That the width of an upright again decided Munster's fate on Saturday and decreed which of two French opponents they would meet in the quarter-finals of the European Cup will not have been lost on Declan Kidney. In the heel of the hunt, Brett Davey's winning conversion for Pontypridd on Saturday means Munster will face Stade Francais instead of Montferrand on the weekend of April 15th.
The last eight line-up was completed yesterday when Cardiff luckily beat Harlequins 30-26 to snatch top place in Pool Five and Montferrand, having the advantage of knowing that victory and three tries in their home game against Benetton Treviso would edge out Bath, duly scored six in beating the Italians 41-7 to take the second best runners-up slot.
The quarter-final draw now is: Toulouse v Montferrand, Morthampton v Wasps, Munster v Stade Francais and Llanelli v Cardiff. European Rugby Cup (ERC) organisers will be happy with a line-up which includes three national derbies and what should be four massive crowds.
Furthermore, were Munster to beat Stade then the semi-finals, on the weekend of May 6th, will feature four teams from different countries - a first in the tournament's five-year history.
Conceivably, of course, the Heineken-sponsored Cup could have four national derbies in the quarter-finals were the Leinster Branch to successfully appeal ERC's decision not to dock points off Stade Francais for fielding an ineligible player (Brian Lima) in their Donnybrook clash on December 17th.
Leinster coach Mike Ruddock intimated strongly that this is the course of action Leinster will take following Saturday's win at Leicester. "I'd be interested to know the findings of the (ERC) meeting before the Glasgow Caledonians and Stade Francais game," added Ruddock, "and of the outcome of the meeting based on the evidence they had. After all, the precedent was set before when Agen fielded unregistered players and were deducted points."
However, the murky political waters of ERC are likely to decree otherwise, primarily as the ERC chairman Jean-Pierre Lux is a Frenchman and apparently sanctioned Lima's appearance at Donnybrook.
Most pertinently of all, Lux and the ERC have been the subject of almost daily criticisms from the French media after suspending the Colomiers prop Richard Nones for two years, and then insisting, not unreasonably, that as the Cup is sanctioned by the International Board his suspension must be applied to all competitions.
Colomiers believe Nones should be allowed to play in the French championship and he has become something of a cause-celebre, and was given a hero's reception during the half-time interval of the Colomiers-Pontypridd game last Sunday week.
Add in the fact that the Colomiers president and benefactor Max Gauzzini is reckoned to be one of France's 20 wealthiest people and one can deduce that whereas there will be one rule for the relatively poor, Agen, there will be another for Stade Francais.
On confirmation of their quarter-final opposition, Declan Kidney pointed out that Stade "will have learnt from their defeats in Ulster last season and Leinster this season, in the same way that we learnt from losing in Bourgoin two years ago and Perpignan and Colomiers last season, to break our duck in France this season."
What's more, Stade are liable to be a different proposition with the sun on their backs come April than they are in wintry Ireland in December or January. And whereas Ulster were on a roll when hosting Stade last year in the last four, the semi-final coming four weeks after the quarterfinal, this season's deferred knock-out stages mean Munster will be without a game for three months whereas Stade will have half a dozen or so domestic matches.
"That's bound to give them a little more co-ordination, which is stating the obvious," admitted Kidney. "We saw that against Saracens. First of all though we have to try and find out how we didn't win in Ponty and then make sure that in 12 weeks' time the emphasis will be on being as good as we can be. But overall we're delighted to be there and to have home advantage."
Given that it has a greater capacity than Musgrave Park, Thomond Park looks the Munster Branch's likely choice of venue for the quarter-final.
For the semi-finals, there will be an open draw, with the games taking place in the country, but not the home stadiums, of the first-named sides. For example, were Munster to progress and be drawn first out of the hat for either semi-final, the game would probably take place in Lansdowne Road. The final will be at a neutral venue, to be decided after the semi-finals, on the weekend of May 27th.
