It was more heartbreak for Ireland’s rugby fans as Munster became the second Irish side to be knocked out of the Heineken Cup by a French club this weekend.
Biarritz beat Munster 18-7 in the semi-final clash at the Stade Anoeta. Ireland took an early lead when Keith Earls went over for a try after a tidy move from the Munster men. O’Gara converted to put the Irish firmly in the driving seat.
However, the Biarritz pack began to assert itself as the game wore on and it wasn’t long before Munster began to concede penalties.
Dimitri Yachvili was in fine form and he kicked his side into an all-French final, scoring all their points from penalties.
Munster, twice champions in the competition, seemed to tire towards the end and made a string of unforced errors. The French side capitalized and began racking up points in the final minutes.
Yachvili kicked his final penalty of the game just before full-time to take the score to 18-7. Biarritz will go on to face Toulouse in the Heineken Cup final on 22 May.
