A Munsterman once said the problem with Thomond Park is that is filled with pictures of old players lifting trophies. The current squad have a great chance to address that situation when they play the Glasgow Warriors in the Pro 12 final in Belfast.
It has been 4 years since two times European champions last bagged some silverware. Munster beat Leinster 19-9 in a pulsating tournament decider in Limerick in 2011. That winning team included the likes of Ronan O’Gara, Marcus Horan, John Hayes and Paul O’Connell. The legendary lock is one of four players who are still around to be selected to start this year’s decider. Conor Murray would have been a 5th, but he out of action for the next 6 weeks with a knee injury suffered during last week's win over the Neath Swansea Ospreys at Thomond Park. The loss of Peter O’Mahony due to a hip injury is also a big blow, but Simon Zebo retains his place on the wing having recovered from a head injury.
Anthony Foley’s men threw away a healthy lead against the Ospreys, but with help of a late TMO decision held on to claim their first semi-final victory in 5 attempts. So could the stars now be aligning so that Foley, the first Munster captain to lift the Heineken Cup, can in his first year in charge of the Province deliver Pro 12 success, in the man who replaced him as skipper Paul O’Connell’s final game for the Province (probably).
Glasgow will be determined to spoil the party though. They too are set to lose a host of central figures in the summer. Coach Gregor Townsend says his team learnt the lessons from last year’s poor final showing against Leinster and having beaten Ulster twice in the last 2 weeks will feel they are well place to become the first Scottish team to win the tournament.
