Champions Cup quarter-final: Bordeaux Bègles 47 Munster 29
Sure enough, a second consecutive knock-out win on French soil after their first in 23 years a week previously proved beyond them. But Munster and their brilliant fans were defiant until the end and died with their boots on against the tournament’s top seeds.
Union Bordeaux Bègles (UBB) were a team on a mission after last season’s one-point loss to Harlequins at the same stage in front of their 13th full house of the season. With Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert pulling the strings they ruthlessly capitalised upon the many malfunctions, especially at lineout time, of a Munster side which returned to its proper red jerseys but were off-colour compared to their display in La Rochelle.
Despite an enforced change at hooker before half-time, Munster’s lineout continued to wobble throughout as they lost nine of their own throws between steals, misses and crooked deliveries.
That was too big a handicap, as were some of the unforced handling errors, avoidable penalties and a certain passivity in defence against the star-studded UBB backline.
Still though, trailing 29-3 approaching half-time, Munster kept probing and ultimately scored four tries, even bringing themselves to scores of another miracle.
A quarter of a century on from the Red Army’s birth for the famous semi-final win over Toulouse in this very city, and a week after the raid on La Rochelle, they possibly even equalled the estimated 3,000 who exhorted their team to a famous round of 16 win against Ronan O’Gara’s side.
Perhaps it was the proximity of their main battalion immediately in front of the press box but they certainly made that side of the ground in the half Munster attacked in the first-half feel more like a home game.
Alas, while it was a big ask of their supporters, it proved too big an ask for the Munster team to scale last week’s highs.
Initially, Munster brought their fans straight into the game by storming out of the blocks and showing their ambition when changing the point of attack before Farrell passed long to Andrew Smith on the left. He jinked past tackles before Farrell carried hard and might have offloaded to Craig Casey. Instead, he did so to Calvin Nash, who had the ball knocked out of his hands.
Jack Crowley’s long pass to Tadhg Beirne on the right touchline inside his own 10 metres was a further sign that Munster, to coin a phrase form their former head coach Alan Gaffney, were not going to die wondering.
But the pass was forward and this was immediately punished by UBB’s strike move off the ensuing scrum 35 metres out. Samu picked from the base and fed Rohan Janse van Rensburg who pulled the ball back for Jalibert to place a perfectly weighted grubber which bounced on cue for Damian Penaud to establish a tournament record of 12 tries in a single campaign.
Although Crowley landed a penalty, this was cancelled out by Jalibert after Ben Tameifuna incurred the wrath of the Munster fans and exchanged gestures with them after theatrically holding his face when dipping into a tackle by Jean Kleyn which, rightly, did not incur a yellow card.
But more pertinently, Munster’s lineout was starting to creak and when Maxime Lamothe charged at their backline after gathering Diarmuid Barron’s overthrow just outside his own 22, it led to a long-range score. Samu’s pick and go injected impetus before Yoran Moefana released Penaud off his wing on the left edge and his grubber was finished by Maxime Lucu, Jalibert converting.
The penalties against Munster were mounting too and although Tadhg Beirne relieved another assault on their line with a brilliant penalty in the jackal two metres from his line, UBB soon struck again. Jalibert’s chip was reclaimed by Louis Bielle-Biarrey amid some hesitant defenders and, on the front foot, going wide left and then right, where fullback Jon Echegaray danced infield and offloaded for Samu to finish. Jalibert again converted.
Their fourth try also originated in a Munster mistake, Crowley knocking on when wrapping around Alex Nankivell. Although he saved a try with a two-handed attempt at an intercept, from the big UBB scrum which ensued Jalibert wrapped around Echegaray and fizzed a pass to Bielle-Biarrey. His threat and footwork effectively drew four players before he fed his fullback to take Crowley’s tackle and score. Jalibert again converted and at 29-3 it was looking ugly for Munster.
Even the arrival of Niall Scannell didn’t solve their lineout issues, although his second throw did connect and when the maul was sacked he tapped a penalty, Beirne deftly passing inside to Coombes and from the recycle Casey fizzed a pass for Nankivell to score.
Crowley’s fine conversion made it 29-10 at the break but, on the resumption, Munster lost two more attacking lineouts and there was a forward pass by Nankivell to Smith off another. The procession of penalties against UBB did lead to a yellow card for Cyril Cazeaux, for a no-arms tackle on Wycherley, to the backdrop of La Marseillaise from the home fans and defiant cheers from the away ones.
But after Jalibert landed a penalty Munster struck from deep, Farrell picking off the base of a ruck to charge upfield and Nankivell found Smith on the edge for the winger to score a superb try of his own grubber.
Crowley hit the upright with his conversion and Jalibert landed another penalty before Tom Ahern was binned when tackling from an offside position after a big break by Yoran Moefana. Lamothe then scored off a powerful UBB catch-and-drive and a Jalibert penalty, after Alex Kendellen was curiously binned again following collapsed maul, made it 40-15.
Still Munster and their fans weren’t done. When Seán O’Brien’s long pass for Farrell looked like yielding a try, Nika Amashukeli binned Echegaray and awarded a penalty try for his deliberate intercept.
Munster had long since thrown caution to the wind, and a sustained attack, featuring big carries by Mark Donnelly and Nankivell, culminated in Crowley grubbering perfectly for Smith to score his second try.
What’s more, Cazeau incurred a second yellow, and thus a red card, for a high hit on Farrell and a miracle seemed fleetingly possible as Thaakir Abrahams scampered up the touchline only for Lucu to make a try-saving covering tackle.
Instead a counter-ruck which illegally took out Conor Murray, but was permitted by Amashukeli, led to a trademark bout of close-range offloading led to Lucu giving Bielle-Biarrey a finish in the left corner for the killer score.
It said it all that both sets of fans stayed inside the stadium to applaud their teams and a memorable contest.
Scoring sequence: 6 mins Penaud try 5-0; 10 mins Crowley pen 5-3; 12 mins Jalibert pen 8-3; 13 mins Lucum try, Jalibert con 15-3; 22 mins Echegaray try, Jalibert con 22-3; Echegaray try, Jalibert con 29-3; 40 (+ 3) mins Nankivell try, Crowley con 29-10; (half-time 29-10); 51 mins Smith try 29-15; 54 mins Jalibert pen 32-15; 57 mins Lamothe try 37-15; 67 mins Jalibert pen 40-15; 68 mins penalty try 40-22; 73 mins Smyth try, Crowley con 40-29; 78 mins Bielle-Biarrey try, Lucu con 47-29.
Bordeaux Bègles: Jon Echegaray; Damian Penaud, Yofana Moefana, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Mathieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu (capt); Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Ben Tameifuna; Cyril Cazeaux, Adam Coleman; Mahamadou Diaby, Guido Petti, Peter Samu.
Replacements: Marko Gazotti for Diaby (47 mins), Matis Perchaud for Poirot, Sipili Falatea for Tameifuna (both 55 mins), Pablo Uberti for van Rensburg (56 mins), Pierre Bochaton for Coleman (58 mins), Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer for Samu (both 60 mins), Connor Sa for Lamothe (63 mins), Yann Lesgourgues for Jalibert (68 mins).
Yellow card: Cazeaux (47-57 mins). Echegaray (68-78 mins).
Red card: Cazeaux (76 mins).
Munster: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Andrew Smith; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (C); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell for Barron (38 mins), Stephen Archer for Jager, Tom Ahern for (both 49 mins), Seán O’Brien for Nash, Fineen Wycherley for Kleyn (both 59 mins), Alex Kendellen for (63 mins), Conor Murray for Casey (67 mins), Mark Donnelly for Wycherley (71 mins).
Yellow card: Ahern (55-65 mins). Kendellen (65-75 mins).
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
