THE SULPHUR of last weekend’s explosive finish at Thomond Park still lingers but not for the Munster players. They understand how foolhardy it is to luxuriate in pilfering the points against Northampton because collective honesty is a core trait, championed by management and players.
Winning, however satisfactory in the immediate aftermath, won’t be permitted to camouflage a fractured performance that for 80 minutes looked like being inadequate.
Courage and character have been attendant virtues down through the years in Europe and will be again be required in Toulouse this evening, but standing alone, will not suffice. Munster must broach a quality of performance that has only been evident in snatches, albeit for elongated passages as the season has progressed.
Coach Tony McGahan has kept faith in the team that bushwhacked the Saints, the only change to the match squad the reintroduction of a fit-again Marcus Horan among the replacements.
In contrast Castres have made nine changes and two positional alterations to the team that troubled the Scarlets in Llanelli for a long time before indiscipline cost them a chance to win and then a bonus point. They have left two of their more seminal influences, Romain Teulet and Luc Ducalcon, on the bench.
Teulet’s place-kicking prowess is well documented; last weekend he contributed 13 of his team’s 23 points but it is also his game management and experience that render his initial exclusion perplexing.
Ducalcon is a French international prop and his demotion is one of five changes to the pack, two in the frontrow. New Zealand-born captain and colossus Chris Masoe, who moves from flanker to number eight, loosehead prop Anton Peikrishvili and Joe Tekori, swapping the number eight for four on his jersey, are retained. Scott Murray is preferred to Uruguayan international and Castres stalwart Rodrigo Capo Ortega.
The suggestion from the selection is the French club are proposing to strengthen their team as the game unfolds. It’s a slightly risky gambit. Scottish international Max Evans makes his debut for Castres on the right wing, while on the other flank is the equally elusive Marc Andreu.
Munster will be fully primed as to what to expect. Their hosts will target the set-piece, be physically aggressive in the collisions and at the breakdown in an attempt to bully the visiting pack. The Irish province will want to play the game at a high tempo, varying the point of attack and the manner. Getting into an arm wrestle is unlikely to lead to a happy ending. They know they value of retaining possession in a hostile environment, an effective volume control.
This is a Munster team that is evolving in terms of personnel and this afternoon offers a tough benchmarking process. If they can start quickly and crucially maintain that concentration, discipline and momentum then they may force the Castres hand. Unless Castres implode discipline-wise or their selection proves to be flawed, one suspects Munster, to win this one, will need to find a cutting edge, Dougie Howlett aside, behind the scrum.
CASTRES: F Denos; M Evans, P Bonnefond, P Garcia, M Andreu; P Bernard, T Lacrampe; A Peikrishvili, B Mach, K Wihongi; S Murray, J Tekori; J Bornman, Y Caballero, C Masoe (capt). Replacements: M Bonello, M Coetzee, L Ducalcon, M Rolland, R Capo Ortega, R Teulet, R Tales, PG Lakafia.
MUNSTER: J Murphy; D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, D Hurley; R O’Gara, C Murray; W du Preez, D Varley, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O’Connell capt; P O’Mahony, N Ronan, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Fogarty, M Horan, J Hayes, D O’Callaghan, D Leamy, T O’Leary, I Keatley, W Chambers.
Referee: W Barnes (England).
Verdict: Castres Olympique.
