| Munster 33 Gloucester 6, 18th Jan, 2003 This was expected to be one of the finest Heineken Cup encounters. That it was not. Instead, Munster's unbelievable victory was one of the greatest performances by any team outside the international arena. First the statistics. The Irishmen needed to beat Gloucester by four tries and 27 points to qualify for the quarter-finals at the visitors' expense as one of the best runners-up. So Munster beat Gloucester by four tries and 27 points, with the crucial fourth try in the final minute by Ireland wing John Kelly, his second of the match. Thomond exploded with joy. Ronan O'Gara, the Ireland outside-half, immense throughout, had to kick the conversion to secure the 27-point margin. Thomond Park goes deftly silent whoever is kicking, but this silence was deeper, stronger than ever before. Up stepped O'Gara, the ruddy-faced boy from Cork, and the conversion from the right of the posts sailed over and a province went mad, with Munster through to the quarter-finals for the fifth successive year. Never has The Fields of Athenry been sung with such fervour. Men and women of Munster hugged, weeped and cheered and landlords across Europe planned their early retirement parties, knowing Munster and their supporters would be marching on to fill bars across a continent. Gloucester, magnificent all season as Zurich Premiership leaders, will be as sick as it is possible to be. Yes, they were poor at the line-out. Yes, Henry Paul was a liability at ... |
