Munster avoided a third successive Round of 16 exit with last Saturday’s drama-filled 25-24 win in La Rochelle, but as satisfying as that was, they fully intend to go much deeper into the competition.
Next Saturday’s return trek to France to face Bordeaux Bègles in the Stade Chaban-Delmas (kick-off 4.15pm local time/3.15pm Irish) will only be Munster’s second quarter-final since they last made the semi-finals in 2019.
But even in the immediate aftermath of such a highly charged win over the back-to-back champions of two and three seasons ago, both the interim head coach Ian Costello and captain Tadhg Beirne made it clear that epic victory will not matter unless they win next Saturday.
“We said it in the dressing-room after the game, it’s all well and good and we could have a beer and enjoy it, but we have to back it up in seven days,” said Beirne.
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“We don’t want just one, we want three more games. This will go down as one of the great ones, but it won’t really matter to us if we don’t put in a good performance next week.”
It could be argued that Munster’s Round of 16 exit facilitated their unexpected charge to the URC title two seasons ago, as well as their surge to the top of the URC table last season before a home semi-final loss to Glasgow cost them a final in Thomond Park.
Then again, they can also take confidence from plotting an unlikely away run in the knockout stages of the URC two seasons ago against Glasgow, Leinster and the Stormers as well as an improving end-of-season injury profile for the third campaign running.
“We’ve been having meetings the last few weeks, and that’s what we’ve said. At this time of year, we tend to put in performances, and we have to keep building on that,” added Beirne.
“It’s something we can take confidence out of, from the last few years. Hopefully, we’ll do that, but we’ll have to double that performance.”
Les Girondins have established themselves as the primary French rivals to Toulouse in the last few seasons and as the best supported team in the Top 14 will no doubt generate another atmospheric occasion at the Chaban-Delmas.
No less than the Munster players it will be a big ask of the Red Army to travel in anything like the same numbers just a week on from the estimated 3,000 supporters who made themselves seen and heard so vividly around La Rochelle and inside the Stade Deflandre.
“Coming off the bus was goosebumps stuff, I couldn’t see any La Rochelle fans at all ... it was all Munster,” said Beirne. “They said 2,000 were coming, but it looked like four times that. It was phenomenal, a sea of red out there, and that’s what this competition means for this club.
“Seeing that passion, the red in the crowd and the noise ... it just lifts you a little bit extra.”
The cameras spent an inordinate amount of time on referee Andrea Piardi as he conducted reviews and brandished four yellow cards, usually with Beirne and his La Rochelle counterpart Grégory Alldritt in shot. But, in what is becoming an increasing theme between referees and captains of Irish teams, Beirne revealed Piardi countenanced little or no interreaction with him.
“To be honest, the captaincy is kind of irrelevant because they won’t talk to me. I tried a few times and he just said ‘no’. I literally had no dealings with him really, other than him just making his decisions,” said Beirne with a wry grin.
How did Munster stun O’Gara’s La Rochelle?
“For one of the high shots, he said: ‘They’re not showing it to us’, and I don’t know if that’s the stadium not showing it or what.
“When a player gets hit in the head, I have to say it. Those are the biggest dealings I had with him, and he told me to stay away from him.”
As to what won the tie, Beirne said: “Our defence, to be honest, we had to be physical and I thought we matched them physically. I said we needed a big 20 minutes and it was a tough 20 minutes, believe me, but we managed to stick in there. We got a wee bit lucky in terms of the first try and [Teddy Thomas] being in touch.
“But we dealt with their purple patch and handled the second part of the first half very well and we were unlucky not to get a few more points.
“The management from Jack and everyone out there was really good, the physicality and our defence were great.”
While the intensity of the contest and the passion of the rival supporters was exceptional, the convivial mingling of the supporters afterwards was also reflected in Ronan O’Gara visiting the away dressing-room.
“It was an emotional ‘Rog’,” revealed Beirne. “He came in and admitted he was gutted and frustrated by the loss, but he said with the Munster man within him, he’s lost the game and he’ll be a supporter for the rest of the tournament.
“That’s what he is, he’s a Munster man and he’s a La Rochelle man first at the moment. He’s done so much for this club. I’m sure he’s gutted at the moment, but I’ve no doubt they’ll bounce back.”
