Is Croker an option?

WHAT a prospect on this grey, worrying morning!

Yesterday’s Heineken European Cup draw raises the possibility of a Munster/Leinster semi-final on the first weekend of May. It may tempt fate by being so terribly and selfishly presumptuous, but even the distant prospect of another Munster/Leinster showdown at the closing stage of the world’s greatest club rugby competition is just the kind of cheering if fleeting distraction the country needs.

But where could the game, if it transpires, be played?

Lansdowne Road will not be ready and Leinster’s Lions may not accept an invitation to Thomond Park. In that event the only realistic domestic option is Croke Park. The GAA have shown great generosity by allowing international soccer and rugby be played at their magnificent stadium.

What a wonderful day it would make ... Munster and Leinster in Croke Park.

And what a wonderful fillip to the country and the GAA’s coffers.