Munster V New Zealand

[Bobcock]

Munster's international players will not be available as they are preparing for Ireland's game next week.

Piri Weepu will captain a side with 14 changes from the New Zealand side of the weekend.

Hardly the stuff of legends of 1978 when there was about 10 of the All Blacks test Team playing.

I have the DVD about that game in my little mitts as we speak. The sadly missed days of when real tours took place.

and as Ka Mate was used in 1978

Of course it was a bit more akin to a morris dance in those days when players barely knew the words and correct actions.

[kiwiling]

Of course it was a bit more akin to a morris dance in those days when players barely knew the words and correct actions.

There was a lot of concern by Maoris of the standard of delivery of the haka but they kept it to themselves in those days. When things Maori gained a resurgence in the 1980's they started to practice the haka properly. I would dare you to call it a Morris dance though...English rugby and referees are not popular down here.

[zehner]

Kidney calls in cover for O'Connell

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has called 10 players up to the squad ahead of the third and final autumn test against Argentina. Among them are three locks, suggesting that the injury sustained by Paul O'Connell in the 22-3 defeat to the All Blacks may prevent the Munster captain from facing the Pumas on Saturday.
Malcolm O'Kelly, Ryan Caldwell and Bob Casey will all be vying to replace O'Connell should he not recover, while Kidney may also opt for secondrow cover on the bench after being left in a bind against the All Blacks when his pack leader pulled up.
Backs Shane Horgan, Gavin Duffy, Geordan Murphy and Andrew Trimble have been included, while hooker Bernard Jackman and props Mike Ross and Tom Court will train with the squad ahead of the team announcement that is expected on Tuesday afternoon.

Kidney calls in cover for O'Connell - The Irish Times - Sun, Nov 16, 2008

[alleykat]

The team New Zealand have named is essentially the B team, except for maybe 2-3 players.
Would a win by Munster really be a win over the All Blacks, or a win over N.Z B?

[Plan B]

A Munster B team vs an All Blacks B team.

Sounds fair to me.

[kiwiling]

Would a win by Munster really be a win over the All Blacks, or a win over N.Z B?

NZ B is still the second best team in the world...isn't that enough?

[Bobcock]

So if Musnter A.5 win, will that make them the 1.5th best team in the world?

English rugby and referees are not popular down here.

They are liked far less where I come from, you former jocks and poms down south are rank amateurs when it comes to hating English rugby.

Oh and it truly was a sad spoectacle, most morris dances are at least coordinated.

Thank God for Buck, started a real tradition going back oooohhh...21 years now.

[kiwiling]

Thank God for Buck

You know your rugby all right...I can't remember whether or not Buck was the first Maori AB Captain...however the better attention to the haka was more of a response to Maori becoming an official language in New Zealand and an upsurge in pride in things Maori...for example the Maori version of the national anthem sounds better than the English and is now sung as the first verse...but the tradition was started at Twickenham (I think) by a Maori singer who went against the instructions to sing it in English.

Also there are 3 Kiwis in the Munster side who are rumoured to be replying with a haka of their own...would be worth the price of admission on its own

They are liked far less where I come from, you former jocks and poms down south are rank amateurs when it comes to hating English rugby.

Sure...the Irish and the Scots have much more reason...we really just hate the Aussies

[Plan B]

Well if that ain't an advertisement for more midweek games, nothing is. Munster played like men possesed, and as for the ABs, when they weren't getting monstered in the rucks, they were coughing up the ball. The stats at the end of the game prolly say NZ deserved the win but I get the feeling they didn't. The opposition wanted it more.

Hope we don't have to wait another 30 years to see games like this again.

for Munster, great team effort.

[zehner]

Fans enjoy occasion as much as match







RONAN McGREEVY and KATHRYN HAYES

IT WAS standing room only in former Irish international Peter Clohessy's pub the Sin Bin, where fans who couldn't secure prized tickets for Thomond Park gathered to watch the match last night.
The pub crowd shouted themselves into a frenzy in anticipation of an improbable victory and only fell silent when Joe Rokocoko scored the clinching try three minutes from the end, much to the relief of a small group of New Zealanders huddled in the corner.
All 26,000 tickets for last night's heartstopping encounter sold out months ago.
"It's the worst it's ever been," said one forlorn fan outside the ground. "Usually a few turn up for European games, but, tonight, not a hope."
But even the ticketless had their breath taken away by the game. "The best game of rugby ever," said Kiwi expatriate Dezza Gibson over from London for the match, but watching it in the Sin Bin. "We were lucky to win. The passion here is incredible."
The Munster fans in the pub clapped the team to an echo at the end. "I thought they'd last half an hour," said Munster fan Dan O'Brien. "We had a development player Ryan at number 3 and we still nearly beat the All-Blacks.
James Gallagher said: "Look at the way we played and the way Ireland played. We have the passion. Those boys were unbelievable."
Everybody concluded that the game was worthy of the occasion and of the convivial atmosphere around the city all day.
Limerick declared an unofficial holiday yesterday. The city knocked off early, the pubs started to fill up from early afternoon and everybody forgot their troubles for a while.
The people of the city had been preparing for the arrival of the fabled All-Blacks and the official opening of the new Thomond Park for months.
Many fans had come expecting an occasion rather than a match, with one hapless bookie having the All-Blacks at 33/1 on to win.
In well-known rugby pub Charlie St George's, Munster's most hardened fan, Johnny Brennan, said the occasion resembled a "Lion's tour" and he has been on four of them.
"You get these small provincial cities and the whole place shuts down in the afternoon and the streets are full of fans. Limerick is like that today. Every place is packed."
Mr Brennan, who had a Munster rugby museum in his house, has one of the three balls he says was used when Munster beat the All Blacks in 1978 - although like the relics of the true cross, there seems to be a multiple of such balls around. "As many as on a snooker table," said one local man.
Munster's heartbreaking 18-16 defeat means that the 1978 team who beat the All-Blacks 12-0 retain the unique cachet which has been theirs for the last 30 years.
They were honoured yesterday at Limerick City Hall. All but one of the 15 who took the field that day attended and were presented with crystal rugby balls to mark the anniversary.
Even in the midst of a very proud day for Limerick city, there were reminders of the terrible events of last week when Garryowen player Shane Geoghegan was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity.
A minute's silence was observed before the game and several of Mr Geoghegan's family attended the pre-match reception.

Fans enjoy occasion as much as match - The Irish Times - Wed, Nov 19, 2008

[kiwiling]

The opposition wanted it more.

No...almost as much...and that is the difference...but these guys will go down in history for a fantastic effort...one of the great rugby occasions for sure...and oh to be drinking in a local bar afterwards.




Here is the video clip of the haka...well worth a look.
http://video.stuff.co.nz/assets/stuf...nster_300k.wmv