Munster v All Black XV was no classic and did not match the ...

A brave effort but, well Munster short of the mark.

On a crisp and wonderful night to play rugby in the hallowed grounds of Thomond Park, it was a physically superior New Zealand XV that took the spoils against a plucky Munster side that gave it their all, but leaked far too many easy tries.

Four days on from the unsettling and still unexplained departure of the provinces head coach Graham Rowntree, a patched together Munster side took to the field in a game that truly the province could have done without.

As the first choice All Blacks were finishing up their test game against England in Twickenham, a second string New Zealand side were just about to kick off in Limerick and I really have to question the merit of playing such a contest?

If this was a full strength New Zealand against a full strength Munster then yes, it would have ticked all the boxes as yet another historical fixture for the province, but I really do believe that on this occasion that the public were sold a bit of a pup.

This somewhat theatrical fixture now represents the provinces fourth straight loss on the bounce and whilst these kind of contests are pencilled in months and sometimes years in advance, I’d be confidently certain that if interim coach Ian Costello had the option of playing this game or giving his players the week off, it’s the latter that would have easily got the vote.

This sold out fixture that I would call vaguely artificial may well have boosted the provinces ailing bank accounts, but when your squad is pummelled with injuries, your coach has just resigned or been fired and you find yourself drowning at the bottom of the league table, the last thing you want to do is worry about is playing in a fixture that only has a monetary value to it.

It isn’t that often that I travel to games these days however, on this occasion I was lucky enough to get myself a ticket and undertook the somewhat daunting task of navigating the brutal M20.

Sitting high up in the west stand and surrounded by spectators that varied from ones who scrolled through their phones for the entirety of the game to the ones that had passion etched all over their faces, we were treated to the now customary renditions of Stand up and fight, The fields of Athenry and Zombie by the Cranberries. 

There were fireworks and flames, but yet it all just seemed tedious and repetitive.

Maybe it was just me, but I was expecting something more, something new, something that fell outside the box of conformity that got the sixteenth man salivating at the gills. 

Maybe this kind of environment was there in the terraces, but where I was sitting the only thing that got my heart rate elevated was the constant flow of people that were infuriating me on the way to the bar.

In the second half alone I had to stand up and sit down on thirteen occasions to leave people pass and watching the game became a task rather than a pleasure. 

It just amazed me that people couldn’t sit down for forty minutes to watch a game of rugby without having to suppress their requirements for alcohol or food.

Maybe its time to seriously start thinking about closing the bars during the game and leave those who want to watch do so without getting extremely frustrated.

Okay! rant over and on to what happened on the field.

Putting themselves under early pressure is something Munster must really address if they are to clamber their way up the URC table and have a worthy run in the Champions cup.

Despite starting well and keeping their visitors confined to the middle of the park, all it took was for two miniscule mistakes and Costello’s charges suddenly found themselves trailing by two converted try’s.

Munster did bravely battle back and at half time the margin was just two points, but the difference in how the two sides achieved their scores was miles apart.

Having to fight extremely hard for every inch gained the Munster forwards forged a pathway for the always impressive Mike Haley to cross the white wash for their first score. 

Their second came courtesy of a penalty try when the men in black had no option but to collapse a powerful maul, but the fundamental difference between the two tries New Zealand scored and Munster's two, was that New Zealand’s looked effortless and Munster had to really work hard.

This trend continued in the second half and eventually the visitors outscored Munster by six try’s to four.

Of the young Munster players who will take much from this game, winger Shay McCarthy really impressed me and once he adds a bit of bulk to his frame, he could well be the next Keith Earls or Simon Zebo.

Up front I thought Gavin Coombes played really well and hopefully it won’t be too long before we see him in the green again.

With twenty minutes remaining nephew of Paul, Evan O’Connell finally made his senior debut and he certainly looks to have the same kind of bullish pedigree as his uncle.

And so it comes to pass that the exploits of the 1978 side remains unequalled and the mythical heritage that surrounds that fairy-tale victory seems set to remain and grow for the immediate future.

Thankfully, Munster’s next game is over three weeks away and hopefully this window will allow Costello and his squad recharge what must now be a very depleted set of batteries.