Munster-bred forwards born winners

IN the end, Munster’s victory was far more comprehensive than anyone dared contemplate. It is rare for contests of this nature to live up to pre-match hype, but in terms of colour, atmosphere and excitement Sunday’s semi-final clash was a special day for Irish rugby.

The late injury deliberations over Peter Stringer and Tomás O’Leary proved somewhat of a distraction within the Munster camp. Indeed such was the level of uncertainty surrounding the occupancy of the number 9 jersey that four scrum-halves participated in the warm-up, the injured duo along with Mike Prendergast and Frank Murphy.

But crisis situations such as this help focus the mind even more.