‘I can’t think of any team, in any sport, at any time, who display a greater will to win than this Munster side’

EVERYWHERE you go it’s the same. Since the tremendous victory over Leinster, interest in Munster’s quest for European fulfilment has been phenomenal.

Driving through Cork and Limerick in recent weeks it has been fascinating to see the bunting and messages of goodwill, normally the preserve of GAA teams, that adorn the various towns.

Should John Kelly be passed fit to play, six players — Anthony Foley, John Hayes, David Wallace, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara and Kelly — will be starting their third final. But for a hand injury to Anthony Horgan on the eve of the Leicester game in 2002, it would be a magnificent seven. This group will realise better than anyone that sentiment alone will be insufficient to lift the famous trophy.

Biarritz, having failed in consecutive semi-finals over the past two seasons, also feel their time has come. Whatever the outcome, given the recent dominance of Leicester and Toulouse, a new name will appear on the trophy.

In the light of recent injuries, Munster will have relished their recent weekend of inactivity.

Biarritz, meanwhile, completed their competitive action with a comprehensive 57-7 French championship victory over Montpellier, scoring eight tries, including a hat-trick from Fijian winger Sereli Bobo.

Watching Patrice Lagisquet’s men perform over the past few weeks begs the question: Which way will Biarritz approach the final? If their displays against Sale and Bath in the knockout stages were pedantic and devoid of inspiration, the expansive nature of their game on the domestic scene has been a joy to watch.

The biggest concern for the Munster management is the manner in which their preparations have been hindered by multiple injuries over the past few weeks. While it now seems possible they will start with the same team that played against Leinster, the injuries to Paul O’Connell, John Kelly, Jerry Flannery and Freddie Pucciariello must have impacted on the preparation time on the training field.

Worryingly, the majority of those injuries have been in the front five. One hopes that the familiarity of playing with each other over the past few seasons will enable the set piece to perform to its usual high standard.

For Munster to win, the tight five must produce the same awesome display that blitzed Sale in Thomond Park.

Munster’s biggest challenge up front this year was presented by the massive Perpignan forwards in the quarterfinal. It is a measure of the challenge that Anthony Foley’s pack now face that Biarritz dominated Perpignan both home and away in the French championship this season.

Like Munster, Biarritz launch much of their attack from driving line-out mauls. While French second row Jerome Thion lacks the overall athleticism of Paul O’ Connell, he along with Imanol Harinordoquy and David Couzinet have been consistent performers out of touch all season. That said, intimidated by the quality of their line-out, much of the French opposition concede the aerial combat to concentrate on stopping the maul on the deck. Munster have the best line-out in Europe for attacking the opposition throw.

The challenge facing Lagisquet is to find the right balance in terms of empowering his forwards in their attempt to curtail the Munster eight, along with adapting a more proactive approach behind the scrum. On their day the Biarritz three quarters can devastate any side. The key man in deciding which unit of their team makes the bigger impact is scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili.

He is to Biarritz what Sebastian Chabal and Felipe Contepomi were to Sale and Leinster respectively. On both occasions, Munster faced the challenge of those two key personnel head-on and negated their influence. Once again, Declan Kidney must devise a plan which places Yachvili on the back foot. Under pressure, he tends to take too much on himself, an inclination that would suit Munster just fine.

Another challenge for Kidney is to break down a superbly well-oiled defence that boasts the best record in the French championship. Their achievement in holding Sale and Bath try-less in the knock-out stages provided further evidence of this.

While Munster have been painted as the one-dimensional side, this, in fact, is misleading. Munster are more than competent in creating width to their game and Ronan O’Gara regularly varies point of attack with ball in hand as well as through the boot. Both Shaun Payne and Ian Dowling have created difficulties for all opposition out wide and the ability to recycle creates further opportunities for line breaks from Trevor Halstead, Anthony Horgan and David Wallace.

In a game as tight as this is likely to be, discipline is everything. When playing against French sides this is normally a trump card for any opposition. However, Munster will derive no great comfort here — Biarritz top the discipline charts in the French league, accumulating only nine yellow cards in 25 games.

Two key areas could well decide this game. With two outstanding defences on display, place-kicking becomes all-important. In this respect there is little to separate Yachvili and O’Gara.

In tight games, experience counts for everything. With the hype surrounding occasions such as this, the benefit of being in two finals over the past six years will stand to the Munster management. The team with the greater mental fortitude will win this game. I can’t think of any team, in any sport, at any time, who will display a greater will to win than this Munster side. If the old cliché of “whoever wants it more” applies, rest easy. Alas it will be a lot more difficult than that.