Highlights of 2009: Ireland's Year at Last

There was no doubt that in the Northern Hemisphere, 2009 was Ireland’s year. For all the success that Warren Gatland and Eddie O’Sullivan had had during their tenures in charge of the national side, the Irish had no serious silverware to show for it. Meanwhile Leinster remained alongside Stade Francais as the biggest sides never to have won the Heineken Cup, despite years of close encounters, and the pain of watching their close rivals Munster lift the trophy twice in three years.

For both sides, captained by talismanic centre Brian O’Driscoll, the waiting was finally over. In a year when rugby was under attack for being boring and uninventive, Ireland and Leinster, with their stellar backlines, set out to play rugby, and even when they did not succeed, they still won. Best of all, both teams won their trophies in dramatic fashion, providing neutrals and die-hard fans with fantastic finales. The decider in the Six Nations came 61 years after the last Irish grand slam and 24 years after the last title, and remarkably, it was settled right at the death. Had the last-ditch penalty from Wales’ Stephen Jones not fallen inches short, it would have been another near miss for the Irish, and the “plucky losers” tag would have followed them around for 12 more months.

Ronan O'Gara's late drop-goal won the Six Nations and a grand slam for Ireland in Cardiff

Meanwhile, Leinster had spent much of the professional era with the image of Dublin city slickers, lacking the grit and determination of their rivals from Munster. But the luck of the draw offered O’Driscoll’s side a golden opportunity with a Heineken Cup semi-final against Munster. The event was an assault on the senses, with the blue of Leinster and the red of Munster filling the stands, the crowd cheering their support at volumes rarely heard in the domestic game. In one of the most memorable and atmospheric matches in the competition’s history, they finally produced the high-pressure result they needed, a cathartic win over their perennial rivals. Weeks later, in the final at Murrayfield, they overcame Leicester, and finally came out from the shadow of their neighbours.

Croke Park was a sea of colour, as Leinster and Munster contested their Heineken Cup semi-final.

Finally, with the disappointing result of the Lions tour still in everyone’s minds, the player returned home and regained some pride for a faltering Northern Hemisphere, drawing with a gritty Australian side, and earning a modicum of revenge for the Lions by beating the world champion South Africans at Croke Park.

With O’Driscoll cementing his place as one of world rugby’s great players and captains, Paul O’Connell being named captain of the British and Irish Lions, numerous team mates from the Irish scene making the Lions tour party, and bold new talents such as Jonathan Sexton emerging, this was a great year for Irish rugby, one that will live long in the memory for neutral fans around the world too. Whilst the game as a whole suffered in terms of quality this year, there was no lack of drama, and the Irish produced it in bucket loads.