Tuesday, December 08, 2009
THOMOND PARK officials are confident that there will be no repeat of last year’s traffic chaos when Munster open their Heineken Cup campaign against Perpignan at the Limerick venue on Friday night.
The two-time European champions commenced last year’s campaign with a Friday-night home encounter against another French club, Montauban. At the time, it was the biggest game the new-look 26,000-capacity venue had hosted.
It proved a fraught night on and off the pitch, with Tony McGahan’s men squeezing home against the unfancied French side while thousands of supporters were caught up in the gridlock which gripped Limerick city.
To make matters worse, a new barcode ticketing system failed at a number of turnstiles but stadium manager John Cantwell said yesterday that lessons have been taken on board.
"We are confident," he said. "We have been on to the local authorities and the gardaí to discuss a detailed traffic plan. This is a sell-out game and the first big Friday night game of the season at a time when thousands of people will be out doing their Christmas shopping.
"We would urge all supporters to arrive as early as they can and not to leave anything to chance and don’t be expecting to park beside the stadium. There will be the usual no-parking zone around the ground, which is only fair to the local residents."
A park-and-ride system will be in operation between the city centre and the stadium while Bus Éireann will also be running a shuttle bus from Henry Street. Further information can be found on the Thomond Park and Munster Rugby websites.
The bottom line is a simple one: get there early.
"We would be hopeful that as many people as possible from Cork take the train and avoid bottlenecks at the likes of Charleville and Buttevant which can’t handle the gridlock and we’d also ask people not to drive over the bridges (in Limerick).
"There is no magic wand. People should try to leave in good time.
"There will be significant pre-match entertainment with music, on-pitch entertainment as well as a few surprises. With about 1,000 Perpignan supporters travelling over, there should be a bit of razzle dazzle."
This won’t be the first Friday-night Heineken Cup game since that October 2008 fixture against Montauban and the day went much smoother last January when Sale Sharks visited.
"People took our advice after the first game," said Cantwell, "but we recognise that there is a significant difference between a game in the middle of January and one in the middle of December like this."
Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald said after that first Montauban game that the branch would be pleading with the Heineken Cup organisers, the ERC, to avoid further Friday-night fixtures in Limerick.
Representations were again made to that effect prior to the release of this season’s European fixtures.
"Garrett and myself have been backed up by the local authorities in our representations to the ERC but, basically, it is television that decides when games are played and Munster are a massive draw in the tournament.
"Sunday lunchtime would be the best time but I suppose Munster have to take it as a compliment that they are asked to play on Fridays and we are confident that there will be a big improvement on last season for supporters travelling."
Whatever about the traffic, the teething problems with the barcode system have long been solved by the team at Thomond Park which was far from alone in experiencing such problems. Croke Park was another.
"Wembley had problems too," said Cantwell. "We were on to the people at Stamford Bridge about problems they had and it basically happens when you have systems and people mixing for the first time."
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