Home help aids a near clean sweep

Fortress Thomond Park. It has been presented as an impregnable cauldron, an image sustained by the fact that no visiting team in a European Cup match has been permitted to leave with a victory. It is a cornerstone of Limerick pride that the aspirations of French, Welsh and English teams have been unfulfilled.

Tomorrow, aware of the magnitude of the task ahead, Biarritz will try to accomplish a feat that has eluded all others. History beckons just as it has done for over half a decade of European competition. It's true the province has tasted a home defeat, back in 1997, when Cardiff pilfered a victory - but that happened at Musgrave Park.

Lions and Welsh international scrumhalf Robert Howley was a member of the Cardiff team that day. "I remember we tried to play an expansive game, moving the ball around and trying to play at a high tempo. We were very lucky in the end. Munster had a few scrums near our line at the end of the game and we survived by the skin of our teeth.

"That victory is a source of great pride at the club and that is one of the highest compliments I can pay Munster." That aberration aside, Munster embrace a third successive European Cup quarter-final, secure in the knowledge that when the flesh is weak, 13,000 voices will persuade the players to break the pain barrier.

Ireland captain Keith Wood, Munster's hooker during last season's march to the European Cup Final and now back at Harlequins, offered this insight after Munster's epic 31-30 victory over Saracens at Thomond Park last year. "Days are rare in rugby when you get a ground full of absolutely manic supporters.

"It's different when you are on the opposition line and you're attacking, but when you're on your own line deep in doodoo, and suddenly there's 15,000 people shouting "Munster", Jesus, you get out of there pretty quickly. You've got somebody else pushing behind you. That's great."

It would be reasonable to expect that every home side receives a similar support at home but it is the passion and unequivocal devotion to their team that perhaps makes the Thomond Park masses distinctive: they're vocal and it's not just a case of singing when you're winning. If anything the atmosphere is even more intense when Munster are threatened.

One current international recalls: "Every time I went there (Thomond), you would be baited from the first minute until the final whistle. They wouldn't draw breath. Yet when I played there for Ireland A, these same supporters gave you incredible support. It was easy to understand why Munster are lifted playing there. And the next time I go back in a different jersey it will be business as usual."

The Thomond Park crowd represents something of a paradox. Hostile, passionate, charged with emotion and vocal, yet their old-world observation of place-kicks, accompanied by total silence, offers an eerie contrast. Nigel Wray, the owner of Saracens, was very taken by this particular aspect of sportsmanship.

"It was a wonderful crowd. Personally, I think we can learn an awful lot from the atmosphere. I thought the old fashioned courtesy afforded the kickers was wonderful. That's exactly what you want for a family game." This generosity of spirit had come from a man who had twice watched his side lose by a single point to Munster.

But do players find it an intimidating venue? The answer, according to the vox pop below, depends on a player's status. For the more experienced visitors, especially internationals, Thomond offers a tremendous atmosphere in which to play. Howley explains: "I wish games were played in atmospheres like that every week. It gives you a buzz and teaches you the value of mental strength.

"European matches are different from internationals in that the crowd is right on top of you in most grounds - you have to stand up to the intimidation." Newport and former Springbok captain Gary Teichmann develops the point: "Because of the proximity of the crowd you can hear the odd comment at a club ground whereas you wouldn't hear anything at an international." One player mentioned the cacophony of sound that assails you in the tunnel at Thomond Park. A player is struck first by the noise and because of the funnel effect of running from the dressingroom to the tunnel, he is greeted by a sea of faces. For the younger or less experienced visiting combatant, this can be slightly unnerving. When compounded by an error or two, Thomond Park can quickly become the loneliest place in Limerick. Arguably the most important factor that can be attributed to the Thomond Park influence is the effect it has on Munster. It's all very well being intimidating, hostile, noisy - so are many pubs at closing time. No, better the mental fillip that it provides the players, the galvanising influence that demands they draw deeper rather than disappoint the disciples. The Munster supporters give unconditionally and expect the same of their team. It is an irresistible cocktail, but one which Biarritz may find unpalatable.