It was another night that will be edged in Muster Rugby folklore beating South Africa for the first time.

Shane Daly, Simon Zebo, Diarmuid Barron and Mike Haley all got over the whitewash in a historic night in Cork

South Africa tried their best but their only tries were scored by Aphlele Fassi and Sikhumbuzo Notshe.

It’s a ground that’s produced special moments in Cork GAA, but this time it was all about Munster Rugby. The Fields of Athenry will be sung long into the night.

The Springboks started rather edgy. A poor kick by Fasi gave Munster their first chance in attacking territory. The lineout provided the perfect platform to test the defence.

They made their first visit to the twenty-two count as a slick backline move finished in a try. A great offload from debutant Antoine Frisch got the ball to  Hayley who slotted  Daly away for the score in the corner, with only three minutes played.  It was the dream start in Cork.

After that early surge from Munster, the South Africans slowly began to grow into the contest. Power and physicality are two attributes we always associate with them and they started to utilise those strengths.

A Hayley knock-on close to his own try line gave the visitors a very nice field position. They asked questions of the Munster defence, with big carry after big carry and eventually their pressure told.

In the 13th minute, Phepsi Buthelezi and Cornal Hendricks made big carries before Goosen’s long pass found Fassi who went over in the corner for their opening try of the night. Goosen levelled the scores from the kicking tee.

The home team came back stronger, working very hard in the opposition half. In the 24th minute, Zebo almost got in for a score. The ball was slightly out of his reach after a Healy crossfield kick.

But, he would have his chance again a few minutes later. His team decided to not go for the posts, but instead they opted to the corner.

From the set piece, Kiran McDonald took the ball from the tail of the lineout. The ball made its way to Healy who with a lovely looping pass found fan favourite Zebo, who touched it down in the left corner. Healy added the conversion.

Graham Rowntree’s men kept the heat on their opponents. They looked to be in again. Daly did some great work to get the ball to O’Donoghue who was charging through the defence. He had the support of Paddy Patterson on the inside, but he held the pass to long and the ball was knocked on.

A big shove in the scrum earned them a huge penalty in the red zone. They were brave and backed themselves again by going for the corner. O’Donoghue claimed the ball. The maul got rolling with the whole forward pack involved. Barron was at the end of it, scoring their third try of the night. Healy slotting the extras.

A smart restart gave the South Africans the opportunity to launch one last attack before the break. They give it everything, but a good defensive lineout from Munster brought a halt to that.

The play wasn’t long resumed and the home crowd had reason to celebrate again. Scrum-half Patterson was excellent on the night and a clever kick and chase by him on the blindside got them motoring. They kept the ball well before Healy kicked through a well-timed ball to find Haley who scored near the posts. Healy was flawless from the tee. They led 28-7

The conditions made the game more difficult in the second half.

South Africa dominated the play for large parts of that period.  Their tough front-up style of play made it a physically demanding contest. Substitutes Du Preez and Notshe making an impact off the bench.

In the 63rd minute, their pressure was rewarded when Notshe touched the ball down from close range after a powerful scrum close to the line. Guianna Lombard kicked the conversion.

That was the last score of the game as Munster finished the game strong to complete a trio of victories. They beat the All Blacks in 1978, Australia in 1967 and 1992 and now South Africa in 2022. It was another special night for a unique province.