When Leinster held their nerve to win the 2009 Heineken Cup Final they became the 3rd Irish side to win the Northern Hemisphere’s most prestigious club rugby tournament
Leinster added their name to a select list when they beat Leicester Tigers 19-16 at Murrayfield to win their first Heineken European Rugby Cup. They are the third Irish province to win the tournament, taking over from bitter rivals Munster, who they knocked out in the semi finals. Leinster are the 9th team to win the tournament since it was first held in 1995/96.
Poor Showing by French Teams in the Heineken Cup
The pool stages saw more than its fair share of shocks this year, with the French in particular struggling. Toulouse were the only French side to qualify for the knockout stages and they finished as pool runners up and bottom seeds.
The form side of the pool stages were undoubtedly Cardiff Blues in Pool 6, who swept all before them winning all six games, including a victory over Gloucester at Kingsholm when winger Tom James was shown a red card after being adjudged to have butted French hooker Olivier Azam.
Pool 1 saw the reigning champions Munster keep up their incredible record of qualification for the knockout stages in each of the last eleven tournaments. Thomond Park has always been a fortress and this season, with an increased capacity, it was even more daunting. The only blemish on their record came with a narrow loss to Clermont-Auvergne in round three.
Heineken Cup Champions Leinster Lose Two Pool Games
Eventual winners Leinster managed to lose two games in the pool stages, but their four bonus points, two for staying within seven points in the games they did lose and two for scoring four tries in crushing wins over the always dangerous Wasps and against Castres gave them top billing in Pool 2.
Pool 3 was a candidate for, ‘The pool of Death’. Weakened only by Italian side Benetton Treviso, it was expected that Leicester Tigers, the Ospreys and Perpignan would all be competitive against each other. This is the way that it proved, with each side winning their home games. Bonus points proved the difference and when Leicester Tigers clung on for a narrow loss aginast the Ospreys, they claimed top spot and condemned the Welsh side to a difficult trip to Munster as best runner up.
The Harlequins proved the surprise package in pool 4. The London side had only registered a single draw in 2008 and when they were 19-3 down at half time in week 1 against the Scarlets, it didn’t look as if anything had changed. A stunning second half performance saw them run out winners and when they followed that up with a win against fancied Stade Francais in front of 80,000 fans in Paris, the other sides started to take note.
Bath hadn’t really drawn anyone’s attention in the Heineken Cup since their single success in the tournament back in 1998, but they came very close to turning over one of the hot tournament favourites, Toulouse, in round 1. Toulouse flattered to deceive throughout the tournament, putting in some spluttering performances. When they lost at home to Glasgow Warriors in week 5, it meant that they had to win in Bath in the final round. The day of the match saw rain of Biblical proportions and meant that neither side would be able to play the free-flowing rugby they favoured. The game turned into an arm-wrestle and finished in a 3-3 draw, seeing Bath through as group winners and Toulouse on the way to play Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium.
Quarter Final Line-ups
Cardiff Blues v Stade Toulousain
Leicester Tigers v Bath Rugby
Munster v Ospreys
Harlequins v Leinster
