Munster v Castres: Five takeaways as Jack Crowley’s ‘inaccuracies’ cost Irish giants dearly in a Champions Cup epic
Munster fly-half Jack Crowley and an inset of Castres players celebrating a Champions Cup victory.
Following Castres’ 31-29 victory over Munster at Thomond Park in the Investec Champions Cup, here are our five takeaways.
Top line
The Investec Champions Cup’s most played fixture in the history of the competition produced its usual nitty-gritty, brutally physical, energy-sapping and emotionally-driven match.
The first quarter of the match really had it all and left one wondering if both teams could really keep up with the helter-skelter pace of the latest edition of this European rivalry – and boy did it as Munster’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages dwindled and then died.
Jeremy Fernandez made the first cut with a penalty in the early knockings of a gripping enouncter before Man of the Match Vuate Karawalevu sliced through the defence to grab the game’s opening score.
Craig Casey rubbished concerns over his fitness with a brace of tries to put the proud Irish club ahead, but that advantage didn’t last long as full-back Theo Chabouni put the visitors back in front before the half-time whistle.
The half-time oranges benefitted the hosts best as the men in red came flying out of the blocks in the second half, with the brilliant Thaakir Abrahams rewarded for his efforts with a five-pointer after just six minutes.
When Edwin Edogbo capitalised on Castres’ mishaps at a lineout in their 22, Thomond Park erupted as momentum looked squarely in the hosts’ favour, but Tom Farrell’s yellow card, more on that later, gave the French outfit an edge and they took a mile.
Geoffrey Palis squared matters at 22 points apiece with Enzo Herve converting the try to move in front before Christian Ambadiang cantered over to make it a nine-point game with seven minutes to go.
There was one final twist in the tale, however, as Edogbo crashed over the line, after Leone Nakarawa’s yellow card for one of the most cynical ruck infringements you will ever see, to give Munster one final shot.
However, it was not to be as the Irish giants crashed out of the tournament at the pool stages.
Lazarus Casey
Reports in the week that Casey could miss the upcoming Six Nations were either grossly exaggerated or the scrum-half has benefited from a Lazarus-esque miracle as he not only recovered from a shoulder injury to start for his province, but also starred for the side.
A first-half brace will be the main talking point of his performance as he rounded off a sensational team score and snuck over the line for his second, but overall, the number nine was superb. A passionate display is a given for the 26-year-old, but again he was much more than that, making the right decision more often than not and setting the tempo for Munster’s rapid attack.
If he was experiencing any discomfort from his shoulder injury, he sustained against Munster, it did not show as he fired passes with superb accuracy and pace, conducting matters superbly.
Andy Farrell will certainly be pleased that the diminutive halfback will be available for selection for the Six Nations and even more so considering his form.
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A Champions Cup classic
The introduction of the round of 16 has had a detrimental impact on the pool stages of the Champions Cup, removing jeopardy from many of the matches, with a club able to reach the knockout stages with just one win under their belt – which was the case for Ulster last season, and they won’t be the last.
This has led to some incredibly one-sided affairs with academy players earning their stripes in a tournament that used to be mostly for the best-of-the-best that clubs have to offer.
However, today was the exception to the rule as two clubs went hammer and tongs from minute one to 80 in an attempt to keep their hopes of progression in the tournament alive – knowing that a victory at the famous Irish ground might not even be enough to do so.
Every tackle, carry, breakdown and set-piece was fiercely contested, every point counted, every inch mattered, and so was every call from the referee.
Sickening scenes
Another day, a less lenient referee and Tom Farrell’s game will have come to an abrupt end in the 63rd minute after his horrendous clear-cut on Castres winger Christian Ambadiang.
Ambadiang screeched in pain or perhaps even fear as his knee buckled and twisted as Farrell croc-rolled him out of the breakdown. The Munster centre’s saving grace? The fact that referee Matthew Carley deemed that Farrell did not drop his weight onto the winger’s lower limbs as enough mitigation not to issue a red card of any sort.
The fact of the matter is, the midfielder had lost the breakdown battle and still acted in a dangerous manner to remove the Castres flyer from the ruck. Frankly, both players were very, very fortunate. Farrell because he escaped a harsher sanction – that would have been merited – and Ambadiang because he was able to continue playing.
World Rugby have rightly moved to penalise those kinds of actions more severely as they so often end in long-term or even career-ending injuries.
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The difference
Munster love a bit of European drama, don’t they? Thomond Park has set the stage for some of the most entertaining and gripping matches in the Champions Cup’s history, and today’s tale fits that billing.
So many times in the past, it has been the supporters in red who have left the ground in a merry mood, but that was not the case today as Castres clinched a famous first victory over Munster at their fortress.
The proud club never lacks effort, passion or fight, highlighted by how vehemently they fought throughout the game, even when the odds were stacked against them, but ultimately, they faced an equally driven and determined Castres side.
Two points were the difference between the teams on the scoreboard, the statistic that matters most, but looking deeper, matters were as even as it seems.
Munster had more possession at 58%, but Castres had the advantage in territory, 54%. Both teams had a perfect record in the scrums, and while that was true for the French side’s lineout too, it was far from perfect possession at the set-piece. Castres (12) conceded more penalties than Munster (12), but the hosts conceded more turnovers (15-12).
Both teams kicked at least 30 times and had average tackle completion rates around the 80% mark. Where Munster did have a clear upper hand was in the line breaks, making double that of the Top 14 outfit (14-7), but where the difference lay was off the tee. So often, such tight matches are decided by the kickers, and that was the case today as Herve and Fernandez converted all of their side’s tries, with the latter adding a penalty to his tally while Jack Crowley’s three failed conversion attempts cost Munster dearly.
