O'Connell targets Celtic League crown

Munster giant Paul O’Connell has urged the newly-crowned European champions to “kick on” next season and follow an example set by English heavyweights Wasps and Leicester.

Both Premiership clubs won their flagship domestic title during the years they also enjoyed Heineken Cup success, and O’Connell has set his sights on similar domination.

“Our Celtic League form this season has been poor, and we need to start performing better in that,” said the Ireland and Lions lock.

“If you look at teams like Wasps and Leicester, when they were winning the Heineken Cup they were also dominating their domestic league.”

O’Connell’s fierce sense of ambition though could not overtake the elation - and almost tangible relief – that Munster had landed European domestic rugby’s biggest prize after falling at the final hurdle in 2000 and 2002.

“We’ve had a few hard years in this tournament, and I hope people appreciate we weren’t showboating afterwards,” he added, reflecting on unforgettable scenes of celebration as the Munster players shared their triumph with 70,000 ecstatic supporters at the Millennium Stadium.

“We wanted to enjoy the occasion after what had been a lot of heartache pursuing this competition.”

Munster’s 77th Heineken Cup game brought the ultimate reward, sending their fans wild, both in Cardiff and Limerick, where thousands thronged the streets to watch the drama unfold on giant screens.

“It’s hard to say what Munster’s secret is,” said man of the match Peter Stringer, whose audacious first-half try steered his team into a lead they never lost as French champions Biarritz were defeated 23-19.

“It is something that comes from where we live – it’s a special place to be. You meet your friends in the street, and you see how much games like this mean to them.”

Scrum-half Stringer continued the blistering form he showed during Ireland’s Triple Crown-winning Six Nations campaign earlier this season, with his opportunist blindside touchdown providing the highlight of a rip-roaring contest.

He recalled: “When I put the ball into the scrum, I saw their winger was standing behind it. I hoped he would work his way infield like we had seen in our pre-match analysis. Thankfully, when I picked up the ball he wasn’t in my way, and I got bit of a run in the end which was nice.”

Munster rugby director Declan Kidney added: “Peter has been maligned in some quarters, but I am not sure why. When you look at his record – two Triple Crowns and a Heineken Cup – then it is very hard to achieve things like that unless you are a world-class half-back.

“Nothing he did surprised me. As usual, he just took everything in his stride.”

South African centre Trevor Halstead also touched down for Munster, while fly-half Ronan O’Gara kicked 13 points, with Biarritz conjuring a Sereli Bobo try plus four penalties and a conversion from scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili.

O’Gara said: “I don’t think it will hit us for a few days, but this has all been about seven years of hard work.

“When you manage to get so close to something, and you are denied it, I think that makes your resolve even greater. We just wanted to win so badly.”