RC Toulon 27-25 Munster: Late Marius Domon penalty steals dramatic win for French titans

The first half of this game demonstrated the hunger each team felt to secure the win, yet the execution to do so was poor. It was the second half which saw this appetite be played out on the pitch. Munster appeared the leading team as the game began against Toulon, but the first half proved to be relatively slow as the score sat at seven for Toulon and six for Munster at the 40th minute.

It took 16 minutes for points to be on the board thanks to a penalty kick by Munster’s Jack Crowley. He followed this up by securing another 3 points in the 31st minute, whilst Toulon had yet to score. It was, however, Toulon who got the first try of the game in the 39th minute by the hands of Marius Domon, as well as a successful conversion.

A yellow card for Tadhg Beirne put Munster down to 14 men in the 36th minute and so the second half began with an advantage for Toulon who were keen to profit from the opportunity. Whilst the first half proved to be a slow battle, the second half provided more action and drama which the crowd were happy to witness.

With Beirne still in the sin bin, Toulon’s Ben White put in the work to secure the first try of the second half in the 43rd minute and a successful conversion from Domon kept Toulon in front with 12 points, compared to Munsters six. Munster retaliated and gained a try in the 46th minute by Calvin Nash, along with a successful conversion from Crowley. At this point, only one point separated the two teams.

By the end of the game, both teams secured three tries, as well as three successful penalties. However, what separated the teams was Domon’s ability to successfully convert the tries, yet Crowley was only successful in two of his kicks. This left the full-time score as 27 for Toulon, 25 for Munster, who held onto the all-important losing bonus point.

Toulon were able to secure this win despite numerous yellow cards in the second half. The French side had to sustain 20 minutes with 14 men due to two players being sin binned at different times, compared to Munster who had to hold on for 10 minutes.

All teams in pool two have now played three times and this result puts Toulon in third position with nine points and pushes Munster down to fifth with five points.

TRIES: Domon 38', White 43', Drean 49'

CONVERSIONS: Domon 39', 44', 50'

PENALTIES: Domon 64', 75'

TRIES: Nash 46', O'Donoghue 67', Farrell 71'

CONVERSIONS: Crowley 47', 72'

PENALTIES: Crowley 16', 31'