This article is from page 45 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 45 JPG
HOW to explain away Munster’s enduring appeal!
Does it go back to the All-Blacks game 30 years ago? All to do with the one million plus who claim to have been in Thomond that famous Tuesday afternoon in October °78 and swear they were in direct line of sight across the field as Seamus Den- nison cut Stu Wilson in two.
There’s something in that game al- right, but it’s only part of the story. The real kernal of the phenomenon that has wrapped itself around Euro- pean rugby is the bond that has grown between the current crop of players and supporters. It’s their time.
It’s all to do with what Munster stands for — a province from Mizen Head in the south to Blackhead in north Clare.
The people of that province — tak- ing in everyone and not just the elite that was rugby union’s foundation Kee .@
There’ll be thousands of red Mun- ster jerseys being washed and ironed this week — be they the old Bank of Ireland logoed ones as a throwback to Munster’s earliest crusades that have a vintage quality through to the current Toyota-sponsored geansais.
And, it’s the make-up of these sup- porters that gives Munster that edge and extra dimension.
It’s a constituency that comprises a
broadband coalition that appeals to every class. Munster are like Fianna Fail — a catch-all party.
It’s GAA people that support Mun- ster, soccer people too.
They’re as important as fans who came to support Munster through their rugby clubs or fee paying schools. They don’t go to club rugby games, they go back to their GAA and soccer clubs when Munster par- Wome COR
Peter Clohessy pointed out this week that Munster have made the European Cup over the past decade and put the competition on the world rugby map.
It is true. Real Madrid did the same for the soccer equivalent thanks to
their five-in-a-row run of success from the late fifties through to the early sixties. Munster have done it through their supporters.
And, it’s these supporters that can carry Munster to their greatest tri- Uyeehe) smell
Declan Kidney won’t have to pro- duce some original thought this week as he attempts to inspire his players into giving him a fitting denouement to his Munster coaching career.
Instead, all he’ll have to do 1s trot out one of sport’s oldest call to arms: it takes a good team to win a Euro- pean Cup – it takes a great team to win a second one.
Toulouse have done that and it’s where Munster desperately want to
be.
They’re a great team already, but they need to be crowned kings of Eu- rope once more.
The supporters can get them there — those bands of brothers and sisters from Mizen to Blackhead. The ordi- nary people that make Munster the envy of every team in world rugby.
Leinster must be especially jealous. They just don’t have it. Call it the common touch.
Captain Paul O’Connell holidays in a mobile home in Liscannor – you just couldn’t imagine Brian O’Driscoll going to a trailer park for his ‘hols’.
It’s the common touch, loaded with honesty on the field that has Munster on the threshold of glory once again.