Following Munster’s 33-7 win over Stade Francais in the Investec Champions Cup, here are our five key takeaways from a physical encounter at Thomand Park.
The top line
Both sides came into the game with a lot of pressure to perform, given their respective slow starts in the league, and that extra edge turned the game into a proper cup tie.
Springboks hopeful Thaakir Abrahams gave his side the upper hand after 15 minutes, and they extended that lead with a superb solo effort from Shane Daly despite being reduced to 14 men.
Despite the Limerick’s side dominance, there was a feeling of extra spice to the game, which was only heightened with a scuffle over the hoardings.
This seemingly galvanised the Parisians, who roared into the 22 minutes later thanks to a delicious strike move. In the blink of an eye, however, Munster flipped the game around swiftly after thanks to a Peter O’Mahony clearance, which then allowed the hosts to set up shop in the other 22, but staunch defence from Stade kept them at bay.
A red card to Pierre-Henri Azagoh gave Munster numerical advantage, and they just ran away with the game afterwards. Alex Kendellen crossed moments after, and things got a whole lot worse for the visitors again as Baptiste Pesenti was also shown a red card for a horror tackle on Craig Casey.
Thomas Farrell quickly rubbed salt into the wounds as he scored almost directly after, but the red cards seemed to galvanise the French side a touch, and that led to a score through Clement Castets.
But, it was only momentary, as Munster dominated the rest of the game and blew their French opponents away, with Gavin Coombes adding the cherry on top of an emphatic win with a try at the death.
Winning early in the Champions Cup is vital, and Munster’s bonus point will be so crucial as they move further in this competition.
Champions Cup at its best
The Champions Cup has taken a fair bit of slack in recent years, with the constant tinkering of the format and TV rights, but this clash was a great example of why it is still so beloved at its spiritual home of Thomand Park.
This clash had that sort of Test match intensity we used to get during the golden era of the old Heineken Cup. Be it brute physicality from both sides, solo tries that will live long in the memory or even Peter O’Mahony nailing a clearance kick that very nearly led to a Munster try, this game simply had everything you could want from a game, and it was peak Champions Cup action.
I don’t quite know how to sum it up other than it was just an epic game that left you on the edge of your seat, as both teams really looked to go for the jugular with a direct approach.
This is exactly the advert the Champions Cup needed to remind people what it brings to the wider game, just as people are starting to turn off it.
New Munster shine
It’s been a pretty tough start to the new campaign for the Limerick-based side. They currently find themselves 11th in the URC and now need a permanent head coach following the shock departure of Graham Rowntree, but today was by far their best performance of the season in their favourite competition.
They have been buoyed this week by the arrival of Chris Boyd as a consultant, the man largely credited with the transformation of Northampton Saints, and he will certainly be very pleased with their attacking flourishes this weekend.
Everything just seemed to click. They played at a brilliant speed and intensity, but unlike a large chunk of their campaign to date they were accurate with it. Elsewhere, they certainly fronted up in defence when needed too (minus the last 15 minutes, which I’ll come on to) and were superb in the set-piece too.
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This emphatic should now be a minimum standard for Munster, under whatever head coach they bring in, and you would think it could be the spark they need to turn their season around.
Paul Gustard under pressure?
Just six months ago, Stade Francais were one of the form sides in the Top 14, and nearly made the domestic final, but things change very quickly in professional sport.
Now, Paul Gustard find themselves 12th in the Top 14 and have a points difference of -59, and tonight’s defeat was yet another poor showing from his team as they fell to a heavy defeat. With the resources available to him, and the size of the club, they should be playing so much better than they are, and you feel the Englishman could now be under pressure.
Tonight’s performance, even when they had 15 players on the pitch, just showed they are a long way off the top table in Europe, as Munster simply waltzed past them in all honesty. It just highlights how rapidly they have fallen away from where they were last season, and that will not sit well with the club higher-ups.
Superb Luke Pearce
High tackles in rugby, and head contact for that matter, is almost becoming a buzz word with the debate raging across the game over the refereeing, and tonight was no exception with two red cards and a yellow.
But, these were certainly the right decisions, and Luke Pearce’s clear and concise breakdown of the Pierre-Henri Azagoh red card and yellow to Alex Nankivell should certainly be applauded (the less said about the other the better). Referees have taken a lot of stick for potential inconsistencies, but Pearce just worked his way through every conceivable thing to come to his decisions, which were the correct ones too.
With the new introduction of the 20-minute red card at Test level, people have been arguing if we will ever see a traditional red card ever again, but again Pearce clearly indicated why he gave the red card and showed exactly what should constitute a red in the modern game.
Even with the late incident involving Ryan Chapuis was well dealt with by the Englishman, rounding off a superb performance.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/munster-v-stade-francais-five-takeaways-as-hosts-blow-away-13-man-parisians-in-proper-cup-tie
