RUGBY:IN THE event of a Leinster-Munster final to the Magners League, or indeed the two provinces meeting at the semi-final stages, there remains the possibility of the game being moved to Croke Park in what would almost certainly be a final farewell to the Jones's Road venue for some considerable time.
There remain a few stumbling blocks before such an occasion comes to pass, not least Leinster and Munster reaching the final (which is 50 days away from today) and also for the Leinster Branch and the IRFU to then come to an agreement with the Gaelic Athletic Association. But as things stand, the top two will host the semi-finals (1 v 4, 2 v 3), while the highest-ranked qualifier to reach the final will host the decider.
Leinster are well placed to secure the top seeding going into the play-offs as they currently lead the league by seven points with only three full rounds of the regular, 18-game campaign remaining, and also have a game in hand (away to Connacht). For their part, Munster are second, though only lead Edinburgh on points difference and the Glasgow Warriors by a point, with the Ospreys just two points behind and also with a game in hand.
A Leinster-Munster rematch, especially in the final, would clearly provoke demand for tickets which would be well in excess of the maximum near 20,000 capacity at the RDS.
The Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson last night confirmed that were they to host a semi-final and a final “then the RDS would be the venue. However, were Leinster to host Munster then we would definitely have to consider Croke Park with the permission of the GAA”.
Even then, there would be other factors to consider, according to Dawson.
“It would depend on how both teams are going in Europe, agreement with the GAA and the Croke Park rental, and how the receipts would be divided,” said Dawson.
The Magners League final is scheduled for Saturday, May 29th, which is one week after the Heineken Cup final, which in turn is one week after the semi-finals. Thus, if both teams were still on course for a place in the European decider at the Stade de France, that might diminish interest in a Magners finale between the two.
Under the ERC’s rules, when a host team moves a game to an enlarged venue, the 50-50 split in receipts is increased to 65-35 in favour of the home team, thereby acting as an incentive for them to move games to bigger venues. More often than not, the away sides are also additionally rewarded in terms of finance in such circumstances because of increased revenue.
As things stand, the home team would be allowed to deduct up to 20 per cent off the gross receipts for expenses, with 50 per cent of the remainder going to Celtic Rugby and 25 per cent each to the competing finalists.
Long-term, though, given the IRFU ultimately decree whether a province submit an alternative venue for a major European or League game, and bearing in mind their €4 million per annum 10-year deal with Aviva for naming rights to the refurbished Lansdowne Road, the prospects of rugby being played at Croke Park again after this season are remote.
Hence, the GAA may have shared the disappointment felt by Leinster and Munster in being drawn away from home in the semi-finals of this season’s Heineken Cup. While thousands of Irish fans have already booked tickets for this year’s final in Paris on May 22nd, as both face potentially titanic quarter-finals on Friday and Saturday against Clermont Auvergne and Northampton, supporters of either team will not be inclined to book their semi-final travel plans just yet.
Besides which, there are many potential venues for any prospective semi-finals. Were Leinster to progress against Clermont and play Toulouse, the match would be played in Le Stadium, the Toulouse football stadium. But were Stade Francais to progress, under tournament rules the Parisians would not be able to host a semi-final in the Stade de France as that is the venue for the final. The football stadium at Parc des Princes is being considered, as are Lyon and Lens.
Were Munster to progress against Northampton, they would be away to either Biarritz or the Ospreys, with the former having nominated Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastien (where they host the Welsh region on Sunday) while the Ospreys would host the semi-final in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
