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Written by Len Dinneen

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Munster, the All Blacks and a ‘tale of two balls’

LAST Saturday night I stood on the lower deck of the new East Stand at Thomond Park reminiscing with Tony Ward about the ’78 Munster win over the All Blacks.
“I can’t believe 30 years have gone by,” said Wardy, “it seems like only yesterday. I have great memories of the occasion and how Tom Kiernan was leaving nothing to chance. He got a video from England on the All Blacks’ earlier games and we watched it before the match. Mind you I slipped out a side door halfway through as I hated looking at the opposition before I played them.”
Wardy said he will always remember Dennison’s try. “I was delighted that Seamus tackled Wilson because he was heading down my channel,” he said. “It was a magnificent tackle but Seamus did that regularly for Garryowen and he was a gifted all-round player who should have got a bag full of caps for Ireland.”
As we spoke, Christy Cantillon appeared on the side of the pitch and made his way down the touchline towards the goal line where he had scored the most famous try in Munster’s history.
Photographer Brendan Moran was with Christy and he took a few shots of the flanker standing on the goal line.
Christy didn’t dive for the shot as the Irish team were warming up just alongside him, but he had a big smile on his face.
The photo of Christy’s try is displayed in the Munster museum alongside a coat. If you look at the shot you will see a fan throwing the selfsame coat into the air with excitement, as Christy scored.
It later transpired that the man throwing his coat into the air was Young Munster man Dan Mooney, who has kindly donated his coat to the magnificent rugby museum in Thomond Park.
There is also some confusion about how many rugby balls were used on the great day.
Touch judge Johnny Cole said two balls were used. “One was kicked by Tony Ward over the wall and into the garden of a Ballynanty resident,” said Johnny. “I got the other one from Stu Wilson at full time and I stuffed it up my jumper.”
Johnny ran into the referee’s dressing room with the ball but was spotted by the assistant treasurer of the branch, Jimmy Sparling.
“Jimmy wanted £3 and 8 shillings for it” continued Johnny, “but Martin Walsh, my touch judge colleague, told him where to go.”
Over the years confusion has arisen about who now has the original ball. Johnny said that his ball had been given to the charity GOAL and they had auctioned it for €1,000. He doesn’t know who bought it.
Gerry McLoughlin got the one that Wardy kicked over the wall but there is also a ‘match’ ball in Johnny Brennan’s museum and there is another one in the Mayor’s office.
Kiely’s Rugby Pub in Donnybrook also has one proudly displayed in a glass case!
Cormac Liddy, my colleague in this paper, can’t shed any light on the ball’s situation but he assures me he was at the match.
“I don’t know why they are talking about record crowds at Thomond Park today,” said Cormac. “That record was broken in ’78. Over 100,000 said they were at the match.”
Cormac, who was working in the ‘Limerick Leader’ at the time, received a telegram from the late Richard Harris congratulating the team and saying how thrilled he was to be able to get one up on his great friend Richard Burton, who was a fanatical Welsh supporter and in fact had played for London Welsh.
Colm Tucker was immense in the Munster back row that day.
“I will always remember Tom Kiernan’s inspiring team talk before the game,” said Colm. “He told us to be proud of the jersey and remember the men who had worn it with pride over the years.”
“I also remember the first scrum, when Garry Knight started messing with Lockey. I decided to welcome Knight to Thomond Park and he broke up from the scrum. ‘Who hit me,’ he said, ‘what’s his number?’ It was near the touchline and the crowd shouted number 5 which was Moss Keane’s number.”
Colm continued: “With about a minute to go I was standing alongside Moss Keane and Andy Hayden raised his fist to hit him. Moss caught him by the wrist and said ‘Don’t do it because you’ll lose the fight as well.’.”
Brendan Foley remembers winning the line-out ball which eventually led to Cantillon’s try.
“We had used the move in training,” said Brendan, “where I would move to one. Pat Whelan gave me a fine ball and we drove it forward and the rest is history.”
“I also remember gasping for air with five minutes to go and asking the referee how long to go. ‘Five minutes. They won’t catch you now,’ he told me,” Brendan recalled.
Tom Kiernan said that his one abiding thought at the end of that game 30 years ago was one of “sheer relief”.
“We had always given touring sides a tough game,” said Tommy. “And we should have beaten the All Blacks in 1977. We were leading by three points going into injury time when their fullback Trevor Morris kicked a penalty to draw the game. The ’78 team were a very good side but had a wake-up call when we went on a short tour to London before the big game and Middlesex beat us by 50 points. We stepped up the training after that and the lads were ready for the All Blacks game.”
Tommy recalled taking the lads out to Killaloe for a boating session a few days before the game.
“It was just a bit of light relief really,” he said, “but it helped relax the lads.”
The team of ’78 will be present next Tuesday and wouldn’t it be something else if Munster could lower the All Blacks colours once again at Thomond Park?

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