Rugby Club Toulonnais vs Munster Rugby Preview
It’s Toulon vs Munster in the Investec Champions Cup and these two European heavyweights meet at the Stade Mayol for the first time in six years. It’s only Round three, but it’s already a must-win game for both. The odds strongly favour a home win, even though Toulon is at the bottom of pool three with two consecutive defeats.
A Munster win isn’t out of the question. However, the men in red look to gain a positive result for the first time in over a month. They have one draw, a disappointing 17-17 result at home to Bayonne in round one. It’s still early in the Investec Champions Cup, and already we have a rugby match that neither side dare lose. Which side will take the initiative and get the first win of their cup campaign?
Rugby Club Toulonnais vs Munster Rugby Head-To-Head and Key Stats
Toulon and Munster have met four times in the Champions Cup with both teams winning on two occasions. Interestingly, the home side in this fixture has been victorious in every meeting. Toulon’s last win against Munster was a 24-16 triumph in the Heineken Cup Semi-Final on 27 Apr 2014. That said, the last time the two sides faced off was on 31 March 2018, when Munster edged an epic Quarter Final at Thomond Park 20-19. Before that, the clubs met in the division stage of the cup 14 years ago. Munster triumphed in a 45-18 win in October 2010, and Toulon responded 32-16 in January 2011.
With only a few head-to-head clashes to draw upon, the recent form of both sides will give us more insight into the outcome. Toulonnais lay fifth in Pro 14 this season, with seven wins and five defeats. Not outstanding, but enough to ensure they can qualify for next season’s Investec Champions Cup. Toulon suffered a defeat in the league last weekend, a 27-17 loss to south coast rivals Montpellier. Montpellier had the better chances during the game and looked nothing like a team bottom of the table. Thanks to an early try by Geoffrey Doumayrou, Toulon struggled to keep pace.
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 👟🏉
Qui de David Ribbans, Ben White et Jiuta Wainiqolo touchera la barre ? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/NzEAStLRj8
— RCT – RC Toulon (@RCTofficiel) January 10, 2024
A Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg try extended Montpelier’s lead shortly after halftime. Despite Toulon’s reputation for not giving up, their wastefulness in the opposition 22 was the difference on the day. Montpellier went down to 14 men for the last ten minutes, but even that failed to inspire Toulon. They looked second-best throughout the contest and failed to apply pressure on the home side. A consolation try from Dany Priso was not enough to change another poor performance on the road this season.
In the round before, Toulon ended the year impressively with a 19-5 home win against Stade Français. Toulon’s only other Champions Cup games were against English opposition. With a later start to the tournament because of the RWC, round one saw Toulonnais narrowly lose 18-19 to Exeter. In round two, a week later, RC Toulon popped over the channel for a trip to Northampton. They were not far away looking at the scoreline, but another defeat left the bottom of the group in the ERCC.
Munster’s recent form is hardly any better in both the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup. Their last outing was a heavy 22-9 injury-affected defeat to Connacht on New Year’s Day. The weather played its part during the contest, but it was the same for both sides. That leaves Munster without excuses for only their ninth defeat in 43 outings against rivals Connacht.
Injuries also hampered Munster before the game and they led 6-3 at halftime thanks to the boot of Tony Butler. After the break, Munster suffered further injury blows with Oli Jager and Jack O’Donoghue requiring treatment. With a depleted opponent and a strong wind behind their backs, Connacht kept in the game and dominated the last 20 minutes. Jack Carty’s tactical kicking was crucial and JJ Hanrahan’s boot kept Connacht on the hunt. A late Jack Aungier score and another conversion from Hanrahan saw the home side home to a rare and comfortable win against Munster.
In Munster’s other recent outings, rivals Leinster were victorious on Boxing Day. This was the first of two games without a try in a row. Before Christmas, Munster suffered a draw at home to French side Bayonne in the cup. Round two was even worse as they fell apart in defeat to Exeter. After two games, Munster only has 3 points, one more than Toulon.
Rugby Club Toulonnais vs Munster Rugby Predictions
Toulon and Munster have both struggled in this season’s Investec Champions Cup, as they prop up pool three. With two wins each historically, the betting is close for this clash. RC Toulonnais has the home advantage, and the bookies favour them to win with odds of 1/3. Munster is 5/2 to win outright, but what looks interesting is a 22/1 draw. Draws are uncommon in rugby. However, this weekend could be an exception as neither side will want to lose this game.
For handicap betting, the odds of either side winning by over six points is close. Some bookies are giving either outcome a 10/11 chance. That said, neither team has been in free-slowing scoring action of late, so a big win is unlikely, but of course not impossible. In a tight match like this, live betting should be a consideration. On paper, there is not much to split the sides. Waiting until the match begins could be a sensible move this weekend.
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Rugby Club Toulonnais vs Munster Rugby Betting Tips
Rugby wagers on this fixture are difficult to get right this weekend. Looking at the previous results when these clubs face off gives some insight. The home team has won on every occasion, but the sides share the spoils at two victories each. Instead of betting on an outright winner, there are several other markets to consider. You could look at a handicap wager, the winning margin, or which team will score a try first.
Plus, Munster has failed to score a try in their last two games, making a high-scoring match unlikely on Saturday. Even with both sides winning one game in the last five matches, the kicking has been fantastic. If Tony Butler and Melvyn Jaminet continue their current form, neither team will run away with the scoring. Given how badly both teams have started in the cup, tension could rise and players could make mistakes. That means yellow cards and even reds are on the line this weekend. You never know how a rugby union match will unfold, but this one is shaping up to be closer than usual.
Toulonnais vs Munster might not be a top-of-the-table clash, but there have been several fantastic games between the clubs over the years. Betting odds are tight, and many favour Toulon thanks to home advantage. However, history has shown that you should never write Munster off.
Rugby Club Toulonnais Team News & Lineups
There’s no news of any major injuries in the RC Toulon squad, so things look positive for the French outfit. In other good news, several key personnel have signed contract extensions in recent months, including Bruce Devaux and Charles Ollivon. Toulon got a couple of players off the books, including Noa Nakaitaci and Aymeric Luc. New signing Vasil Lobzhanidze is a Georgian scrum-half who featured in the loss to Montpellier.
- Toulon Predicted Lineup: B. Devaux, J. Singleton, B. Gigashvili, M. Halagahu, D. Ribbans, E. Abadie, C. Ollivon, C. du Preez, B. White, D. Biggar, G. Villière, M. Smaili, L. Fainga’anuku, G. Drean, and M. Jaminet.
Munster Rugby Team News & Lineups
Munster is assessing the fitness of several key players. The team remains in limbo regarding the availability of Fineen Wycherley, Alex Nankivell, Niall Scannell, Peter O’Mahony, Joey Carbery, and Patrick Campbell. The medical team will decide on certain players later in the week. There is a silver lining as the medical team has cleared Eoghan Clarke to play after making a recovery.
- Munster Predicted Lineup: J. Loughman, D. Barron, O. Jager, G. Coombes, T. Beirne, T. Ahern, J. Hodnett, J. O’Donoghue, C. Murray, T. Butler, S. Daly, R. Scannell, A. Frisch, C. Nash, and S. Zebo.
