Knockout kings.

Munster stormed into the knockout stages of the Champions Cup yesterday evening with a 48-3 trouncing of Castres in Thomond Park. The southern province topped their pool as a result, with Toulon now set to visit Limerick in the last eight.

Incredibly Munster have now reached the knockout stages in Europe a record 17 times from a possible 23 since its inception back in 1995.

From those 17 quarter-finals, they’ve reached the semi-finals of the competition on 12 occasions and have been knocked out four times, with one still to come.

They’ve also reached four finals, winning two of them against Biarritz in 2006 and Toulouse in 2008. Can they finally add a third title this season? Don’t bet against it.