Moment of the Millennium

IT WAS fitting that the Man of the Match should have the last say, and when Peter Stringer hoisted an 84th-minute kick into touch at the Millennium Stadium, Munster’s long wait for Heineken Cup glory was over.

All good things come to those who wait, and Munster have been nothing if not patient since their remarkable European Cup journey began with a groundbreaking away victory to Saracens at Vicarage Road six years ago.

They have come a long way, from Toulouse’s whipping boys, to contenders, to champions. Saturday’s result was the one everyone wanted; the one that dedication, honesty and belief demanded.

Stringer’s final, simple act, sparked off a celebration so wild that the roof of this pristine stadium might well have been blown off. The diminutive scrum half has had to endure criticism from time to time. What a day, what a way, to answer the critics.

An emotional Stringer, whose marvellous 32nd-minute try turned the tide in Munster’s favour, admitted he didn’t quite know whether to laugh or cry at the end.

“I think I eventually did both,” he said.

Nothing comes easy for this Munster team. There is always some controversy like the “hand of Back” incident, the disallowing of a valid semi-final try against Stade Francais, and on Saturday, the awarding of a dubious try to Biarritz.

This time they managed to recover, this time they showed nerves of steel to march onwards to glory, fuelled by the passion generated by 60,000 wildly-enthusiastic and supportive fans from Ireland, England and Wales. Everyone, bar the French, wanted Munster to win. Everyone, bar the French, got their wish.

If there was ever proof that hard work wins games, this was it. It didn’t come easy. Munster had to be resolute to deal with a Biarritz challenge that cranked up as the game went on.

Again, Munster can thank their supporters in part. Stringer admitted: “When we hit difficult patches, all we had to do was look to the crowd; that was motivation enough.”

Former English and Lions centre Jeremy Guscott was one of those who cast doubts on Stringer’s ability. He has had to eat humble pie, and did so with pleasure: “Last week I said that Stringer sometimes reminded me of a schoolboy in his eagerness and naivety. Yesterday, he graduated to become governor of the school.”

But if Stringer fully deserved the accolades, he was not the only star of the show. Playing through the pain barrier, Marcus Horan and Paul O’Connell lasted long enough to stamp their class on this tight game.

Denis Leamy, David Wallace and captain Anthony Foley managed to subdue a potent Biarritz back row of Serge Betsen, Thomas Lievremont and Imanol Harinordoquy, with only Harinordoquy capable of inflicting any serious damage on the new champions.

Donncha O’Callaghan, replacements Mick O’Driscoll and Alan Quinlan, managed to take the heat off Munster when O’Connell retired. If anything, Munster’s lineout prospered.

For once, Stringer’s five-star display deflected attention away from Ronan O’Gara, but that’s not to say the out half didn’t play a significant role in the victory. As always, he kept Munster on the front foot, distributed beautifully and had a 100% goal-kicking success rate.

If there isn’t an out-and-out number 13 in the Munster ranks, then the back division still did well, and conjured up enough cleverly constructed moves to keep Biarritz second guessing for long periods. Given that Biarritz should never have been awarded that opening try, Munster’s two tries were a reward for intelligent play.

Equally, after Munster had produced the scores, they were dogged in defence, with Shaun Payne, Anthony Horgan, John Kelly, Trevor Halstead and Ian Dowling always willing and more than capable of snuffing out any dangerous moves from Biarritz.

One could sense the frustration within the Biarritz ranks, frustration that was never so evident as in the final minute, when their last surge ended with an accidental offside. Dimitri Yachvili, the man Biarritz looked to for inspiration, couldn’t conceal his anger.

In contrast, Munster were much more measured and more controlled. Lesser sides would have panicked when Biarritz winger Sereli Bobo was allowed scamper along the touchline for the opening score that Yachvili converted.

Not Munster. They hit back with an O’Gara penalty and the opening try from Halstead that O’Gara converted. Yachvili kept the pot boiling with a 22nd-minute penalty, before Stringer scorched over for his 32nd-minute try that O’Gara again converted.

The intrigue continued when O’Gara stretched the lead out to 10 points, only to see Yachvili reel it in to four with successive penalties. Another in the 69th minute might have been the spark Biarritz needed, but O’Gara responded immediately and Munster venomously defended that lead to the bitter end.

There was no way they would allow this one slip away. It was a victory for goodwill, suggested coach Declan Kidney. “It was for the players, definitely. They won it but — and I’ll try not to mess it up — it was for their partners, their parents, uncles, aunts, their neighbours, the supporters. It was for everybody,” he said.

It surely was.

MUNSTER: S. Payne, A. Horgan, J. Kelly, T. Halstead, I. Dowling, R. O’Gara, P. Stringer, M. Horan, J. Flannery, J. Hayes, D. O’Callaghan, P. O’Connell, D. Leamy, A. Foley (capt), D. Wallace.

Replacements: F. Puciarriello for Horan (63); M. O’Driscoll for Foley (70); A. Quinlan for O’Connell (75).

BIARRITZ: N. Brusque, J.-B Gobelet, P. Bababe, D. Traile, S. Bobo, J. Peyrelongue, D. Yachvili, P. Balan, B. August, C. Johnson, J. Thion, D. Couzinet, D. Betsen, T. Lievremont (captain), I. Harinordoquy.

Replacements: O. Olibeau for Couzinet (45); T. Dusautoir for Lievremont (51); F. Martin-Aramburu for Traille (53); B. Lecouls for Johnson (63); B. Noirot for August (67); C. Johnson for Balan (72),

Referee: C. White (England).