The cup is coming home

February 15 2009 – The Cup is Coming Home’s article on the Munster-All Blacks match at Thomond Park last November continues to generate phenomenal reaction in Ireland.

The article drew nearly 40 comments on our Forum; was read on Irish radio; appeared in legendary former ex-Ireland fly half Tony Ward’s column in the Irish Independent and was even read to a Leaving Certificate class by an Irish school teacher.

To recap, I wrote: “As a Kiwi – probably one of only 500 in the 26,000 strong crowd – I was honoured to be present at such an event and deeply moved by the respect the Munster crowd showed for the All Blacks, for my country and for the game of rugby.

'Smokin Joe' Rokocoko - (Drawing: Murray Webb)

“When Smokin' Joe [Rokocoko] scored that heartbreaking, game-breaking try in the 87th minute, Stephen Donald’s resultant conversion attempt, if successful, would have put the All Blacks out of reach of defeat by an even later drop goal or penalty. It was the most crucial of kicks. In almost any other stadium in the world, at least outside Ireland, the booing from the home supporters would have been loud, prolonged and venomous.

“Yet as Donald lined up his kick the only sound in the eerily still, and yet monumentally flattened crowd was the occasional ‘Shhhhh’ as spectators reminded their compatriots of their great yet unwritten sporting code.

“During one of Donald’s earlier, and also crucial, kicks, the silence was broken only by the barking of a dog from outside the stadium. That’s right – you could hear a dog barking in a backstreet of Limerick, such was the silence inside Thomond Park. You almost expected the crowd to look collectively in the direction of the dog, raise their fingers to their lips, and whisper ‘Shhhhh’ in the direction of the hapless hound.”

The reaction to our article underlined the pride and passion that Munster supporters have for their team. Reader Joe Starr wrote: “Awesome piece Martin; it just about does justice to a once in a lifetime experience where the gods truly did mingle and inspire! I am so, so proud (yet again) to have been privileged to witness courage, passion and true sportsmanship at its zenith.”

Under the pseudonym Limerick Pride, another respondent commented: “I am a Limerick man who had to listen to the game in USA on a radio link. I would have loved so much to have been at the game – I WAS at the 1978 game. I feel so emotional after reading your article. Limerick gets a lot of bad press in the Irish media, (a lot of it is not deserved) so it makes me, as a proud Limerick man, rugby man and Munster man so happy today. Thanks a million with your kind words. I will wear my Munster shirt with pride in New Zealand at the World Cup.”

Tom Pigott wrote: “Unfortunately I was one of the many unlucky Munster fans not able to get hold of a ticket. I ran to a local pub that seemed to have as many punters in it as Thomond Park and settled in. Your comment about the barking dog reminded me that every time a kick was taken anyone in the pub who had not shut up was quickly 'Shhhhed' by the rest of the crowd!”

A respondent named Ronan also picked up on the sound of the solitary dog barking: “In fact, from high up in the West Stand, a guy behind me stood up and yelled at the poor dog that if he didn't stop barking he'd be put down!”

The traditional generosity of spirit of the Munster supporters was typified by this reply from Adrian Ryan. “Munster is very grateful to the All Blacks for all the great games over the years. Not to mention Howlett, Tupoki, Manning and Mafi, who have made a huge impression (in more than one sense of the word) on Munster rugby. Thanks to all the Kiwi fans and players.”

'The inspirational 16th man every Munster team plays with'

Donal Coman replied, beautifully, in similar vein: “We knew Munster would stand up and fight to a man and what you so transcended in the article so well was the inspirational 16th man every Munster team plays with - the faithful supporters! I really hope New Zealand as a country and a team can invite us to play ye again and hope your first string can come back and play our first string... lick those pommies on Saturday and take the slam home with honour as you guys deserve.”

But how about this from the brilliantly named Spanner O’Malley – “As a Limerick and Munster man although living in Dublin, I am very proud of what you said and when you are next in Dublin call me - 01-6680661, as I owe you a pint.”

HAILING THE HAKA OF ‘THE MUNSTER FOUR’

Then there was that haka – no not the All Blacks’ but that of the ‘Munster Four’. Nicola Brosnan of Limerick summed it up perfectly when she wrote: “

“It was truly an honour to be in the presence of such an amazing team as the All Blacks and to see the Haka in person. Rumours had been flying around all day as to how our boys would reply to the infamous Haka and when the Munster side lined up to face the All Blacks I commented to another supporter how great it was that Dougie [Howlett] was in the centre of the line-up, flanked on either side by his Munster team mates, to face down the Haka which he had been a part of on some 60 previous occasions.

“When our four Kiwis stepped forward, honestly, I cannot put into words the pride and emotion I felt. It was truly unbelievable and that was only the start of things to come on that fateful night."

'The Munster Four' - Howlett, Tipoki, Mafi and Manning lead the Haka riposte in an unforgettable moment of sporting drama at Thomond Park

And how about these lovely, lovely words from Linda Kennedy? “I was one of a herd of flag bearers running on the field before the game. Only way to get a pass for the game, along with some of my own Cork club team-mates. How was such a special night one that we lost, and that we are so proud of our team? I met Mick O’Driscoll much later, and he was still gutted. We are so proud of them despite the result.”

Eoghan O'Sullivan of Munster wrote: “It was an honour to have the best rugby team in the world playing on our home turf, and would love to see it again,(without having to wait another 30 years)... by the way, how come Rua Tipoki never got an All Black cap? What a warrior! We'll be singing songs about him in years to come. Here's to NZ winning the World Cup.”

We particularly liked this poignant response from Sean Hayes. “Your article posted is fitting tribute to a group of sports people who truly know the value of respect for opposition and as important respect for oneself when attending games. As with the All Blacks, the Munster rugby brand is the most recognizable positive representation of our homes and way of life.

“For a lucky few they are talented enough to take to the field of play; the rest we have to use our lung power in conjunction with or vocal chords to make our contribution. It was a very fitting occasion to grace Thomond Park which has hosted all our heroes over for decades. Munster will be forever grateful to the All Blacks for coming to Limerick and paying their rugby respects to the Province.”

Tom Byrne contrasted the Munster supporters’ attitude with that of the English supporters a few days later at Twickenham: “Boy were you on the money when you predicted that the ‘Barbour Jacket Brigade’ would show themselves up for what they are, a bunch of jackasses! Yesterday's display by the All Blacks was far from perfect against England but, true to form, the England supporters lived up to their loutish and ignorant reputation by singing that dreadful chariot dirge at full volume through the Haka.

“But what could you expect when their former 'star' Lawrence Dallaglio stated immediately after the match and again in today's Sunday Times that the 'Twickenham crowd responded passionately to the Haka'. If reacting in such a boorish way is deemed 'passionate' were we missing something in Thomond Park??!”

Paul Dawn wrote: "We thank you for highlighting our ways of showing our love of the great game and all that Munster Rugby in particular represents and says about us I took the liberty of reading your letter on our local radio station – WLR FM here in Waterford and neither the size of the response nor the large buzz from non-rugby people surprised us in the least.”

The article even provoked an (excellent) Australian reply from one Wade Taylor: “Am an Aussie living in Ireland for more than 10 years... you are correct in what you felt and said. However when I try to explain to my Aussie, Kiwi and South African mates back home they simply do not understand … it truly is something that one must experience firsthand to appreciate.

“Sadly, I believe the Kiwis, Saffers and Aussies, but mostly the Aussies, are to blame for the booing behaviour, and even more sadly it is spreading to Twickenham and other places. Ireland truly lead the world in setting high standards of sportsmanship and the Irish should be proud of themselves and hold their heads high … it is the Irish people that make this country what it is and why I love living here. The Irish are open-minded and intelligent enough to realise that winning is not everything.”

Schoolteacher Liz Skelly wrote: “I was over at a friend's house last night where the topic of conversation was about a wonderful article that is doing the rounds in Ireland about the game. Eugene, my fiancé, told me that anybody he had talked to had already read it, and one of his journalist friends informed him that it is to appear on the Limerick Leader today. Well done, it's a superb piece. I'm just about to read it to my Leaving Cert English class.”

But not everyone agreed with the sentiments expressed. One Andrew Jackson wrote: “Unless I'm very much mistaken, which I'm not, the referee was booed very badly as he left the pitch at the end of this game. It was awful to listen to. Why is it great not to boo a kick but fine to boo an official? Munster crowds are also well known for booing players/teams they do not like. This article ignores these points entirely. The great Munster myth is swallowed by more and more people every day. Either boo or don't. I'd rather you didn't, but don't make out Munster are heroes because they only boo part of the time.”

"REACHING FOR A BUCKET TO BE SICK IN"

And what about this from the Kildare Nationalist? It is so vitriolic that I feel like I might need Liam Messam to protect me if the (unnamed) writer ever meets me. Here’s what he/she had to say in an article entitled ‘Munster game was not heroic or historic’ [if my dear old ma, born in Dublin, was still alive now she would beat the writer over the head with a rolling pin – Ed]].

"Late during the week an email popped into my inbox. When I saw the title [‘Munster the ultimate victors after epic sporting showdown’] I immediately reached for my trusty clothes peg and placed it on my nose.

“Ensuring my surgical gloves were applied correctly, I opened the mail and braced myself. My fears were confirmed. Within a few short sentences, my eyes began to search frantically for a bucket to be sick in. If you haven’t seen the article written by Kiwi journalist Martin Moodie please bear with me while I transcribe a paragraph that illustrates what trite nonsense the piece is:

‘If any Kiwis reading this bump into a Munster man or woman in 2011 during the next Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, invite them back into your home. Tell them you were moved by the respect they showed your nation, your culture, your rugby team. Tell them that the Munster class of 2008 – a supposedly ‘second string’ team – was every bit as heroic as their proud predecessors of 1978.

‘And tell them so much more. Tell them it from me. Tell them how the crowd to a man and a woman stood and applauded the All Blacks after the game, despite having just swallowed the bitter, bitter pill of unexpected, agonising, death knell defeat. Tell them how ruddied-looking Munster men came up and shook my hand after the game and said “Well done, you deserved it”, when in truth perhaps we didn’t.’

"That snippet may give you a taster but doesn’t give you a full picture of the horror of the article. It’s a vainglorious exercise in exaggeration and sentimentality. Any reasonable person would find their eyes transfixed yet their stomachs churned as if they had arrived at a nasty car accident.

“What is it about sport that makes people lose their marbles? Why are words and phrases like ‘historic’, ‘heroic’, and ‘epoch defining’ bandied around with impunity? Are our lives so bereft of meaning that we seek to project genuine history and decisive moments on to the distracting but ultimately meaningless sports field?

“All this claptrap does a gross disservice to the participants in the contests. When the hype machine goes into overdrive, as it so often does, it is notable how certain teams seem to whither when their ‘historic’ moment arrives.

“It took Munster two attempts at winning the Heineken Cup, for example, before they realised that it was vital to detach themselves from the hyperbole to finally emerge victorious. Sport is filled with these Icarus-like sides who cannot withstand the weight of expectation. Mayo’s footballers are another collection that seems hardwired to fall at the final hurdle.

“One of the more sickening sights of the last sporting year was John Terry’s reaction to his failure in the penalty shootout in Moscow. If you cannot recall, he spent the following half and hour bawling as if he’d just discovered that his family were killed in a plane crash. How can such an immature wimp be considered as leadership material, which he is for both Chelsea and England? Mere feet away his colleague Frank Lampard, who had recently experienced genuine tragedy when his mother died, looked disappointed. Were floods of tears flowing down his cheeks? Of course not.

“While sport is life-affirming, and provokes visceral emotions that little else can replicate, we would all do well to remember that it is ultimately futile. So, spare me the preposterously weighty prose when discussing unimportant events like the All Blacks’ visit to Thomond.”

So there. Well, I wish the anonymous acerbic one from the Kildare Nationalist well. If he was ‘sickened’ by both John Terry’s tears and my article, then I am flattered by the comparison but worried for both his health and his perspective. And if he really thinks great sport is “distracting but ultimately meaningless”, I suggest he is incarcerated for a week with some of Norman Mailer’s great writing on boxing. Irish writer Paul Smith's excellent recent 'Great Moments of Sportsmanship' and a dozen or sports videos – including both Munster-All Blacks games from 1978 and 2008.

We’re all entitled to our views, of course, but I think next time Munster are playing rather than seek out the company of Anon from Kildare I’ll catch up with Spanner O’Malley – he owes me a pint.