At the heart of Ireland - pure Australia

Munster's magnificent march heads for Cardiff next week thanks to a potent mix of the best of two different worlds

How can you follow that? Munster, still walking on Tipperary water after their exploits in the Heineken Cup, are required to dip their anointed feet in the Celtic League on Saturday when they meet Neath in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Neath are not Gloucester, the Celtic is not the Heineken and the Millennium is not Thomond Park, but you can't have everything.

The one man not found wandering the bustling streets of Limerick in the early hours of last Sunday morning was Jim Williams, the Munster captain. "I was in bed by midnight,'' he said. "But I did have a drink the next day.''

As another legendary tale enters Irish folklore, Williams and his coach Alan Gaffney, a fellow Australian, have been attempting to explain the inexplicable. Munster have a proud record in Europe but they were humbled by Gloucester at Kingsholm last October and mauled by Perpignan in the south of France which effectively left them up the Shannon in Pool Two without a paddle or a prayer.

''There was a hell of a lot of confusion about the maths,'' Gaffney said. "I read three different versions of what was required. It didn't matter. First and foremost we had to win the game and concentrate on our own performance rather than worry about what Gloucester were going to do. Jim's leadership was superb. He didn't attempt to score try after try. It was a measured response and he knew what he was doing.''

While the wing, John Kelly, who scored two tries, was under the impression that Munster needed to win by only 20 points to qualify for the quarter-finals, Williams became aware on the stroke of half-time that the target of four tries and a winning margin of 27 points was attainable. "I knew Gloucester were under pressure,'' Williams said. "Our try just before the break meant we had to score two in the second half and that was a realistic goal. In the dressing room I told them to lift it up another notch and the guys were galvanised. They became more and more confident and the crowd had an electrifying effect. They pushed us that extra yard.''

That Williams is in southern Ireland rather than the south of Australia is down to Munster's astute recruitment, mixing home-grown produce with the odd exotic import. Before retiring, John Langford, the Australian lock who served the province well, recommended Williams, who joined in 2001. Earlier that year the No 8, who enjoyed Super 12 success with the ACT Brumbies, captained them in the memorable match against the Lions in Canberra. Capped 14 times by the Wallabies, his swansong for the Brumbies would have ended in victory but for a last-minute try by Austin Healey.

An army recruit from school, Williams, – christened Roy Wayne – was born in a small farming town called Young. He did not become a Young farmer but a plumber. A powerful wing, he played for clubs in Brisbane and Sydney, had a spell with West Hartlepool and represented New South Wales before joining the Brumbies in 1997 when he was converted to the back row.

The catalyst for the dramatic move was David Campese. Williams was on the wing for Warringah, Campese for Randwick. "I chased him all over the paddock and he made me look a complete fool,'' Williams said. "That was enough.''

Williams, who is 34, signed a two-year contract with Munster but he likes what he's seen and may stay for a few more years. "Everything in Australia is structured. There's a lot more scope in Ireland and maybe there'll be an opportunity to do some coaching.'' After Gloucester he need not worry. They'd probably be prepared to offer him the emerald from the Emerald Isle.

With Mick Galwey edging towards retirement, Williams, as captain, was asked to follow a very tough act. Last year he came on early in the second half of the Heineken Cup final against Leicester in Cardiff where a Healey try and Neil Back's larceny condemned Munster to a bitter defeat.

The two meet again, in the quarter- finals at Welford Road in April, but first the Celtic League climax. Last year Munster were beaten in the final at Lansdowne Road by Leinster, for whom Gaffney was then assistant coach. When Declan Kidney was promoted to the national cause, Gaffney was transplanted from Leinster to Munster. "We rate the Celtic League and it's something we very much want to win,'' Gaffney said. "After that the boys won't get together again until the first week in April.''

Neath have beaten Munster once and drawn with them but earlier in the season conceded four tries at the Gnoll. "We were slightly fortunate,'' Gaffney said. "It could have been a lot closer. Neath are a handy side with a strong pack. We're going to do a lot of homework.''

Under the latest restructure in Wales – the premier clubs merged into four regional franchises, a move that will be debated at an EGM next month – Neath could be making their last appearance at the Millennium Stadium as a professional club. Look on the all black strip with the white Maltese Cross and weep.

Munster neglected to send a fifth columnist to Welford Road last weekend when intelligence could have been gathered on both Leicester and Neath who met in the Heineken Cup. "We needed all hands on the deck against Gloucester,'' Gaffney explained. He belittled the discovery of Gloucester's game plan, a copy of which was found on the floor of his cab by a Limerick taxi driver and forwarded too Munster at their team hotel. "I saw the document 15 minutes before our final team talk,'' Gaffney said, "and I read it in a matter of seconds. It contained generalities of the kind that any coach would tell a player. Our players didn't know about it and I can honestly say it didn't mean anything to me.''

In any case Gloucester's genuflection was not the result of inside knowledge but the faith placed in Munster's pack, the same pack that had been pulped in Perpignan. "We'd worked on our set piece and took Gloucester on in the scrum and line-out,'' Gaffney said. "A lot of people thought we were crazy to do that. The Perpignan scrum defied belief and we lost more line-outs against them than we have all season.''

There was, of course, another factor in Munster's resurrection of Thomond Park, a ground which makes the Colosseum look like a kindergarten. "I've never experienced anything like it,'' Gaffney said. "It's a natural wonder. The dead silence for goalkickers doesn't happen anywhere else in the world.''

Ronan O'Gara, whose conversion of the last-minute try was crucial, said he didn't realise the importance of the kick. "Ronan's being criticised for losing his cool under pressure and maybe that was his way of dealing with it,'' Gaffney said. "I think he knew he had to kick that goal.''