Thomond rocks as Ireland’s best stamp their authority on Europe

IF a composite 15 was selected from the two starting line-ups prior to Saturday’s Magners League final, Munster would do well to get more than four in the team. That, in itself, was an accurate reflection of the task Tony McGahan’s men faced in their quest to regain the Celtic League crown they last won two years ago.

On that 2009 occasion, collecting the trophy after a 36-10 win over the Ospreys, the Munster players could barely raise a smile when Paul O’Connell was presented with the trophy. The memory of their calamitous Heineken Cup semi-final defeat to Leinster in Croke Park a few weeks earlier was still too raw. However, this time, with Leinster crowned Heineken Cup champions only a week ago, this triumph meant so much more.

The fact they won it in a grand final also added to the occasion as did the poignant scenes at the end when all the players gathered around their outstanding strength and conditioning coach Paul Darbyshire, who is ill with Motor Neurone Disease, to share the moment. Darbyshire has been the unsung hero behind much of what Munster have achieved over the last four years and nobody recognised this more than the players. It was a fitting tribute to a marvellous individual.

What a way to end the season. Thomond Park has experienced some very uncharacteristic scenes over the last few weeks, not least that hugely disappointing performance against Harlequins in the Amlin Challenge Cup, but also the sight of empty terraces in the Magners League semi-final against the Ospreys. On Saturday, however, the place was reborn with an atmosphere fit to match the occasion. The stadium rocked and the game wasn’t half bad either.

The big issue beforehand was how much Leinster had left in the tank after the demands of the last few weeks and if Munster could somehow breach a Leinster defence that had denied them a single try in their previous six meetings. If you were told in advance that one team would outscore the other by three tries to nil, you’d have feared for Munster.

LET there be no talk either of Leinster not being up for this one. Their performance in the 20 minutes after the break was a carbon copy of what they produced in Cardiff last week when Brian O’Driscoll sprung into life and Leinster threatened to overrun their southern rivals. However, O’Connell’s men are made of sterner stuff than their Northampton counterparts and refused to yield an inch. In the face of an unrelenting onslaught, their defence was heroic and even survived the sin binning of Donncha O’Callaghan with the minimum concession of three points.

Throughout the contest — but especially in that intense period after the break — Keith Earls, who was magnificent throughout, and Felix Jones pulled off a series of last ditch one-on-one tackles that somehow managed to keep their line intact. They simply refused to break.

It was somewhat ironic also that the game should end with the awarding of a penalty try off a scrum, where Munster completely destroyed Leinster in the closing stages, given the problems Munster have had in that phase all season. How fitting that the young guns including Conor Murray and Danny Barnes should run to John Hayes and pat him on the back after the awarding of that try by referee Nigel Owens. The fact that the Bull was still on the field in the 80th minute of this absorbing contest as he approaches his 38th birthday next November says everything you need to know about the man, in what could prove his last game in a Munster jersey. If so, what a way for a prop forward to bow out. On this display, Hayes is firmly back in contention also for a World Cup slot.

At the other end of the scale, Murray showed his growing maturity with his most complete performance in a Munster shirt. To date he has concentrated on passing the ball, content to get his basics right. He does however have a devastating break and displayed that quality on numerous occasions this time out. One of those should have led to a try for Doug Howlett but the young scrum-half just failed to offload at the right time. That will come.

THE one issue that is still holding Munster back is their phase play. Once again the ball carrier was left isolated in the contact area and was smothered by a grateful Leinster back row, forcing either a penalty for not releasing or a turnover, which Leinster managed on far too many occasions for Tony McGahan’s liking. But such was the unrelenting power, physicality and desire to win that Munster brought to the table that Leinster were out on their feet in the last quarter when Munster registered 12 unanswered points.

Given their tribulations this season it was great for Munster to finish their season on such a high with the likes of Jones, Murray, Barnes and Mike Sherry off the bench making such a positive statement for the future. It was also great to see Lifeimi Mafi back to his best and offering a timely reminder of just what he is capable of.

Leinster are now the standard bearers and Europe’s most complete side but Munster are not prepared to disappear quietly just yet.

From an Irish perspective, it will also help that the Munster and Leinster contingent will reassemble in a few weeks time to begin the countdown to the World Cup in a positive frame of mind having each sampled the feelgood factor that silverware brings. Irish rugby has led the way in Europe this season and one sincerely hopes that the elder lemons in this group will finally experience the one thing that has eluded them — a memorable World Cup tournament.