Munster Away, Saturday Dec 28, 18:00, Eir Sports 1

[johng]

Spot on wixfjord. The guy is a clown. At one stage in the second half he was practically screaming down the microphone for munster to go down the short side!
Wtf is all that about??!!

Flannery is full of it aswell. Can only see what munster are trying to do and nothing about how the opposition could stop it?. At least the ref wasn't part of the munster love in. Especially after the booing and whinging from the so called best fans in the world!! 6 out of 7 for leinster now. Even with the under 15's out there at one stage. Leinster back row once again was outstanding. If Josh Murphy can do a really good angry face he might even take saint Peter Mahoney's place in the Ireland team!!

Flannery was coaching them until 5 minutes ago ffs. Thats why they have him on. He is way better and more interesting than Jamie Heaslip. A man who was my favourite Leinster player for many years.

[johng]

Well he is from Limerick. And did play for munster first.

I just think we all (me included) can be over sensitive about something we are passionate about. I can think of many good friends who have said way worse than what was said on this thread.

So sorry for singling out the original poster as he was not an extreme example.

Are those good friends also paid commentators on Eir Sport?

You said he was a former Leinster captain. He was. He also lives, played for and is from Munster. And is clearly stupidly biased to the point of not bothering to cover it!

I was comparing my "good friends " to tbe poster who originally complained about comentator bias not tolland.

The point was that i felt i was jumping on what d4blue said partly because of what i heard from the same "friends"

[Dave Cahill]

But Toland is either ridiculously biased or just a very, very bad commentator.

(You can ask Dave C on your next show...)

Back in his Setanta days, I used to really like Toland (and I wasn't alone in that) - he brought something new to the co-commentary and punditry spot, a change from the whole 'its all about the pashun' approach that Irish rugby (all of us, not just our southern confreres) used to wallow in. He actually looked at the stuff that was happening on the pitch and explained why it was happening, what was the motivation behind it and what was the goal. He was actually the first of the modern rugby pundits, before ROG or Jenno or Shaggy, back when all we had was Hook and Pope.

But he jumped the shark. He became the Pink Floyd of pundits - originally great, but now just a tedious self indulgent mess relevant only to his own thought process

[wixfjord]

Well he is from Limerick. And did play for munster first.

I just think we all (me included) can be over sensitive about something we are passionate about. I can think of many good friends who have said way worse than what was said on this thread.

So sorry for singling out the original poster as he was not an extreme example.

Are those good friends also paid commentators on Eir Sport?

You said he was a former Leinster captain. He was. He also lives, played for and is from Munster. And is clearly stupidly biased to the point of not bothering to cover it!

I was comparing my "good friends " to tbe poster who originally complained about comentator bias not tolland.

The point was that i felt i was jumping on what d4blue said partly because of what i heard from the same "friends"

If they're speaking about Toland, I think your friends are right!

Toland is ridiculously biased and that has been clear for quite a while now.

[wixfjord]

But Toland is either ridiculously biased or just a very, very bad commentator.

(You can ask Dave C on your next show...)

Back in his Setanta days, I used to really like Toland (and I wasn't alone in that) - he brought something new to the co-commentary and punditry spot, a change from the whole 'its all about the pashun' approach that Irish rugby (all of us, not just our southern confreres) used to wallow in. He actually looked at the stuff that was happening on the pitch and explained why it was happening, what was the motivation behind it and what was the goal. He was actually the first of the modern rugby pundits, before ROG or Jenno or Shaggy, back when all we had was Hook and Pope.

But he jumped the shark. He became the Pink Floyd of pundits - originally great, but now just a tedious self indulgent mess relevant only to his own thought process

And in fairness, his IT column was (is?) generally well written (if a bit overwritten) and analytical. Not just a reheat of confirmation biased opinion.

But his co-commentary is just abysmal.

I mean some of his utterances tonight were just clearly wrong to anyone who knows the laws.

[johng]

Tolland. The ref. Conor morris. The munster fans. Lasd. We won. Why are we focusing on negatives? (Question was for my friends)

I know one guy in particular who can't like anything without hating what he percieves as it's opposite. mad Ted.

So sorry if you are all getting the back lash. It will look different when I'm sober.

[johng]

Oh. He's a chyte commentator. No question.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Tolland. The ref. Conor morris. The munster fans. Lasd. We won. Why are we focusing on negatives? (Question was for my friends)

Because we're boringly good

[JWG]

Tolland. The ref. Conor morris. The munster fans. Lasd. We won. Why are we focusing on negatives? (Question was for my friends)

Because we're boringly good

Agreed. After the umbrage over The Saints fans forum during the back to back games I came to the same conclusion myself.

We Leinster fans need to drum up a bit of drama for ourselves because the team are so machine like. Get the scoreboard as we need it then power down.

Leinster knock-ons were the most potent attacking weapon Munster had at their disposal this evening, resulting in no real concern once we got two scores ahead.

[ronk]

Well he is from Limerick. And did play for munster first.

I just think we all (me included) can be over sensitive about something we are passionate about. I can think of many good friends who have said way worse than what was said on this thread.

So sorry for singling out the original poster as he was not an extreme example.

Are those good friends also paid commentators on Eir Sport?

You said he was a former Leinster captain. He was. He also lives, played for and is from Munster. And is clearly stupidly biased to the point of not bothering to cover it!

There were lots of stupidly bias people near me in the stand. Maybe it’s just part of the game that can’t be escaped. One of them gave me a free hamburger.

[ronk]

Leinster knock-ons were the most potent attacking weapon Munster had at their disposal this evening, resulting in no real concern once we got two scores ahead.

They were good at pinning us deep but they weren’t set to score directly. We were under a lot of pressure but we’d have had to mess up to concede.

Another game were Munster didn’t have the ability to get a result late in the game. They used to be masters.

Toner carried well

[mildlyinterested]

Osborne showing the benefits of playing 9 a lot at AIL level wish they'd allow O'Sullivan and Patterson the same opportunity to play 9 in meaningful games.

[Xanthippe]

That's our 15th win in a row with our last defeat being in the Champions Cup Final against Saracens last May. Pretty sure that equals our best ever winning run from the 01/02 season when we won our first 15 games of that season.

It does - however our best ‘unbeaten’ run is 20 (18 wins and 2 draws) games in the 11/12 season
Also, the 01/02 and 11/12 runs were within one season whereas the current run of 15, if compared to them, is actually only 13 this season

[deco]

Delighted with the manner of that win as much as the result. Good performance too from Munster for their losers bp and restricting us to our second lowest winning margin (behind Treviso) this season. Same score as Lyon away is probably a fair reflection of where they're at.

After last years debacle, this was a very satisfying, professional win away from home, but plenty for Leo and co to work on at the Monday team review.

Highlight for me was Osbourne's performance on his debut. He must be on cloud nine right now.

[backrower8]

Too much romanticism posing as relief around Osborne’s performance. He survived as opposed to doing well. And fair play to him for that as it was no mean feat given his lack of big time experience.

Long term however, he is always going to be a big liability as a defender as was shown last night. He is a smaller overall package than Stringer and without his pass. McCarthy would be a better #3 for us than the #3 he looks set to be in Munster. Osborne, HOS and Patterson all look sub-par options - with or without AIL experience.

As for the hysteria towards Toland here, people need to get a grip. He is not bad at all and better than many. I don’t pick up a massive bias that spoils my viewing. I didn’t agree with his pick for MOTM. Munster’s JOD was my pick but Ross Byrne or Will Connors were also more worthy of MOTM than Doris (who was good but turned over twice after picking from scrum base - albeit once after Toland named him as MOTM.

I expected Porter to do better against Killer who has improved in this core skill from a few years ago. Still, for all Porter’s power I expected more. Does Toner always pack down on the LH side when playing with Fardy?

As for Fardy, I questioned Josh Murphy’s departure instead of the older man (by 11 years!) who then proves me wrong with a last minute turnover!

Great result.

[joooooe]

I'm not entirely sure what the emotion is called but having a pint of stout in a quiet pub after work on a Friday, having a shower after a match in the freezing mud, and visiting Babbling Brook the morning after Leinster beat Munster evoke the same wonderful feeling.

[wixfjord]

Too much romanticism posing as relief around Osborne’s performance. He survived as opposed to doing well. And fair play to him for that as it was no mean feat given his lack of big time experience.

Long term however, he is always going to be a big liability as a defender as was shown last night. He is a smaller overall package than Stringer and without his pass. McCarthy would be a better #3 for us than the #3 he looks set to be in Munster. Osborne, HOS and Patterson all look sub-par options - with or without AIL experience.

You started banging on about this before the game, and even a relatively poor performance from McCarthy and a solid debut from Osborne wouldn't change your mind. Confirmation bias at its finest as per.

Hmm...now I wonder what school Nick McCarthy is from?

(Also, I thought you had 'no issue with Nick McCarthy being moved on/losing ground'? What changed there eh?
http://forum.leinsterfans.com/viewtopic ... hy#p739990)

[Gearzbox2]

Bit too much sniping going on here today after such a great win for my liking

I thought all things considered Osborne had a super game, thrown in there last minute to that cauldron I was very happy sign how he went
Yeh we made life very difficult for ourselves in the last 15, especially trying to exit but lads put their bodies on the line for 80 mins
That hit by Cronin/Connors 5m out changed their game, you could see the energy lift and we went after them to keep them out
Special mention for Josh Murphy, unsung hero so far this season for me, didn’t rate him much last season but has really put a marker down

Lowe can really do so crazy kamikaze stuff, that lobbed offload in the last few minutes could’ve cost us the game, really needs to cut it out

[wixfjord]

Yep Josh Murphy has been really good. Looks to have put on a bit of weight and his carrying has improved a lot.

Could be a good option for us as a foil for Rhys.

Thought Molony was good when he came on too. Nice steal. Albeit did give away a pen.

To me Osborne looked very nervous in the first half and Munster played on that, pulling him into rucks and trying to force errors. He did really well not to make too many errors. In second half he was better I thought. Particularly when we got into their half I thought he was quick, made a break or two and passed well.

All in all, a stellar debut in incredibly difficult conditions. Fair play to him.

[carlow man]

Too much romanticism posing as relief around Osborne’s performance. He survived as opposed to doing well. And fair play to him for that as it was no mean feat given his lack of big time experience. He was a big liability in defence. Long term however, he is always going to be a big liability as a defender as was shown last night. He is a smaller overall package than Stringer and without his pass. McCarthy would be a better #3 for us than the #3 he looks set to be in Munster. Osborne, HOS and Patterson all look sub-par.

As for the hysteria towards Toland here, people need to get a grip. He is not bad at all and better than many. I don’t pick up a massive bias that spoils my viewing. I didn’t agree with his pick for MOTM. Munster’s JOD was my pick but Ross Byrne or Will Connors were also more worthy of MOTM than Doris (who was good but turned over twice after picking from scrum base - albeit once after Toland named him as MOTM.

I expected Porter to do better against Killer who has improved in this core skill from a few years ago. Still, for all Porter’s power I expected more. Does Toner always pack down on the LH side when playing with Fardy?

As for Fardy, I questioned Josh Murphy’s departure instead of the older man (by 11 years!) who then proves me wrong with a last minute turnover!

Great result.

Think you are miles off in describing Osbourne's performance. He did very well, as opposed to surviving. Thought he was very good with his passing, never looked in awe of what was a decent munster pack who clearly targeted him. He did what was expected and at no point did I think he was out of his depth. McCarthy has gone backwards since he decided to go down there. That's his fault. Leinster wouldn't have allowed him to go if they thought he was good enough to challenge McGrath and jgp this year. Osbourne is only going to get better. Cant see how McCarthy will improve. They clearly wanted matthewson to stay and most thought he was better than Murray. They are pinning all their hopes on Casey now. No sympathy for McCarthy or that lot. Hate them.