Six days after Ireland take on the All Blacks at Soldier Field in Chicago, Munster will play the Maori All Blacks at Thomond Park on November 11th.
Ireland play the All Blacks twice this November. The game in the US is on November 5th with another encounter in Dublin scheduled for November 19th.
The version of the All Blacks which Munster will face comprises solely of players with Maori heritage which must be verified before they can make an appearance for the team.
Munster will play the Maori All Blacks on Friday November 11th in Thomond Park https://t.co/ZWziN2n8yM pic.twitter.com/g57u179BHl
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) May 10, 2016
Munster have twice played international sides at Thomond Park since its redevelopment. In 2008, they narrowly lost to the All Blacks, 18-16, in a memorable game after a late try from Joe Rokocoko. Two years late Munster upset Australia in a 15-6 victory.
Munster CEO Garrett Fitzgerald said of the game:
This is an exciting opportunity for the province and we welcome the chance to hopefully replicate previous marvellous occasions that we had when hosting the All Blacks and Australia.
In what will be a first encounter for these sides we are really looking forward to the fixture and would like to thank the NZRU and IRFU for their efforts in bringing negotiations to a successful conclusion.
Tickets for the game go on sale tomorrow morning, Wednesday, May 11th at 9am.
Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
