RUGBY/Munster 16 New Zealand 18:SO CLOSE, so desperately close to yet another team of immortals. New Zealand often dig deep into their rich reserves of history but it was a largely second-string Munster team which dug deepest as Thomond Park throbbed like never before.
Ultimately, Munster, having led from the 36th minute until the 76th, a try from Joe Rokocoko with just over four minutes left on the clock enabled the All Blacks to get of jail. It was cruel on Munster.
It was a measure of the task facing the home team that the entire Munster pack had played in the AIB League this season and, no disrespect to the AIL, but it's not exactly the Super 14. Then again, as the night unfolded, it also became clear the Super 14 is no place to be facing a fired-up ferocious Munster in their citadel.
In 10 minutes this Munster team had done more than Ireland had in 80. The key was matching New Zealand for intensity and physicality. This they did, with that Munster mix of composure and passion. Their ruck ball, with red shirts flying into the breakdown like human missiles and Peter Stringer whipping the ball away without taking so much as a step, was lightning quick.
Outside him, Paul Warwick exerted more control and variation than Ronan O'Gara had done, while Lifeimi Mafi and Rua Tipoki threw themselves into the fray with fury and Ian Dowling, so composed and again doing much more than most wingers do, hardly put a foot wrong. Mick O'Driscoll led the team superbly, James Coughlan and Niall Ronan had proverbial stormers and, though he only played for 40 minutes, given where he came from, the largely untried, untested 24-year-old Timmy Ryan had an astonishing full Munster debut.
A good start was critical in keeping home players and crowd energised. The All Blacks were quick to underline their threat in broken play from virtually the kick-off when Rokocoko broke from the fringes and released Stephen Donald for a run, kick and chase. Only Dowling's covering prevented a score.
Having kicked Munster into the lead with a huge eighth-minute penalty, Warwick restored Munster's lead after a Donald penalty following some furious kick and chasing. He then landed a sumptuous drop goal high into the night sky after beginning the move with a daring counter from inside his 22, Tipoki, Dowling and Howlett all keeping the move alive.
The rich talent of New Zealand's rugby conveyor belt had to begin to shine through. Isaia Toeva, capped for the first time against Australia two weeks ago at fullback, was tried at centre and ran hard twice before Donald stepped Ryan and handed off Coughlan for his own try and conversion to put the All Blacks ahead.
All the marginal knock-on decisions went against Munster as, to the crowd's fury, Romain Poite proved immune to outside influence. But even this, and the early departure of Denis Leamy to be replaced by Billy Holland, scarcely discommoded them. Perhaps most of all, and contrary to local fears, their scrum was not only holding up but actually gaining some kind of ascendancy. Donald's fumble on the line after Niall Ronan's kick through and chase after a fumble by Weepu showed the visitors were rattled and conceded a five-metre scrum.
Coughlan, having moved to number eight, was held up from the first, but with a better tight-head twist from Ryan - way, way beyond anything that had been expected of him - Coughlan fed Stringer who drew Hosea Gear and took the hit to put Barry Murphy over. Warwick nailed the conversion and the half finished with thunderous hits by Mafi and Donnach Ryan to send the All Blacks in to the wrath of their coaching staff rattled. The Super 14 doesn't prepare you for raw nights like this.
The next key for Munster was keeping the All Blacks at bay for the first 10 or so minutes of the second half. They immediately came knocking, Scott Waldron making a big gallop, but a huge hit by Murphy on Jamie Mackintosh saved a probable try. An ensuing penalty against Tipoki for going in off his feet by Monsieur Poite was, to say the very least, highly selective, but Donald halved the All Black's six-point deficit with the routine penalty. But he missed one to level, and Ross Filipo dropped a poor pass by Toeva after one exhaustive phase of counter-attack and counter-attack.
Amid the sometimes fractious fury, the packs broke up after Tony Buckley - who had replaced Ryan at half-time - exchanged punches with Mackintosh before claiming he had been gouged. Munster lost Tipoki - Jeremy Manning coming on at outhalf with Warwick moving to centre.
To keep the noise levels up, Donald missed another, fairly straight penalty before Stringer tackled Donald and then picked off an intercept, before nailing the slippery Weepu, and then Mafi lined up Cory Jane before sending him backwards.
The All Blacks were already looking a little clueless, becoming bogged down in the mid-third of the pitch. Not too many looked to be taking responsibility as Graham Henry emptied the bench, and Dowling picked off an attempted chip by Donald. They kept playing their rugby too, a series of phases earning a drop-goal attempt by Manning with 10 minutes left which he slightly miscued. Munster were in pressure mode, and another rumble by Coughlan and another huge hit, by Mick O'Driscoll, kept the pressure on.
But with five minutes left another New Zealand penalty led to a lineout, maul and prolonged ruck on the 22, from which Alby Mathewson's pass enabled Donald to free Mils Muliaina and he fed Rokocoko, who stepped inside Doug Howlett and scored.
At the end, Howlett looked to the heavens amid warm embraces with his compatriots, no doubt reflecting on Rokocoko's try. No one had any need for self-recrimination, and the only discordant note was the booing of the referee. Both sides came back out for a lap of honour. They were not out of place. It was that good a night.
Scoring sequence: 8 mins: Warwick pen 3-0; 10: Donald pen 3-3; 19: Warwick pen 6-3; 21: Warwick drop goal 9-3; 23: Donald try and con 9-10; 36: Murphy try, Warwick con 16-10; (half-time 16-10); 47: Donald pen 16-13; 76: Rokocoko try 16-18.
MUNSTER: D Howlett; B Murphy, R Tipoki, L Mafi, I Dowling; P Warwick, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, F Sheahan, T Ryan; M O'Driscoll capt, D Ryan; J Coughlan, N Ronan, D Leamy. Replacements: B Holland for Leamy (24 mins), T Buckley for T Ryan (half-time), J Manning for Tipoki (53 mins), D Fogarty for Sheahan (63 mins), J O'Sullivan for Ronan (80 mins). Not used: M Melbourne, M Prendergast.
NEW ZEALAND: C Jane (Wellington); H Gear (Wellington), A Tuitavake (North Harbour), I Toeava (Auckland), J Rokocoko (Auckland); S Donald (Waikato), P Weepu (Wellington, capt); J Mackintosh (Southland), C Flynn (Canterbury), B Franks (Canterbury), R Filipo (Wellington), J Eaton (Taranaki), A Thomson (Otago), S Waldrom (Taranaki), L Messam (Waikato). Replacements: K Read (Canterbury) for Thomson (51 mins), J Afoa (Auckland) for Franks (55 mins), H Elliott (Hawke's Bay) for Flynn, A Mathewson (Wellington) for Weepu, R Kahui (Waikato) for Gear (all 63 mins), B Thorn (Tasman) for Filipo, M Muliaina (Waikato) for Tuitavake (both 71 mins).
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
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