Munster fell to a 21-13 defeat at the hands of Castres this afternoon to finish second in their group and miss out on home advantage in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup. Declan Kidney's men were undone by an injury time try from Oliver Sarramea which saw the French side top the table courtesy of their superior try count to deny Munster a valuable quarter-final clash at Thomond Park. Scottish international fly-half Gregor Townsend was in inspired form for the home side, who led 16-3 at the break thanks to a 21st minute try from Teulet, who also converted and added three penalties to give the French a commanding lead at the interval.
Ronan O'Gara was out of sorts for Munster, fluffing an easy penalty early on, and struck just once in the opening forty minutes as the visitors struggled to impose themselves on the game. O'Gara did convert with a long range effort in the 54th minute to close the gap after Teulet missed for Castres, and the Frnechmen began to panic as they sensed a Munster comeback. Peter Clohessy was bitten on the arm and Castres flanker Romain Froment was yellow carded after throwing a punch at Anthony Foley as the hosts began to lose their discipline, but Munster failed to find a breakthrough despite their increased pressure.
However, David Wallace gave Munster a glimmer of hope on the stroke of full time with a try after O'Gara dummied his way through, and the Lion converted to set-up a nervous final few minutes for Castres. But, with the clock ticking away and a Munster home tie looking safe, Sarramea went over for a try in the corner to give Castres a deserved win and, more significantly, top spot in the group and a home tie in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Ulster after their interest in the competition ended despite last night's tremendous win over Treviso at Ravenhill. Results elsewhere have denied the 1999 winners one of the remaining runners up spots, with Munster and Leinster joining Bath, Stade Francais, Castres, Leicester, Llanelli and either Montferrand or Glasgow in the last eight.
Finally, Connacht were narrowly beaten 34-32 in the Parker Pen European Shield.
Filed by Shane Murray
