RUGBY/Munster v London Wasps: This is it then, yet another seismic Heineken European Cup January day in Thomond Park, the fourth Hiberno-English affair of its type in six seasons. As the mist and rain roll in over the bearpit on another floodlit Saturday evening, there might not be a better rugby occasion in this country all year.
Even if the forecast of rain and 50mph winds holds true, even if there are scoreless longueurs and it's a war of attrition, you know it won't disappoint. Theatre and sport all in one.
The 2006 champions against the winners of 2004 and 2007 in a reprise of that unforgettable 2004 semi-final. It's a shame one of these mighty teams has to go out, but almost certainly this is winner-takes-all, albeit it's a little more complex than that. Basically, a win of any hue will do Wasps, whereas Munster have to win scoring more tries or the same number of tries and by more than a point.
Munster remain the heartbeat of Irish rugby, and, spiritually, perhaps nothing underlined the anti-climactic year that was 2007 than Munster losing their invincibility at Thomond Park to Leicester. And if the Tigers were the one team in Europe you wouldn't have wanted visiting Thomond Park on the corresponding Saturday, then read Wasps now.
Any team with the sheer, extraordinary presence of Lawrence Dallaglio at their helm will not roll over and have their bellies tickled in anybody's lair. Wasps don't seem to care where they play, and that's probably down to him more than anyone.
Throw in two other gnarled Test captains in Raphaël Ibañez and Phil Vickery, and it's clear they are unlikely to lose their discipline as so many others have done before them here.
No, Munster are going to have to earn every point today.
In maintaining faith with Anthony Foley, an astute, natural-born leader who epitomises what Munster are about, they are also playing their forward leader from the start. It's tough on Alan Quinlan, who is back in the reckoning, but he's better suited to an impact role in the last 20 or 30.
Then there's the battle of the young tearaways, James Haskell (perhaps the best loose forward in England) and Tom Rees, up against Denis Leamy and David Wallace, and Eoin Reddan against Peter Stringer.
Most pertinently of all perhaps, there's the latest great white hope of young English outhalves, Daniel Cipriani, up against Ronan O'Gara, a legend of this tournament with 910 points to his name.
Such will be the nature of this pressure-cooker contest, in what is liable to be a relatively low-scoring game, that the direction, tactical kicking and place-kicking of the outhalves could be the most important factor. Nothing has comforted Munster more, or will do today, than O'Gara's stunning return to form post-World Cup and the promise of another masterclass here.
Outside him, the footwork and dynamism of Lifeimi Mafi and Rua Tipoki even undid the famed Wasps blitz defence in Coventry, though one ventures Wasps will seek to play in Munster's faces all day, and never allow them to build a head of steam. That's what Leicester did last year, and that's what Shaun Edwards wrote in his Guardian column yesterday.
One would imagine he and the Wasps think-tank will have targeted the Munster midfield as a potential weak point.
The influence of the backrows will be determined to some degree by the scrums, for Munster were shredded last week. That generally doesn't happen to them twice in a row but, if it does, they're in trouble.
The referee, Nigel Owens, and the toss of the coin could be critical too.
Both sides are excellent front-runners. Well versed though everyone is in modern rugby to pick-and-go ad nauseam, with those stiff winds forecast one ventures whoever wins the toss will make first use of whatever advantage is on offer.
History has taught us never to back against Munster when their need is most acute and their collective will strongest. It's perfectly primed.
MUNSTER: S Payne; B Carney, R Tipoki, L Mafi, D Howlett; R O'Gara (capt), P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll; D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley. Replacements: F Sheahan, T Buckley, D Ryan, A Quinlan, T O'Leary, P Warwick, K Lewis.
LONDON WASPS: J Lewsey; P Sackey, F Waters, R Hoadley, D Waldouck; D Cipriani, E Reddan; T Payne, R Ibañez, P Vickery; S Shaw, G Skivington; J Haskell, T Rees, L Dallaglio (capt). Replacements: J Ward, T French, T Palmer, J Hart, M McMillan, D Doherty, M van Gisbergen.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).
Previous meetings: (1996-97) Munster 49 Wasps 22; (2003-04, semi-final) Munster 32 Wasps 37; (2007-08) Wasps 24 Munster 23.
Results so far: Munster: 23-24 v Wasps (a); 36-13 v Clermont (h); 29-16 v Llanelli (a); 22-13 v Llanelli (h); 19-26 v Clermont (a). Wasps: 24-23 v Munster (h); 33-17 v Llanelli (h); 27-37 v Clermont (a); 25-24 v Clermont (h); 40-7 v Llanelli (h).
Leading try scorers: Munster: Marcus Horan, Shaun Payne, Rua Tipoki, Brian Carney 2 each. Wasps: Fraser Waters 3.
Leading points scorers: Munster: Ronan O'Gara 69. Wasps: Daniel Cipriani 57.
Betting(Paddy Power): 1/2 Munster, 18/1 Draw, 13/8 Wasps. Handicap betting (= Wasps +5pts) 10/11 Munster, 20/1 Draw, 10/11 Wasps.
Forecast: Munster to win through.
