Munster Rugby

Thomand Park is in the middle of town. Wedged in between old row houses and crowded neighbourhoods. You couldn't live here and not love rugby. You'd be mad to put up with the road closures, and wild crowds before and after a game.

We booked our hotel in Limerick, and I was thrilled to realize it was the away team (in this case Ulster) hotel. The players were lounging around the lobby the morning of which was a cool thing to witness.

After a day for the girls – primarily picnic, parks – we kicked off the Munster Game Day routine. Pints at the hotel. Pints at JJ Bowles on the river. Parade over to the stadium.

At the pub, I sent Nora ahead to find our seat. She's remarkably good at asking people to move over to we can have room. In this case, she bullied a group of 50 year old men into leaving a bench near the riverside. Quality work from the girl.

The game itself was electric. Without going into detail on the weight of the occasion, the stadium was loud, rowdy and screaming for most of the match. Derby games (those in between the Irish provinces) get like that. Nora was keen for the action. Maeve liked the singing. But the volume was a bit too much for either girl.

The rugby was quality though.