Background
Murrayfield Stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2009 Heineken Cup Final on 19 May 2008. The 2009 final was the second Heineken Cup final to be hosted by the 67,778-capacity stadium, following the 2005 final, when Toulouse beat Stade Français 18–12 after extra time in front of 51,000 spectators.
The 2009 final was Leinster's first Heineken Cup final, although they had reached the semi-final stage on three other occasions: in 1995–96, 2002–03 and 2005–06, when they were knocked out by Cardiff RFC, Perpignan and Munster respectively. Leicester, however, had reached the final on four other occasions: 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2007; they won the competition in 2001 and 2002, beating Stade Français and Munster, but lost out to Brive in 1997 and London Wasps in 2007.
Nigel Owens of Wales was named as the match referee for the 2009 final on 13 May 2009, making him the second official to referee consecutive Heineken Cup finals after England's Chris White. Frenchman Christophe Berdos was appointed as fourth official.
Read more about this topic: 2009 Heineken Cup Final
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