BYE BYE BULL - Munster 24 - 9 Connacht

Munster V Connacht - 111226, a set on Flickr.

Photos from John Hayes' last match in Thomond Park, Limerick.

Final Score: Munster 24 - 9 Connacht

The 16th man describes the match as seen from the crowd, accurate or not as it may be :-)

The walk up the hill to LIT seemed longer than usual this Stephen’s day. Our bellies full of turkey, ham, biscuits and sweets may have had something to do with the slower pace. The happy festive atmosphere was tinged with a combination of pride and sadness. Everyone knew this would be the last time the world would witness the embodiment of Munster Rugby in human form, John “The Bull” Hayes.

Munster V Connacht the day after Christmas is always an entertaining match. The stakes aren’t as high as other games, which lends to a more relaxed atmosphere, where the crowd can catchup and watch some good rugby on both sides. The match started off slow, with Keatley missing a penalty at 8 minutes, followed by a massive push from Connacht, testing Munster’s defence for a sustained period leading to a penalty for Connacht at 12 mins, which they failed to convert. Munster put the first points on the board with a Keatley penalty at 15 mins. The young Munster backline exploded shortly after, with Scanlon running through the Connacht defence up the wing, putting a grubber kick through to the supporting Keatley 5 metres from the try line. The bounce favoured him, it was a sure try, only for him to knock it on in the air over the line. A pair of penalties either side put the score at 6-3. Munster’s pressure came good at 28 mins when Earls connected with Scanlon to touch down. 13-3 after Keatley’s conversion. A great break and chip ahead from Thomás put his fabled speed to the test, seeing him make twice the ground than his opposing marker. A lucky bounce had him touch down at 34 mins. Keatley missed the conversion, but the score was now 18-3 to Munster. The half ended with Connacht missing a penalty at 35 mins but winning possession with a strong scrum just before the whistle. One notable difference in the first half of this match to other matches were the chants of “Bull, Bull, Bull” from the crowd at every scrum. We didn’t dare acknowledge that this would soon be coming to an end. For The Bull, it was another day at the office. Whether he was pulling up Danny Barnes from a ruck with one arm like a sack of spuds, or getting treated to Donncha’s knee in the face at the bottom of a collapsing maul, there was no slacking off to be seen. 18-3 to Munster going in.

Connacht started the second half as they had finished the first, with a strong scrum putting pressure on the Munster pack and gaining them a penalty opportunity at 42 mins, which they didn’t capitalise on. A slew of penalties followed for the next 16 mins, putting the score at 24-9 to Munster.

59 mins and 20 seconds, the moment when the most modest man in rugby ran off for the last time. It was as if the whole stadium was put on pause to watch The Bull make his way across the pitch, a smile growing the nearer he got to the tunnel. The warmest of applause filled the stadium to help him across, and continued long after he sat down and the match restarted. The mixed emotions felt by the crowd are hard to express or convey. The majority of us have seen John Hayes as a mainstay of Irish Rugby, part of the furniture no less, and the feelings experienced by his final appearance are similar to the feeling of losing a friend when a long running TV show comes to an end. A rare glimpse of John Hayes on the sideline came from Alan Quinlan on Twitter, showing a smiling Bull [http://yfrog.com/esa04utj].

The remainder of the second half saw Munster hold out with 14 men, after Donncha was sin binned at 60 mins. Connacht were awarded a penalty at 73 mins but again failed to convert. The ground was treated to both renditions of the Fields of Athenry simultaneously, the slow lilting Munster version, and the energetic clapping entangled Connacht version. The benches were emptied but the scoreboard remained unchanged, Connacht unable to breach the solid Munster defence.

At the final whistle, The Bull emerged with his children for a short canter around the pitch to bid farewell, with a standing ovation reply from the crowd. Not one to bask in the limelight, he was gone as fast, putting an end to an illustrious career in red and green.



Bye bye Bull, you are unequalled, you did us proud and you will be missed.








The 16th Man

*The views expressed in this article are that of a Munster fan, and will be biased!

To the Brave and the Faithful, Nothing is Impossible.

Munster V Connacht - 111226

Munster V Connacht - 111226, a set on Flickr.

Photos from John Hayes' last match in Thomond Park, Limerick.

Final Score: Munster 24 - 9 Connact

Bye Bye Bull

SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL - Munster 19-13 Scarlets

Munster V Scarlets - 111218, a set on Flickr.

The 16th man describes the match as seen from the crowd, accurate or not as it may be :-)

Coming up to Christmas week, ice on the ground and a Sunday morning kick-off, what better time for a Heineken Cup home match. There was very little hanging about outside TP before the match, the crowd eager to get in to start the festivities and possibly to huddle together for warmth.

The pre-match warm up was conducted in the usual manner, with one exception. On their way back in, the squad all ran in formation across the north terrace and down the sideline back to the tunnel, a change from their usual straight line run across the pitch. Was this a psychological warfare tactic, a sign of solidarity to us and to the visiting Scarlet fans in the north terrace? 23 warriors marching in unison led by the icon that is Paul O'Connell, an impressive sight indeed.

Before long they were back out and the match was underway. Soon after kick-off, ROG slotted a penalty kick and we were up by 3, good start. The rest of the first half was toe-in-the-water time. Both teams tested each other's defences, Scarlets threatening with dynamic switches and loops and Munster with old fashioned pressure. A Stephen Jones penalty at 12 mins leveled the score, and Scarlets ramped up their offensive efforts from there. They gained alot of momentum until a Keith Earls wrap tackle killed their progression, followed by Paulie stealing their lineout, thus relieving the pressure. Munster's scrum dominated, with another penalty coming from a turned scrum at 34 mins, putting us 6-3 ahead. No soon was the ball through the posts that Scarlets had a penalty of their own at 36 mins, the crowd feeling that all the hard work had gone to waste again due to ill-discipline. Much to the crowd's delight, the Welshman's unlucky streak continued, Jones missed the kick. 6-3 to Munster at the half.

The crowd were treated to 2 songs by the Galway ban The Kanyu Tree at half time.
I must admit, I hadn't heard the name before, but their song "Radio" was familiar and lively, and the change in half time entertainment seemed to work well and kept the crowd going for the 15 min break. One small critiscism, the drummer's cymbals could be heard from the pitch but not through the speakers, leading some of us to believe the kit wasn't mic'd up at all.

As the second half got underway, the sun came out to warm us up. Only in Ireland would you need a scarf and sunglasses in December! ROG's first penalty kick a minute in came off the post, but he followed with a successful kick at 43 mins, awarded from some impressive rucking by Donncha. Priestland took over the kicking duties for Scarlets, but missed a penalty at 48 mins. Munster capitalised and pushed Scarlets closer to their try line. Scarlets panicked and Jon Edwards infringed at the breakdown and got 10 minutes for his efforts. The unstoppable Munster maul replied and trundled through the Scarlets defence, allowing James Coughlan to touch down at 52 mins. ROG converted and brought Munster 16-3 ahead.

A lucky kick through set Donncha and Du Preez off running down the length of the pitch to touch down, only to find the rest of both teams back in the other half waiting after the whistle had gone. A wasted effort, but a slow run back with smiles all round followed. A Priestland penalty brought the score to 16-6. Great breaks from Murray and Murphy brought the action back to the Scarlets try line. Despite some acrobatic efforts from Hurley, Zebo and Earls, the Scarlet defence held firm and Munster had to settle for 3 points, edging the score to 19-6. The reinformcements arrived, with Thomás and Donnacha Ryan on for Murray and Leamy. Great pressure by Scarlets puts them in a scrum on the Munster line, with quick ball and a poor Munster defence allowing Rees to dive over for a soft enough try. Priestland's conversion brought the score to 19-13 at 66 mins. A glimmer of worry creeps in, this match wasn't over by any means.

Turns out it was though! Munster managed to hold under the Scarlet's final push, and another sin-binning a minute before the whistle put an end to the Scarlet's day.

A subdued crowd exited and dispersed, taking solice in the fact that Munster seemed in control for "most" of the match. It certainly wasn't the try fest that took place the night before in the east, it was a mid-pool match, shoulder to the wheel. Hopefully the plan is to grind out these wins and not peak too early. A lot of work needs to be done, especially in the backline. Individually they all played well, but the cohesion was missing. I fear the loss of Dougie will hit us hard. That being said, the forwards are going from strength to strength, with Paulie leading by example. It wouldn't be HCup rugby if it wasn't worrying and exciting at the same time :-)


The 16th Man


*The views expressed in this article are that of a Munster fan, and will be biased!


To the Brave and the Faithful, Nothing is Impossible.