in a ground twice when the opposition's captain has lifted the trophy. To be the one to go up there and pick up the silverware is a great feeling." Yachvili emphasised the importance of scoring quickly but acknowledged Biarritz did not put enough pressure onto Munster and did not do not enough in attacking, saying: "We always thought we could win – we lost by only four points so it was not so far away. But they were very organised and did not make any mistakes." Lièvremont felt the deciding moment of the final was Halstead's 17th-minute try for Munster, adding: "We saw Munster were getting more and more tired. If we could have forced them into committing errors at the end there was a chance we could have snatched it." Mary McAleese, the Irish president, conveyed a tribute to Munster during a visit of the United States. Stringer was named man of the match. L'Équipe insisted Munster defeating Biarritz would have given the losing club no shame and singled out both fans as providing inspiration during the match: "When their players were in trouble, their red army burst into their hymn, The Fields of Athenry. Munster were not on their own – they won with the help of their whole country." Le Parisien credited Munster's players for their side's victory and gave its analysis of the fixture: "The dream is over for Biarritz. The French club, who tried everything and pulled out all the stops, at the end of the match eventually lost the final at the hands of Munster, who were clearly fitter and more experienced than the Basques." Tim Glover of The Independent suggested it "would have been cruel had Munster and their magnificent supporters not taken possession of the Heineken Cup". Tom English of Scotland on Sunday asked "Can anybody with even a passing interest in the game be unaware of their struggle? Doubtful. Can anybody who witnessed it be unmoved by it? Not a chance." On the day after the final, the Munster team returned to Limerick to celebrate their achievement and were greeted by an estimated 40,000 supporters. A civic reception was held at Limerick City Hall that day. The ERC announced on 29 May that Biarritz had lodged a formal complaint with them over the television coverage of the final. It stated Sky Television broadcast live footage of the large crowd of Munster