Stuffings to savoir

WHAT an extraordinary, uplifting weekend for Irish rugby. Even Connacht sneaked through the backdoor to take a quarter-final place in the European Challenge Cup.

Despite Munster’s exhilarating performance at Thomond Park on Saturday, their Heineken Cup quarter-final fate rested in the hands of bitter rivals Leinster.

The unqualified support for their traditional enemy in the pubs and clubs around Munster was a sight to behold. In recent seasons, Leinster have been rightly criticised for their inability to produce the big performance when it mattered most. They’ve gone a long way to shaking off that monkey.