Munster vs Castres Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Munster vs Castres taking place? Munster vs Castres will take place on Saturday 18th December, 2021 at 20:00 (UK)
Where is Munster vs Castres taking place? Munster vs Castres will take place at Thomond Park in Limerick
Where can I get tickets for Munster vs Castres? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Munster vs Castres on in the UK? Munster vs Castres will be televised live on BT Sport
Where can I stream Munster vs Castres? BT Sport subscribers can stream Munster vs Castres live on the BT Sport Player & app
THE TEAM NEWS
Munster: 15 Patrick Campbell, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Keynan Knox, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Jack O’Sullivan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Alex Kendellen
Castres: 15 Thomas Larregain, 14 Bastien Guillemin, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Pierre Aguillon, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Santiago Arata Perrone, 8 Kevin Kornath, 7 Simon Meka, 6 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 5 Théo Hannoyer, 4 Loic Jacquet (c), 3 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Wayan de Benedittis
Replacements: 16 Brice Humbert, 17 Julius Nostadt, 18 Antoine Guillamon, 19 Jack Whetton, 20 Mateaki Kafatolu, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Louis Le Brun, 23 Antoine Zeghdar
THE PREDICTION
Munster’s makeshift side were exceptional in a 14-35 win away at Wasps last Saturday, who were also without a significant amount of first-team players. They look to have escaped the knife of postponed matches this weekend with Top 14 side Castres able to travel to the Republic of Ireland and the hosts will be eager to go out in front of rivals here with a convincing bonus-point win. The visitors are superb at home domestically but Premiership champions Harlequins just snuck past them last weekend 18-20 and this looks set to be a bit of a thankless task on Saturday. Munster will be bolstered by some returning first-teamers but well able to cover -20 here either way.
