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Lucas Dupont, Montpellier
Lucas Dupont, right, kick-started Montpellier's recovery in the narrow 27-26 victory over Toulouse. Photograph: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images
Lucas Dupont, right, kick-started Montpellier's recovery in the narrow 27-26 victory over Toulouse. Photograph: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images

European Rugby Champions Cup round-up: Munster salvage some pride

This article is more than 9 years old
Munster run in nine tries in Sale victory
Toulouse fail to qualify after Montpellier win 27-26
Castres v Harlequins match report

Simon Zebo and Andrew Conway both crossed twice as Munster dominated their Champions Cup dead-rubber against a young Sale side at Thomond Park. Both sides were out of the running in pool one but the Irish province salvaged some pride with a runaway 65‑10 bonus-point victory that included eight second-half tries. An early Zebo effort launched Munster towards a 10-0 lead before the stubborn Sharks rallied with a tremendous Tom Arscott score and just three points separated the sides at the interval – 13-10.

However, after Keith Earls crowned his first start of the season with an excellent individual try and a penalty try was added, the floodgates were well and truly opened as Pat Howard, Zebo, Andrew Conway (two), Tommy O’Donnell and Duncan Williams all touched down between the 65th and 80th minutes.

Toulouse passed up the chance to finish top of pool four by squandering a 20-9 lead in a 27‑26 defeat at Montpellier. The visitors appeared in a comfortable position after Toby Flood’s converted try increased their lead to 11 points at the beginning of the second half. But Montpellier came roaring back and two tries from Lucas Dupont kick-started their recovery before they sealed victory by the narrowest of margins to give them their only win in the group.

Suffering the mixed emotions of Harlequins’ vain seven-try triumph over Castres he may have been, but Nick Evans was in no doubt of the benefits of playing alongside Danny Care, nor of those that England might enjoy if they would use him as he sees fit. “England will benefit from Danny’s tempo,” he said, “if they let him play that way. I felt that in the autumn they asked him to do a job that’s not Danny Care. He’s not a box-kicker. He will do it, but he’s all about bringing that spark to the game.

“He’s a game-changer. He has always been able to do that for us and we react to what he does. Last week [in the home defeat to Wasps], yeah, there were a few times when in hindsight you could say he didn’t make the right decision. Today he did, and the result put us in a position to score a few tries. We could have kicked a goal before half-time, because we knew winning the game was also important, but he said: ‘Let’s have a go.’ He tapped and away we went, and we scored. As long as England allow him to do his job, they’ll get the best out of him. Put the shackles on him and tell him he needs to kick more, then they probably won’t.”

That try broke the back of Castres just before half-time, and Quins put the game to bed with three further tries in the third quarter. They fulfilled to the point their directive of winning by 28 points, which would have meant Saracens would have needed more than a losing bonus point at Clermont to overhaul them. But Quins had to finish second in their pool, and Wasps’ draw against Leinster pushed them into third. “A few of us senior guys knew the magic number we had to get to. I don’t know what the odds were on Leinster and Wasps drawing and us winning by exactly 28 points, but if you’d put money on it you’d be happy. We gave ourselves a chance. Unfortunately luck was not on our side.”

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