Biarritz 18-7 Munster: Boot of Yachvili puts French side into Heineken Cup final

Munster were firmly in control after a slick try from Keith Earls, converted by Ronan O'Gara, gave them a 7-3 interval lead. But Biarritz, who included English trio Iain Balshaw, Magnus Lund and Ayoola Erinle in their side, ground them into submission in the second half. They never seriously threatened the whitewash but with Munster falling foul of referee David Pearson's whistle and Yachvili kicking the penalties – six from six attempts – they crept in front.

It was a scrappy match, marred by a succession of handling errors that were not entirely explained by the heavy rain that preceded the match.

The repeat of the 2006 final, which Munster edged 23-19, failed to live up to expectation but remained tense until Biarritz pulled clear late on. The French club started slowly, however, with Munster enjoying early success at the scrum, winning a penalty at one and disrupting their opponents on a second.

Combined with repeatedly poor hands from the home side, this enabled them to control the first ten minutes with full-back Paul Warwick missing a drop-goal attempt. Karmichael Hunt and Balshaw kicked out on the full while the string of dropped passes also began to afflict Munster as it became Denis Hurley's turn to spill possession.

Jean de Villiers was flattened on to the turf by Benoit August but Munster renewed their offensive and could have surged ahead in the 19th minute when hooker Jerry Flannery burst into space before spotting O'Gara on his shoulder, but the pass failed to stick.

Flannery was also involved as Munster exploited gaps around the breakdown once again on the half-hour mark and this time the move finished with a try.

Donnacha O'Callaghan marauded into space, the superb Quinlan kept the move going before Flannery distributed wide where David Wallace supplied the scoring pass to Earls. The conversion was added by O'Gara and Biarritz responded with an attack of their own which finished when August was shoved into touch a metre out.

The Top 14 side eventually troubled the scoreboard in the 39th minute with a penalty from Yachvili, who added a second shortly into the second half.

De Villiers spotted a slight opening and stepped on the gas with Marcus Horan continuing the move until Flannery knocked on. Smart kicking from Hunt kept Munster pinned back until O'Gara missed a long-range penalty.

The French side made a mess of a fine chance when Arnaud Mignardi failed to spot an overlap, giving Balshaw little chance of reaching the line. They took the lead for the first time in the 65th minute when Tomas O'Leary prevented the ball from being released and Yachvili slotted the three points.

Biarritz were expertly tightening the screw but were lucky to win Yachvili's fourth penalty after Tony Buckley was pinged for picking up prop Campbell Johnstone and tossing him to one side.

Six more points from Yachvili followed as Munster's discipline crumbled.

Scorers: Biarritz: Pens: Yachvili 6.

Munster: Tries: Earls. Cons: O'Gara.

Biarritz: Balshaw; Ngwenya, Mignardi, Erinle, Gobelet; Hunt, Yachvili; Coetzee, August, Johnstone, Thion, Hall, Lund, Lauret, Harinordoquy. Replacements: Peyrelongue for Erinle (47), Bidabe for Gobelet (77), Barcella for Coetzee (59), Terrain for August (78), Carizza for Hall (67), Faure for Harinordoquy (66). Not used: Hughes, Courrent.

Munster: Warwick, Mafi, Earls, de Villiers, D. Hurley, O'Gara, O'Leary, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Driscoll, Quinlan, Wallace, Coughlan. Replacements: Deasy for D. Hurley (76), Stringer for O'Leary (75), Brugnaut for Horan (72), Varley for Flannery (78), Buckley for Hayes (57), Ronan for Quinlan (75), N. Williams for Coughlan (63). Not used: Gleeson.

Att: 32,000 Ref: D Pearson (RFU).