No home comfort
 By David Thorpe
British-based fans of the Munster and Leinster teams may not have far
to travel to support their teams in the next round of the Heineken Cup.
Leinster are already through to the quarter-finals and designated as
a seeded team and thus are likely to receive a home draw in the competition
but with Lansdowne Road being redeveloped the Brian O’Driscoll-captained
province have no suitable home ground at present and may be forced to
play their quarter-final in Britain.
With Thomond Park — the traditional home of Munster Rugby —
also undergoing redevelopment the reigning European Champions will also
be homeless if they advance to the next round and receive a home draw.
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the Walkers Stadium in Leicester
are among the British venues being touted as possible locations for the
Irish sides’ quarter-final clashes.
The pulling power of the Munster rugby team was again demonstrated at
the weekend when more than 7,000 fans travelled to Geneva to watch them
defeat Bourgoin.
At the quarter-final stage of the competition last year Munster moved
their match to Lansdowne Road in order to satisfy the demand for tickets.
One venue which looks unlikely to play host to Munster is Fitzgerald Stadium
in Killarney. The home of Kerry Gaelic football was initially favoured
by rugby chiefs but the GAA are unlikely to permit the use of the ground
for other sports.
An average of 2,000 British-based Munster fans travelled to watch the
province in action last year and those fans might welcome the chance to
make the much shorter trip to Cardiff or Leicester to watch their heroes
in action.
Munster are not yet guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals.
They go into the final group match against Leicester at the weekend
but the Tigers must beat them and score a bonus point to have any chance
of eliminating the reigning European champions from the competition.
The quarter-finals are due to be played in the middle of March. The IRFU
could lose out on major revenue if the Irish sides are drawn at home.
The situation is deeply embarrassing for Irish rugby chiefs who could
have to seek alternative venues for the games which will draw capacity
crowds.
Every cloud has a silver lining however and for the the legions of British-based
fans of Munster and Leinster the opportunity of seeing their teams in
action closer to home is an opportunity not to be missed.
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