ESCAMILLO the great Toreador was singing ‘Stand Up And Fight’ at the University Concert Hall last Tuesday in the opera Carmen.

Federico Pucciariello and a few of the Munster rugby players were in the audience.

Freddie is a great opera lover and his favorite singer is Spanish tenor Placidio Domingo.

TITANIC EFFORT: Federico Quaglia, Garryowen RFC, pushing through the Dolphin backs in Dooradoyle last Saturday. Garryowen went on to win the match, but only thanks to a last-gasp penalty. Picture: Keith Wiseman

Former Munster and Ireland manager Brian O’Brien sang ‘Stand Up And Fight’ in the Europa Hotel in Belfast following a great Munster win over Ulster seven years ago. The Claw, Gallimh and Woody were playing then, and Declan Kidney got the words of the song for the team.

The present Munster team still sing the song in the team dressing room after Heineken Cup wins.

They may not have sung it last Saturday night at the Ricoh Stadium in Coventry, following their narrow defeat to Wasps, but they did stand up and fight on the pitch.

This was vintage Munster… backs to the wall, with Paul O’Connell on the injured list, they shook off the memories of a horrendous World Cup and the defeats to Leicester and Llanelli last season.

The game could have gone either way and was acknowledged by all the critics as the best Heineken Cup game of the weekend.
Ronan O’Gara was back to his best, with two vintage pieces of pure magic worth recalling. The quick, hard, flat pass to Lifeimi Mafi, which set up Rua Tipoki’s try, and the grubber kick which bounced up into the hands of Shaun Payne for his try. Munster’s ace grubber kicker Barry McGann would have been proud of that one.

Man of the match Alan Quinlan had his best game for some time in a Munster jersey and Tony Buckley, who came on for the injured John Hayes had a fine match.

Tony is already being ear marked to take over the number three jersey from John Hayes when the great man hangs up his boots and I know that the two men are good friends.