Toulon No Match For Six-Try Munster

Munster added some much-needed fizz to their Heineken Cup challenge by scoring a comprehensive win over Toulon at Thomond Park on Saturday.

In a game that crackled with intensity and high octane rugby, Tony McGahan’s men recovered from leaking a try after just 56 seconds to hit back with six converted tries of their own.

Stand-in captain Denis Leamy, Tony Buckley, Doug Howlett (2), man-of-the-match Mick O’Driscoll and James Coughlan all crossed the whitewash for the two-time champions, with Ronan O’Gara kicking 15 points.

Toulon were far from overawed, but tries from Jean-Philippe Genevois and skipper Joe van Niekerk and a long range drop goal from Jonny Wilkinson were their only highpoints.

Questions were being asked of Munster after their 23-17 loss to London Irish, and big-spending Toulon travelled with confidence following an opening pool win over the Ospreys.

The French side got off to a dream start in sunny Limerick. Felipe Contepomi’s short pass unlocked the home defence, van Niekerk drew the cover and Genevois was up in support to thunder over from the 22.

Contepomi’s successful conversion was followed by an immediate barrage from the Munster forwards who showed their strength in contact – a feature throughout the 80 minutes.

With Toulon pinned back on their try-line amid a series of penalties, George Smith was sin-binned for hands in the ruck after a previous warning from referee Wayne Barnes.

From a subsequent five-metre scrum, Peter Stringer picked from the base and darted to the right before passing back inside for Leamy to muscle his way over for a try. O’Gara converted to bring his side level.

Contepomi pulled a 45-metre penalty away to the left, and Munster showed their renewed sense of adventure, countering through Paul Warwick. Released down the right, Howlett blasted forward to set Johne Murphy up for a dash to the corner, but a last-ditch tackle from Contepomi forced the centre into touch.

Television match official Graham Hughes also ruled out a Buckley effort, but the giant prop made the breakthrough in the 19th minute, lunging his way over the top of a ruck a couple of metres out.

O’Gara added the extras and Toulon remained on the defensive for much of the second quarter, with flanker Joe El Abd reaching double figures in terms of tackles. Fotu Auelua stood out too, the powerful centre proving difficult to stop when the visitors attacked through the middle.

Contepomi closed the gap by stroking over a penalty from the right, but Munster went in at half-time with a 21-10 lead. The excellent Howlett burrowed over from a close range ruck for the third try, with O’Gara landing the conversion.

O’Gara kicked the second of two penalty attempts, early in the second half, to keep the scoreboard ticking for Munster.

Toulon boss Philippe Saint-Andre changed his half-backs, bringing Jonny Wilkinson and youngster Laurent Magnaval into the fray. Wilkinson linked well with Contepomi, who moved to inside centre, and Munster had to be on their toes as last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup runners-up began to throw the ball around.

An almost effortless 42-metre drop goal from Wilkinson, off his weaker right foot, reduced the arrears to 11 points, but despite their stranglehold of possession at times, Saint Andre’s side lacked the necessary penetration.

The red defensive wall would not give way and a yellow card for Contepomi, coming up to the hour mark, left Toulon under huge pressure. The Argentinian was spotting holding Howlett back as Keith Earls launched a kick chase, and Munster then went for the jugular.

They killed off the game and annexed the all-important bonus point with two tries in a four-minute spell. Wilkinson was powerless to prevent second row O’Driscoll from barging over on the right, and a superbly weighted cross-field kick from O’Gara was gobbled up by Howlett for try number five.

Toulon showed their eagerness to fight for a bonus point, but a try from van Niekerk, who had earlier knocked on over the whitewash, was all they could muster.

The new Pool 3 leaders had the final say, Leamy being held up short before replacement Coughlan used his strength to reach at the posts.

Speaking after the game, Johne Murphy said: “Out there today was something special, the lads had asked for it during the week and the crowd were up for it.

“We just want to play for each other, we’re a real tight-knit squad and we’ve gotten a bit of stick over the last few weeks and we just wanted to go out and play for each other.

“Today the pack were fantastic, they gave us a platform to play off and they were immense.”

The only downside for Munster was the sight of hooker Jerry Flannery hobbling off, having come on as a replacement near the hour mark. Paul Warwick was also forced off with an injury, but it is not thought to be serious.