HISTORY & HEAD-TO-HEAD:
This will be the tenth meeting between Munster and an All Blacks side, with the first being in 1905. The last time Munster played an All Blacks side it was in 2016 at Thomond Park. The Maori All Blacks fell to the home side 27-14, on a night of beautiful tributes to Munster legend Anthony Foley. Leinster and Ireland winger James Lowe scored a try for the Maori side that evening.
All Blacks XV Head Coach Clayton McMillan has previously coached Munster’s Alex Nankivell and John Ryan at New Zealand Super Rugby Club, Chiefs. Munster also came agonisingly close to a big win over an All Blacks XV in 2008, running the visitors close on a 18-16 scoreline in an electric atmosphere at Thomond Park.
The most historic victory for Munster over New Zealand came on Tuesday October 31, 1978, when the Reds became the first Irish team to beat the All Blacks. That 12-0 win at Thomond became the stuff of legend and formed the basis of the hugely successful 1999 comic play by John Breen, called Alone It Stands.
