Heineken Cup Munster v Leinster:Even the hardest of Munster supporters had to bow to the mighty blue performance

WAY BACK in May 2000, Munster stunned Toulouse in the Stade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux. I was left in a state of complete admiration for this iconic club: victory on foreign soil. That I was a Leinster player at the time was no matter. It was a Munster day that gave us all hope. If they could do it, then why not the other provinces?

Earlier that year I had found myself in Paris. On a long Friday in March, the Irish Defence Forces rugby team received a hammering by our French counterparts. But the following day Brian O’Driscoll scored his three tries that beat France by two points. I stood there in Stade de France for a long time after the final whistle soaking up what had unfolded.

Saturday was much the same. I didn’t want to leave. For I felt I’d just witnessed something special.

Welcome to the Jungle was belting out, and indeed it was a jungle out there.

So what was different about Saturday? For me it was simple: Leinster, for the first time in a long while, stopped effin’ around. Gone were the over-complicated loops and skips, replaced with hard running, and always, always going forward. They combined this ferocious physical commitment with skill, pace and, most importantly, a ruthless tactical awareness.

To witness a young Munster supporter sitting in front of me, no older than eight, crying his eyes out was telling. Like the end of the Celtic Tiger, he simply didn’t see this defeat coming. Not to worry, as nobody else did!

Of course, this outstanding rugby team will bounce back, for they’re still the best team in Europe as they’re still Magners League and European Champions. Leinster have won nothing, yet, but what a monumental step forward.

This, however, is scant consolation to the young boy, as his future manhood has temporarily been put in question.

“A National Day of Mourning is called for,” I heard someone say.

What would Michael Cusack have made of it? The colour, the flags, the noise and the singing were immense.

But on the pitch it was ferocious. Both sets of players were accelerating into contact, but the men in blue seemed to be doing so with an angry smile.

Rocky, Rocky, Rocky Elsom carried the fixture from start to finish. I simply adore the way he plays this physical game. Especially in Croke Park, where skill has been on show for over a century, it was a special performance by the Australian displaying power, pace and total commitment, combined with buckets of skill and a sidestep to boot. As the iconic song Mick Me Mate the Master Farter (sung by fellow Australian Kevin Bloody Wilson) highlights, this guy’s bloody good. He must have tackled every Munster man at least once.

Of course he wasn’t alone. Shane Horgan hunted and hit like in years of old. Good call Michael Cheika!

But that wasn’t where the calls ended for Cheika. I thought O’Gara would bomb Isa Nacewa at every opportunity, with results. But the New Zealander swallowed it up with aplomb. I noted that on eight minutes 51 seconds Nacewa finished a Leinster move deep in their territory with his best kick of the season, pushing Munster back into their half. It was simple, measured and timely, and it set the perfect tone.

But later the real Nacewa popped up to create D’Arcy’s try. This had beautiful symmetry. I had felt D’Arcy’s biggest Lions challenge was to make the plane for South Africa, but if he did he’d have a great chance of the Test slot. On Saturday, both Leinster centres, playing off scrappy lineout ball, stamped their mark on the fixture.

But early on, and without that flow of lineout ball, Lifeimi Mafi proved a handful for the Leinster centres; they were forced to double-team him, which freed up Keith Earls for a couple of early breaks.

But then things started to click. Maybe it was Felipe Contepomi getting their nose in front on 15 minutes, which was critical. Or maybe it was him running over his opposite man with ball in hand, or maybe it was his injury, but Contepomi certainly played his part.

His replacement, Johnny Sexton, brought control to the fixture, which resulted in three tries being scored by their backs. How often has this happened?

It was a fantastic sporting occasion, when even the hardest of Munster supporters bowed to the mighty blue performance. The joy experienced by a people scorned for so long was great to see. For these supporters have felt like second-class citizens, made to feel embarrassed for choosing to remain loyal to their team when others have absconded. Such joy was articulated by a cheeky Leinster fan: “I suppose we’ll have to fly to Edinburgh out of Shannon”.

As an Irish rugby “fan” I’m delighted to have seen such an occasion. And I’m delighted for the Leinster supporters (who gave John Hayes a standing ovation on replacement) and for their players, but especially for Felipe Contepomi and Malcolm O’Kelly, who have given Irish rugby so much over the years and deserve to be rewarded with the big prize.

Well done to all in blue on Saturday, who proved that if you build it they will come.

To paraphrase Captain Kirk: I see the European Cup: Leo Cullen, make it so.