Now the currency has changed and the matches of real value can now be experienced in the Heineken Cup.

This is where it's at. Yesterday was a great occasion. For anybody who was here to experience it, they will never forget it and they had a sporting contest commensurate with the occasion itself.

It was a pretty good match.

Highly entertaining, nervejangling, and the result in doubt until the very final whistle.

They say a closed mouth gathers no foot. I had plumped for Biarritz in the lead-up to this game, one of the few who had gone with the Frenchmen. I didn't back my predictions with money, so from that perspective I'm happy. My questions were answered on the day by a Munster side that did not lack in confidence but were still a little bit below par.

How to define par? One must take into cognisance that some of Munster's players just weren't fully fit and did not have the requisite match sharpness required to over-perform in this sort of situation.

O'Connell had a super game but you must bear in mind that it's not the O'Connell we've seen over the last two or three months. You knew that once he hadn't used himself at line-out time for the first 20 minutes that he was just trying to get through the game and impact on it in other ways. He gradually made his full contribution at line-out time and even managed to power through with a couple of his trademark runs before being replaced with about 12 to go.

It's very hard to ignore the intoxicating effect that the crowd had on proceedings.

It belied the fact that Munster had work to do and the sea of emotion wasn't going to deliver the silverware. This French side had turned up to play and gave Munster a serious examination in all departments on the field.

This final took me by surprise in the sense that both teams were actually prepared to play football and did so by spreading the ball in most cases where a more cautionary stratagem would have dictated the ball be put to flight. Both teams managed to kick very effectively and they executed most of their kicking with good precision, but once again, Munster had the upper hand in this department and more often than not they patiently won most games of ping pong. You sensed, though, that in the second half particularly Biarritz were in the ascendancy and O'Gara kicked ball away very cheaply in a bad 15minute spell.

It is quite easy to interpret body language, particularly that of French teams who are in disarray and when things go against them, the rhetoric of failure exudes from their every gesture. The shrug of the shoulders, the arms outstretched with a plaintive gesture, the yapping. These are all times that French teams are on the wane. At no stage did this Biarritz team display any of those characteristics.

They turned up, they fronted up to the challenge and they performed aggressively and professionally on the day, and when they were 10 points down and under the kosh they showed uncharacteristic resilience and determination on the back foot.

Their pack were grizzled and aggressive in everything they did. They gave away a few cheap line-out balls at inappropriate times but their maul was very proficient.

Their scrum was rock solid and they managed to turn Munster on a number of occasions and their halves Dimitri Yachvili and Julien Peyrelongue performed creditably with any ball that came their way. In a game of this magnitude with the margins so slight, it was the little things that made the difference.

Munster hit bodies at the breakdown with a little bit more venom than Biarritz.

They covered and closed down space with a little bit more enthusiasm and intensity and they regrouped and looked far more controlled, much quicker, when they got into trouble. Whichever way you look at it, Munster were the better team on the day and with two tries to one, they deserved their victory.

But in the 79th minute, with the crowd prematurely chanting 'Ole Ole Ole', Brusque made a spectacular incision into the line and only a despairing tackle disrupted his thoughts as he was about to unload to a supporting Biarritz runner coming back inside which would have given them the game.

They say a good team makes its own luck. Munster got most bounces of the ball and the penalty count seemed to be heavily in their favour.

But the first try of the match was most definitely a call that went against them. Bobo's left foot was definitely in touch.

There was no question about that. And I was amazed that there wasn't a television replay.

They can always cite rules and regulations but it was not a try.

The decisive moment in the match came in the 32nd minute. Stringer's try was a mesmeric cocktail of bluff and double-bluff.

Whether the moment was hatched in the video room or whether Stringer bootlegged it, it was a golden moment. A little bit like Matt Dawson's winning try in the first test for the Lions against the Springboks.

Did Biarritz second-guess Stringer to the point that they would concede what was to me quite a large blindside (seven yards)? Did Stringer spot that Bobo had headed infield to counter a suspected Munster open-side salvo?

Either way, it was an astonishing strategic omission.

Stringer, as he has done in the past at vital moments, confounded the people who say he doesn't have a break, and scored the most important try of his life. Munster, in their own inimitable fashion, fulfilled their destiny and are deserved European champions.

PLAYER RATINGS By Ewan MacKenna

MUNSTER SHAUN PAYNE RATING: 8 The occasional mistake but when it mattered he stood up, shipped the tackles and got the ball to safety. Not long into the second half he dealt with a bobbling ball superbly, found a way through a veil of white and kicked clear. It surmised the safety he provided to those around him.

ANTHONY HORGAN RATING: 7 Defended tirelessly, rummaged for as many yards as his body allowed.

Played like a forward in the second half when his pack were showing signs of tiredness which was key to not giving up valuable ground.

JOHN KELLY RATING: 7 How he got it out of his head, we're not quite sure. Just minutes on the clock and it was his missed tackle that eventually allowed Sireli Bobo to get over. But what a recovery. Cut inside during the "rst half when there appeared to be an endless line of red outside. But one bad decision can't ruin a solid afternoon's work.

Got more ball than he will have expected and didn't do much wrong.

TREVOR HALSTEAD RATING: 9 We've said it all season, but if anyone has a mate in the passport of"ce, would they mind dropping them a line. The South African rolled out of a tackle to set Munster on their way but that was the very tip. Some great breaks and some superb of"oads.

The statue will be erected in Limerick at 7.30 on Tuesday.

IAN DOWLING RATING: 6 Was seen rolling out of the occasional maul. Was prepared to do the dirty stuff. Linked the ball well with those outside without every taking on the break opportunities.

RONAN O'GARA RATING: 8 It wasn't the out-half we know. Mixed the good and the bad but not like he normally does. There was the inconsistency when kicking out of the hand but, on this day, nobody can complain about that. Looked lively, got back quickly when Biarritz kicked long, tackled, threw "at passes as Munster probed. And then there were the points that won it.

PETER STRINGER RATING: 10 That was him. Honestly. Looking around at the back of the scrum.

Seeing that Serge Betson wasn't interested. Running. Scoring.

Seriously, Peter Stringer. What a time to silence those who whined about his lack of breaks. And then there were the tackles. Sure, we've seen him throwing it around in the past, but anything that moved was aken down. The statue will be erected in Cork at 8.30 on Tuesday.

MARCUS HORAN RATING: 7 Was at fault at a scrum early on that resulted in three Biarritz points, but like Kelly, got it out of his head.

JERRY FLANNERY RATING: 7 Started poorly. The line out for the "rst time this season creaked. At that stage we wondered. Flannery wondered too, as the ball didn't go where it was supposed to. Changed that as the game progressed and held the scrum together well.

JOHN HAYES RATING: 8 Hit the scrum square and hard, the platform that allowed Stringer to do the unthinkable. Threw in the occasional big hit that knocked his opponents back when they threatened a revival.

DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN RATING: 8 Quiet in open play. Rescued the lineout on more than one occasion though and was responsible for timely interceptions.

PAUL O'CONNELL RATING: 8 The irresistible force met an almost immovable object. So much work meant he came off early. Possibly shouldn't have pulled the roof closed with his teeth before kick off.

DENIS LEAMY RATING: 8 Incredible strength shown as each time he hit the tackle. He gained those inches and it was those inches that made Munster champions of Europe.

ANTHONY FOLEY RATING: 7 His usual self. Tireless.

DAVID WALLACE RATING: 8 Carried an amazing amount of ball.

At times it looked like he was passing to himself before making yards.

SUBS Federico Pucciariello 6 Mick O'Driscoll and Alan Quinlan not on long enough to be rated.

BIARRITZ Nicolas Brusque 6 Jean-Baptiste Gobelet 5 Phillipe Bidabe 6 Damien Traille 8 Julien Peyrelongue 5 Dimitri Yachvili 9 Petru Balan 7 Benoit August 7 Census Johnson 6 Jermoe Thion 8 David Couzinet 7 Serge Betson 5 Imanol Harinordoquy 7 Thomas Lievremont 7

SUBS Olivier Olibeau 6 Thierry Dusautoir 6 Frederico Martin Arramburu 7 Benoit Lecouls and Benjamin Noirot not on long enough to be rated