THE NOVELTY OF winning the Heineken European Cup might have passed, but two years on from their first triumph, the ecstasy of Limerick's Munster fans remains as sublime as ever, writes RONAN McGREEVYin Limerick
By the time the victorious Munster team arrived for a private civic reception in the shadow of St John's Castle, their supporters could already be seen gathering at the corner of St Munchin's Church and Thomond Bridge and all points from there to O'Connell Street.
Looking across the river, coach Declan Kidney recalled the match against the reigning champions Wasps on a filthy January night when Thomond Park was a building site. "When you think back to the Wasps match and there wasn't a covering, and 15,000 of them stood there and roared us on. This is our way of saying thanks," he said.
The players arrived back battered and bruised at 2am yesterday morning to Shannon airport and from there to a reception in the Clarion Hotel.
"It's difficult even now to let it sink in," said hooker Jerry Flannery, who believes the fear of 2006 being the end and not the beginning of the Munster odyssey drove them on to even greater heights. "Coming after the game, you want to celebrate, but your body's so sore."
One of the local heroes, he was conscious of what it means to a joyful city that has had its share of sorrows.
"Something like two years ago was a great advert for the city, so much positive media. People are very proud to be able to say they're from Limerick. When you have that support, it's something bigger than just the game," he said.
It was easy to distinguish the players who'd competed in Saturday's ferocious final against Toulouse in Cardiff - they had the scars on their faces to prove it.
All eyes were on captain Paul O'Connell, as gentle off the pitch as he is uncompromising on it. He bent down to kiss a young girl, whose father said she shouldn't wash her face for a week.
The team bus made its way from City Hall, over Matthew Bridge and into the city centre. The waiting crowd in O'Connell Street was estimated at 30,000.
O'Connell told them: "Rog [Ronan O'Gara] was saying he couldn't believe the crowd that was here when there was probably 40 or 50 thousand still left in the UK. It's an incredible credit to ye. There's a lot of games throughout our career we might never have won without the so-called 16th man."
The carnival moves on to Cork tomorrow night, but the celebrations have only started. "We'll have a big night tonight and a big night tomorrow night," said O'Connell, "and we'll go from there."