One in the eye for the obituary writers

FOR A brief period last Sunday, it felt like the good old days of the Celtic Tiger, happy faces everywhere, supporters laden with Christmas presents and the Munster team smashing a quality French outfit away from home.

The reception the players received when they arrived in the departures hall at Perpignan airport for the charter flight home revived memories of some famous victories on the road over the years.

You could see that Jean de Villiers and Wian du Preez were a little bit mystified by the whole thing as a small but ever loyal band of Munster supporters clapped and cheered their every movement. On arrival back to Cork a few hours later it was back to reality – cold, wet, and miserable.