Heights of Heineken Cup reached by Irish teams was unthinkable at the start
Irish rugby was all at sea when the move was made from an amateur game to professionalism but the new European competition captured hearts and minds
IN SOME ways, there's the temptation to think it's the same then as it is now.
When the very first European Cup in rugby kicked off nearly three decades ago, Dublin were the All-Ireland football champions and Clare had taken the hurling crown.
Nearly, two decades on, Clare are on top of the hurling world. Dublin didn't make it this year, but we all know how many titles they've hoovered up in recent years.
Back in 1995, though, when the Heineken Cup took its first tentative steps, nobody knew what was coming down the tracks.
Back then, rugby was going through the painful transition from an amateur sport to a professional one.
And there was little sign that the Irish provinces were capable of surfing the new wave.
Mick Galwey often tells the story of Munster's trip to Toulouse - the first European champions - in 1996.
Without breaking sweat, the French side put 60 points on the board.
Galwey was captain and figured he needed to hammer out a few home truths to his players at that stage.
“I was about to abuse them when I saw a couple of the lads half smiling, almost laughing,’’ recalled Galwey.
“I just gathered them in and said. ‘look, boys, we’re out of our depth here. I’ll just pretend to give out to you for the sake of it and then we can go home’. We’d no business being there in the first place.’’
Leinster were far from a powerhouse either. Between 1996 and 1998, they played Leicester three times, losing all three - and by a combined total of 49 points.
The 'crowd' at Donnybrook was numbered in the hundreds rather than the thousands.
These days, 'Welcome To The Jungle' by Guns 'n' Roses often blares out over the RDS PA to welcome Leinster on to the field and to remind opponents that they're entering a bear-pit.
If Leinster had used that tune as their introduction back in the day, they'd have been laughed at.
Leinster have been moving games to the Aviva - and filling it - for quite a while now. Last year, they sold out Croke Park twice.
It was all unthinkable back in the 1990s. Ulster did manage to buck the trend of under-performing Irish provinces by winning the competition in 1999 - a year in which French clubs didn’t compete.
And Cardiff and Swansea also pulled out because of a dispute with the WRU.
Slowly, painfully and gradually, the Irish provinces got their act together, and started to make rapid progress.
Munster's adventures, in particular, captured the imagination of sports fans all over the country.
When thousands started following them everywhere from Wales to England to France, we began to realise that something seismic was happening.
Leinster fans fly the colours all over Europe in support of their team PIC: Inpho
Remember, for years, the only live televised rugby games were the four Five Nations games against England, Scotland, France and Wales.
Then the Rugby World Cup came into being, which exposed us to the likes of New Zealand and South Africa.
But it was only when the Heineken Cup hit its stride, that live rugby on television became a staple.
What helped it capture the imagination of so many in Ireland was the timing.
The GAA used to play three League games - in football and hurling - before Christmas, but abandoned that practise at the start of the noughties, instead opting to start the competition in February.
So, from the All-Ireland football final on, there were four months where there was virtually no inter-county games.
That void was filled for many by following the exploits of the rugby provinces.
Back in 1995, Dublin - as reigning All-Ireland champions - would have laughed off any threat from rugby.
But it's clear now that they see Leinster as a threat, judging from this passage from their 'Blue Wave' strategy document released in 2011.
"The Blue Jersey is an unique, inclusive brand, uniting Dublin's dense expanse, blurring the difference in class and possession which became so pointedly manifest during the delusional days of the Celtic Tiger.
"It is an extraordinarily effective promotional tool, enshrined in the anthem of the county's often maligned but fiercely loyal supporters.
"We can't copyright a colour but the subliminal exploitation of Dublin's unique sporting hue by our competitors has not gone unnoticed."
Leinster weren't mentioned by name but it's clear that the Dubs felt their 'Blue Jersey' brand was being usurped.
There are all sorts of little breakthroughs being made.
A couple of weeks after the dramatic win over Wales sealed the 2009 Grand Slam for Ireland, the Ulster rugby squad and then coach Matt Williams visited Letterkenny Rugby Club.
They oversaw a coaching session involving kids from rugby clubs in Letterkenny, Donegal Town, Sheephaven Bay, Ballyshannon and Inishowen.
Stephen Ferris, in particular, was mobbed by excited kids keen to get up close and personal with one of the brightest stars of Irish rugby.
It was a joint initiative between the IRFU Ulster Branch and Ulster Rugby to support the growth and ongoing development work of rugby in Donegal.
And it was the first time that the full Ulster squad had taken part in such an event outside of Belfast.
Go back a bit further to 2004 when Brian McEniff was back at the helm for his fifth spell in charge of the Donegal footballers.
Part of his backroom team was a Welshman, Johnathan Llewellyn.
"John is attached to the Ulster Branch of the IRFU and working with development squads in Donegal,'' explained McEniff at the time.
"He has been working on the players' upper body strength."
That cross-fertilisation between Gaelic football and rugby is far from uncommon.
Mike McGurn is a Fermanagh native with a GAA background, but he made his name during an eight year spell as fitness coach to the Ireland rugby team.
The late John Morrison coached Armagh, Donegal, Derry, Leitrim and Cavan over the years - but he also spent time with the Ulster rugby squad working on their ball-handling skills.
Now, we have a situation where Munster/Leinster is talked up of as the biggest rivalry in Irish sport - or on a par with Kilkenny v Tipperary in hurling or Dublin v Kerry in football.
You can argue all day whether that is really the case, but the fact that it's even a debating point shows the impact that the Heineken Cup has had on Irish sport.