toulouse v munster

waster81

hi im just wondering, i know sky, french tv have the tv rights to the heineken cup final this year. Seems as if sky sports is the only tv channel showing the final, does anyone know if french tv channels will be showing it?

marco_polo

waster81 wrote: »

hi im just wondering, i know sky, french tv have the tv rights to the heineken cup final this year. Seems as if sky sports is the only tv channel showing the final, does anyone know if french tv channels will be showing it?

Sky just hold the UK and Ireland TV exclusive rights. Canal + and France 2 show HEC games over there, not sure who gets the final though.

waster81

yeah just on the erc.rugby website they have sky sports as the only tv company showing the match, upuntil now they have shown all the tv compnys showing the matches. they had french tv showing the toulouse london irish match listed on their website but they have no mention of them showing the final, id say its pretty unlikely they wont be showing it on french tv particularly with toulouse in the final.

marco_polo

waster81 wrote: »

yeah just on the erc.rugby website they have sky sports as the only tv company showing the match, upuntil now they have shown all the tv compnys showing the matches. they had french tv showing the toulouse london irish match listed on their website but they have no mention of them showing the final, id say its pretty unlikely they wont be showing it on french tv particularly with toulouse in the final.

Definately will be on French TV somewhere, especially as Toulouse fans won't be able to get many tickets or places to stay for the game because we Munster fans had the foresight to block book the the entire city of Cardiff in January . The two channels seem to have some sort of joint agreement so perhaps they have not negotiated coverage of the final as of yet.

Zzippy

waster81 wrote: »

yeah just on the erc.rugby website they have sky sports as the only tv company showing the match, upuntil now they have shown all the tv compnys showing the matches. they had french tv showing the toulouse london irish match listed on their website but they have no mention of them showing the final, id say its pretty unlikely they wont be showing it on french tv particularly with toulouse in the final.

Quite possible the French tv channels were waiting to see if any French team would qualify for the final, if not they might not have shown it live, or the bidding would have been less intense. I'm sure ERC will do a deal with one or the other v soon...

CJhaughey

Zzippy wrote: »

Quite possible the French tv channels were waiting to see if any French team would qualify for the final, if not they might not have shown it live, or the bidding would have been less intense. I'm sure ERC will do a deal with one or the other v soon...

RTE had the 2006 Munster/Biarritz final, was there a different deal then?

zAbbo

CJhaughey wrote: »

RTE had the 2006 Munster/Biarritz final, was there a different deal then?

Yup, I think RTE had the rights to live games back then, now all they have is delayed coverage

toomevara

Sky have exclusive live coverage in the UK and Ireland. In France; 'France Televisions' get one game live on Saturday and Sundays and a highlights package. Canal+ get three live games on a match weekend.

RTE get delayed coverage of Munster/Leinster games...why? Didn't put enough money on the table this time round. We're unlikely to see live HC on RTE or BBC anytime in the near future. Too rich for RTE blood and the beeb are content with the 6N.

Oh and a little clarification on the thread title; it's Munster V Toulouse..(yes I am completely anal, and yes I do live in a plastic bubble fearing contact with the filth and corruption outside, but ferchrissakes it bleedin' annoys me...)

Killme00

marco_polo wrote: »

Definately will be on French TV somewhere, especially as Toulouse fans won't be able to get many tickets or places to stay for the game because we Munster fans had the foresight to block book the the entire city of Cardiff in January . The two channels seem to have some sort of joint agreement so perhaps they have not negotiated coverage of the final as of yet.

Its just a pity that alot of Munster fans stayed at home for the semi final, there were alot of empty spaces especially after Munster returned 3000 tickets of their allocation.

So called best fans in the world slowly becoming fair weather fans..what a shocker!!

:pac::pac::pac:

toomevara

Killme00 wrote: »

So called best fans in the world slowly becoming fair weather fans..what a shocker!!

*tumbleweed rolls lazily across blasted desert landscape blown by a dry, arid, almost disdainful breeze*

CJhaughey

No I think that what you will find is that Munster Fans are loyal and do not mind putting their hands in their pockets to support the team.
BUT when airlines and accomodation is jacked up to rediculous levels then people will say no. The economy is slowing so there is not the same money around as there was a year ago.
This does not make munster fans fairweather fans at all.
It shows that the choice of Coventry was a poor one as well.

toomevara

CJhaughey wrote: »

This does not make munster fans fairweather fans at all.
It shows that the choice of Coventry was a poor one as well.

The ERC were at fault on this one.. I couldn't believe Coventry was a venue for the semi's. No offence to any Coventry folk out there, but for travelling Munster support the location was a disaster...it's neither here not there and difficult to get in and out of on a one-day hop....

Aer Lingus and Ryanair, now wise to the endless expense and inconvenience Munster fans put up with precisely because they are the most committed and fanatical in the tournament, especially where away days are concerned, decided to indulge in a spot of highway robbery...for alot of people the expense and inconvenience was too great..There was also trouble on the trains out of London which caused alot of folk to miss the game...

The ERC are constantly handing Munster fans the equivalent of a military obstacle course to negotiate with away day fixtures....the real story is not that so many stay away but that so many go, despite the expense and inconvenience....Munster have the best travelling support of any club rugby team on the planet...I know that sticks in the craw of many but you just can't argue with the numbers!

Tim Robbins

CJhaughey wrote: »

No I think that what you will find is that Munster Fans are loyal and do not mind putting their hands in their pockets to support the team.
BUT when airlines and accomodation is jacked up to rediculous levels then people will say no. The economy is slowing so there is not the same money around as there was a year ago.
This does not make munster fans fairweather fans at all.
It shows that the choice of Coventry was a poor one as well.

There was a lot of empty seats in that stadium alright.

Podge_irl

toomevara wrote: »

The ERC are constantly handing Munster fans the equivalent of a military obstacle course to negotiate with away day fixtures....the real story is not that so many stay away but that so many go, despite the expense and inconvenience....Munster have the best travelling support of any club rugby team on the planet...I know that sticks in the craw of many but you just can't argue with the numbers!

The ERC don't pick the stadia for the semis. Its left up to the team drawn with a home semi, they have to pick a "neutral" stadium in their home country and the ERC merely ratify their choice. Sarries wanted the game there (for whatever reason).

toomevara

Podge_irl wrote: »

The ERC don't pick the stadia for the semis. Its left up to the team drawn with a home semi, they have to pick a "neutral" stadium in their home country and the ERC merely ratify their choice. Sarries wanted the game there (for whatever reason).

Thats interesting, don't know why the ERC would ratify such a patently unsuitable venue for a team who are known to have the largest travelling support in the competition....be interested to hear the rationale behind Sarries choice of the Ricoh...a bit bizzare...

Podge_irl

Because Munster were the away team and would effectively play where they were told. I'm reasonably sure consideration for away support doesn't come into it. No idea why Sarries chose Ricoh, a double header in Twickenham would have made more sense (though they may have been worried about playing in an empty Twickers if LI didn't also get through, or maybe Sky/French TV wanted the games on seperate days).

Perpignan weren't allowed play in Barcelona (or somewhere in Spain anyway) if they got through, so the ERC can disallow some stadium choices, but I think its fair game once its in your home country and has a capacity over 20,000.

Sangre

toomevara wrote: »

Thats interesting, don't know why the ERC would ratify such a patently unsuitable venue for a team who are known to have the largest travelling support in the competition....be interested to hear the rationale behind Sarries choice of the Ricoh...a bit bizzare...

well it was a 'home' draw. don't see what the away team have to do with it.

toomevara

Podge_irl wrote: »

Perpignan weren't allowed play in Barcelona (or somewhere in Spain anyway) if they got through, so the ERC can disallow some stadium choices, but I think its fair game once its in your home country and has a capacity over 20,000.

Sangre wrote:

well it was a 'home' draw. don't see what the away team have to do with it.

Indeed I would have to agree with both of you there...error of my ways (yet again) dutifully acknowledged, cheers fellas...

phog

Killme00 wrote: »

Its just a pity that alot of Munster fans stayed at home for the semi final, there were alot of empty spaces especially after Munster returned 3000 tickets of their allocation.

So called best fans in the world slowly becoming fair weather fans..what a shocker!!

:pac::pac::pac:

Source????????

phog

Podge_irl wrote: »

The ERC don't pick the stadia for the semis. Its left up to the team drawn with a home semi, they have to pick a "neutral" stadium in their home country and the ERC merely ratify their choice. Sarries wanted the game there (for whatever reason).

I heard Alan Gaffney on one of the radio programmes (possibly Limerick 95FM) on Saturday morning and I paraphrase him saying that the ERC asked them was the Ricoh Stadium suitable for them, they accepted it without knowing that Coventry had a home game on Saturday and that the two teams would have to toss a coin for the scheduling of the captains' run, if this was the case it would indicate to me that the ERC had a say in the stadium selection.

Podge_irl wrote: »

Because Munster were the away team and would effectively play where they were told. I'm reasonably sure consideration for away support doesn't come into it. No idea why Sarries chose Ricoh, a double header in Twickenham would have made more sense (though they may have been worried about playing in an empty Twickers if LI didn't also get through, or maybe Sky/French TV wanted the games on seperate days).

Perpignan weren't allowed play in Barcelona (or somewhere in Spain anyway) if they got through, so the ERC can disallow some stadium choices, but I think its fair game once its in your home country and has a capacity over 20,000.

IIRC, the ERC took the 2001 S/F was moved to Lille to supposedly help the travelling fans, Stade Francais wanted to pick another stadium.

marco_polo

Killme00 wrote: »

Its just a pity that alot of Munster fans stayed at home for the semi final, there were alot of empty spaces especially after Munster returned 3000 tickets of their allocation.

So called best fans in the world slowly becoming fair weather fans..what a shocker!!

:pac::pac::pac:

Tiresome dig, but I'll bite anway. :rolleyes: The offical attendance was just over 30000 a record attendance for the Rioch, at least (18-20000) of which were Munster fans. Pity the "Home" team didn't bring a few more along and it would have been a sellout.

Worrytahs

phog wrote: »

Source????????

Was in news during week preceding game (if ticket returns you're asking about)

phog

Worrytahs wrote: »

Was in news during week preceding game (if ticket returns you're asking about)

The ticket returns was certainly a news item but the quantity qouted in the post above is incorrect.

bleg

phog wrote: »

IIRC, the ERC took the 2001 S/F was moved to Lille to supposedly help the travelling fans, Stade Francais wanted to pick another stadium.

yea real convenient we only had to fly to london, get a train down to lille, go to a stadium where there was no big screen or even a game clock.

not contradicting you that erc might have had a say but it wasn't a big help

phog

bleg wrote: »

yea real convenient we only had to fly to london, get a train down to lille, go to a stadium where there was no big screen or even a game clock.

not contradicting you that erc might have had a say but it wasn't a big help

Bleg, that's why I used the word "supposedly". In those days big screens wouldn't have been that readily available in most grounds actually we didn't even have a TV Ref, it was John O'Neill's tryu that made the ERC decide that all future S/Fs would have a TV ref.

BTW, I drove through England and onto France via the Tunnel.

redmca

Back to the subject Toulouse v Munster

Kidney was VERY lucky to get out of the SF as i think he made 2 huge errors of judgement.

First, O'Leary played very erratically throughout (woeful box kicks, but some great runs) and was clearly not the man to close out the game in the last 15 minutes. I think Stringer is the master at marshalling a "shove it up your jersey" sort of game which is what was needed. He should have been brought on.

Second, Leamy almost lost the plot completely near the end and could have cost Munster the match. The ideal sub in that situation? Foley of course, but he was omitted from the 22. Amazing!! I would be surprised if he is missing from the 22 for the final.

Colm_OReilly

How do the ERC profit? Through TV rights or ticket sales? I ask because this could effect stadia choices?

it was John O'Neill's tryu that made the ERC decide that all future S/Fs would have a TV ref.

Anyone got a youtube vid? I don't know the history of video refs and rugby.

Thanks,
Col

juvenal

Munster will wear their navy strip for the Heineken Cup final against Toulouse on Saturday 24 May after it was decided by the toss of a coin.

However, Munster will be comforted by the fact that they will have the use of the same dressing room they used in 2006 when they beat Biarritz at the Millennium Stadium.

Also, it is unlikely that Munster will have any tickets on general sale for the final.

The province will receive a limited allocation of tickets and they will be distributed through the Munster Clubs and the Munster Rugby Supporters Club.

Over 50,000 tickets were sold out at the start of February. These tickets were available to purchase through the ERC and Ticketmaster since June 2007.

themont85

I'm very annoyed the finals not FTA. I've Sky and all, so its no bother to me but it should be available on RTE live. Obviousely Rte can't match Sky for money but the benefits of free television in the long term are great, look at the Champions League even in football the most commercially driven sport going in europe realises its importance for expanding the game beyond its normal audience. Its the French clubs and English ones(who messed up royally following their RWC win in 03 selling to Sky with the potential audience they ignored) who drive this short term gain for long term growth. Obviousely the game needs revenue as they're proffesional but the final should be at least be available on FTA.

dc69

themont85 wrote: »

I'm very annoyed the finals not FTA. I've Sky and all, so its no bother to me but it should be available on RTE live. Obviousely Rte can't match Sky for money but the benefits of free television in the long term are great, look at the Champions League even in football the most commercially driven sport going in europe realises its importance for expanding the game beyond its normal audience. Its the French clubs and English ones(who messed up royally following their RWC win in 03 selling to Sky with the potential audience they ignored) who drive this short term gain for long term growth. Obviousely the game needs revenue as they're proffesional but the final should be at least be available on FTA.

why should it be FTA?

Sky paid for it and rte were too cheap!
Lodge a complaint with RTE

Podge_irl

dc69 wrote: »

why should it be FTA?

Sky paid for it and rte were too cheap!
Lodge a complaint with RTE

Having no rugby bar the 6N (and some Magners depending on where you are) on FTA is bad for the sport. The ERC should have dictated that the final at least be on FTA, though I understand why its troublesome to do so.

Texas Red

toomevara wrote: »

*tumbleweed rolls lazily across blasted desert landscape blown by a dry, arid, almost disdainful breeze*

Sounds like you've seen my backyard ...

Armada

Killme00 wrote: »

Its just a pity that alot of Munster fans stayed at home for the semi final, there were alot of empty spaces especially after Munster returned 3000 tickets of their allocation.

So called best fans in the world slowly becoming fair weather fans..what a shocker!!

:pac::pac::pac:

I was told by the Munster shop in Limerick they had 300 tickets not sold which were being sent down to Cork, I don't know how many were not sold there.


Anyway, how is everyone getting there? Busing it myself, anyone come up with anything inventive? I read of a guy flying from Tanzania! Now thats going the extra mile (or 4565.7 miles to be precise!)

juvenal

Fourth year in a row to go to the final, camper van and ferry all the way!

Barry Murphy and Niall Ronan look like they'll be ruled out of the final both with thumb injuries;

rte.ie/sport wrote:

Munster include the Heineken Cup 22, with the exception of Barry Murphy, in their squad for the trip to Wales and the clash with Llanelli Scarlets on Saturday.

Also excluded from the extended squad that travelled to Coventry for the Heineken Cup semi final win over Saracens is Niall Ronan who like Murphy sustained a thumb injury in the game last night in Ravenhill.

It transpires that Murphy sustained a dislocated thumb that will rule him out of the 24 May final with a 4-6 week timescale been given before he can return to action.

Ronan's situation is worse in that he suffered a dislocation and a fracture (thumb) that rules him out for 6-8 weeksl while Keith Earls who was forced off the bench with a stomach complaint is recovering but is not included in the squad for Wales.

Worrytahs

Podge_irl wrote: »

Having no rugby bar the 6N (and some Magners depending on where you are) on FTA is bad for the sport. The ERC should have dictated that the final at least be on FTA, though I understand why its troublesome to do so.

Would you say that the ERC is suffering as a result of being broadcast on Sky?

ibuprofen

Not long now.... It'll be great to see asea of red in the Millenium stadium. I'm probably alittle bias but i'd say Munster by two

Worrytahs

ibuprofen wrote: »

Not long now.... It'll be great to see asea of red in the Millenium stadium. I'm probably alittle bias but i'd say Munster by two

Hopefully be a great final.
Best of luck to the Munster team and staff!

themont85

dc69 wrote: »

why should it be FTA?

Sky paid for it and rte were too cheap!
Lodge a complaint with RTE

Its easy for us not to mind paying for Sky for the huge amount of rugby they show. We're already into the game but for people who don't go to rugby schools/have a tradition in rugby, the final being FTA is the best way of attracting them.

I'm not complaining about RTE being cheap or Sky. Commercially for RTE its too expensive in the face of sky. But the ERC much like UEFA do should have the forsight to see that a portion of FTA is good for the sport and their brand in the long term.

dc69

themont85 wrote: »

Its easy for us not to mind paying for Sky for the huge amount of rugby they show. We're already into the game but for people who don't go to rugby schools/have a tradition in rugby, the final being FTA is the best way of attracting them.

I'm not complaining about RTE being cheap or Sky. Commercially for RTE its too expensive in the face of sky. But the ERC much like UEFA do should have the forsight to see that a portion of FTA is good for the sport and their brand in the long term.

What happened was that RTE were too cheap to pay for it.If someone has a problem with that either lodge a complaint with rte.or refuse to pay the licence fee and use it to pay for sky.I would do the latter.

I agree it should be available on more channels.

Diamondmaker

dc69 wrote: »

What happened was that RTE were too cheap to pay for it.If someone has a problem with that either lodge a complaint with rte.or refuse to pay the licence fee and use it to pay for sky.I would do the latter.

Unfotunately you cannot excercise that "right", you are obliged to pay the fee even if you dont have or watch RTE. Not to say you cant do it though........;)

Worrytahs

themont85 wrote: »

Commercially for RTE its too expensive in the face of sky

RTE enjoy the luxury of not only receiving licence fee revenue but the ability to broadcast commercially too.

thehighground

Worrytahs wrote: »

RTE enjoy the luxury of not only receiving licence fee revenue but the ability to broadcast commercially too.

Far be it from me to defend RTE, but I'd say that Sky have a hell of a lot more cash than RTE does. (Didn't the IFA in NI sell their rights to Sky and the mighty BBC couldn't compete with Sky for cash). It also probably suited the ERC to sell off the rights to one company that covers the UK & Ireland rather than to have to divvy it out between the BBC, RTE, etc. etc.

Interesting that no one is critical of TV3 I see, who have no rugby coverage whatsoever (which is good, if the RWC coverage is anything to go by!).

PS - Fair play to the FAI who are trying to screen the HCup final prior to the Ireland friendly in Croke Park. They even intend delaying the soccer kick-off to facilitate the rugby. What with Traps first game, HCup final, should be a great atmosphere in Croke Park.

themont85

Worrytahs wrote: »

RTE enjoy the luxury of not only receiving licence fee revenue but the ability to broadcast commercially too.

dc69 wrote: »

What happened was that RTE were too cheap to pay for it.If someone has a problem with that either lodge a complaint with rte.or refuse to pay the licence fee and use it to pay for sky.I would do the latter..

Both irrelevant to my argument. Yes RTE have the licence fee but what does Sky have, massive subscription fees. Then you have the fact that Sky can buy what they want. Most of their content is already produced in the US or whatever whilst RTE have to produce a lot of home based programming which may not be economical but they have to make these shows under law, Sky can do what they want. There will always be moaners about the licence fee, its the same with the BBC. People who bitch about Fair City but on the same token then you have people bitching about to much sport on RTE, 'wasting licence fee payers money' is the usual thing spouted by people. RTE has a resonsibility to be 1)balanced in content 2)make good commercial decisions and 3) be a public sevice broadcaster. Sky don't and thus can pump money into sports which they get a return on through subs. In short Sky have a lot more money than an RTE/BBC type of station for sports.

You know the way RTE/ITV show the Champions League, the major reason they have that is so there is FTA broadcasting of football. If tomorrow UEFA decided against this I gurantee Sky/Setanta would mope up all the rights. They won't do this because they aren't stupid. They know that its good for the sport and brand to have this is the long term not for short term gain. Now look at rugby no where near soccer in supporters and yet they much like cricket in England went for the quick buck to satisfy the greedy clubs in the short run for the detriment of the game in the long run. Of course proffesional sports need huge investment but just look at the Champions League for an example as how to balance financial need with whats good for the sport.

dc69

themont85 wrote: »

You know the way RTE/ITV show the Champions League, the major reason they have that is so there is FTA broadcasting of football. If tomorrow UEFA decided against this I gurantee Sky/Setanta would mope up all the rights. They won't do this because they aren't stupid

mate,you are talking rubbish.The champions league is not FTA it costs absolute millions and RTE,ITV and SKY all pay big bucks for it.In fact SKY only this year payed 240 million for 3 years and thats not even for the main games which ITV have in the uk market.

It comes down to the simple matter that RTE would not pay for them.Their are specific broadcasting rights which doesnt allow companies like SKY to buy all the rights for a domestic market.By outpricing competitors.

If RTE bothered they could have gotten the rights to all the heineken cup games involving Irish clubs,without getting into a bidding war with sky as sky are english and the rights are different for every country.

I fully expect by 2010,Setanta will bid for the rights to show the heineken cup in Ireland.Setanta Ireland will show every game involving Irish clubs.RTE could do this but they are too incompetent.

Podge_irl

dc69 wrote: »

mate,you are talking rubbish.The champions league is not FTA it costs absolute millions and RTE,ITV and SKY all pay big bucks for it.In fact SKY only this year payed 240 million for 3 years and thats not even for the main games which ITV have in the uk market.

FTA means free to watch, not free for the provider to show it. By mandating that something is FTA (as was done for the WC) it just means that the bidding will only be between broadcasters on a reasonably equal footing.

I fully expect by 2010,Setanta will bid for the rights to show the heineken cup in Ireland.Setanta Ireland will show every game involving Irish clubs.RTE could do this but they are too incompetent.

RTÉ's funds are significantly more spread out then Setanta's and they have to concentrate on appealing to a much larger market. That said, they probably could have made a better bid for the HEC games, and for a fraction of the price they pay for Premiership and CL rights.

themont85

dc69 wrote: »

mate,you are talking rubbish.The champions league is not FTA it costs absolute millions and RTE,ITV and SKY all pay big bucks for it.In fact SKY only this year payed 240 million for 3 years and thats not even for the main games which ITV have in the uk market.

It comes down to the simple matter that RTE would not pay for them.Their are specific broadcasting rights which doesnt allow companies like SKY to buy all the rights for a domestic market.By outpricing competitors.

If RTE bothered they could have gotten the rights to all the heineken cup games involving Irish clubs,without getting into a bidding war with sky as sky are english and the rights are different for every country.

I fully expect by 2010,Setanta will bid for the rights to show the heineken cup in Ireland.Setanta Ireland will show every game involving Irish clubs.RTE could do this but they are too incompetent.

Yes of course they pay millions for it but thats because they are in competition with other FTA stations for rights such as TV3 with RTE. This year ITV were battling with the BBC for the Uks FTA slot. UEFA designate that there must be some FTA broadcasting of its competition, so ITV take a live Tuesday game, next year Wednesday and Sky take the rest. Sky would completely destroy ITV/BBC in a bid if they could, like they do with the Premiership. Put simply FTA broadcasters cannot compete in the open market with the likes of Sky/Setanta. Its not because RTE are lazy or 'incompetent', they can't compete with their funding. Its up to the Government through the listing of games and intelligant groups like UEFA to ensure that there is some FTA available.

All of this is irrelevant to my argument. The ERC should have ensured that atleast the final was available to all live. Sure it would knock a million or whatever from sky, but the benefits are long term.

dc69

themont85 wrote: »

All of this is irrelevant to my argument. The ERC should have ensured that atleast the final was available to all live. Sure it would knock a million or whatever from sky, but the benefits are long term.

I agree with that.Although the main factor to me agreeing is that I feel sky dont give a balanced view and are clearly pro English,when they have a big responsibility not to be.

Maybe next year or after RTE may make a bid,also I dont think the money required would be that big at all.

Podge_irl

dc69 wrote: »

I agree with that.Although the main factor to me agreeing is that I feel sky dont give a balanced view and are clearly pro English,when they have a big responsibility not to be.

While I wouldn't have a major problem with this if it were true, as the majority of their audience is English, I don't think it is. Sky have a love affair with Munster and are awfully complimentary about Leinster a lot of the time as well.

Crash

The sky commentators tend to go for the underdog in most HC games that i've watched, provided they put up a decent fight in the first ten minutes. If you want biased, you should have been listening to the BBC sports coverage of LI vs. Toulouse, one of the commentators was apparently wearing a LI jersey in the box and obviously a big fan

anyway, at times I much prefer a bit of biased commentary, keeps it interesting.

waster81

hi i think france 2 might have the rights for the match , france 4 seem to be broadcasting the challenge cup final, an option if u dont have s*y.

Diamondmaker

Podge_irl wrote: »

While I wouldn't have a major problem with this if it were true, as the majority of their audience is English, I don't think it is. Sky have a love affair with Munster and are awfully complimentary about Leinster a lot of the time as well.

true:

when Leinster were at the peak of their ultimately unsuccesful out and out cgampagne rugby SS lved them and always raved about them, they too seem o have a soft spot for wee red faced Rog and Munster too.