It was a historic occasion in Mayo as Connacht played in front of a record-breaking 27,580 at MacHale Park for their Interpro with Munster.
The result may not have gone Connacht's way as a sloppy defensive display meant Munster ran away with the game, winning 30-24. A late try from Josh Ioane gave Connacht hope but a lineout steal in the 22 from Jean Kleyn gave Munster the 30-24 win.
Connacht stumbled out of the blocks in Castlebar as Ioane and others struggled kicking against the wind as Jack Crowley and Munster put on a very mature kicking display, pinning Connacht into their half.
Their pressure was rewarded with two tries from Thomas Ahern and a returning Craig Casey with Crowley adding two penalties. A singular try from Sean Jansen gave Connacht something to cling onto but it was a disappointing first half display for the hosts. However Alex Nankivell's first half red card gave Connacht along with getting the wind in the second half looked like it would give Connacht a big advantage in the second half.
But that wasn't to be as despite a Caolin Blade try early in the second half Munster extended their lead to 30-12 with tries from Jack Crowley and Diarmuid Barron. Late tries from Sean Jansen and Josh Ioane led to a Grandstand finish and Connacht looked to be on their way to win when Dylan Tierney-Martin scored a try in the corner.
However that was chalked off after a crocodile roll from Bundee Aki a couple phases beforehand, then a late yellow card for Niall Scannell gave Connacht a lineout in Munster's 22, but Springbok Jean Kleyn leaped up and got the steal to secure the victory for Munster.
Damage To MacHale Park Pitch Plain To See After Historic Connacht V Munster Match
It was great to see Connacht play in front of such a raucous crowd while it was also surely a nice payday for the province selling X3 more tickets for a home game than they ever had before. However Mayo fans were rightfully cautious heading into the game as to how the pitch would hold up at MacHale Park.
A week out from their Connacht Championship bout with Sligo, the last thing Mayo would've wanted was for the pitch to be damaged but with a a heavy shower before kick-off it was likely to take some damage from the game.
That was evident to see after the first scrum in the game where Neil Treacy captured the torn up pitch after the first scrum of the game.
Mercifully, there's only been one since.
Kevin McStay will be watching this through his hands. #MUNvCON https://t.co/Au8eAZeTPF pic.twitter.com/zSF8mZgtgg
— Neil Treacy (@neil_treacy) March 29, 2025
The worry was such that, as Rúaidhrí O'Connor noted, the stadium announcer even called on fans to stay off the pitch to try preserve it for next Sunday's clash in the Connacht Championship.
The announcer in MacHale Park asking fans to stay off the pitch to protect it for next week, but I'd be more worried about the players. The scrums are doing some damage
— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) March 29, 2025
The ground staff should have their work cut out during the week but fortunately there didn't seem to be too many more scrums and the pitch held up well considering the conditions.
