Battling Munster come up short against Toulouse in Heineken Champions Cup

Munster's Heineken Champions Cup campaign got off to a disappointing start as an Antoine Dupont-inspired Toulouse emerged victorious from the Thomond Park fog.

Joey Carbery’s 10th-minute try gave Munster a deserved lead after a bright opening, but they failed to build on that and allowed the five-time winners back into the contest through unforced errors and ill-discipline.

Mattis Lebel scored his third try and two games against Munster as Toulouse capitalised on their first entry into the opposition 22, and although a late Carbery penalty made it 10-10 at the interval, the hosts were hit by a sucker-punch after the restart as Lucas Tauzin scored with his first touch.

Munster dug in and just five points still separated the teams late on, but they were unable to find a late winner in the face of some tenacious defending. Dupont’s game management in testing conditions kept Toulouse’s noses in front, although the scrum-half was sin-binned late on for a deliberate knock-on.

It was an another encouraging display by Graham Rowntree’s men, who entered this game on the back of a three-game winning streak, but they were guilty of forcing things at times and Toulouse’s staunch defending kept them at bay.

Munster had been knocked out of Europe by Toulouse in the past two seasons so they had a point to prove at a biting cold Thomond Park.

They warmed the 21,884-strong crowd up by flying out of the traps, winning an early scrum penalty, dominating the breakdown and getting over the gain line with regularity as their forwards gave Carbery a great attacking platform.

The out-half confidently pulled the strings, carrying to the line and mixing his game up nicely to keep Toulouse on their toes.

Munster’s only frustration from such a positive