CJ Stander scored a try as Munster beat Toulouse 41-16 in the second quarter-final of the European Champions Cup at Thomond Park on Saturday.
The result means two Irish provinces – Munster and Leinster – will compete in the semis, more than any other nation in the tournament.
In front of a capacity Munster crowd, Toulouse had the worst possible start with No 8 Francois Cros yellow-carded as early as the first minute for elbowing an opponent.
Coach Rassie Erasmus’ side opened up a 13-3 lead, but two late penalties in the first half for Toulouse saw the hosts head into the break with a slender 13-9 advantage.
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But just as Toulouse started to build up a head of steam, Munster struck. Stander bulldozed his way through a couple of tackles to score an unconverted effort from close range, sandwiched between two Munster penalties for a 15-point cushion. Toulouse replied with a try, albeit controversial, as the last pass appeared to be forward, but they didn’t deter the hosts.
They added a further 17 points – two converted tries and a penalty – to seal an emphatic win and a place in the last four on the competition.
One worry for Munster will be the extent of Stander’s injury. The star eighthman suffered an ankle knock early in the game and chose to play on, but he was forced to leave the field in the 65th minute when he was hurt again.
Munster – Tries: John Ryan, CJ Stander, Darren Sweetnam, Andrew Conway. Conversions: Tyler Bleyendaal (3). Penalties: Bleyendaal (5).
Toulouse – Try: Paul Perez. Conversion: Jean-Marc Doussain. Penalties: Doussain (3).
Munster – 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Duncan W illiams, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Subs: 16 Rhys Marshall, 17 James Cronin, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Dave O’Callaghan, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Angus Lloyd, 22 Francis Saili, 23 Andrew Conway.
Toulouse – 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Paul Perez, 10 Jean-Marc Doussain, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Francois Cros, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Cyril Baille.
Subs: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Tala Gray, 20 Piula Faasalele, 21 Samuel Marques, 22 Luke McAlister, 23 Arthur Bonneval.
Photo: Diarmuid Greene/Getty Images
