Donal Lenihan: Dreaming of a special Munster night at Páirc Ui Chaoimh
Red all over: Cork supporters bring colour against Limerick at Pairc Ui Chaoimh last weekend. Pity Munster can't call on the same support there for a mouthwatering clash with Toulouse. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
ED Sheeran has a lot to answer for. Not only has he created a major issue for the Cork footballers, he has discommoded an even greater force in red by banishing Munster to Dublin for their mouthwatering Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final clash against mighty Toulouse next month.
If circumstances were slightly different, this would have been the dream contest to launch a first-ever Champions Cup knockout clash at Pairc Ui Chaoimh where, I’ve no doubt, a packed audience of 45,000 would have descended on the banks of the Lee to drive Munster’s quest for another European semi-final.
Munster Rugby has been aware of this potential clash for some time and, for that matter, another issue should both Leinster and Munster make the last four. As the higher-ranked side from the pool stage, Munster are designated as the home team.
It just doesn’t sit well that a home semi-final for Munster against Leinster should be housed at the Aviva Stadium. The last time something similar happened was in Croke Park on a historic day back in 2009. We all remember what happened that day.
The Munster board recently carried out a feasibility study, looking into the financial viability of switching a big game to Páirc Ui Chaoimh. The results were very positive. I understand the board also looked at Semple Stadium in Tipperary and Fitzgerald’s Stadium in Killarney as other options but for a variety of reasons, not least timing, they too have been ruled out.
All three alternatives are great sporting venues that I’ve been privileged to attend on many big GAA occasions over the years. However, with so much of Munster’s support base around Cork city and county, it makes perfect sense for the refurbished home of Cork GAA to become the first alternative to Thomond Park in circumstances such as this. This is an issue Munster CEO Ian Flanagan needs to shed some light on.
Having attended a packed Páirc last Sunday for the Munster championship clash between Cork and Limerick, I couldn’t help but speculate what the place would be like for a major European rugby event.
It was instructive to watch the mightily impressive Limerick hurling machine dismantle Cork with an intoxicating mix of power, precision, pace and skill, reminiscent of the very best Kilkenny delivered in Brian Cody’s trophy-laden reign. Apart from that, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer size and quality of athlete on display in green.
Seated within touching distance of the players in the lower south stand (courtesy of Dr Con), I looked at the likes of Kyle Hayes, Dan Morrissey, Diarmuid Byrnes, William O'Donoghue and Gearóid Hegarty and wondered how these monstrous beasts had grown up in Limerick and somehow avoided the clutches of Munster Rugby.
A day before in Thomond Park, Munster lined out in a crucial Champions Cup tie without a single Limerick forward in the starting pack or amongst the six sprung from the bench. This has been bothering me for some time and is an issue I find both strange and worrying given that, in all the successful Munster teams of the past, at least half the forward unit hailed from the Treaty City.
Six of Munster’s starting pack on Saturday, along with three more sprung from the bench, grew up playing rugby in the Rebel County. How Cork manager Kieran Kingston could have done with a few of those to add a bit of steel to the hurling cause. The manner in which some of the Cork players appeared resigned to their fate in the closing phase of the game was be a big worry. That said, watching this imperious Limerick hurling machine in full flow was a sight to behold.
It’s unfortunate that the Munster hierarchy agreed to host the Sheeran concerts on a weekend designated for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup but had Ulster not conceded a try at the death to Toulouse then Munster would have been traveling to Ravenhill.
The financial repercussions, for all sporting organisations, of the Covid pandemic has placed a major focus on seizing every opportunity to generate revenue. I can understand that. Whatever about the GAA, it’s very difficult for a professional outfit like Munster to operate in a financial vacuum and therefore the gamble to generate much-needed funds by hosting a pair of sell out concerts is understandable.
That said, there’s no doubt having to shift the quarter final to the Aviva Stadium plays into Toulouse hands. With so many of their players having played there for France, they’ll be more than happy for their hosts to lose the cherished home comforts and frenzied support.
On a wider scale the fact that, by and large, the best teams have made it through to the last eight in a tournament where the pool stages were severely compromised by Covid is a good outcome for EPCR. For me, the only exception is Montpellier who made it through despite being obliterated 89-7 by Leinster and hammered 42-6 by Exeter Chiefs in two of the three pool games they played.
The only pool game they won on the field of play was a 37-26 home victory over Exeter Chiefs. Having their home game against Leinster cancelled and designated a 28-0 win due to Leinster’s inability to fulfill the fixture due to Covid ultimately saw Montpellier advance.
While Philippe Saint-Andre’s men we’re mightily impressive when racing into a 34-0 lead in the opening Round of 16 clash against Premiership champions Harlequins, the English side fought their way back to reduce the margin of defeat to 14 points for the return leg last weekend.
What did Montpellier, the current French Top 14 league leaders do, with an eye on a crucial home fixture against second placed Bordeaux-Begles next weekend? They made 13 changes for the trip to the Stoop in a clear indication of where their proprieties lie.
To give them credit, they still emerged from an engrossing battle by the tightest of margins on an aggregate score over the two legs of 60-59. This gripping contest was eventually decided by an extraordinary conversion miss by Quins out half Marcus Smith from just outside the left hand post in the last few minutes. What a shame as he was pivotal in setting up one of the greatest counter attacking tries the tournament has ever seen by Joe Merchant in this outstanding game.
Some of the criticism of the new format in advance of last weekend’s action had its merits but there was sufficient evidence on offer to suggest that having the aggregate score over successive weekends decide who advances added something completely different and exciting to the mix.
The original intention was to introduce this innovative concept at the quarter final stage, something I would encourage on a trial basis next season. The pandemic has played havoc with this great tournament over the last few seasons and EPCR deserve credit for arriving at this stage on schedule.
That said, out of necessity, the tournament was expanded from 20 to 24 teams, leading to too much dead wood floating around for far too long. That needs to be addressed.
