Colossal clash at Thomond Park: Munster vs Toulouse

Fans can gear up for a humdinger as Toulouse make the journey to Thomond Park where the fiery Munster lie in wait.

As regards the Champions Cup, Munster will be on a high after their superb victory over other French rivals Clermont in Round 2.

Johann van Graan’s men posted a win in Round 1 against a malevolent Harlequins outfit, though it cost the former some big names through injury. The final whistle sounded with the score at 21-7.

As touched on above, fans were in for a treat when Munster’s Round 2 fixture kicked off against Clermont. As the Top14 giants dashed to a 28-9 lead – securing a bonus point inside the first half – Munster looked to be dead and buried, however, in a miasma of adversity, the fighting spirit of the Irishmen kicked in beautifully:

Toulouse are flying high at present, perched atop the French Top14 log with 14 victories from 20 outings. In the Champions Cup, they are unbeaten after 2 rounds; first putting Ulster to the sword 29-22 and then gifted 5 points after defending champs Exeter Chiefs were forced to withdraw from Round 2 due to Covid-19.

Round 1 saw the French giants put an end to Ulster’s 25 home match winning streak in an exciting encounter which brought the best out of both sides. Ulster drew first blood through hooker Rob Herring crashing over from a maul and were quick to add a second after some beautiful running and handling saw flyhalf Ian Madigan dive over in the corner to make it 12-0.

However, the brilliance of Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe came to the fore and the 27 year-old packaged a fantastic individual try to put his team on the board after 20 minutes. As the first half drew to a close, French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont showed his quality, seizing a tiny gap and moulding it into his team’s second score.

The second half was a whirlwind of action with both sides giving good account of themselves but it was Toulouse who proved the more formidable of the two as Kolbe hammered down the final nail in Ulster’s coffin with his second, decisive try.

This one is bound to be a stellar clash with two sides at the top of their game. Munster recently contested the Pro14 final against Irish rivals Leinster and, although finding themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard, showed that they are not a team to be trifled with. As Peter O’Mahony and co. will no doubt be expecting, Toulouse will prove an extremely tough nut to crack, but the Irishmen will be encouraged by the form they unearthed when forced to dig deep against their other French counterparts in the previous round.