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Munster were beaten at home to Toulouse in Round 1
Munster Rugby are tasked with a trip to Pool B leaders Stade Toulousain as they look to secure their qualification for the Heineken Champions Cup knockout stage in Round 4 on Sunday.
Five-time champions Toulouse have three wins out of three, with a points difference of +53 so far this season. But Munster are coming off the back of a sound win at home, 27-23 over Northampton Saints despite Jack O’Donoghue’s early red card.
Munster have only lost one match so far in the pool stage but that was, of course, against Toulouse on the opening weekend of the competition, 18-13 at Thomond Park.
The match kicks off at 15:15 (UK & Irish time) at the Stade Ernest Wallon, and can be watched on France TV, beIN SPORTS, BT Sport, SuperSport and FloRugby.
#ThrowbackThursday to this rollercoaster from the opening round 🎢
Who'll come out on top and qualify this weekend? 🤜🤛
Full #HeinekenChampionsCup R1 highlights ➡️ https://t.co/97Qn4QTSfG pic.twitter.com/4s8qOYcba8
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 19, 2023
Stade Toulousain
- Missing just one shot at goal, Melvyn Jaminet was Round 3’s top points-scorer with 17.
- Emmanuel Meafou made a round-high 33 metres in contact at the weekend. He made 34 metres in total, meaning all but one of his metres gained were in contact.
- Julian Marchand won four turnovers in Round 3. No player has won more in a single match this season.
- Antoine Dupont has made more kicks (42) and more kicking metres (1,111) than any other player.
Munster Rugby
- With 11 kicks in play, Craig Casey made more kicking metres than any other player in Round 3 (375).
- Gavin Coombes is the joint-top try scorer in the competition having scored four in three matches (equal with Saracens’ Elliot Daly and Leinster’s Josh van der Flier). He has also made more tackles than any other player, with 51.
- Munster have conceded as many scrum penalties on their own feed as any other team (four, equal with Exeter Chiefs, London Irish and Vodacom Bulls).
Juan Cruz Mallía scored Toulouse's solitary try against Munster
Munster Rugby were defeated 20-16 in an enthralling Heineken Champions Cup Round 4 tussle with Stade Toulousain at the Stade Ernest Wallon on Sunday.
The Irish province, who need an improbable bonus-point win at the five-time champions to grab a home Round of 16 tie, crossed through John Hodnett and Tadhg Beirne, with Joey Carbery and Ben Healy also contributing penalties as they led on several occasions in the second half.
Juan Cruz Mallía went over early on for Toulouse, but it was five penalties from Melvyn Jaminet that proved decisive for them as they clinched home advantage in the Round of 16.
Toulouse were ahead on two minutes through full-back Jaminet’s first penalty and the hosts would go on to boss the opening exchanges.
Sit back and enjoy this marvellous @munsterrugby try from @longdogbeirne, it’s got the lot 🏉
Hands out the back, stunning dummy, cross-field kick, even a forward roll 🔥#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/jqPdHrng4W
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 22, 2023
Relentless pressure on the Munster rearguard eventually resulted in wing Cruz Mallía crossing in the corner on seven minutes, and although Jaminet’s conversion drifted just wide, he increased Toulouse’s lead with a second penalty shortly after.
Munster lacked continuity in attack for the first half an hour, but the Irish province would cross on their first meaningful visit to the Toulouse 22 as flanker Hodnett burrowed over from close range.
Joey Carbery was off target with the conversion, but Munster’s confidence was brimming after their score, and the fly-half had another crack at the posts on 35 minutes which he duly took to reduce the deficit to three points.
There was another lift for Munster as they produced a terrific defensive effort to keep Toulouse out before half-time, and they started the second half in a similar fashion.
Siri, show me 30 seconds of pure rugby joy…
The hits just keep getting bigger in @StadeToulousain vs @Munsterrugby 💥#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ycoDiZAuUX
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 22, 2023
A flowing move saw Carbery opt for a cross-field kick which led to a brilliant combination from wing Calvin Nash and lock Beirne, who powered across for the visitors’ second try on 48 minutes.
Carbery couldn’t convert again so Munster had to settle for a two-point lead, which would change hands three times over the next 10 minutes as Jaminet dispatched two penalties either side of an effort from Ben Healy.
But Healy, who had replaced Carbery at fly-half, was sin-binned on 68 minutes and Munster’s hopes of claiming victory faded as Jaminet nudged his fifth penalty in the closing stages.
Munster, therefore, finish sixth in Pool B while Toulouse end up second behind Stade Rochelais.
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