O'Gara hails Munster heroes

Ronan O’Gara today took stock of Munster’s devastating Heineken Cup demolition job on English top dogs Gloucester and admitted: “You couldn’t have written a better script.”

Munster reached the quarter-finals for a fifth successive season, achieving mission improbable by sweeping Gloucester away through an almost terrifying degree of commitment and courage.

Munster’s astounding 33-6 victory meant that they sneaked past their Pool Two rivals on tries and points difference to finish as runners-up behind Perpignan, while Gloucester flew home from Limerick having seen a once attainable European dream disappear over the horizon.

Gloucester capitulated, looking a pale shadow of the side currently eight points clear at the Zurich Premiership summit.

And the inquest – both on and off the field, given the financial implications of not securing quarter-final status – will be a lengthy one.

Gloucester boss Nigel Melville described his team’s performance as “a nightmare,” accepting that the wheels had fallen off in spectacular fashion.

It is difficult to know who will take longer to digest what was a shattering defeat – Melville, his players or Gloucester’s 2,000-strong travelling support.

Wing John Kelly’s 80th-minute touchdown, his second try of the match, put Munster within touching distance of the last eight, and O’Gara’s conversion made certain.

“We knew that four clear tries would be enough, but none of us had a clue that 27 points was the required points difference,” O’Gara said.

“We thought that our chance of doing it was very slim to be honest, especially against a side of Gloucester’s calibre.

“But we gradually built it up, and we knew after 15 minutes that we weren’t going to be beaten.

“It was all about all our players playing to their full potential.”

Gloucester lost the plot spectacularly, a fact underlined midway through the second period when their French fly-half Ludovic Mercier opted to run a kickable penalty that could have brought his side back into it.

“When he tapped the penalty, that was brilliant. The Frenchman was losing the plot,” O’Gara added.

“As far as we were concerned, you couldn’t have written a better script, and the atmosphere was incredible, probably the best I’ve known.”

Wing Mossie Lawlor and lock Mick O’Driscoll also scored tries, while O’Gara completed a magnificent individual performance by kicking 13 points.

To compound Gloucester’s misery, they had two players sin-binned – flanker Peter Buxton and hooker Olivier Azam.

“Our lineouts and scrums didn’t function. It is a massive disappointment, but we have to look at it and cannot now bury our heads in the sand,” Melville said.

“Munster pitched their game up a level, and Ronan O’Gara’s tactical kicking was fantastic.

“We didn’t perform on this occasion, but the team is better than that. Every player has to look at his performance and put his hands up.”

While Munster were securing qualification through a runners-up spot, French champions Biarritz followed suit through a crushing 75-25 success against hapless Pool Six opponents Cardiff.

Biarritz scored 13 tries to edge through at the expense of Bourgoin, who defeated Sale Sharks 43-15.

Such was Biarritz’s relentless pursuit of tries that they opted not to take conversions of the final few scores to pinch every second of spare time.

“Leicester, the Heineken Cup holders, secured a quarter-final home draw by defeating Neath 36-11 at Welford Road.

“It was one of those pressure games that we have a habit of winning,” said Leicester rugby director Dean Richards.

“It was vitally important to secure a home quarter-final. Historically, there are not many teams who go out at the last-eight stage if they are at home.

“It doesn’t matter who we get now – the home draw is the most important thing.”

Calvisano gave Italian rugby another boost by winning their second game of the tournament as they shocked Beziers 19-16 in Pool One, and there were also a victory for Newport over Edinburgh, 42-32, although both teams had already been eliminated.

Perpignan ensured that they finished top of Pool Two, put it was a tight squeeze in Italy as they beat Viadana 39-35, scoring five tries in the process.