> This article is from the moodie report, its a trade publication for
> the duty free industry, the author is the founder and owner of the
> magazine and is a kiwi, he was at thomand park with some of the lads
> from ARI. Its a great article.

>November 20th, 2008 by Martin Moodie
> >
>>Munster the (real) victors after epic sporting showdown.
> >
> The BBC said Joe Rokocoko's late, late try "spared the All Blacks'
> blushes" against Munster last night.
>
> Sorry, no it didn't. There would have been no blushes in defeat
> because there would have been no embarrassment in losing to the
> inspired, electrified, relentless, passionate and ultimately
> magnificent team of Munster men on this unforgettable autumn night at
> the legendary Thomond Park.
>
> This was one of those sporting occasions which transcends a game and
> makes bolder statements about humanity. That sounds perhaps a tad
> pretentious – but it is not. This match was that special. 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.
>
> Take heed all ye around the world who care about this beautiful game.
> When 'Smokin' Joe' 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, venomous and
> prolonged.
>
> 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. The kick missed – perhaps it was the silence that undid
> Donald on that and several other occasions during the evening (to be
> fair to the crowd at Croke Park last weekend, they did exactly the
> same when Dan Carter was kicking. Again, he missed some sitters. Maybe
> a new weapon, the Sound of Silence, has been discovered that can
> finally stop the mighty Blacks).
>
> 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 collectively look in the direction of the dog,
> raise their fingers to their lips, and whisper "Shhhhh" in the
> direction of the hapless hound.
>
> Every word, every gesture of the All Blacks Haka was met with similar
> silence, immense appreciation and total respect. How different that is
> from the braying you will hear from the Barbour jacket brigade two
> weeks hence at Twickenham, who will no doubt successfully drown out
> the Haka with their symphony of boorish booing, thus denying
> themselves and all other spectators of one of the great moments in
> world sport.
>
> Remember too that a goodly proportion of the folks of Munster had
> taken up occupation in the pubs of Limerick throughout the afternoon
> in the build-up to the 7.30 kick-off. Some might have been four sheets
> and quite a few more pints of Guinness to the wind but that didn't
> have the slightest impact on the levels of respect they showed and
> which, quite frankly, put any rugby crowd in New Zealand to shame.
>
> So here's a plea to all fellow Kiwis. Let's learn from the dignity and
> grace of the Irish. When Ireland (especially, but also any other
> international side) play our teams back home, let's banish the booing
> too. Let's take up the alternative cry of "Shhhhh" and show that at
> the rugby table of manners, the Irish are not the only diners.
>
> And another thing.. 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.
>
> Tell them that Munster lost only on the scoreboard but won everywhere
> that it mattered most – in the hearts, minds and affections of all
> those privileged enough to be present, including crazily patriotic
> Kiwis like me who (almost impossibly) would not have been downcast at
> losing to such a side.
>
> Tell them how you heard about those Munster men who hit rucks like
> there was no tomorrow (and for anyone standing in their way there
> might not have been). Tell them how their own brand of passion somehow
> inspired several of the younger All Blacks – notably the magnificent
> young athlete that is number 8 Liam Messam – to reach deep, deep
> inside themselves to a place they perhaps did not recognise and play
> like men possessed in those final, pulsating 20 minutes, when bodies
> were strewn like corpses across the glorious battlefield that was
> Thomond Park.
>
> Tell them that you heard about the 'Munster Four' – Howlett, Tupoki,
> Manning and Mafi – and how they, backed to a man by the rest of the
> team, laid down their own heroic Haka challenge to the Blacks.
>
> 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.
>
> Tell them most of all, that the name of Munster, even in defeat, is
> synonymous not only with the great rugby victory of 1978 but also the
> magnificence of the players and the crowd who graced the rebuilt
> Thomond Park some three decades later.