Leinster Lions’ roar heard loud and proud in Edinburgh
On the pitch, Brian O’Driscoll and his team will be hoping that they live up to their name and emerge kings of the jungle by figuratively tearing stripes off the newly crowned English champions and lifting the trophy for the first time in their history.
The pairing of Leinster and Leicester in today’s final at Murrayfield (kick-off 5pm) might be a commentator’s nightmare but it could be a dream for the Blue Province if they can emulate the previous success of Ulster and Munster after failing to deliver on their potential in recent years.
The Lions have the chance of stopping Leicester from claiming their third Heineken Cup.
A Leinster win would also mark the perfect end to the most successful year ever for Irish rugby as it would capture the complete set of Six Nations Grand Slam, Magner’s League and Heineken Cup for Irish teams.
Practically all 38,000 visitor beds in Edinburgh have been booked out for several weeks as an estimated 20,000 Leinster fans and a similar number from Leicester are expected in the city.
“It’s comparable to the large crowds we’re used to getting in Edinburgh for our typical busy periods like the festival in August and Hogmonay,” said James Lakie of Visit Scotland – the Scottish tourist board. “Some of our staff are saying the level of interest is unprecedented.”
“When Edinburgh last hosted the Heineken Cup final in 2005, it brought in £12m (€13.6m) in revenue and given the two teams that are playing tomorrow, we would certainly be optimistic that we could replicate that figure,” said Lakie.
Dubliners among the Leinster fans will feel at home as the city’s main thoroughfare, Princes Street is being dug up for construction works on the Edinburgh equivalent of the Luas.
There was also a considerable travelling contingent from Munster arriving in Auld Reekie last night – as many members of the Red Army had gambled on their team advancing to the final by booking travel, accommodation and match tickets in advance of the semi-final against Leinster.
Mike Larkin from Dooradoyle in Limerick admitted he had bought his tickets for Edinburgh 12 months ago. “I expected Munster would be here back then,” he declared loyally.
Limerick-born but Leinster-dwelling duo, Maurice O’Brien and Mark Dillon travelled by ferry in their camper van to Scotland as they also went ahead with plans made in early spring to go to the final.
“My wife Siobhan and my baby daughter, Cadhla begged me to go as they’re from Kildare,” laughed Maurice.
Health Minister, Mary Harney, was among those travelling to Edinburgh via ferry between Larne and Cairnryan with her husband, Brian Geoghegan.
“I’m actually a Connacht fan but Brian is an out and out Munster supporter. We’d booked to come before the semi-final and we decided to come anyway but we will be cheering on Leinster,” she smiled.
For Irish rugby fans the change of venue from Cardiff in recent years is welcome, despite the happy hunting ground that the Welsh capital has brought to Munster supporters in 2006 and 2008.
However, there are also many Munster fans who have taken a financial hit after cancelling their plans to attend the final after their shock defeat 25-6 defeat to Leinster in Croke Park three weeks ago. Websites in recent days indicate that dozens of supporters had decided not to travel to Edinburgh, despite having already having paid out in excess of €300 each for flights and tickets.
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