Munster 29; Toulon 18
Munster of old came to the fore in France on Saturday as the men from the deep south overcame a dodgy start to record a bonus point win at Stade Felix Mayol in the European Champions Cup.
Ten points down to a converted Duncan Paia'aua try and Melvyn Jaminet penalty meant the men in red left themselves a mountain to climb to maintain their interest in this august competition.
Just when the home crowd relaxed in anticipation of a spectacle, Munster crashed over for two tries from Alex Nankivell and Simon Zebo to give the Irish province a 17-13 lead at the break.
We expected a Gallic backlash but it was Munster whose dander was up and two more touchdowns from Tom Ahern and Calvin Nash gave them the bonus point and enough breathing space to withstand any late comebacks the home side might conjure up.
Graham Rowntree's side are now third in Pool 3 and having given themselves every chance of making it to the knockout stages.
Leinster 43; Stade Francais 7
The visitors came with a second string and despite their best efforts were eventually outclassed by Leo Cullen’s changes at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.
In a similar situation against Sale, who sent a second’s side, leinster huffed and puffed for some time before finding their feet and try-scoring touch to end up winning by 36 points without breaking sweat.
The returning wingerJames Lowe ran in the hosts opening try on 18 minutes and further touchdowns from Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan on the cusp of the break made it 17-0 by half-time in this Pool 4 Champions Cup game.
A rejuvenated Jordan Larmour and potential new Ireland captain Caelan Doris crossed for a brace of tries each with Joris Segonds gate a late consolation score for the visitors at the game’s death.
Toulouse 48; Ulster 24
Arguably the best current player on the rugby planet Antoine Dupont led Toulouse to a double-scores victory over Ulster at Ravenhill on Saturday.
The all-action scrum-half scored two tries himself as his side claimed a bonus try victory and also severely damaged Ulster’s hope of making it to the Champions Cup knockout rounds.
Dupont, Matthis Lebel and Peato Mauvaka were all first-half try scorers but Tom Stewart’s individual touchdown on the half-time whistle gave Ulster fans hope their charges might up their game on the changeover.
However, it was Dupont who led the way with further tries followed by Mauvaka, Alexandre Roumat and Emmanuel Meafou putting the game out of sight. Ulster are now fourth placed in Pool 2 with a single game left to play and look like being eliminated before getting to the knockouts.
Connacht are now propping up Pool 1 following defeat to Lyon on Saturday by 34-20 in France. Sean Jansen, Cian Prendergast and Dylan Tierney-Martin scored Connacht's tries and they now need a miracle against Bristol and for other results to go their way to advance.
Farrell gets Lions job
Possibly the worst-kept secret in world rugby was confirmed last week when Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell was revealed as the next British and Irish Lions coach to tour Australia in 2025.
Farrell will remain in charge of the Six Nations championship and the Autumn series this year before being loaned by the IRFU for the 2025 season. It is expected that either Simon Easterby (probably) or Paul O’Connell (possibly) will assume the head coach role on an interim basis in 2025 before Farrell returns after the Lions tour is completed.
The 48-year-old took over the Ireland slot from Joe Schmidt five years ago and has overseen an historic Test series win in New Zealand in 2022, followed by a Six Nations Grand Slam and Number One in world rankings for much of last year before unluckily losing to New Zealand by 28-24 at the quarter-final stages of the World Cup in France.
However in winning their pool section at the competition, they beat the eventual World Cup champions South Africa, proving their pedigree. Farrell was named World Rugby’s top coach in 2023 and but for bad luck on the night, Ireland could have advanced to the semi-final stages for the first time.
Farrell started out as a rugby league player where he had a distinguished career with Wigan, before opting for the union game in the latter part of his playing days.
His first coaching job in union was as an assistant at Saracens, and he then joined the England backroom team 12 years ago before becoming Ireland’s defense coach with under Schmidt in 2016.
Former England Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster, who had Farrell as part of his backroom team, revealed the strengths of the new Lions leader.
"He has got lots of strengths but I think his ultimate strength is the breadth and experience he has in lots of areas. It's not just defense, it's attack. It's the ability to manage people and he's got the presence and the personality to drive that. He's a great orator so has the ability to inspire and motivate as well,” he said.
