History of rugby union matches between Munster and New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Munster Rugby has a strong tradition of competitiveness against touring rugby teams. They have played the All Blacks
, the national team of New Zealand, 8 times since 1905. In 1978, they became the only Irish team, including the Irish national team
, to have won a match in 105 years of competition between the countries.
The 1905 Original All Blacks were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia
. Captained by Irish born Dave Gallaher
, they toured the British Isles
, France
and the United States
during 1905–1906 and became known "The Originals". Their match with Munster
was played at Markets Field in Limerick
on Tuesday 28 November and the touring side defeated Munster 33–0. The eight tries witnessed by the 3,000 strong crowd included a penalty try after Fred Roberts was tripped close to the line. Munster were captained by Basil Maclear
.
Munster A. Quillinan, A. Newton, B. McLear, W.O Stokes, R.M McGrath, F. McQueen, J. O'Connor, J. Wallace, T.S Reeves, S.K Hosford, M. White, R. Welply, T. Acheson, T. Churchwarden.
New Zealand Booth, Smith, McGregor, Deans, Abbot, Mynott, Stead, Gillet, Newton, Tyler, Mackrell, Cunningham, Nicholson, McDonaldson, Glasgow, Roberts
in Cork
, winning 6 - 3 on January 13, 1954 in front of a crowd of 7000 in cold and snowy conditions.
Munster B. G. M. Wood, D. Crowley, J. T. Clifford, J. S. McCarthy, T. E. Reid, M. Madden, B. Cussen, G. Reidy, J. A. O'Meara, D. Daly, N. Coleman, R. Godfrey, G. Kenny, B. Mullen, P. Berkery
New Zealand C. A. Woods, I. J. Clarke, J. W. Kelly, K. L. Skinner, D. O. Oliver, G. N. Dalzell, K. P. Bagley, P. F. H. Jones, R. C. Stuart, V. D. Bevan, L. S. Haig, D. D. Wilson, J. T. Fitzgerald, J. M. Tanner, W. S. S. Freebairn
in Limerick in wet and windy conditions. New Zealand were captained by Ian Clarke
.
Munster T.J Kiernan, M. Lucey, J, Walsh, B. O'Brien, P. McGrath, M. English, N. Kavanagh , M. O'Callaghan, P. Lane, M. Carey, J. Murray, M. Spillane, D. Kiely, H. Wall, N. Murphy.
New Zealand M. A. Herewini, I. S. T. Smith, W. L. Davis, I. R. MacRae, B. A. Watt, E. W. Kirton, C. R. Laidlaw, B. J. Lochore, K. R. Tremain, A. J. Stewart, R. H. Horsley, K. E. Barry, I. J. Clarke, J. Major, J. M. Le Lievre
in Cork, on January 16 with the All Blacks only securing the draw with a penalty in the last minute of the game. New Zealand were captained by Alex Wyllie
.
Munster T.J. Kiernan, J. Barry, S. Dennison, B. Bresnihan, P. Parfrey
, B.J McGann, D. Canniffe, P.O'Callaghan, J. Leahy, K. Keyes, J. Madigan, M. Keane, C. Tucker, T. Moore, S. Deering.
New Zealand T. J. Morris, B. G. Williams, G. R. Skudder, D. A. Hales, R. M. Parkinson, I.N. Stevens, G. L. Colling, A. R. Sutherland, A. J. Wyllie, A. M. Haden, I. M. Eliason, B. Holmes, K. K. Lambert, R. A. Urlich, A. L. R. McNicol
.
Munster R. Spring, P. Parfrey
, L. Moloney, , J. Coleman, P. Lavery, B.J. McGann, D. Canniffe, O. Waldron, P. Whelan, P.O'Callaghan, J. Madigan, M. Keane, C. Tucker, T. Moore, S. Deering.
New Zealand K. J. Tanner ,J. F. Karam, B. G. Williams, G. B. Batty B. J. Robertson, J. E. Morgan, D. J. Robertson, S. M. Going, A. R. Leslie, K. W. Stewart, H. H. Macdonald, P. J. Whiting, I. A. Kirkpatrick, A. J. Gardiner, R. W. Norton
captain Tom Kiernan
. Kiernan, who had played in the 1963 and 1973 games against the All Blacks targeted the match. He ensured that Munster were physically fit and as part of his preparation, Munster undertook a two-match tour to London playing Middlesex and the Exiles, a team mainly made up of London Irish
players.
Although Munster were not expected to win, Christy Cantillon scored a try
with Tony Ward
converting. Ward also adding a dropped goal in each half. New Zealand were held scoreless with New Zealand wing Stu Wilson
remarking afterwards that "We were lucky to get nil". Wilson likened the match to playing on front of a crowd of 100,000, such was the noise. The game remains the only time an Irish team, including the national team, have beaten the All Blacks. It now forms part of Munster rugby mythology
with over 100,000 people claiming to have been at Thomond Park in Limerick to see Munster win, even though the ground only had a capacity of 12,000. Graham Mourie
was the captain of the New Zealand team and Donal Canniffe captained Munster.
Munster G. A. McLoughlin, P. C. Whelan, L. White, M. I. Keane, B. Foley, C. Cantillon, C. Tucker, D. E. Spring, D. Canniffe, A. J. P. Ward, J. Bowen, G. Barrett, S. Dennison, M. Finn, L. A. Moloney
New Zealand B. R. Johnstone, J. E. Black, G. A. Knight, F. J. Oliver, A. M. Haden, W. G. Graham, G. N. K. Mourie, A. A. McGregor, M. W. Donaldson
, E. J. Dunn, B. G. Williams, J. L. Jaffray, B. J. Robertson, S. S. Wilson, B. J. McKechnie
, in their 1989 tour at Musgrave Park, Cork, on November 11, 1989, losing 9 - 31. The match had an attendance of 18000 with Buck Shelford captaining the visitors.
Munster P. M. Clohessy
, T. J. Kingston, J. J. Fitzgerald, M. J. Galwey, D. G. Lenihan, K. O'Connell, P. T. J. O'Hara, P. C. Collins, M. T. Bradley
, R. P. Keyes
, P. V. Murray , C. Murphy, M. J. Kiernan, J. Galvin, K. J. Murphy.
New Zealand R. O. Williams, S. B. T. Fitzpatrick
, R. W. Loe, Z. V. Brooke
, M. J. Pierce, S. B. Gordon, W. T. Shelford
, G. T. M. Bachop
, G. J. Fox
, N. J. Schuster, J. T. Stanley, T. J. Wright, C. R. Innes, J. A. Gallagher.
, Mark Donaldson
and Gary Knight were in the crowd for the occasion. Prior to kick off, Munster's four New Zealand players, Rua Tipoki
, Doug Howlett
, Lifeimi Mafi
and Jeremy Manning
, challenged the All Blacks by performing the Haka
first. Munster were without 10 of their squad who were on international duty and New Zealand chose to play an understrength team, resting key players for the forthcoming match against Ireland a few days later.
Munster almost repeated history, leading 16-10 at half time and after 76 minutes of the match were winning 16-13. The Munster try, scored by Barry Murphy
in the first half was the only one scored against New Zealand during their European leg of the 2008 end of year rugby tests
. A late try by Joe Rokocoko
secured a win for the All Blacks with a final score 18-16.
Media reporting towards the match was extremely positive, commending the atmosphere, and the physical intensity of the Munster players. New Zealand coach Graham Henry
said that the experience would help the development of many of the All Blacks who were young and inexperienced and might not have felt the sort of heat Munster and their crowd were able to generate.
Munster F. Pucciariello
, F. J. Sheahan, T. Ryan, J. Coughlan
, M. O'Driscoll
, D. Ryan
, N. Ronan
, D. Leamy
, P. A. Stringer
, P. Warwick, L. Mafi, R. Tipoki, I. Dowling
, B. Murphy, D. Howlett
New Zealand J. L. Mackintosh, C. R. Flynn, B. J. Franks, A. J. Thomson, R. A. Filipo, J. J. Eaton, S. L. Waldrom, L. J. Messam, P. A. T. Weepu
, I. Toeava
, A. T. Tuitavake, J. T. Rokocoko, H. E. Gear
, C. S. Jane
. S. R. Donald
.
by John Breen
and a book named Stand Up and Fight: When Munster Beat the All Blacks by Alan English were both based on the events. Both have been commercially successful. Alone it Stands has had several sell-out runs in Ireland and has played in the Sydney Opera House
and in Auckland
. "Stand Up and Fight" was a bestseller in 2005.
Setanta Sports
also produced a documentary called Alone It Stands: the documentary with excerpts from the play intercut with the first hand testimonies of the 1978 players.
Before the 2008 match, the All Blacks attended a production of the play to understand what the game meant to Munster supporters.
plays for the side. Other notable players include:
Jeremy Manning and Nick Williams
, both from New Zealand have played for Munster although neither have had any representative honours with New Zealand. Jason Holland from Taranaki in New Zealand played for Munster 102 times and is now their backs coach. Although Holland was from New Zealand, he became qualified to play for Ireland and represented the A' Team (now the Ireland Wolfhounds).
In addition, Munster prop and 100-cap Ireland player, John Hayes
, changed to playing the position from second row, while playing in Invercargill
.
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
, the national team of New Zealand, 8 times since 1905. In 1978, they became the only Irish team, including the Irish national team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, to have won a match in 105 years of competition between the countries.
1905
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. Captained by Irish born Dave Gallaher
Dave Gallaher
David "Dave" Gallaher was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, best known as the captain of "The Originals", the first New Zealand national rugby union team to be known as the All Blacks....
, they toured the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during 1905–1906 and became known "The Originals". Their match with Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
was played at Markets Field in Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
on Tuesday 28 November and the touring side defeated Munster 33–0. The eight tries witnessed by the 3,000 strong crowd included a penalty try after Fred Roberts was tripped close to the line. Munster were captained by Basil Maclear
Basil Maclear
Basil Maclear was an Irish rugby international. He won eleven caps between 1905 and 1907.The son of a doctor from Bedford, he was later sent to Fermoy in County Cork by the British Army....
.
Munster A. Quillinan, A. Newton, B. McLear, W.O Stokes, R.M McGrath, F. McQueen, J. O'Connor, J. Wallace, T.S Reeves, S.K Hosford, M. White, R. Welply, T. Acheson, T. Churchwarden.
New Zealand Booth, Smith, McGregor, Deans, Abbot, Mynott, Stead, Gillet, Newton, Tyler, Mackrell, Cunningham, Nicholson, McDonaldson, Glasgow, Roberts
1954
Between 1953 and 1954, New Zealand toured the British Isles, France and North America. They played Munster at the MardykeMardyke
The Mardyke is an area in Cork city, on the northern half of the long western part of the island formed by the two channels of the River Lee near the city centre. It comprises several large open spaces...
in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, winning 6 - 3 on January 13, 1954 in front of a crowd of 7000 in cold and snowy conditions.
Munster B. G. M. Wood, D. Crowley, J. T. Clifford, J. S. McCarthy, T. E. Reid, M. Madden, B. Cussen, G. Reidy, J. A. O'Meara, D. Daly, N. Coleman, R. Godfrey, G. Kenny, B. Mullen, P. Berkery
New Zealand C. A. Woods, I. J. Clarke, J. W. Kelly, K. L. Skinner, D. O. Oliver, G. N. Dalzell, K. P. Bagley, P. F. H. Jones, R. C. Stuart, V. D. Bevan, L. S. Haig, D. D. Wilson, J. T. Fitzgerald, J. M. Tanner, W. S. S. Freebairn
1963
In 1963, the All Blacks toured the British Isles, France and Canada. On the 11th December that year, they beat Munster again by 6 - 3. The game was played at Thomond ParkThomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...
in Limerick in wet and windy conditions. New Zealand were captained by Ian Clarke
Ian Clarke
Ian Clarke is the original designer and lead developer of Freenet. Clarke grew up in Navan, County Meath, Ireland.Clarke was educated at Dundalk Grammar School and while there twice came first in the Senior Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical section of the Young Scientist Exhibition...
.
Munster T.J Kiernan, M. Lucey, J, Walsh, B. O'Brien, P. McGrath, M. English, N. Kavanagh , M. O'Callaghan, P. Lane, M. Carey, J. Murray, M. Spillane, D. Kiely, H. Wall, N. Murphy.
New Zealand M. A. Herewini, I. S. T. Smith, W. L. Davis, I. R. MacRae, B. A. Watt, E. W. Kirton, C. R. Laidlaw, B. J. Lochore, K. R. Tremain, A. J. Stewart, R. H. Horsley, K. E. Barry, I. J. Clarke, J. Major, J. M. Le Lievre
1973
In 1972 and 1973 New Zealand toured Britain, Ireland, France and North America. Munster drew 3-3 with them in Musgrave ParkMusgrave Park, Cork
Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...
in Cork, on January 16 with the All Blacks only securing the draw with a penalty in the last minute of the game. New Zealand were captained by Alex Wyllie
Alex Wyllie
Alex "Grizz" Wyllie is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach.Wyllie began his first-class career with Canterbury in 1964 and played 210 matches for the province until 1979, serving as captain on over one hundred occasions...
.
Munster T.J. Kiernan, J. Barry, S. Dennison, B. Bresnihan, P. Parfrey
Patrick Parfrey
Patrick Parfrey, OC is a Canadian physician, specialized as nephrologist and epidemiologist. Parfrey is an internationally known scientist and clinical epidemiologist...
, B.J McGann, D. Canniffe, P.O'Callaghan, J. Leahy, K. Keyes, J. Madigan, M. Keane, C. Tucker, T. Moore, S. Deering.
New Zealand T. J. Morris, B. G. Williams, G. R. Skudder, D. A. Hales, R. M. Parkinson, I.N. Stevens, G. L. Colling, A. R. Sutherland, A. J. Wyllie, A. M. Haden, I. M. Eliason, B. Holmes, K. K. Lambert, R. A. Urlich, A. L. R. McNicol
1974
In 1974 Munster played New Zealand in their tour of the British Isles with New Zealand winning 14 - 4 at Thomond Park, on November 9 in front of a crowd of 10800. New Zealand were captained by Andy LeslieAndy Leslie
Andrew Roy "Andy" Leslie MNZM is a former All Black captain and number eight. On 26 April 2007 he was elected as the president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union....
.
Munster R. Spring, P. Parfrey
Patrick Parfrey
Patrick Parfrey, OC is a Canadian physician, specialized as nephrologist and epidemiologist. Parfrey is an internationally known scientist and clinical epidemiologist...
, L. Moloney, , J. Coleman, P. Lavery, B.J. McGann, D. Canniffe, O. Waldron, P. Whelan, P.O'Callaghan, J. Madigan, M. Keane, C. Tucker, T. Moore, S. Deering.
New Zealand K. J. Tanner ,J. F. Karam, B. G. Williams, G. B. Batty B. J. Robertson, J. E. Morgan, D. J. Robertson, S. M. Going, A. R. Leslie, K. W. Stewart, H. H. Macdonald, P. J. Whiting, I. A. Kirkpatrick, A. J. Gardiner, R. W. Norton
1978
In 1978, Munster became the only Irish side to beat the All Blacks. The 12–0 victory took place on Tuesday 31 October 1978 at Thomond Park, in front of a crowd of 12,000. Munster were coached by former Ireland and British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
captain Tom Kiernan
Tom Kiernan
Thomas Joseph Kiernan is a former Ireland international rugby union player. He won 54 caps for Ireland as a full-back between 1960 and 1973 and captained his country 24 times. At the time of his retirement he was Ireland's most-capped player, most experienced captain and record scorer in...
. Kiernan, who had played in the 1963 and 1973 games against the All Blacks targeted the match. He ensured that Munster were physically fit and as part of his preparation, Munster undertook a two-match tour to London playing Middlesex and the Exiles, a team mainly made up of London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
players.
Although Munster were not expected to win, Christy Cantillon scored a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
with Tony Ward
Tony Ward (rugby player)
Anthony Joseph Patrick Ward , commonly referred to as Tony Ward, was an Irish rugby union and soccer player during the 1970s and 1980s. He played rugby as a fly-half for, among others, Munster, Leinster, , the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians...
converting. Ward also adding a dropped goal in each half. New Zealand were held scoreless with New Zealand wing Stu Wilson
Stu Wilson
Stu Wilson is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played for Wellington and New Zealand, captaining national team in the 1983 tour of England and Scotland....
remarking afterwards that "We were lucky to get nil". Wilson likened the match to playing on front of a crowd of 100,000, such was the noise. The game remains the only time an Irish team, including the national team, have beaten the All Blacks. It now forms part of Munster rugby mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
with over 100,000 people claiming to have been at Thomond Park in Limerick to see Munster win, even though the ground only had a capacity of 12,000. Graham Mourie
Graham Mourie
Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes. He was one of the great All Black Captains in the late 70s and early 80s...
was the captain of the New Zealand team and Donal Canniffe captained Munster.
Munster G. A. McLoughlin, P. C. Whelan, L. White, M. I. Keane, B. Foley, C. Cantillon, C. Tucker, D. E. Spring, D. Canniffe, A. J. P. Ward, J. Bowen, G. Barrett, S. Dennison, M. Finn, L. A. Moloney
New Zealand B. R. Johnstone, J. E. Black, G. A. Knight, F. J. Oliver, A. M. Haden, W. G. Graham, G. N. K. Mourie, A. A. McGregor, M. W. Donaldson
Mark Donaldson (rugby player)
Mark William Donaldson, born on 6 November 1955 in Palmerston North, is a former New Zealand half-back rugby union player. Donaldson played 35 matches, including 13 test matches, for the All Blacks from 1977 to 1981.-Biography:...
, E. J. Dunn, B. G. Williams, J. L. Jaffray, B. J. Robertson, S. S. Wilson, B. J. McKechnie
1989
Munster played New Zealand who were reigning Rugby World Cup champions, having won the inagaural competition in 19871987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
, in their 1989 tour at Musgrave Park, Cork, on November 11, 1989, losing 9 - 31. The match had an attendance of 18000 with Buck Shelford captaining the visitors.
Munster P. M. Clohessy
Peter Clohessy
Peter Martin Noel Clohessy is a former Irish rugby union footballer. Clohessy played for Munster and Ireland...
, T. J. Kingston, J. J. Fitzgerald, M. J. Galwey, D. G. Lenihan, K. O'Connell, P. T. J. O'Hara, P. C. Collins, M. T. Bradley
Michael Bradley
Michael or Mike Bradley may refer to:*Michael Bradley , Football player from USA*Michael Bradley , American basketball player...
, R. P. Keyes
Ralph Keyes
Ralph Keyes is a rugby player who won 8 caps playing at fly-half for the Irish rugby union side. He made his international test debut at the age of 24 on 1 March 1986 against England...
, P. V. Murray , C. Murphy, M. J. Kiernan, J. Galvin, K. J. Murphy.
New Zealand R. O. Williams, S. B. T. Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick....
, R. W. Loe, Z. V. Brooke
Zinzan Brooke
Zinzan Valentine Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight...
, M. J. Pierce, S. B. Gordon, W. T. Shelford
Wayne Shelford
Wayne Thomas "Buck" Shelford is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and coach who represented and captained New Zealand in the late 1980s...
, G. T. M. Bachop
Graeme Bachop
Graeme Bachop is a former rugby player from New Zealand of Samoan,Tahitian and Cook Islands Heritage.He played for the Linwood Rugby club for ten years followed by four years at Christchurch High School Old Boys. His move to HSOB allowed him to develop a combination with first five-eighths Andrew...
, G. J. Fox
Grant Fox
Grant James Fox is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was born in New Plymouth. He attended Auckland Grammar school....
, N. J. Schuster, J. T. Stanley, T. J. Wright, C. R. Innes, J. A. Gallagher.
2008
The All Blacks returned to Thomond Park in November 2008 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1978 game, and to celebrate the opening of the new stadium. Four of the 1978 team, Graham Mourie, Bryan WilliamsBryan Williams
Bryan Williams, MBE is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach of the Samoan national rugby team....
, Mark Donaldson
Mark Donaldson (rugby player)
Mark William Donaldson, born on 6 November 1955 in Palmerston North, is a former New Zealand half-back rugby union player. Donaldson played 35 matches, including 13 test matches, for the All Blacks from 1977 to 1981.-Biography:...
and Gary Knight were in the crowd for the occasion. Prior to kick off, Munster's four New Zealand players, Rua Tipoki
Rua Tipoki
Te Rua Reihana Tipoki brought up in Te Araroa in Gisborne, is a retired rugby union player who has played for North Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup and for the Auckland Blues in the Super 14. Tipoki also played for Irish provincial side Munster until 2009. His position was outside centre...
, Doug Howlett
Doug Howlett
Douglas Charles Howlett is a professional New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent. He is primarily a wing but he has also covered fullback at national and international levels. He currently plays in Ireland with Munster. He is the brother of former Tongan rugby league international Phil...
, Lifeimi Mafi
Lifeimi Mafi
Lifeimi Mafi is a Tongan rugby union player, who currently plays for the Irish side Munster in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.-Career in New Zealand:...
and Jeremy Manning
Jeremy Manning
Jeremy Manning is a rugby union footballer and plays fly-half for Newcastle Falcons. He qualified to play for Ireland in the 2008–09 season and has represented Ireland Students....
, challenged the All Blacks by performing the Haka
Ka Mate
"Ka Mate" is a Māori haka composed by Te Rauparaha, war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe of the North Island of New Zealand.-The creation and composition of Ka Mate:...
first. Munster were without 10 of their squad who were on international duty and New Zealand chose to play an understrength team, resting key players for the forthcoming match against Ireland a few days later.
Munster almost repeated history, leading 16-10 at half time and after 76 minutes of the match were winning 16-13. The Munster try, scored by Barry Murphy
Barry Murphy (rugby player)
Barry Murphy is an Irish rugby union footballer. He played for Munster in the Magners League and the Heineken Cup. He was a part of the Munster squad which won the Heineken Cup in 2006. He burst onto the scene in January 2006 when he put in a man of the match performance against the Sale Sharks in...
in the first half was the only one scored against New Zealand during their European leg of the 2008 end of year rugby tests
2008 end of year rugby tests
The 2008 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, the Pacific Islanders and Canada tour the northern hemisphere. The tour ended with the traditional 'final challenge' Barbarians match, against Australia, which was the...
. A late try by Joe Rokocoko
Joe Rokocoko
Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko is a professional New Zealand rugby union player. Rokocoko is known for his speed and strength which has accounted for his prolific try strike rate...
secured a win for the All Blacks with a final score 18-16.
Media reporting towards the match was extremely positive, commending the atmosphere, and the physical intensity of the Munster players. New Zealand coach Graham Henry
Graham Henry
Graham Henry is a New Zealand Rugby Union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. He played rugby union for Canterbury and cricket for Otago in the Plunket Shield. Henry was heavily criticized following the All Blacks quarterfinal exit at the 2007 Rugby World...
said that the experience would help the development of many of the All Blacks who were young and inexperienced and might not have felt the sort of heat Munster and their crowd were able to generate.
Munster F. Pucciariello
Federico Pucciariello
Federico Pucciariello was an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. He played at both tighthead and loosehead prop, and played for Munster Rugby up to the end of the 2008-2009 season...
, F. J. Sheahan, T. Ryan, J. Coughlan
James Coughlan
James Coughlan is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup. He normally plays at Number 8 but has also played at both Blindside and Openside Flanker.-Early rugby career:...
, M. O'Driscoll
Mick O'Driscoll
Mick O'Driscoll is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for Munster in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup, and plays internationally for Ireland. He made his Munster debut in 1998 against Neath. His international debut came as a replacement against Romania in 2001...
, D. Ryan
Donnacha Ryan
Donnacha Ryan is a rugby union player for Munster in the Magners League. He went to school in St. Munchin's College in Limerick where he was a key member of the side that won the Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup in 2002...
, N. Ronan
Niall Ronan
Niall Ronan is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the RaboDirect Pro12. He plays as a flanker.Ronan grew up playing Gaelic football and represented Meath GAA in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship. He won the Senior Schools Leinster Championships in 2000 with St. Mary's, Drogheda...
, D. Leamy
Denis Leamy
Denis Leamy is an Irish professional rugby union player. He is a back row forward who can play either blind side flanker or at number 8, and has occasionally played at inside centre...
, P. A. Stringer
Peter Stringer
Peter Alexander Stringer is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half for Munster and Ireland. He is one of the most recognisable players in world rugby as Stringer stands only 1.7m tall and weighs in at just over 70 kg .-Career:In February 2000, he made his debut for Ireland...
, P. Warwick, L. Mafi, R. Tipoki, I. Dowling
Ian Dowling
Ian Dowling was an Irish international Rugby player . He played underage and junior club rugby with Kilkenny RFC and Leinster Senior Cup schools rugby with CBS Kilkenny. He won an AIB League medal with Shannon RFC before joining Munster, with whom he has won two European Rugby Cups both in Cardiff...
, B. Murphy, D. Howlett
New Zealand J. L. Mackintosh, C. R. Flynn, B. J. Franks, A. J. Thomson, R. A. Filipo, J. J. Eaton, S. L. Waldrom, L. J. Messam, P. A. T. Weepu
Piri Weepu
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays scrum-half for the All Blacks on international level, Wellington Lions in the National Provincial Championship and the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004...
, I. Toeava
Isaia Toeava
Isaia "Ice" Toeava , is a professional rugby union player in New Zealand.-Early career:Toeava attended De La Salle College, Mangere East, he played alongside Taniela Moa in the school's First XV rugby team. He represented New Zealand U-19 where he was named the IRB's Under-19 2005 player of the year...
, A. T. Tuitavake, J. T. Rokocoko, H. E. Gear
Hosea Gear
Hosea Gear is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays for the Highlanders in the Super 15 competition as a wing. He has played six international matches for New Zealand and scored five tries...
, C. S. Jane
Cory Jane
Cory Steven Jane is a New Zealand international rugby union player.He first played for the All Blacks in 2008 and plays as a winger. In 2011 Jane was selected into the Tri Nations team as injury cover...
. S. R. Donald
Stephen Donald
Stephen Donald is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays at First five-eighth or Second five-eighth. Despite an international career that had not lived up to expectations, Donald, aka 'The Beaver', kicked the winning penalty in the IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 for New Zealand...
.
Book, Play and Documentary on the 1978 game
A stage play named Alone it StandsAlone it Stands
Alone It Stands is a play by John Breen that tells the story of the 1978 rugby union match at Thomond Park between Irish provincial side Munster and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks...
by John Breen
John Breen
John Breen is a playwright from Limerick, Ireland. He is famous for his play Alone it Stands which tells the tale of Munster Rugby Team's legendary victory over New Zealand's mighty All Blacks in Thomond Park, Limerick in 1978...
and a book named Stand Up and Fight: When Munster Beat the All Blacks by Alan English were both based on the events. Both have been commercially successful. Alone it Stands has had several sell-out runs in Ireland and has played in the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
and in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. "Stand Up and Fight" was a bestseller in 2005.
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
also produced a documentary called Alone It Stands: the documentary with excerpts from the play intercut with the first hand testimonies of the 1978 players.
Before the 2008 match, the All Blacks attended a production of the play to understand what the game meant to Munster supporters.
Munster players from New Zealand
A number of key players from New Zealand have been involved with Munster over the years. New Zealand's current all time highest try scorer, Doug HowlettDoug Howlett
Douglas Charles Howlett is a professional New Zealand rugby union player of Tongan descent. He is primarily a wing but he has also covered fullback at national and international levels. He currently plays in Ireland with Munster. He is the brother of former Tongan rugby league international Phil...
plays for the side. Other notable players include:
- Former New Zealand MāoriNew Zealand Maori rugby union teamNew Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
captain Rua Tipoki. - Christian CullenChristian CullenChristian Mathias Cullen is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand , for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later Munster at first-class level. He was nicknamed the Paekakariki Express...
. - Former New Zealand SevensNew Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:...
player Lifeimi Mafi. - Sam TuitupouSam TuitupouSam Tuitupou is a New Zealand international rugby union player who plays for Sale in the Aviva Premiership. His position is Inside Centre....
who has 10 caps for the All Blacks is due to join Munster for the 2010/2011 season.
Jeremy Manning and Nick Williams
Nick Williams
Nick Williams is a rugby union player who played for Munster in the Magners League and Heineken Cup for 2 seasons. Williams won 19 caps for Munster and scored 4 tries, including a hat-trick against the Newport Gwent Dragons. He previously played for North Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup and for...
, both from New Zealand have played for Munster although neither have had any representative honours with New Zealand. Jason Holland from Taranaki in New Zealand played for Munster 102 times and is now their backs coach. Although Holland was from New Zealand, he became qualified to play for Ireland and represented the A' Team (now the Ireland Wolfhounds).
In addition, Munster prop and 100-cap Ireland player, John Hayes
John Hayes (rugby player)
John Hayes is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup for Munster. Having spent his underage career playing with the local Cappamore GAA club, he was 18 when he started playing rugby. It was his size which enabled him to overcome his late start to the sport...
, changed to playing the position from second row, while playing in Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
.