Glory at last for Munster
20 May 2006
Former Springbok centre Trevor Halstead scored a try as Munster finally lifted the European Cup, beating Biarritz 23-19 in a pulsating final.
After suffering heartbreaking defeats in the 2000 and 2002 finals (the latter thanks to the cheating hand of Leicester flank Neil Back), the Irish province finally got their hands on the silverware in front of 73,000 fanatical fans at the Millennium Stadium.
Natalians have reason to feel proud this evening. Apart from Halstead, former Sharks winger Shaun Payne played his part for Munster at fullback and must now be very close to a call-up for the Ireland national side.
An absorbing final got off to an explosive start when Biarritz No 13 Philippe Bidabe handed off John Kelley and found Sereli Bobo on his outside. The left wing seemingly appeared to stay inside the field of play before scoring in the left-hand corner, but TV replays showed his right foot had stepped on the touchline. To really rub it in, Dimitri Yachvili slotted the conversion to make it 7-0 after two minutes.
Ireland flyhalf Ronan O’Gara put Munster on the board with a penalty, as they began to dominate possession and territory.
Their intense pressure finally paid off when Halstead rounded off a slick backline move by crashing over in the left-hand corner. O’Gara cooly slotted the conversion to give his team a 10-7 lead after 18 minutes.
Yachvili levelled the scores with a penalty, before scrumhalf and man of the match Peter Stringer went blind from a 5m scrum for Munster’s second touchdown. O’Gara’s boot was on song again from a difficult angle to make it 17-10.
O’Gara and Yachvili exchanged penalties soon after half-time, and the Biarritz scrumhalf added another to reduce the gap to just four points.
As the game got tighter, the French side grew in confidence and when Yachvili kicked his fourth penalty it became 20-19 with just 10 minutes to go.
O’Gara gave Munster some breathing space three minutes later when his third penalty restored the four-point advantage, and while Biarritz maintained the pressure, the Irish side hung on for a famous win.
Horror in 2000 and 2002. Heaven in 2005.
Munster - Tries: Trevor Halstead, Peter Stringer. Conversions: Ronan O’Gara (2). Penalties: O’Gara (3).
Biarritz - Try: Sereli Bobo. Conversion: Dimitri Yachvili. Penalties: Yachvili (4).
By Simon Borchardt
62 Comments
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21 May 2006, 08:46 am
BrumbyIV yes I realise that but this and the reason that it is over such a long period is because it runs simultaneous to the domestic competitions. But it really is high time we restructured the global game into a global season. It would make so much sense for everyone country concerned. It would also assist in the looking after the players to avoid player burnout etc becaus it would be easier to control a break between seasons.
21 May 2006, 11:21 am
Atmosphere, passion,joy and heartache – and that was only in the stadium.Did you see the Munster supporters in the streets. Fanatastic scenes..
And when last did you see goal kicks being struck so “sweetly”?
21 May 2006, 14:11 pm
Any info on Christain Cullen
Is he still on the scene, did he even make the bench?
21 May 2006, 14:41 pm
I heard Cullen was injured and was therefore not up for selection.
21 May 2006, 14:41 pm
Brads
He injured his knee/ankle – a leg injury in the semi-final.
22 May 2006, 05:04 am
Great game and amazing atmosphere. Well done Munster – you showed a lot of heart and courage against a team that is probably more skilled. Well done Halstead – allways thought you got a bit of a rough deal in SA.
22 May 2006, 08:35 am
What a game…and what a pleasure to sit and watch..!
The atmosphere inside that stadium was absolutely brilliant and then at times they showed one of the streets outside, which was also packed for as far as you could see, with supporters cheering on their team… Man, would I pay a lot of money to be able to experience that!!
22 May 2006, 09:34 am
Thanks for the info BMM & CSI
22 May 2006, 09:37 am
Bluestripe
Agreed. What really makes it amazing is it was at a neutral venue.
Dear Lord, the Crusaders couldn’t get a full house at home for the semi of the s14
22 May 2006, 10:58 am
Brads – that’s because they all knew what the result would be. Still – poor show fro the Saders faithful. Almost arrogant in their disregard for the Bulls. Can’t say I really blame them though….
22 May 2006, 11:26 am
Frazer
When Auckland dominated NZ rugby for a long time, the numbers in crowd attendance dropped to the point where everyone always thought, that the Auckland team will win it year in, year out, then when Waikato took the log of wood from them, the interest came back into reckoning and the same will happen in Super rugby. Saders will be mud some day maybe not for quite a while, for as long as Jack, McCaw, Carter and co are together, they are building a dynasty.
22 May 2006, 19:47 pm
Woopi, ….. tolouse still the champs
PS paul roos +death
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