AFTER THE WEEK they’ve had Munster supporters were delighted to have some rugby to talk about again. Over 26,000 of them packed into Thomond Park this evening to see their team, led by interim head coach Ian Costello following the departure of Graham Rowntree earlier this week, take on a talented All Blacks XV under the lights.
These games are always special occasions for the province and despite a turbulent week behind the scenes, this evening felt no different. The roads around Thomond were awash with red jerseys hours before kickoff and the place was packed by the time the players were staring down the Haka.
It felt as though a big night was instore and by the time the final whistle sounded the sides had traded 10 scores, with the All Blacks XV ultimately proving too strong for their under-strength hosts.
Munster’s tries came from Mike Haley, John Hodnett, Tom Farrell and a first-half penalty try, and while they enjoyed some bright moments with ball in hand they will be disappointed by a number of unforced errors, while set-pieces again crept into their game.
The Munster team face the Haka. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The Thomond Park audience was lively from the first minute, and on the pitch the players responded with a purposeful start, albeit one which yielded little reward.
The opening 10 minutes were largely played in the All Blacks’ half as Munster searched for the opening score. Their two wingers were heavily involved. Shay McCarthy saw plenty of ball as he roved infield in search of work, while Diarmuid Kilgallen, winning his first cap since joining from Connacht, was one their brightest sparks.
Kilgallen looked threatening anytime he saw the ball, doing well to turn a recovery chase into a break down the left wing, burning scrum-half Finlay Christie on the turn before winger Chay Fihaki ensured he ran out of road.
For all their possession, Munster’s attack lacked a clinical edge. Ethan Coughlan overcooked a kick to the wing, while Munster’s ball-carriers were swallowed up by the All Blacks’ defence.
Eventually the visitors began to take control, their momentum rising just as fireworks began to light up the sky behind the North Terrace end.
Munster's Rory Scannell gets by Bradley Slater. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
A dominant scrum helped push the All Blacks onto the frontfoot. After Kilgallen’s fingertips scrapped a heavy All Blacks’ kick to the corner, the visitors’ scrum dug in and the All Blacks were in motion. A knock-on while playing with advantage gave the All Blacks another scrum, and this time Christie played the ball out to his half-back partner Harry Plummer, who neatly sent AJ Lam steaming through a gap between Billy Burns and Tom Farrell. Plummer converted and the All Blacks led by seven.
Munster continued to frustrate themselves, with Burns failing to find touch from a penalty.
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Just short of the half-hour mark Chay Fihaki had the All Blacks’ second try. With numbers up in the Munster half, the All Blacks quickly moved the ball through hands to send the winger over in the corner. Kini Naholo made the initial break and Quinn Tupaea, Plummer, Christie and Isaia Walker-Leawere all played their part before Fihaki touched down, Plummer adding an excellent conversion.
Shortly after Munster found themselves in a promising position only for Tom Ahern to spill a looping Kilgallen pass on the touchline. From the lineout, Munster made amends for the error, captain Diarmuid Barron doing well to force a turnover penalty.
Munster went to the corner and Ahern rose to claim the lineout, allowing Gavin Coombes to peel away and charge for the line. Coombes hit a wall, but Munster went again, going close through Fineen Wycherley before shifting the ball out to Haley to score. Rory Scannell eyed up the conversion but couldn’t add the extras.
With the last play of the half Munster added a second, refereeTakehito Namekawa awarding a penalty try and showing Walker-Leawere a yellow card for collapsing Munster’s maul. Peter O’Mahony let out a hearty roar and was the first down the tunnel in what was his last action of the evening.
Munster's Peter O'Mahony calls for a Penalty try. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The All Blacks held a 14-12 lead at the break and almost had a dream start to the second half, Lam beating Haley with a dummy before captain Du’Plessis Kirifi went over, only for the try to be crossed off due to a dangerous clearout in the build-up.
The home side breathed a sigh of relief but were soon back under their posts, Brodie McAlister powering over from a maul, the score again converted by Plummer.
Munster dug in again, and just minutes later John Hodnett was squeezing through a mass of black jerseys to score. Scannell will feel he should have scored the extra two but his effort pulled wide.
It wasn’t a night to be leaving points behind. In a flash, a smart Shaun Stevenson chip resulted in Quinn Tupaea diving over for try number four. Plummer’s conversion was off-target but the All Blacks led by nine with 20 to play.
The chase was on. Scannell did well to bump off a big tackle and charge forward, before a lovely pass inside allowed Tom Farrell stretch his arm over the tryline. Butler converted and Munster were just two behind.
Munster's Tom Farrell with All Blacks XV's Devan Flanders and Kini Naholo. Ken Sutton / INPHO
Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO
The crowd sensed a strong finish, meeting Evan O’Connell’s penalty win on halfway with a massive roar. It was a big moment from O’Connell, who had barely been on the pitch long enough to break sweat.
More big moments came. With young props Kieran Ryan and Ronan Foxe now scrumming down, Munster won a scrum penalty on the edge of the All Blacks half as the game entered the final 10 minutes. It carried Munster into the 22 and saw them charging at the corner, only for Kilgallen to be bundled out of play.
It felt like last chance terrority, and shortly after Munster had been pushing at the All Blacks line, their visitors were breaking at the other end to wrap the game up, replacement scrum-half Noah Hotham left with his of options before Kini Naholo added the finish.
Plummer converted and put the cherry on top by intercepting a Scannell pass to add a try of his own, which he failed to convert.
While some headed for the exits, many of the Munster support waited to clap their team off the pitch. After an entertaining night, there’s now plenty of work to do before the province return to competitive action against the Lions on 30 November.
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All Blacks XV prove too strong for Munster at Thomond Park
Munster 24
All Blacks XV 38
AFTER THE WEEK they’ve had Munster supporters were delighted to have some rugby to talk about again. Over 26,000 of them packed into Thomond Park this evening to see their team, led by interim head coach Ian Costello following the departure of Graham Rowntree earlier this week, take on a talented All Blacks XV under the lights.
These games are always special occasions for the province and despite a turbulent week behind the scenes, this evening felt no different. The roads around Thomond were awash with red jerseys hours before kickoff and the place was packed by the time the players were staring down the Haka.
It felt as though a big night was instore and by the time the final whistle sounded the sides had traded 10 scores, with the All Blacks XV ultimately proving too strong for their under-strength hosts.
Munster’s tries came from Mike Haley, John Hodnett, Tom Farrell and a first-half penalty try, and while they enjoyed some bright moments with ball in hand they will be disappointed by a number of unforced errors, while set-pieces again crept into their game.
The Thomond Park audience was lively from the first minute, and on the pitch the players responded with a purposeful start, albeit one which yielded little reward.
The opening 10 minutes were largely played in the All Blacks’ half as Munster searched for the opening score. Their two wingers were heavily involved. Shay McCarthy saw plenty of ball as he roved infield in search of work, while Diarmuid Kilgallen, winning his first cap since joining from Connacht, was one their brightest sparks.
Kilgallen looked threatening anytime he saw the ball, doing well to turn a recovery chase into a break down the left wing, burning scrum-half Finlay Christie on the turn before winger Chay Fihaki ensured he ran out of road.
For all their possession, Munster’s attack lacked a clinical edge. Ethan Coughlan overcooked a kick to the wing, while Munster’s ball-carriers were swallowed up by the All Blacks’ defence.
Eventually the visitors began to take control, their momentum rising just as fireworks began to light up the sky behind the North Terrace end.
A dominant scrum helped push the All Blacks onto the frontfoot. After Kilgallen’s fingertips scrapped a heavy All Blacks’ kick to the corner, the visitors’ scrum dug in and the All Blacks were in motion. A knock-on while playing with advantage gave the All Blacks another scrum, and this time Christie played the ball out to his half-back partner Harry Plummer, who neatly sent AJ Lam steaming through a gap between Billy Burns and Tom Farrell. Plummer converted and the All Blacks led by seven.
Munster continued to frustrate themselves, with Burns failing to find touch from a penalty.
Just short of the half-hour mark Chay Fihaki had the All Blacks’ second try. With numbers up in the Munster half, the All Blacks quickly moved the ball through hands to send the winger over in the corner. Kini Naholo made the initial break and Quinn Tupaea, Plummer, Christie and Isaia Walker-Leawere all played their part before Fihaki touched down, Plummer adding an excellent conversion.
Shortly after Munster found themselves in a promising position only for Tom Ahern to spill a looping Kilgallen pass on the touchline. From the lineout, Munster made amends for the error, captain Diarmuid Barron doing well to force a turnover penalty.
Munster went to the corner and Ahern rose to claim the lineout, allowing Gavin Coombes to peel away and charge for the line. Coombes hit a wall, but Munster went again, going close through Fineen Wycherley before shifting the ball out to Haley to score. Rory Scannell eyed up the conversion but couldn’t add the extras.
With the last play of the half Munster added a second, referee Takehito Namekawa awarding a penalty try and showing Walker-Leawere a yellow card for collapsing Munster’s maul. Peter O’Mahony let out a hearty roar and was the first down the tunnel in what was his last action of the evening.
The All Blacks held a 14-12 lead at the break and almost had a dream start to the second half, Lam beating Haley with a dummy before captain Du’Plessis Kirifi went over, only for the try to be crossed off due to a dangerous clearout in the build-up.
The home side breathed a sigh of relief but were soon back under their posts, Brodie McAlister powering over from a maul, the score again converted by Plummer.
Munster dug in again, and just minutes later John Hodnett was squeezing through a mass of black jerseys to score. Scannell will feel he should have scored the extra two but his effort pulled wide.
It wasn’t a night to be leaving points behind. In a flash, a smart Shaun Stevenson chip resulted in Quinn Tupaea diving over for try number four. Plummer’s conversion was off-target but the All Blacks led by nine with 20 to play.
The chase was on. Scannell did well to bump off a big tackle and charge forward, before a lovely pass inside allowed Tom Farrell stretch his arm over the tryline. Butler converted and Munster were just two behind.
The crowd sensed a strong finish, meeting Evan O’Connell’s penalty win on halfway with a massive roar. It was a big moment from O’Connell, who had barely been on the pitch long enough to break sweat.
More big moments came. With young props Kieran Ryan and Ronan Foxe now scrumming down, Munster won a scrum penalty on the edge of the All Blacks half as the game entered the final 10 minutes. It carried Munster into the 22 and saw them charging at the corner, only for Kilgallen to be bundled out of play.
It felt like last chance terrority, and shortly after Munster had been pushing at the All Blacks line, their visitors were breaking at the other end to wrap the game up, replacement scrum-half Noah Hotham left with his of options before Kini Naholo added the finish.
Plummer converted and put the cherry on top by intercepting a Scannell pass to add a try of his own, which he failed to convert.
While some headed for the exits, many of the Munster support waited to clap their team off the pitch. After an entertaining night, there’s now plenty of work to do before the province return to competitive action against the Lions on 30 November.
Munster scorers:
Tries – Haley, Penalty Try, Hodnett, Farrell
Conversions – R Scannell [0/2], Butler [1/1]
All Blacks XV scorers:
Tries – Lam, Fihaki, McAllister, Tupaea, Naholo, Plummer
Conversions – Plummer [4/5]
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Shay McCarthy (Ben O’Connor, 71), Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Billy Burns (Tony Butler, 52), Ethan Coughlan (Paddy Patterson, 56); John Ryan (Kieran Ryan, 52), Diarmuid Barron (capt) (Niall Scannell, 57), Stephen Archer (Ronan Foxe, 71); Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern (Evan O’Connell, 62); Peter O’Mahony (Ruadhán Quinn, HT), John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
ALL BLACKS XV: Shaun Stevenson (Josh Jacomb, 72); Chay Fihaki (Ruben Love, 47), AJ Lam, Quinn Tupaea, Kini Naholo; Harry Plummer, Finlay Christie (Noah Hotham, 66); George Bower (Xavier Numia, 51), Brodie McAlister (Bradley Slater, 60), George Dyer (Marcel Renata, 51); Isaia Walker-Leawere, Fabian Holland (Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 67); Oliver Haig, Du’Plessis Kirifi (capt), Devan Flanders.
Referee: Takehito Namekawa.
Attendance: 26,267
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All Blacks XV Munster Report Rugby