A record-breaking crowd turned out to witness a BKT URC match at Croke Park, marking it as a historic event. This surpasses the previous BKT URC record held 15 seasons ago during a Champions Cup match. It is worth noting the intense rivalry between Leinster and Munster, known for being two of rugby’s most fiercely competitive teams. As a result, they collectively take honour in boasting one of the most passionate rivalries in club rugby worldwide.
The nearly 81,000 spectators on Saturday evening distinctly emphasized this rivalry outshining the former URC attendance record of 68,262 during the ‘Judgement Day’ Welsh twin matches held at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, in 2016.
Nevertheless, this year’s Premiership game between Saracens and Harlequins at Wembley holds the world record for a club game, with an astonishing 83,761 attendees. However, such examples are exceptions.
The rivalry between Leinster-Munster has consistently overshadowed others over the past twenty years. Two years back the Blues-Crusaders Super Rugby final drew a crowd of 45,000, the biggest attendance in New Zealand derby matches where rugby is the most popular sport.
The two Glasgow-Edinburgh matches of the previous season attracted 37,381 and 7,172 spectators, respectively, with an additional 20,167 attending the Judgement Day twin match. Despite the flourishing state of French club rugby, it lacks a competition of comparably comparable magnitude and consistency like that of Leinster-Munster.
The Bulls and Stormers South African derbies are possibly the nearest contenders with season attendances consistently floating around 39,942 to 50,000.
Nevertheless, the Leinster-Munster rivalry escalated into a spectacle, drawing over 1.25 million attendees across 40 matches (excluding five hosted during lockdowns) thereby setting an average of 31,380 since the Champions Cup semi-finals at Lansdowne Road in 2005-06. Following the imminent encounter, the Leinster-Munster average is set to skyrocket beyond 32,500 from 2006 onwards.
In the realm of rugby, the provinces of Leinster and Munster have collaborated significantly outside the playing field. In particular, Leinster has expanded its financial reserves through regular relocations of its home battles against Munster and one European pool match to Aviva Stadium. Suppose they had the opportunity to face La Rochelle at home during this season’s pool stages, that match too would have been transferred to Croke Park. Despite this, their annual showdown with Munster at home continues to be a high-profile event.
The hiring cost of the stadium from the IRFU stands roughly at €300,000. Given this, the 45,000-strong audiences have allowed Leinster to take in approximately €1.3 million in ticket revenues. Considering similar expenses when renting Croke Park from the GAA, it’s expected this match could produce another €500,000 to €600,000 (about €1.8/1.9 million).
Munster fans will likely note, with a hint of irony, that the extra income would suffice to cover the yearly wage of RG Snyman, the two-time World Cup winner, on his first appearance in Leinster. Yet, it has not always been the case.
In the past, the fierce rivalry between Leinster and Munster was largely confined to the players and the clubs, with spectators of both provinces only seeing five-figure crowds regularly in the 90s. When Thomond Park was being refurbished for the 1999 World Cup, on 21st of August, 1998, Munster entertained Leinster at Garryowen’s pitch in Dooradoyle. The crowd on that day is up for debate, but any claims of a large audience should be taken with a generous pinch of salt.
Leinster won that sunny afternoon 24-18, with tries from yet-to-be-Ireland-capped Girvan Dempsey and Shane Horgan and 14 points from Alan McGowan, following three consecutive losses to Munster and an initial defeat to Ulster, making the victory a much-needed one.
Former Leinster manager, Jim Glennon, once said that nothing sharpens the mind more than an imminent disaster. In the next season, Munster triumphed over Leinster twice, achieving scores of 31-20 and 30-13 at Temple Hill and Donnybrook, thereby safeguarding the interprovincial title. The rivalry has grown past its initial grounds in Dooradoyle, Temple Hill, and Donnybrook, and has brought significant revenue – notably for Leinster, Munster, and the IRFU. It’s surprising that it took time to realise the lucrativeness of this event.
Dating back to 1877, the genesis of the special nature of this rivalry can be traced back to the inaugural Celtic League final in December 2001 at the old Lansdowne Road where 35,000 people graced the occasion. Leinster, with just one win in the former eight, managed to secure a win, and in spite of Eric Miller’s 26-minute expulsion and Munster’s initial lead. This was achieved through successful tries by Gordon D’Arcy and Shane Horgan, resulting in a final score of 24-20.
However, disappointingly, it was not immediately recognised by the IRFU, the provinces or the league organisers as a potential moneymaker. The pivotal Leinster-Munster matches didn’t feature in the annual fixture list, and there was no showdown at all in the 2002-03 season. Moreover, Irish frontline players were often benched for these matches, fearing injury.
After this period, regular meetings were held in Donnybrook and Musgrave Park with crowds ranging from 5,400 to 8,000 before a 2005 Celtic League semi-final attracted 13,500 to the old Lansdowne Road. Tensions escalated in the 2005-06 season. Leinster, after suffering a 33-9 defeat in Cork, retaliated by defeating Munster 35-23 in a thrilling match on New Year’s Eve at the RDS, which saw a turnout of 14,135.
The rivalry between Ronan O’Gara and Felipe Contepomi intensified during the Heineken Cup semi-final that took place at the old Lansdowne Road in the subsequent April. Regarded as slight favourites, Leinster had previously won a quarter-final in Toulouse with an epic scoreline of 41-35 just three weeks earlier, while Munster had struggled to secure a 19-10 triumph over Perpignan.
On a radiant Sunday in April, the home advantage of Leinster was overridden by a tidal wave of Munster support which transformed the pitch into a striking sea of red. The prospect of Leinster attaining the coveted title before they could, spurred Munster and their fans, featuring notable players like Peter Stringer and O’Gara, to give their all, especially after several close calls in the past.
With a 30-6 victory that observed fierce tries from Denis Leamy, O’Gara and Trevor Halstead, Munster stamped their inaugural victory in the Heineken Cup by defeating Biarritz in a moving final in Cardiff just three weeks later.
Contrary to what they may confess, Leinster’s greatest influence had been Munster. This particular semi-final sparked an awakening. The Leinster team and former CEO, Mick Dawson, admitted collectively that they needed to improve both on and off the field.
A second rude awakening occurred the following October in a match as part of the fifth round of the Magners League in Lansdowne Road. Dawson recollected the incident when a predicted walk-up audience of 5 or 6,000 surprisingly swelled to about 35,000. With only 12,000 tickets sold, they were left with no choice but to let an excess of 10,000 people in for free.
An unanticipated situation left us reevaluating our processes for managing major games including ticketing, security and safety precautions, as we had not encountered such a scenario before. Leinster, faced their fate in the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-finals versus strong opponents, when 82,208 fans filled Croke Park, setting a new global record. The teams appeared as a mosaic of red and blue squares.
The favourites were Munster, a team that had won two championships in the recent three seasons. However, a determined squad of locally-grown superstars, augmented by Ricky Elson, Isa Nacewa, CJ van der Linde and Chris Whitaker, had no intentions of backing down, especially after the replacement of Contepomi with Johnny Sexton. The prospect of facing failure can truly foster focus.
Leinster’s 25-6 victory took them to their inaugural Heineken Cup victory three weeks later against Leicester at Murrayfield – starting a series of three victories in four years and four stars in total. Despite being prevented from a double achievement by Munster in the 2011 Magners League final, Munster has yet to return to a European final.
This local derby was hugely significant in terms of the power dynamics. Munster had previously proved their dominance, winning 12, drawing two and losing five of the previous 19 games. From 1990-91 to 2009-10, clubs from Limerick and Cork took home 17 of the initial 20 AIL titles.
From that critical point, Leinster won 29 out of the subsequent 38 encounters while their clubs taking the AIL title nine times out of the last twelve. Where formerly Munster was the main contributor, Leinster has since assumed that role.
In many perspectives, one of the recent positive changes to the rivalry was Munster’s 16-15 URC semi-final victory at the Aviva a couple of seasons ago, which had the help of Jack Crowley’s last-minute drop goal, leading to the breaking of their 11-season period without trophies.
A competition scarcely qualifies as such if it’s persistently won by the same side. This reality has indubitably sparked the enthusiasm of the fans, encouraging them to make the journey on Saturday. There’s growing speculation indicating that Munster’s premier trip to Croke Park since May 2009 has amplified ticket-purchasing.
The reappearance of numerous Irish main players the preceding week, together with Snyman’s debut, drove up ticket sales for their maiden match post the legendary victory at the Durban second Test. Innovative narratives give a boost, as do six weeks of promoting the match. Impressively, a vast audience is anticipated to tune in via RTÉ. Given its progression since the days of Dooradoyle, it seems we’ve journeyed quite a substantial distance in a quarter-century.
By the digits: Leinster v Munster
Since their inaugural fixture in 1877, the two teams have locked horns 170 times. Leinster has triumphed in 109 of these encounters, Munster has emerged victorious 50 times, and 11 matches ended in a stand-off.
Since the Heineken Cup semi-finals in 2006, the last 40 matches (excluding the five lockdown-affected games) brought a staggering total of 1,355,200 spectators to the stands.
The crowd averaged 31,380 spectators across these 40 games.