Let me take you back to last August. It was before the European Rugby Cup (aka The Heineken Cup) 2008 had even begun. I noticed that tickets for the final were on sale and decided to buy a pair. They were expensive enough however I knew I would be able to sell them for a profit on ebay if Munster didn’t make the final. To be honest, I wasn’t that hopeful. They hadn’t done great the season before and they were in the toughest group by far with the likes of London Wasps, Clermont Auvergne and Llanelli Scarlets. But anyway, they came top of the grop and qualified for a very difficult away quarter final to Gloucester. But I now feel bad for ever doubting the boys in red because they went to Gloucester and put it to them, securing an emphatic semi-final meeting with Saracens.

However, although Saracens technically shouldn’t pose much of a threat to Munster, the match was again an away fixture and Munster were certainly put to the test. The Saracens put up a much bigger fight than Gloucester had and Munster found themselves furiously defending their line only two points ahead with 10 minutes to go. But it was then that Munster’s experience really showed. This was Munster’s 7th Semi-final in 9 years and Saracens’ first. Munster were able to hold out the full 80 minutes, putting them into their 4th Heineken Cup final.

Munster now meet Toulouse in the Millenium Stadium on Saturday 24th March to decide who will be the rugby champions of Europe for the 2007/08 season. My tickets arrived in the post last Monday and I’ve booked a flight to London Gatwick for the Friday evening before the match. I’ll spend the night with Aily and then the two of us are booked on a coach up to Cardiff on the Saturday morning. We’re also staying with Aily’s friend Jodie which saves us having to book into a 5-star hotel - the only accommodation left in Cardiff for that weekend!

The match should be epic with the two biggest teams in European rugby battling it out for the most coveted of rugby prizes. My tickets aren’t the best in the stadium but there will be big screens in the ground and I’m sure the atmosphere will more than make up for the lack of being close to the pitch. In any event, the Millenium Stadium’s roof can be opened or closed depending on the weather guaranteeing me a dry match. The tickets are in my pocket, my jersey has been ironed and I’ve been listening to ‘The fields of Athenry’ on my mp3 player non-stop. Bring it on!!!

On Sunday morning I awoke relatively early considering I’d been on the booze in Clare’s house the night before. I decided to play some Guitar Hero II which I haven’t done in a while and also went for the extreme version (playing through headphones). I was on a particularly good roll and managed to clock up 99% in ‘Can’t you hear me knocking?’ by The Rolling Stones. The pics below prove it and if it wasn’t for a random hand spasm during the first verse, I would have got 100%! Still, it’s something to work towards…

Here are some more pics of Old Gregg

If you have noticed this noticed you will notice that this notice is a notice not worth noticing. Therefore you should not have noticed this notice in the first place. If I ever notice you noticing this notice again, you will be noticed as an idiot. End of notice.

As Dan stated in a previous post, we’ve been playing Mario Kart on the wii a lot recently. Here’s a quick clip of me and Dan playing it and me taking it slightly too seriously.

Tomorrow the residents of gaffbhala plus Trish and Aily are going on a 3 night cruise on the Shannon. To celebrate, Trish very kindly made homemade pizzas for us all. I’m sure the rest of the lads will agree with me when I say they were AMAZING. Fair play Trish - thanks a billion! Here are some pics of our lovely dindins to make you all jealous!

The other night, Ailbhe, Eleanor and Emma came around for the craic. It was good to see the girls again and we played a few games the way we used to when we went down to the heath and stuff. One of the games we played was guesstures and anyone who has played this game before will know how crazy it can get! Here is a clip of Eleanor doing a round although I’m sure she won’t thank me for making it public

Today I was chairing a meeting at work. Where I work, it is customary for the chair of the meeting to provide cakes/biscuits/sweets. I decided to make chocolate truffles on Ali’s recommendation. Below are a couple of pics of me making them and then a pic of the end product. They were a great success but extremely filling and eating two in a row is a challenge. If anyone is interested in the recipe, click here.

Today we bought a football in Lifestyle Sports in Dun Laoghaire and went to the park around the corner to play red ass. We played for ages and finally, Ali conceded enough goals for us to try and red his ass. Here’s a short clip of Wig attempting to do so. He only gets his ankles but it’s still kinda funny! Enjoy…