Valiant Munster come so close to repeating magic of 1978

THIRTY YEARS on, it was almost as if nothing had changed. The almighty All Blacks, imperious when brushing aside Ireland and all and sundry up until last night, were rocked to their very cores.

The Munster heroes of 1978 have been dining out on their famous 12-0 win at Thomond Park and at the same, refurbished Limerick rugby citadel an equally Herculean effort saw 20 Munstermen come within four minutes of immortality.

In the end, a 76th minute try by the All Blacks Fijian flyer Joe Rokocoko denied them. It was a cruel end for a largely second string Munster, who had almost been given as little hope as their celebrated predecessors and went into the game at 10/1 .

A game that had no doubt been a boon for both the Munster and All Blacks brand names is expected to generate about €6 million for the local ecomomy. It also generated an occasion and atmosphere which will live long in the memory.

After the unveiling of a plaque by the Ttaoiseach to officially open Thomond Park, there was hardly an empty seat in the house among the estimated 25,600 crowd long before the kick-off. Further proof, were it needed, that Munster are bigger than Ireland hereabouts.

A carnival-like atmosphere fairly crackled long in advance of all the pre-match pageantry and the absent Munster internationals must have felt envious as their squadmates received the loudest roar ever afforded the home team at this venue, quickly followed by a minutes silence for Shane Geoghegan.

Doug Howlett, scorer of a record 49 tries for the All Blacks in tests, and his three fellow Munster Kiwis, Rua Tipoki, Lifeimi Mafi and Jeremy Manning, then conducted a haka to deafening roars, before respectful silence was afforded the All Blacks haka through on-pitch microphones. As the players swapped halves before the kick-off, the All Blacks skipper exchanged a brief handshake with Howlett.

But there was thunder and fury from the kick-off, and at the end of a momentous first half Munster did what Australia, Scotland and Ireland failed to do, and score a try. Barry Murphys score, created off a Munster scrum that beforehand many of the local cognoscenti had feared for, along with 11 points by Paul Warwick sent them in 16-10 ahead at half-time.

But then the All Blacks did what they did to Australia, Scotland and Ireland, and kept Munster scoreless in the second period.

Even so, it looked like theyd cracked under the weight of an extraordinary, raucous night before Rokocokos late try. Both teams were afforded a lap of honour and it was not out of place. No-one wanted to go home.

The New Zealand coach Graham Henry was quickly into the Munster dressing-room. Youve written another chapter in this legendary Munster story. I know you didnt win but you can be hugely proud of what youve achieved today, he told them.

Were a little disappointed with the result, admitted Munster coach Tony McGahan, but to a man they should feel very proud of themselves. The performance today was outstanding.