When Munster humbled the Wallabies

The Munster team who beat the then world champions Australia at Musgrave Park in 1992 will be feted tonight. Barry Coughlan caught up with captain Terry Kingston and goalkicker Charlie Haly to relive the excitement of the day

For Terry Kingston, there was a lot more riding on this match than just helping Munster to win. It was a personal challenge he had to stand up to in order to repay the faith shown in him by the provincial selectors.

Kingston was surprised to be named captain just a few days after being excluded from the Irish panel. Greystones and Leinster hooker John Murphy was given the international number two shirt to play Australia, while Keith Wood, reserve to Kingston with Munster, was chosen as back-up.

“I’m sure the selectors [Munster] must have felt under pressure when they sat down to choose the team,” he recalled.

“They might have gone along the lines of the national selectors and maybe even dropped me for Woodie, but thankfully they decided to place their faith in me.”

Kingston was never bothered by his colleagues’ description of him as a “boot, bullock and bite” type motivator but if he was inclined to get excited in the build-up to matches, he fully realised games were not won on emotion and bluster alone.

“I was always proud to wear the Munster jersey and well aware of some of the great names that had gone before us. We all recognised that success at domestic level didn’t come easy, but the whole history of Munster playing against touring sides is something that cannot be understated.

“Sure, I would have used details of that proud history as a big motivating factor; I would have stressed to the players that the heroes of the 1978 win over New Zealand were, before that match, pretty much like us, not very well known and certainly not famous. Here we were, ordinary guys, pitting ourselves against one of the top teams in the world, giving ourselves a chance to achieve something huge. I was going to use any motivating tool I could to whip them up.”

Whipping the players into a frenzy was all very well but behind it all, Kingston believed in each individual’s ability. “There was a really good blend of experience and youthful talent. I could never quite put my finger on why I believed we would beat Australia, but I was convinced it was possible. Of course, I was realistic enough to know that it would be very difficult, but as the match unfolded I became more and more certain we would win.

“We went out with a relatively simple game-plan. We played to our strengths and we kept mistakes down to a minimum. We didn’t have a great first quarter and they appeared to pick off scores at will. Then, for some reason, they seemed to get nervous. We sensed they were taking a lot more time than was necessary at lineouts, that their scrum was creaking a bit and their body language wasn’t quite right.

“We sensed it and we did something about it by attacking them with everything we had. We attacked their lineout, we attacked their scrum and we struck a killer blow when they were forced to collapse a scrum and concede a penalty try. We knew we were in with a right chance then.”

In the absence of another recognised goal-kicker, Charlie Haly was entrusted with the duties by coach Garrett Fitzgerald. On the day, it proved to be an inspired decision.

Haly had previously successfully kicked for Oxford University in the English Varsity match and was not unfazed by the coach’s request.

In fact there was only one time during the match when the weight of duty began to dawn on Haly and fiery flanker Ger Clohessy was the cause.

“We were trailing by three points late in the game and we got a penalty to bring it back to 19-19,” he said.

“Suddenly Ger approached and started shaking me furiously as if to celebrate a score before it even came. I didn’t know what he was at. Then all of a sudden, Terry Kingston lunged at Ger, clattered him on the shoulder and told him to fuck off away from me.

“To be honest, at the time I was a bit confused as to whether Ger was encouraging or threatening me. Either way, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity and I was relieved to see it sail over for the equalising points.”

A short time later, Haly was being chaired off the pitch on the shoulders of strangers. Seconds before, Jim Galvin had taken the game by the scruff of the neck with a magnificent drop goal from a difficult position to send Munster supporters into orbit.

As much as any Munster fan, Haly was incensed that Australian coach Bob Dwyer should attempt to demean the Munster achievement and to point the finger of blame at the home side for a few unsavoury incidents.

“Let’s put it this way, we didn’t go out to start trouble but we met it when it happened,” said Haly.

“Ironically, Michael Galwey and Garrick Morgan, the respective second rows, were sent off for their role in a brawl but that was really only handbag stuff and didn’t merit the action taken by the referee. I suppose he had to show a firm hand and they were the two unlucky guys to get sent. Afterwards, I think they got a suspension of just four days, which tells its own story.

“Dwyer was reputed to be the top coach in the world at the time, and we were the first team to beat Australia after they had won the World Cup. It was obvious that he would try to lay the blame on someone else and deflect criticism away from himself and his team.

“Given all the circumstances of the game, the way the scores arrived, the way they played and the way we played, I have no doubt that we were well worth the win. It wasn’t luck, it was just one team being beaten by a better team.”