Munster’s Champions Cup campaign ended in agonising fashion as they fell to a 31-29 defeat against Castres Olympique at Thomond Park, despite scoring five tries in a pulsating encounter that ebbed and flowed throughout.
Key moments:
2′ – PENALTY CASTRES: Jeremy Fernandez kicks penalty from central position (Munster 0-3 Castres)
11′ – TRY CASTRES: Vuate Karawalevu powers through Munster defence, Jeremy Fernandez converts (Munster 0-10 Castres)
17′ – TRY MUNSTER: Craig Casey scores after flowing move, Jack Crowley converts (Munster 7-10 Castres)
35′ – TRY MUNSTER: Craig Casey scores second try from maul, Jack Crowley’s conversion ruled out after time expired (Munster 12-10 Castres)
38′ – TRY CASTRES: Theo Chabouni scores after chip and chase, Jeremy Fernandez converts (Munster 12-17 Castres)
Half-time: Munster 12-17 Castres
47′ – TRY MUNSTER: Thaakir Abrahams scores in corner, Jack Crowley misses conversion (Munster 17-17 Castres)
49′ – SUBSTITUTIONS MUNSTER: Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson and Lee Barron replace Jean Kleyn, Jack O’Donoghue and Niall Scannell
60′ – TRY MUNSTER: Edwin Edogbo scores bonus-point try, Jack Crowley misses conversion (Munster 22-17 Castres)
63′ – YELLOW CARD MUNSTER: Tom Farrell sent to sin bin for dangerous clearout
68′ – TRY CASTRES: Geoffrey Palis scores in corner, Enzo Herve converts (Munster 22-24 Castres)
72′ – TRY CASTRES: Christian Ambadiang scores after crossfield kick, Enzo Herve converts (Munster 22-31 Castres)
75′ – YELLOW CARD CASTRES: Leone Nakarawa sent to sin bin
78′ – TRY MUNSTER: Edwin Edogbo powers over, Jack Crowley converts (Munster 29-31 Castres)
Full-time: Munster 29-31 Castres
Clayton McMillan’s side fought valiantly in their 20th European meeting with the French club, with scrum-half Craig Casey scoring two first-half tries and replacement Edwin Edogbo grabbing a crucial brace. But Jack Crowley’s struggles off the tee, missing three conversion attempts, proved costly as Munster fell just short in a dramatic finale that left the home crowd in stunned silence.
The defeat means Munster finish fifth in Pool 2 and drop into the Challenge Cup’s last 16 following Toulon’s 31-14 victory over Gloucester. For Castres, the victory secured their first ever win at Thomond Park in nine attempts and keeps their Champions Cup hopes alive with progression to the knockout stages.
The match started positively for the visitors, who came to Limerick with a stronger side than many had anticipated, fielding several frontline players rather than a second-string selection. Their intent was clear from the opening minutes as they dominated possession and territory, eventually earning a penalty in a central position. Scrum-half Jeremy Fernandez made no mistake from the tee, thumping the ball between the posts to give Castres a 3-0 lead after just three minutes.
Munster, for whom captain Tadhg Beirne was making his 100th appearance for the province, struggled to find their rhythm in the opening exchanges. Craig Casey, passed fit despite suffering what had been described as a serious shoulder injury in the previous weekend’s defeat to Toulon, had possession spilled by a thunderous tackle from Baptiste Cope, while a promising break from Beirne ended with an overhit pass to the scrum-half.
The French side’s early pressure was rewarded with a try in the 11th minute that showcased their attacking threat. From a lineout, Castres set up a powerful driving maul that pushed Munster backwards before the ball was recycled. Centre Vuate Karawalevu, who would later be named player of the match, ran a superb angled line and accelerated onto the ball at pace, bursting through the attempted tackles of Gavin Coombes and Fineen Wycherley to power over. Fernandez added the conversion to extend the lead to 10-0, leaving Munster with a mountain to climb.
Embed from Getty Images
The home crowd needed something to lift them, and it arrived in the 17th minute through a try that epitomised Munster’s attacking potential. A scrum on halfway provided the platform, and the backs showed excellent handling skills to create space. Wing Thaakir Abrahams took an awkward pass from Alex Nankivell with impressive composure before finding Jack O’Donoghue in support. The flanker’s perfectly timed offload released Casey, who had read the play brilliantly and was running a support line at pace to finish under the posts. Crowley added the conversion to reduce the deficit to 10-7 and ignite Thomond Park.
Embed from Getty Images
Referee Matthew Carley was taking no nonsense from either side, and when three Munster players complained about a decision in the 15th minute, he awarded a penalty against them and issued a stern warning to captain Beirne that any further dissent would result in a yellow card. The message was clear: control your team.
The match had developed into a highly entertaining contest, with both sides willing to move the ball and take risks. Abrahams was particularly lively for Munster, his footwork and pace causing problems for the Castres defence. After one mazy run from deep, he couldn’t quite connect with Casey on the offload, but Munster continued to threaten.
Castres demonstrated their own quality when breaking through the Munster line on multiple occasions. Full-back Theo Chabouni and the powerful Karawalevu showed excellent footwork to bring them within five metres of the Munster line, but Beirne produced a crucial turnover around the half-hour mark to relieve the pressure on his side.
Munster’s intensity increased as half-time approached, and they regained the lead in the 35th minute through another well-worked score. After Abrahams’ electric footwork earned a penalty, Crowley kicked to the corner. The lineout was secured cleanly by Niall Scannell, and Munster executed a textbook driving maul. Just as it appeared the maul might be brought down, Casey showed his awareness by taking the ball from Scannell and spotting space down the short side. A clever step inside bamboozled two Castres defenders who were intent on bundling him into touch, and he squeezed over in the corner for his second try.
Embed from Getty Images
However, Crowley’s conversion attempt was ruled out after he took too long to take the kick, with referee Carley indicating time had expired. The score remained at 12-10 rather than extending the lead to four points, a detail that would prove significant as the match reached its climax.
Castres responded immediately to Munster’s try, and on the stroke of half-time they reclaimed the lead through a moment of opportunism from Chabouni. Playing with a penalty advantage after a powerful carry from prop Atunaisa Sokobale had breached the Munster line, the full-back launched a perfectly weighted chip over the top of the Munster defence. He accelerated between two defenders to chase his own kick, and when Jack O’Donoghue slid to gather the ball, it struck his knee and rolled behind the try-line. Chabouni pounced to touch down, and Fernandez’s conversion made it 17-12 to Castres at the interval.
Embed from Getty Images
The five-point deficit left Munster with everything to play for in the second half, and Beirne kept his players on the pitch for several moments after the half-time whistle, clearly delivering a message about the importance of the next 40 minutes to their season.
Munster emerged with renewed purpose and levelled the scores within two minutes of the restart. After defending deep in their own half, they broke brilliantly through the phases, working the ball wide with slick handling. The move featured excellent work from Nankivell and powerful carries from Coombes before the ball reached Abrahams on 47 minutes, who showed tremendous bravery to fight through contact from Jeremy Fernandez and squeeze over in the corner. Crowley’s conversion attempt from wide out drifted right of the posts, but at 17-17 the game was finely balanced.
Embed from Getty Images
McMillan introduced fresh legs from the bench in the 49th minute, bringing on Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson and Lee Barron for Jean Kleyn, O’Donoghue and Scannell. The impact was almost immediate, with Edogbo’s ball-carrying adding punch to Munster’s attack.
Castres nearly extended their lead against the run of play in the 52nd minute when they broke the length of the pitch from deep inside their own half. Slick passing from their backs carved open the Munster defence, with Karawalevu prominent again, and Santiago Arata crossed the line. However, a TMO check revealed a forward pass in the build-up, and the try was ruled out. It was a major let-off for Munster and a warning that the French side remained dangerous.
The home side finally edged ahead in the 60th minute to secure the crucial bonus point. After Shane Daly charged down a Theo Chabouni clearance kick close to the try-line, Munster won a lineout in a promising position. The set-piece didn’t go to plan as Castres stole it, but in the ensuing scramble, Leone Nakarawa somehow spilled the ball which landed perfectly for Edogbo to show tremendous awareness and dive over the line for the try. Crowley’s conversion attempt was badly sliced wide, leaving Munster just five points clear at 22-17 when they should have been seven ahead.
Embed from Getty Images
The momentum shifted dramatically in the 63rd minute when centre Tom Farrell was shown a yellow card for a dangerous clearout at a ruck. Castres wing Christian Ambadiang had gone to ground with a knee injury, and after a TMO review, referee Carley determined that Farrell had illegally dropped his weight on the player’s leg. With Munster down to 14 men for the next 10 minutes, Castres had a golden opportunity to seize control.
The French side won a penalty and kicked to the corner, earning a scrum just eight metres from the Munster line. Although Ambadiang knocked the ball forward from the scrum, Munster were ruled offside and another scrum was set. This time Castres made no mistake. After several phases of patient build-up close to the line, they sent a looping pass left from Enzo Herve to wing Geoffrey Palis, who just managed to get the ball down in the corner despite close attention from the Munster defence. Replacement fly-half Herve, who had come on for Pierre Popelin in the 47th minute, showed his quality with a brilliant conversion from the touchline to give Castres a 24-22 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
Embed from Getty Images
Munster, still a man down, needed to respond, but disaster struck in the 72nd minute. Castres launched a crossfield kick towards Ambadiang on the left wing, and the winger got the better of Shane Daly to gather the ball, shrug off the full-back’s tackle attempt and score. Herve’s outstanding conversion from a tight angle extended the lead to 31-22, leaving Munster needing two scores with just eight minutes remaining.
Embed from Getty Images
A glimmer of hope appeared in the 75th minute when Castres lock Leone Nakarawa was shown a yellow card for a cynical infringement, with Farrell returning from the sin bin to restore Munster to their full complement. Now with an extra man, Munster launched a desperate assault on the Castres line.
JJ Hanrahan, who had replaced Ben O’Connor in the 56th minute, kicked to the corner and Munster won the lineout. They initially tried to work the ball wide under advantage but made a mess of it. Given another opportunity, they opted for a tap-and-go, and Edogbo used all his considerable power to smash through the Castres defence and score his second try in the 78th minute. Crowley finally found his range with the conversion, making it 29-31 with two minutes remaining.
Thomond Park erupted as Munster sensed an unlikely escape, but they needed to regain possession quickly. The clock had gone into the red as Munster desperately tried to find the winning score. They recycled possession frantically from deep in their own 22, probing for a gap in the Castres defence. But with the seconds ticking away, Crowley lost possession in the tackle as Castres forced a turnover. As the French side secured the ball, the final whistle blew, sparking wild celebrations from the pocket of around 20 Castres supporters and stunned silence around the rest of the 20,043-strong crowd.
Munster’s players sank to the turf, crestfallen at how close they had come. Crowley’s three missed conversions from five attempts had ultimately proved crucial, denying Munster the points they needed to force a draw or even claim victory. Casey’s outstanding performance despite his injury concerns had not been enough, and Edogbo’s powerful double off the bench had come too late to rescue the situation.
The statistics told the story of a match Munster could have won. They had scored five tries to Castres’ four and dominated large periods of play, but crucial errors and poor discipline at key moments had undermined their efforts. Munster missed 37 tackles throughout the match, with soft defending particularly evident in the build-up to both first-half tries. Farrell’s yellow card had arrived at the worst possible time, allowing Castres to score twice while Munster were reduced to 14 men and turn a five-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
“There wasn’t any one thing in particular,” McMillan reflected afterwards. “I think we missed a couple of kicks at goal. We fell off a few tackles. We created a few opportunities and didn’t quite nail them, missed a couple of lineouts. It’s the accumulation of all the little things that make all the difference in the end. They hurt us. The big disappointment for me and the worrying trend is that we work really hard to score some points, but we give up points very quickly after scoring. We don’t make it hard for opposition to have to come back and get points, and that’s the one worrying trend for me over the last three or four weeks.”
Captain Beirne acknowledged his side’s failings in crucial moments. “I felt like when we went ahead we were good, and then we just lost our way briefly,” he said. “We weren’t switched on and we weren’t good enough in those moments and they were able to exert more pressure onto us and capitalised on it. I think we’ll be disappointed with our first half performance, defensively, for sure. We fell off too many tackles and just left them into the game that way.”
For Castres, it was a night to celebrate a historic first victory at Thomond Park. Captain Baptiste Delaporte’s side had arrived in Limerick as underdogs but showed tremendous character to withstand Munster’s late onslaught. Karawalevu’s physical power and elusive running had caused problems throughout, while the performances of Chabouni and Ambadiang in the back three had been crucial. Herve’s nerveless goal-kicking in the closing stages, particularly his two conversions from difficult angles, had steadied Castres when Munster threatened to overwhelm them.
The defeat leaves Munster’s European season in tatters. They finish fifth in Pool 2 and will drop into the Challenge Cup’s last 16, a disappointing outcome for a club with such rich European heritage. Their hopes of Champions Cup glory are over for another year, eliminated at the pool stage for just the fourth time since 1999.
It was a crushing end to what had been an entertaining match featuring nine tries and end-to-end action in a record-breaking ball-in-play time. Munster had given everything, fighting to the final whistle, but in the unforgiving world of European rugby, narrow defeats count for nothing. As the Castres players celebrated wildly with their small band of supporters, the Munster faithful trudged out of Thomond Park knowing their side had let a winnable match slip away.
Scorers:
Munster: Tries: Casey (17, 35), Abrahams (47), Edogbo (60, 78). Cons: Crowley (2).
Castres: Tries: Karawalevu (11), Chabouni (39), Palis (68), Ambadiang (72). Cons: Fernandez (2), Herve (2). Pens: Fernandez (3).
Yellow cards: Farrell (Munster, 63), Nakarawa (Castres, 75).
Munster: Daly, Abrahams, Farrell, Nankivell (Kelly 60), O’Connor (Hanrahan 56), Crowley, Casey, Loughman (Milne 56), Scannell (Barron 49), Ala’alatoa (Jager 56), Kleyn (Edogbo 49), Wycherley, Beirne (c), O’Donoghue (Gleeson 49), Coombes.
Castres: Chabouni, Ambadiang (Manu 16-28, 68), Karawalevu, Goodhue, Palis, Popelin (Herve 47), Fernandez (Arata 47), Sokobale (Tichit 47), Zarantonello (Durand-Pradere 55), Collier (Azar 40), Maravat, Staniforth (Nakarawa 56), Delaporte (c), Cope (Ardron 56), Vanverberghe.
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Attendance: 20,043.
Six Nations5 days ago
New Zealand3 weeks ago
Six Nations2 weeks ago
Six Nations4 days ago
Six Nations2 weeks ago
Champions Cup2 weeks ago
Six Nations2 weeks ago
Australia2 weeks ago