RUGBY:IF MUNSTER beat Ospreys in their Heineken Cup quarter-final meeting on April 12th, the probability is that – whoever they meet in the semi-final, whether it be Harlequins or Leinster – the game will be played at Croke Park if the GAA will make the stadium available.

There is no possibility of any other GAA ground being used for the match. The 50,000 capacity Gaelic Grounds in Limerick was mooted as a possible alternative venue but the motion passed in 2005 at GAA’s annual Congress, which allowed soccer and rugby into Croke Park, specifically stated that GAA headquarters was the only ground to which the motion applied.

At the time Garrett Fitzgerald, the Munster Rugby CEO, suggested that the 43,000 capacity Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney might be a possible alternative to Thomond Park but that view was quickly shot down by the GAA.

The GAA’s decision is probably going to be made at a Central Council meeting scheduled for February 14th. That date would also dovetail with the European Rugby Cup (ERC) requirements for staging the semi-finals.

“We would traditionally announce the semi-finals pairings before the quarter-finals take place,” said an ERC spokesman. “That is the function of the semi-final draw taking place early. It is to have options available for semi-final venues.”

Teams drawn out of the hat first are obliged to play away from home and in a ground of more than 20,000 capacity. Thomond Park meets the capacity but is very much Munster’s home ground.

Twickenham is being considered as a possible alternative to Harlequin’s traditional home ground at The Stoop for Leinster’s quarter-final meeting with Harlequins on April 12th.