BITTER winds, driving rain and a exceptionally cold night could not dampen the spirits of the 21,314 Munster faithful who braved the elements to see the men in red take on the might of the Australian’s at Thomond Park this Tuesday. Once again, the amazing story of Munster rugby opened another chapter as the team, without a large portion of its Irish international contingent rallied to take an international scalp and win against the Southern Hemisphere side for the first time in Thomond Park.
Paul Warwick put on a masterclass display against his native Australians in a hard hitting action packed affair that thrilled the damp crowd.
Three penalties and two drop goals from the boot of Warwick were enough to give Munster the deserved 15-6 victory of the touring side
The home team, despite a penalty from Australian fly-half Berrick Barnes after just three minutes, put their Australian guests under huge pressure and with a pack display from the days of old, the likes of Ian Nagle with his man of the match display, captain John Coughlan and Peter O’Mahony, brought this Munster side through the game with points to spare and thus wrote themselves into the history books once again.
As the match wound down, the spirits of the crowd reached a crescendo as the referee blew his whistle and put the Australian’s out of their misery.
Munster’s Australian born coach, Tony McGahan credited the effort from one to 22 and said that the win was a reflection of the team, its focus and their combined effort.
