Munster march on to Cardiff

Munster captain Mick Galwey salutes the travelling hordes of Munster fans in Beziers’ Stade de la Mediteranee (© Inpho)

Castres 17 Munster 25

Munster, the bane of French club rugby, have recorded another remarkable win on French soil to book their place in next month’s Heineken Cup final.

Given little chance outside of Ireland going into the match, Declan Kidney's side have nevertheless beaten both Stade Francais and Toulouse at home in recent times and added Castres to that illustrious list in fine style.

A magnificent second-half team performance and the boot of Ronan O’Gara established the platform with an injury-time try from John Kelly sealing a memorable win for the European Cup specialists and their supporters.

O’Gara notched six penalties, two of which were simply breathtaking, and a conversion for a personal haul of 20 points in the white heat of Beziers.

Castres had dominated in the first period but will rue their inability to put points on the board and in the end can have no complaints. The visitors did not score until the 40th minute but from that moment onwards were the better side and were not going to be beaten.

Even the loss of number eight Anthony Foley, ably replaced by Donnacha O’Callaghan, with a shoulder injury in the first quarter failed to knock them out of their stride.

The match kicked off in the white heat of Beziers Stade de la Mediteranee stadium at breakneck speed with Castres putting the visitors on the back foot in a frantic opening period.

Munster, who struggled initially for both possession and territory, flew into tackles like demons as Castres searched for any gaps. None materialised as the red line held firm and it appeared the Irish province would weather the early storm.

Indeed, Munster, unused to the blistering conditions of the French south coast but no strangers to pressure cooker atmospheres, were soon to get to get to grips with the occasion and managed the odd foray into opposition territory as they got a foothold in the game.

On 20 minutes the match, which had been physical throughout without being dirty, threatened to boil over after an incident involving Peter Clohessy, in his second last appearance for the province he has served so well.

The French took exception to his actions at the breakdown and South Africa’s Brent Moyle singled him out for special treatment. Both players were sinbinned and the fans were treated to the peculiar sight of the pair sitting shoulder to shoulder on the sidelines, soaking up the Mediterranean sunshine.

Immediately afterwards, Castres place-kicking specialist Romain Teulet was to make his first telling contribution with the first of four penalties.

Teulet was to find the target twice more in the first period, on 32 and 35 minutes, opening a nine point lead but it was scant reward for the territorial advantage the French were enjoying.

Munster, perhaps sensing this, then began to exert some pressure of their own. First Dominic Crotty went close, knocking the ball forward with the line in sight. Castres had strayed offside in defence, however, and O’Gara punished them accordingly.

Then, with points on the board, a buoyed Munster went on the attack again, Alan Quinlan snatching a loose ball and charging upfield. Castres killed the play and O’Gara, from in front of the posts, pegged the lead back to three at half-time.

The Irishmen had their tails up and carried that momentum into the second half with O’Gara levelling matters straight away.

Munster were very much on top, running at every opportunity and wreaking havoc in a Castres defence that struggled to stay onside. On 52 minutes, the hosts offended again and O’Gara kicked his side into the lead. Ten minutes later he doubled that lead

Teulet responded in kind on 70 minutes but O’Gara again extended the lead before Kelly’s injury time try heroics.

Kilted kiwi Shaun Longstaff managed a consolation for Castres seconds from the final whistle but Munster were already out of sight.

They will now face either Leicester or Llanelli, who meet tomorrow in the second semi-final, in May 25th’s showpiece at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Scorers - Castres

Tries:Longstaff
Conversions:
Penalties:Teulet 4
Drop Goals:

Scorers - Munster

Tries:Kelly
Conversions:O'Gara
Penalties:O'Gara 6
Drop Goals:

Munster: D Crotty; J Kelly, R Henderson, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), P O'Connell, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace.
Replacements: M Horan, J Fogarty, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, M Prendergast, M Mullins, J Staunton.

Castres: R Teulet; U Mola, E Artiguste, N Berryman, S Longstaff; G Townsend (captain), A Albouy; M Reggiardo, R Ibanez, B Moyle, I Ferdandez-Lobbe, N Spanghero, R Froment, I Lassissi, A Costes.
Replacements: R Vignaux, D Dima, S Chinarro, T Bourdet, O Sarramea, G Delmotte, F Plisson.

Referee: Chris White (England)