'The dream is to go the whole way': Beirne urges Munster fans to embrace European campaign

Munster captain Tadhg Beirne knows there's no getting away from attendances being down in the Champions Cup but he still believes the competition is the pinnacle of club rugby

Tadhg Beirne: 'It’s class to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and hopefully in front of a full Munster crowd again.' Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Tadhg Beirne is hoping the enthusiasm for Champions Cup rugby so evident within the Munster dressing room can inspire supporters in the province to make the trip to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh this Saturday.

The Munster captain acknowledges European club rugby’s premier competition has lost some of its shine in recent years, a victim of covid, initially, and the loss of a familiar and cherished format of home and away pool games. Munster’s long quest to win the Heineken Cup for the first time in 2006 and then regain it two years later has ensured the tournament remains a hugely important part of the province’s season. Beirne this week described the buzz within his squad in the build-up to the 2026-27 campaign opener against old rivals Racing 92 in Cork this Saturday night.

It is the Ireland lock/flanker’s wish that Munster return to the home of Cork GAA to play in front of a full house and that supporters share his zeal for the occasion in front of them this weekend.

Playing at the Leeside stadium may have lost its novelty value as Munster prepare to play there for the fourth time since their debut there against South Africa A in November 2022. That drew a sell-out crowd of 41,400 while last season’s first competitive match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, a European pool fixture against Gloucester in December 2025, attracted a very healthy and Munster Champions Cup record 36,208.

For this Saturday’s fixture, a Pool 3 opener back in an October slot for the first time since 2018, sales have so far only just brushed past the 20,000 mark, although Beirne’s excitement may just catch on.

“There's no going away from the fact that the numbers in terms of attendance and stuff around the whole competition is down,” the Munster skipper said.

“I remember first coming here (in 2018) and getting a ticket for a Champions Cup weekend was near to impossible. We (the players) were pleading with each other trying to get tickets off each other ourselves.

“There's no shying away from that but that doesn't take away from how important the competition is to us as a club and us as a team. I think it's still the pinnacle of club rugby. It's the competition every team wants to win because I think you're top of the charts then, aren't you? I think it's the one competition, as you come.

“I suppose the way I look at it is every weekend I can guarantee you most people aren't watching the Top 14 or the Premiership or some people aren't even watching the URC but I can guarantee you every weekend when it comes to the Champions Cup whether you're in France, England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland, you're watching the Champions Cup.

“You're tuning in to watch it and I think that's the joy of that competition, is that everyone still loves to watch that competition and I think that's why it's so big.

“To us as a club it's huge for us and we know how big it is for our fans as well. All we want to do is bring them on an enjoyable journey in this competition. The dream is to go the whole way and it starts on Saturday.” 

Munster have been drawn in a tough pool with a trip to Bristol Bears to follow on December 12, before heading to defending back-to-back European champions Union Bordeaux Begles on January 10 ahead of a finale at home to Gloucester at Thomond Park a week later. Getting out of Pool 3 and into April’s Round of 16, will bring a welcome return to knockout rugby, Munster having missed out last season with a home pool defeat to Castres.

Yet Beirne is targeting a first home knockout match at Thomond Park since their R16 second-leg victory over Exeter in 2022. That preceded a quarter-final moved from Limerick to Dublin to face Toulouse and Munster have not been close to regaining home advantage since.

It is a definite target, not least to bring a significant financial boost to the province. 

“Of course it is, every year and obviously last year was very disappointing but we have an opportunity this year to make last year forgotten about and go after it this year because we were obviously very disappointed.

“We don't want to be in that position again and we haven't had a knockout game here for a long, long time. I think was it Exeter the last one?

“I've been injured as well. I've been injured both times we've had knockout games at home. I'd love to get it, be here, knockout, full crowd. It'd be some buzz and you can feel it in the city and you can feel it all around.

“So that's what we'll be striving towards and as I said it starts Saturday which is a huge game. It’s class to play in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and hopefully in front of a full Munster crowd again.”