The final heartbreak

THEY came from far and wide to view a true contest in every sense of the word. Even Roy Keane and John O’Shea swapped their familiar red of Manchester United for that of their native province.

The Munster flags said it all: “Irish by birth, Munster by grace of God”. Alas, it was not enough. Once again Munster’s brave heroes have fallen at the semi final stage by one score.

On the balance of play, Wasps deserved their victory, outscoring Munster by five tries to two. Overall, they possessed too much power and pace and had game breakers in Josh Lewsey, Stuart Abbott and Tom Voyce which Munster just could not match.

The forward battle was ferocious at times. The dual between John Hayes and Craig Dowd was worth the entrance fee alone. Both these forward units thrived on physical confrontation.

While Wasps looked the more dangerous with ball in hand in the opening half, Munster survived due to the indiscipline of the Londoners. Wasps bordered on the cynical at times and were content to give away penalties at the breakdown. This had the effect of breaking Munster’s momentum. Referee Nigel Williams resisted until the 30th minute before producing the first yellow card of the contest. In the course of the game he produced three more with severe repercussions for Munster.

The game turned for the worst in the 28th minute when Ronan O’Gara was forced to leave the field due to injury. It was clear that Wasps had targeted his channel and while O’Gara defended manfully throughout, the physical confrontation took its toll.

Although his replacement Jason Holland contributed hugely throughout the course of the game, including one inspirational touchline conversion, he does not possess O’Gara’s range of passing. Given the strength of Wasps’ defence, O’Gara’s ability to put people into space was badly missed.

As the game progressed I couldn’t help but hear the words of England’s defence coach Phil Larder ringing in my ears: “defence wins trophies”. While Wasps were outstanding in this department, Munster missed far too many one-on-one tackles. Wasps have developed a multi-phase attack and once they breach the first line of defence they are impossible to stop. Every time Josh Lewsey was in possession he put the fear of God into the Munster supporters.

In the circumstances, Munster did well to reach half time only two points in arrears. Wasps showed their experience when they outscored Munster by twelve points to six while reduced to 14 men by Joe Worsley’s yellow card. When they scored in the opening minute of the second half one, sensed that the writing was on the wall for Munster.

Munster’s character was now called into question and they responded in heroic fashion. Christian Cullen sparked the revival with two pieces of magic which set the crowd alight.

When Fraser Waters became the second Wasps player to be yellow-carded, Munster seized their opportunities, scoring 17 unanswered points in a 10 minute spell. For the first time in the game they achieved a level of continuity and succeeded in putting width into their game, which yielded tries from Anthony Foley and Jim Williams.

When Munster entered the final quarter with a lead of 10 points, one sensed that they were on their way to a third final appearance. But then Wasps proved why they are the English champions. Their cause was helped enormously by the sin binning of both Donnacha O’Callaghan and Rob Henderson in the last quarter.

Aside from the loss of O’Gara, the turning point of the game came just as O’Callaghan was preparing to re-enter the fray. The Munster forwards had done magnificently in repelling two attempts at driving mauls from line-outs yards from the Munster line. When captain Jim Williams succeeded in turning over possession, Munster looked safe. Unfortunately, Holland failed to find touch and presented Lewsey with another opportunity for a counter attack. This ultimately led to Wasps’ equalising score. Given that Munster were forced to play the last 17 minutes of the game with 14 players, it was inevitable that the English team’s power would prevail. The fact that they scored 15 points in that period underlined their superiority.

Agonisingly, Munster have once again lost the semi final by a single score. It was truly inspiring to see the work rate of Paul O’Connell and Anthony Foley when questions were being asked of Munster throughout the second half. O’Connell, in particular, put in two try-saving tackles that any back would have been proud of. While Stephen Keogh performed manfully in his first Heineken Cup start, the loss of David Wallace last Friday was a severe blow.

For the Munster players the Heineken Cup still remains an unfulfilled dream. Despite the addition of Christian Cullen, Munster still lack the ability to break down well drilled defences at the penultimate stage of the competition.

Warren Gatland’s return to Lansdowne Road was one that he will remember. He is now on the threshold of delivering a first ever European Cup for Wasps. His side’s final clash with holders Toulouse should prove to be a classic.

Guy Noves’ side secured a place in their third decider, and will now attempt to emulate Leicester’s feat as the only side to retain the trophy on May 23rd.

On their day, Toulouse are the most attractive team in European rugby. They play flamboyant football, attempting to keep the ball in hand at all times and play out of the tackle. The question mark entering Saturday’s game was how they would cope with the loss of Jean Baptiste Elissade at scrum half. His French half back partner Frederic Michalak was also a doubt but eventually lined up at scrum half. It was a very difficult task for him, having spent the majority of the season playing at No 10.

Though Toulouse reached half time with a six-point lead (9-3), one felt that Biarritz could still sneak a victory. But the true measure of a champion comes when he is on the ropes.

When Toulouse were forced to withdraw Michalak and their talismanic No 8 Christian Labit five minutes into the second half, one had serious concerns about their passage to the final. Their 8-9-10 axis of Labit, Elissade and Michalak, so influential last year in winning the trophy, were now gone.

However, the strength of the Toulouse squad was emphasised by the introduction of New Zealander Isotola Maka from the bench. Labit was hardly missed as Maka's ferocious physical presence created numerous holes in the Biarritz defence. His introduction was a master-stroke by coach Noves.

In the past, there were questions marks over the desire of this Toulouse side in Europe. When they lost to Edinburgh in the pool stages of the competition last December, one sensed their hunger was lacking. On the basis of Saturday's performance, that myth is now dispelled.

When it mattered most, their French stars, Jauzion, Pelous and Servat delivered.