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Munster versus Leinster is arguably one of the biggest derbies in professional club rugby with a rivalry that dates all the way back to the first game between the sides in 1879. While the two teams may have been battling it out for over 140 years the rivalry itself only really took off in the professional age where it was the driving force behind the success of the national side, jewel in the crown of the Celtic League and for a period laid claim to the largest attendance for a club game in the world. In the past the interpro’s could be classified as a selection tool for the national side, ranking side by side with the Possible’s versus Probable’s games. Provincial games against touring sides were held in higher esteem than the interpro’s, which were only established as a formal fixture in the calendar in 1946. With the advent of professionalism the IRFU used the provincial branches already in place as their blueprint for the club structure. While this gave the new professional teams an identity and an organisational platform they didn’t have the traditional fanbase to match with the spectator interest in the All Ireland League clubs and/or the national side.
The Irish rugby landscape of the early noughties was completely different to now. Prior to 2000, there was no professional club league, the last triple crown was won in 1985 and last grand slam was won in 1948. Ulster started the change by winning the Heineken Cup in 1999 (the year the English clubs boycotted), a Brian O’Driscoll hat-trick in 2000 brought Ireland its first win in Paris in over 25 years, Munster started their quest for the holy grail in 1999/2000 and in 2001 the Celtic League is born with Leinster winning the inaugural final against Munster, even though Eric Miller was sent off for stamping on Anthony Foley’s groin. Despite being a new competition and regular derby matches between the sides only drawing between 5,000 and 8,000 the final itself was played in Lansdowne Road in front of 30,000 spectators. However it was 2005/2006 season that kick started the rivalry between the sides from a mere sideshow to something that would be both front and back page news in Ireland.
Most people when they hear of the 2005/2006 Heineken Cup remember the final against Biarritz and Anthony Foley finally getting to raise the trophy but I'll be taking a nostalgic look back at the 2005/2006 season and why it was this season that truly sparked the Munster Leinster rivalry. It will of course be unashamedly Munster biased but hopefully there is enough to interest the odd Leinster fan as well. The two part series will look at the main characters involved, the heros and villains, the matches that help shaped Munster’s first Heineken Cup win and the specifically the three games that year that launched the Munster Leinster rivalry to a new level. If you want to relive Kidney returning to Munster, Cheika joining Leinster, Felipe against all of Munster, the brilliance of David Knox’s backline and his inability to keep his mouth shut, the injury reports on Christian Cullen, the media coverage on the Munster backline, the lessons Cheika and Leinster learned from the semi final and much more then stay tuned.