Before acting as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, Munsterman Richard Harris, the Irish thespian, starred in many films including the likes of Camelot, Cromwell and A Man Called Horse.
He received an Oscar nomination for a hard hitting movie about a professional rugby league player named Frank Machin set in Wakefield in 1963 called This Sporting Life, with Rachel Roberts.
Harris himself was a larger than life, hard drinking raconteur. His last acting gig before he died was with Rusty Crowe in Gladiator.
As befitting a man who found fame during the sixties he also released a pop song called MacArthur Park which reached No 2 on the American charts.
Importantly, he had a significant connection to rugby: he used to play for Garryowen and was a passionate Munster supporter.
In 2002 as he knew he was dying he wrote a letter to the rugby club which said: “I would like to come back as a compilation of Jimmy Nelson, Mick Galway and The Claw (Peter Clohessy) and terrorise the rugby world instead of terrorising the movie community.”
And that Munster passion will be on display at Thomond Park in Limerick in a mid week encounter (Tuesday, 16 November) with the Wallabies next month.
They’ve had some memorable wins over touring sides. The most cherished was the defeat of the All Blacks in 1978. That win entered Munster mythology and they even wrote a stage play about it, called Alone it Stands.
Munster are the only Irish team, either international or provincial, to have ever beaten the All Blacks. They last played them in 2008 and only lost 18-16 after Smokin’ Joe scored a try at the death.
You may remember the game: the Kiwis in the Munster team (Doug Howlett and co) did their own haka!
The Wallabies record against the province hasn’t been all that flash. We’ve defeated them a number of times but in 1967 lost 11-8, 1981 lost 15-6 and in 1992 were beaten 22-19 in a rough encounter in Cork.
Brisbane’s Tony McGahan is their current coach and he’s got a ream of Irish internationals to pick from and some quality imports like Howlett, Sam Tuitupou and Paul Warwick.
They’ve had lots of recent success and were Heineken Cup holders in 2006 and 2008, and Magners Celtic League also in ’08.
They reached the Heineken Cup semi-finals last year but lost to Rocky Elsom’s Leinster team and this year to Karmichael Hunt’s Biarritz.
They’ve had a pretty good start to the new season and are currently top of the Magner’s League.
They play a good style of rugby (if you watch them on Setanta) and have a top notch forward unit: Buckley, Hayes, O’Callaghan, Quinlan, O’Leamy, O’Driscoll, Wallace and Horan to name a few.
Munster play the Scarlet’s five days after the Wallaby match but have a two week break from competition beforehand, so I’d expect they’ll field a very competitive side.
The week before (Tuesday, 9 November), we front up to Welford Rd and take on the current English champions and last year’s Heineken Cup finalist Leicester Tigers.
The Wallabies have only played Leicester once before in their own right in 1981 (for an 18-15 win) but have featured at Welford Rd and other venues against Midland regional selections many times, which encompasses Leicester.
For the record, the Wallabies won in 1947 22-14 Midland Counties, 1957 18-3 Leicestershire and East Midlands, 1966 17-9 Midland Counties (East), 1975 lost 11-8 Midland Counties (East), 1981 lost 16-10 Midland Division, 1984 won 21-8 Midland Division and lastly 1988 won 25-18 Midland Division.
Leicester only became a player in English club rugby during the eighties but it’s from about 1993 onwards when they really achieved by winning the Zurich Premiership, Zurich Championship and Heineken Cup treble, Guinness Premiership and EDF Energy Cup.
They have been a finalist in the Guinness Premiership for the past six seasons. Last year they defeated the Springbok touring side at Welsford Rd 22-17.
The Aussie connection here is Canberra’s Matt O’Connor, who is their Head Coach. They have a great deal of depth but injuries have hampered their start to the premiership, where they’re currently lying in 7th place.
Their squad is littered with internationals like front rowers Marcos Ayerza, Martin Castrogiovanni, Dan Cole, Julian White and George Chuter.
I’d again be expecting some embarrassment at scrum time but with Toby Flood out with injury their backup five eighths Jeremy Staunton and the wonderfully named Billy Twelvetrees are a little susceptible.
The Tigers have an Anglo Welsh Cup fixture three days before the Wallabies match but no Aviva Premiership games anywhere around that time. It’s unlikely they’ll field their top side for the Anglo Welsh match so there’s a chance we’ll be up against some serious talent.
It seems to me that Munster and Leicester are a cut above last year’s Gloucester and Cardiff so the Dirties’ challenge is going to be just that much harder. Hopefully they’ll rise to the occasion.
