Pubs to open early for rugby decider

Thousands of rugby fans who will throng Limerick on Easter Sunday for the do-or-die Heineken Cup clash between Munster and Ulster have been given extra warm-up time by the city’s legal referee.

Limerick District Court judge, Eamon O’Brien, has agreed to an application by the city’s pubs which will permit them to open at 10.30am on Sunday, two hours before usual opening time, to accommodate the thirst of the rugby hordes.

The game kicks off at Thomond Park at 1.45pm. It is a sell-out, with Ulster taking their full allocation of 6,400 tickets in the 27,000-capacity stadium.