Munster and the All Blacks 1978 - Seminal event still inspires
Any sensible culture recognises the line between folklore and fact — but that does not mean one cannot feed the other to inspire and to authenticate.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of an occasion, a famous victory, that had, and continues to have, and impact far greater than the sum of its many parts.
On October 31, 1978, as every Munster person will happily remind anyone who pretends to have forgotten, the All Blacks lost 12-0 at Thomond Park.
It may seem overly wistful to celebrate a game of rugby fast fading into the mists of time, but this one was as much a cultural coming-of-age as it was a sports event.
It was the Petri dish where today’s Munster story — and maybe the Leinster one, too — was incubated, one seen alive and defiant as recently as Saturday, when a dogged, all-but-beaten Munster clung on to snatch a last-kick-of-the-game win over Glasgow. The emotions and determination that prevailed 40 years ago served once again.
The Tommy Kiernan-inspired victory in 1978 was an utterly unexpected confirmation that Ireland need not always play second fiddle, that, given proper preparation, we can match most anyone at most anything.
It is all too easy to over-egg a victory dinner pudding, but, in this instance, that seems impossible.
It was, albeit in a minor key, truly a seminal moment in the making of modern Ireland. Ireland play the All Blacks in less than three weeks and, because of days like October 31, 1978, we can ask “why not?” with confidence.
