Argy bargy won’t be pretty

BEFORE looking forward to what is the crucial game of the autumn series against Argentina tomorrow, it is important to reflect on New Zealand’s brief but electrically-charged visits to Croke Park and Thomond Park over the course of the last week.

For pure theatre, drama, excitement and belligerence, the Thomond experience won hands down. When Mafi, Tipoki, Manning and Howlett stepped out and challenged the visitors, the ground rules changed immediately.

If the All Blacks thought that Munster’s confrontational effort would end at the Haka, they were sadly mistaken. What transpired afterwards was the stuff of true legend, cruelly denied the perfect finish by New Zealand’s last gasp try. Given the hype surrounding the 30th anniversary of Munster’s most famous win, how ironic was it that the winning try was conceded in the 78th minute?