Emmet Moloney writes for the 'The Irish Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

Munster take on Leinster in Limerick this Friday but there may be more excitement in the relaxing of licensing laws, writes Emmet Moloney...

All the talk the last couple of weeks has been about matters off the field in Limerick. Anyone discussing the match has first to express some opinion, comment or joke about Good Friday and the pints. Here’s my tuppence worth: open the pubs. If you don’t want to drink, don’t. The law is archaic.

So is the Munster/Leinster “thing” about one side being posh and the other down to earth? No chance. That day is long gone. Leinster have moved out of their South Dublin enclave and Munster now belong to more than just those in their spiritual home of Limerick. And in the space of 10 short years, this is now the biggest sporting rivalry in the country.

It helps, of course, that these two are guaranteed at least one home game against the enemy each season. In a good year, they can meet three or four times. This could be a good year. So don’t be writing the rugby obituary at Croke Park just yet, there could be a Magners League final played there yet. That final is down for 29 May and guess what – no games are scheduled in Croker that weekend!

Both Munster and Leinster want to be in that final, but the scheduling is not kind to them. It falls a week after the Heineken Cup final and the semi-finals are down to be played the week before the Heineken Cup final. Neither will say it out loud, but the Heineken Cup is still the Grail. So the Magners will be sacrificed as long as both remain in the tournament.

This means both will not be at full pelt on Friday night, which is a pity. The hype that surrounds the match will ensure plenty of atmosphere and the players on the field might end up being drawn into that. We hope. It won’t suit them because the following weekend is Heineken Cup quarter-final time. Alan Quinlan will have to be on his best behaviour. Johnny Sexton will have to restrain himself from responding to taunts and Ronan O’Gara has to play smart.

The O’Gara-Sexton battle is the most fascinating element to the game for the media and quite a few spectators. The danger exists that one of them gets caught up in this hype and forgets their role in the team. For all of Ronan O’Gara’s experience, I feel he might be the vulnerable one. It was, after all, O’Gara who lost his place to the young upstart. Never mind his effective cameo against Scotland, it was Sexton who started.

So Ronan is feeling the need to outshine his opposite number. This brings the “trying too hard” card into play. O’Gara is not a player this suits. His game is based on control and putting his forwards close to the opposing line. He is not a line breaker and trying to physically confront Leinster will result in him losing ball and, most importantly, losing face. O’Gara can’t forget that this is a big game but there’s a bigger one to come a week later for his team. Personal slights have to be put aside.

There is 'previous between' Ronan and Johnny. Despite their time in the Irish camp these last two months, the pair are quite obviously not that close. While I’m sure there’s respect, the comments each one makes about the other are tinged with clichéd wrenching. They don’t particularly want to talk about the other guy. And it shows. Familiarity is breeding more contempt.

Elsewhere the friendships that are suspended for 80 minutes are growing stronger by the year. The bite appears to be going out of the Magners fixtures between them. But Alan Quinlan appears to be at the end of his international road so he is a different case. The crowd, his opponents (and referees) all expect him to straddle the thin line between stupidity and audacity. It was playing against Leinster that Quinlan threw away his Lions place. He is another who must play with controlled restraint, which isn’t really his game. Tony McGahon mightn’t leave him on the field for the 80 minutes.

To gauge just what this match means to both teams, we’d have to be inside the camps. From outside it is very misleading. So we’ll have to go with facts. Both sides will qualify for the first four – at their ease if they want to. So this game is not a make or break in those terms. Both sides have a massive game to follow: Munster at home to Northampton and Leinster at home to Clermont. The rivalry will not be redefined after this game, it will be defined if they meet in a final – Heineken or Magners. Just because Leinster have won the last two clashes does not mean that the Men in Red will have all their eggs in this basket. They won’t.

Friday night is realistically about the two coaches, neither of whom is from Leinster or Munster! Cheika and McGahon won’t have both eyes on this game and the fact that they are not natives should ensure they don’t get caught up in the atmosphere. We won’t get the tempestuous classic we would all love to see. It might not look like it, but both will be holding something back. The temperature will rise, but not to the levels previously enjoyed in Croke Park when they met last May.

The script is being written for an anti-climax. Brian O’Driscoll won’t be risked. Munster will probably do something similar with their key men. Regardless of the way the game is going, both coaches will stick to their plans for game time. John Hayes, Paul O’Connell, Leo Cullen and a few more will be minded. So let’s temper the expectations a little bit. Munster need the win more so they should close it out. But don’t be fooled – the most significant event in Limerick on Good Friday could be the loosening of the licensing laws. There are bigger days ahead for these two.

To catch Emmet's latest column, get 'The Irish Farmers' Journal' every Thursday...