Munster interim head coach Ian Costello says his team can hold their heads high after falling narrowly short of a famous win against an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park.
While the tourists won 38-24 in a thrilling game in Limerick, Clayton McMillan’s side scored two breakaway tries in the final four minutes which made the scoreline unreflective of the game as a whole, with Munster having been within two points of the New Zealanders on 75 minutes.
The sudden departure of head coach Graham Rowntree had threatened to overshadow what was the tenth meeting of Munster and an All Blacks representative team, but the home side looked determined to put on a show for a crowd of 26,267 in Limerick.
And while Costello admits his side were devastated to come out the wrong side of the result, they will take huge encouragement from the attitude and performance.
“It’s really strange because we’re gutted. At 76 minutes it was right there for us to make history, but it’s hard to stay gutted for long when you get a performance like that,” the interim head coach (below) said.
“The scoreboard is kind of irrelevant. You won’t hear us say that too often. Tonight was about the performance.
“We had a lineout on the halfway line with five minutes to go, we lose the lineout, they score, they’re a clinical side. But tonight’s not about them, it’s about us pulling together as a club this week.
“It was an incredible occasion. We had prepared for it, we talked about it, you think you know what to expect and then you come to a full Thomond Park and give the crowd something to identify with like that and get involved in. It was incredible.
“I think we talked about playing the occasion, the lads talked about playing with freedom, and we really wanted to enjoy it.
“The players and coaches did an incredible job, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in producing a performance like that, even though ultimately we came up a little bit short.
“There was a lot to build on, and there were six academy lads out there as well, four of them in a pack at the end winning a scrum. That’s a nice little taste of the future hopefully.”
Peter O’Mahony played 40 minutes before departing at half time in his comeback from a hamstring injury.
And Costello confirmed after the game that the veteran flanker’s withdrawal for Ruadhan Quinn at the break had been a pre-ordained substitution, with O’Mahony (above) now set to link up with the Ireland squad next week ahead of Friday’s game against New Zealand at Aviva Stadium.
“We were delighted that Peter was available to us for the week and the medical advice was 40 minutes.
“When I told him he was coming off at half time I was worried about his reaction, but thankfully, he took it calmly and he concurred with medical advice.
“I thought he might make a scene, but he didn’t,” Costello added, with tongue-in-cheek.
“I thought he [O’Mahony] was excellent.
“But you know, Diarmuid [Barron] captaining the side, Peter’s leadership, it’s hard to equate what they do in a week like this, any big week. The leadership they showed from start to finish, how they make others around them feel.
“Sometimes you can pick a player because they do X and Y, when you pick Peter, there’s four or five black shirts probably targeting Peter, which frees up four or five other guys, and how he makes others feel around him, it’s probably one of the most impressive things about him.”
Munster captain Barron echoed the thoughts of his coach, with mixed emotions after the late New Zealand tries.
“Just how proud we are of the performance,” he said.
“It is bittersweet because you go 76 minutes into a game, two points down, you don’t think you’re going to come away with that scoreline at the end. There are loads of positives to build on.
“What an occasion to be part of, the crowd was incredible and like Cossy [Costello] said, we gave them something to get behind. We have to be aware of that too.
“There was a lot of good, but a bit to work on as well.”
