Tony Ward salutes Michael Cheika's achievement in guiding Leinster to their latest win over Munster in The Irish Independent.
"Hands up those who saw this one coming -- but count me out. Back in October, an astonishing 30 points separated the teams at the death; last Friday, the difference was just a single point.
"But, trust me, for Munster this latest defeat -- the third on the bounce to their great rivals -- was even more crushing than that suffered at the RDS. And, for Leinster to win at Thomond Park in such a manner would have been even more satisfying than that Dublin 4 romp.
"For Michael Cheika and Leinster, this was a massive achievement. The challenge now, and it is significant, is to bring everyone involved back to reality and focus on what lies ahead at the RDS on Friday.In contrast to Leinster, Clermont Auvergne were poor in defeat to Stade Francais in Paris last Saturday. Collective confidence added to home comfort ought to put the reigning Heineken Cup champions clearly in pole position, but rugby doesn't work like that."
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