RUGBY News round-up:Anthony Foley could play one of his final matches for Munster at the RDS and it wouldn't be against Leinster. The 34-year-old former Ireland number eight has announced he will retire from club and provincial rugby at the end of the current season.
The reference to the Dublin venue and home to the Leinster rugby team is based on Munster securing a home Heineken European Cup semi-final at the official draw, a process that takes place in Cardiff today. This is also based on the rather large supposition they beat Gloucester in the quarter-final at Kingsholm on the weekend of April 4th-6th.
The key to securing a semi-final in their own country for the winning quarter-finalists is to come out of the hat first or third today. In the circumstances of a Munster win over Gloucester, the IRFU would win the right to host the semi-final in Ireland.
The only two venues available to them are Ravenhill and the RDS with the latter likely to be the preferred option. In the terms of agreement that govern the Heineken Cup there is no actual reference to a minimum capacity required of a semi-final venue but the ERC has an understanding with the constituents of the tournament the ground should be able to hold 20,000 spectators.
The RDS has a capacity of just under 19,000 for Leinster's games in Europe but that limit can be raised, a fact agreed by the IRFU and ERC. There would be massive interest in terms of potential ticket sales if the Irish province was to make the penultimate stage of the competition but with Lansdowne Road being redeveloped there are no alternatives.
The GAA's decision to open Croke Park to rugby refers only to international matches while there is no provision for any county ground - like the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick - to host another sport other than those specified under GAA rules.
This means for Munster to keep a potential semi-final in Ireland they would have to opt for Ravenhill or the RDS. The Belfast ground staged a semi-final in the 1998-99 season before a crowd of 20,000 (its abbreviated capacity for Ulster matches is 13,500) when Ulster edged out Stade Francais en route to winning the tournament.
The RDS would be a more logical choice from a logistical perspective and is reputed to be favoured by Munster. The IRFU has the ultimate say though as they host the game, falling as it does in their jurisdiction.
Quite apart though from being favoured by today's draw Munster must first negotiate a potentially massive hurdle in beating Gloucester, although they will take heart from Ulster's performance there on Sunday. The English club won the match but Ulster caused them huge problems and could have reversed the scoreline had Ryan Caldwell grounded the ball correctly and Paddy Wallace enjoyed a better day with the boot.
The time and date for Munster's visit to Kingsholm will be decided today. Given France have two representatives left in the tournament; French television will seek their traditional rugby slots of a Saturday and Sunday afternoon. This could see London Irish host Perpignan at the Madejski stadium on the Saturday with Toulouse welcoming Cardiff on the Sunday.
There is mounting speculation the Irish province's trip to Gloucester could take place on the Friday night with Saracens making it a double header in London on the Saturday when they host the Ospreys. What is more certain is the ticket allocation for Munster supporters. Under tournament rules the Red Army will be entitled to a 25 per cent ticket share of the 16,500 Kingsholm capacity. It would mean an allocation of 4,125 tickets, a figure that's unlikely to increase appreciably as Gloucester are one of the best supported teams in the English Premiership. This will be a real test of Munster fans' ingenuity.
The Munster squad would dearly love to mark the final few months of Anthony Foley's playing career by propelling him to another European final. The province's most capped player (192) announced he will retire from rugby with both club and province at the end of the season.
Renowned for his footballing brain and leadership qualities, quite apart from the core skills, he made a record 85th European Cup appearance in Saturday's Pool Five victory over London Wasps helping Munster to the knock-out stages for the 10th consecutive season.
He is Munster's leading try scorer in Europe (23) and in all competitions (44), leading them to European Cup success in 2006 and carving out a magnificent career since making his senior provincial debut against Edinburgh in October 1994. Having been an underage international he went on to win 62 Irish caps. He admitted: "It goes without saying I have enjoyed my time immensely with Munster. I've had a great career and I would like to say thanks to all those, starting in St Munchin's, then in my club Shannon and Munster for helping me in my career.
"I'm not sure there is a good time to go (and) it certainly isn't easy to leave it behind but I think the end of this season is the right time to hang up the boots. I would like to thank also my colleagues down the years, acknowledge their contribution in both club and province and wish the current squad the very best in their endeavours."
Munster Declan Kidney enthused: "His statistics say one thing about him, over 13 years of top flight rugby, but those in the squad and management will remember his influence in the dressingroom, and his calmness and authority on the field.
"Everyone knows him as a very good player. We know him as a very good man. He's not gone anywhere yet. There's still a lot of rugby to be played between now and the end of the season and we'll be doing our level best to make it a memorable end to a tremendous career."
