Although a large contingent of Munster fans may have made the journey to Coventry's Ricoh Arena for last weekend's Champions Cup semi-final, Ronan O'Gara has expressed his concern for the competition's future.
Capable of holding a little over 30,000 people, roughly half this number were in attendance for Saturday's fixture; an eventuality that asks serious questions of the allure high-profile European ties have for rugby fans beyond the four provinces of Ireland.
A home-nation fixture for the eventual winners Saracens, that the travelling Munster supporters comfortably outnumbered their English counterparts appeared all the more egregious given the relatively short distance they had to travel.
"This was a semi-final of a European Cup," a disappointed O'Gara stated on OTB AM, "it looked like Super Rugby where you've got stadiums half-empty."
"These are the biggest days in Europe."
Obviously I'm biased because the competition gave me the most fantastic memories, but it was just so disheartening to see
Twice a winner of the competition with Munster, Ronan O'Gara acknowledges his personal bias when it comes to the Champions Cup.
"Obviously I'm biased because the competition gave me the most fantastic memories," O'Gara stated honestly, "but it was just so disheartening to see."
Beyond this subjective outlook, however, O'Gara firmly believes that such disinterest on the part of English - and similarly French - fans can only be troubling news for European club rugby.
"It's dangerous territory rugby is in now because this is a special competition," said O'Gara.
"If the European Cup is diminished or lost, the Irish clubs are going to feel that more than anyone."
With one fixture of the tournament remaining, Leinster will travel to Newcastle's St. James' Park where they will face Saracens.
While the prospect of a final between Leinster and Munster would surely have made for a spectacular event, it remains to be seen whether fans of the two-time winners Saracens opt to make in numbers the journey from London to England's Northern border.
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