Champions Cup: Castres Olympique v Munster, Stade Pierre-Fabre, Friday, 8pm – Live on Premier Sport
Such is Munster’s apparent need to manage their playing resources over this midseason block of games, with forthcoming derbies away to Ulster and the traditional festive sell-out at home to Leinster, that stand-in head coach Ian Costello and his think-tank have risked going into their crunch Champions Cup pool game in Castres without their main go-to man of recent times.
Gavin Coombes has been an ever-present both last season (starting 20 of 25 games), and this season, when starting six of eight competitive games. Yet he has been rested from this crunch pool tie, as has Shane Daly, mindful of those derbies and the need to rest Tadhg Beirne and others at some point soon too.
Nonetheless, given the commonly held view – once expressed by the departed Graham Rowntree – that Coombes performed all the better with regular match time, it does seem odd that he has been rested entirely for this game of all games, and is not even kept in reserve off the bench.
What’s more, in his stead, the exceptionally talented 20-year-old Brian Gleeson – star turn in Ireland’s Under-20s last season – will make his first competitive Champions Cup start for Munster as one of six changes from last week’s bonus-point win at home to Stade Francais.
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Injured at the start of the season, Gleeson has been performing strongly and running in tries for Garryowen in the AIL of late, and this will be his first appearance of the campaign for Munster.
Among the replacements, Dave Kilcoyne returns from a long-term injury to take his place on the bench alongside Oli Jager, whose last match was against the Ospreys at the beginning of October.
If recent history has taught the men in red anything it is that this game looks like a must-win in advance of the January games at home to Saracens and away to the English champions Northampton, who beat Munster twice last season. This looks especially true if Munster are to secure the lucrative and coveted advantage of home tie(s) in the knockout stages.
No two teams have met as often in the 30-year history of the tournament than old foes Castres and Munster and, although much of the spite has abated since the regularity of the clashes in the early noughties, the history of the fixture demands that Jeremy Davidson’s side respond to last week’s heavy 38-8 loss in Northampton.
Davidson admits “it wasn’t a particularly good performance” in Northampton but he added that key men such as tighthead Will Collier and backs Julien Dumora and Geoffrey Palis would be among those back on Friday night.
In the event, Davidson has made a dozen changes compared to the significantly weakened starting XV which Castres fielded in Franklin’s Gardens, the only exceptions being outhalf Louis le Brun, Fijian lock Leone Nakarawa and Tyler Ardron.
Former All Blacks centre Jack Goodhue, captain and blindside Mathieu Babillot and another key man, number eight Abraham Papalii, are others who have been restored. Suffice to say that 10 of this starting XV lined up in their last home game three weeks ago when they beat La Rochelle.
“We will put more emphasis on this home tie than we will on away games in the Champions Cup,” Davidson told The Irish Times. “Historically, Castres prioritise the Top 14 over the Champions Cup but you can still qualify with two pool wins and bonus points.
“That’s a bit of a long shot but we also need to build going into Bordeaux Begles [at home] next week, which is a huge, huge ask for us just before Christmas. So, it’s important for us to go into that game with a bit more confidence.”
Castres invariably punch above their weight, particularly at the Stade Pierre-Fabre, where they are unbeaten at home this season, with Toulouse and La Rochelle among their six scalps in the Top 14. In front of a Friday night home crowd, they will be expected to front up. It goes with the territory.
“The Castres identity is a small town taking on bigger towns and cities. Their main rivals are Toulouse, which is the biggest club in France with the biggest budget, with the best players, even those who don’t play. Their second and third teams would have more internationals than we do.
“That increases the necessity to fight and go beyond who you are in a collective capacity. So, identity and team spirit are what we play for.
“I know every club in France plays for their town and their territory but here in Castres [that applies] more than anywhere else.”
Munster can possibly identify with that and certainly should know from experience. Overall, the sides have met 18 times in the competition’s history, which is all the more remarkable as Castres have taken a relatively disinterested approach to the Champions Cup despite qualifying regularly for it – as if an unwanted bonus in reaching the French Championship play-offs.
They haven’t advanced to the knock-out stages in 14 attempts since Munster beat them in the semi-finals 22 seasons ago. That was one of 13 wins, as well as one draw, and just four defeats for Munster in those 18 clashes.
Yet Munster should appreciate better than anyone else in the Champions Cup how difficult it can be to overcome Castres in their own ground. Admittedly, Munster do hold a slight edge in the 10 meetings at the Stade Pierre-Fabre, having won five times, drawn once and lost on four occasions, but three of those wins have been by exactly three points.
So, come the end of the night, Munster could well be grateful enough for such an outcome again.
Castres Olympique: Julien Dumora; Geoffrey Palis, Jack Goodhue, Andrea Cocagi, Rémy Baget; Louis le Brun, Jeremy Fernandez; Quentin Walcker, Gaetan Barlot, Will Collier, Gauthier Maravat, Leone Nakarawa, Mathieu Babillot (capt), Tyler Ardron, Abraham Papalii. Replacements: Loris Zarantonello, Wayan de Benedittis, Nicolas Corato, Paul Jedrasiak, Feibyan Tukino, Santiago Arata, Theo Chabouni, Adrien Seguret.
Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Dian Bleuler, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (C); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson. Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, Alex Kendellen, Paddy Patterson, Rory Scannell, Jack O’Donoghue.
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng).
Forecast: Munster to win narrowly.
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