Munster Through To European Cup Final Against Toulouse

Heineken Cup, Semi-Final
Munster 18
Saracens 16

Munster had to call on all the guile and experience gathered over the last 10 years to stumble across the line against Saracens in this absorbing semi-final clash at Coventry.

So many questions were raised at the quality of Munster's performance. Did they play badly or did they play as well as they were let? In the final analysis it has to be said that Munster were a shade luckey to survive. And survive it was.

This was no day for oven freeflowing rugby. The conditions and the level of the Saracens challenge ensured that Munster's sole tactic was to keep the ball amongst the forwards and to roll on from there.

One of the strengths of this Munster team is their ability to defend a small lead inside their own half for long periods without conceding penalties. This they were forced to do on Sunday for the final 12 minutes as they held on to a two point lead. The Saracens attacks were frequent and relentless. Yet Munster stood firm and were just about able to prevent Saracens from forcing the penalty or to create the space to drop a goal, either of which would have seen them through.

Munster had a dreadful start. Some sloppy midfield play enabled Saracens to open up the Munster defence to score under the posts. To Munster's credit they regrouped and by the end of the first quarted appeared to have weathered the Saracens storm. Two trys before the break (from O'Gara and Quinlan) saw Munster take a half time lead of 15 - 7.

Despite Munster's best efforts in the second half they were unable to significantly add to their total, thereby leaving themselves very vulernable thus when Saracens reduced the lead to two points in the 58th minute the game was there to be won and lost.

It was in those final 12 minutes that Munster demonstrated their unique ability to drain every drop of energy and enterprise from the opposition to secure the win that practically that no other team would have survived.

Munster now meet Toulouse in the final in Cardiff on May the 24th in what has been described as "the dream final".