Donal Lenihan: Write down the time and place Munster and its loyal followers re-embraced

In years to come, many of the young boys and girls in tears when Conor Murray and Ben Healy had the misfortune to miss their kicks in the dreaded penalty shootout, will relay to their own kids that they were in Lansdowne Road that day

EMOTION: Munster's Simon Zebo with his parents Arthur and Lynda after the heartbreaking loss in Dublin last Saturday. Pic: Dan Sheridan, Inpho

SATURDAY last in Dublin was special, in so many ways, on the day Munster rugby rediscovered its soul.

Credit for that goes, firstly, to those in Munster’s commercial department for taking the early decision to initiate a ticket-pricing initiative that made it financially attractive for families to attend the Champions Cup quarter-final without having to break the bank.

In addition, Munster also offered subsidised coach transport for rugby clubs around the province which was not only well-received but created a welcome inclusion for clubs who, at times, feel left behind by those running the province.

The Munster sporting community responded in their droves. There is a message here also, in that, once a game is scheduled at an accessible time - on this occasion, a prime slot of 3pm on a Saturday - and tickets are reasonably priced, people will come. Is it not better to have 40,000 people at a cost of €20 per adult and €10 for juniors, as was the case last weekend, than 20,000 at €40 a ticket.

THE NEXT GENERATION: Munster dads and fans of the future celebrate a try. Pic: Ben Brady

Families sensed a unique opportunity to travel together for what was always going to be a brilliant occasion. You could sense it in and around the stadium on Saturday. Rounding the corner from Herbert Road to Lansdowne Road, 90 minutes before kick off, I was hit by a wall of red. Munster supporters, all bedecked, with kids in hand, all vying for the best vantage point to welcome the team coach before it disappeared into the bowels of the stadium.

The lift that affords to even the most experienced players in that coach is immeasurable. It serves to reinforce the feeling that you’re playing for something far bigger that yourself and those sitting around you in that tight-knit bubble.

Not helped by the absence of fans due to the pandemic, but also by frustration with the way Munster were playing for periods throughout that Covid phase, there was a feeling Munster had lost its DNA recently. If that was the case, they certainly re-discovered it on Saturday.

I’ve been around a long time and witnessed the amazing rise of Munster rugby throughout the professional era, from the morning my son and I arrived in Cork airport to see a fleet of chartered planes on the runway, ready to deliver thousands of fans to Twickenham for the 2000 Heineken Cup final. That was a turning point.

The pain when Mick Galway led his crestfallen players around Twickenham after the 9-8 defeat to Northampton, to a rapturous reception from the red army, is something that will stay with both of us forever.

Munster's Keith Earls celebrates after scoring a try against Toulouse with Simon Zebo.

In years to come, many of the young boys and girls, whose were in tears when Conor Murray and Ben Healy had the misfortune to miss their kicks in the dreaded penalty shootout, will relay to their kids that they were in Lansdowne Road that day.

By making it affordable for families to travel together as a unit, Munster have created a link with a new young support base, many of whom will remain captivated for years to come because of the events of last weekend. That’s the way it works. How many kids follow the same Premier League team as their dad?

So hats off to everyone involved in Munster Rugby for turning a negative, in the loss of Thomond Park to the Ed Sheeran concerts, into a positive by making it both affordable and attractive for so many people to make their way to Dublin.

There’s also a lesson in this for big knockout games down the track. If Munster can get over 40,000 people to travel to Dublin then they can attract even more to other venues in the province such as Páirc Ui Chaoimh.

The extra money generated, by catering for an increased audience of 20,000 would not only help in closing the gap with the big French clubs and, for that matter Leinster - who in a capital city are able to attract financial support from the big corporate entities, opportunity to chase the corporate fill their coffers - but also in attract an even wider support base to the Munster cause.

While Saturday’s end result was massively disappointing for all involved, it must have been even more shattering for a cohort of outstanding players who have given everything to the Munster cause for over a decade now.

For the likes of Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, John Ryan, Niall Scannell, Simon Zebo and Keith Earls, all of whom graduated from the Munster academy in or around the same time, Saturday’s defeat and the manner with which they exited the tournament, must be very difficult to take.

All those players emerged in the shadow of the great Heineken Cup-winning team and were earning their stripes in the academy when the likes of Anthony Foley, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan, Alan Quinlan and Denis Leamy were leading the charge and setting the standards ahead of them.

They were entrusted with the enviable task of trying to emulate the deeds of an exceptional group of home grown players who went immediately before them. It has proved a very heavy burden to carry. Once again, those players gave everything to the cause only to come up short against the reigning champions in the most cruel circumstances of all.

TOUCHING: Munster fans encourage the players ahead of the game.

This campaign may have ended in disappointment but what O'Mahony and the other senior players have done over the course of this challenging campaign is engrain in the next generation of Munster stars the province’s special relationship with Europe.

They understand what it's all about now. The likes of Josh and Fineen Wycherley, hookers Diarmuid Barron and Scott Buckley, Thomas Ahern, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes, Jack Daly, Craig Casey, Ben Healy, Jack Crowley, Shane Daly and Patrick Campbell, all home grown talent, were all exposed to the rarified atmosphere of Heineken Champions Cup rugby this season alone.

That represents a hugely exciting core of talent for the new coaching ticket of Graham Rowntree, Mike Prendergast and, hopefully, Denis Leamy to work with over the next few seasons. In addition, there are other young hopefuls, currently operating in the schools and club scene, who will also be ready to take the next step in the not too distant future.

While it’s going to be difficult to lift themselves from this disappointment, there’s a very tangible target for Munster to aim for now in the form of the United Rugby Championship. The emergence of the powerful South African teams will make our domestic competition more difficult to win over the next few seasons so Munster need to strike now, given the excellent form displayed across their last four games.

A face-off with Leinster in a European semi-final next Saturday would have been another brilliant occasion for Irish rugby but, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Leinster find themselves in a very strong position now to dethrone a Toulouse side to looked a bit jaded even before they arrived in Dublin last weekend. Then again, as Ulster and Munster saw over the course of the last two rounds, the current champions are not prepared to relinquish their title without a fight.