Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is one of the professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster Branch, which is responsible for rugby union throughout the Irish province of Munster. The team motto is "To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible." This is derived from the motto of the MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile". Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork.
History
Foundation and early years
Munster was officially founded in 1879, at the same time as Leinster and Ulster, with Connacht being founded ten years later in 1889. The first interprovincial matches between Leinster, Ulster and Munster, however, were held in 1875. The founding of the Munster branch of the IRFU was intended to organise and oversee the game within the province and prevent any club bias by providing neutral selectors for the representative side. In amateur days, the four Irish provinces played against each other in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship and also played touring international sides.Munster traditionally drew its strength from the clubs of Limerick, with the game popular in the city and widely played at all levels. Teams such as Shannon, Garryowen and Young Munster built up fierce rivalries with one another, helping push standards in the province higher as a result.
Games against touring sides
Munster has a great tradition of competitiveness and impassioned displays against touring sides. The first touring side to play Munster were the famous Original All Blacks led by Dave Gallaher, who lined out against Munster in the Markets Field, Limerick in November 1905. Munster were defeated that day 33–0. Throughout the years, Munster were to record a number of near-misses and last minute defeats against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The first tangible result against a touring side was to come in 1958, when the Wallabies were held to a 3–3 draw in Thomond Park. Munster became the first Irish provincial side to defeat a major touring team when they defeated Australia 11–8 in Musgrave Park, Cork on 25 January 1967. Munster were captained that day by Tom Kiernan.Against New Zealand
Munster first played the All Blacks in 1905, losing 33–0 on the occasion. They have played each other many times since then. Munster drew with New Zealand 3–3 in 1973 and, in 1978, became, at the time, the only Irish side to have beaten the All Blacks. The 12–0 victory occurred on Tuesday 31 October 1978 at Thomond Park, in front of a crowd of 12,000, though many times that number still claim to have been present, such was the occasion. Christy Cantillon scored a try with Tony Ward converting. Ward also added a drop-goal in each half. Until the national team's victory on 5 November 2016, it was the only time an All Blacks team lost to any Irish side in the men's game and forms part of Munster Rugby mythology. A stage play named Alone it Stands and a book entitled Stand Up and Fight: When Munster Beat the All Blacks by Alan English were both based on the event. Both have been commercially successful; Alone it Stands has had several sell-out runs in Ireland and abroad and Stand Up and Fight was a bestseller in 2005.The All Blacks returned to Thomond Park in November 2008 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1978 match and to celebrate the opening of the new stadium. After 76 minutes of the match, Munster were winning 16–13, but a late try from Joe Rokocoko meant the All Blacks won 18–16.
On 11 November 2016, Munster welcomed the Māori All Blacks to Thomond Park. The Māori players paid tribute to Anthony Foley by placing a jersey with his initials on the halfway line before performing the Haka. Māori captain Ash Dixon then presented the jersey to Foley's sons. Munster went on to win the historic game 27–14.
On 3 February 2024, Munster hosted a world first 'Clash of Champions' against the Crusaders, the 14-time champions of Super Rugby, at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork. Munster edged out the Crusaders to win 21–19, having led 14–7 at half-time. The Crusaders were coached by Former Munster Head Coach Rob Penney.
Against Australia
Like the All Blacks, Munster have played Australia many times. They first met in 1947, when Australia won 6–5. Munster claimed their first victory over the Wallabies in 1967 when they won 11–8. In 1992, Australia, then-reigning world champions having won the 1991 Rugby World Cup, visited Munster as part of a European tour. Munster won 22–19 in a rough encounter in Cork. Ten years later, London newspaper The Daily Telegraph recounted part of the legend in a feature on Munster prop Peter Clohessy: "The then Wallabies coach, Bob Dwyer, who was not a man who readily accepted that opposition sides could legitimately score more points than his team, immediately branded the Munster number 3 a 'disgrace'. It had been a typically rugged, robust and memorable Munster triumph, with leather and fists flying on both sides. Clohessy, who wouldn't generally be known for misconduct, was no more guilty than the next man but world champions are not supposed to lose against a hastily assembled Irish provincial XV. There had to be a reason, an excuse, and Dwyer rounded on Clohessy".History repeated itself in 2010 when Munster defeated the Wallabies 15–6, with their Australian fly-half, Paul Warwick, kicking all fifteen points. The match was played in ferocious weather, with Munster playing into a gale-force wind and driving rain in the first-half. Indeed, the conditions made the half time score of 6–6 all the more significant, as Australia could neither cope with the weather nor the Munster pressure in the second-half.
Against South Africa
Munster have played South Africa much less frequently than they have Australia and New Zealand. The first fixture between the two sides took place on 11 December 1951 in Thomond Park, with the visitors emerging with an 11–6 win after a late try broke the deadlock. South Africa returned to face the province for a second time on 22 December 1960, this time at Musgrave Park. They again secured a narrow win against the province, needing two late scores for a 9–3 win. The third meeting between the sides was less of a close-run thing, with South Africa easing to a 25–9 win in Thomond Park on 11 January 1970.After the GAA Central Council unanimously backed the proposal, Munster confirmed they would face a South Africa XV in a friendly held at Cork GAA's 45,000-capacity Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 10 November 2022. It was the first time Munster have faced a South African national team in the professional era and the first time a game of rugby was held at the stadium. The match was a 41,400 sell-out at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, making it the largest attendance for a rugby match in the province, and saw Munster secure their first ever win against South Africa in a 28–14 victory. Winger Shane Daly opened the scoring in just the 2nd minute, with fly-half Ben Healy converting to give the home side a 7–0 lead. South Africa hit back in the 12th minute through an Aphelele Fassi try that was converted by Johan Goosen to level the score, but Munster struck back with tries from Simon Zebo and Diarmuid Barron, both converted by Healy, to head into half-time with a 21–7. Munster struck early in the second-half, with fullback Mike Haley scoring after just two minutes and Healy's fourth conversion of the night extending their lead to 28–7. South Africa scored their second try in the 62nd minute when Sikhumbuzo Notshe crossed the try-line, converted by Gianni Lombard, but the visitors were unable to mount a comeback and Munster hung on to earn a famous win.
Professional era
On 26 August 1995, the International Rugby Board declared rugby union an "open" game, removing all restrictions on payments or benefits to those connected with the game. This was done due to a committee conclusion that having an open game was the only way to end the hypocrisy of shamateurism, and keep control of the sport. The threat to amateur rugby union was mostly prevalent in the Southern hemisphere, particularly in Australia where Super League was threatening to entice players to rugby league with large salaries. In Ireland, the four provincial teams were the only teams to go professional, while their smaller constituent clubs remained amateur.The 1995–96 season saw the first ever Heineken Cup, a new tournament set up for European clubs. The Irish were allocated three places in the competition, with these places going to Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Munster finally reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals in 1998–99 Heineken Cup, after three years of not being able to get out of the group stages.
Near-misses and European glory (1999–2009)
Munster's first appearance in the Heineken Cup's final was in the 1999–2000 Heineken Cup, where they lost by one point to Northampton at Twickenham. Nevertheless, the season was most memorable with a 31–25 win over Toulouse in Bordeaux.Their good form and bad luck continued in the following season, 2000–01, with a semi-final defeat to Stade Français, again by one point, where a try from John O'Neill was disallowed by the referee, as he deemed the ball to be out over the dead-ball line. In the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, Munster lost the last match of their pool at Castres, but qualified as best runners-up. Munster beat Stade Français 16–14 in Paris, the only try of the game coming from Anthony Horgan. It was then on to Béziers to meet Castres again for the semi-final. Munster were triumphant and went to the final at Millennium Stadium to meet the reigning champions, Leicester. Munster lost a tight game remembered as 'the hand of Back' final, as the Leicester flanker used his hand illegally in a scrum when Munster had a last-chance attack. Munster also reached the final of the Celtic League in this season, but lost 24–20 to Leinster at Lansdowne Road, Dublin.
In 2002–03, Munster reached the quarter-finals after a win against Gloucester, later issued on VHS under the title "The Miracle Match". In this game, Munster needed to win by a margin of at least 27 points and score a minimum of four tries to earn a quarter-final berth. They won 33–6 with four tries in a game that has become part of Munster Rugby folklore. They again faced Leicester, this time at the Tigers' home of Welford Road, and defeated the reigning champions to progress to the semi-finals. They faced Toulouse in the semi-finals and lost out on a place in the final after losing by a single point in France. In this season, Munster won the Celtic League for the first time, by beating Neath-Swansea Ospreys 37–17 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
In 2003–04 it was more of the same. After an assured performance in the pool stage, Munster defeated Stade Français at Thomond Park to set up a semi-final date with English champions, London Wasps. This match has gone down as one of the best Heineken Cup matches of all time. Although leading by 10 points in the second half, and having lost Ronan O'Gara to injury early on, they succumbed to two Wasps tries in injury time, resulting in a Wasps v Toulouse final. Munster finished in a disappointing seventh position in the 2003–04 season of the Celtic League.
In 2004–05, after a shaky performance in the pool stage, Munster qualified as 5th seeds and played Biarritz away. The match was played at Real Sociedad's ground, the Anoeta Stadium, in San Sebastián, Spain – the first Heineken Cup game ever played in Spain. Biarritz won 19–10 to avenge a 38–29 defeat at the same stage in 2001. Munster finished second in the 2004–05 Celtic League season but won the Celtic Cup, defeating Llanelli Scarlets 27–16 in the final.
Image:HeinekenCupFinal06MunsterVBiarritz200506SmallByMike.JPG|thumb|Inside the Millennium Stadium for the 2006 final, where over 65,000 Munster fans were present
In 2005–06, Munster qualified to the final of the Heineken Cup, having overcome rivals Leinster 30–6 in the semi-final at Lansdowne Road. The final was held at the Millennium Stadium against Biarritz. Munster won 23–19 to become European Champions for the first time. Munster finished one place lower than the previous season in the Celtic League, finishing third overall.
The 2006–07 Heineken Cup was a disappointing tournament for Munster, as they lost their previously unbeaten European record at Thomond Park, losing to Leicester Tigers in the group stages in January 2007, and later lost their quarter-final to Llanelli Scarlets. Munster's performance in the Celtic League was equally disappointing, finishing sixth overall.
In 2007, Munster signed Doug Howlett, the all-time leading try scorer for New Zealand. Howlett joined the squad after the 2007 Rugby World Cup. That season's Heineken Cup saw Munster finish top in their group, and they went on to reach the final for the second time in three years, beating Saracens in the semi-final. The final, again held at the Millennium Stadium, saw Munster defeat Toulouse 16–13 to claim their second Heineken Cup title in 3 years. Munster finished third in the Celtic League in the 2007–08 season. In May 2008, Director of Coaching Declan Kidney left to take up the head coach job with Ireland. Munster ensured continuity by promoting Australian Tony McGahan to the position from within the coaching setup.
In the 2008–09 Heineken Cup, Munster once again topped their group and hammered Ospreys 43–9 to advance to a semi-final against arch-rivals Leinster. Many had fancied Munster to become only the second team to win back-to-back Heineken Cups, but a dominant Leinster side gained revenge for their 2006 semi-final defeat against Munster with a 25–6 win in Croke Park, in front of a then-world record 82,208 crowd. Munster clinched the Celtic League for the second time in their history, after their closest challengers Ospreys beat Dragons but failed to claim a bonus point. This handed the title to Munster who could not be overtaken at the top of the table.