Fans hope to have their cake and eat it too

LIMERICK’S band of Munster followers will follow the advice of a certain French lady on Friday as they build up nourishment reserves for the clash with Biarritz.

They shall eat cake — as Marie Antoinette once encouraged the Parisian masses.

Young bakers at Limerick Youth Service Centre are baking hundreds of cheesecakes each topped with red crest of Munster icing.

Youth worker Damien Landy said: “The cakes will be handed out on the streets on Friday which has been designated a Red Day by the Munster Rugby Supporters Club.”

The supporters club has asked companies, schools and organisations to do something special on Friday to mark the countdown to the big game on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the authorities at the Millennium Stadium have issued a warning to anybody thinking of doing a streak to have a rethink. It is forbidden in the stadium under the Football Offences Act 1991. And a breach will lead to the cells at the nearby police station.

Cardiff Airport, which came in for a storm of criticism from Munster fans who were left stranded there after the 2002 final, is taking no chances this time.

The airport is geared up to take in an additional 41 rugby special flights on Saturday, including 24 charters and 17 executive jets.

A spokesman for the airport said: “There will be an additional 8,000 passengers coming through the airport on Saturday. We have learned a lot since the Millennium Stadium has hosted many big occasions and we are more than ready.”

However, one Shannon jumbo with 570 fans will travel to Birmingham as Cardiff could not handle it.

A spokesman for Limerick Travel said it will depart Shannon at 7am to ensure that the fans can be bussed to Cardiff in plenty of time.

Shannon-based Westair Aviation’s fleet of five executive jets have been booked for the day.

The company will fly about 50 fans from Shannon to Cardiff and they’ll be back home in time to see the TV highlights.