As Rob Penney prepares for his first season in charge our Munster columnist @trevormurphy73 looks back at the legacy he has to live up to…
I have decided to write about the 2008 Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff between Munster and Toulouse. My decision to pick this match was as much about the journey as the actual match itself.
To set the scene, it was the week beginning the 19th of May 2008. It became increasingly clear that tickets were not going to surface. At that stage I had resigned myself to watching the event on TV. While I was not happy having to watch it on TV, I said to myself “this is Toulouse we’re playing, the next final will be a better one to go to” I had previously been to the Millennium Stadium for the infamous “hand of Back” We really didn’t look like beating Leicester that day. I was one the many that queued overnight for those tickets and my spirits were crushed after that result. Until I got to the pub of course... Work commitments had prevented me going to the Biarritz final and I feared with my luck and Murphy’s law working it’s “magic” maybe I was never going to see them win the big one live.
As the week went by the anticipation rose. I was sitting in work on Friday afternoon when “the call” came through. “If you can get to Cardiff there are 2 tickets here for you”. There was a maelstrom of emotions in the next few minutes as I alternated between elation and resignation... YES I HAVE TICKETS, NO I’LL NEVER MAKE IT. I’m sure I looked wild eyed for the next while as I began to look at my options. I checked out the ferries, getting to North Wales from Dublin would be no problem. That sounds ok until you look it up on Google maps:
The options were:
208miles through the Welsh countryside on the A470 taking 4hr 50min
283miles using the A55 and M5 taking 4hr 52min
213miles on the A5, A485 and the A470 taking 5hr 1min
The ferry times would get us to Wales with just about enough time to make kickoff time. Any of the routes available left precious little time for any hold ups on the way to Cardiff. On paper it’s a no-brainer, use the motorways where you can make up time and usually there are few hold ups. I’ll come back to this further on!
Next obstacle was cost. It wasn’t going to be cheap and I wanted to find a willing accomplice to join me on the Odyssey. An Odyssey is defined as either “a long wandering journey” or “a long torturous journey”. Both are quite apt for the Munster journey through the European competition. It was the third phone call to a friend which bore fruit. Actually it was the only one that didn’t start with “Are you nuts Murphy?” I had previously arranged to meet John in Clohessy’s Bar in Limerick to watch the match. I rang John to make sure my memory was accurate and he reminded me of the conversation we had on this call.
Me “How do you fancy a change of venue to watch the match”
John “I don’t care so long as the drink is wet and the TV is on”
Me “Cardiff it is then”
I was met with silence for 5 seconds and then,
John “I’ll call you back in a few”
That was it, the ferry was booked and plans made to meet early the next day for the journey to Dublin.
We arrived at the ferry port in plenty of time. The man at ticket check naturally asked us where we were going. He looked incredulous as we told him we were going to Cardiff and were booked on the Ulysses. The Ulysses is the largest car ferry in Europe but by no means the fastest mode of transport. He suggested we take the Jonathan Swift fast ferry so off we trotted to the office. They were looking for a ridiculous amount to change ferries. We said “eff that” and headed back to said man in a cabin. When we told him the story he decided to make the change and only charge us €20 a head. To the man who made this happen, I owe a debt of gratitude. We would not have made the match if it were not for the change.
We arrived in Holyhead and John began his work as navigator for the next leg. The radio reports of traffic on the motorway network were less than promising. So off we set, A to Z of Britains roads and GPS at the ready. We realised pretty quickly that it was a bank holiday weekend in the UK and that didn’t bode well for arriving in Cardiff on time. I must say it must have been the most uncomfortable journey for John as we were driving a Ford Transit Connect Van and the passenger “seat” is little more than a bench. The roads we had selected were of the “not very straight” variety and on a seat with no side support... Need I say more! Credit to John, not once did he say a word other than calling out the directions.
As we neared Cardiff the traffic volumes increased markedly. The queues heading into Cardiff were both long and slow moving. Once again John worked his magic from the navigators seat. We took many twists and turns to park in Cardiff city centre reasonably close to the ground. We set out on foot to meet the gentleman with the tickets who thankfully was right on time, exactly where he said he would be. As we entered the area immediately outside the ground I bumped into a good friend of mine who was on a stag night in Cardiff. To say he looked surprised to see me is an understatement to say the least. You see, Dave worked with me at the time and was acutely aware of the trouble I was having getting tickets. When we gave him a blow by blow account of the day’s events he laughed shook his head and said “only you Murphy, only you would be mad enough”. I can’t deny there is a bit of truth in that statement. No humming and hawing, just do it! It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.
I won’t relay the entire match details in full. You get the match details at the end of this link. Suffice to say it was an epic 80 minutes by Munster who dug deep and gritted their teeth against the most successful European rugby team. On the day Munster were mentally stronger than Toulouse.
For those of you not lucky enough to attend an occasion like this I really recommend you try to. I have watched the match since. I have looked at highlight clips on YouTube, but none of those can do justice to the noise level in the ground. It’s often said by Munster fans that the Millennium Stadium is part of our parish, and you have to agree, it certainly seem so. We show up in huge numbers to follow our rugby heroes. I have heard say there were 70,000 Munster fans in the ground that day. Regardless of the actual numbers the noise level would make you think so.
Our seats for the match were quite close to the Toulouse band behind the posts. It was a feature of the match that all the Munster fans in the area took it upon themselves to drown out the band. This is no mean feat. Whether it sounded like it was working on TV I don’t know. We did have the pleasure of watching the Toulouse band leader gesticulate furiously at his bands men and women. He was pointing at his team coloured wristband, challenge them to show who they were. The Munster crowds timing on each of the Toulouse chants was impeccable.
The journey home the following day wasn’t as eventful but through some sort of verbal miracle work, John managed to get us on an earlier sailing back to Dublin. Instead of waiting until after midnight for our return ferry, I was at home in my bed two hours before that ship actually sailed! A perfect journey from start to finish.
I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!
