The Irish Times' John Sullivan reports from Thomond Park as Munster become the first side to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
"A fifth consecutive victory guaranteed Munster a place in the Heineken Cup playoffs but the absence of a bonus point against Castres at Thomond Park, coupled with the nature of the performance, will smart. A home quarter-final now rests on a result in Northampton next weekend, where the Saints will seek revenge after having their pockets picked here in November.
"The English club will be chasing a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
"A lack or precision, principally in the opposing 22, saw the home side spurn several excellent try scoring chances. A frustration was that they made a host of line breaks but just couldn’t convert them. Their dominance in the scrum provided a rich seam of penalties and they also nicked several lineouts but couldn’t properly translate the glut of possession into tries. Decision making was also questionable, at times, the home side guilty of kicking away ball and forcing passes.
"Castres couldn’t believe their good fortune and in snatches demonstrated reasonable continuity and muscularity. They might have had one or two more tries of their own without really threatening to win the match."
RSS feed
