The Daily Star Ireland
A raucous Thomond Park bristled with a European feel akin to Munster’s days of glory last Saturday night. It was an important European win, the kind that has eluded Munster in the last few years. The earlier bonus-point victory over Stade Francais in the Champions Cup Pool 3 was comprehensive but somewhat paled into insignificance next to the gutsy win over Saracens.
Today, Munster faces Northampton with an opportunity to secure at least one more home game in the competition. While their place in the Round of 16 is almost certain, barring an extraordinary turn of events, a win would solidify their position. Depending on the outcome of the Bulls-Stade Francais match in Pretoria, Munster’s qualification might even be guaranteed before kickoff.
While neither is likely to feature at the business end of the Champions Cup, Munster are capable of making the latter stages – for the first time since 2019. They reached the semi-finals that season but missed out on the knockouts in 2020, a campaign overshadowed by their daunting pool that included Racing 92, Saracens and Ospreys. While over the course of the last four seasons Munster has reached the quarter-finals just once, with three early exits in the Round of 16-an abysmal return for a team of their European heritage.
Recent failures to win home advantage in the knockout stages have come at a hefty cost. Last season Munster went down to Northampton after leaking 50 points against the Sharks in Durban in 2022/23. The defeat to Northampton wasn’t ignominious, but Munster should never have been forced into an away knockout, having blown leads in the pool stages against Bayonne, Exeter, and Northampton.
Securing home advantage is crucial. Of the 28 knockout matches in the last two seasons, 26 were won by the home team. Munster’s last home Champions Cup knockout game was in 2022 but due to a clash with concerts at Thomond Park they faced Toulouse at Aviva Stadium. Though more than 40,000 made the trip it was impossible not to think it might have been different had they played in Limerick.
Thomond Park has been a fortress for Munster, who in 2022 came from five points down to defeat Exeter Chiefs with a convincing 26-10 victory. But it is almost three years since they last played a Champions Cup knockout game in Limerick.
The importance of home advantage was further reiterated by Conor Murray, who labelled it a ‘special motivator’ for the squad. Interim head coach Ian Costello also echoed the importance of securing a win over Northampton to get a better seeding and a chance to return to Thomond Park.
There is also the added layer of importance from the financial perspective. A home knockout game, especially one on the verge of a sell-out, could bring in hundreds of thousands of euros—much-needed revenue for the province. A win this weekend could position Munster to host both the last 16 and quarter-final stages at Thomond Park, though that scenario would require Saracens to falter against Castres.
Ultimately, Munster’s fate is in their own hands at Franklin’s Gardens, and success there would strong-arm their campaign while giving them an opportunity to galvanize all their loyal supporters at home once more. Anything more than that would be viewed as a bonus.
