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Date Time Competition Season
11 December 2022 3:15 pm European Champions Cup 2022/23

Match Report

Dominant Toulouse hand Munster opening round defeat

Toulouse showed their quality to come from behind to defeat Munster 18-13 in the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup this afternoon.

It was a slow start for the visitors but a try after the restart for the second half ensured they controlled the second half, as full back Thomas Ramos was lethal from the tee.

Joey Carbery the only scorer for Munster all afternoon, as they are handed a second home defeat in 20 European games, unable to answer their opponents in that second half which costs them in a foggy Thomond Park.

Munster made the perfect start early on after being pinned in their own half, John Ryan was instrumental in forcing Toulouse to concede a scrum penalty after collapsing, before the big frame of Jean Kleyn forced another error that awarded Joey Carbery a kick at the posts in the fourth minute, unfortunately his strike came back off the upright but the territory was all Munster in those opening minutes.

The Toulouse ill discipline was starting to show and on the third occasion where they would concede a penalty to Munster they would be punished, Carbery opted for the corner, Niall Scanell again with a strong lineout, the maul creeped forward held just short of the line and a smart switch in lay by Craig Casey allowed his out half partner Carbery to power his way over the whitewash after nine minutes, the kicker made no mistake with his conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Munster were still in command by the midway mark in the first half but after an attack failed with a forward pass, Toulouse won the scrum and found their way to the Munster line after kicking to the corner from a scrum penalty which followed, their maul worked well as they had an advantage for another penalty, they shifted play wide to stretch out the Munster line and Matthis Lebel finishing in the corner doing well to evade the tackle, Thomas Ramos acute conversion putting them level after 23 minutes.

Some little issues were creeping in for Munster, turnovers and giving away another penalty saw Ramos split the posts after 29 minutes, his kicking from the tee pin point in the half, the kicking of Joey Carbery however would be key for Munster to tie the game at 10-10 by half time, another show of ill discipline from Toulouse awarded the kicker a shot at the posts which he slotted after 39 minutes.

It was a nightmare start to the second half for Munster as Toulouse got their second try inside two minutes of the second half, their maul sets the scene and a phenomenal early start for Lucas Tauzin as he was only on the field a minute before making it 15-10 to the visitors, Ramos missed conversion was a let off for Munster.

Munster tried to respond quickly and set up camp close to the Toulouse line but their defence was too powerful and again forced a scrum which they would use to clear the danger, back came the visitors but a missed Romain Ntamack drop goal and Ramos penalty saw them unable to extend their lead by the hour mark.

Out of nowhere Toulouse kicked clear into the Munster half and immediately pulled on the pressure, which forced another penalty as Munster were penalised for not releasing, straight in front of the posts Ramos would make no mistakes.

Munster needed to dig deep in the final few minutes to salvage something from the game, Carbery again providing the only scores of the tie for Munster landing another penalty, they were handed another life line a short while later as Antonine Dupont was sent to the sin bin.

It would not matter in ten long run as the French side slowed the tempo in those final minutes to see the clock tick down for an impressive victory on Shannonside.

Munster

15Mike Haley Full-Back
14Calvin Nash Winger
13Antoine Frisch Centre
12Rory Scannell 22 Centre
11Shane Daly 23 Winger
10Joey Carbery Fly-Half 9'
10'
38', 75'
9Craig Casey 21 Scrum-Half
1Jeremy Loughman 17 Prop
2Niall Scannell 16 Hooker
3John Ryan 18 Prop
4Jean Kleyn 19 Lock
5Tadhg Beirne Lock
6Peter O’Mahony Flanker
7John Hodnett 20 Flanker
8Gavin Coombes No. 8
16Diarmuid Barron 2 Hooker
17Josh Wycherley 1 Forward
18Roman Salanoa 3 Prop
19Jack O’Donoghue 4 Flanker
20Alex Kendellen 7 Flanker
21Patrick Patterson 9 Scrum-Half
22Jack Crowley 12 Full-Back
23Keith Earls 11 Winger

Toulouse

15Thomas Ramos Full-Back 23'
29', 71'
14Ange Capuozzo 23 Winger
13Dimitri Delibes Centre
12Pita Ahki Centre
11Matthis Lebel Winger 22'
10Romain Ntamack Fly-Half
9Antoine Dupont Scrum-Half 76'
1Rodrigue Neti 17 Prop
2Julien Marchand 16 Hooker
3Dorian Aldegheri 18 Prop
4Richard Arnold 20 Lock
5Emmanuel Meafou Lock
6Anthony Jelonch Flanker
7Alban Placines 21 Flanker
8Alexandre Roumat 19 No. 8
16Peato Mauvaka 2 Hooker
17Cyril Baille 1 Prop
18Charles Faumuina 3 Prop
19Thibaud Flament 8 Lock
20Yannick Youyoutte 4
21Jack Willis 7 Flanker
22Martin Page-Relo
23Lucas Tauzin 14 41'

Past Meetings

(Quarter-Final)
24 - 24
European Champions Cup
Aviva Stadium

Munster v Stade Toulousain

Ground

Thomond Park
Thomond Park, Limerick City, County Limerick, V94 PD28, Ireland

Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.