O’Gara hails Munster character as Leinster loom large

RONAN O’GARA hailed the character of the Munster squad after clawing their way to a Magners League semi-final showdown with Leinster.

A second-string Munster team did enough to clinch a place in the play-offs, despite going down 13-12 at Cardiff Blues. The outcome – if not the result – helped lift the gloom just a week after Munster crashed out of the Heineken Cup. And O’Gara, who scored all his team’s points, praised the spirit within the camp.

O’Gara said: “To get into the semi-finals of the Magners League is very pleasing and showed the character within the club. I’m not going to lie and deny that Heineken Cup finals are something special for Munster. It’s the top competition because you have the French and English clubs involved. We set out standards against the best in Europe and it’s the competition you are measured by. But we now have the chance to salvage something from the season and it’s going to be a great semi-final against Leinster.”