Racing maul Munster with a storming start to reach final

Racing 92 ripped the Munster defence to shreds with three tries in the opening 21 minutes to set up an eventual 27-22 win at Stade Chaban-delmas that sealed their second Champions Cup final appearance.

Runners-up in 2016, the French giants will meet unbeaten Leinster in the decider in Bilbao in three weeks’ time, while Munster return to domestic matters after suffering a stinging sixth European semi-final defeat since 2009.

Any thoughts of an allirish final evaporated in the 28-degree Bordeaux heat, the Munster fans left reeling by Teddy Thomas’ blistering brace of tries and a Thomas-created third converted score from Racing captain Maxime Machenaud.

Munster were trailing by 24-3 at half-time, Ian Keatley, pictured, and Machenaud trading penalties as Racing, who had lost three of their last meetings with the Irish province, continued to be ruthlessly efficient.

A Machenaud penalty took his haul to 17 points before his future club-mate Simon Zebo’s 63rd-minute try sparked a revival which yielded further scores from Rhys Marshall (75) and Andrew Conway (80), closing the gap to five by the final whistle. It looked ominous for Munster when they fell behind after just four minutes. Camille Chat’s overthrow blew Racing’s first attacking opportunity but their forwards’ powerful carrying teed up winger Thomas, who handed off Alex Wootton to score in the right corner.

Machenaud’s excellent conversion made it a seven-pointer, and while CJ Stander and Stephen Archer won penalties either side of an encouraging counterattack from Wootton and Andrew Conway, Munster’s decision-making was visibly off.

Stand-off Keatley had a poor start, missing touch from a penalty and having a drop-goal attempt charged down, but he Keatley got Munster on the board when punishing a Leone Nakarawa offside in the 16th minute.

Thomas was celebrating his second try soon after, his international colleague Virimi Vakatawa doing the damage with a superb surge from halfway and giving the 24-year-old speedster a simple run-in.

Racing’s hulking forwards continued to flood over the gain-line and Thomas brilliantly stepped inside two defenders to gift Machenaud a 21st-minute try, unselfishly passing to the scrum-half behind the posts.

Munster’s reliable players were letting them down, two key lineouts going astray with Yannick Nyanga pinching one, and a series of attacks deep in the Racing 22 – with the interval approaching – were foiled.

Machenaud’s metronome right boot extended the lead with a penalty just two minutes into the second half and Munster’s misery continued when a Rhys Marshall try was ruled out after he had run into referee JP Doyle.

But the Racing-bound Zebo lifted spirits with a high-quality finish past two defenders, equalling Anthony Foley’s Munster record of 23 European Cup tries, as Johann van Graan’s men took advantage of Marc Andreu’s sin-binning for successive offsides.

JJ Hanrahan was wide of the target with the conversion and, after fellow replacement Robin Copeland, who had the try-line in his sights, was pulled back for a forward pass from Zebo, Racing duly slowed the pace of the game again. Munster kept plugging away and a lineout maul snaked over in the right corner with replacement hooker Marshall grounding.

Hanrahan converted and also added the extras to Conway’s try in the final play.

Racing 92 will meet Leinster in the final in Bilbao on 12 May, the Irish club having defeated Scarlets 38-16 in their semi-final at the RDS Arena on Saturday.

Tries by James Ryan, Cian Healy, Fergus Mcfadden. Scott Foley and Johnny Sexton were all converted by Sexton.

Scarlets’ sole touchdown by Tadhg Beirne was converted by Rhys Patchell, while Leigh Halfpenny kicked three penalties.