MUNSTER defeated Stade Francais today, 26-13 at Thomond Park in their final European home game of the season.
Tries from Mike Sherry (18), Keith Earls (39), Simon Zebo (42) and man of the match CJ Stander (67) secured Munster’s first win in the competition since November.
In what was a dead rubber for Munster, the 14,000 plus fans in attendance enjoyed the fare on offer in what was a hotly contested, if often error laden, clash.
Keith Earls, who impressed for the full 80 minutes in both attack and defence, was supported by an angry looking Munster pack, who, even though they were dominated at times in scrums, turned over ball on the deck and in choke tackles at an impressive rate.
Head coach Anthony Foley will not be too worried about the manner of the win however, as Munster’s confidence will surely be boosted by the sheer nature of winning a competitive fixture.
Next up for Munster is a clash on Sunday January 24 against Treviso, with a 1pm kick off.
Munster’s next game in the Pro12, is against Treviso Rugby on January 30, again in Italy, against Zebre.
Munster
Zebo, Earls, Saili, R Scannell, O’Mahony, Keatley, Murray, Kilcoyne, Sherry, Sagario, Foley, Chisholm, Holland, O’Donnell, Stander (c). Subs: N Scannell, O’Connor, J Ryan, D Ryan, Copeland, O’Donoghue, O’Leary, Amorosino.
Stade Francais
Bonneval, Vuidarvuwalu, Danty, Williams, Arias, Steyn, Dupuy, Taulafo, Panis, Slimani, Gabrillagues, Pape, Macalou, Ross, Parisse (c). Subs: Zhvania, Van Der Merwe, Emile, Pyle, Nicolas, Tomas, Plisson, Sinzelle.
