TV VIEW:BY NINE o'clock on Saturday night, all of Munster was rocking and there is a fair bet that thousands of television sets were tuned into the RTÉ highlights show to see what the resident rugby men had to say about a magnificent day in Cardiff.

We are a liberal country now and used to the odd mind-boggling sight but this was a step too far. There he was: with silver hair, dressed in Elvis Presley white, huge angel wings on his back, surrounded by fireworks and a bevy of semi-naked dancers in the famous red shirts flouncing adoringly at his feet. Bloody hell, we muttered, Tom McGurk is really going to town this time. And could that be Hookie in the black leather skirt and heels doing a can-can across the studio? Good grief! The tension must have gotten the better of them. It took a few moments for us to realise that, in the excitement and confusion, we had accidentally tuned into Azerbaijan's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Back on RTÉ Two, the high-court judges of Irish rugby were in customary mode, though doing their best to pretend the match was live and the outcome still on the line.

It is on these epic days for Munster rugby that RTÉ's loss of live-coverage rights to the Heineken Cup tends to hit hard. Not that there is anything wrong with the Sky television package. The presence of Paul Wallace gave the show a welcome Munster flavour. And while Stuart Barnes was a model of English reserve all through, you got the impression he was quietly rooting for the Irishmen - if only because a Munster win would mean a better night out in Cardiff.

But it was a gripping contest and there were two teams in it and when Toulouse came surging back into the game on the strength of Cédric Heymans's dash of absolute genius, the Englishmen were all too keen to doff their caps.

"What bravado! What style!" they rhapsodised. "Guy Noves is watching the glamour men of European rugby."

Quite why they had to bring Leinster into it was anybody's guess. But this kind of chat was not in the Munster tradition. Where was the blood and thunder in the language? It was bad enough that they closed the roof on the Millennium Stadium, thereby forcing the Munster men to play in a giant badminton hall.

The sterility of an indoor stadium is just not the Munster way. Earth, wind and fire: that's what Munster are about.

The RTÉ boys understood that back in the days when the Heineken Cup was, well, cheap enough to buy. Remember those days of the Hookster and the Pope half frozen on the gantry above Thomond Park, hypothermic and chattering but clearly as close to heaven as living men can be. All objectivity went out the window.

The problem with Sky's analysis for Munster fans reared on RTÉ was that it was just too balanced and reasonable. There is a fair chance a good few Munster fans solved the problem on Saturday afternoon by watching the Rupert Murdoch show with the sound down while blaring Michael Corcoran and Donal Lenihan out through Radio One.

Back in RTÉ, after enjoying a lengthy review of the final, McGurk wasted no time in putting this victory in perspective.

"The greatest day in the history of Irish rugby," he boomed.

"Bigger than the Grand Slam when war-time rationing was in force," Hookie replied, clearly trying to get down with the young and the hip.

"It is possibly the greatest achievement in Irish sport," pressed McGurk.

"You're pushing your luck there," Hook growled.

It was a pity because you got the impression McGurk would not have stopped until it had been clarified that this was the greatest day in the history of the world. Which it probably was for some.

Anyway, there was no doubt the boys were impressed. Gone was the Six Nations doom and gloom. And there was even time to settle a few old scores, Hookie turning a deeper shade of Munster as the emotion of the day began flowing through him like so much fine wine.

"Declan Kidney is too much of a gentleman. If David Knox is watching this, he can stuff it up his didgeridoo!"

In a way, it was probably as well that Giovanni Trapattoni was patrolling the touchline in Croke Park on Saturday. The thought of the Trap flicking on the box and encountering the Hookster at full throttle was just a bit alarming.

Giovanni must be finding Ireland a strange-enough place as it is. But the Italian was too busy to enjoy the Munster rugby heroes. It was hard to know what to make of his team selection for the Serbia match but there was no getting away from the quality of his suit. Now here was style and bravado. The Italians have the tailoring down to an art form.

All in all, it was a happy debut, with Andy Keogh nailing that Irish speciality the late equaliser with a strike that clearly impressed the Italian aristocrats.

It was kind of touching to see Marco Tardelli charge towards his boss after Keogh's goal in a kind of old-guy reprise of his famous celebration in the 1982 World Cup.

"I think it is very important for us to go far," declared Trapattoni afterwards, gamely electing to battle through his interviews in English.

Well, there is a long way to go. But it was no bad Saturday for Irish teams. Munster winning and the Trapattoni era up and running. Who won the Eurovision anyway?