Eyes of the nation turn to Croker’s pitch battle

A GREAT celebration of Irish rugby?

Perhaps, but for most Munster and Leinster supporters, today’s meeting of the two provinces in the Heineken Cup semi-final is far too serious an affair to allow for any air of festivity... at least until the final whistle.

A majority of the 82,500 spectators expected at a sell-out Croke Park – a new world record attendance for a club rugby fixture – will have little desire to reflect on the rude good health of the oval ball game in Ireland.