LIVEMunster v Castres, Champions Cup, live minute-by-minute updates
Munster's Craig Casey celebrates after scoring his side's first try. Pic: Dan Sheridan/Inpho
Despite a dangerous looking Castres attack, Casey is able to clear but the second wave of pressure will come.
Not for long though, Munster turnover penalty. Tom Farrell the man to win it. Crowley kicks to touch.
Scrappy start to the second-half with multiple knock-ons. Scrum to Castres inside the Munster half is the result.
Jack Crowley gets us underway for the second-half. Former England international prop Will Collier has made way for Aurelien Azar.
Castres lead by five (12-17). Munster need to turn this around to save their Champions Cup season.
Castres and Theo Chabouni - playing with advantage - chance their luck with a dink in behind and the full-back remarkably manages to dot down after the ball escapes Jack O'Donoghue's grasp. Fernandez kicks the conversion from in front of the posts. A mad half.
Try Munster! Craig Casey with his second. Lineout and maul work brilliantly and Casey skips past a Castres defender to finish in the corner. Crowley runs out of time on the conversion.
After more brilliant work from Castres' Karawalevu brings them five metres out from the Munster line, but that man Beirne grabs a turnover penalty. Crowley kicks to touch.
Off the lineout, Abrahams does excellently to escape trouble and Castres arepunished for coming in from the side. Big momentum shift. Munster now inside the Castres 22.
However, Craig Casey saves touch for Munster and Daly does well in the air to give Munster possession for Casey to clear once more.
More Sinner v Alcaraz-style play going on and it eventually leads to a Castres lineout just inside their own half. Tadhg Beirne penalised at the breakdown and Castres now have a penalty and a chance to go deep into the Munster 22. Castres winger Ambadiang has returned from his HIA.
Lineout is good. Scannell to O'Donoghue, but the maul - and possession - is gobbled up by the Castres defence.
Michael Ala'alatoa is penalised at the scrum. Penalty Castres.
Penalty for Munster. Two Castres players - Atunaisa Sokobale and Jack Goodhue - are offside, and Jack Crowley looks to find a decent touch deep in Castres territory. And he does just that.
This has been a pretty mad opening 20. Abrahams does brilliantly to ensure Munster get the lineout off Crowley's ambitious cross-field kick on half-way.
Try Munster! That's a cracking score. Support runners all over the place. Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams and O'Donoghue all involved before Casey finishes it off. Crowley adds the conversion.
Play paused as Castres winger Christian Ambadiang is treated by the medics. He'll leave the field and Atu Manu will come in. We'll restart with a Munster scrum.
Looked to be an opening for Casey after good work from Jack Crowley, Shane Daly and Tom Farrell but he knocks on. They do however have possesion back after the Castres clearance.
Possession with Castres again and Munster are punished for chat to the referee. Castres penalty. That'll infuriate Clayton McMillan, but a Castres spillage gives Munster the ball once more and a bit of kick-tennis ensues.
Try Castres. Centre Vuate Karawalevu runs a superb line and breaks the tackle attempts of Gavin Coombes and Fineen Wycherley. Fernandez adds the extras.
Possession changing hands quite a bit in last two minutes or so, and Castres get the penalty as Tom Farrell deliberately knocks on as the French outfit look to open up their backline. Lineout deep inside Munster territory.
Munster secure lineout ball on halfway but as the ball is spread across the pitch, Ben O'Connor runs out of room.
Munster make good headway upfield thereafter but Craig Casey is unable to hold Beirne's pass. Castres scrum.
Niall Scannell's opening lineout is stolen by Castres, but Munster given a penalty, with Tadhg Beirne heavily involved as ever.
Scrum-half Jeremy Fernandez makes no error. Three-nil to Castres.
Castres penalty awarded by referee Matthew Carley as Jack O'Donoghue is caught offside . To the posts they go.
Popelin's short kick-off is retained and Castres look to build the phases.
Game on. Castres out-half Pierre Popelin gets us underway.
Out they come. Moments away now.
Munster boss McMillan's pre-match thoughts:
🔴 @Munsterrugby head coach Clayton McMillan lays out the stakes ahead of taking on Castres
— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) January 17, 2026
"It's do or die for both teams." 🗣️#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/2byF8oVvbM
Warm-up completed, McMillan's men head for the dressing rooms amid the roars of the Munster faithful. Expect even more noise when they re-appear.
Leinster - despite some difficulty away at Bayonne - come out on top on a 13-22 scoreline, meaning they top their pool.
Munster arrive at Thomond Park - with a job to do.
Arriving for work 💼#SUAF 🔴 | #MUNvCO pic.twitter.com/J1XqY2NDbR
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) January 17, 2026
Welcome back to another - we'll provide minute-by-minute updates as Munster welcome Top 14 outfit Castres to Thomond Park in a must-win Champions Cup tie for Clayton McMillan's men (kick-off, 5.30pm).
Simon Lewis brought us the team selections on Friday, with the big news being the inclusion of scrum-half Craig Casey after the Irish international was passed fit after suffering an injury in their narrow defeat to Toulon last weekend.
The surprise selection at number nine is a huge boost for head coach McMillan as his team go in search of the required victory to guarantee progress to the knockout stages of the European competition.
McMillan has made three changes from the starting line-up which earned a losing bonus point in a 27-25 defeat at Toulon last Sunday, a game in which Casey left the field at Stade Felix Mayol with his arm in a makeshift sling following what was described by the Munster boss as a serious shoulder injury.
Assistant coach Denis Leamy on Tuesday confirmed it was an AC joint issue but said the scrum-half had only a 50-50 chance of facing Castres, with Ethan Coughlan on standby for a first Champions Cup start and academy nine Jake O’Riordan being teed up for a European debut in what would have been just his third senior appearance.
Instead, Coughlan retains the place among the replacements he took when Paddy Patterson was injured during the warm-up in Toulon with Casey starting alongside fly-half Jack Crowley.
Castres have travelled to Limerick with an unexpectedly strong team, closer to their best Top 14 line-up than a second string.
Shane Daly; Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Ben O'Connor; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Michael Ala'alatoa; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Tadhg Beirne (capt), Jack O'Donoghue, Gavin Coombes.
Lee Barron, Michael Milne, Oli Jager, Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, Ethan Coughlan, JJ Hanrahan, Dan Kelly.
Theo Chabouni; Christian Ambadiang, Vuate Karawalevu, Jack Goodhue, Geoffrey Palis; Pierre Popelin, Jeremy Fernandez; Atunaisa Sokobale, Loris Zarantonello, Will Collier; Gauthier Maravat, Tom Staniforth; Baptiste Delaporte (capt), Baptiste Cope, Florent Vanverberghe.
Teddy Durand-Pradere, Antoine Tichit, Aurelien Azar, Leone Nakarawa, Tyler Ardron, Santiago Arata, Enzo Herve, Atu Manu.
Matthew Carley (England)
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