At 3.0 yesterday afternoon in Beziers' Stade de la Mediterranée, precisely 24 hours in advance of today's kick-off, the Munster squad and management went into one of those circular huddles that are now de rigueur. For a moment it looked as if they were taking this crack terribly seriously, but seconds later they broke up in fits of laughter, writes Gerry Thornley
REPLACEMENTS: Castres - R Vignaux, D Dima, S Chinarro, T Bourdet, O Sarramea, G Delmotte, F Plisson. Munster - M Horan, J Fogarty, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, M Mullins, J Staunton.
Referee: Chris White (England)
True to form.
And as they sampled the match conditions, you sensed much of the fear factor associated with the sunny south west of France was being removed. There was a cool summer breeze blowing down the ground and a thin veil of cloud overhead; the same is forecast for this afternoon. Any dip in the temperatures, albeit merely from the high 20s to the low 20s, is decidedly welcome.
Mick Galwey leaned on one of the perimeter advertising hoardings, surveyed the neatly-cropped, firm, green baize in front of him and the magnificent stadium. "This is brilliant," he said simply.
It may be a flawed choice of venue, but the ol' warrior has played in many grounds in a host of conditions, and, far from having him trembling in his boots, he clearly liked this. It's cramped, it's partisan, it's going to be white hot.
The anxious edge to Munster's mindset is palpable, which Galwey believes is a good sign. And for the 11 of the starting XV who played for Ireland in the Six Nations, it may be that a change is as good as a rest.
And they've been to France and bought the Heineken European Cup T-shirt many times over now these past five years under the guidance of Declan Kidney and Niall O'Donovan, who will be abdicating at the end of this campaign.
The cliché about Munster sides revelling in mudbaths and inclement weather has long been consigned to history. Remember Bordeaux. For sure, the conditions are more to the French side's liking, and the sides will be obliged to play in spurts, intermingled with breathers, rather than at a consistently high tempo. Again, Castres are vastly more accustomed to this.
It is because of the conditions, and the Castres scrum, that John Kingston - whose Harlequins' side played the protagonists twice this season - admits: "All my logic says Castres will win in France. They have a seriously good scrum and a fantastic broken field game.
"I hope I'm wrong, because I would dearly love Munster to win this competition, and I'd actually give them a good chance against Leicester in the final, so I won't put the mockers on them."
Castres are a funny lot themselves. They sacked their long-serving coach Alain Gaillard last October and that same week blitzed Harlequins 39-17 at the Stoop. Their outhalf, Gregor Townsend, admitted yesterday that "our form, especially away from home, is much better in the Heineken Cup, which is probably down to concentration".
Townsend, again made captain to maximise their ability to communicate with referee Clive White, is undoubtedly a key man once more. Few play the running game flatter or better than the gifted Scot, and if he gets going then so to will Castres' running patterns.
Harassing and hassling him, like Keith Wood did to Diego Dominguez in the quarter-finals two seasons ago, or Serge Betsen did to Jonny Wilkinson in Paris this season, would seem a winning ploy, along with slowing down Castres' ruck ball.
Munster are good at that, and the appointment of the technically correct White (refereeing this match-up for the third time) could help, as he is particularly hot on penalising players for not releasing, which ensures a real contest at the breakdown.
Since the quarter-finals, Castres have the only formguide, having played seven games to Munster's one. But recent hammerings of poor Dax and Montebaun sides could be misleading, leaving them ill-prepared for the biggest pressure game in their history.
There is, of course, a question mark over the Munster scrum, which is sure to be targeted (though Castres have only one prop on the bench). Even so, Peter Clohessy's presence is a huge boost. Bearing in mind the history between these sides, the Claw has become a totem of Munster's resistance for this semi-final.
As sporadic sightings of Munster jerseys hereabouts put it: "Bitten and burnt, but not beaten."
And the 7,000-plus Red Army will give their heroes bursts of energetic resistance.
"Every club in Europe is jealous of the Munster supporters," admitted Townsend yesterday, while Kingston commented on hearing the size of Munster's support: "That could win it for them."
When the lineout goes well, and Ronan O'Gara goes well, then so do Munster usually. For all the lamenting of Jim Williams' absence, Alan Quinlan's presence gives Munster a back row option and a defensive jumper on the Castres throw.
O'Gara, straining at the leash after impressive bit-part performances for Ireland in the championship, is keeping a low profile. His tactical kicking cannot permit the Castres back three to counter-attack. And, when he takes the ball up flat and ups the tempo with those trademark passages of quick Munster recycling, his timing and execution have to be spot on and utilised fully.
And, of course, the whole thing could hinge on his place-kicking. One of Munster's main men for the big occasion, you sense he's primed for a big end to the season.
It looks like a 50-50 game. A match-up which has gone down to the wire in three of the four previous meetings over the last two seasons. Once more it could boil down to just one or two plays on the day.
It would be just and fitting were this Munster crew to get one final tilt at their Holy Grail in the Cardiff final on May 25th.
