Visitors’ bulk and individual class no match for Reds’ spirit

WHERE THE MATCH WILL BE WON YOU better hope you are wearing your body armour and crash helmet in Limerick. This will not be for the faint-hearted.

Toulon were average again in the pool stages but once more proved their muscle to grab the runner’s-up slot, aided and abetted by having Benetton in their pool. They won their first three matches with a total points difference of +6, and were onedimensional at home to Scarlets to win by one.

They won by one point in Italy with Francois Trinh-Duc’s 83rd-minute penalty and needed the immense power of Duane Vermeulen to save them under their own posts at home to Bath.

But Mathieu Bastareaud they are vast as a side and if you stick to the adage that “a good big ’un beats a good little ’un” then you know Toulon will always give themselves a chance.

Their glaring weakness is a group of individuals of immense talent does not have enough collective cohesion to win the tournament.

But, even so, what talent. Chris Ashton, Josua Tuisova and Semi Radrada can produce magic against the best in the world, with the ability to beat you with subtlety or a cudgel. And in front of them are men who would tackle Godzilla: Ma’a Nonu and Mathieu Bastareaud are defensive monsters.

They have a couple of whippets at No 9 and No 10 who oil the giant cogs between backs and forwards, and a pack that contains gargantuan men, world-class operators like Guilhem Guirado and Duane Vermeulen (pictured). You begin to understand how they put 49 points on Clermont last week and why there has been so much frustration about their performances. The bookies have them at 25/1 to win this competition – with that team!

Contrast that with Munster, where all you see is collective unity and cohesion. I never apologise for showing huge support for Munster as a side.

It’s not bias, just genuine warmth for a team that sums up so much about what everyone loves in rugby. A desire to stand and fight, to look after those alongside you, to never quit.

There have been times when they have come up short but Thomond Park is rarely disappointed when it comes to commitment to the shirt.

They have come through a group that demanded so much physically: Castres, Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers. That was never going to be pretty. But they brutal dismantlings of Leicester in rounds three and four gave them top slot.

Controlled by their worldclass axis of Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander and Conor Murray, they also have some sparkle at the back with Simon Zebo and a front five with real mongrel who would not be recognised outside Limerick but are living saints in and around the city.

KEY CLASH

The battle of the two No 8s: Duane Vermeulen v CJ Stander. Both deliver monster carries, with no heed paid to their own bodies, as they hurl their frames into the enemy lines.

PREDICTION

While I was tempted go for Toulon to win it all at 25/1, I won’t go against Munster at Thomond. (© Daily Telegraph, London)