Resurgent Munster stun star-studded Toulon
MUNSTER head coach Graham Rowntree’s believes his side’s stunning bonus point victory against Toulon can revive the province’s European campaign after a midseason slump.
The visitors arrived at Stade Felix Mayol for a crunch Champions Cup game with their backs to the wall after a dire draw against Bayonne and a costly defeat against Exeter had left them floundering in Pool 3. A lengthy injury list had Munster installed as underdogs against the French giants at their fortress on the Mediterranean coast.
But Munster delivered a typically valiant European display on foreign soil to breath new life into their campaign, with Toulon suffering only their fourth home defeat in 15 years.
Another big result against Northampton Saints at Thomond Park next Saturday and the Reds can look forward to a nice seeding ahead of the last-16 stage.
And after yesterday’s impressive display in France, Rowntree feels this result could be the catalyst for a bigger things in this competition.
‘We spoke this week about being ambitious,’ said the Munster boss.
‘I’ve seen the body of work we’ve done all season. We had a challenging period over Christmas with weather, a lot of moving parts with injuries, et cetera, but we’ve had a cracking training week.
‘This is a huge competition for us and we were able to come over here and get our game on the field there, I’m immensely proud of the lads.
‘We didn’t have a lot of possessional territory and, a lot of it we were defending extremely well, but we took our chances when we had to. It increases our belief.
‘You know, we’ve not lost that completely. We knew injuries, a few lads coming back into the team, we knew good ground conditions, good weather, we can play.
‘The evidence is there. Look what we did in Exeter, you know, we lost our way the last quarter in the Exeter game but we played some scintillating rugby.
‘We know what we can do, but this just backs up the body of work we’ve done, backs up our belief.’
A star-studded Toulon team came firing out of the blocks with an early penalty from France fullback Melvyn Jaminet and a brilliant try from Duncan Paia’aua edging the hosts into a 10-0 led.
But a resilient Munster side fought their way back into the contest with Alex Nankivell and Simon Zebo crossing for tries before the break.
Munster would dominate the second half with both Tom Ahern and Calvin Nash – who are both poised to be named in Andy Farrell’s Six Nations training squad on Wednesday – bagging tries as Rowntree’s side sealed a statement 29-18 win on the road.
There were many standout performances with Peter O’Mahony leading from the front on his first appearance since November, but Rowntree reserved special praise for Munster captain Tadhg Beirne.
‘He led the team by example with his actions. There were some performances. Obviously Tom has found a new life there on the edge of the field and we adjusted what Pete was doing in his role to accommodate that, even though Tom was playing second row and he had a big performance.
‘I’m glad you mentioned John Hodnett. He’s quietly been under the radar. Very important to us.’
TOULON: M Jaminet; J Wainiqolo, W Nayacalevu (S Tuicuvu 67), D Paia’a, L Fainga’anuku; D Biggar (J Sinzelle 60), B White; D Priso (B Devaux 53), C Tolofua (J Singleton 53), K Brookes (B Gigashvili 53); M Halagahu (B Alainu’uese 61), D Ribbans (capt); C du Preez, S Tolofua (J Coulon 36-62), F Isa. Scorers – Tries: Paia’a, Du Preez; Cons: Jaminet; Pens: Jaminet (2).
MUNSTER: S Zebo (S O’Brien 70); C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell (J Carbery 71), S Daly; J Crowley, C Casey (C Murray 71); J Loughman (J Wycherley 77), N Scannell (E Clarke 77), J Ryan (S Archer 65); T Ahern, T Beirne (capt); P O’Mahony (A Kendellen 64), J Hodnett, G Coombes (B Gleeson 77). Scorers – Tries: Nankivell, Zebo, Ahern, Nash; Cons: Crowley (3); Pens: Crowley.
REfEREE: N Amashukeli (Georgia).