Rage, romance and rise of the Red Army: Munster-Toulouse in the early days
On the march: On a day when the Red Army was truly born, Anthony Foley of Munster is tackled by Franck Belot, left, and Chriastan Labit of Toulouse during the 2000 Heineken Cup Semi-Final at the Stade du Parc Lescure in Bordeaux. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
“Munster and Toulouse both have great rugby traditions, and both have used those traditions to build cycles of success.” Fabien Pelous was speaking to the assembled media in Cardiff on May 23, 2008, the day before the titans of continental club rugby would finally meet in a Heineken Cup final. The giant French lock was, of course, correct.
That decider at the Millennium Stadium would bring Munster a second European crown, moving them into the rarified territory only then occupied by Toulouse and Leicester Tigers as multiple winners of the big one.
Even at the time, 2008 felt like a culmination of the early phase of the rivalry. In its 13th season, the Heineken Cup got the final it had seemingly been building towards for the guts of a decade — the fourth tournament meeting of Munster and Toulouse had romance and hype and bite but it had silverware on the line too.
There have since been another 13 editions of the tournament as its taxonomy transitioned to the Champions Cup and when they gather together on Saturday afternoon at Lansdowne Road, it will be an eighth clash between the sides. But in keeping with the more modern phase of the conflict, it will be a fourth straight quarter-final showdown.
A full quarter century and more after their first meeting, we take a quick sprint down memory lane to see where all this started…Â
With the competition still very much in its fledgling days, Munster’s second ever trip to France was also a date with the reigning champions, who had claimed the inaugural continental crown. Munster had arrived chasing progress to the knock-out stages, having beaten Milan and Wasps and lost in Cardiff. In an era, and pool, when one-sided victories for the home teams seemed all the rage, Toulouse were welcoming Munster fresh from having 77 points hung on them at Loftus Road by Wasps the previous week.
All the rage? You bet. It wasn’t just the fashion that was in the hosts’ favour but all of the frustrations too. Munster hung in there til the interval thanks to three Killian Keane penalties and trailed by just eight points. Then came the landslide — seven tries after the break including a pair each for Emile Ntamack and Christian Califano. David Corkery's try was Munster’s only response on a chastening afternoon that remains their heaviest European humbling.
“Let’s keep it under 50 lads.” — Mick Galway to teammates under the posts as another conversion sailed overhead. Alas, 50 came and went.
Munster finished fourth in the five-team pool but Toulouse topped it and saw off Dax in the quarters before Leicester brought their title defence to a shuddering end in the semi-finals, 37-11.
Ougier; Ntamack (capt), Marfaing, Castaignède (Carbonneau, 64), Berty; Deylaud, Cazalbou; Sonnes, Dispagne (Marin, 71), Lacroix; Belot (Manent, 49), Miorin; Jordana (Bégarie, 71), Lasserre, Califano.
P. Murray; Wallace, Walsh, McCahill, Crotty; Keane, McIvor; Corkery, Cronin (Dineen, 71), Foley; Fulcher, Galwey (capt); Healy (McCarty, 8; I. Murray, 71), Kingston, Fitzgerald.
A season that started with Munster as a 66/1 shot to win the thing suddenly found them within touching distance of a final. A first knock-out stage win, when Diego Dominguez, Christophe Dominici and swashbuckling Stade were put to the sword at Thomond in the quarter-finals, had raised expectations a notch. Just two months after Brian O’Driscoll’s hat trick in Paris had shook Irish rugby’s Gallic inferiority complex, over 5000 and more travelled to Bordeaux on a scorching May afternoon when the mercury hit the high 30s.
Era-defining. The most feared club side in Europe were derobed and the scorched dustbowl of the Stade Chaban Delmas reverberated not to the 20,000 Toulousains but the Red Army came of age. Keith Wood’s 50-yard dash got Munster going and John Hayes rumbled over for a crucial first try. The tournament favourites battled back and led 15-11 at the break but as drained Toulouse players sat on the floor of the tunnel at half time, rather than trek to the changing rooms, Mick Galwey strode past and told them “you’re f***ed”. On the hour mark he was proven correct as French bodies again littered the ground when Ronan O’Gara finished off an instantly iconic, 20-plus phase move from one end of the pitch to the other to put Munster ahead. A blink later Jason Holland intercepted Jérme Cazalbou and it was 31-18. A sporting and cultural phenomenon was born.
"I have huge belief in Irish people. We are an unbelievable nation, for a country of our size we turn out more good sportsmen than anyone else in the world.” — Declan Kidney, on a rare occasion eschewing understatement. That kinda day.
The ultimate comedown. A torrential day at Twickenham saw Northampton outlast Munster 9-8 in the decider, O’Gara missing four from four. Toulouse licked their wounds with a ninth French title in 14 seasons.
Ougier; Ntamack, Desbrosse (Bondouy, 70min), Stensness, Marfaing; Penaud, Cazalbou; Califano (Soulette,70), Bru, Tournaire, Pelous, Belot (capt), Lacroix (M Lièvremont, 64), Labit, Dispagne (Miorin, 70).
Crotty; Kelly, Mullins, Holland, Horgan; O’Gara, Stringer; Clohessy, Wood (Sheehan, h-t), Hayes, Galwey (capt; O’Callaghan, 76), Langford, Halvey, Wallace, Foley.
If Bordeaux had been the breakout, it was also the prelude to a period of sustained heartbreak too. Thanks in no small part to Neil Back, Munster had lost two finals and a semi-final in three seasons. Toulouse, for all their pomp and domestic superiority, were also in danger of becoming perennial bridesmaids after three semi-final defeats in five years. The Red Army had swelled three-fold in three years with almost 15,000 travelling to Le Stadium.
Tight and suffocatingly tense and, from Munster’s point of view, too much of a reliance on their forwards. It would ultimately cost them but not before O’Gara had given them an early lead as rains swept in. If conditions had dictated the quality of the first half, mutual anxiety ensured the second was equally devoid of free-flowing rugby. Neither side could stomach another premature exit but the pack, Peter Stringer and O’Gara kept Munster ticking over and they led 12-6 into the final five minutes. Toulouse’s greater incision finally told when incessant pressure opened a gap for Frédéric Michalak and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kept his cool to nail the conversion. To add to the agony, two late O’Gara drop goals from distance whistled wide. A fourth heartbreak in four years, three of them by just a single point.
"I'm sure one day we will win it.” — O’Gara, defiant in defeat.
Toulouse marched on to Lansdowne Road and duly claimed their second continental crown, Vincent Clerc grabbing the final’s crucial try as Perpignan were beaten 22-17. They’d win another in 2005 before O’Gara’s prophecy finally came true the following year in Cardiff. Two years later, Europe’s giants would finally meet in a final.
Poitrenaud; Ntamack (Heymans, 57), Garbajosa, Jauzion, Clerc; Delaigue (Elissalde, 53), Michalak; Collazo (Lecouls, 62), Bru (Servat, 71), Poux, Gerard (Lamboley, 80), Pelous (capt), Brennan, Bouilhou, Labit (Maka, 80).
 Staunton; Kelly, Mullins, Henderson (Holland, 80), Horgan; O'Gara, Stringer; Horan, Sheahan, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Williams (capt), Quinlan, Foley.
Munster had topped a pool of death containing Clermont and Wasps only to be sent on the road in the knock-out stages, Doug Howlett helping tame Gloucester before a titanic semi-final win over Saracens in Coventry to ensure Kidney’s Munster swansong would be in Cardiff. Toulouse had helped dump Leinster out in the pool before devouring Cardiff and London Irish en route to the Millennium Stadium.
In a word, absorbing. For 80-plus minutes it was never out of the balance as Munster’s defensive ferocity repelled so many Toulouse threats. Denis Leamy rumbled over at the second time to give the province the lead and Elissalde and O’Gara traded penalties. Pelous was sin-binned when Alan Quinlan’s dark arts brought the skipper’s red mist but, while down to 14, Toulouse drew level through Yves Donguy. Pelous returned and promptly got pinged for what proved to be the winning penalty. Munster had a second crown and defensive heroes throughout.
“Mick Galwey said ages ago that we'd have to lose a Heineken Cup final to win one. As it turned out, we had to lose two to win two.” — Kidney, off into the sunset.
For Munster, an unceasing (to this point at least) spell away from the decider with seven losing semi-finals in the 14 years since. Toulouse claimed titles four and five in 2010 and 2021.
Hurley; Howlett, Tipoki. Mafi, Dowling; O'Gara, O'Leary; Horan (Buckley, 67), Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell (capt); O'Driscoll, 60-63), Quinlan, Wallace, Leamy.
Heymans; MĂ©dard, Kunavore, Jauzion, Donguy (Ahotaeiloa, 78); Elissalde, Kelleher; Human, Servat, Perugini (Poux, 57), Pelous (capt), Albacete (Millo-Chlusky, 64), Bouilhou (Lamboley, 64), Dusautoir (Nyanga, 40), Sowerby.
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