Ulster Rugby vs Munster

Article by Rod Nawn

Freelance Journalist and Sports Enthusiast @RODNAWN1

That game in Limerick is one the Ulster players believe should have been won, so another reason to be cheerful about home prospects with controlled revenge in the armoury! Around the pitch there are wonderful individual battles to savour; Keatley and Jackson, Murray and Pienaar, Henry and O’Mahony to name but a few. Kingspan Stadium is the stage for some of the finest players of this generation, and in a World Cup year where better to show your credentials? Too often adjectives such as ‘massive’ and ‘huge’ are tagged to fixtures such as this, but today they are justified, not just because of the prize immediately at stake, but because of the implications the result might have over the next three weeks. Players have been through a demanding competitive eight months to date, some have been sorely missed for long periods – like Keith Earls at Munster but now restored – and Andrew Trimble and Stuart Olding for Ulster. These two squads have earned the right to reach the play-offs, to further extend their seasons and to give themselves new incentive. They are galvanised by the prospect of a trophy, and what an occasion it would be was it to be Ulster lifting the Guinness PRO12 title in its own sparklingly impressive new home here at Kingspan Stadium. But that is a thought for a little bit further into this so-far wintry May. The victors today will leave the arena buoyed in their hopes for the remainder of the season, the vanquished not yet beaten, more work to do, and willingly when deserving fans await. Ulster versus Munster would once have been anticipated for its passionate combat, the thunderous commitment on the pitch, and that is still as guaranteed now as it was in the 19th Century. But the passion will be well-directed, the thunder of commitment allied to a game plan and a determination to play to the great individual and collective strengths in the line- ups. It was always a match with history, now it can add some more, and show that the PRO12, and the game in Ireland, is in rude health and in the hands of the talented players and coaches who have fashioned extraordinarily gifted teams. May, a month when winners are made and reputations cemented.

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