IAN COSTELLO ADMITTED to mixed emotions after watching a spirited Munster side fall short against a clinical All Blacks XV at Thomond Park this evening.

After a turbulent week which started with the departure of head coach Graham Rowntree, a Munster squad stripped of all their current Ireland internationals, bar flanker Peter O’Mahony, fell short against an All Blacks XV which finished strongly to win 38-24 in front of 26,267 supporters in Limerick.

After slipping 14-0 behind, Munster dug in to cause their visitors some difficult moments and were trailing by just two points in the final quarter, before two late tries saw the All Blacks pull clear at the end.

While Munster finished on the wrong side of the result, it was a memorable occasion in Limerick and served as a welcome opportunity to get back on the pitch after the surprise exit of Rowntree earlier this week.

“It was an incredible occasion,” said Costello, Munster’s Head of Rugby Operations who is serving as interim head coach.

“We had prepared for it, we talked about it, you think you know what to expect and then you come to a full Thomond Park and give the crowd something to identify with like that and get involved in. It was incredible.

“I think we talked about playing the occasion, the lads talked about playing with freedom, and we really wanted to enjoy it.

It’s really strange because we’re gutted. At 76 minutes it was right there for us to make history, but it’s hard to stay gutted for long when you get a performance like that.

“The scoreboard is kind of irrelevant. You won’t hear us say that too often. Tonight was about the performance.

“We had a lineout on the halfway line with five minutes to go, we lose the lineout, they score, they’re a clinical side. But tonight’s not about them, it’s about us pulling together as a club this week.

“And not just saying we’d do it, but it was quality in terms of the preparation. The players and coaches did an incredible job, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in producing a performance like that, even though ultimately we came up a little bit short.

“There was a lot to build on, and there were six academy lads out there as well, four of them in a pack at the end winning a scrum. That’s a nice little taste of the future hopefully.”

In a boost for Ireland head coach Andy Farrell ahead of Friday night’s Test meeting with New Zealand, Peter O’Mahony completed 40 minutes on his return from a hamstring injury which has kept him sidelined since round three of the URC.

“We were delighted that Peter was available to us for the week and the medical advice was (for him to play) 40 minutes,” Costello said.

Costello speaks to O'Mahony ahead of the game. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

“When I told him he was coming off at half time I was worried about his reaction, but thankfully, he took it calmly and he concurred with medical advice. I thought he might make a scene, but he didn’t (laughs).

“I thought he was excellent, and I’m not even talking about… Like, I’d have to watch the video back to look at the small bits and pieces. But you know, Diarmuid (Barron) captaining the side, Peter’s leadership, it’s hard to equate what they do in a week like this, any big week.

“The leadership they showed from start to finish, how they make others around them feel. Sometimes you can pick a player because they do X and Y, when you pick Peter, there’s four or five black shirts probably targeting on Peter, which frees up four or five other guys, and how he makes others feel around him, it’s probably one of the most impressive things about him.”