MUNSTER v ALL BLACKS 1978 THREE MUNSTER PLAYERS LOOK BACK:  NEXT TUESDAY, Munster will play New Zealand at Thomond Park to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Irish province's famous 12-0 victory over the All Blacks in 1978. That Graham Mourie-led touring team became the first All Blacks squad to complete a Grand Slam of victories over Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Their only defeat on that tour came against Munster and it remains the only time that an Irish rugby team has lowered New Zealand colours.

Donal Canniffe, Munster's scrumhalf and captain, led the team to that triumph in 1978 on a day on which he endured a personal tragedy, learning of the death of his father Dan, who had listened to the match on the radio. On receiving the news, some 10 minutes after the final whistle, Canniffe immediately drove to Cork to be with his family.

Donal Spring, a law student in Trinity, was at number eight that day, while wing Jimmy Bowen was the catalyst for Munster's try, scored by flanker Christy Cantillon. Canniffe, Spring and Bowen joined the Irish Times' John O'Sullivan to recall one of the most iconic moments in the history of Irish rugby at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Stillorgan.

BACKGROUND STORIES

Donal Canniffe: In 1978 I was 29 and coming towards the end of my career. I had been capped (by Ireland) two years previously. I was on my way down unquestionably and this was an opportunity to play another big game; one of the last when you can see your thirties around the corner.

From a career point of view I was working with the Norwich Union as a sales manager. I have been there 30 odd years so my career was in the Insurance.

The game was on a Tuesday so we didn't need any time off. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday we prepared for the match. Looking back I think someone said that was contrary to the regulations. You weren't allowed have more than three days together for an international or an interpro match.

Donal Spring: The French were the first to break the rules. In the old days you could only gather for one day ahead of an international and then it was extended to two because the French were doing it all the time. When we first played internationals we met on a Thursday. While the Irish stuck to the rules half the others were probably meeting for two weeks prior to matches.

DC: We had three full days together which we had never had before.

From that point of view there was no time off from the day job.

DS: I had just turned 22 and I had got my first (Ireland) cap in January and then proceeded to fall down the stairs the day after in Trinity. I missed the rest of that season but got fit in time to go to New Zealand with the Irish Universities. I was just back from New Zealand (at that time) where we had had a very physical but successful tour.

I had missed the Munster tour to Middlesex (the Irish province also played London Irish) because of Trinity law exams in September. I didn't fail June exams because there weren't any. You only got one go in September. I was very fortunate to miss the Middlesex tour. I suppose I was in college studying rugby and doing law on the side.

Jimmy Bowen: I was playing with Cork Constitution at the time and working with a company called Westborough Finance. I had been capped (for Ireland) at that stage; three of them.

CROSS CHANNEL HICCUPS

JB: I'll always remember the tour that we went on to Middlesex in September.

DS and DC together: We weren't on that one.

JB: I'll fill the lads in on the gory details. We arrived into London on a Friday and we got absolutely hammered by Middlesex, who were nobodies, really. I think we were beaten 33-6, or something like that, and the try was only worth four points in those days. We declared before we ran out of luck (laughter).

Tommy (Kiernan, the Munster coach) gave us his blessings to go and have a few drinks on the Friday night. We trained on the Saturday and it was the toughest training session I have ever, ever, ever had in my life.

It was 90-degree heat, a one and a half hour training session and to finish up, the backs had to do a half-mile run in under two minutes 30 seconds: the forwards had 30 seconds longer to complete the run. We were on our knees.

But that probably created a bit of a bond that would stand to us later. Not immediately, mind you. We went out the next day and were lucky to get a draw against London Irish, 13-13.

DS: Do you remember Mossy's (Keane) famous quote. He said: 'We set them up. We let Middlesex beat us and then they (New Zealand) hammered London Counties, of which Middlesex was just one, by about 40 points so we knew we had them set up nicely'.

DC: I missed that (tour) as well.

DS: I always claimed I was the missing link because Munster got absolutely hammered.

(Turning to Canniffe) Obviously, we were the missing link.

DC: Poor old Pa (Whelan, the Munster hooker) always blamed that tour for losing the captaincy (laughter).

DS: Pa was captain. We came back from a training session and the announcement was made. Kiernan came in to the room and said, 'Canniffe, come here for a minute'. Pa turns round and says: 'there's been a COOP (coup)'. Cue laughter.

LIGHTS, BANANAS, ACTION DS: I'll never forget a number of things about the preparation for the match. We used to travel down to Fermoy for training sessions. I was part of the Dublin contingent: Donal (Canniffe), myself, Mossy (Keane) and Wardy (Tony Ward). I was a student at the time and I would go over the Mossy's place on the Canal and we would drive down. Even through we were coming from Dublin we were the first to arrive at Fermoy Barracks, where we would train in the headlights of the cars.

The grass would be two feet long. There was one light up on the wall of the barracks. I remember one particular session. I left college starving and we stopped on the way down in a shop. I ate about two or three bananas: no one knew about diet at the time. On getting out of the car the bananas hadn't moved, a fact compounded by Kiernan running us around the pitch and nearly killing us.

I thought I was going to die. But you didn't dare drop out of anything with Kiernan. Fellas used to in the dark corners where the lights didn't shine. Brendan (Foley) and Mossy (Keane) would dive into the shadows and reappear on the next lap.

MOTIVATION AND PREPARATION

DS: This will probably illustrate how much times have changed. Kiernan wanted to show a video on the night before the match. The video consisted of snippets from Rugby Special; the programme used to show the highlights of touring teams' matches. Someone had put them together.

There was no video recorder in the hotel so we went to an industrial estate out on the Kerry road and into some fella's office. We sat on the desks inside in this office and watched the video. The interesting thing about it was the All Blacks were making mistakes.

I remember thinking these guys are beatable. Even though these were highlights, they actually dropped a lot of ball and made mistakes. The amount of mistakes made in those days compared to today was colossal.

Kiernan's team talk in the hotel before the match was spooky. He put his knee up on a chair and didn't say anything for 10 minutes.

DC: There was at least 10 minutes of total silence.

DS: Guys started to look around and there was nothing. Eventually you'd look up and he still wasn't talking so you'd put your head down again. You were supposed to be thinking about the match: it was quite spooky. Certainly when you left the room if you didn't believe you could beat the All Blacks, there was something wrong with you.

DC: Kiernan was very analytical, tactically astute, and he knew what you and your position entailed in the team context. He would go, though, not name by name, but by positions. The wings have to do this, the centres have to do that.

Your first priority as a prop in the scrum is not to go back. It forced people to stop and think about what their own priority was in their position.

He went through what he expected of everyone. This was very analytical and cold, detached almost, and it lasted 15 minutes but then he attended to the emotional aide of things and he had you built up.

What he was trying to do was to build up the forwards as he wanted the backs to stay cool and detached. He was very aware of what needed to be done to get the best out of the individual and out of the units within the team.

In the dressingroom? Tommy didn't say much and I don't think I said anything too inspirational.

DS: I was terrified. I had just come back from New Zealand where we had been physically battered and now we were facing the real thing.

JB: They came over with a huge reputation; they had put 30 or 40 points on every team and went on to win the Grand Slam. They were a very good side.

ANALYSING THE OPPOSITIONDS :You didn't have videos. I don't think we had seen some of their internationals but we knew certain things, like that Stu Wilson came through the middle every match. Séamus Dennison looked after that spectacularly in one fell swoop. You knew (Andy) Haden was the main jumper, Frank Oliver the more physical of the secondrows. We knew that apart from (Graham) Mourie the other two guys were less experienced; that (Mark) Donaldson was a breaking, kicking scrumhalf.

JB: We were probably better off not knowing much about them.

DS: A big factor in influencing the result took place that day before a ball was kicked when regular New Zealand outhalf Doug Bruce dropped out, getting the flu. He was one of the best kicking outhalves in the world; left foot, banging it down the pitch. He suited the All Black patterns. In comes Eddie Dunn, who runs everything. He was the ideal outhalf for us to play against.

In a previous clash between Munster and New Zealand in Cork, a few years before, it lashed rain on the day so the All Blacks changed their fullback, bringing in Don Clarke and he kicked them to victory.

This time fate decreed that Munster would be the beneficiary as New Zealand were forced to change their desired selection: Eddie Dunn came in - I'm not blaming him - and it suited us because our backline defence was fantastic.

DC: Kiernan drummed into us the importance of being able to recognise our opposite number physically so that when you ran on to the pitch you wouldn't be surprised or intimidated.

JB: Kiernan kept saying, 'put pressure on them. Let them do all the work'.

LIMERICK'S RUSH-HOUR

DS: We nearly missed the match because the bus got stuck in the traffic and we only got into the ground about half an hour before the match. There was some local masseur who had been hired to give us a rub before the game and he started telling me that the alignment of my hands was all wrong.

He gave me a rub and I thought I wouldn't be able to hold the ball. My hands were killing me: he was one of those click, click, click merchants. But the distraction was fantastic because we didn't have time to get nervous. We were on the pitch before we knew it.

JB: Was it that rushed? I thought we had about an hour.

DS: No were rushed. I remember thinking I mightn't have time to get my boots laced and my gear ready.

GAME ON

DS: After about five minutes we stopped jumping in the lineout, realising that they were going to win the ball anyway.

JB: That was on their throw-in now, mind (laughter).

DS: We actually didn't have very many lineouts.

JB: We didn't have that much ball either (laughter).

DS: If you break it down, any ball we got we kicked into touch. They got the lineout and we poured through. I'd love to know how many balls they won that managed to make its way to their outhalf.

I'd say one in 10. My memory of the day is that Haden taps and (Colm) Tucker and myself going straight through; Whelan doing the same round the JB: It was an era when there weren't any rolling mauls.

DS: I've never said this to you (turning to Bowen) because I didn't realise how good it was until I saw the video afterwards but that was some run you made. He (Bowen) did everything perfectly. How many guys, when caught at the end, would have stood and turned to pass the ball?

It was a brilliant decision under pressure. Any one of seven guys could have scored the try.

JB: Any fella that was from Limerick had no chance (laughter). I had to wait for a Cork fella to arrive. Christy Cantillon (the try scorer) tells the story that this chap was on Mastermind and his chosen subject was the life and times of Jimmy Bowen. The question was: 'What did Jimmy do at Thomond Park in 1978 with the line at his mercy?' 'Pass'. 'Correct'. I have to say that it is great how they speed up that footage nowadays (laughter).

DS: That (try) came from one of the few lineouts we won that day. Do you know who won it? Brendan Foley. Do you know where he won it? He was standing at number one in the lineout. The All Blacks didn't realise that we had one of our secondrows standing at one because their props were about the same size. He stood one, I stood two and Mossy stood three. Whelan threw it in. Foley caught the ball and Wardy put in probably one of his worst cross-kicks ever. It was a 50-50 ball; the bounce went to Jimmy and the rest is history.

DC: I looked at it (the footage) again recently and was amazed how far you (Bowen) got and did everything right: held it up, popped it.

JB: It happened to be Christy Cantillon . . . unfortunately (laughter).

DS: Thomond Park was electric. You had the history . . . some Munster team was going to beat the All Blacks. We just happened to be the lucky 15 guys who were there on the day. (Turning to Canniffe) Did you play in the drawn game?

DC: Down the years Munster played them four times prior to that and New Zealand had won 6-3 twice. We had drawn 3-3 and they won 14-4. The win was definitely coming.

JB: One of the things that stands out in my mind is the way they chased the match in the second half. They made an awful lot of mistakes.

DS: They were forcing it.

JB: Every time we put in a tackle they spilled the ball. They couldn't get any cohesion.

DS: There was a scrum (in the match) with about 10 minutes to go - we were playing towards the road. Whelan had thrown it in crooked; it never happened to him very much (laughter).

JB: Was that one you were competing for?

DS: I never jumped at the back of the lineout. Pa and myself had an understanding. He used to say: 'Springer come up to four'.

DC: He was a wheeler dealer.

DS: We wheeled a scrum about five yards in from the touchline on their 25 (yard line).

DC: The whistle went because we were across the sideline.

DS: Someone in the pack roared: 'Keep pushing, keep pushing', and we put them up against the wall. The whole lot of them: it was an incredible sensation. They were an All Black pack and the crowd were roaring at them.

DC: I think that was the occasion of the Mossy story. Haden's about to throw a punch and Mossy (Keane) grabs him and says, 'you'll lose the fight too'.

DS: Thomond Park is so special, because it was small and intimate and you can't reproduce that in a big stadium. Never was it more evident that that afternoon.

JB: That's one of the problems they're saying about the new Thomond Park, that it has got too big and lost that intimacy.

FINAL WHISTLE

DC: Disbelief.

JB: The pitch just got invaded and you embraced the nearest guy. We were thrilled to get out of it (with a win). I remember being called back out on to the pitch.

They were very gracious, although not initially. Certainly that night at the dinner they (All Blacks) came into the dinner on their knees, linking each other, singing Hi, Ho . . . They were good characters.

We met Stu Wilson the last time he was over, a wonderful character. He's getting as much out of it now as we are. I think a couple of them are coming next Tuesday.

DS: I remember Andy Haden saying to me that the sun will shine tomorrow. It was a phenomenal attitude. We met a few of them subsequently at the Golden Oldies in Bermuda. Despite the public rumours there haven't been that many dinners.

DC: About every five years (laughter). This will be the last dinner.

DS: Only the players and their wives are invited to this one, which is great because at previous dinners you got split up and you don't get a chance to talk to each other. I'm looking forward to meeting Brendan Foley's babies . . . like Anthony (laughter).

DAN CANNIFFE

DC: We had literally gone back out on to the pitch because the crowd were making so much noise; there was so much excitement that we went back out to acknowledge the supporters. Then we came back in. There was an old public phone in the hall of pavilion.

A call came through from a friend of the family, Ken Stanton, who worked with my brother. He told me that my father had been taken ill and was in hospital, having collapsed. I said that's terrible, hung up and made plans to head straight back to Cork.

I got a second call minutes later - I don't know how they got through again but they did - and it was Ken again, saying: 'look I'm sorry, your father's died'.

I was out of the place and gone within 10 or 15 minutes of the final whistle. I'm now listening to stories about what happened after that (on the day).

DS: When Kiernan came in and called Donal out we knew there was something wrong because Kiernan was ashen-faced. Then we were told.

Mossy (Finn) went with you.

It was one of the strangest nights I ever had. The Dublin (based) guys used to always hang around together. I spent the night walking around Limerick. Noisy (Noel Murphy) caught me coming out of the dressingroom, grabbed my arm and warned me that he would be watching me tonight because I was playing against the All Blacks on Saturday for Ireland.

We had the official dinner and then the Limerick guys went back to their clubs. It was a strange sensation. What happened to Donal's father was a terrible tragedy; it put everything in perspective. At the dinner the All Blacks were particularly gracious. Graham Mourie made a great speech.

JO'S: Who spoke on Donal's behalf?

DS: Whelan, the real captain (laughter).

JB: He got the coup back (laughter).

A memory I have is that it was the only match that my mum and dad ever went to as a couple. My mother had her own business. She was a hairdresser and used to work every Saturday so was never able to go to matches. At my 50th birthday my sister gave me a present of the (mother's) ticket with my father's writing on the back - '12-0 Munster'.

ALONE IT STANDS

DS: The three of us went to see it together. Being sceptics, we didn't go to the opening and none of us went for ages until it was staged in Lansdowne rugby club.

Poor John Breen, the writer/director rang you (Canniffe) and asked would we please come and watch it. We were all gobsmacked. How you can write such a fantastic play about a game of rugby was amazing.

JB: They got the Cork part very right.

DS: A few years later I took my kids to it when they were 10 or 12 - it was on in the Pavilion in Dún Laoghaire - as they had asked to go.

I had forgotten the bad language. My 10-year-old turned round to me and said: 'did you really talk like that?'. I said: 'No, no, theatrical licence'.

REUNIONS

DS: I think we were only all together once and that was immediately after or rather soon after the match when they presented us with Munster caps.

DC: Someone has been missing at ever gathering since.

DS: The 15 on the pitch that day, remarkably, are still alive.

JB: It would be great if everyone could make it next week.

THE LEGACY OF 1978

DC: I hope Munster manage to beat New Zealand on Tuesday. We are the first, that's grand, but we don't want to be the only ones. I think Munster rugby has moved on so much. It is unrecognisable in terms of the quality of the play.

As a brand, Munster rugby is known and respected worldwide. We couldn't ask for more than that. The match is as much about the opening of Thomond Park as it is about the All Blacks.

Unfortunately, both teams are going to be seriously depleted, which is inevitable given the international commitments. The Munster Branch has put in a huge investment in terms of the stadium, which is critical to the continued success of the game.

DS: It's incredible to think it is 30 years. When I am sitting down or lying in bed it doesn't feel like 30 years but when I get up to move around it certainly does (laughter).

JB: That's too much information.

DS: I certainly didn't think that 30 year ago at the final whistle we would still be talking about it 30 years later and there'd be a play about it.

My whole career seems to centre on one game. I'm really sorry that the whole Munster team is not playing the All Blacks on Tuesday.

I understand the reasons. It would be fantastic. I feel sorry for the Munster guys (the ones in the national squad that will miss out) that won't get a chance to play them in a Munster jersey. That would be just electric.

The All Blacks would find it very hard to beat them in Thomond Park.

Munster have achieved the impossible at Thomond Park. I am not saying that beating the All Blacks was impossible but that's the place to do it. I think Ireland have a great chance to beat them today and I wouldn't be surprised if they did, based on recent matches between the countries.

JB: The whole team has got great mileage from it over the years. It's been kept going by the play Alone It Stands. It reinvigorates the memory of the occasion and brings it to a new generation. I'm like Donal (Spring). I think Ireland will beat them on Saturday and I think Munster will give them a serious test next Tuesday.

In our day - you might have had 25 or 30 players. Nowadays they have so much more strength in depth. Munster have done a lot for Irish rugby, a lot for rugby in Europe.

I have been to three of the four finals they were in and just the amount of money that Irish people have put into Munster sport is amazing. It's been great for the game and an integral part of the prosperity of Irish rugby in recent times.

DS: It's time to pass it on. It's going to end some time and I think we'd all say . . .

DC: Pass on the torch.

JB: If you get Munster with a plus handicap in Paddy Powers, take it; have a bet.

DS: Tell all your readers that the captain of the Munster team was from Connacht. He was born in Dromod, Co Leitrim.

DC: Born in the general hospital in Westmeath but the family was living in Dromod. I'm claiming Leinster, Connacht and Munster lineage.

ENDING TO BE CHANGED

On Tuesday, the Munster team of 1978 will present their successors in red with their match jerseys on an individual basis from number one to 15 and in the process will be hoping to stand alone no longer in the annals of Irish rugby history.