Rory Arnold's spear tackle on Simon Zebo was one of the talking points as Munster lost in heartbreaking circumstances to Toulouse in the Champions Cup.
In a hugely physical encounter, Munster delivered a huge performance to put themselves in a 10-point lead with 15 minutes left, as Toulouse threw everything to draw 24-24 and bring the game to extra time.
First half tries from Keith Earls and Alex Kendellen saw the sides go in 14 points a piece at the interval in a tight opening 40 minutes.
However, Johann Van Graan’s side came out firing in the second half, with a Mike Haley try and a vastly improved scrum saw them take a 10-point lead over the French Champions.
Peter O’Mahony put in a other memorable European performance, with this clear out on Toulouse out-half Romain Ntamack one of his highlights of the day.
"I think he's playing the best rugby of his career!"
Just Peter O'Mahony embodying everything that it means to be a Munster player 🥰#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/7dIn2f9lEe— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) May 7, 2022
Toulouse brought themselves back into the game through a converted try from Lebel and a penalty from Thomas Ramos with five minutes remaining drew them level.
Substitute Ben Healy had a chance to win it with the last kick of the game with a long-range penalty but pushed his kick just wide.
Extra time was tight and cagey, with Healy again missing another shot at goal as the Champions Cup had their first game decided by place kicks since 2009.
Healy’s day went from bad to worse as his kick from the 10-metre line drifted wide to send Toulouse to the Semi-finals
In the days ahead, Munster may look back at a crucial moment in the second half, with Rory Arnold lucky to escape with a yellow card for this late hit on Simon Zebo.
This looked worse for me. Rory Arnold got lucky.#MUNvTOU#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/8f0QNus0cL
— Saffas Abroad Rugby (@SaffasRugby) May 7, 2022
After lengthy discussions between the referee Luke Pearce and the TMO, a yellow card saw the second row sent to the sib-bin.
Replays showed that Arnold can consider himself lucky to only receive yellow, with Zebo fortunate not to pick up a serious injury from the tackle.
A red card could have swung the game in Munster’s favour at a crucial point in the game when Munster had the momentum swinging in their favour.
SEE ALSO: Three Peter O'Mahony Moments Summed Up Stunning Toulouse Performance
