Building of a red powerhouse

As Munster prepare to meet Harlequins this weekend, Simon Lewis recalls, through the eyes of visiting players Daren O’Leary and Tulsen Tollett, the first European meeting between the clubs, back in 1997/98.

It was a game that saw Keith Wood, Will Carling and company pay avisit to a raucous Thomond Park in search of a home quarter-final draw and leave Limerick on the end of a 23-16 defeat that effectively ended their Heineken Cup hopes.

October 12, 1997. Not really that long ago. Bertie Ahern had been Taoiseach for four months, Gaybo was still at the helm of the Late Late Show, Gerry Ryan was yabbering away on the radio as usual and the good times were just around the corner in the fast-approaching new millennium.