Munster find themselves in familiar must-win Thomond terrain

Rob Penney is correct when asserting that Munster still have their destiny in their own hands in Pool 6. The problem is so do the other three sides in the most competitive of all the groups, mainly thanks to Munster’s somewhat self-inflicted defeat in Edinburgh. Such is the way of things with this tournament’s drama kings.

Only once have they gone through a group unbeaten, two seasons ago, and even then they promptly lost at home to Ulster. Yet only once since 1999 have they failed to advance, and central to that has been their ability to win their home matches at Thomond Park.

So they find themselves in familiar must-win territory and despite the unfavourable, TV-dictated Sunday brunchtime kick-off, the Red Army have rallied in their time of need, with ticket sales well in advance of the Saturday opener against Gloucester.

Perhaps this also has something to do with their improved League form, which sees Munster atop the Pro12 table after five successive wins. But Penney accepts their rugby is not what they are aiming for, tacitly accepting they are going to ground too easily for want of more awareness from ball-carrier and support player alike.

Lead the charge
It should help that Paul O'Connell is there to lead the charge, and ought to benefit from a rare run of four successive starts, not to mention de facto captain Peter O'Mahony and scrumhalf Conor Murray, now a talismanic leadership figure, are also restored.

It’s worth noting Munster are missing Mike Sherry, Donnacha Ryan, Tommy O’Donnell and Simon Zebo, and for all Perpignan’s injury woes, Scottish flanker Alasdair Strokosch is restored to the backrow, and aside from the nimble and light-footed Sofiane Guitoune, there are a few other signature selections which suggest the Catalans will give this their best shot.

James Hook, in prolific form at fullback with 157 points in 14 competitive games this season, again captains the side and current French outhalf Camille Lopez, who has talked up their desire to win this game, again steers the ship.

In the form of his career, Lopez opened up the Clermont defence last week, when a try was ruled out for a forward pass against Hook as injuries contributed to them losing a 23-17 lead in the final quarter.

On the road
That third successive defeat left them ninth domestically, and they've won just once in seven games on the road, but were only denied late on in Gloucester in round one.

They play a relatively enterprising brand of rugby by French standards and Penney admits: “They have a very robust pack, and are a massive side, no matter which group they put in.”

Age old, somewhat stereotypical views still apply, not least that Munster are quick to disabuse Perpignan of any notions of a first win in Munster with an accurate, Cup-style performance to begin with, by getting the scoreboard ticking and earning the right to go wide. At such an ungodly time for a game, this would also bring the Thomond Park crowd into the equation.
MUNSTER: F Jones; K Earls, C Laulala, J Downey, J Murphy; I Keatley, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, D Varley, S Archer, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, P O'Mahony (capt), S Dougall, J Coughlan . Replacements: D Casey, J Cronin, BJ Botha, B Holland, CJ Stander, C Sheridan, JJ Hanrahan, D Hurley.
PERPIGNAN: J Hook (capt); J Michel, T Benvenuti, W Votu, S Guitoune; C Lopez, T Ecochard; S Taofifenua, R Terrain, P Ion, L Charteris, G Vilaceca, JP Perez, A Strokosch, J Purll. Replacements: M Delonca, K Pulu, JB Custoja, S Vahaamahina, D Duvenage, T Allan, R Haughton, D Leo.
Referee: G Garner (England)
Previous meetings: (1998-99) Perpignan 41 Munster 24; Munster 13 Perpignan 5; (02-03) Munster 30 Perpignan 21; Perpignan 23 Munster 8; (05-06, q/f) Munster 19 Perpignan 10; (09-10) Munster Rugby 24 Perpignan 23; Perpignan 14 Munster Rugby 37.
Betting (Paddy Powers): 1/12 Munster, 28/1 Draw, 11/2 Perpignan. Handicap odds (Perpignan +12pts) 10/11 Munster, 20/1 Draw, 10/11 Perpignan.
Forecast: Munster to win.