Munster, 1978
This shirt was worn on Munster backs for so many famous victories, but none more so than the day the club beat the All Blacks.
In and among the playing jerseys and training kits launched ahead of upcoming season, where Munster’s men and women will be defending URC and interprovincial titles respectively, there was a notable addition to the Adidas line-up in the form of a heritage supporters shirt. A familiar-looking number, with its red long-sleeves and white collar adorned by the club’s original three-crowned crest, fans were delighted to see this modern homage to what remains the most iconic Munster strip.
The traditional jersey, virtually unchanged in design until professionalism brought in Carling as a shirt sponsor in 1995, was worn for all Munster’s famous early victories. However, none ensured its place in Irish rugby folklore more securely than when it was donned to take on the All Blacks at Thomond Park in 1978.
It’s been almost 45 years since Munster ran out 12-0 victors that day, but it’s an occasion that continues to resonate through the years. At that time the reputation of the All Blacks couldn’t have been higher – under Graham Mourie they had been playing an innovative and expansive style of rugby, and in Ireland their status was particularly lofty given that the national team had never managed to beat them in seventy-three years of trying (indeed, it would take another thirty-eight years until their 40-29 victory in Chicago in 2016). However, against the odds it would be Munster, off the back of a largely unsuccessful tour to London the month before and training sessions on overgrown army barrack pitches illuminated only by car headlights, who would finally break the Irish duck.
Coached by the legendary late Tom Kiernan (who had captained when Munster to the first ever victory for an Irish province over a major touring side, 11-8 v Australia in 1967), Munster scored the only try of the game after 11 minutes through Christy Cantillon. This was in no small part down to the mazy run of the young winger Jim Bowen, who gathered Tony Ward’s chip ahead before beating two All-Blacks and offloading. Spurred on by their 12,000-stong support and the fierce tackling of Seamus Dennison, who set the tone early on with an infamously furious hit on Stu Wilson, the Red Army would slot two further drop goals to create history, instigating the Kiwi’s only defeat for the entirety of their 18-match tour.
Munster jersey’s would slowly move away from its original simplicity as navy and white colouring details and changes to the badge came after the turn of the century, but Adidas’ latest revival is evidence of the legacy the design still holds – after all, this story of this shirt and this game was so impactful it found its way onto the West End stage in Alone it Stands. Victories against New Zealand may have become somewhat the normality for Ireland in recent years, but this jersey will forever elicit the nostalgia of one the foundational days in Munster’s storied history.
