Afterglow promises to last long time

We had the cheers of acclamation for an unforgettable achievement and we had the tears that can flow as they do in the diverse emotions of joy and sorrow. Nothing epitomised the great romance that is an integral part of sport better than the performance given by the Munster team in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup in Bordeaux last Saturday.

The reaction of the Munster players after the victory over Toulouse and the reaction of the thousands of Munster's loyal supporters who had travelled for the match was a telling demonstration of just how much this win meant to players and followers alike.

The reception the team received in Shannon Airport on their return home last Saturday night was yet another demonstration of just what this victory meant to the supporters.

One thousand men, women and children, who were not at the match in Bordeaux, were there to meet the team. They wanted to express their appreciation of what had been achieved.

Some weeks ago in Paris, on a beautiful warm afternoon, we had seen Ireland defeat France and end a 28-year wait for a win on French soil.

The feeling at the time was that it does not get any better than this. Well last Saturday in Bordeaux the after-match celebrations eclipsed the celebrations in Paris.

It is, of course, highly significant that so many of the Ireland team who had attained that great win over France were centre-stage again. After Twickenham, things looked bleak and then the Irish management took due note of what Munster had, even by then, achieved in the European Cup.

They turned to a core of Munster players for the national team. What has taken place since Twickenham has been a truly incredible transformation in Irish rugby fortune.

We have seen a remarkable rejuvenation, and Munster, and the province's players, have played a major part in it.

When, in the aftermath of Munster's win over Stade Francais, the Munster team was drawn away to Toulouse, the general view was, and it was correct, that Munster had been given the toughest draw possible and that we could see the end of Munster's great European adventure on French soil.

Munster's coach Declan Kidney, who was present at the semi-final draw, and whatever his innermost thoughts, was not yielding an inch nor did he show any sense of disappointment when asked for his reaction.

"If you want to win the competition then at some stage you must meet and beat the best in it," was his reaction. He would make no concession to disappointment that Munster had not been favoured by a home draw at Lansdowne Road.

IT was the start of his preparations for the assignment to come. There was courage and wisdom in his reply and he then prepared to condition his players mentally and lay out the tactics to be employed in Bordeaux. There is a stubborn honesty about Declan Kidney.

He will not overplay his hand neither will he concede that we have reason to feel that Irish rugby should feel inferior. It was a point he made in the aftermath of his team's triumph last weekend.

Munster's advance in the Heineken Cup is a splendid chronicle of the relationship between a team, its management and its supporters. They share an inner strength and belief that the ultimate objective can be attained. That was very evident in Bordeaux as the match was in progress.

To put the result and the performance into context and perspective it has to be said that the odds were weighed heavily against Munster. The opposition are one of the best club teams in the game. They were playing on home soil, with 20,000 supporters to urge them on. It was the ideal conditions and circumstances for the French to display their flair and indulge their creative instincts.

At half-time Munster lost the services of their inspirational hooker Keith Wood, and early in the second half Munster went a man down when Mike Mullins was sin binned and they were now four points down.

Here was crisis point. Had Munster gone further behind it would have been understandable.

Instead their response revealed that tremendous inner-strength and dedication of purpose which are the hallmarks of this side. It was Toulouse who were beset by nervous anxiety, knocked out of their stride and their rhythm upset by the tenacity of the opposition.

The Munster response was to score a great try from a movement that started inside the Munster 22.

Then came another and Munster led 31-18 with 14 minutes to go. Now, assuredly, glory beckoned for Munster who withheld the frenetic attempts by Toulouse to cut the deficit until the fifth minute of injury-time.

What ensued at the final whistle will always remain in the minds of those of us fortunate enough to have been in Bordeaux. It was a marvellous reward for the thousands of Munster supporters who had travelled to support the side and throughout the match their faith and their fervour never wavered.

The deeds of the Munster men of 1978 who had beaten the All Blacks has elevated that team into the realm of the legendary.

Well in Mick Galwey's team, Munster has a collection of men who, whatever fate awaits in Twickenham in the final, has now too been touched by the legend of accomplishment. In Galwey, Munster and Ireland have one of the truly great figures in contemporary Irish sport.

I could not help thinking last Saturday that, if as some wanted, we had exported our players to the English league or left those who had gone to England stay there, we would not have had such a wonderful occasion to celebrate.

Prejudice may seek to deny what has been accomplished in Irish rugby and credit may be withheld.

So be it. Last Saturday we all witnessed one of the greatest occasions in Munster and Irish rugby.

And when in the days and the years ahead, we think of Bordeaux on a beautiful May afternoon in the Lescure Stadium, we will feel forever the beautiful warmth of its afterglow.