Even in a Europe of new money there is serious currency to this evening’s clash at Thomond Park.
Neither Munster nor Leicester can claim to be the powers they were in the last decade, but collisions between these two tend to be epic.
There was the “Hand of Back” in the 2002 Heineken Cup final, O’Gara’s monster winning kick in Welford Road and, of course, Leicester’s famous victory in Limerick in 2007.
Munster had won 26 European games out of 26 before the Tigers – with Leo Cullen, Shane Jennings and Geordan Murphy in their ranks – came to the soon to be demolished old Thomond on a January afternoon and beat their hosts 13-6.
It was Munster’s first European defeat in Limerick and current Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs has revealed that it is the win that assistant backs coach Murphy – a two-time Heineken Cup winner – ranks above all other.
“Geordan Murphy spoke to us this week about how much it meant to those boys playing that day,” Youngs told the Daily Telegraph.
“He said that it was the best win they had ever had in a Leicester shirt. We have spoken about that as a group, that if we manage to do the same, then we will remember it for a very long time. It will be tough, of course, very tough.”
The Tigers are third in the Premiership table and top of Pool 4 of the Champions Cup with two wins, which is contributing to the atmosphere in the East Midlands city that is also, of course, home to Premier League leaders Leicester City.
“There is a good buzz in the city these days with the football and rugby both going well,” said Youngs.
“In previous years we haven’t been that competitive in Europe, struggling to get out of our pool. We are beginning to look like a side that now has the potential to be competitive in the quarters and the semis.”
Munster and Leicester kick off in the Champions Cup at 7.45pm.
