Munster v All Blacks XV: All You Need to Know

The show must go on.

Four days on from the departure of head coach Graham Rowntree, the latest new era at Munster gets under way as the province welcome an All Blacks XV to Thomond Park for a marquee friendly (5.30pm kick-off).

For a game that has been highly anticipated and sold out for several months, it's a shame that it will be played out under the cloud of a shock coaching change.

Head of rugby operations Ian Costello has been appointed interim head coach while the province find a permanent replacement, having previously stepped in to do so in November 2021, when the majority of Munster's players and coaching staff were stranded in South Africa after a Covid-19 outbreak.

It's the first time since 2016 that Munster have hosted an All Blacks representative team, but it's the third year in a row they they have played a high-profile friendly against southern hemisphere opposition.

Their wins against a South Africa XV in November 2022, and versus the Crusaders in February 2024, both brought in big crowds at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, and those victories arguably kick-started what had been poor seasons to that point.

Something similar against what looks like being a strong All Blacks XV would be a tonic after a week to forget in the province.

ONLINE

We'll have a match report and post-game reaction from Thomond Park on rte.ie/sport.

TV

The game is being streamed on Munster's internal platform Access Munster.

WEATHER

It looks like there will be favourable rugby conditions in Limerick on Saturday evening.

There's no rain forecast and just some moderate wind, with temperatures of 10-12C expected.

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