» During the 14 seasons of the professional game Munster have played Leinster 25 times: winning 15 games, losing eight with two matches drawn; all told, a 68 per cent success story for the southern province.

» In 13 visits to Dublin to engage Leinster during the professional era, Munster have won seven times and drawn once, playing at three different venues. Next Saturday, Croke Park is the venue for the first time.

» Munster have played 101 European/Heineken Cup games, reached four finals (won two), seven semi-finals (won four) and 11 quarter-finals (won eight).

» Leinster have played 88 European/Heineken Cup games, reached six quarter-finals (won three) and three semi-finals (lost all three).

» In the pro era, the biggest Leinster margin of victory over Munster has been 12 points – the 35-23 Celtic League win at the RDS in December 2005.

» Munster have twice recorded a 24-point victory over Leinster, a 33-9 win in the Celtic League at Musgrave Park in October 2005 and a 30-6 win in the Heineken Cup semi-final at Lansdowne Road in April 2006.

» Current head coaches in recent Munster v Leinster clashes: Tony McGahan Played 2, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 0; Michael Cheika Played 9, Won 4, Drawn 0, Lost 5.

» As a captain in Munster v Leinster clashes: Paul O'Connell Played 4, Won 3, Drawn 0, Lost 1; Leo Cullen Played 4, Won 2, Drawn 0, Lost 2.

»In their last three Heineken Cup games this season, Munster have scored 119 points including 15 tries while Leinster have totalled 30 points and no tries.

» Leinster should be grateful that they were not allocated the Sunday semi-final this season as they have come second on all four recent occasions that they played Munster on the Sabbath.

» Ronan O' Gara, John Hayes and Donncha O'Callaghan have played for Munster in all seven previous Heineken Cup semi-finals while Peter Stringer, Anthony Horgan and Anthony Foley have played in six.

» Three current Leinster squaddies – Girvan Dempsey, Gordon D'arcy and Malcolm O'Kelly – played in the 2003 and 2006 semi-finals.

» Eleven Munster players ( plus Shaun Payne ) have made 50 or more appearances in the Heineken Cup; Anthony Foley and John Hayes have both played 86 times, Ronal O'Gara 82 and Peter Stringer 79.

» Nine Leinster players (plus Eric Miller, Trevor Brennan and Leo Cullen) have made 50 or more appearances in the Heineken Cup. Shane Horgan has played 68 times, Malcolm O'Kelly 67, Girvan Dempsey 64 and Reggie Corrigan 61.

» Munster's Ronan O'Gara is the top points scorer in Heineken Cup history. To date, he has accumulated 1034 pts. (8 tries, 143 conversions, 223 penalties, 13 drop-goals . Felipe Contepomi has amassed 418 pts, 345 ( 14 tries, 49 conversions, 57 penalties, 2 drop-goals ) with Leinster and 73 in the colours of Bristol.

» Leinster's Shane Horgan and Brian O'Driscoll have both scored 24 Heineken Cup tries, one
short of membership of the Elite 25 Club, while Gordon D'Arcy has
notched 19. For the opposition, Anthony Foley (now retired) leads the Munster list with 22 touchdowns, followed by Anthony Horgan on 14, Alan Quinlan with 13 and David Wallace with 12.