In rugby terms Jim Williams is no longer a mere mortal. A player, and now coach, who has won several major trophies in both hemispheres deserves to be placed on a pedestal.

He won a World Cup medal with Australia in 1999 and a Super 12 title with the ACT Brumbies in 2001, and he now has the satisfaction gleaned from his role in the Munster set-up. Coach Williams is already looking forward.

"There is a lot of relief. If I can make a comparison to the first time the Brumbies won the Super 12. There was a sigh of relief first after winning it but then we moved on.

"Toulouse and Leicester are the targets now. To see who can win it the most times. That's the drive that's got to be there. To be successful all the time. Paul O'Connell said it after the semi-final: this can't be it."

The Brumbies came back and won the Super 12 in 2004.

Williams is certainly the most over-qualified water boy (the H2O bib barely goes around his broad shoulders) in sporting history. You suspect that, besides the water bottles he sprayed around, timely nuggets of wisdom were also dispensed during breaks in play.

The calming influence was crucial when the Biarritz momentum was building after Paul O'Connell and Anthony Foley were called ashore.

"The majority of rugby had been done," he admits. "It was just a case of cool heads.

"The last seven or eight minutes were excruciating. You'd much rather be a player because you're out there in the thick of it, but when you're on the sideline and expecting the team to do things it's a little bit frustrating.

"To the same point, the guys have trained very well all year. They executed the game plan to the letter. That was the most pleasing thing from a coaching perspective. They played the way they trained."

Williams admitted the Munster lineout was not the dominant force it can be, although this was down to Biarritz expertly targeting an unfit O'Connell. Crucially, the Basques were forced into catch-up rugby, unfamiliar territory for them.

"The lineout struggled," says Williams. "We wanted a start in the first 20 minutes and we didn't get that. We weathered the storm though and went in at half-time in front. Through the finals campaign, Biarritz have been in front at every stage. After half-time, getting that penalty to put us 20-10 in front helped us immensely.

"All credit to Brian Hickey (lineout coach) and the guys. When you have one of the best lineout set-ups in Europe things can go wrong but they still had a big finish. The execution might not have been there today but the composure certainly was."

As Williams departs, Federico Pucciariello is finishing up an interview in Italian. Along with Trevor Halstead, the Argentinian arrived in Munster at the tail-end of a decade-long quest for the European Cup. Still, their impressive contributions will be noted.

"I want to say thank you to all the people who were supporting us," says Pucciariello. "It's unbelievable. I've never seen that in my life. Not many players will see that in their whole career so I am grateful.

"I came on in a very difficult time in the game. They had come back to one point. We had to be very careful with our discipline and not give away penalties. I think we did very well in defence."

Denis Leamy is up next. He was shocked by the sight of O'Connell Street hitting the big screen during the closing stages.

"I just looked up for a second."

"Is that when you dropped the ball?" laughs a companion.

"Yeah, probably."

We eventually escape from the labyrinthine bowels of the Millennium Stadium into an epic, blood-red Cardiff evening. Then onto a coach of jovial Munster fans. Then the airport pandemonium and a hilarious plane journey. Then the homecoming.

A truly amazing experience that will be lodged in the memory bank forever.

Forget 1978. Where were you when Munster conquered the Northern Hemisphere? Paul O'Connell Street? Cardiff? Or, thanks to the wonders of technology, both?