Here We Go Again
22/05/08 22:07 Filed in: Sport
I missed the Heineken
Cup Final in 2006. You know, the one that Munster
won. As in Munster, the team I regularly write about.
Here's what happened.
Back in January of that year, I was asked to take a group of customers to Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain on a wine trip in the middle of May. Not wearing a rugby hat that day, I agreed. As the season panned out, it became apparent that I was going to miss the final due to the trip, but by that stage it was too late to back out.
We arrived on the Tuesday and were due to leave on Saturday afternoon. We were flying out of Seville, so we had an hour's bus journey to the airport, and that hour was right splat in the middle of the match. I had my laptop with me, and managed to get the first 20 minutes in the lobby of the hotel, listening to the great Michael Corcoran on RTE's streaming web coverage. Back home, my wife, six months pregnant, was watching the match live and sending me updates by text. Being a proud Cork woman and Munster supporter, she naturally got caught up in the emotions of the day, and as the match wore on, her missives to me on the bus between Jerez and Seville became more cryptic.
But then one came through loud and clear. "STRNGR TRY!!!!!!!"
When we got to the airport, she rang me. It was all over. She was speechless, but eventually managed to squeak out "We won!" between sobs of joy. She still maintains that if she had been a few weeks further along the pregnancy that day, she would have been in The Coombe that night.
So here we are again. Munster stand on the cusp of glory once more, and if they make it to the top of the hill this time, it will be even better than '06. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors.) Two years ago, they had a home quarter final and to all intents and purposes, a home quarter final against Leinster. This time, they had to practically tunnel out of the worst possible pool draw, and then face two away knock-out draws. And once that was over, face the only side that has contested more Heineken Cup Finals than they have, a side who have won three so far. As Sheryl Crow sang, no-one said it would be easy.
On the plus side, this is a more complete Munster side than in 2006. Alongside the well-established pack, there is a back line that any opposition would fear. The two Kiwi centres, Mafi and Tipoki have been awesome for Munster this season. Once Trevor Halstead left, I was afraid that our back line would miss that line-smashing element he brought to the game. Thankfully Tipoki has it, and his partnership with his fellow New Zealander means that we have a mean centre partnership. Plus the fact that these guys can run. I remember Mafi's first appearance in a Munster shirt. Can't remember the opposition, but I think it was a Welsh team in the Celtic League. He got hold of the ball, saw a gap, slid through it and put on the afterburners. He didn't score, but he really showed that he had pace.
Then we have Doug Howlett on the wing. Everyone thinks that Decaln Kidney signed him just for his try-scoring ability, but it's his defensive work that has more than repaid the fee laid out for him. On the other wing, Ian Dowling is maturing into a fine player, with a keen eye on the break and also on keeping his channel secure. Likewise, Denis Hurley will most likely secure the full-back berth, having done well in the position in recent matches.
So, how's it going to go? I'm not as confident going into this final as I was back in 2006, but I still think Munster can win it. There will be no more than a score between the teams, and it will either be won by an act of genius or lost by a cruel mistake.
The cake would be a Munster win. The icing would be seeing the "Man of the Match" award going to Munster's most faithful servant. The man the commentators never see securing the rucks, steadying the scrum and launching Paul O'Connell single-handedly into the sky at the line-out. The man known as "The Bull". Munster's unsung hero, John Hayes.
Back in January of that year, I was asked to take a group of customers to Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain on a wine trip in the middle of May. Not wearing a rugby hat that day, I agreed. As the season panned out, it became apparent that I was going to miss the final due to the trip, but by that stage it was too late to back out.
We arrived on the Tuesday and were due to leave on Saturday afternoon. We were flying out of Seville, so we had an hour's bus journey to the airport, and that hour was right splat in the middle of the match. I had my laptop with me, and managed to get the first 20 minutes in the lobby of the hotel, listening to the great Michael Corcoran on RTE's streaming web coverage. Back home, my wife, six months pregnant, was watching the match live and sending me updates by text. Being a proud Cork woman and Munster supporter, she naturally got caught up in the emotions of the day, and as the match wore on, her missives to me on the bus between Jerez and Seville became more cryptic.
But then one came through loud and clear. "STRNGR TRY!!!!!!!"
When we got to the airport, she rang me. It was all over. She was speechless, but eventually managed to squeak out "We won!" between sobs of joy. She still maintains that if she had been a few weeks further along the pregnancy that day, she would have been in The Coombe that night.
So here we are again. Munster stand on the cusp of glory once more, and if they make it to the top of the hill this time, it will be even better than '06. (Apologies for the mixed metaphors.) Two years ago, they had a home quarter final and to all intents and purposes, a home quarter final against Leinster. This time, they had to practically tunnel out of the worst possible pool draw, and then face two away knock-out draws. And once that was over, face the only side that has contested more Heineken Cup Finals than they have, a side who have won three so far. As Sheryl Crow sang, no-one said it would be easy.
On the plus side, this is a more complete Munster side than in 2006. Alongside the well-established pack, there is a back line that any opposition would fear. The two Kiwi centres, Mafi and Tipoki have been awesome for Munster this season. Once Trevor Halstead left, I was afraid that our back line would miss that line-smashing element he brought to the game. Thankfully Tipoki has it, and his partnership with his fellow New Zealander means that we have a mean centre partnership. Plus the fact that these guys can run. I remember Mafi's first appearance in a Munster shirt. Can't remember the opposition, but I think it was a Welsh team in the Celtic League. He got hold of the ball, saw a gap, slid through it and put on the afterburners. He didn't score, but he really showed that he had pace.
Then we have Doug Howlett on the wing. Everyone thinks that Decaln Kidney signed him just for his try-scoring ability, but it's his defensive work that has more than repaid the fee laid out for him. On the other wing, Ian Dowling is maturing into a fine player, with a keen eye on the break and also on keeping his channel secure. Likewise, Denis Hurley will most likely secure the full-back berth, having done well in the position in recent matches.
So, how's it going to go? I'm not as confident going into this final as I was back in 2006, but I still think Munster can win it. There will be no more than a score between the teams, and it will either be won by an act of genius or lost by a cruel mistake.
The cake would be a Munster win. The icing would be seeing the "Man of the Match" award going to Munster's most faithful servant. The man the commentators never see securing the rucks, steadying the scrum and launching Paul O'Connell single-handedly into the sky at the line-out. The man known as "The Bull". Munster's unsung hero, John Hayes.