Report | Stade Rochelais Prove Too Strong In Preseason Opener

Munster fell to a 47-26 defeat to Stade Rochelais at the Stade Marcel Deflandre on Friday night.

Despite the scoreline, there were plenty of positives for Munster, especially in the second half as Clayton McMillan’s men finish off their first block of pre-season while Ronan O’Gara’s side get ready for their season opener of the Top 14 next weekend.

There was a really positive start from Munster which included a great break from Gordon Wood from the kick-off. A Munster penalty saw the visitors go to the corner where Wood carried hard into midfield. The ball was spread wide to Seán Edogbo who got away from the tackler before Gavin Coombes crashed over from close range to get the first try of the game with less than two minutes on the clock.

La Rochelle hit back about six minutes later when Ugo Pacome crossed the line. Munster would have been disappointed with how the score transpired as a number of missed tackles allowed the home side to generate momentum up the pitch in the build up to the try.

La Rochelle scored a try soon after when a contestable box kick from Ben O’Donovan found an onrushing Pacome who broke through the Munster defence before offloading to Nathan Bollengier who crossed the whitewash. Diego Jurd converted.

La Rochelle scored a fortuitous third try with a clear knock on in the build up but Thomas Adelaide crashed over from close range to extend the lead which Jurd converted.

Munster responded well with good territory but on two occasions a Munter player lost the ball in contact which allowed La Rochelle to clear and win a 50:22. That error was punished when Bollengier went in for his second try soon after.

A very impressive series of mauls from Munster eventually led to a much needed try. Conor Kennelly took the ball and set up the maul from a Lee Barron throw and it was the hooker who finished off the score as the maul rumbled over the line. Hanrahan nailed the touchline conversion to leave the score at 28-12 with 11 minutes remaining of the first half.

The French side rolled on a number of subs with the first half entering the final 10 minutes and they extended their lead with a powerful try from Adelaide.

Disappointing play from Munster saw the French side break downfield easily before Hanrahan did well to collect a dangerous bouncing ball near Munster’s own line. Unfortunately as Munster attempted to clear, the visitors couldn’t clear away a jackler and the home side won a penalty. From this, La Rochelle went to their maul and scored again.

Munster got off to a strong start to the second half when their rolling maul powered towards the home side’s line. Ronan O’Gara’s men brought it down illegally which led to the referee awarding Munster a penalty try to leave the scoreline at 40-19 to the home side.

La Rochelle dominated possession for the next 20 minutes but Munster stood up defensively and applied a lot more pressure which forced a lot of errors from the hosts.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Ethan Coughlan received a yellow card but Munster kept defending and a series of penalty concessions from the hosts gave Munster a lineout in the home side’s 22. From a lineout off the top, the ball went to an onrushing Brian Gleeson and the Tipperary man showed his power and pace to score Munster’s fourth try which was converted by Tom Wood.

Munster received another yellow card as they finished out the game with 13 men and the hosts used that advantage to get another converted try, their first of the second half.

Some good play at the end of the second half from Munster saw them also go over for a fifth try but a knock on on the floor brought the move and the match to an end.

First Half Team

Munster Rugby: Ben O’Connor; Diarmuid Kilgallen, Gordon Wood, Dan Kelly, Shay McCarthy; JJ Hanrahan, Ben O’Donovan; Michael Milne, Lee Barron, Michael Ala’alatoa (Brookes 30′); Conor Kennelly, Fineen Wycherley; Seán Edogbo, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Emmet Calvey, Kieran Brookes.

Second Half Team

Munster Rugby: Mike Haley, Hubert Gilvarry, Seán O’Brien, Dan Kelly, Shay McCarthy; Tom Wood, Ethan Coughlan; Mark Donnelly (Calvey 75′), Diarmuid Barron (Sheahan 75′), Jack Aungier (Foxe 75′); Conor Ryan, Evan O’Connell; Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Brian Gleeson.

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Emmet Calvey, Ronan Foxe.