Munster, beaten by Northampton in the 2000 Heineken Cup final, face arguably the toughest task in this year's Cup semi-finals as they tackle the French favourites, Stade Francais. After last night's draw at Dublin's Sugar Club Munster captain, Mick Galwey, admitted his side would have to be on the top of its form to repeat last season's feat.
"Any draw was going to be a tough one but it is going to be hard to go to France and play against the most consistent side left in the Heineken Cup," he said. "We are in a similar situation to a year ago when we played Toulouse, except for one thing. Everyone wrote us off then but now everyone is alert to how we play and we have lost the element of surprise."
Stade Francais coach John Connolly was delighted to get a 'home' draw and have a chance to exact revenge over Munster for last season's quarter-final defeat at Thomond Park. "I am just happy that we are playing in France," he said. "A lot of our players were in the match against Munster last year when we got beaten, so they will know what to expect.
"There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before the semi-finals and I look forward to having Diego Dominguez back in the side as he is a world-class player."
Both European competitions, the Cup and the Shield, will feature an English finalist after Leicester were pitted against Zurich Premiership rivals Gloucester and the semi-final draw of the Shield paired Newcastle and Harlequins, in what will be a repeat of the Tetley's Bitter Cup final later this month. The winner will play either Narbonne or Agen, with the champions then earning a place in the Heineken Cup for next season.
Both competitions' semi-finals will take place on the weekend of April 21-22, with venues to be decided at a later date.
Filed by Seán Folan
