Quote of the weekTHE TIRADE of criticism from David Knox (right, with Shane Horgan) took a number of people unawares last week.

It was, said former Leinster player and manager Jim Glennon, "Just Knoxie clearing his nose as he was leaving". Glennon said Knox owed it to Irish rugby and his close friends "to use a handkerchief".

Munster's Changes

THERE ARE going to be a significant number of players who start against Toulouse on Saturday that did not start against Biarritz two years ago in the final.

On that day, in front of 74,000 fans, Shaun Payne, Anthony Horgan, John Kelly, Trevor Halstead and Ian Dowling formed the Munster back line.

Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer were at 10 and nine with Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery and John Hayes the starting front row.

Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell, along with Denis Leamy, David Wallace and Anthony Foley, rounded off the pack.

Foley is unlikely to start on Saturday, while Stringer is also in doubt with Tomás O'Leary in possession of the scrumhalf jersey. In addition Doug Howlett, Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi are all shoo-ins in the back line as is Denis Hurley at fullback.

That would mean at least six changes since the 2006 triumph in the Millennium Stadium.

Dowling keen to do Kilkenny proud 

THE IN-FORM Munster winger Ian Dowling, who was recently promoted from the Churchill Cup side to the Irish senior squad that will tour New Zealand and Australia, hails from Kilkenny.

Dowling has said that the trip to New Zealand and Australia will mean little unless he goes there with a European Cup medal in his pocket.

That said, he will feel some pride in being just the eighth player from Kilkenny to pull on an Irish shirt at senior level.

The last Kilkenny man to achieve the honour was prop Gary Halpin.

Ernie Ridgeway, Bill Tector, Jack Notley, Willie Duggan, Ned Byrne and Ronan Kearney also made the grade.

Dowling, of course, would be the first Kilkenny native to have both a European Cup winner's medal and an Irish cap if all goes well in the Millenium Stadium on Saturday.

Millennium trivia

WHAT YOU need to know about the Millennium Stadium: the European Heineken Cup final venue opened in June 1999 and attracts approximately 1.3 million visitors every year.

It was the first stadium built in Britain with a roof that is retractable.

The Millennium Stadium has held six English FA Cup finals and two Rugby World Cup matches and has a Uefa five-star rating.

Cup memories

JOHN KELLY of Munster and Ireland: "The first memory that comes to my mind are the moments after David Wallace scored the try against Northampton in the 2000 final.

"It was my first time playing in front of such a big crowd and when Wally went over I remember running back to the half-way line and there was just this wall of noise. It was totally bizarre. I had never experienced anything like it before . . . It was like a blast of noise, a wall of it . . . one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life."

Owen on familiar ground

NIGEL OWEN will take charge of the final in Cardiff on Saturday. The leading Welsh official refereed his first semi-final in Munster's win over Saracens at the Ricoh Arena last month. Whistling in the final means he hasn't missed a single tournament weekend, controlling a maximum nine Heineken Cup matches this season.

The final will be 36-year-old Owen's 32nd Heineken Cup match and his 39th European fixture overall, including last season's European Challenge Cup final between ASM Clermont Auvergne and Bath. The added bonus for Owen, however, is that he will be taking charge of the match on "home soil".

Referees are rarely able to officiate at major matches played on their own national ground.

For the record

SOME PLAYERS on the Munster squad will remember the last time they met Toulouse at the knock-out stage of the Heineken Cup. It was in the 2003-04 season when they lost by one point, 12-13, in Toulouse, having beaten Leicester in the quarter-final.

However, in the 1999-2000 season, Munster triumphed. In that year's semi-final they beat Toulouse in Bordeaux 31-25 before losing to Northampton in the final.