PERCEIVED SLIGHTS are always welcome in Munster. So while some of David Knox's parting shots may have been valid, they were lost amid the bitterness of the rant, especially comments directed in a south-eastern direction. All grist to the mill though, most probably.

The more personalised aspects of Knox's diatribe were directed at Ronan O'Gara, as well as Declan Kidney, and Munster in general. When asked yesterday, O'Gara and Paul O'Connell laughed it off disdainfully, though the look on their faces suggested it had rankled.

"The big thing for me is that I'd openly say that I'm not here to entertain, I'm here to win," said O'Gara. "That's probably the key thing that's driving me. His comments didn't cost me a thought. If they did I'd say it straight out to you, but like any other coach he's entitled to his opinions, and I'm entitled to mine, so I kind of feel that what's key for me is to make the right decision at the right time.

"I'm not a man for throwing the ball between my legs or over my head, and hopefully the boys down here respect me as a player, who'll hopefully do the right thing at the right time. That's all that matters to me."

O'Connell sighed wearily: "It sold newspapers, I suppose, that's what it did. But it didn't really cost me a thought either. You just get on with it. He's just a guy having a bit of a rant. I don't know how things went for him over here but he was just having a bit of a rant, and good luck to him."

O'Gara couldn't help chuckling.

Maintaining his theme, O'Gara observed that "the sign of a good team is when we can win ugly, and that's what we did against Saracens. We've underperformed in games since then but, knowing the calibre within our changing-room, I hope we can rise it for this game, because we'll need to rise it if we want to win."

Munster often defy logic, or reason, and though it may sound daft to suggest it, they're probably better off in many respects playing Toulouse in the final. Certainly, you've no doubt that the quality and pedigree of the French standard bearers will demand Munster's best game.

The respect for Toulouse was palpable. O'Connell spoke of the quality of their set-pieces, especially their lineout, and suggested that if they could nick one or two throws "all well and good, but our main priority is winning our own ball."

Two years ago, Munster overcame perhaps the ultimate challenge in the final, for two weeks later Biarritz put 40 points on Toulouse in the French final. Yet Patrice Lagisquet's team were relatively structured and patterned in their approach. O'Gara agreed Toulouse were much less structured and predictable.

"Yeah, without doubt. I think they have better players, and they are hugely exciting. People talk about whether (Yannick) Jauzion is the player he was but he's an incredible player and he has the capability to destroy any backline on his own if he turns it on. You look across their team and they're littered with quality, but we're aware of that and that's what you'd expect in a European Cup final. But I think they will be more of a threat than the Biarritz team we faced, without a doubt."

Against that, so too, he believes, are Munster. "Yeah, big time. I haven't kicked the ball much throughout the competition. Traditionally I would have kicked the ball a lot, but it's very important getting guidance from someone like Dougie (Howlett) because if he's playing on the blindside he'll just talk you through it and then sometimes the boys in the centre will decide to just go through the phases. What we've got to do sometimes is build through the phases, especially against a French back three. They won't give you much kicking space so we'll have to hold on to the ball."

Much has been made of the gamebreaking ability of their Rua Tipoki, Lifeimi Mafi, Howlett axis, but as pleasing from O'Gara's perspective is they have the same will to win the indigenous players traditionally have.

"In terms of quality they're right up there and they're really enjoyable to play with. It took us a while to find our feet, like all partnerships . . . I think we're off our potential at the minute but if we can combine we can be really devastating."

Having reached their Holy Grail two seasons ago, O'Connell admitted that Munster struggled to adapt last season in rediscovering the same levels of motivation, but believes they have readjusted their collective mentality.

"After 2006 the motivation had to come from somewhere else. I think in 2006 we were driven on by this fear that we might end up finishing our careers without winning it. There was an incredible drive to everything we did.

"Last season we tried to recapture that but we needed to figure out a different way of coming at the competition after winning it and it was a whole new, different kind of motivation.

"It was, I supposed, a desire to be a very good team, a team that wins the competition twice: those are very special teams.

"So we had to get to grips with that last season."

"I think we struggled and I think we had to do a lot of soul searching at the end of last season when we had a couple of big squad meetings, and I think we came out with a renewed desire in the way we play and the way we prepare."

Kidney confirmed that the Millennium Stadium will be closed on Saturday, something O'Gara was not especially keen on.

"I suppose the big thing for me is if it was a dry day you'd probably like it open because it's a dry ball then. When you get a stadium closed you get a wet ball and it makes handling difficult because of whatever happens whenever there are 80,000 people inside a stadium. There's some scientific effect. It will be wet, not even moist. That might explain one or two knock-ons. But from a kicking point of view it'll be calm even if it was open."