Some things never change. Alan Quinlan served as MC on the team bus, while Vincent, the chef they first met in Bordeaux six seasons ago, again acted as their interpreter and all-round fixer. And the fans, 2,500 of them. Via Toulouse, Carcassonne, Montpellier, even Barcelona, they came in their droves. Allez les Rouges.

But this was different, new, refreshing. Barry Murphy, whizzing through at outside centre; that pop-up pass by Anthony Foley; Tomás O’Leary dancing past tacklers for a second try. One-trick pony? As Munster’s website proclaimed it yesterday, Munster’s Seven-Try Trick Pony.

Foley, Munster’s capo di tutti capi, wouldn’t admit to being stung by recent press criticism. But as he has said before, a little bit of bitterness is no bad thing in these situations.

“People can try and pigeon- hole us,” Foley said. “We don’t care what people say. We know within ourselves we can match any side but we want to have the confidence to play whatever way we feel. We can run, catch pass, maul, ruck, kick the corners if they want us to do that.

“We’re really just playing what’s in front of us and playing with our heads up. The important thing is that fellas maintain that. We were getting a lot of criticism in the last few weeks when we maybe didn’t play the game we should have. We always felt in that period that we were creating a lot of opportunities. It was just important that we maintained that, didn’t go back into our shells.”

If there was one moment that indicated Munster’s intent, it came after just five minutes and from an unlikely source. Ian Dowling was making his Heineken Cup debut, in France, with a hostile, beery crowd in his ears, and with a gale in his face. He didn’t just catch the first bomb that came his way, he marked it, tapped it and made good yardage running it back.

“He doesn’t lack confidence. I’d put it to you that way,” said Foley, heavy on the understatement. “And look at some of the other young lads — O’Leary, (Stephen) Keogh, Denis Fogarty, Barry Murphy. It was a great experience for all of them. It’s just important that we keep things in perspective.” With the adrenaline still pumping seconds after the final whistle, Foley told the television interviewer that Munster had played “beyond their wildest dreams”.

On the bus to Toulouse an hour or so later, he was telling his players to keep a lid on their excitement. Unless they do the needful against Sale on Saturday, it will all count for nothing. And this was, after all, probably the worst Castres team he has played against (and he has played in all 10 games between the teams).

As Phil Christophers, their English full-back, said afterwards, they tried hard, especially in the first half, but few sides can afford to make eight changes in the pack and hope to beat Munster, no matter where.

You just wonder what ERC made of that selection — when quarter-final places can be decided by try-count, the tournament organisers need to ensure that every pool game is taken seriously by every team.

Laurent Marticorena, Castres’s makeshift fly-half, was probably giving it his all, but he was all over the place. Trevor Halstead twice made a monkey of him, while his attempt to find the corner into the wind was risible. He was also lucky to stay on the field after a spear tackle on John Kelly in the first half. Matt Bayliss, the independent citing commissioner, will surely take a close look.

Munster weren’t too concerned by Castres’s selection policy. “It doesn’t mean a whole lot to us what team they put out,” said Kelly. “They’re all good players and they’re going to try as hard as possible. When they had the wind before the break, it was always going to be a real battle. Our first-half performance was huge from that point of view.

“They showed an edited video of the game in our hotel in Toulouse. I reckoned a turning point was that scrum on our own line just after we’d scored our first try. David Wallace put in a massive tackle on their No 8 and we managed to poach it. If they’d scored then, it could have been a different game.”

Kelly has a slight groin strain but is confident of being fit for Sale on Saturday. Jerry Flannery and Halstead, two others nursing knocks, should also be fine for that match.

Assuming Sale beat the Dragons at home today with a bonus point, Munster will need a bonus point next week if they are to top the pool, so inevitably there will be talk of the “Miracle Match” against Gloucester three years ago.

Sale are undoubtedly a better side, currently joint top of the English Premiership and with serious strength in depth. They are also bigger than Gloucester — a pack of Sheridan, Bruno, Turner, Fernandez Lobbe, Jones, White, Lund and Chabal carries some muscle.

But they are relative novices at this Heineken Cup lark — this is only their third year of taking part. They can claim to have won the Challenge Cup twice, also to have won on the road this season, at Castres, Saracens, Leeds and Bath. But none of this compares with winning in Limerick. It will be an especially searching test for Andy Sheridan, Charlie Hodgson and Chris Jones, three key players for Sale whose temperament has been questioned.

Foley and Co will watch Sale play the Dragons this afternoon, hoping for a favour but expecting none.

“Next week’s going to be an interesting encounter,” said Foley. “It’s important we get the right people at the game. You hope the people who fork out for the away trips can get tickets for the home games too. You can’t underestimate the importance of the support we had on Friday night. We want more of the same next week, even noisier.”

Allez les Rouges.