Video of Leinster tries against Munster in Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park Dublin-2/5/09

Ireland: Heineken Cup Semi-final- Reasons why Leinster defeated Munster on a score of 25 to 6 at Croke Park

Odds on favourites Munster suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Leinster in the Heineken Cup semi-final played at Croke Park. Few pundits or Munster supporters gave Leinster any chance. However the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

The post mortems have already begun. A multiplicity of reasons can be put forward to explain the defeat of the champions:

The overconfidence which pervaded the province translated itself to the players. In addition the media built up Munster as probably the world’s greatest club side. Much of the talk concerned Munster's likely opponents in the final. Even the best professionals can succumb to such pressure. This blunted the edge required in the field of battle. Munster lacked the hunger of heretofore.

In contrast Leinster was roundly criticized as weak spirited and lacking in the bottle required to topple the champions. The savage criticism meted out to Leinster fuelled an insatiable desire to topple Munster. The Leinster players were hungry for success.

The selection of eight Munster players for the Lions tour of South Africa undoubtedly weakened their focus on this game albeit subconsciously. This is undoubtedly borne out by the fact that Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara did not play to their own usual high standards. In addition Paul O’Connell may have lost focus- having been chosen as Lions captain.
The injury to Tomas O’Leary may have affected those chosen for the Lions tour.

Leinster "out-munstered" Munster in the physical battles. Indeed it is safe to say that 14 Leinster players bested their immediate opponents. The physical power of the Leinster pack overwhelmed Munster. Players such as Shane Jennings, Leo Cullen, Jamie Heaslip and Stan Wright were a revelation. Jennings and Cullen have benefited from their stay at Leicester. However it was the signing of Australian Rocky Elsom which was the icing on the cake. Elsom oozes power and class. This is enhanced by a huge work rate. The man is a colossus. Over the last two years Leinster coach Michael Cheika has gradually assembled a powerful pack to complement the class of backs such as Darcy, O’Driscoll and Fitzgerald. Yesterday Cheika got team selection correct.

Errors by Munster players resulted in two tries for Leinster. A missed tackle by Paul Warwick led to a Leinster try by Luke Fitzgerald whilst a misplaced pass from Ronan O’Gara gave the ball to O’Driscoll who duly scored. The loss of Rua Tipoki has severely weakened the Munster back division.

In addition players such as John Hayes, Alan Quinlan and David Wallace are undoubtedly approaching the end of their careers as age begins to catch up with them.

Also Leinster played close to the edge-the mark of a good team.

Good luck to Leinster in the final. Hopefully Leinster can keep the Heineken Cup in Ireland. However Leicester will be formidable opponents. Munster will be back.

Rugby Union at the Millennium Stadium: Heineken Cup Final-Munster defeat Toulouse in a Titanic Struggle

Munster displayed skill, grit and panache to secure their second Heineken Cup triumph in three years, defeating a wonderful Toulouse team by 16-13.
This game -attended by 80,000- was an epic and epitomised everything that is best in Rugby Union. It was a wonderful advertisement for the game.

The atmosphere was electric. The intensity was far greater than that of the Southern Hemisphere’s Super-14.

Toulouse dominated the opening quarter and exerted extreme pressure on Munster.Yet the men from the South of France had very little to show for their efforts. Elissalde missed an early penalty kick but scored a drop-goal after eight minutes. He failed with a second drop goal attempt.It is arguable that Toulouse’s failure to register more scores in this period cost them the game. Byron Kelleher was caught with his hands in the ruck. Munster now launched a ferocious attack, which went through many phases. Denis Leamy went close to scoring but the TMO ruled correctly that he failed to touch the ball down.In the resulting scrum the Munster forward power came to the fore. Toulouse buckled and Leamy was driven over the line for a try. O’Gara now converted. Sustained pressure for about eight minutes from the Munster pack had yielded dividends.
O’Gara converted a penalty. Elissalde converted a penalty for Toulouse just before half- time -Quinlan having infringed.

In the first five minutes of the second half Paul O’Connell twice saved Munster. He stole a line-out metres from his own line. He also stole a ball from a maul as the Toulouse juggernaut trundled towards the Munster line. Today O’Connell answered his ill informed critics in no uncertain manner. Doug Howlett crossed the Toulouse line but the score was disallowed for a forward pass.
Fabien Pelous was sent to the sin bin for a kick to Alan Quinlan’s backside.
O’Gara kicked the penalty and Munster now led by seven.

Toulouse now rose to the challenge and Cédric Heymans took a quick line-out throw to himself inside his own half and instigated a wonderful move. Heymans crafted a beautiful chip, which he gathered and then outwitted two Munster backs before kicking. Yannick Jauzion kicked the ball forward. Donguy finished this stunning move by touching down for a try. After 62 minutes a fine Toulouse move broke down when Elissalde kicked the ball over the Munster goal line. This was a seminal moment as Toulouse had come forward in waves and looked likely to score. After 65 minutes O’Gara scored a penalty. The Munster forwards maintained the high intensity level required. Toulouse- the team of all the talents- was beaten.

All Munster players were heroes. O’Connell, Quinlan , Denis Leamy, Rua Tipoki, Lifeimi Mafi and Ian Dowling in particular stood out. Cédric Heymans was man of the match for Toulouse.
Declan Kidney, Jim Williams and the backroom staff have masterminded another stunning success.

Irish Rugby Union- Money talks

Apparently All Black wing Doug Howlett appears to be on the verge of signing for Munster. However he will not be available until the latter stages of the Heineken Cup.



The 28-year-old Auckland rocket is part of New Zealand's World Cup squad. The deal is believed to be worth €1 million.

Undoubtedly the Munster back division lacks flair. A fit and eager Howlett could electrify the province. Though only 28 years old he has a lot of mileage on the clock. He has played for the All Blacks on 60 occasions. He has 93 Super 12/14 caps and 52 provincial caps. Munster may gain in the short term but is it not time for the province to produce dynamic backs of its own?

The signing of Howlett will hinder the development of indigenous backs. The huge influx of players from New Zealand and South Africa into French and English clubs has probably forced Munsters hand. Success in Heineken Cup Rugby is a financial necessity.

Indeed Irish Rugby Union has suffered from the failure of the IRFU to cultivate Sevens Rugby both domestically and Internationally. It is noticeable that countries such as New Zealand and Australia take International Sevens very seriously. In general Southern Hemisphere players are more comfortable with ball in hand than Irish players. Granted that the Leinster back division -with players such as Hickie, O'Driscoll, Darcy and Horgan- exudes class. Unfortunately this is the exception rather than the rule.

IRISH coach Eddie O’Sullivan is believed to have signed a 4 year contract with the IRFU worth €5 million. This is in advance of the World Cup. It would make more sense to negotiate with O'Sullivan after the World Cup. This generous deal will have knock on effects as players who do the hard graft will look with jaundiced eye at such generosity.

Renewal of player's contracts may be more costly than the IRFU anticipate. Player contract inflation may haunt the IRFU for a prolonged period of time.