Hello everyone and welcome to The 42′s live coverage of Munster’s Champions Cup opener against Bayonne at Thomond Park.
Graham Rowntree’s side will be hoping to begin their campaign with a bang against a travelling side whose priorities may remain in France, where they currently sit 12th in the Top 14.
Munster’s aim in this pool stage will be not only to progress, but to seal home advantage to the longest extent possible in the knockouts.
Still, there’s a job to be done against Bayonne in Limerick today and with several key players missing, it could yet prove a sticky evening for the southern province.
Gavan Casey with you here and, if you’re not at Thomond and you can’t make a telly, I’ll have updates for you here.
There’ll be notifications for tries and at full-time, just in case you’re especially occupied today.
We’ll be kicking off in just under an hour.
There won’t be too many heading for a coffee or a pint at half-time today.
We are delighted to welcome Keith Earls & Andrew Conway to Thomond Park as guests of honour today β€οΈ
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 9, 2023
They will be on the pitch at half time & supporters can thank them for their fantastic contributions to Munster and Irish rugby π#MUNvBAY kicks off at 5.30pm.#SUAF π΄ pic.twitter.com/GTbfv22H6z
The weather in Limerick is windy but, crucially for the way Munster will look to play, dry.
Both sides will line out as named, I believe.
Calvin Nash starts at fullback for Munster, with a first Champions Cup start in the back three for Shay McCarthy.
Tadhg Beirne captains the side at lock, with Thomas Ahern continuing at blindside.
Team news is in!
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 8, 2023
Academy winger Shay McCarthy starts on his Champions Cup debut for Munster against Bayonne at Thomond Park tomorrow with Tadhg Beirne captaining the side πͺ
Click the pic for full details & to get your tickets.#MUNvBAY #InvestecChampionsCup #SUAF π΄
ππππ ππ πππππ
— Aviron Bayonnais (@avironrugbypro) December 9, 2023
π Munster Rugby β‘οΈAviron Bayonnais
β° 18h30
π Thomond Park
π± Live tweet
πΊ beIN Sports 1
ππππΌ π½πΌππππΌ π΅βͺ pic.twitter.com/pA5Xa0A9VF
Is that Munster’s long-term captain on the left, there, d’you think?
Or who do you reckon should succeed Peter O’Mahony in the role on a full-time basis?
Poll Results:
1′ – MUN 0-0 BAY: Bayonne get us under way and Tadhg Beirne almost immediately makes a jackal steal after they win their own ball. Some start by the Ireland lock.
3′ MUN 0-3 BAY: Bayonne have a knock on the Munster 22′ but out-half Thomas Dolhagaray knocks on in contact.
Bayonne, though, absolutely monster their hosts in the first scrum of the evening and win a penalty under the posts.
Maxime Machenaud chips over and the Top 14 outfit lead in Limerick.
That scrum was… concerning from a Munster perspective.
7′ – MUN 0-3 BAY: Munster’s first attack sees a lineout maul halted in the Bayonne 22′ and then a pass goes loose, back towards the 10′.
Alex Nankivell makes back some lost ground and Munster win a penalty as Bayonne are pinged for not rolling away.
Chance to level proceedings here — but Crowley points for touch!
9′ – MUN 0-3 BAY: Buckley’s throw is taken by Beirne and Munster roll towards the Bayonne five. Scannell releases Crowley who makes a half-break. Out to Nash but he’s stopped on the five again.
Munster are close!
10′ – MUN 7-3 BAY: Yep, there it is!
Lovely phase play by Munster and it’s Shay McCarthy who goes over on his first European start!
A couple of basketball passes by Crowley and Nash, and the young wing McCarthy scythes back infield, through the Bayonne defence and over the whitewash.
Crowley converts from close range.
Munster lead. Good response to that poor opening scrum!
15′ – MUN 7-3 BAY: Munster put-in to the second scrum of the day. It’s reset with Munster under pressure again.
Second time around, they get it out quickly through Gavin Coombes.
19′ – MUN 7-3 BAY: Munster keeping the ball in play a lot looking to exhaust Bayonne. But the French side’s defence has actually been excellent so far.
Ben O’Connor — the former age-grade Cork hurling star, an All-Ireland winner at minor and U20 level — is on for Seán O’Brien who took a high hit off a stray Bayonne shoulder. It’s a HIA for O’Brien.
20′ – MUN 7-3 BAY: Penalty only on that high hit — and it’s the right call by Luke Pearce. O’Brien turned into it and it was a relatively low degree of danger.
Crowley kicks to touch from the Bayonne 10′, and it’s an absolute beauty. He’s pinged it inside the French 5′. He’s so good at that, Crowley.
Chance for Munster here.
21′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: There’s the second for Munster!
Perfect lineout and Coombes has a go off the back. He’s stopped short. So too are Ahern and John Ryan, the latter of whom takes it to within inches. And it’s Coombes again who eventually burrows over for the score!
Crowley, from under the sticks, is good. And Munster are now 12 to the good at Thomond.
24′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Oh, so close to a wonderful response by Bayonne!
What an attacking set. Machenaud found a little nook and sneaked through Munster’s D. There was a wonderful offload by one of the big men. And the French side then went wide left and crossed in the corner.
Sensational.
But there was a knock-on off the offload, unfortunately for Bayonne, and it’s pulled back for a Munster scrum.
25′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Goodness me, Bayonne blow Munster off their own ball in the scrum and go very close again!
A kick through is almost miraculously kept from going dead, and the French side dot down… But I did say almost. It was fractionally dead. Another big let-off for Munster.
Fun start to this one. Munster have scoreboard control but Bayonne are finding a fair deal of success.
29′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: A spell of Bayonne pressure ends with an errant pass by Baptiste Heguy which flies into touch out left.
A chance for every player to take a breath.
No word on Seán O’Brien’s HIA yet but he did look fairly shook. Ben O’Connor still on and has struggled physically so far, which is totally understandable: he sat his Leaving Cert in June, three months after winning a Munster Schools Senior Cup.
30′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Scrappy enough few sets, here. A knock-on by Gavin Coombes, there, in contact.
Munster could use another spell of attacking pressure themselves; it’s been a while since they were down in Bayonne territory.
35′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Munster’s scrum starting to get some of its own back now, albeit without reward from Pearce so far.
Nankivell wins a big jackal penalty in his own half and Crowley boots Munster up to the French 22′.
Their lineout has been patchy over the last couple but it’s good here. Munster asking a few questions and motoring towards the 5′ before an attempted Bayonne intercept results in a knock-on by them. However, Nankivell ruins his earlier good work with a silly cheap shot on wing Remy Baget after he’d spilled forward. Penalty Bayonne and they escape.
37′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Huge lineout steal by Thomas Ahern on halfway and away go Munster again. Nice half-break by O’Connor and, when Munster come back infield, Bayonne are penalised for not rolling away.
Crowley prods Munster back inside the Bayonne 5′!
39 ‘ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Ah, that’s a really good sack of the Munster maul by Bayonne.
Munster will be furious with themselves but that was just vicious maul D by the visitors. Good work by them.
A half of three thirds!
Munster’s two tries have them in the driving seat but they were fortunate to withstand a spell of Bayonne pressure without conceding five.
Then, towards the end of the half, it was Bayonne who found themselves clinging on as Munster ramped up the pressure again.
A solid, competitive game — and Bayonne are playing better than I’d personally considered they would before kick-off.
Time for a cuppa on this end. Catch you in 15!
Lovely moment just before the players return for the second half as Keith Earls, Andrew Conway and their young families are introduced on the pitch at Thomond.
What servants. What players.
41′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: Jack Crowley gets us back underway with a deep restart, which is gathered and cleared by Bayonne.
43′ – MUN 14-3 BAY: I said earlier that Ben O’Connor had been struggling slightly with the physicality. Well, he’s just won a jackal turnover to thwart a nicely worked Bayonne chip-and-go.
Great stuff by the St Finbarr’s GAA man.
48′ – MUN 14-10 BAY: Game. On. And what a score!
It’s a flowing Bayonne move — which should probably have been stopped by Coombes, but he fell off a tackle — and the big Fijian replacement Luke Tagi crashes over from point-blank range!
Some poor Munster defence along the way but Bayonne are well worth that score. Their attack, when it’s gotten going, has been wonderful to watch.
Conversion is good — and we’ve got a four-point game!
50′ – MUN 14-10 BAY:Munster get a nice entry point on the Bayonne 22′ from a penalty. Lineout is good, maul is untidy, but they win another penalty.
Bayonne’s discipline has been a nightmare at times. Crowley takes Munster up to their 5′.
52′ – MUN 14-10 BAY: Craig Casey on for Murray and Munster’s maul rolls towards the Bayonne line. It’s taken down illegally. That’s cynical, albeit necessary. No card from Pearce but Munster go again.
About three yards shy, now, and rapping on that the Bayonne door.
54′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Superb Bayonne defence and they push Munster backwards, miles away from the 5′. Poor attack by Munster in truth. Just a bit blunt and too tame at the breakdown.
They win another penalty, though — I think it was for a high hit on Nankivell.
This time, Beirne opts for three and Crowley stretches the lead out to seven.
57′ – MUN 17-10 BAY:Alex Kendellen on for Gavin Coombes, who had a bit of a mixed day.
Bayonne ball inside the Munster 10′. Tense enough here.
58′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: HUGE turnover on the ground by Ahern.
Away goes Crowley on the chip and chase, and he collects it but Munster spill forward on the next phase. A bit of a miscommunication between the half-backs, there, it seemed.
60′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: A dangerous-looking Bayonne attack is halted on the Munster 22′ by Kendellen, who makes a chop tackle, works around, and wins a jackal pen. Sensational piece of play by the former Pres and Ireland U20 talisman.
61′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Changes to both front rows, with Josh Wycherley replacing Jeremy Loughman for Munster.
A glitch in the Bayonne midfield inside their own 22′ — knock-on — and Rory Scannell fly-hacks forward. No advantage. Munster scrum inside the visitors’ 22′. Real opportunity as we enter the final quarter.
65′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Nash with a break on a rare opportunity with ball in hand, and he’s stopped fractionally short!
Munster’s goal-line attack — again — is too blunt, too slow, and they lose ground.
They go wide left aaand, ugh, it’s an awful pass by Tadhg Beirne, who fires it straight into touch. He’s had a fine game but he’d love that one back.
A missed chance for Munster. This is still in the balance.
67′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: HUGE jackal penalty by Beirne in Bayonne territory. Talk about making up for your mistake.
Thomas Ahern made a class burst down the left — he’s been Munster’s best player — but when the attack broke down, Jack Crowley tried to chip over the top and gave up possession too easily.
Beirne had other ideas, though, and won it back on the ground.
Crowley takes Munster to within five — again!
68′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Wow, Munster lose the lineout. That’s so frustrating. And to make it worse, they concede a penalty.
Big moment for Bayonne.
Munster’s lineout has let them down again today.
71′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Bayonne blast their way to the Munster 5′ — but spill it forward.
This is getting uncomfortable now!
Munster have shot themselves in the foot time and time again in this second half.
73′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Tony Butler, on for Rory Scannell, tries a crossfield kick from deep inside his own half but it skims Shay McCarthy’s fingers into touch. Inches.
But when Bayonne go to the maul off the resulting lineout, Munster stop them and win the scrum! A big defensive moment for the hosts who are hanging on a bit here.
75′ – MUN 17-10 BAY: Eoghan Clarke, on for his Munster debut after signing as a free agent (previously with Jersey Reds), concedes a penalty for not rolling away and Bayonne kick it up to the Munster 22′.
Danger here.
77′ MUN 17-17 BAY: OH MY WORD! IT’S LEVEL!
Bayonne obliterate Munster in the maul and roll it 15 yards. It’s Baget who crosses in the left-hand corner!
And what a conversion from the touchline by Dolhagaray!!!
Unbelievable by Bayonne!
78′ – MUN 17-17 BAY: HERE COME BAYONNE AGAIN! DEEP INTO THE MUNSTER 22′!
OH WHAT A TURNOVER BY THAT MAN BEIRNE! AND CASEY HOOFS IT DOWNFIELD!
80′ – MUN 17-17 BAY: MUNSTER STEAL A LINEOUT IN THE FRENCH HALF! NOW THEY GO AFTER THE WIN!
82′ – MUN 17-17 BAY: Munster banging away on the Bayonne 22′ but making no ground.
Crowley drops back! The pass back from Casey!
But there is to be no repeat of the out-half’s heroics from Lansdowne Road this time.
Crowley shanks it right, and Bayonne take the draw.
That’s game.
Well, that’s a disaster for Munster, all told.
They led 14-3 at the break but they were second best for large parts of that second half.
Bayonne well worth their draw. A famous result for them in the circumstances.
Munster unexpectedly find themselves on the backfoot in Pool 3.
Keep an eye on The 42, where Ciarán Kennedy will have a report and reaction from Thomond Park.
Thanks for joining me for these updates. Catch you soon!
