A year ago, on a chilly day in a northern outpost of France, Munster took an age to warm up, and in the end were undone by a distinctly dodgy decision that ended their interest in the Heineken Cup at the penultimate hurdle.
Yesterday, at the same stage of the same competition, they moved south to the balmy sunshine of Beziers, and took almost as long to get going. But this time they got their timing right, and long before referee Chris White blew for the last time the celebrations on the Red bench were well under way.
Given the pressure building up to this contest - with the controversy of the teams' last meeting and the stack of retirements pending in the Munster camp - this was a result many saw coming.
But the vision was not of another late burst up the outside lane. Yet that's the way it turned out, and we got another example of the fantastic resolve of this remarkable group. In the end it was a blunder by replacement Olivier Sarramea that put Munster in the comfort zone, but it was their own huge effort that had already put them in a winning position, in the mind and on the scoreboard.
Given their first-half problems that was some going. Castres started with the upper hand, through the accuracy of Romain Teulet, who had them nine points clear before Munster got a look-in.
By that stage Clohessy was back on the field - he was binned for scrapping with Brent Moyle - but it was only at the close of the half that they finally exerted any pressure on the Castres defence. From a line-out in the French 22 they opted to attack close in when yet again slow ball had left their backs outnumbered.
Four phases eventually created a numerical superiority, and O'Gara cut out two players with the long pass only for Crotty to spill in a great position. The upside, however, was a call against the Castres midfield for offside and O'Gara opened their account. Having been unable to string anything together for the previous 39 minutes it was a long time coming, but the score did something for their mental state, and having survived a Teulet drop goal attempt a couple of minutes later, Alan Quinlan intercepted a pass by Alexandre Albuoy and took off, 40 metres into the Castres 22.
Castres' scramble was at the cost of another penalty and O'Gara kicked it to close the gap to three points. Given the territory the French enjoyed in the first half, it was a poor return to see a foundation of nine points whittled away in six minutes.
They hadn't been especially creative but they had stopped Munster in their tracks. Their overriding fear was that they couldn't subdue the Reds for 80 minutes, and when it came Munster's time to hold the ball longer than they had managed in the first half, Castres didn't have too much in the bank. By the 12th minute of the second half they found themselves overdrawn.
A fumble in the opening minutes by Townsend gave Munster an early foothold, and when White blew for coming into a ruck from the side, O'Gara had the chance to kick for 9-9. It was straightforward, and the effect on Munster and their fans was massive.
Having been powerless spectators for most of the fist half suddenly they were on level terms with a wind at their backs. It meant that with a modest improvement from the forwards, O'Gara would have enough ball to pin Castres down; and the pressure from that would surely produce penalty opportunities. But it was a useful run by Kelly after a set-up by O'Gara that provided their next chance, and Castres strayed offside the outhalf to give the away team the lead for the fist time.
There was more than half an hour of actual time to play, but already there was a deep unease in the French camp. Three points in a game like this was nothing, but given the circumstances it carried a fair bit of weight, and Castres struggled under it.
Their penalty count rose accordingly, and as the game passed the hour mark, Munster opened a six-point lead - pretty unlikely a short time earlier - when O'Gara took full benefit, from inside his own half after another award for in from the side. It was a tremendous strike that concluded Munster's best passage of the play all day, finally forcing Castres to back-pedal at the breakdown as the phases at last started to stack up.
A great line-out steal by the excellent Paul O'Connell further dispirited Castres, and followed immediately by a thumping tackle from replacement Donncha O'Callaghan it set the new tone. The insurance came after a Jason Holland grubber was fumbled by Sarramea.
Anthony Horgan hacked ahead and Kelly collected to score. Castres just didn't have the time to overhaul a 13-point lead, and Shaun Longstaff's response came with 30 seconds left. There would be no upsets in those circumstances. On another day of grunt and effort, Munster are back for a second final in three years.
Castres: Teulet (Sarramea 77); Mola, Artiguste (Delmotte 52), Berryman, Longstaff; Townsend, Albuoy; Reggiardo (Dima 69), Ibanez (Vignaux ht), Moyle, Fernandez Lobbe, Spanghero (S Chinarro 69), Froment, Costes, Lassissi
Try: Longstaff. Pens: Teulet (4)
Munster: Crotty (Staunton 85); Kelly, Henderson (Mullins 82), Holland, Horgan; O'Gara, Stringer; Clohessy (Horgan 69), Sheahan, Hayes, Galwey (capt), O'Connell, Quinlan, Foley (O'Callaghan 16), Wallace
Try: Kelly. Con: O'Gara. Pens: O'Gara (6).
Referee: Chris White (England)
Attendance: 20,400
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