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Across the sea Thousands of Irish headed to London for rugby final
Posted: Friday May 26, 2000 02:48 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- Munster hopes to finish Ireland's mixed season of triumphs and tribulations on a high on Saturday when they take on England's Northampton in the European Cup final at Twickenham. More than 20,000 Munster fans are expected to travel to London for the clash, probably the biggest exodus from Ireland for a sports event since the 1990 soccer World Cup in Italy when the Irish reached the last eight. A record tournament attendance is already guaranteed with more than 60,000 tickets sold and a crowd of at least 64,000 is expected, smashing the previous record of 49,000 people who watched Ulster win at Dublin's Lansdowne Road last year. "It's great to have this amount of support over here. I hope we can give them something to celebrate," Munster captain Mike Galwey said on Friday. The game will provide the finale to the northern hemisphere season before Ireland heads to Argentina and North America on tour and England travels to South Africa for two tests against the Springboks. After a disappointing World Cup at the end of last year, the Irish bounced back in the Six Nations championship with record wins over Scotland and Italy and a historic first triumph over France in Paris since 1972. Munster's success has created a real sense of optimism in the Irish game. In the semifinals it played some excellent attacking rugby to defeat former champion Toulouse of France. But Northampton has also shown they have a great team spirit by producing dramatic last-minute victories in the competition this season. "These two teams are the best of the sides in this tournament in terms of team spirit," Northampton captain Pat Lam said on Friday. "It's good for Northampton and Munster to be here. The way the players support each other is very important." Flyhalf Ronan O'Gara says Munster is not the favorite. "On their day Northampton are definitely the best team in England. And Munster won't be viewing them in any other light," he said. "It's going to be as hard, if not harder than the game against Toulouse. I hope that the sun will be shining on Saturday. "This team likes to keep the ball in hand and go at the opposition. We'll be looking to throw the ball around and see what happens from there." Munster has been boosted by news that Ireland captain and hooker Keith Wood is fit again after a calf muscle injury. Coach Declan Kidney has selected the same side which started the semifinal. It includes eight regular members of the Irish national team. Northampton, by contrast, will be without its British Lion and England scrumhalf Matt Dawson, who has been ruled out of rugby for several months with a shoulder injury. He will be replaced by Dominic Malone. It will be a huge challenge for the 25-year-old Malone, who will partner Alastair Hepher at halfback. England flyhalf Paul Grayson, who went on as a substitute and kicked a dramatic injury-time penalty to knock out Welsh side Llanelli in the semifinals, has been selected at fullback in place of the injured Nick Beal. Teams: Munster: 15-Dominic Crotty; 14-John Kelly, 13-Mike Mullins, 12-Jason Holland, 11-Anthony Horgan; 10-Ronan O'Gara, 9-Peter Stringer; 8-Anthony Foley, 7-David Wallace, 6-Eddie Halvey, 5-John Langford, 4-Mick Galwey, 3-John Hayes, 2-Keith Wood, 1-Peter Clohessy. Northampton: 15-Paul Grayson; 14-Craig Moir, 13-Allan Bateman, 12-Matt Allen, 11-Ben Cohen; 10-Alastair Hepher, 9-Dominic Malone; 8-Pat Lam, 7-Budge Pountney, 6-Don Mackinnon, 5-Tim Rodber, 4-Andrew Newman, 3-Matt Stewart, 2-Federico Mendez, 1-Garry Pagel.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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