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.