Munster marching on - There was a taste of more from first win

NOW that the midweek aperitif in Moscow has been digested and filed away under “another red victory” we are well primed for this afternoon’s main course.

Munster’s European odyssey, which began when they beat Swansea 17-13 in a half-empty Thomond Park on November 1, 1995, has taken on an irrepressible life all of its own.

So much of the commentary on sport is unavoidable hyperbole but the Munster story, and the Toulouse one too, is supported by a palpable commitment to community, pride of place, honesty and dignity that few other fields of human endeavour — certainly not the vastmajority of professional sport — can so easily call upon.

That these powerful fundamentals are the core values of the two finalists are the very reasons they are the finalists.

The Munster story shows us at our best and we are more than happy to be at our best if that means Paul O’Connell and his colleagues can lift the Heineken Cup in Cardiff later this evening.

Three individuals so central to Munster’s achievements are ending this period of their active relationship the province’s affairs this afternoon and on the day that’s in it, it would be remiss not to especially thank Declan Kidney, Jim Williams and Anthony Foley for their immeasurable contributions to the great times we have all enjoyed following the Munster teams they were such a pivotal part of.

Of course the greatest gesture of thanks would be to win the trophy for the second time, an event that would make the wait for desert — September for some of us hopefully — all the sweeter and shorter.