Munster's Kidney looking to sign-off in style

By Patrick Johnston

LONDON (Reuters) - Munster fans may have an uneasy sense of deja vu before Saturday's Heineken Cup final against Toulouse in Cardiff (5 p.m.), remembering the last time Declan Kidney bowed out as their coach in the Welsh capital.

Munster lost 15-9 to Leicester in the 2002 final at the Millennium Stadium with Kidney leaving to take up an assistant coach role with Ireland. Six years later he will depart again, this time to take full charge of the national side.

Despite a fearsome display by their Irish forwards in the 2002 final, a lack of creativity and a famed display of gamesmanship from Neil Back proved their undoing.

They returned to Cardiff in 2006 to beat Biarritz with another forward-dominated performance, however this season they have earned praise for their backline.

The Irish side have developed a clinical running game since bringing in All Black record try scorer Doug Howlett and the fellow Kiwi centre pairing of Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi.

Seventeen tries from eight hard-fought games against pool opponents Llanelli, Clermont Auvergne and defending champions Wasps as well as Gloucester and Saracens in the knockout stages make Munster favourites to claim a second Heineken triumph, a tag that did not sit well with Kidney.

"When you can do what Toulouse did to the London Irish lineout in the semi-final, you see what a special side they are," the coach told Irish media this week.

"Like most French scrums they can be very dominant. They up the pace of the game at stages and most sides find that very difficult to live with. They get that 20 minute patch in both halves when they go up to fifth gear and can do serious damage to you."