Stade Francais player ratings: A depleted Stade Français were outplayed and outclassed at Thomond Park, unable to match Munster’s intensity and cohesion – and that was before they shot themselves in the foot with a double red card for their second-rows.
The 33-7 scoreline was ultimately a fair reflection of a messy contest and a busy night for referee Luke Pearce, with the Parisians strangely seeming to galvanise once they were down to 13 players.
Here’s how we rated the Stade Francais players.
1. Clement Castets – 7.5
Worked hard in the scrum against John Ryan. Cleverly won a penalty that stopped an early Munster try. Tackled his guts out and there was no arguing with his try though.
2. Lucas Peyresblanques – 6
Dropped by Alex Nankivell 25 minutes in [who was lucky to stay on the field] and went for a HIA. Befuddled by errors in the loose after his return but showed he wasn’t all done to set up Castets for his try on 59 minutes with a clever front-of-lineout set-play.
3. Francisco Gomez Kodela – 6
The Los Pumas prop was decent at scrum time even if he was largely anonymous in open play.
4. Pierre-Henri Azagoh – 3
A steady performance in the lineout and had his moments in contact too, but it was all ruined by his outrageous tackle on O’Mahony. Braindead stuff.
5. Baptiste Pesenti – 3
Seemed desperate to follow his second-row colleague off the field and his WWE-style lift on wee Craig Casey left Luke Pearce little option.
6. Pierre Huguet – 5
Put in a decent shift but failed to stand out in a game dominated by Munster’s physicality. Like Storm Darragh, he eventually blew himself out after a strong start.
7. Ryan Chapuis – 5.5
Fought like a cornered badger and gave Munster problems at the breakdown. His cheapshot at the end was pretty needless even if it was in the spirit of a bad-tempered game.
8. Yoan Tanga – 6
Plenty of strong carries but ultimately failed to make much of a dent in the red wall.
9. Thibaut Motassi – 6.5
Never gave up the fight in what were extenuating circumstances. Worked hard throughout and had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to keep Munster honest.
10. Zack Henry – 8
A standout performer who controlled the game well when given the chance. Showed composure under pressure and made the most of limited opportunities. Some of his kicking into the wind was a bit iffy mind, but there were some lovely touches in there too.
11. Samuel Ezeala – 5
Showed glimpses of his pace but couldn’t find much space to exploit. The much-hyped Spaniard failed to deliver much here.
12. Pierre Boudehent – 4
Struggled defensively and failed to link effectively with the backline.
13. Joe Marchant – 5
Failed to make a mark in a Stade backline that never really got going until the game was beyond them. The former England centre lost his temper at times and cut a frustrated-looking figure throughout, although he refused to wilt in defence.
14. Charles Laloi – 6.5
Impressed at times on his season debut, highlighted by an early defender-beating break that caught the eye. He hasn’t played since March but not covering the blindside for Thaakir Abrahams’s try was criminal all the same.
15. Joe Jonas – 4
Struggled in the blustery conditions and let the Munster crowd get to him. A disastrous blunder in which he didn’t listen to or didn’t understand referee Luke Pearce saw him concede a five-metre scrum just before halftime. The proverbial rabbit in the headlights at times.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Luka Petriashvili – 6
Brought some energy in both of his cameos on either side of halftime.
17. Moses Alo-Emile – NA
Wasn’t used.
18. Paul Alo-Emile – NA
As with his brother, wasn’t used due to the red card chaos.
19. Setareki Turagacoke – 7.5
Despite being two men down he very nearly scored with one impressive charge for the line. One of a number of subs that took the game to Munster in the final quarter.
20. Andy Timo – 6
The back-row did his best after being drafted into the second-row.
21. Juan Martin Scelzo – 6
Hard to fault given the chaos he was brought into.
22. Louis Foursans-Bourdette – 5
Had a few touches but couldn’t do much considering the game was in disarray by that stage he came on.
23. Louis Carbonel – NA
Came on too late to make a significant difference.
