A case for bringing Munster Rugby to Páirc Uí Chaoimh
For the second season in a row, the prospect of a first-ever Heineken Champions Cup final between Munster and Leinster remains a live prospect with the provinces on opposite sides of the quarter- and semi-final draws, writes
Racing’s semi-final defeat of Munster in Bordeaux last April prevented a logistical nightmare for tournament organisers EPCR from a travel and accommodation perspective, given the massive audience of Irish support that final would have attracted. Finding a route to get to Bilbao and locating a bed in the city was difficult enough as it was.
At least if both make it all the way to St James’ Park, the atmospheric home of Newcastle United next May, there will be multiple options available to get there from Ireland. A lot of water has to flow under the bridge for that to happen, with a highly-competitive Six Nations ahead for all the provincial players in Joe Schmidt’s squad, not to mention the quality of opposition yet to be negotiated.
While Leinster looked destined for a home quarter-final going into the final round of pool action, Exeter were always going to make life difficult for Munster. Away quarter-finals are notoriously difficult to negotiate but the permutations worked out reasonably well in the end for Munster.
That said, Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill will be just as content with his lot. Edinburgh are on a seven-game winning streak and the manner in which they dispatched Toulon at the Stade Felix-Mayol and another physically imposing Top 14 side Montpellier at Murrayfield on successive weekends, will have him purring at the prospect of taking on a Munster team he knows inside out at this stage.
Munster will also be quietly satisfied, not least with the prospect that they could end up with more support at Murrayfield than their hosts. A distinctive feature of the Munster following in Kingsholm against Gloucester was the volume of support that travelled from within the UK. One suspects even more will make it to Edinburgh, where tickets will be easily accessible.
When the dust settles on Saturday’s escape to victory at Thomond Park and the impact of Joey Carbery’s crucial clutch- kick at the death and Billy Holland’s athletic line-out steal are absorbed, Johann van Graan will be more concerned about how Munster found themselves in that position.
The reality is, had Exeter executed their lineout maul with the pinpoint accuracy that delivered their try in the first half and extended the lead to 14-6, Munster, without a losing bonus point, would have exited the tournament. I doubt if Munster has ever won a game in Limerick, or any other European venue for that matter, on the back of such a deficit of possession. The match stats from this game are startling. In almost every facet of play, Exeter dominated. Munster only had 36% possession and 35% territory over the entire match. In terms of metres gained, it was 428-161, carries 163-88, defenders beaten 29-11 and passes completed 177-83, all in favour of the visitors. In addition, they missed 29 tackles.
Crucially, Munster’s scrum and lineout both enjoyed a 100% return compared to 83% and 81% respectively for the Chiefs. That proved crucial in the end, but Exeter coach Rob Baxter must be scratching his head to work out how, on the back of that level of dominance, his side lost.
It says much about Munster’s mental strength and resilience that, in the most challenging of circumstances, they still found a way to win. That will stand to them in the even tougher challenges that lie ahead.
Edinburgh are not quite as advanced in their evolution as Exeter but their scrum is even stronger and Cockerill has instilled a stubbornness and never-say-die attitude in this improving squad that reflects his own playing career with a Leicester Tigers side in its prime.
Not only have they made it to the last eight in Europe, they currently sit second behind Leinster in their PRO14 conference and beat their more fancied and decorated neighbours Glasgow Warriors — who also clinched a quarter-final slot on a historic weekend for Scottish rugby — in back-to-back fixtures over the festive period.
Should Munster beat Edinburgh and Glasgow manage to pull off a shock by eliminating Saracens in their quarter-final, the seedings dictate that the semi-final would be hosted in Ireland. With Thomond Park ruled out as a venue as it cannot be staged at a provincial home ground, Páirc Uí Chaoimh would provide a brilliant alternative.
This island is too small for our respective sporting bodies to operate in isolation. While I fully respect the fact that the GAA, the IRFU, and the FAI are in competition to attract and retain the sporting talents of the young boys and girls of this great sporting country to their respective codes, it should not preclude them working together for the greater good of their individual sport.
All our sporting bodies are badly in need of more funding and should be maximising the financial return from their primary assets. Last Saturday night’s magnificent testimonial dinner for my close friend and Cork GAA legend Dr Con Murphy was not only staged to recognise Dr Con’s unparalleled service to the Cork hurlers and footballers that stretches back over 40 years, but was a major fundraising event for the newly-formed supporters group, Cáirde Chorcai.
Their goal is to provide financial support to the Cork County Board to aid the high performance needs of Cork teams at all levels. The fact that the newly-revamped Páirc Uí Chaoimh was full to capacity for the first time since its makeover for the highly-successful Liam Miller fundraiser should be viewed with pride by all associated with Cork GAA.
The success of that event should further encourage the county board to use the magnificent arena to help reduce their debt at a time when the stadium is lying idle. A huge volume of the people following Munster Rugby throughout the winter months are also to be found supporting their respective counties in hurling and football when the championship starts.
Munster would only look to use the stadium sparingly, against a European giant at the quarter- or semi-final stage of Europe or perhaps to test the water in a PRO14 game against Leinster over Christmas. Munster supporters, many of whom live in Dublin, generate a huge pay day for Leinster every season when they help swell their audience to over 40,000 when playing their home PRO14 clash against Munster at the Aviva Stadium every October.
Discussing the prospect with several high-profile GAA people at Dr Con’s dinner last Saturday, let’s just say there was a willingness to explore the potential benefits that might accrue to both parties.
The GAA is Ireland’s most successful and far-reaching sporting body and has nothing to fear from other sports. It’s impossible to travel anywhere in the world these days without finding some tentacle of the organisation serving to bring Irish people together. The success of the Liam Miller soccer event should only serve to whet the appetite for more interaction between our sporting codes in what would only be a win-win situation.
The prospect of Glasgow overturning Saracens is slim given that Mark McCall’s men — what a brilliant job the Ulster man does, almost unnoticed, there — represent the biggest threat to Leinster’s ambitions of retaining their crown.
However, that shouldn’t prevent the debate around the prospect of Munster staging a big European game or a clash with Leinster at the home of Cork sport from happening. The time has come for the Munster board to pick up the phone and start the conversation.
