Hello, everyone, and welcome to The 42′s live coverage of Munster’s Champions Cup Round 4 clash with Castres at Thomond Park.
It’s Gavan Casey with you here, and I’ll bring you blow-by-blow updates — or close enough — as Munster seek passage into the last 16.
Following Edinburgh’s hammering at the hands of Bath last night, a win of any kind for Clayton McMillan’s side will send them through, while a bonus-point win should boost their seeding heading into the knockouts.
Castres, meanwhile, can also still make it through with an away win.
It will be of no surprise for you to read that Munster-Castres is the most common fixture in European competition: this is their 20th meeting.
The sides have met five times since 2018 and three times since December 2021. The last four have all been one-score games in which neither side has amassed more than 20 points.
Which is to say that this fixture typically stinks, at least in recent times!
It’s a dry, crisp evening in Limerick, though, which may facilitate a bit of ball.
Munster have made three changes to the team that lost to Toulon at Stade Mayol, with Thaakir Abrahams, Niall Scannell and Jean Kleyn all coming into the starting XV.
Craig Casey has recovered from his injury in that game to start.
Captain Tadhg Beirne will make his 100th appearance for the province.
Castres have gone fairly strong as opposed to prioritising next week’s Top 14 trip to Bayonne.
Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Munster: 15. Shane Daly, 14. Thaakir Abrahams, 13. Tom Farrell, 12. Alex Nankivell, 11. Ben O’Connor, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Craig Casey, 1. Jeremy Loughman, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. Michael Ala’alatoa, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Fineen Wycherley, 6. Tadhg Beirne (c), 7. Jack O’Donoghue, 8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Lee Barron, 17. Michael Milne, 18. Oli Jager, 19. Edwin Edogbo, 20. Brian Gleeson, 21. Ethan Coughlan, 22. JJ Hanrahan, 23. Dan Kelly
Castres: 15. Theo Chabouni, 14. Christian Ambadiang, 13. Vuate Karawalevu, 12. Jack Goodhue, 11. Geoffrey Palis, 10. Pierre Popelin, 9. Jeremy Fernandez, 1. Atunaisa Sokobale, 2. Loris Zarantonello, 3. Will Collier, 4. Gauthier Maravat, 5. Tom Staniforth, 6. Baptiste Delaporte (c), 7. Baptiste Cope, 8. Florent Vanverberghe
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Teddy Durand-Pradere, 17. Antoine Tichit, 18. Aurelien Azar, 19. Leone Nakarawa, 20. Tyler Ardron, 21. Santiago Arata, 22. Enzo Herve, 23. Atu Manu
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
17 Jan
5:16PM
Just under a quarter of an hour to go at Thomond.
17 Jan
5:29PM
Munster and Castres taking to the field for the 20th time together in the European Cup. No two sides have met as often as these.
Familiarity breeds contempt, naturally, and there’s a last-16 spot on the line for the winners this evening.
3′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Jeremy Fernandez slots the opening points of this one at Thomond Park.
A tiny pocket of Castres fans celebrate, and the Munster faithful reboot the atmosphere.
17 Jan
5:34PM
4′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Niall Scannell has a lineout plucked by the hosts who encroach again into Munster territory, but Munster win a penalty and Crowley boots them to touch back in the other half.
17 Jan
5:36PM
6′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: A tidy Munster attack down the right edge comes to an end as Tadhg Beirne’s offload off the touchline inside to Craig Casey is spilled forward by the scrum-half in traffic.
Promising glimpse for the hosts, though, as they fashioned a half-chance from very little.
17 Jan
5:37PM
7′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Munster have won their last two lineouts since losing their first, just FYI.
17 Jan
5:40PM
10′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Tom Farrell is done for a deliberate knock-on on halfway, but the ball still finds a Castres hand so he’s ultimately spared a yellow card.
It leads to a nice attack by Castres but it’s eventually pulled back for a pen as they infringe at their own ruck.
French lineout deep inside Munster’s 22′: a big chance for the visitors here!
11′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Vuate Karawalevu! What a finish!
The Fijian runs a beautiful line and crashes over after Munster illegally sack the Castres maul on their own 5′.
Fernandez converts — and Munster are in an early hole here!
17 Jan
5:44PM
13′ – MUN 0-10 CAS: Munster lose another lineout in the Castres 22′.
Matt Carley stops play to give Tadhg Beirne a rollicking, claiming four Munster players were shouting at him during the last phase. He gives a penalty to Castres for those verbals.
Munster yet to settle here.
17 Jan
5:48PM
17′ – MUN 0-10 CAS: Munster are creating space on the edges, but Castres are scrambling well and putting in massive hits.
An absolutely ferocious start across the board.
Play restarts on halfway with a scrum to Munster after play veered towards an injured Castres player who was being treated on the ground.
18′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Craig Casey! Superb team score!
Munster carve Castres open wide left, and Thaakir Abrahams and Jack O’Donoghue link up to put Casey over.
The scrum-half, definitely playing injured, had spurned two earlier opportunities as he took heavy shots.
Crowley converts and Munster are back within three.
17 Jan
5:53PM
21′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: This is a cracking game!
Some fluid, offload-heavy attack by Munster, and Castres have brought their own all-court game.
Silky skills and massive physicality. A proper winner-takes-all encounter through the opening quarter.
Munster have settled but Castres are going nowhere, it seems.
17 Jan
5:55PM
23′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Munster win a pen on halfway after consecutive Castres offsides.
Crowley line-kicks the hosts deep into Castres territory, maybe seven metres from the French line. A superb kick by the Munster 10.
17 Jan
5:57PM
24′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Can Munster get their lineout right this time? They can!
And they roll the maul close, but Castres stop it short and win the scrum! Huge maul D by Tom Staniforth in particular, there.
Chance gone for Munster on this occasion — and Castres win a penalty at the resulting scrum to make their exit a lot easier. Michael Ala’alatoa pinged there as the 20-year-old Fijian Atunaisa Sokobale forces him to the deck.
17 Jan
6:04PM
32′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Tadhg Beirne to the rescue with a huge turnover on his own 5′ after a long, sustained Castres attack in which they were overpowering Munster!
Superb by the home skipper on his 100th appearance.
17 Jan
6:06PM
34′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Thaakir Abrahams, whose feet have been electric so far, creates something from nothing down the right and Munster win a pen as Castres go off their feet.
Crowley prods them to touch inside the visitors’ 22′.
39′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Wonderful chip and chase, with a little bit of pinball, by Theo Chabouni who scores under the sticks!
It all came from Fijian loosehead Sokobale, who blasted a hole in Munster’s defence to take Castres deep into home territory.
Chabouni’s piece of individual brilliance, and a stroke of fortune as the ball ricocheted off a Munster or hand or two, is rewarded and Castres retake the lead!
Munster have showed glimpses of quality, and scored two tries through Craig Casey, but Castres have shown enough brute force and invention of their own to lead at Thomond Park at the break.
As it stands, Munster are heading out of the Champions Cup. What a massive 40 minutes ahead.
Catch ye in a few.
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
17 Jan
6:28PM
Second half
41′ – MUN 12-17 CAS: Jack Crowley gets us back underway at Thomond.
Munster have a half of rugby to save their Champions Cup campaign.
Here we go!
17 Jan
6:32PM
42′ – MUN 12-17 CAS:Incredibly sloppy start to the second half, the antithesis of what we saw in the first!
Munster’s handling, which had been pretty good all night, just deserting them for two and a half minutes.
Castres have a scrum, and a chance to strike, just outside the home 22′.
But their chip in behind is recovered by Crowley, and Munster exit through Casey.
17 Jan
6:32PM
44′ – MUN 12-17 CAS: Tom Farrell wins a jackal penalty in his own half and Crowley kicks Munster to touch on halfway.
Started and finished by the wing, who has been magical at times.
He carved the space down the right, Munster knocked on the door, and he finished in the same corner.
Crowley’s touchline conversion is off the mark — but Munster are back level!
17 Jan
6:37PM
49′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Crowley, whose all-round game has been good, makes a brilliant break out of his own 22′ and kicks downfield.
Castres scramble and exit, but Munster have a lineout on halfway — which O’Donoghue secures at the tail.
17 Jan
6:38PM
50′ – MUN 17-17 CASTRES: Penalty to Munster at the maul. Crowley brings them into the Castres half.
Edwin Edgobo coming on for Jean Kleyn. I won’t have a chance to mark all the replacements here, but that feels a significant one given how good Edogbo has been!
Lee Barron also on for Niall Scannell.
17 Jan
6:42PM
52′ – Disallowed try for Castres! — MUN 17-17 CAS:
Wow, a scintillating Santiago Arata score, in which Castres carved Munster apart from inside their own 22′, is pulled back for a forward pass (which was clear, to be fair) at the start of the move.
Seven points chalked off — and Munster get a scrum deep inside the Castres half.
This could be some swing if Munster can make it count.
Brian Gleeson on for Jack O’Donoghue also.
17 Jan
6:43PM
52′ – 17-17 CAS: Munster’s attack breaks down on first phase but they later win a penalty on halfway.
17 Jan
6:44PM
54′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster attacking in the Castres 22′.
17 Jan
6:45PM
56′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster win a penalty some 10 metres from the Castres line.
Some big carries in there by Fineen Wycherley and Edwin Edogbo as they began to motor, but a ball went to ground and Carley brings it back for the breakdown pen.
Five-metre lineout for Munster!
17 Jan
6:47PM
57′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster make a hames of their maul setup and concede a penalty for offside.
Not the time or place, to be honest — their maul has been making inroads all evening. Why try to be clever?
Castres escape!
17 Jan
6:49PM
59′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster create a half-chance through Crowley down the left and then put Castres under savage pressure.
It all ends with a Munster lineout in the Castres 22′.
The replacement lock pounces on Castres just after they steal a Munster lineout! With the ball loose, Edogbo bulldozes his way through, grabs it, and reaches to score!
Munster lead by five!
Crowley’s conversion, from left of centre, is wide right — he’s had a bad day off the tee.
17 Jan
6:53PM
62′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Munster, whose last try earned them a four-try bonus point, are putting Castres under savage pressure now.
17 Jan
6:56PM
64′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Matt Carley checking a potential breakdown infringement by Tom Farrell on the Munster 10′. Wants to see if Farrell dropped his weight onto the leg of a Castres player.
To be honest, it didn’t really look like he did — but it’s going to be a yellow card for a clear-out around the neck.
69′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Geoffrey Palis in the right-hand corner!
Castres, with the numerical advantage, eventually use the massive overlap and Palis dives over.
Enzo Herve converts from the left-hand corner — and Castres lead with 11 minutes to go!
17 Jan
7:05PM
71′ – MUN 22-24 CAS: Gavin Coombes takes a bang to the head but is fine. Play stopped as he’s checked but he’s back up and Munster will restart with a scrum on halfway.
73′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Christian Ambadiang off the crossfield kick! He shakes off the tackle by Shane Daly and Munster are in serious, serious trouble.
Conversion is good, and the hosts trail by nine with seven minutes to go.
Munster are heading out of the Champions Cup barring a miracle.
17 Jan
7:11PM
76′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Munster have a lineout deep inside the Castres 22′, and Castres are down to 14 after a cynical infringement.
But Munster lose the lineout.
This is a disaster for Clayton McMillan’s side.
17 Jan
7:12PM
77′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Another big chance for Munster — a lineout from six metres out.
Play stopped as a Castres player is treated.
17 Jan
7:14PM
78′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Munster are stopped but Castres concede another penalty. Must score here or it’s over.
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As it happened: Munster 29-31 Castres, Champions Cup
Hello, everyone, and welcome to The 42′s live coverage of Munster’s Champions Cup Round 4 clash with Castres at Thomond Park.
It’s Gavan Casey with you here, and I’ll bring you blow-by-blow updates — or close enough — as Munster seek passage into the last 16.
Following Edinburgh’s hammering at the hands of Bath last night, a win of any kind for Clayton McMillan’s side will send them through, while a bonus-point win should boost their seeding heading into the knockouts.
Castres, meanwhile, can also still make it through with an away win.
Kick-off in Limerick is at 5:30pm.
It will be of no surprise for you to read that Munster-Castres is the most common fixture in European competition: this is their 20th meeting.
The sides have met five times since 2018 and three times since December 2021. The last four have all been one-score games in which neither side has amassed more than 20 points.
Which is to say that this fixture typically stinks, at least in recent times!
It’s a dry, crisp evening in Limerick, though, which may facilitate a bit of ball.
Munster have made three changes to the team that lost to Toulon at Stade Mayol, with Thaakir Abrahams, Niall Scannell and Jean Kleyn all coming into the starting XV.
Craig Casey has recovered from his injury in that game to start.
Captain Tadhg Beirne will make his 100th appearance for the province.
Castres have gone fairly strong as opposed to prioritising next week’s Top 14 trip to Bayonne.
Munster: 15. Shane Daly, 14. Thaakir Abrahams, 13. Tom Farrell, 12. Alex Nankivell, 11. Ben O’Connor, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Craig Casey, 1. Jeremy Loughman, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. Michael Ala’alatoa, 4. Jean Kleyn, 5. Fineen Wycherley, 6. Tadhg Beirne (c), 7. Jack O’Donoghue, 8. Gavin Coombes
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Lee Barron, 17. Michael Milne, 18. Oli Jager, 19. Edwin Edogbo, 20. Brian Gleeson, 21. Ethan Coughlan, 22. JJ Hanrahan, 23. Dan Kelly
Castres: 15. Theo Chabouni, 14. Christian Ambadiang, 13. Vuate Karawalevu, 12. Jack Goodhue, 11. Geoffrey Palis, 10. Pierre Popelin, 9. Jeremy Fernandez, 1. Atunaisa Sokobale, 2. Loris Zarantonello, 3. Will Collier, 4. Gauthier Maravat, 5. Tom Staniforth, 6. Baptiste Delaporte (c), 7. Baptiste Cope, 8. Florent Vanverberghe
Replacements:
Replacements: 16. Teddy Durand-Pradere, 17. Antoine Tichit, 18. Aurelien Azar, 19. Leone Nakarawa, 20. Tyler Ardron, 21. Santiago Arata, 22. Enzo Herve, 23. Atu Manu
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Just under a quarter of an hour to go at Thomond.
Munster and Castres taking to the field for the 20th time together in the European Cup. No two sides have met as often as these.
Familiarity breeds contempt, naturally, and there’s a last-16 spot on the line for the winners this evening.
Strap in!
1′ – MUN 0-0 CAS: Castres have an early penalty advantage in Munster’s half after a breakdown infringement by the hosts.
Not an ideal start for Munster, whose discipline cost them dearly in Toulon last week.
Castres will take a shot at the sticks.
3′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Jeremy Fernandez slots the opening points of this one at Thomond Park.
A tiny pocket of Castres fans celebrate, and the Munster faithful reboot the atmosphere.
4′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Niall Scannell has a lineout plucked by the hosts who encroach again into Munster territory, but Munster win a penalty and Crowley boots them to touch back in the other half.
6′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: A tidy Munster attack down the right edge comes to an end as Tadhg Beirne’s offload off the touchline inside to Craig Casey is spilled forward by the scrum-half in traffic.
Promising glimpse for the hosts, though, as they fashioned a half-chance from very little.
7′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Munster have won their last two lineouts since losing their first, just FYI.
10′ – MUN 0-3 CAS: Tom Farrell is done for a deliberate knock-on on halfway, but the ball still finds a Castres hand so he’s ultimately spared a yellow card.
It leads to a nice attack by Castres but it’s eventually pulled back for a pen as they infringe at their own ruck.
French lineout deep inside Munster’s 22′: a big chance for the visitors here!
11′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Vuate Karawalevu! What a finish!
The Fijian runs a beautiful line and crashes over after Munster illegally sack the Castres maul on their own 5′.
Fernandez converts — and Munster are in an early hole here!
13′ – MUN 0-10 CAS: Munster lose another lineout in the Castres 22′.
Matt Carley stops play to give Tadhg Beirne a rollicking, claiming four Munster players were shouting at him during the last phase. He gives a penalty to Castres for those verbals.
Munster yet to settle here.
17′ – MUN 0-10 CAS: Munster are creating space on the edges, but Castres are scrambling well and putting in massive hits.
An absolutely ferocious start across the board.
Play restarts on halfway with a scrum to Munster after play veered towards an injured Castres player who was being treated on the ground.
18′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Craig Casey! Superb team score!
Munster carve Castres open wide left, and Thaakir Abrahams and Jack O’Donoghue link up to put Casey over.
The scrum-half, definitely playing injured, had spurned two earlier opportunities as he took heavy shots.
Crowley converts and Munster are back within three.
21′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: This is a cracking game!
Some fluid, offload-heavy attack by Munster, and Castres have brought their own all-court game.
Silky skills and massive physicality. A proper winner-takes-all encounter through the opening quarter.
Munster have settled but Castres are going nowhere, it seems.
23′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Munster win a pen on halfway after consecutive Castres offsides.
Crowley line-kicks the hosts deep into Castres territory, maybe seven metres from the French line. A superb kick by the Munster 10.
24′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Can Munster get their lineout right this time? They can!
And they roll the maul close, but Castres stop it short and win the scrum! Huge maul D by Tom Staniforth in particular, there.
Chance gone for Munster on this occasion — and Castres win a penalty at the resulting scrum to make their exit a lot easier. Michael Ala’alatoa pinged there as the 20-year-old Fijian Atunaisa Sokobale forces him to the deck.
32′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Tadhg Beirne to the rescue with a huge turnover on his own 5′ after a long, sustained Castres attack in which they were overpowering Munster!
Superb by the home skipper on his 100th appearance.
34′ – MUN 7-10 CAS: Thaakir Abrahams, whose feet have been electric so far, creates something from nothing down the right and Munster win a pen as Castres go off their feet.
Crowley prods them to touch inside the visitors’ 22′.
Chance!
35′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Casey again!
Munster roll the maul close once more but this time they control it, and Niall Scannell pops it back to Casey who dives over in the right-hand corner!
Super finish by Casey, who bags his and Munster’s second.
Crowley is beaten by the shot-clock on the conversion, which hits the right-hand post in any case. But Munster lead!
39′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Wonderful chip and chase, with a little bit of pinball, by Theo Chabouni who scores under the sticks!
It all came from Fijian loosehead Sokobale, who blasted a hole in Munster’s defence to take Castres deep into home territory.
Chabouni’s piece of individual brilliance, and a stroke of fortune as the ball ricocheted off a Munster or hand or two, is rewarded and Castres retake the lead!
Fernandez chips over the rest.
What a game!
Munster have showed glimpses of quality, and scored two tries through Craig Casey, but Castres have shown enough brute force and invention of their own to lead at Thomond Park at the break.
As it stands, Munster are heading out of the Champions Cup. What a massive 40 minutes ahead.
Catch ye in a few.
41′ – MUN 12-17 CAS: Jack Crowley gets us back underway at Thomond.
Munster have a half of rugby to save their Champions Cup campaign.
Here we go!
42′ – MUN 12-17 CAS:Incredibly sloppy start to the second half, the antithesis of what we saw in the first!
Munster’s handling, which had been pretty good all night, just deserting them for two and a half minutes.
Castres have a scrum, and a chance to strike, just outside the home 22′.
But their chip in behind is recovered by Crowley, and Munster exit through Casey.
44′ – MUN 12-17 CAS: Tom Farrell wins a jackal penalty in his own half and Crowley kicks Munster to touch on halfway.
47′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Thaakir Abrahams!
Started and finished by the wing, who has been magical at times.
He carved the space down the right, Munster knocked on the door, and he finished in the same corner.
Crowley’s touchline conversion is off the mark — but Munster are back level!
49′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Crowley, whose all-round game has been good, makes a brilliant break out of his own 22′ and kicks downfield.
Castres scramble and exit, but Munster have a lineout on halfway — which O’Donoghue secures at the tail.
50′ – MUN 17-17 CASTRES: Penalty to Munster at the maul. Crowley brings them into the Castres half.
Edwin Edgobo coming on for Jean Kleyn. I won’t have a chance to mark all the replacements here, but that feels a significant one given how good Edogbo has been!
Lee Barron also on for Niall Scannell.
52′ – Disallowed try for Castres! — MUN 17-17 CAS:
Wow, a scintillating Santiago Arata score, in which Castres carved Munster apart from inside their own 22′, is pulled back for a forward pass (which was clear, to be fair) at the start of the move.
Seven points chalked off — and Munster get a scrum deep inside the Castres half.
This could be some swing if Munster can make it count.
Brian Gleeson on for Jack O’Donoghue also.
52′ – 17-17 CAS: Munster’s attack breaks down on first phase but they later win a penalty on halfway.
54′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster attacking in the Castres 22′.
56′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster win a penalty some 10 metres from the Castres line.
Some big carries in there by Fineen Wycherley and Edwin Edogbo as they began to motor, but a ball went to ground and Carley brings it back for the breakdown pen.
Five-metre lineout for Munster!
57′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster make a hames of their maul setup and concede a penalty for offside.
Not the time or place, to be honest — their maul has been making inroads all evening. Why try to be clever?
Castres escape!
59′ – MUN 17-17 CAS: Munster create a half-chance through Crowley down the left and then put Castres under savage pressure.
It all ends with a Munster lineout in the Castres 22′.
60′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Edwin Edogbo!
The replacement lock pounces on Castres just after they steal a Munster lineout! With the ball loose, Edogbo bulldozes his way through, grabs it, and reaches to score!
Munster lead by five!
Crowley’s conversion, from left of centre, is wide right — he’s had a bad day off the tee.
62′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Munster, whose last try earned them a four-try bonus point, are putting Castres under savage pressure now.
64′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Matt Carley checking a potential breakdown infringement by Tom Farrell on the Munster 10′. Wants to see if Farrell dropped his weight onto the leg of a Castres player.
To be honest, it didn’t really look like he did — but it’s going to be a yellow card for a clear-out around the neck.
64′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Farrell is marched for 10 minutes and Castres have a massive chance on the Munster 5′.
Hosts down to 14 — and Wycherley gets up to almost steal the lineout, but he just about knocks it on.
66′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Castres with the put-in to the scrum on the Munster 5′.
A big, big chance again for the visitors.
66′ – MUN 22-17 CAS: Castres knock on off first phase but Munster are adjudged to have been offside. Poor by both sides there on the Munster 5′!
Castres will scrum it down again with Munster down a back.
Huge moment in the game, and potentially in Munster’s Champions Cup campaign.
69′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Geoffrey Palis in the right-hand corner!
Castres, with the numerical advantage, eventually use the massive overlap and Palis dives over.
Enzo Herve converts from the left-hand corner — and Castres lead with 11 minutes to go!
71′ – MUN 22-24 CAS: Gavin Coombes takes a bang to the head but is fine. Play stopped as he’s checked but he’s back up and Munster will restart with a scrum on halfway.
73′ – TRY FOR CASTRES! Christian Ambadiang off the crossfield kick! He shakes off the tackle by Shane Daly and Munster are in serious, serious trouble.
Conversion is good, and the hosts trail by nine with seven minutes to go.
Munster are heading out of the Champions Cup barring a miracle.
76′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Munster have a lineout deep inside the Castres 22′, and Castres are down to 14 after a cynical infringement.
But Munster lose the lineout.
This is a disaster for Clayton McMillan’s side.
77′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Another big chance for Munster — a lineout from six metres out.
Play stopped as a Castres player is treated.
78′ – MUN 22-31 CAS: Munster are stopped but Castres concede another penalty. Must score here or it’s over.
79′ – TRY FOR MUNSTER! Edogbo crashes over! Crowley chips over the extras.
Munster have a minute to seal the comeback and stay in the Champions Cup.
Three points will do it!
Castres rip the ball off Crowley on the Munster 22′ and see it out.
Munster are out of the Champions Cup!
Superb by Castres, who will go through depending on Gloucester’s result against Toulon tomorrow.
Munster are devastated.
A pool-stage exit is a shocking return for a club with such history in this competition, and such a focus on it.
Thanks for joining me for live updates! Commiserations to Munster fans.
Keep an eye on The 42 for Ciarán Kennedy’s match report and reaction from Thomond Park.
Catch you for the next one!
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