RUGBY / European cup: Admittedly a flight of fancy anyway, the notion of Leinster and Munster meeting in an all-Irish final in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday, May 20th, has been dispelled by yesterday's draw for the semi-finals.

The two Irish provinces have been drawn in the same half and thus, if they overcome Toulouse and Perpignan, respectively, on April 1st, would meet at Lansdowne Road for the first time in the competition's history in the semi-finals three weeks later.

The semi-final draw was held in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, venue for the final, yesterday. The four balls were drawn from the drum by Jean-Pierre Lux, ERC chairman, and Ieuan Evans, an ambassador for the 11th Heineken European Cup final.

Not for the first time, the draw was kinder to the French than the English or Irish, with both Biarritz and Toulouse offered "home" routes to the final.

In the other semi-final, the winners of the Biarritz-Sale quarter-final will be at home to the winners of the all-English Leicester-Bath affair.

Munster supporters might therefore find themselves in the distinctly unfamiliar position of rooting for Leinster again - if purely for monetary reasons and if not quite on the scale of last Sunday when the latter's clear-cut victory in Bath brought Munster a home quarter-final against Perpignan. A Leinster victory over Toulouse would ensure they'd only have to make the trek to Lansdowne Road as opposed to a French venue (with a capacity in excess of 20,000) to be chosen by the ERC.

"It doesn't really bother us in one sense," reasoned Munster coach Declan Kidney, "because we're not there yet. Other than that, we would have prefered if there was a carrot of a home semi-final although either way if we beat Perpignan we'd be playing a very confident Leinster side or the team who've won it twice in the last three years. But a week ago we'd have taken it."

For the all-Irish semi-final to happen, Leinster must become the first side to beat Toulouse on French soil since Saracens beat them in the opening round of the 2000-'01 tournament. Ulster subsequently drew 35-all with the French aristocrats in their next outing at home, since when the holders (seeking a fourth successive appearance in the final) have won 21 consecutive matches in a row in France. Toulouse beat Leinster twice in the 1997-'98 tournament and then avenged a 40-10 loss at Donnybrook four seasons later with a 43-7 victory at home; the sides' most recent meeting.

Were Toulouse to win this would be their fifth semi-final in France of their last six, and were Munster to overcome Perpignan it would, remarkably, be the third time the sides have bumped into each other in the cup's history, with all of them at the semi-final stage and all in France.

Toulouse also enjoyed "home" advantage when Munster beat them 31-25 in that unforgettable semi-final in a scorching Bordeaux en route to the 2000 final while three seasons ago Toulouse scraped through by 13-12 in Le Stadium.

The longest odds would be on a Leinster-Perpignan semi-final in Lansdowne Road which, were it to come to pass, would afford several of the current Leinster side an opportunity to exorcise the memories of their 21-14 semi-final defeat to the Catalans at Lansdowne Road three seasons ago.

Paul McNaughton, the Leinster manager, no doubt spoke for many when expressing his disappointment that Leinster and Munster will be playing their respective quarter-finals on the same day. "I'm sure an awful lot of people would have liked to make it to both matches and it seems a shame that we're kicking-off so close together on the same day."

At least Irish rugby has two provinces involved in the knockout stages for the sixth time, and the fourth time in the last five years, thereby allowing us to take a permissible interest in how the last four and even the final might pan out.

And those punters who have invested in Leinster or Munster when they drifted to as far as 80/1 and 40/1, respectively, have some potentially good-value investments now.

Latest betting (Paddy Powers): 6/5 Toulouse; 9/4 Biarritz Olympique; 13/2 Munster; 8/1 Leicester Tigers; 14/1 Sale Sharks; 18/1 Leinster; 20/1 Perpignan; 40/1 Bath Rugby.

Leicester Tigers v Bath

Sat, Apr 1st, 12.30 (Sky Sports)

Toulouse v Leinster

Sat, Apr 1st, 15.00 (RTÉ/Sky Sports)

Munster v Perpignan

Sat, Apr 1st, 17.30 (RTÉ/Sky Sports)

Biarritz Olympique v Sale Sharks

Sun, Apr 2nd, 18.00 (Sky Sports)

Biarritz/Sale Sharks v Leicester/Bath

Toulouse/Leinster v Munster/Perpignan

(Ties to be played at neutral venue in country of team drawn at home on weekend of April 21st-22nd)