MUNSTER face Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon (kick off at 12.45pm) in the final round of the Heineken Cup Pool stages. With top spot in the group guaranteed, Munster are now playing for as best a quarter final spot as they can.
Should other results go to form, Munster, with a bonus point win on Sunday, would qualify in the fifth spot, meaning they would travel away from home for a quarter final.
There are multiple variations of results that could happen for Munster to get into fourth spot in the standings, but that would mean several shocks would have to take place. This is the Heineken Cup however and you never, never know what could happen.
As the side prepares for the Edinburgh game, the fans of the province have been working out the permutations.
The loss in Edinburgh on day one and a failure to secure a bonus point last weekend against Gloucester might just come back to haunt Munster.
Relying on Toulon to lose in Glasgow or Clermont not to beat a disinterested Racing Metro side at home appear to be Munster’s only hope of securing that financially lucrative home quarter final.
With this being, potentially, the last ever Heineken Cup (as we know it) game at Thomond Park, fans will spend most of the day trying to calculate who Munster are playing and where.
FYI, should Munster finish level on 23 points with another qualifier, then the following criteria would determine the fixtures.
If ranking remains unresolved and if clubs have not played each other previously in the pool stage, ranking will be determined as follows:
(i) the number of tries scored in the pool stage; or
(ii) if equal, the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage; or
(iii) if equal, the club with the fewest number of players suspended for incidents in the pool stage; or
(iv) if equal, by drawing lots.
On the playing side of things, Munster are reporting a near clean bill of health ahead of the tie.
Both Conor Murray (knee) and Simon Zebo (foot) are showing no-ill effects after their return to action against Gloucester
Andrew Conway, who was a late withdrawal from the Munster A side due to a tight groin, returns to training this week, while Donnacha Ryan (knee) and Sean Dougall (ankle) are both progressing well with their rehab. and are expected to take part in limited training this week.
Cathal Sheridan and Niall Ronan are both unavailable for this weekend.
So, prepare for a facile win for Munster on the field and some serious traffic on the Ryanair website on Sunday evening. Enjoy.
