It was a day that finally dispelled the myth about Leinster rugby followers being mere fair-weather fans. The weather was almost perfect for the showdown with arch-rivals Munster, but the home supporters proved once and for all that they can under-perform in all conditions, writes Frank McNally at Lansdowne Road.
Even before the match, Munster dominated them in most key areas. The visitors established numerical supremacy in Doheny & Nesbitt's, Searson's, and the Waterloo Inn. A flying column even penetrated Kiely's of Donnybrook - Leinster HQ - and was holding its own there as late as an hour before the game.
The pattern was confirmed inside Lansdowne Road. Either many Leinster fans had offloaded their tickets, or they had taken the precaution of dressing in red for the afternoon and developing colourful accents. Whichever it was, it looked a wise decision once the game began.
The terms "Leinster" and "champagne rugby" had become inextricably linked in recent weeks. But it was quickly obvious yesterday that the champagne would be corked. Even worse, it would be Limericked.
Most days, the O'Connell monument is a statue in the centre of Dublin. But if Paul O'Connell had been any more monumental at Lansdowne, he would have had pigeon droppings on his head. He jumped, ran and tackled like his life depended on it, and he was central to the first big moment of the game, when Denis Leamy finished a typical Munster try after a drive down O'Connell Street.
After that, only the known potential of Leinster's backline kept Munster fans from getting cocky. However, any excuse for restraint was finally removed in the 77th minute, when Ronan O'Gara strode through a Wicklow Gap-sized hole in Leinster's defence to seal a place in the European Cup Final next month.
As the south terrace - sun-burned with Munster shirts - embraced him, blue-shirted fans moved toward the exits. Adding injury to insult, Trevor Halstead then ran in a third try, to make victory on the pitch as comprehensive as the one off it.
A possible consolation for Leinster supporters was the mayor of Limerick's fear that his city risked downgrading if sufficient numbers failed to make it home in time for the census. But man-of-the-match O'Connell rallied to the cause in post-match interviews, inviting all Munster fans back to Jerry Flannery's pub last night, where the population was expected to reach record levels.