Red Army gets the Blues at Leinster sweet revenge

“WE were out-Munstered by Leinster.”

The pithy observation by a crestfallen member of the Red Army who had clearly lost the appetite for his post-match pint neatly summed up Munster’s shock 25-6 semi-final defeat by their old rivals in a glorious showcase of rugby in Croke Park on Saturday.

It was the ultimate compliment to both teams.

But the Munster players and their colourful fans will derive little consolation from their role in another exhilarating contest between the two provinces.

For Leinster and their swelling ranks of Blue Army fans it proved the perfect revenge for their exit from the same stage of the Heineken Cup three years ago, when Munster inflicted a 30-6 drubbing and the additional insult of numeric superiority on the terraces.

Memories of Black Sunday as the day is known on the east coast were banished to be replaced by Super Saturday as Brian O’Driscoll and his team shook off the ladyboys tag with a performance that was strictly masculine.

Despite the ultimate outcome, Munster fans arrived in the capital full of optimism, buoyed by tying up the Magners League on Thursday without kicking a ball and the honour of having eight of their team chosen for the forthcoming Lions tour of South Africa with Paul O’Connell as the Lion King.

Many had already got their tickets, booked the flight and bought the T-shirt for the final in Edinburgh in three weeks, but it will be Leinster who can now exact revenge on Leicester for their defeat of Munster in the 2002 Heineken Cup final.

Back in Dublin, large contingents of the Red Army who had answered Munster’s call for another display of strength in the stands swelled out of every pub around O’Connell Street and on approach roads to Croke Park.

The capital basked in glorious sunshine as both sets of supporters enjoyed the good-natured atmosphere.

Croke Park looked like another tidal wave of red was going to drown Leinster supporters in the hour before the game, but by kick-off it was clear that they had learned their lesson from 2006.

The result was one of the most dazzling displays of colours ever seen within GAA headquarters, even if Munster fans probably shaded it 55:45 in the end.

It was the only victory for the southern province as the Leinster roar matched the Munster version decibel for decibel until the sounds of Come on You Boys in Blue drowned out the Fields of Athenry midway through the first-half as Leinster’s domination was reflected on the scoreboard.

Even borrowing from a Munster cliché, one Leinster banner boasted: “Irish by birth – Leinster by the grace of BOD” – a reference to their talismanic playmaker.

The only sour note was a series of cries of “come on Munster” during a minute’s silence for the late Irish and Lions rugby captain, Karl Mullen, which was touchingly preceded by an unprompted round of applause, although an allegation of eye-gouging against Munster flanker Alan Quinlan could prove even more regrettable.

Magnanimous in defeat, Munster captain Paul O’Connell graciously acknowledged that the opposition was better in every facet of the game.

Typical of Munster’s legendary fighting spirit, Ronan O’Gara swore that he still felt that another miracle match was possible after he was left trailing in the wake of O’Driscoll’s intercept try, which effectively sealed the tie with a quarter of an hour left in the game.

“Even with nine minutes to go I still felt we could win the game,” said O’Gara.

Sadly, some fans did not agree with the out-half as a steady trickle of red jerseys began to leave Croke Park around the same time. But for the brave and faithful, there’s always next year.