Munster Vs New Zealand Maori

So there was another special night in Thomond Park when 23 Munster players matched what the team of 1978 did and defeated The Maori All Blacks by 27-14 on a wet, damp night in Limerick. Over the past few weeks since the untimely passing of Anthony Foley Munster have been on a quest to honour his memory and in the last three games against Glasgow, The Ospreys and The Maori All Blacks we have seen the old Munster where good solid forward play has led the way and has laid the foundations for three huge victories that has now seen the feel good factor to Munster Rugby.

 It has been a while in coming but when it arrived it was like a tidal wave and all three teams that have faced Munster since Anthony Foley passed away have felt the full force of the entire province both on the field and in the stands where the old sparkle has returned and the crowd is getting stuck into each visiting team like their lives depended on it. That’s the way it was and that’s the way it should be into the future…….

Looking at the game as a whole Munster played the perfect game and utilised a revitalised forward pack that didn’t take a backward step with guys like Conor Oliver, Robin Copeland and Tommy O Donnell leading the charge and they were ably assisted by a back three who played like men processed.

 I have criticised Munster for not playing with passion but they have shut me up in the past month where there game plan has revolved around hunger, passion and desire in defence in particular and that has led to them scoring many tries and turning up the pressure on their opponents and this in turn has lifted the crowd to new levels.

The Maori for their part had no real answer to the power and precision of the Munster attack and people will point to the weather and say if it had been a dry evening they would have caused Munster real trouble in attack but lest we forget down in New Zealand they have the same type of wet weather we have up here and play rugby in that weather for a good portion of the year.

 You just can’t beat hunger, desire and passion and those key ingredients have been lacking at vital moments but let’s just hope that the past few weeks can be the start of something truly special in both the Munster camp.

On a personal note the last 6 days have picked me off the canvass after probably the toughest two months of my 26 years on this earth. I again found solace in sport and the win last Saturday made me smile and kept me smiling and then to watch Munster create another piece of history was so special so again thank you to the 23 men who took to the field for Munster last night, your win will keep me smiling for another while yet so Thank You……

I have said it many times in recent days, sport brings you to special places and also breaks your heart but mostly in my experience it has shown me if you stick at something you’ll always get your just rewards. Well done again Munster and Thanks too to The Maori All Blacks for their touching tribute to Anthony Foley just before they did the Haka…..

By

Cian Mc Gibney

11/12/2016