The legendary Munstermen of 1978 still stand alone.
History did not quite repeat as the All Blacks marked the
30th anniversary of one of New Zealand rugby's most famous
defeats with an 18-16 victory at Thomond Park Stadium
tonight.
Wing Joe Rokocoko scored the decisive try in the 77th minute
after Munster had dominated for long periods.
Expectations had not been high of another Munster victory
among the 26,000-capacity crowd, especially after 10 of the
province's leading players watched the match in Dublin while
on test duty with the Irish national team.
But the depleted side made a mockery of their second-string
status by hoeing into the All Blacks.
It would have been an uncomfortable and eerily familiar
experience for some members of the 1978 All Blacks who
tonight returned to the scene of their 0-12 loss.
Four of the side who suffered the only loss on that 18-match
tour were guests for the rematch - captain Graham Mourie,
Bryan Williams, Mark Donaldson and Gary Knight.
For the New Zealanders on the Munster side the one-off match
was also a memorable occasion, particularly before kickoff
when Rua Tipoki, Doug Howlett, Lifeimi Mafi and Jeremy
Manning stepped forward to perform a rousing haka while the
All Blacks stood motionless in their own formation.
It was a gesture that brought the crowd to fever pitch, not
that the occasion needed an extra spur.
Munster initially rode the wave of emotion as the All Blacks
struggled to adapt to their hostile surroundings.
While the New Zealand contingent laid down the challenge
before kickoff it was an Australian who provided Munster with
the start they craved.
First five-eighth Paul Warwick landed an eighth minute
penalty and although Stephen Donald levelled the scores a
minute later the Australian poked the home side in front
again with a 35m dropped goal.
Again the All Blacks muffled the crowd quickly, as Isaia
Toeava handled twice before No 8 Liam Messam put Waikato
teammate Donald over the tryline by the goalposts.
Donald converted and although Munster appeared to be finding
it hard to live with the All Blacks up-tempo game, committed
defence forced enough errors to keep them in the match.
Munster rallied superbly near halftime, pressuring the All
Blacks to concede a 5m scrum.
