O’Connell revives European dream

It was only the quarter-final, but Munster’s Heineken Cup resurgence felt like so much more yesterday.

Pilloried by most, even pitied by some, rugby’s sages waxed nostalgically of the province’s once-great aura in Europe and waited for the ugly endgame.

Except nobody told the men heading for a 10th Heineken Cup semi-final. And, inspired by thousands of recession-defying supporters who turned London TW2 into a provincial pocket, nobody had the nerve to tell Paul O’Connell the dream had died.