Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Diarmuid Barron and Andrew Smith in La Rochelle. FreeRed Army 'I've been at the club a long time, that was up there with anything I've seen' Ian Costello says Munster want to go all the way in the Champions Cup. 9.04pm, 5 Apr 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Stade Marcel Deflandre MUNSTER INTERIM HEAD coach Ian Costello hailed the province’s travelling support for their influence on a magnificent 25-24 win over Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in the Champions Cup round of 16. Costello also said that Munster are determined to build on this stirring success by going on to win the Champions Cup outright. The southern province earned a quarter-final place against Bordeaux or Ulster next weekend with their impressive three-try win against La Rochelle at Stade Marcel Deflandre, where they were roared on by somewhere in the region of 3,000 Munster fans. The atmosphere around the French town was remarkable all day as the Red Army made their presence felt and Costello said they were important in Munster holding on to edge a thrilling contest. “There’s unbelievable emotion in there,” said Costello of Munster’s dressing room post-match. “Like anything, when so much goes into it and the boys emptied themselves, all 23, and we know that would be the case. It’s a special week. “It was a special day from the moment we arrived at the ground. The reception we got outside… I’ve been at the club a long time, it was up there with anything I’ve ever seen. And what a place to play rugby. “We just had to stick in there and stick in there. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads staying in the fight and giving us a chance right up to the end. There was so much quality in there as well. So emotionally, couldn’t be prouder and we’ll try enjoy it for what it is now and then look forward to… we want three more of these, not one more. Advertisement John Hodnett and Jack Crowley with one of the Munster fans' flags.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO “We want three more and that’s what the chat was in the dressing room.” Munster fans may have to get back on the road very soon if Bordeaux beat Ulster tomorrow to earn a home quarter-final. For now, they can rejoice after an action-packed win that included big moments like Jack Crowley landing a drop goal to give Munster a hint of breathing room with 10 minutes of the game left. “Huge, yeah, Jack’s decision-making,” said Costello. “He went for it early, we probably didn’t see it coming – nobody did – but it gave us that eight-point cushion. “But it was pretty nerve-wracking the last couple of minutes, I won’t lie.” It was an intriguing occasion for the involvement of O’Gara against the province where he built his legendary status. O’Gara’s La Rochelle came off second best as Munster managed to limit some of their strengths. Costello said they managed to block out all the noise about the ROG factor his week. “We’ve huge respect for Ronan, what he’s done here at this club, and he spoke to us in the dressing room really well,” said Costello. “But we didn’t talk about it at all, it wasn’t a factor. They’ve such pedigree as a club, we’d our hands full dealing with that. Munster fans watch on at Stade Marcel Deflandre.Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO “Look at our scrummaging, our maul D, our collisions tonight. The boys will take three, four days to recover from that with the effort that went into that. “Our focus was around dealing with their power, how we play our game around it. We did it just about enough. I’d say we were probably much lower on certain stats like possession, territory than we usually are. “But no, the focus was on us and how we stop their threats. The majority of the game, I thought we did that really well.” Gavin Coombes scored a superb blockdown try in the second half, while on-loan wing Andrew Smith also dotted down, but the most eye-catching Munster try came in the first half. South African fullback Thaakir Abrahams created it as he made a positive comeback from injury, showing off his footwork for a linebreak on kick return before he fed Craig Casey for the finish. “When you look at the profile of your team and where you might have gaps, we thought we could add more pace and our back three today was exceptionally quick,” said Costello. “Calvin Nash had an outstanding game, his tackling on the edge, his kick-chase. Andrew Smith, his first European game, he came in on loan because of injuries, he was outstanding as well. “Those moments, he [Abrahams] went between two world-class backs. He’s pretty sore now and he has six days to recover for the next one.” Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'I've been at the club a long time, that was up there with anything I've seen'”. 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