Leicester boss Dean Richards tonight offered no excuses for his team's Heineken Cup exit as the Tigers' European hat-trick dream was destroyed by mighty Munster at Welford Road. Leicester's reign as kings of Europe came to an emphatic end, with Munster scoring second-half tries from their Irish international half-backs Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer. O'Gara added two penalties and two conversions as Munster triumphed 20-7 to reach their fourth successive European semi-final.
A capacity 17,500 crowd packed into Welford Road, but it was Munster's 4,000-strong travelling army who could party at the end, leaving Leicester to reflect on a possible first season without silverware since 1998.
"Munster deserved to win. They played better than we did on the day, and played the game in the right areas," said rugby director Richards. "There were a lot of unforced errors from us. Munster put a lot of pressure on us, and we didn't react. If you lose a quarter-final or semi-final like we did today - we were comprehensively beaten - then it is disappointing. We just didn't turn up. It was not the fact that we lost, it was the manner in which we lost. I thought that Munster were outstanding - they played the game in the right areas and their half-backs were outstanding."
Munster now go forward to a semi-final in Toulouse later this month, and Richards believes they could go all the way this season. He said: "There is no doubt that if Munster play with the passion that they did today, then they can win it. As far as we were concerned, the heart and soul was there, but we made some unforced errors and wrong decisions in key areas."
Leicester's defeat, coupled with Northampton's demise in Toulouse yesterday, created an unwanted first for English rugby. In the five previous seasons that English clubs have entered the Heineken Cup, they have always produced a finalist, but the last four this term will be Munster, Toulouse, Leinster and Perpignan.
Munster coach Alan Gaffney was full of praise for his players after they became the first team to win a Heineken Cup game at Leicester for more than three years. He enthused: "Our first-half performance was a bit patchy and a bit panicky, but in the second half it was a lot better and our defence was very firm."
Munster's victory avenged their 15-9 defeat in last season's Heineken Cup final when Neil Back's controversial hand-in-the-scrum manoeuvre robbed them of a potentially dangerous attacking platform. But Gaffney added: "What happened last year, happened last year. It wasn't retained at any stage in the build up to this game. We knew that we had to perform today, and our discipline was very good. Our guys stood up to Leicester and were counted. Now we go to Toulouse, who are an exceptional side, and it is going to be a very difficult assignment. We came here with a belief that we could win, and if any side can perform under this sort of pressure, then this side can."
Heineken Cup organisers tonight confirmed the dates and kick-off times for both semi-finals. Munster will meet Toulouse in Toulouse on Saturday, April 26, kicking off at 2pm British time, while Leinster tackle Perpignan in Dublin the following afternoon starting at 2.45pm.
