Irish rivals to meet in semis

Published on Sunday 12 April 2009 22:44

LEINSTER escaped the Twickenham Stoop with an unlikely 6-5 victory over Harlequins to set up an all-Irish Heineken Cup semi-final against fierce rivals Munster at Croke Park.

Brian O'Driscoll's side, containing five of Ireland's Grand Slam heroes, were battered relentlessly but prevailed thanks to two penalties by Felipe Contepomi.

Points may have been at a premium – Leinster led 6-0 until the 66th minute – but it was a gripping contest played with brutal intensity.

The Irish province, semi-finalists on three previous occasions, moved through the gears in the third quarter, but with 20 minutes to go Quins were back on the offensive.

England full-back Mike Brown dashed over, but substitute fly-half Chris Malone, on for injured former All Black Nick Evans, missed the conversion.

Meanwhile, Munster roared into the semi-finals by crushing out-of-sorts Ospreys 43-9 at Thomond Park.

Led brilliantly by man-of-the-match Paul Warwick, who notched a try and two beautiful drop goals, Munster showed why they are the reigning kings of European rugby with a performance of near perfection.

The Ospreys crumbled after Paul O'Connell's 55th-minute try, and the display from Munster, who led 16-6 at half-time, suggested they will take some beating.

Munster scored four tries, two from centre Keith Earls, but could have added to that tally when running Ospreys ragged in a one-sided second half.

The Irishmen's other points came courtesy of four conversions and three penalties from Ronan O'Gara, while James Hook's three successful penalties were all Ospreys fans had to celebrate.

The self-styled super region of Welsh rugby arrived at Irish rugby's citadel believing they could cause the upset of the quarter-finals. Ospreys travelled without the gifted British and Irish Lions contender Lee Byrne, which meant Grand Slam winner Tommy Bowe moved to full-back.

Jonny Vaughton slotted into the Monaghan native's nominal right-wing slot, while Wales captain Ryan Jones started at number six.

Tony McGahan sounded almost in awe of his Munster side after the win. He said: "I think they're always ruthless. I'm lucky to see them every day in training. They have a competitive streak, a drive, an ambition to be as successful as they can.

"It's unmatched. With experience and age, the players need to make the most of every opportunity and they're certainly doing that at the moment."

He added: "I'm delighted for the players. They've put in a lot of work this year – week 42 of the competition – and to be still going strong is a testament to them and all the hard work they've put in during the year. The scoreline didn't reflect true intensity. It was right up to the 55th minute when it was pretty close."

In the other two quarter-finals played on Saturday, Leicester posted a 20-15 victory over Bath, while Cardiff Blues beat Toulouse 9-6.