Munster vs. Benneton Treviso at Thomond Park October 22nd
Being a huge Munster fan, and judging from the previous week’s performance in the Heineken cup, I knew the Treviso match was shaping up to be a treat. Having been in London 4 weeks ago to see our boys face off against London Irish it was spectacular to say the least , even though we lost. When I arrived home from the trip I went straight on to www.munsterrugby.ie to see when the next home match was in the Magners league. Luckily it wasn’t sold out as the ticketmaster website( www.Ticketmaster.ie ) told me there were plenty of tickets available to buy at their station outside Thomond Park. My sister arranged to pick up the tickets and we were set to see one of Europe’s greatest rugby teams in action again.

Kick-off was at 19:45 so we arrived at about 20 mins beforehand in order to get a good spot in the East Terrace. The Terraces were packed as usual but luckily enough we found a spot near the half way line with a great view of all the action. The atmosphere was unusually poor and throughout the match I noticed very little chanting or singing. However before the match kicked off there was a great choir who performed an outstanding rendition of “Stand up and Fight”, a song which the crowd and I always sing along to. The pre match build up with a heartbeat booming over the speakers made the spectacle of the teams emerging from the tunnel very exciting. Treviso, the Italians, were greeted with applause all round ,while Munster emerged to the deafening roar of Thomond Park. 3 tries from Coughlan,Varley and Wallace in the first half meant the win was almost certain and as exciting as it was there were a few lulls approaching half time.

The halftime entertainment was provided by an two underage rugby clubs playing a short match. It was pretty funny and passed the time quickly. The second half of the match was no different. Munster dominated and it wasn’t long before fan favourite and local boy Keith Earls scored a try to secure the bonus point. Treviso didn’t put up much of a fight and Cherry even scored in the last minute the make the score 39-13 to Munster. Throughout the match the crowd kept up the great tradition of being dead silent for all the kicks which is what the stadium is known for. Apart from the freezing cold conditions and lack of a good atmosphere I really enjoyed the match and will be looking forward to Munster’s next Thomond Park encounter.

Shaun Morris 10130748