David Corkery on Munster: Castres will be no match for hosts if attitude and discipline is right

You would have thought that Munster rugby would have learnt by now.

At this point in Munster’s evolution, from their very first European Cup game way back in 1995, to now, it seems that every time we get to the final European Cup pool stage, we are confronted with a do-or-die scenario.

It almost feels like an annual pilgrimage where the Munster faithful must either travel abroad or descend upon Thomond Park with their red hats, scarves and flags and shout louder than they have the previous year to claw their way into the knockout stages.

Many of Munster’s 16th man, their fans, really seem to enjoy this excursion. For the sake of development, wouldn’t it be great if Clayton McMillan could be afforded the luxury of resting some of his first-choice players so the youth of the province got first-hand experience of playing on the European stage?

Unlike teams like Leinster, Glasgow, Harlequins, Bristol, Northampton, Sale and last year’s champions Boadeaux, who have already qualified, Munster must once again look to tape up and roll out their best and hope that Castres have decided to concentrate their efforts on the Top 14 competition.

Apart from three or four of the French teams who have a realistic shout of being crowned kings of Europe, all the others would rather focus on their domestic exploits.

The Top 14 in France is their bread and butter competition and the one where they yield the biggest financial returns.

I think what we’d all like to see happen is for Castres to arrive at the gates of Thomond Park with a very young and inexperienced squad, full of vigour and excitement, but when the game commences, get completely overwhelmed by the intensity that European Cup rugby demands.

I can’t see the game selling out, but hopefully, there should be some kind of atmosphere to leave our French tourists scratching their heads and looking for answers.

Maybe I'm being slightly overly optimistic but I would think the win is already assured. The last thing that must be allowed happen though is for Munster to allow Castres turn this game into some kind of back street brawl. As soon as Matthew Carley blows his whistle at 5.30pm on Saturday, Munster must look to make the result a foregone conclusion before the first half terminates.

Tadhg Beirne and co must look to have a minimum of three tries in the bag and any hope of Castres looking to win the game must be completely exhausted as they take to the field for the second half.

CRUCIAL

In order for this to happen, there are three things that Munster must improve on.

1: Improve their discipline.

Last week, Munster conceded 14 penalties to Toulon’s seven.

Some of the infringements made were just irresponsible. While home advantage probably influenced the man with the whistle on three or four occasions, that's Munster tomorrow and they must make the most of it.

Tadhg Beirne and Alex Nankivell also received yellow cards which cost Munster dearly. Two of Toulon’s three tries were conceded when Beirne was off the pitch and this must not be allowed happen again.

Beirne is a world-class player but if he’s not contributing on the field, his worth to his team-mates is meaningless.

2: Munster’s set pieces are becoming a kind of lucky bag as we just don’t know what their scrum and line-out are going to produce from one week to the next.

The scrum has been one of Munster’s biggest worries since the season began, but with tight head Oli Jager having finally recovered from the concussion he picked up in October, Munster will have enough firepower to see them continue to receive the good outcomes they worked so hard for last week.

The line-out is the other set-piece where Munster must improve and do so with a kind of consistency that allows for Casey and Crowley to plan the team's attacking strategies with confidence.

If Crowley is going to impress and look to nail down the number 10 jersey for the Six Nations, he must demand a clean supply of ball from his pack and be very selfish about doing so.

3: Munster must strive for improvement in terms of the unforced errors they are producing.

When you see a fully professional player drop a ball for no reason whatsoever, it means their mind is elsewhere and this is unacceptable.

I would expect a minimum of 20 points to separate these sides when the 80 minutes have elapsed tomorrow.

The next time we will see an ERC game after Sunday will be April, but if Munster haven’t somehow booked their ticket for a seat in the last 16 it will be a very long and dreary season for everyone in the Munster camp.