Van Graan: Win at Castres should seal last-16 slot

Munster head coach Johann van Graan believes victory at Castres Olympique on Friday should be enough to secure a knockout berth in the Heineken Champions Cup for the Irish province.

But although the two-time European champions have won their opening two Pool B fixtures, at Wasps and at home to Castres respectively, he knows they face a huge battle to secure the double over their French opponents.

Van Graan told the Irish Examiner: “We came out of a very challenging time with two wins out of two that would put us in a very good position at the back end of Europe.

“The way it is structured currently, it is four games. If you win three out of your four games, it puts you in a very good position to make the knockout rounds.

“You might need less, but obviously we’d like to win every game that we play and we’ve got Wasps the following Sunday, which will be a nine-day turnaround.”

Munster were last away to Castres in December 2018 – a match Van Graan remembers well.

He said: “The last game we played in Castres, we lost 13-12. We got one point and even that point we got was tight in that pool.

“We are going to have perform. It will be tight. Who knows what will happen in the other games, so you might have to wait quite a bit to know where your fate lies.”

Van Graan is hopeful captain Peter O’Mahony will be available to face Castres after the flanker pulled out of Munster’s URC victory over Ulster Rugby last weekend due to a leg injury sustained in the warm-up.

He told The 42: “Hopefully Pete comes through training during the week. He trained yesterday afternoon [Monday] and we’re glad to have him back.

“We didn’t have any contact yesterday – he still has to come through that – but he looked really sharp.”