RUGBY: MUNSTER WILL not be greeting Leinster onto the Thomond Park pitch with a guard of honour when the sides come together for the Magners League Grand Final this Saturday.

It had been suggested Ronan O’Gara and co would be asked to pay tribute to Leinster’s recent Heineken Cup triumph by clapping their opponents out onto the field in the same way that Blackpool saluted Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend.

According to coach Tony McGahan, however, any such move would be against Magners League protocol, and so is not up for discussion.

“It’s not something that has been mentioned down here,” said the Australian after yesterday’s training session in Limerick.

“As far as I understand the protocol is that both sides will walk out together.

“So I presume that would be the case but we haven’t heard anything more on that at this stage.”

Paul O’Connell was of similar opinion when asked about the prospect of leading any sort of gesture before the match kicks off.

“We had this with Brian (O’Driscoll) and Eddie (O’Sullivan) in 2003 after England had won the World Cup and I was consulted as to whether we would clap them out at Twickenham,” said the Munster captain.

“I didn’t really mind at the time but management decided against it. I didn’t realise it had been raised but I don’t think Leo (Cullen) and Brian will be expecting it.

“We have a lot play for, they have a lot to play for, so we’ll be sticking with protocol and walking out together.”

Munster appear to be in relatively good health going into the match, and the squad that McGahan named yesterday was along expected lines.

Tony Buckley (shoulder) and Sam Tuitupou (hamstring) are the only notable absentees from the squad, along with the more obvious injury victims such as Jerry Flannery, who went under the knife in late March to correct a troublesome calf injury.

McGahan yesterday confirmed that Flannery is on course for a return to action in time for Ireland’s World Cup build-up, which starts on June 20th.

He isn’t aware of any plans to send the Limerick man on loan Down Under to help regain match fitness (in a manner similar to Rob Kearney’s proposed move), though he suggested that he would support any such decision, were it to come about.

“Jerry is a contracted Irish Rugby Union player, this is our last game of the season and Jerry obviously has no chance of playing,” McGahan said.

“Whatever is the best opportunity for Jerry to get fit for the World Cup we would certainly endorse it.”

As for the Munster coach’s more immediate concerns, the task of stalling the newly-ordained European kingpins is uppermost in his thoughts.

McGahan watched last weekends Heineken Cup final from the comfort of his home in Limerick, and he was as impressed as just about everyone else who witnessed Leinster’s remarkable comeback en route to their second European title.

“To come back from 16 points in a big game like that is a tremendous reflection of the belief that they have,” McGahan said.

“They weren’t too far off in the first half, to be honest. Had a couple of passes stuck in the first half, they could have opened up, but they didn’t.

“To regroup and come back with a change of focus, to execute, to continue believing in what they were doing, to turn the scrum around . . . excellent.”

Munster, of course, ended their losing streak against Leinster with a 24-23 victory at Thomond Park last month. However, they haven’t scored a try against them in over 400 minutes, something which McGahan is keen to address this time around.

“It is about finishing and accuracy. We let some opportunities go in the last game, our most recent game.

“That’s certainly a big part of it and that certainly determines the result. We need to be better at that. I’m certainly looking forward to it, without a doubt.”

“The opportunity to play Leinster one week after winning the Heineken Cup is a great chance for us.

“We won’t go into the match as favourites but certainly we will have a keen anticipation of what is on offer.”

MUNSTER SQUAD (v Leinster): P Warwick, S Zebo, F Jones, D Barnes, K Earls, D Howlett, L Mafi, J Murphy, C Murray, T OLeary, P Stringer, R OGara, S Archer, W du Preez, J Hayes, M Horan, M Sherry, D Varley, D OCallaghan, P OConnell, M ODriscoll, D Leamy, N Ronan, D Ryan, J Coughlan, D Wallace.