Leinster clash will be an event to cherish

MUNSTER coach Tony McGahan believes next month’s Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Leinster at Croke Park is a sporting event to cherish.
A world record attendance for a club rugby fixture is set to attend the Saturday, May 2 semi-final clash of the two fierce Irish rivals at Croke Park.
A capacity crowd of 82,500 is set to pack the GAA venue. A full house at Croker next month would surpass the previous world record for a club rugby game, the 81,600 which attended last year’s Guinness Premiership final between Wasps and Leicester at Twickenham.
Munster coach, Tony McGahan is eagerly looking forward to bringing his charges to GAA headquarters: “It is a massive achievement to get to Croke Park and it is a once-off opportunity to play there. For us, being involved with Munster and to have the chance to play such an important game at such an historic venue is a tremendous achievement and one we will look forward to and cherish.”
Munster will appear in their eighth Heineken Cup semi-final when they face Leinster in a mouth-watering clash on the first Saturday in May. The game has a 5.30pm kick-off time and will be televised live on Sky Sports.
RTE TV will show highlights of the tie later in the evening.
Some 5,000 tickets, which went on sale on Ticketmaster on Sunday evening for the game, were sold out within half an hour.
Both Munster and Leinster will get an equal allocation of tickets for the match with ERC distributing 30,000 to each province.
Munster’s 30,000 tickets will be allocated in line with Thomond Park Heineken Cup pool games, with an additional amount of tickets held for commercial partners and the balance split between the Munster Clubs and the Munster Rugby Supporters Club.
There are approximately 10,000 tickets available to purchase for Croke Park premium seat and corporate suite holders.
An additional 1,500 tickets will be sold with official hospitality packages and the remaining tickets will be allocated to European club rugby stake holders and partners.
Tickets are priced at €25 for terrace tickets, with concessions available at €12 for under 16s.
Stand tickets for the big game are priced at €45 each.
A statement on the Munster web site explains that it is unlikely that any tickets will go on public sale, but supporters are asked to keep an eye on the website, www.munsterrugby.ie, for further details.
Next month’s clash of Munster and Leinster should see the 14th European tournament become the first to attract 1,000,000 fans through the turnstiles.
Resilient prop John Hayes is in line to break Anthony Foley’s record number of appearances in the Heineken Cup in the semi-final clash.
Hayes, who received a huge ovation from the capacity attendance when substituted during the second half of Sunday’s quarter-final win over Ospreys, is in line to make his 87th appearance in the Heineken Cup on Saturday, May 2.
Cappamore’s 35-year-old John Hayes made his Heineken Cup debut against Petrarca Rugby in September 1998.
The second Heineken Cup semi-final will take place on Sunday, May 3 when the Cardiff Blues face the Leicester Tigers at the Millennium Stadium. Kick-off for that semi-final is 3pm.

Colm Kinsella