Casey Laulala of Munster during the Heineken Cup Quarter Final match between Munster and Toulous. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealanders were front and centre of European rugby action last weekend in the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
In the Heineken Cup, the big winners were Irish province Munster, their Kiwi coach Rob Penney, and former All Blacks centre Casey Laulala.
Two-time champions Munster crushed European powerhouses
Toulouse 47-23 at Thomond Park to keep Penney in the hunt for the silverware. The former Canterbury coach was fulsome in his praise of his charges. Laulala, who played under Penney at Canterbury, showed he has not lost the knack of scoring tries in big matches with a five-pointer. He scored the sole try of the 2006 fog-bound Super Rugby final in Christchurch.
Toulouse's former All Blacks Luke McAlister and Hosea Gear were among the points but were in a well-beaten team, Gear scoring a consolation try, while McAlister, who has been injured for much of the season, slotted three penalty goals. The pair will now have to content themselves with hauling Toulouse into the French Top 14 playoffs, the club currently lying on the cusp.
Munster have booked a potentially mouth-watering semifinal showdown with defending champions Toulon, the tie to be played in Marseille on April 27. Toulon included tighthead prop Carl Hayman in the 29-14 victory over Leinster, but missing were former All Blacks Ali Williams, Chris Masoe and Rudi Wulf. The match marked the final act in Brian O'Driscoll's European Cup rugby career, while Toulon No 10 Jonny Wilkinson limped off with a leg injury and may have played his last game at Toulon's fabled home stadium of Mayol.
