One of the most inglorious days in All Blacks history is set to be relived on the big screen.
Guinness – brewer of the official beer of the Irish Rugby Football Union – has commissioned a short clip immortalising the plucky club side’s historic 12-0 win over the All Blacks during the side’s 1978 tour of the UK, the only time any Irish team – including the national side – has beaten the All Blacks in 109 years of competition between the two nations.
As with the movie Invictus, the All Blacks will be portrayed not as the brave heroes Kiwis love to see, but as machine-like automatons trampling all before them – at least, until the brave boys of Munster stepped up.
All Blacks wing Bryan Williams, who played in the game, said he’d be keen to watch the clip, saying he loved the way the Irish continued to celebrate the upset.
“Two years ago I was contacted by [Welsh great] Derek Quinnell and asked if I would like to go over and take part in a dinner celebrating the anniversary of the day [Munster] beat the All Blacks,” Williams told the Sunday Star-Times. “On the day [of the loss] we were mortified, but years later I am up there celebrating with them. It is one of the beauties of rugby.”
The Guinness clip, which has a working title of Munster – Immortality, will be built around centre Seamus Dennison’s early-match tackle on Stu Wilson; a shuddering hit credited for inspiring the Munster team.
The voice-over says: “They were just bus drivers and butchers and builders, 15 unlikely lads. All up against a certain truth: You don’t beat the All Blacks. Everyone knows this. Every team, every expert, every crowd.
“Everyone except for little Seamus Dennison. With a single tackle he stopped the rampant All Blacks. Dead. And every Irishman grew 12 feet taller.”
The one-minute clip will be uploaded to Guinness’ official YouTube channel in time for the start of the 2014-15 European rugby season and will also be broadcast as a promotional clip at movie theatres in the UK.
Williams said the result was “a great day for Irish rugby” but admitted the All Blacks had under-estimated Munster.
“They came out breathing fire and before we knew it we were in a real dogfight and just couldn’t get any momentum or flow on during the game. They just tackled their hearts out.”
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– Sunday Star Times
