RUGBY:Emerging from the pool of sharks with their necks above water, Munster would have taken any quarter-final in the first weekend of April. It keeps their season very much alive. In the event, it will be Gloucester. The free-scoring Cherry & Whites in Kingsholm, complete with their raucous Shed. Bring it on.

It could have been worse. They could be out, à la Stade Français, Biarritz, Wasps, Clermont Auvergne, Leicester and, of course, Leinster. Or it could also have been a quarter-final in Toulouse, but Cardiff's 17-0 win away to Bristol ensured they topped Pool Three and climbed above Munster in the pecking order of pool winners, leaving them bound for the French aristocrats and three-time winners.

Not that Munster will publicly express the view they would prefer Kingsholm; their memories of the place are too painful. While Gloucester were the victims of the greatest mugging in the tournament's history, the so-called Miracle Match of five seasons ago at Thomond Park, when Munster famously met the required margin of four tries and 27 points, that 33-6 win had followed a 35-16 mauling at Kingsholm. And that remains Munster's biggest defeat in the Heineken European Cup in the last decade. On returning there a year later, Munster lost again, by 22-11, before gaining vengeance by 35-14 in Thomond Park seven days on.

Yesterday Gloucester showed they can really play only one way when subduing an Ulster side that exposed manifold chinks in their defence; Tommy Bowe scoring two of their three tries in a 29-21 defeat. The Ospreys go to Saracens, while London Irish, qualifying for the quarter-finals for the first time, host Perpignan.

Once again then, Munster have sustained Irish rugby as the Six Nations looms. They will lose the bulk of their side to Ireland for the next eight weeks, though they will then have two games, at home to Ulster and away to Connacht, in preparation for Gloucester.

It's no wonder we all feel an easy attachment to them. They play with their hearts, their bodies and their heads, and on Saturday they combined all three to as near 100 per cent as makes no difference. More often than not, they are more Irish than Ireland.

Never mind that the rain bucketed down all day. In their heroes' hour of need the faithful donned their red and their rain macs, packing the old ground to ensure the customary, nerve-tingling support for the preambles. As Ronan O'Gara noted knowingly afterwards, "The supporters were up for it tonight; I think they knew the importance of it."

Every big play was roundly cheered. It must be an astonishing lift for those fortunate enough to be swept along on such a tide of emotion, and newcomers are eagerly embraced. This was hardly a day for wingers but the faithful have quickly warmed to Doug Howlett, his crunching hit on David Doherty in first-half injury time prompting chants of "Doug-ie, Doug-ie". They love a player who at all time plays with his heart, and he looks to be loving it already.

This is the 10th year in succession that Munster have qualified for the quarter-finals, and eking a bonus point out of a potential stuffing in Clermont a week ago was the key.

"We had the European Cup holders, the Challenge Cup holders and a team of Llanelli's quality in the group and we managed to get out of it," reflected Kidney. "We just feel very privileged to come out of such a group. It was definitely the toughest pool we've been drawn in, in the years I've been involved."

How O'Gara has been reinvigorated after his torrid and horrid World Cup is a tribute to Munster's ethos, their man-management skills and his own strength of character and ability. On Saturday, conducting the game as if it was his orchestra, he produced the full repertoire of kicks as well as another perfect return of five place kicks from five. In six pool games he has landed a phenomenal 31 out of 34. Talk about rising to the occasion.

It is not Kidney's style to single out individuals, but invited to do so in the case of O'Gara, he could not resist.

"I've known Ronan a long time. I suppose it's been our way not to put a bit of helium or blow smoke into fellas, but I thought Ronan was absolutely magnificent today. I couldn't speak highly enough of the man. I think he's getting to be a better and better player. I thought his match management and the way he played through it was exceptional," he said, also praising Peter Stringer.

Shaun Edwards, Wasps' defence coach, concurred with a generosity that was not typical of the visitors' camp: "You can see why he's such a hero for the people in Munster because in those type of conditions he's one of the best, if not the best, in the world. I'm a fully paid-up member of his fan club. I think he's a great rugby player and he shows that you play rugby with your brains as well as your body."

Last season some of us questioned whether the burden of captaining Munster as well was too much for O'Gara. No doubt the presence of Anthony Foley is a huge help, but all O'Gara's decision-making was on the money against Wasps. He felt added pressure during the week, and at Saturday's captain's meeting had asked the forwards for a big performance.

"The sum of the parts in Munster is always greater than the individual efforts," he said, "but there's some cracking athletes and rugby players here at the minute as well, so once you have that will to win and character and desire for each other it's a good formula."

There seemed almost a reluctance to leave the recuperative and therapeutic powers of his Munster family.

"I suppose it's fascinating," he added. "The World Cup is not so long ago. You wonder why, like, 10 of those Munster players that will probably play for Ireland and played poorly in the World Cup . . . and now we're firing. You try and play your best every Saturday and I suppose that's how honest we are, but I can't give answers as to why it goes like this one week and differently another week."

Often more revealing in the immediate aftermath of a match, O'Gara added candidly, "I haven't thought about the Six Nations and I don't really want to think about the Six Nations until maybe Tuesday of next week. I've really enjoyed the last few months.

"It's a pity from a Munster point of view that the quarter-finals are 10 weeks away. We've been in a hard group, the momentum is there. It would be great to try and continue this competition but that's not the way it is," he concluded, almost glumly.