New territory for Munster on Saturday, in two senses. Never before have they played in Brive’s Stade Amedee-Domenech and never before, of course, have they featured in the Amlin Challenge Cup. Several parties have good reason to hope they give this tournament the same attention as its more celebrated relative.
There’s European Rugby Cup Ltd, for starters. They were understandably delighted when Cardiff won last year’s final to end 13 years of Anglo-French domination and to have an Irish team in the final would be a welcome change, especially given the make-up of the quarter-final draw guarantees one finalist will be French. Connacht will be rooting for them, too. If Munster, Leinster or Ulster win a European trophy, it guarantees all four provinces a place in next season’s Heineken Cup.
There are significant attractions for Munster themselves. It’s likely a home semi-final against either Wasps or Harlequins would fill Thomond Park, and Munster’s cut of the gate receipts would come in somewhere around €150,000. Were they to go on to win the final, it is estimated they’d be €250-€300,000 better off once various funds are divided and redistributed in keeping with the system employed by ERC and the various bodies.
The Amlin may be the junior tournament but some European giants are still involved. Stade Francais look the most likely finalist from the ‘French’ side of the draw, given they are out of the running for the Top 14 playoffs and already safe from relegation. Winning the Amlin is their best chance of qualifying for next year’s Heineken Cup. So an added incentive for Munster is the possibility of putting one over on Michael Cheika in the final, scheduled for the Millennium stadium on May 20, the day before the Heineken final.
All is dependent on beating Brive next Saturday, of course. Yesterday’s 26-9 home victory over La Rochelle gives Ugo Mola’s team some breathing space during a torrid relegation battle this season but he is expected to pick his strongest team next week.
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Europe is important to Brive, champions in 1997 and runners-up in 1998, even if they are struggling financially. Due to swingeing cuts by Daniel Derichebourg, the club’s financial backer, Mola is losing key players next season, such as Alexis Palisson (to Toulon), Fabrice Estebanez (to Racing Metro) and Gerhard Vosloo (to Clermont).
John O’Sullivan, formerly of Connacht and Munster and now at Agen, can’t see the Brivistes having enough firepower to halt Munster. “Stopping Brive’s back row is the key to beating them,” he says.
“Their main ball-carriers are the two South Africans, Vosloo and [Antonie] Claassen. They set their tempo and love to offload to support runners like Jamie Noon, inset. So double-team them and you can negate that threat.
“You have to respect the importance to French teams of playing on home soil. They will love to have a pop at Munster.
“But they are predictable and Munster seem to have been building some momentum recently. If they start well and take the crowd out of the game, I could see them winning quite handily.”