Castres’ streak of philistinism went a long way to ensuring the round 3 visit to Thomond Park was a day few will be keen to remember.
The saving grace of the non-spectacle was the Munster hit their base-line objective. Four points in the bank, back to the top of Pool 2. Thank you, next, as the fella says.
Saturday evening in Occitanie [kick-off 17.30 Irish time, BT Sport], players and coaches warn, will be an all new animal. Head coach Johann van Graan has gone with almost the same team to start; only man of the match JJ Hanrahan drops out of the starting XV, a reversal of the one of the enforced changes which disrupted the southern province last week.
That means we can look forward – hopefully not in vain this time – to the sight of Joey Carbery and Conor Murray playing in tandem.
No need to re-tread over their previous playing experience, there’s not much of it. Most of their time together as half-backs has played out in training at Carton House. Carbery’s loosened hamstring means they can begin what will hopefully be a long-term double-act at the wheel for the southern province.
“It is exciting,” says Murray, “I have had limited game time with Joey with Ireland, the odd time we have linked up and training an awful lot together.
“It’s exciting. Like I said at the start of the season, he’s going to be a massive player for Munster and Ireland for years to come.”
Carbery keeping his hamstrings warm in training this week. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Outside the 10 shirt, Munster themselves will hope to be a different animal second time around. They found a way to put the handling errors and miscommunications of the opening 40 behind them last week to power away to a 25-point win. Rain is forecast over Stade Pierre-Fabre this evening, so attacking width will not be easily used.
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Castres must be different.
The scorched-earth policy that succeeded in denying Munster a bonus point cannot be employed on home turf, at a ground that has welcomed the Bouclier de Brennus this year. The host’s starting line-up shows seven changes six days on from defeat.
Notably, the front row that finished the game on Sunday starts ahead of the trio which John Ryan and Dave Kilcoyne gleefully shredded in scrum after scrum. The back-line will begin with the sure-footed Rory Kockott, while the scorer of last weekend’s consolation try, the lively Martin Laveau, starts too.
The back-to-back format encourages teams to rally, to bite back in round 4 after a humbling experience in round 3. For all the talk of details, rugby is an emotional game and a physically dominant team must work hard to sense enough danger to maintain a level of high intensity over the course of the turnaround.
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Yet Sunday’s anti-spectacle might serve Munster well. On top of falling just short of accruing the full five points, Castres delivered plenty of warning shots for what awaits in the south of France. They began poking, prodding and stirring amid their willful disruption. The needle will undoubtedly rear its head at some stage this evening too. There is no ambush in this back-to-back, Munster are ready.
“It will probably spice up,” says CJ Stander, with that irrepressible grin, “when we played them twice last year that’s what we got so I think that will spice up for sure.
There’s a few boys who squared off, but it’s just emotions coming up. But yeah, for sure, especially with the game they play, they try to frustrate you but you need to concentrate on yourself and make sure you do your job.”
“I think they’ll probably use the ball a bit more and, look, their gameplan is their gameplan, it’s what they do and they’ll probably enforce it.
“They enforced it last year down there when we played them, they enforced it a lot more and made it difficult for us to exit from our own half a lot more.
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“So we know it’s going to be a physical game, they’re going to play their gameplan as they did last weekend, kick the ball and make us play out of our 22. But it’s all on us, what we can do and how we can work with that pressure.”
Pressure is a privilege, some say. And the rewards for enduring are clear.
Exeter’s successful revenge mission in Gloucester last night means Pool 2 could be on a knife edge by close of play tonight. Or the southern province could leave Castres rooted to fourth while they pull seven or eight points clear.
With English opposition to come in the final two rounds, it would be a terrific cushion to rest back on over the Christmas period and ponder a possible home quarter-final.
Castres, though, are more than happy to tear up scripts and let the pages fall where they may.
Castres: Scott Spedding, Martin Laveau, Thomas Combezou, Florian Vialelle, Taylor Paris, Benjamin Urdapilleta: Rory Kockott, Paea Fa’anunu, Kevin Firmin, Marc Clerc, Thibault Lassalle, Loic Jacquet, Yannick Caballero, Mathieu Babillot (capt), Maama Vaipulu.
Replacements: Marc-Antoine Rallier, Antoine Tichit, Wilfrid Hounkpatin, Christophe Samson, Kevin Gimeno, Robert Ebersohn, Armand Batlle, Ludovic Radosavljevic
Munster Rugby: Mike Haley, Andrew Conway, Sam Arnold, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls, Joey Carbery, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Billy Holland, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Chris Cloete, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne. Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Arno Botha, Alby Mathewson, JJ Hanrahan, Jaco Taute
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Eddie O’Sullivan preview another big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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Munster back on script in pivotal pool clash with spiced-up Castres
LET’S TRY THAT again, shall we?
Castres’ streak of philistinism went a long way to ensuring the round 3 visit to Thomond Park was a day few will be keen to remember.
The saving grace of the non-spectacle was the Munster hit their base-line objective. Four points in the bank, back to the top of Pool 2. Thank you, next, as the fella says.
Saturday evening in Occitanie [kick-off 17.30 Irish time, BT Sport], players and coaches warn, will be an all new animal. Head coach Johann van Graan has gone with almost the same team to start; only man of the match JJ Hanrahan drops out of the starting XV, a reversal of the one of the enforced changes which disrupted the southern province last week.
That means we can look forward – hopefully not in vain this time – to the sight of Joey Carbery and Conor Murray playing in tandem.
No need to re-tread over their previous playing experience, there’s not much of it. Most of their time together as half-backs has played out in training at Carton House. Carbery’s loosened hamstring means they can begin what will hopefully be a long-term double-act at the wheel for the southern province.
“It is exciting,” says Murray, “I have had limited game time with Joey with Ireland, the odd time we have linked up and training an awful lot together.
“It’s exciting. Like I said at the start of the season, he’s going to be a massive player for Munster and Ireland for years to come.”
Outside the 10 shirt, Munster themselves will hope to be a different animal second time around. They found a way to put the handling errors and miscommunications of the opening 40 behind them last week to power away to a 25-point win. Rain is forecast over Stade Pierre-Fabre this evening, so attacking width will not be easily used.
Castres must be different.
The scorched-earth policy that succeeded in denying Munster a bonus point cannot be employed on home turf, at a ground that has welcomed the Bouclier de Brennus this year. The host’s starting line-up shows seven changes six days on from defeat.
Notably, the front row that finished the game on Sunday starts ahead of the trio which John Ryan and Dave Kilcoyne gleefully shredded in scrum after scrum. The back-line will begin with the sure-footed Rory Kockott, while the scorer of last weekend’s consolation try, the lively Martin Laveau, starts too.
The back-to-back format encourages teams to rally, to bite back in round 4 after a humbling experience in round 3. For all the talk of details, rugby is an emotional game and a physically dominant team must work hard to sense enough danger to maintain a level of high intensity over the course of the turnaround.
Yet Sunday’s anti-spectacle might serve Munster well. On top of falling just short of accruing the full five points, Castres delivered plenty of warning shots for what awaits in the south of France. They began poking, prodding and stirring amid their willful disruption. The needle will undoubtedly rear its head at some stage this evening too. There is no ambush in this back-to-back, Munster are ready.
“I think they’ll probably use the ball a bit more and, look, their gameplan is their gameplan, it’s what they do and they’ll probably enforce it.
“They enforced it last year down there when we played them, they enforced it a lot more and made it difficult for us to exit from our own half a lot more.
“So we know it’s going to be a physical game, they’re going to play their gameplan as they did last weekend, kick the ball and make us play out of our 22. But it’s all on us, what we can do and how we can work with that pressure.”
Pressure is a privilege, some say. And the rewards for enduring are clear.
Exeter’s successful revenge mission in Gloucester last night means Pool 2 could be on a knife edge by close of play tonight. Or the southern province could leave Castres rooted to fourth while they pull seven or eight points clear.
With English opposition to come in the final two rounds, it would be a terrific cushion to rest back on over the Christmas period and ponder a possible home quarter-final.
Castres, though, are more than happy to tear up scripts and let the pages fall where they may.
Castres: Scott Spedding, Martin Laveau, Thomas Combezou, Florian Vialelle, Taylor Paris, Benjamin Urdapilleta: Rory Kockott, Paea Fa’anunu, Kevin Firmin, Marc Clerc, Thibault Lassalle, Loic Jacquet, Yannick Caballero, Mathieu Babillot (capt), Maama Vaipulu.
Replacements: Marc-Antoine Rallier, Antoine Tichit, Wilfrid Hounkpatin, Christophe Samson, Kevin Gimeno, Robert Ebersohn, Armand Batlle, Ludovic Radosavljevic
Munster Rugby: Mike Haley, Andrew Conway, Sam Arnold, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls, Joey Carbery, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Billy Holland, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Chris Cloete, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne. Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Arno Botha, Alby Mathewson, JJ Hanrahan, Jaco Taute
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Eddie O’Sullivan preview another big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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aller=retour Castres castres away! Champions Cup Munster take 2