Ahead of Munster’s Champions Cup clash with Reigning champs Toulouse, take a look at the road the reds travelled to the quarter-finals.
Munster will face familiar opposition this Saturday as they face reigning winners Toulouse in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup for the second successive year.
Munster qualified for the knock-out phase of the Heineken Champions Cup with a flawless return in the pool stages securing wins against Wasps and Castres Olympique.
A brilliant performance in Coventry against Wasps saw Munster produce a 32-14 bonus point win. It was performance that had 12 debuts following the covid outbreak in South Africa. Only a week after Munster toughed out a 19-13 win against Castres Olympique.
The reds would repeat both performances in the return games as they qualified for the knock out stages with four victories from four.
The third place seed in Pool B gave Munster the advantage in the Round of 16 games against Pool A’s Exeter as Johann van Graan’s side had the second leg scheduled at home in Thomond Park.
After a nail biting first leg battle with Exeter, the English side held an unconverted tries advantage after securing a 13-8 victory at Sandy Park. Having to manage injuries and illnesses in the build-up to the game a strong Munster defence kept the Chiefs side from gaining a higher aggregate score ahead of the return trip to Limerick.
The improved performance in Thomond Park saw Munster qualify for their 19th Champions Cup quarter-final after a 26-10 victory completed a 34-23 aggregate win over their opponents. There were standout performers all over the park, Joey Carbery scored a try and kicked 16 points and Damian de Allende secured a late try after moment of magic from Simon Zebo.
The Man of the Match in the end was awarded to Peter O’Mahony after incredible captains performance. This included breakdown steals, lineout steals and an very intelligent pass to Carbery for the first try.
That win sets up the hotly anticipated rematch with Toulouse in the Aviva this Saturday.
Watch the highlights of Munster’s run to the Champions Cup QF below.
Munster take on Toulouse in the Champions Cup quarter-final this Saturday at 3.30pm in the Aviva Stadium.