Diarmuid Barron to lead Munster against the mighty All Blacks following a week of upheaval and uncertainty - it's a big ask but Rockwell boy is ready to rumble

Munster will face an All Blacks XV this evening with a captain in Diarmuid Barron who very few outside the province would recognise.

A Rockwell Munster Schools Cup winner in 2015, a 2017 and 2018 Ireland Under-20 cap, a 2022 Emerging Ireland and 2022 Ireland A hooker but one yet to gain a senior Ireland call up — and this in a year when the position has been in crisis.

Munster will also feature former Connacht winger Dermot Kilgallen, who made 23 appearances for the westerners, was playing for Garryowen last weekend and will be making his Reds debut.

Scrum-half Ethan Coughlan, who graduated from the Academy last summer is making only his third start, Academy winger Shay McCarthy is on the right-wing.

Alex Nankivell and Springbok RWC 2023 panellist Jean Kleyn are among those on a lengthy injury list — and Munster have seven players with Ireland in Portugal.

Looking to fill out a team, there are a further five Academy players on the bench props Kieran Ryan, Ronan Foxe, back-row Ruadhán Quinn, back-three Ben O’Connor and a second-row Evan O’Connell — a nephew of Paul O’Connell — who will be making his debut if used.

Munster fans will be hoping there is enough in pride and passion, in the jersey, in inspiring Thomond surrounds.

That there is leadership in Barron, Peter O’Mahony’s legendary ability to bring it out in himself and in others on the big day, two promising but as yet uncapped second-rows, and Billy Burns to demonstrate just why he was so highly thought of when brought to Ireland.

Barron, though, will be chief executive on the pitch: “I have guys around me like Pete this week, and Rory, Niall (Scannell brothers) even, strong leaders that are around us.

“But obviously being captain there is a little bit extra but the week hasn’t changed, we are focused on performance and my main job is to try and perform as well as I can, after that look after other things.

“I’ll just put my best foot forward and hopefully lead from the front.”

This promotion as Tadhg Beirne is away and coming in the week of the parting company with coach Graham Rowntree, makes Barron’s job look, well, extremely difficult at best.

“We didn’t know,” he says of the players being called on Tuesday by Zoom to be told Rowntree (inset) was leaving.

“I definitely didn’t see it coming to be honest, we were told just before it was released to the media.

“No, we haven’t seen him yet. We have been in contact, but haven’t seen him.

“Graham has done a lot. I won my first trophy under him. He selected me as captain of Munster for the first time, so I suppose I have a lot to thank him for really.

“As a player he has been driving me on and showing a lot of faith in me so I have a lot to thank him for.”

“It was strange, obviously a bit of shock around it, but we have got a pretty big task on our hands Saturday, so we couldn’t dwell on it, we had to drive forward.”

Thus Ian Costello, named as Interim Head Coach last Tuesday, has selected the team to face the All Blacks XV today.

No other fixture carries such weight of affection and expectation in the Munster canon; it is not that they are expected to win, repeat 1978, but neither are they expected to simply lie down.

The expectation is the red jerseys stand up and fight at fortress Thomond, a heavy defeat to this opposition is anti-tradition, unthinkable.

“Yes, it is,” says Barron defiantly. “I suppose there is a bit of a tribal sense when it comes to Munster in terms of people coming together.

“We had some past players in, we had Brendan Foley actually presented us with our jerseys there (last Thursday) and spoke briefly and we had some video messages from some world class players like Dougie Howlett.

“It is all I dreamed of anyway as a kid. It is all you ever heard of in terms of Munster being the first Irish team to beat the All Blacks.

“Ireland hadn’t beaten the All Blacks so it is very special, a special week and, like I said, we got to show that and we got to show what that means to us, there is no point in talking about it.”

It’s all to play for, everything to be gained. Continues Barron: “You’ve just got to go and you’ve got to get stuck in, see where the chips fall.

“What the crowd wants to see and what everyone in the ground wants to see is us getting stuck in from the get-go and what’s made of it after
that.

“Fear isn’t the word, maybe just nervous excitement and that’s around the place at the moment. What a fixture to be part of!

“I know for sure I will look back at it and have better appreciation of what I have right now and I think I have a decent appreciation of it now. But what a special occasion to be involved in.”

All Blacks XV Head Coach Clayton McMillan said: “There is a long-standing rivalry between New Zealand teams and Munster. We are expecting an intense, competitive clash in front of a sold-out passionate Irish crowd in Limerick.”

McMillan congratulated Du’Plessis Kirifi on being appointed as captain and Harry Plummer as vice-captain of the All Blacks XV and said their leadership would be an asset to the team.

“Du’Plessis has experience in the All Blacks XV environment and is a natural leader who holds mana (supernatural power) within the team. Harry had an outstanding Super Rugby Pacific season and has been in the All Blacks squad this year so his leadership will be immense in attack.

“We’ve had a short lead in to this first match, the team is a blend of experience with younger rising talent.

“The players are all out to showcase their skills and make the most of the opportunity to play on an international scale, representing New Zealand.”

Munster: Mike Haley; Shay McCarthy, Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Billy Burns, Ethan Coughlan; John Ryan, Diarmuid Barron capt, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern; Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes. Subs: Niall Scannell, Kieran Ryan, Ronan Foxe, Evan O’Connell, Ruadhán Quinn,
Paddy Patterson, Tony Butler, Ben O’Connor.

New Zealand XV: Shaun Stevenson* (Chiefs); Chay Fihaki (Crusaders), AJ Lam (Blues), Quinn Tupaea* (Chiefs), Kini Naholo (Hurricanes); Harry Plummer (Blues), Finlay Christie* (Blues); George Bower* (Crusaders), Brodie McAlister (Crusaders), George Dyer (Chiefs), Isaia Walker-Leawere (Hurricanes), Fabian Holland (Highlanders), Oliver Haig (Highlanders), Du’Plessis Kirifi (Hurricanes) capt, Devan Flanders (Hurricanes) Subs: Bradley Slater (Chiefs), Xavier Numia (Hurricanes), Marcel Renata (Blues), Naitoa Ah Kuoi (Chiefs), Corey Kellow (Crusaders), Noah Hotham* (Crusaders), Josh Jacomb (Chiefs), Ruben Love* (Hurricanes)

*denotes new cap

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