Brennan feared drop-goal misery

Trevor Brennan overcame injury and a sleepless night to help Toulouse clinch their first Heineken Cup final appearance since 1996 – and then recalled the moment when he feared his European dream had died.

Toulouse’s Ireland international-in-residence starred as the French giants inflicted fresh Heineken Cup heartbreak on Munster.

But it was so desperately close, reaching a shuddering crescendo during 10 minutes of second-half injury time at Le Stadium de Toulouse when Munster points machine Ronan O’Gara twice went for glory.

On both occasions, O’Gara rifled long-range drop-goals agonisingly wide of the posts with Toulouse clinging on to their one-point lead.

It was gripping edge-of-the-seat drama – perhaps more than an often scrappy semi-final really deserved – and flanker Brennan personified the overwhelming relief that accompanied Toulouse’s passage to Dublin on May 24.

“The two drop-kicks were very close to going over,” he said.

“One was about a foot to the left of the post, and the other a foot to the right. I thought one went over, but when you could see the (Munster) fans behind the posts not putting their flags up, you knew that you were safe.

“We just then had to kick the ball as far we could down the pitch, and try and keep Munster away from our 22.”

It was a red-letter day for Brennan, who found himself opposing many of his former international team-mates, and that he even took the field was an achievement in itself.

A thigh muscle injury suffered two weeks ago threatened Brennan’s big-match hopes, so much so that he only participated in one training session during the build-up.

“I probably had the most sleepless night of my life on Friday night,” he added.

“I played the game through about four times in my mind – I dreamt Munster beat us and I dreamt we beat them – and on the day, either side could have won it.”

Munster coach Alan Gaffney believes his players will recover from the mental and physical pain of experiencing another shattering defeat on the Heineken Cup stage.

During the past four seasons, Munster have lost two European finals and two semi-finals – three of those games by just one point.

“We are obviously very disappointed,” Gaffney said. “The boys have got very close in this competition in the last couple of years, losing two semi-finals and two finals by an aggregate total of nine points.

“It will be difficult, but these guys have got enormous belief in what they do, and there is progress left in us – we have got to move on.”

Munster led for most of the match thanks to two penalties and two drop-goals by fly-half O’Gara, but relentless Toulouse pressure eventually told and Munster could find no way back.

Toulouse, playing at the city’s 36,000-capacity football stadium – a so-called neutral venue – booked their place in next month’s final at Lansdowne Road thanks to Frederic Michalak’s 74th-minute try.

Michalak, who was switched from scrum-half to fly-half with devastating effect during the second period, saw his score superbly converted by substitute Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, and Munster’s European campaign collapsed.

“Toulouse are a very good team – they are the best attacking side in Europe,” Gaffney added.

“They have got so much pace and firepower that they can achieve anything and when Michalak moved to 10, the game changed – there is no doubt about that. We gave it a good shot, and we created chances, but Toulouse defended very well.”

Toulouse now march on to their first European final since they lifted the trophy in Cardiff seven years ago, and coach Guy Noves is relishing the Dublin adventure.

“Munster were just as tough as I thought they would be. They had huge organisation – their scrum and line-out was superb,” he said.

“Trailing just 6-3 at half-time was a very flattering score for us, but we had huge will to do better in the second half, and we were far more productive, putting phases of play together.

“Munster started to tire and we never gave up. We were determined, and the reward came in the end.

“Munster should have won the cup last year but for a roll of the dice. They can go anywhere and cause problems, so we have achieved something huge by beating them.”

Toulouse now join Brive (1997 and 1998) as only the second French club to reach two Heineken Cup finals.