Munster rugby talking points: Reds can reach first Champions Cup semi since 2019
Peter O'Mahony takes a selfie with fans after the Munster match last weekend in France. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Munster continue their European adventure with a return to west France this weekend to face Union Bordeaux Bégles in the quarter-final of the Champions Cup at Stade Chaban Delmas.
Munster enjoyed one of their great European victories last Saturday when defeating La Rochelle for their first knockout win on French soil since defeating Castres in the 2002 semi-final in Beziers. They will be hoping that lightning strikes twice if they are going to reach their first semi-final in this competition since 2019 when they lost to Saracens.
As inspiration, they will look back to URC title-winning run in 2023, as they had to win all their knockout ties on the road, so they know it can be done.
As La Rochelle and Ronan O’Gara now know to their cost, a momentum-filled Munster side are hard to halt.
A Munster victory last weekend was always going to involve quality showings from the likes of Jack Crowley, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett and Craig Casey, but they would not have won if the less-heralded names in the line-up had also not contributed.
Thaakir Abrahams with his amazing footwork to assist Casey’s brilliant first-half try.
Andrew Smith with his overall contribution and his second-half try. Josh Wycherley with the way he locked out the Munster scrum after having to come on early for Jeremy Loughman.
Sean O’Brien for how he stepped in for the suspended Alex Nankivell.
They all need to back it up again this Saturday.
Munster had their work cut out to see off the 10th side in the Top 14 table by the bare minimum, so it stands to reason that as the second-placed team in the rankings Bordeaux Bégles should be a tougher nut to crack.
The French side had a +141 points difference when topping the pool stages as top seeds.
A quick look at their squad explains why.
Their wingers are joint all-time record French try-scorer Damian Penaud and this year’s Six Nations player of the year Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
Penaud broke another record in this competition this year when he became the first player to score six tries in a Champions Cup tie, in the 66-12 win over the Sharks.
It is not just those two either. There is quality littered throughout the Bordeaux side, with the likes of Romain Buros, Yoram Moefana, Maxime Lucu, Matthieu Jalabert and a certain Joey Carbery.
And that is just the backs. Their pack is extremely formidable, with Munster defence coach Denis Leamy summing them up by simply stating: “Big men. Powerful set-piece”.
Ulster lost to them last Sunday, but they scored 31 points and five tries, while if Munster want any more encouragement they only have to look at how their hosts fared at this stage of the competition last year, as they lost 41-42 to Harlequins, with them conceding six tries on home soil.
They might have scintillating attacking talents in their ranks, but they do ship scores, so Munster will certainly have a puncher's chance.
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