Like old times aboard flight FR 1548

Despite the gale-force winds that lashed the Irish coast and wreaked havoc for the aviation industry, flight FR 1548 from Perpignan to Shannon last Saturday night was a great place to be.

With players and supporters united once again on the team charter, the scenes were reminiscent of the fledgling days when Munster were making their mark on the European stage for the first time.

Every player boarding the aircraft was welcomed with thunderous applause while an endless chorus of Stand up and Fight and the Fields of Athenry filled the air until the stewardess issued the safety instructions. For those of us who have been on this beat for a while, it was nothing we hadn’t witnessed before. For many of the new generation of Munster players, the likes of Sean Dougall, James Cronin and JJ Hanrahan experiencing it for the first time, it must have felt like Christmas had arrived that bit early.