RUGBY:SO IT WILL be two of the giants - nay, two institutions - of the European game in the Heineken Cup final four weeks hence, on Saturday, May 24th, in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
They are coached by a couple of institutions too, Declan Kidney and Guy Noves, who will be taking their sides to a fourth and fifth final respectively.
Munster v Toulouse has a pretty seismic ring to it all right, and it will be a fitting finale to Munster's latest epic Euro odyssey. If they win this one, it really will be one to boast about for generations, for there will never have been a grander European Cup campaign.
Ever the great entertainers, having overcome in the pool of sharks what look like the champions of England and France in waiting and then Gloucester away, they made yesterday's 18-16 semi-final win over Saracens and their old mentor Alan Gaffney not so much nailbiting as finger-chewing.
Saturday's first semi-final had been a sun-drenched, Twickenham thriller but this riotously fluctuating affair was a meatier if ultimately messier encounter. It crackled and throbbed with near-manic intensity from first minute to last, and ebbed and flowed under a fittingly volatile and occasionally violent sky that went from shine to rain to thunder to a deluge before clearing again.
Against a backing track of constant noise, a cracker of a first half gave way to a messy second half, in part because of the weather and also an awful, almost hapless refereeing performance by Nigel Owens. Against a ferociously committed Saracens team, Munster also lost their composure a little, but their desire and will to win remained bottomless as they clung on for dear life at the end.
They played long passages in their own territory, but their trademark defensive unity stood to them as they withstood an early try and further assaults on their line to move 15-7 in front by the break thanks to tries by Ronan O'Gara and Alan Quinlan.
The second was a remarkably brazen and gutsy team effort triggered by O'Gara's tap penalty in his own half and completed by arguably the outstanding number six in European rugby this season.
How Quinlan remained out of the Ireland 22 all season continues to beggar belief. Ultimately though, yet again, Munster pulled through by dint of sheer cussedness and shared trust, especially in their intense defensive effort.
"Somehow . . . with a group that's fairly local, we've managed to get through to the final, and I think that's a huge achievement," said Kidney. Reflecting on the notion that all Munster had to do was show up and win, he added: "This is an exceptionally special time. We had a Celtic Tiger at home that was going on for ever and ever, and all of a sudden now it seems to have stopped. This is going to stop too, but if we keep working and if we keep trying hard we'll keep it going for as long as we can, and that's what we'd like to.
"Just sheer guts and work-rate got us through; there wasn't anything hugely technical or tactical. But if you have that and you think back to June when the draw was made, and the amount of effort the supporters put in, we're very proud to represent them."
Whereas Kidney was reluctant to look ahead to what he admitted should be a cracking day, an emotional Gaffney admitted a certain bias toward his old team.
"I know the aristocrats are in the final, and they can do wondrous things, Toulouse, but I love the hard edge of Munster. I just think it's a balanced team with a very, very good set-piece and I think they're strong across the pitch now to be able to handle Toulouse, and I'd have a small wager on them to win the final."
The Munster tour goes on with treks to Ulster and Llanelli on Wednesday and Saturday, but all thoughts will be on Cardiff with the minor distraction of Kidney's imminent confirmation as Ireland coach. There will probably have to be a caretaker in place for the Barbarians game three days after the final, and perhaps for the summer tour, though Kidney could be free to take either a watching brief or a hands-on role.
Now the clamour will begin for tickets to Munster's third final in Cardiff, and it won't be anything like the glorified "home" match against Biarritz that was the 2006 final. Toulouse will be stronger with Finau Maka, Florian Fritz (next week) and Maleli Kunavore (two weeks) back in action by then to facilitate their offloading, quick-rucking, wide game.
Furthermore, waiting for Munster four weeks hence will be the one club in Europe with even more experience of these days. Toulouse have won the cup three times and this will be their 94th cup match, and Munster's 93rd.
Yet they have met only three times, Toulouse leading two-one courtesy of a 60-19 home win in the pool stages of 1996 and a 13-12 home semi-final win in 2003, either side of Munster's unforgettable 31-25 semi-final victory in 2000 in Bordeaux.
A Munster-Toulouse final. The wonder is it's the first of its kind, but it should indeed be wonderful.
See pages 2, 3 and 4
