This was Munster's second game of a new Euro campaign after their Twickenham final heartbreak the season before, backing up a hard-earned opening win at home to Newport a week earlier with another of their wondrous comeback wins.
October 14th, 2000
Stade Pierre Antoine, Castres Castres Olympique 29 Munster 32
Castres flew out of the blocks, scoring a pitch-length try off the first scrum, and Munster were grateful to be merely 20-6 down at one point. As commendable as Munster's fightback was, Castres's collapse was equally eyecatching. Using the 15 who started, reduced to 14 by the first-half sin-binning of Alan Quinlan, Munster utterly out-lasted a home side which used 20 players and replenished all bar one of their tight five. Like their fitness and mental strength, Castres's defensive organisation out wide collapsed in the final quarter.
Munster nibbled away through Ronan O'Gara's boot, a Dominic Crotty try briefly drawing the sides level before a double whammy. Ronan O'Gara's flat pass for Anthony Horgan's try after Quinlan made the hard yards was a beauty. Better still followed off the restart when David Wallace broke out wide, Jason Holland and Crotty carrying on the move, for O'Gara to complete a stunning score.
CASTRES: F Plisson; U Mola, E Artiguste, G Delmotte, P Garrigues; G Townsend, A Albouy; M Reggiardo, R Vigneux, L Tsabadze, S Chinarro, J Davidson (capt), A Coste, I Lassissi, J Diaz. Replacements: C Batut for Vigneux (61 mins), D Dima for Reggiardo (61 mins), G Benazet for Tsabadze (52 mins), F Laluque for Chinarro (47 mins), G Taussec, A Larkin, F Seguier.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Langford, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: M Horan, J Blaney, M O'Driscoll, C McMahon, T Tierney, J Staunton, J O'Neill.
Referee: Gareth Simmonds (Wales).
January 20th, 2001, Musgrave Park - Munster 21 Castres 11
A performance that didn't stand out as one of Munster's finest Euro spectacles, but for a half hour or so in the first period they reckoned they had rarely played better. Munster needed a win to copperfasten a home quarter-final against Biarritz the following weekend. Having won the toss, they elected to play into the wind and rain in the first-half, responding to an early Castres try by monopolising possession until virtually half-time in scoring 15 unanswered points.
Anthony Foley was mauled over for the first try, Dominic Crotty finished off a compelling bout of continuity for the other, O'Gara augmenting an earlier penalty with a remarkable conversion. The outhalf then helped tie the game up after the break by kicking for position, and steered them home with a couple more penalties.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, K Keane, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: J Holland for Kelly (half-time), J Staunton for Crotty (72 mins).
CASTRES: G Delmotte; F Plisson, O Sarramea, E Artiguste, P Garrigues; G Townsend, F Seguier; L Toussaint, R Ibanez (capt), M Reggiardo, J Davidson, F Laluque, J Diaz, T Labrousse, G Taussac. Replacements: S Bonarimo for Toussaint (54 mins), T Bourdet for Laluque (54 mins), A Albouy for Seguier (57 mins), A Larkin for Plisson (64 mins), C Batou for Ibanez (70 mins), L Tsbadze for Reggiardo (70 mins). Sinbinned: E Artiguste (17-27 mins).
Referee: Colin White (England).
September 29th, 2001. Thomond Park - Munster 28 Castres 23
On the opening Euro weekend, Castres showed themselves to be an altogether younger, more spirited and fitter outfit. Most of all they had unearthed a remarkable little goalkicker from third division rugby in scrum-half Romain Teulet.
A large chunk of the Munster squad had been on the receiving end in Murrayfield with Ireland a week before, but with Jim Williams giving an awesome defensive performance and Mike Mullins the most dynamic back on view, Peter Stringer cleared the ball away with trademark zest and O'Gara coolly ran the show.
Striking the ball sweetly and landing seven out of nine, O'Gara continually took the right options and turned the screw with some clinical line-kicking. Mick Galwey reckoned it was as tough a match as any Munster had played at Thomond Park, the lead exchanging hands seven times.
Munster having taken the lead for the fourth time, Dominic Crotty returned a poor chip by Gregor Townsend with a towering 70-metre touch find before O'Gara tagged on the penalties to steer Munster past the winning post once more.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, M Cahill, M Galwey (capt), M O'Driscoll, J Williams, J Williams, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: P O'Connell for O'Driscoll (40-49 mins and 52 mins), M Horan for Cahill (52 mins).
CASTRES: U Mola; F Plisson, G Delmotte, N Berryman, S Longstaff; G Townsend, R Teulet; L Toussaint, R Ibanez (capt), B Moyle, F Laluque, N Spanghero, F Costes, I Lassissi, R Froment. Replacements: M Reggiardo for Moyle (56 mins), O Sarramea for Plisson (63 mins), E Artiguste for Mola (70 mins), S Chinaro for Laluque (74 mins). Sinbinned: Costes (12-23 mins), Froment (50-60 mins).
Referee: Clive White (England).
January 12th, 2002, Stade Pierre Antoine - Castres 21 Munster 13
Such were the permutations going into this final pool game that when Munster got back to 16-13 down moving into injury time thanks to a converted David Wallace try, they had actually done enough to top the pool and earn a quarter-final. Only they didn't realise that at the time.
Instead of playing for territory they turned the ball over in their own half and were then caught with a sucker punch in the last play of the match when Castres sub Olivier Sarramea scored the try that gave the French team a home quarter-final.
In a sour aftertaste, Munster cited the Castres number eight Ismaella Lassissi for biting Peter Clohessy on the arm, before ERC rescinded a year-long ban against Lassissi without explanation amid unsubstantiated accusations by Castres against Munster of racism.
CASTRES: R Teulet; U Mola, E Artiguste, N Berryman, S Longstaff; G Townsend, A Albouy; M Reggiardo, R Vigneux, B Moyle, N Spanghero, C Fernandez-Lobbe, A Costes, I Lassissi, R Froment. Replacements: S Chinaro for Costes (38 mins), G Delmotte for Berryman (67 mins), O Sarramea for Teulet (77 mins).
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Holland, A Horgan; R O'Gara, M Prendergast; M Horan, F Sheahan, P Clohessy, M Galwey, M O'Driscoll, J Williams, A Foley, A Quinlan. Replacements: J Hayes for Horan, P O'Connell for O'Driscoll (both 50 mins), R Henderson for Holland (65 mins), D Wallace for Quinlan (67 mins), J Staunton for Crotty (74 mins), D Hegarty for Staunton (77 mins).
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England).
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