Heineken Cup Clashes Are Pick Of The Year

In their end of year round-ups, both Chris Hewett, of The Independent, and Brendan Gallagher, of The Daily Telegraph, extolled the virtues of the game won by Wasps in front of a sell-out 48,000 crowd at Lansdowne Road.

In Hewett's view the choice of the best game of the year was "a no brainer". Waxing lyrical about the 37-32 victory for the English champions - only the second time in 28 games on Irish soil that Munster had been beaten in the Heineken Cup - Hewett painted the perfect picture of events to his readers.

"The Heineken Cup semi-final between London Wasps and Munster in April contained the whole of rugby in its 80 minute span - raw courage and stefrngth of character on the one hand, show-stopping brilliance of the most theatrical on the other. Wasps won, by hook or by crook, and the half-a-dozen Londoners who managed to beat the Limerick hordes to a match ticket celebrated to within an inch of their lives."

While Hewett could find no challenger to the semi-final for the highest accolade, Gallagher came up with a list of eight epic clashes - five of which involved the Heineken Cup holders Wasps.

The semi-final at Lansdowne Road topped the pile in the Telegraph, with the Heineken Cup final between London Wasps and Toulouse at Twickenham taking second place. Then came three of the recent Autumn internationals followed by the Bristol v Wasps Powergen Cup match.

Gallagher's final choices were the back-to-back Heineken Cup wins by Leicester Tigers over Wasps in their clashes in rounds three and four in this season's Pool 1.

FOR THE RECORD . . . here are the match details from that epic semi-final clash, played out in front of a Heineken Cup semi-final record crowd of 48,500 at Lansdowne Road on Sunday, 25 April, 2004.

Munster 32 London Wasps 37 HT: 15-17 Attendance: 48,500
Munster: C Cullen; J Kelly, M Mullins, R Henderson, S Payne; R O'Gara (J Holland 29), P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, J Williams (capt, A Horgan 78), S Keogh, A Foley
Scorers: Tries - J Williams, A Foley; Cons - J Holland 2; Pens - R O'Gara 3, J Holland 3
Yellow cards: D O'Callaghan (63), R Henderson (72)
London Wasps: M Van Gisbergen; J Lewsey (A Erinle 73), F Waters, S Abbott, T Voyce; A King, R Howley (P Richards 79); C Dowd, T Leota, W Green, S Shaw, R Birkett, J Worsley, P Volley, L Dallaglio (capt)
Scorers: Tries - T Leota, P Volley, T Voyce, J Lewsey, M Van Gisbergen; Cons - A King 3; Pens - A King 2
Yellow cards: J Worsley (33), F Waters (52)
Heineken Man of the Match: R Howley (London Wasps)
Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)