouse carriers. Centre Pita Akhi was the player to eventually pick the lock, sending out a long pass to the right wing from where Argentine wing Jean Cruz Mallia scored the first try of the game on seven minutes to give Toulouse an 8-0, with Jaminet missing the wide conversion.
Munster were struggling to a foothold in the game, their periods of possession contained behind halfway by a Toulouse defensive line every bit as destructive as their attacking power, locks Richie Arnold and Emmanuel Meafou unleashing huge hits on Carbery and Mike Haley respectively in quick succession.
Jaminet added another penalty from in front of the posts on 16 minutes to open an 11-0 lead but Munster appeared to have ridden out the early storm though they were forced into a backline reshuffle on 27 minutes when full-back Haley went down while carrying, his ankle appearing to buckle underneath him.
Malakai Fekitoa was sent on for a European debut in Munster colours, the Tongan former All Black’s introduction at midfield forcing Jack Crowley to full-back. It was the Munster forwards, though, that led the fightback.
Flanker John Hodnett struck from close range on the half hour after his side had worked its way upfield from a penalty. They earned another on five metres, Munster choosing to tap and once again reaping the reward from the diversity of their starter plays, a third such try in two weeks after two against Northampton Saints in Limerick.
Carbery hooked wide what looked like a straightforward conversion but there was another boost from the forwards soon after. John Ryan, in his final European game for his province before moving to New Zealand at the end of the month, earned a morale-boosting scrum penalty at the expense of France loosehead Cyril Baille and from that small victory in their own half Munster went upfield and picked up another valuable three points from a ruck penalty that Carbery did dispatch. That ended the first-half scoring, Munster having rescued a potentially dire situation after Toulouse’s early onslaught to trail just 11-8.
Munster had failed to score a try past half-time in each of their three previous European pool games this season but they quickly made amends at Stade Ernest-Wallon and what a brilliant score it was to give them the lead for the first time in this contest.
No.8 Gavin Coombes sparked the attack with an offload out the back of his hand to wing Shane Daly whose pass to set free scrum-half Craig Casey to dart down the left, racing past Mallia into the 22 but tripped by a fingertip tap tackle from the Toulouse wing. Munster then earned a penalty advantage under which Carbery launched a crossfield kick to the right wing where Hodnett was lurking, his catch and instant pass to Calvin Nash inside wrong-footing the Toulouse defenders with the wing jinking to five metres out.
Tadhg Beirne took up the cause from there and crashed over the line to finish a spectacular Munster move, putting them into a 13-11 lead. Carbery’s second missed conversion was gleefully acknowledged by the Toulouse fans and the fly-half was quickly removed from the fray, replaced by Ben Healy on 50 minutes, ending a disappointing outing when he had the opportunity to send a reminder of his talents to the Irish management.
The missed four points came home to roost for Munster when Toulouse turned the screw once more, eking two more penalties which Jaminet sent over with aplomb, Healy replying with a single three-pointer but then receiving a yellow card on 68 minutes for dangerous play when he went into contact with Pierre-Louis Barrasi and his elbow went into the centre’s neck.
It left Munster a man down for 10 of the remaining 12 minutes and they conceded another Jaminet penalty which gave Toulouse a 20-16 lead and ultimately victory, though their attempt to collect a bonus point fell short.
M Jaminet; J C Mallia, P L Barrasi, P Akhi (A Capuozzo, 67), D Delibes; R Ntamack, A Dupont – captain; C Baille (R Neti, 50), J Marchand (G Cramont, 75), D Aldegheri (D Ainu’u, 63); R Arnold (J Brennan, 69), E Meafou (F Cros, 60); A Jelonch, J Willis, A Roumat (T Flament, 53) Replacement not used: A Retiere.
M Haley (M Fekitoa, 27); C Nash, A Frisch, J Crowley, S Daly; J Carbery (B Healy, 50), C Casey (C Murray, 60); D Kilcoyne (J Wycherley, 58), N Scannell (D Barron, 58), J Ryan (R Salanoa, 58); J Kleyn, T Beirne; P O’Mahony - captain, J Hodnett (A Kendellen, 63), G Coombes.
: B Healy 68-78Â
: J O’Sullivan.
Karl Dickson (England)
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