Munster 16 Toulouse 13:TO BECOME the best Munster had to beat the best, and that they did, compelling and more conclusively than the scoreline suggests. May 24th, 2008 in the Millennium Stadium can now not only rank alongside October 31st, 1978, and May 20th, 2006 but perhaps even surpass them. And this was a proper rugby match, with a little bit of everything as well as shuddering intensity.
Whether one for the purists or not, only Wasps - a brilliant, all-powerful Wasps at the peak of their powers - had overcome the French aristocrats in four previous European Cup finals and that was by dint of a freakish, last-minute mugging. This, despite the scoreboard, was a more decisive beating than that and even more conclusive victory than Munster's one over Biarritz two years ago.
The only pity was Doug Howlett's stunning finish was ruled out, and that Rua Tipoki or Lifeimi Mafi couldn't get telling offloads away to complement their devilish running. That would have made the win even more complete.
It also relied less on raw, desperate emotion and energy than the victory over Biarritz, who a fortnight on put 40 points on Toulouse to win the Bouclier du Brennus. Rather it was down to careful planning and a cumulative effort which brought about a more complete performance.
Munster's astute Aussie defensive/backs coach Tony McGahan admitted he had nightmares in the weeks building up to this match-up. But he and the rest of the Brains Trust learned from the video of Clermont's defeat of Toulouse, when the French league leaders unsettled Guy Noves' team by smashing into them at every tackle and ruck and flooded the offloading channels.
Munster also maintained a high tempo with the ball themselves,taking it up through forward runners closer in two or three times and then moving it wide swiftly. It created the chinks for those moments.
They also chased kicks in a strong line, fully aware Cedric Heymans and his kindred spirits on the wing, along with the deep-lying Shaun Sowerby, were forever looking to take quick throws to themselves or each other. Even then, Toulouse's brilliant counter-attacking remained a constant threat and proved unstoppable on one occasion. Otherwise though, they actually rarely looked like penetrating the thick blue line.
As is their custom in big games, Munster don't panic if they start slowly. They trust each other implicitly to soak up the pressure. Thierry Dusautoir was putting in monster hits, Yannick Jauzion had turned up to play, running threateningly, looking to free his hands and chasing high kicks.
Operating off his pack's quick ball, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde was always full of inventiveness and gave the ball plenty of width, while Byron Kelleher, typically, was full of aggressive fringe running. It is to Tomás O'Leary's immense credit that long before the end of the game he had helped to effectively negate this threat, aside from putting plenty of length on his passes and kicking shrewdly and accurately.
The sight of Elissalde resorting to a couple of drop goal attempts, even though landing one of them while fractionally missing a penalty, was almost a victory of sorts, all the more so when Munster turned their 10 minutes of supremacy into 10 points.
From around the half-hour point, Munster's control of the game and relative comfort in defence became more and more complete. Their scrum had been as solid as a rock when conceding an early five-metre scrum and became a source of mental as well as physical strength.
For all Jean Bouilhou's chasing down of restarts, he couldn't get near Paul O'Connell, who was a colossus again and reigned supreme in the air. Meeting Dusautoir and co head on, gradually Alan Quinlan's big plays and presence became more influential, while David Wallace seemed almost to grow in stature as the match wore on to finish as the game's dominant backrower with some muscular carries and steals.
It was perhaps the frontrow's finest day as a unit, with Jerry Flannery having a huge all-round game.
Denis Leamy had been due a big one and, true to his immense character and heart, delivered in the final, carrying superbly off the base.
Initially denied in the most marginal of TMO decisions, Leamy kept hammering away after fringe pressure by O'Leary and Quinlan on Sowerby had forced the more vital of many turnovers. Helped by Donncha O'Callaghan, with characteristic strength in the cause of the team, and Quinlan, Leamy was driven over, slapping O'Callaghan on the back as he made his way back to the half-way line. A great moment.
Ronan O'Gara's kicking was mixed against the deep-lying, quick-throwing Toulouse men, but his varied, fast, flat passing was magnificent.
Critically too, in light of Elissalde's misses, O'Gara was a perfect four from four, edging them 10-3 in front with the conversion and a penalty earned by his monster touch-finder off the restart to Leamy's try.
Quinlan looked harshly penalised for diving on a ball which had emerged from a ruck for Elissalde to make it 10-6 at the break after a Heymans counter. Even so, Toulouse were increasingly living off scraps.
O'Connell seemed intent on winning the game on his own upon the resumption with some monstrous plays - reluctantly interrupted by a blood bin. Their smash-smash, whip-it-out approach saw the outstanding Rua Tipoki make a half-break and release Howlett, who skinned Heymans and Yves Donguy but Nigel Owens' call was the correct one, before Fabien Pelous lost his head for a moment with an alleyway kick up the derriere for Quinlan, who was driving him and his fellow Toulousains to distraction.
However, O'Gara having made it 13-6, Yves Donguy's try unexpectedly drew the sides level. It was a bolt from the blue, but it didn't steer Munster off course. They shrugged their shoulders, saw it for what it was (vintage Heymans, vintage Toulouse and virtually unpreventable) and carried on almost regardless.
It helped that an immense performance from every member of the pack saw their control of the collisions and the breakdown grow more and more pronounced as the match wore on.
For this was vintage Munster too.
Admittedly, a superb interchange out wide between Maxime Medard, Maleli Kunavore and Jauzion was undone by Elissalde's ill-advised cross kick to the waiting arms of a relieved last man, Marcus Horan. And it was Flannery's trademark, teak-tough rumble which induced a silly penalty from Pelous for deliberately positioning his body on the wrong side of the ball.
Even then, Munster kept playing. Breaking through off O'Gara's flat pass, had Tipoki offloaded to Wallace before sidestepping William Servat they would have pushed further clear; likewise, when Mafi's stunning show-and-go routine with Howlett pierced the red line with try-scoring runners either side before being hauled down by Medard.
Yet as three-point leads go it looked and felt reasonably comfortable. Having failed to pull two scores clear, they played out the endgame in utter control; O'Connell eschewing an overlap after one of Wallace's steals as the forwards decided to close it out themselves. "Death by pick and go," as Flannery described it.
The noise reached a crescendo. The Red Army, oozing confidence themselves for much of the day, unleashed The Fields one more time off the rooftop. Winners all right.
Scoring sequence: 9 mins: Elissalde dp gl 3-0; 33: Leamy try, O'Gara con 7-3; 36: O'Gara pen 10-3; 40: Elissalde pen 10-6; (half-time 10-6); 52: O'Gara pen 13-6; 54: Donguy try, Elissalde con 13-13; 65: O'Gara pen 16-13.
MUNSTER: D Hurley; D Howlett, L Mafi, R Tipoki, I Dowling; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell (capt), A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy. Replacements: M O'Driscoll for O'Connell (58-61 mins); T Buckley for Horan (64-74 mins). Not used: F Sheahan, T Buckley, M O'Driscoll, D Ryan, P Stringer, P Warwick, K Earls.
TOULOUSE: C Heymans; M Medard, M Kunavore, Y Jauzion, Y Donguy; J Elissalde, B Kelleher; D Human, W Servat, S Perugini, F Pelous (capt), P Albacete, J Bouilhou, T Dusautoir, S Sowerby. Replacements: Y Nyanga for Dusautoir (39 mins); J-B Poux for Perugini (56 mins); R Millo-Chlusky for Albacete, GB Lamboley for Bouilhou (both 62 mins). Not used: A Vernet Basualdo, F Fritz, M Ahotaeiloa. Sinbinned: Pelous (51-61 mins).
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).
