The providence of Munster

One night long ago in Caesar's Palace, I found myself in the company of a famous boxer of yesteryear in the small hours - only of course there are no small hours in Las Vegas.

We were approached by a man who, though old enough to have more sense, was looking for an autograph - not mine I hasten to add. My companion dipped into a pocket and produced what looked like a book of raffle tickets.

He liberated one page and handed it to the newcomer. In meticulous handwriting it said: "With best wishes from Terry Downes, former world champion."

That little ploy gave me an idea but I didn't follow it up: I intended to print a sheaf of pamphlets to hand out to all those people who ask me why there is such a link between Kerry and rugby.

My interrogators usually give the impression that it is wrong that there should be any rugby in Kerry at all: they think of the Kingdom as exclusively a domain of Gaelic football.

It isn't that way at all: rugby was well established in the county before the birth of Gaelic football. This was made very clear in a documentary produced by RTE to commemorate the centenary of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Michael Cusack took what he deemed the better elements of soccer and rugby and wove them into the existing pattern - thus came Gaelic football.

The new game spread rapidly into almost every nook and cranny in the country and to a certain extent it took over from rugby, but the older game remained strong, especially in Munster.

Myths have grown up about the Munster rugby as they have about Welsh rugby. There are innocent people who believe that Welsh packs are composed mainly of miners - they aren't, if only because there are no coal mines any more.

There is a similar belief about Munster forwards, especially those from Limerick: in mythology they all work in the docks or are fishermen or work on the sand dredgers in the Abbey river.

This may have once been true, but it is a long time ago. The most celebrated of all Limerick forwards could hardly be described as a horny-handed son of the soil.

That was my friend, Tom Clifford; for good measure he was a native of Tipperary. The eight forwards who will play against Northampton contain only one man who is used to physical toil; that is John Hayes, a farmer in civilian life.

Nevertheless, the myth is hard to slay. Shannon's great record in the All-Ireland League and Munster's brilliant run in this season's Provincial series and in the European Cup have almost convinced some people that the men in the south are a different species.

Then of course, there are the province's many memorable performances against touring sides. The most legendary is the victory over the All Blacks in Thomond Park. That team, incidentally, had a Kerry presence in the persons of Moss Keane and Donal Spring.

That occasion has been celebrated so often that it might have been a watershed in Irish rugby. We are still wallowing in it but as someone said: "One wallow doesn't make a summer."

Those of us who are older love to recall another marvellous occasion, the meeting of Munster and Australia in The Mardyke in 1948. Cork was still a slightly Victorian City, but on that Wednesday a remarkable number of people risked the wrath of their bosses by attending to the corporal works of mercy. The number of grandmothers and grandfathers who died was far above the national average; oddly enough, this wasn't reflected in the family notices in the Cork Examiner and the Evening Echo.

Spectators were literally hanging out of the trees in The Mardyke; it was worth the risk to life and limb - it was one of the finest games in any code that I ever saw.

It was generally believed that Munster had no hope; when five players cried off through injury, it was believed that they had no hope at all.

Australia had a brilliant team: they were better at winning possession and at using it but after 75 minutes they had only an unconverted try. That game was mainly a siege; in my youthful fancy it recalled the sieges of Limerick and Verdun and Troy.

Then Munster started a movement in midfield; Paddy Reid took the final pass from Con Roche. I can still see him curving away to the right and crossing behind The Mardyke goal. His conversion made it 5-3.

Australia launched an almighty attack and in the last minute a second-row forward named Hardcastle broke from a lineout and scored in the north-east corner. If hearts could really break there would have been an urgent need for cardiac splints that evening.

I have long believed that part of the reason for Munster's record against touring teams is the emotional climate they generate - the southern province abounds in aficionados. This was palpable a few weeks ago in Bordeaux.

Our team this weekend has a Kerry captain in Mick Galwey. Dominic Crotty's mother is from Castle Island. I hope that this pinch of yeast will help us to repeat the victory over the All Blacks.

Con Houlihan writes for the Sunday World