Leinster and Saracens are two giants cut from the same cloth

For years, the power and impact of Munster’s heroic exploits in Europe haunted Leinster. No matter the magnitude of their performance against a European giant or, better still, a win of significance on any given day, Munster always seemed to go one better and dilute their achievement on the same weekend.

When Munster won two Heineken Cups in 2006 and 2008, accounting for Leinster on their home patch at Lansdowne Road in the 2006 semi-final en route to that opening triumph, something had to change in the eastern province. History shows that after their seismic win in the 2009 semi-final before a world record crowd for a “club” game, made even more noteworthy by the fact that it was played at Croke Park, Leinster have left Munster in their wake.