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22 Oct 2025
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22 Oct 2025
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Munster's interim head Ian Costello, left, and captain Tadhg Beirne shake hands after their victory over Saracens in the Investec Champions Cup at Thomond Park on Saturday night | PICTURE: Sportsfile
"THE beauty of having five players back for this game compared to the Leinster game, and there is a huge amount of leadership in those five, made a massive difference in key parts of the game where we felt like we were in control. These returning players and the energy from the bench made a huge difference in this game."
These were interim head coach Ian Costello's thoughts after Munster's critical 17-12 win over Saracens in the third group game of the Investec Champions Cup at Thomond Park on saturday night.
With their backs against the wall, Munster produced a European rugby classic to pretty much book themselves a spot in the last 16 of the Champions Cup with only an away fixture against Northampton Saints to play next Saturday, 3.15pm, live on Premier Sports.
Munster made a huge second-half come back to produce a magical last 40 minutes with tries from Dian Bleuler and John Hodnett with Jack Crowley adding the two conversions and a penalty to cement the victory on home soil.
Speaking about the win, Ian Costello said: "Everything in the last 10 days was about freshness. We set ourselves up to be fresh for the type of battle we knew we would come up against and it definitely came through in the end. The squad felt a lot more competitive this week and to get the five lads back was a huge boost for us as well.
"You can see the younger players coming through the ranks as well, I suppose Brian Gleeson got the limelight tonight coming off the bench, but he has been consistently the last few weeks after a huge learning curve in Castres, and he has been excellent in terms of the role he has played the last few weeks. The likes of Evan O'Connell, Ben O'Connor, Sean Edogbo and others have all been training with us every week and we are excited to see their progression through the rest of the season."
Munster's final Champions Cup group game gets underway at Franklin's Gardens next Saturday, leaving a seven day turnaround for the men in red.
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