JOE looks forward to the latest installment in what has become a massive rivalry, an historic occasion for Shane Horgan and a decision that could be of big benefit to Connacht Rugby.
The renewing of a great rivalry
The sight of Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O’Gara sharing an embrace in the process of a substitution, or of Eoin Reddan and Paul O’Connell exchanging a laugh while they left the pitch in the magnificent victory over England a fortnight back will be long forgotten by the time Munster and Leinster take to the Thomond Park pitch tomorrow evening.
The Magners League may not offer the same entertainment level as the Six Nations just gone, but rugby fans won’t be disappointed when one of the great sporting rivalries of modern times comes to Limerick this weekend.
Games between Munster and Leinster were once dominated by the men from the south, a fact that was highlighted in devastating fashion in the Heineken Cup semi-final in 2006, when Munster made bits of their opponents from the capital with an emphatic 30-6 victory at Lansdowne Road.
Do you really expect Munster to ease up against Leinster just because their place in the semi-finals is all but wrapped up?
The tables have turned in recent times, however, with Leinster winning the last five encounters between the pair, a run which included a 25-6 victory in the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final in Croke Park, sweet revenge for the painful defeat three years earlier.
Despite their pre-eminence in Europe this season, Leinster have far more to gain from tomorrow night’s encounter than Munster, who are cruising at the top of the Magners League table with a 12-point gap between themselves and Joe Schmidt’s side with only four games remaining. Leinster are still well on course for a place in the last four, but have a bit of work left to do, with the four teams below them in the table all harbouring realistic ambitions of a place in the semi-finals.
Munster are nothing if not proud, however, and will be driven by the need to put an end to a run which must be privately, if not publicly, a source of real hurt. Do you really expect them to ease up against Leinster just because their place in the semi-finals is all but wrapped up?
No chance. Expect fireworks.
The Shane Horgan appreciation society
Although Leo Cullen has been selected as captain against Munster, expect the big lock to stand aside and wait for a couple of moments to allow Shane Horgan take the field and accept the appreciation of the crowd at Thomond Park as he marks the occasion of his 200th cap.
He may not be a Munster man, but the Thomond faithful will be more than ready to celebrate what he has done at provincial and international level over the years.
Horgan and Brian O’Driscoll way back in 1999
It was 13 years ago that Horgan made his debut for the province, scoring a try while playing in the centre against Ulster at Donnybrook. Since then, he has added 64 more touchdowns in a sterling career with the province in which he won a Heineken Cup title and two Magners League triumphs, and given where the Blues stand in both competitions this season, there could be more silverware in store for the Meath native.
One of the most accomplished finishers in Europe, at 32, Horgan is not finished at international level yet and would have played a part in the Six Nations were it for injury, such was his form for Leinster leading into the competition.
‘Shaggy’ has always been a popular character with fans and team-mates alike and it his fitting that it is he who should become the first player in the history of the province to reach the 200-cap mark, a remarkable achievement given the rigours of the modern game.
Big opportunity for Connacht
Scotland coach Andy Robinson showed a remarkable bit of foresight earlier this week when he took the decision to withdraw five of his frontline players – Alistair Kellock, Richie Gray and John Barclay from Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen from club duty for the rest of the season.
With the World Cup later in the year, Robinson was ensuring that those five players, all key members of the current Scottish line-up, would avoid suffering the fatigue that crippled the Irish rugby squad in the disastrous World Cup in France four years ago.
Robinson has insisted that the players would have been withdrawn regardless of their position in the Magners League, but you can’t help but think that such a move would have been prevented had either Edinburgh or Glasgow been competing for a place in the semi-finals of the competition, rather than wallowing in ninth and 11th place respectively.
Shorn of their best players for the rest of the campaign, the Scottish clubs will have a tough job improving on their current positions, meaning that the opportunity is there for Connacht to ensure their highest finish in the competition for a number of years.
Connacht are entirely deserving of their current place in the Magners League table and should they go on and achieve a seventh place finish, which is certainly within reach, it would be unfair to suggest that they only did so because of the removal of key Scottish players.
They will be glad of the helping hand, however, and will be looking to exploit the absence of Ford and Jacobsen against Edinburgh at the Sportsground this evening.
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