Amid a packed sporting weekend, Munster's victory stood out on Saturday.
That game was Donnacha Ryan's final appearance at Thomond Park, and there wasn't a dry eye in any Munster house as he was given his goodbye. A controversial move to Racing 92 follows next season.
Pitchside for the match was Alan Quinlan, a former teammate of Ryan's.
He picked a moment which summed up the lock in today's Irish Independent. We'll set the scene.
Munster are looking to secure a home quarter-final in the 2010 Heineken Cup. Eternal nice guy Dylan Hartley leads his Northampton Saints into a freezing January night in Thomond Park, knowing that a win will lift them above the home side and secure a home quarter-final.
An hour in, and it's a tense affair. Quinlan will do the rest.
If there is one moment that sums up Donnacha's passion for Munster, it was during the 2010 Heineken Cup pool game against Northampton.
We were 9-6 up with 20 minutes left when Paulie was sent to the bin and Northampton had a penalty. They chose to take a scrum.
He told us there was no fucking way they were going to drive us back. This was from a man who normally wasn't the most vocal, it had a huge impact.
We pushed them off and won the penalty.
You can see the incident that Quinlan's referring to below.
It's an astonishing effort, and at such a crucial time.
166 caps across as thirteen-year career in red. He will be sorely missed next season.
You can read Quinlan's full column in today's
