The Red Army are back, and it’s good to have them. So say the Dublin hoteliers, restaurants, bars, taxi drivers, tournament organisers et al.
When one considers the impact on attendances which the Irish provinces had on the quarter-finals, and that less than 39,000 attended the two semi-finals in their absence last year, it’s clear the tournament needs the Irish as much as the Irish need the tournament.
It’s been a while, and they’ve been missed, but the numbers in which they travel assuredly makes Munster the best supported, non-international team in the world.
Indeed, thinking back to the Blarney Army’s invasion of New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup, and both Cardiff and London in 2015, when on each occasion they effectively made all ten games ‘home’ matches, Munster’s main rivals globally would probably be Ireland.
The last time there was a Munster invasion in the capital of this extent was for the 2009 semi-final in Croke Park, when the then world record attendance of 82,208 was set for a non-international match.
That was reckoned to be a 50-50 split between blue and red, but it was a different story for the semi-final at the old Lansdowne Road in 2006, when the Red Army completely eclipsed those in blue, making up the vast majority of the 47,800 attendance.
It was an extraordinary sight. Leinster had actually gone into that game as the favourites, in part based on their thrilling quarter-final win away to Toulouse, where Munster had been obliged to roll their sleeves up against a gargantuan Perpignan pack in something of an arm wrestle at Lansdowne Road to the backdrop another capacity sea of red.
Almost as soon as you ventured up to Lansdowne Road for that 2006 semi-final and realised the manner in which Munster supporters had turned much of D4 red again you somehow knew there’d only be one winner.
Ironically, Munster were the ‘away’ side for that semi-final, whereas Leinster were at Croke Park three seasons subsequently. The Red Army also turned Lansdowne Road into a sea of red for the thrilling 2004 semi-final against eventual winners Wasps.
Four invasions
In truth, however, even those four invasions of Dublin were eclipsed abroad by the Red Army on four other occasions.
Following on from their expedition to Bordeaux for the semi-finals in 2000, the estimated 40,000-plus who made their way to Twickenham three years later gave birth to the term ‘the Red Army’.
Their travelling numbers were similar for the 2002 final in Cardiff against Leicester, but were surpassed again in spectacular fashion at the Millennium Stadium. After those two preceding finals had been lost, along with so many other near misses in the knock-out stages, no-one wanted to miss out if history was finally going to call them.
So it was that the Biarritz fans were like needles in a haystack amongst the 74,534 for the 2004 final in the Millennium Stadium, not to mention the hundreds of thousands on O’Connell Street in Limerick beamed onto the big screen at a key juncture in the second half.
For the final of 2008 in Cardiff, those wearing red must have numbered at least 60-65,000 of the 74,417 crowd for their meeting against Toulouse, which helped to edge Munster over the line with a 16-13 success to clinch their second title.
It’s all the more remarkable when one considers Munster could not fill out Thomond Park last season for any of their three European Cup games; the biggest attendance being the 22,261 which attended the Leicester game.
That said, Thomond Park was full to capacity for the visit of Leinster during Christmas.
At the start of this season, you’d have been laughed at for even hinting that there might be a revival of this nature come the semi-final stages. Munster were generally priced at 66/1 to win the European Champions Cup, even touching 80/1 in some places.
Soft touches
At the Irish launch of the tournament in Dublin, Rassie Erasmus famously admitted he looked at Munster’s group, along with French champions Racing, Leicester and Glasgow to work out who would be the possibly soft touches, and realised it was actually Munster who fell into that category. Accordingly, Munster were even 7/1 outsiders just to win their pool.
Even Leinster were 33/1 outsiders to win the European Champions Cup at the start of the season, and come the week of the first round were 5/2 third favourites to win their pool and 22/1 to lift the trophy.
Of course, the tragic passing of Anthony Foley on the morning of Munster's opening match away to Racing in Paris contributed to the Munster team and supporters alike immediately rediscovering that umbilical cord for the ensuing game at home to Glasgow.
Tyler Bleyendaal finally shaking off his injury woes, allied to Peter O'Mahony's return, have also been significant factors along with a remodelled coaching ticket.
Since then, Munster have won 20 of their last 22 matches. Once again, last Saturday against Ulster, they found a way to win yet another one-score game. Seven of those wins have been by three points or less, and six of them by one or two points.
Of course, as with Leinster facing the best French team in the competition, so Munster are now assuredly facing the best English team in Saracens.
The reigning European and English champions rested up many of their front-liners against Northampton on Sunday, and stole a game that in many ways they had no right to win. Like Munster, they have developed a siege mentality over the years, and unlike Wasps they won’t be cowed by the occasion at the Aviva Stadium.
But in the heel of the hunt, the tournament has probably the best semi-final line-up it could have wished, and two momentous occasions to match.
Bring them on.
gthornley@irishtimes.com
