Zebre at home, 23 Oct. 19:35

[ronk]

Another thing to consider is if having 4 7s is financially viable in the current climate.

Leinster currently have a 47 man squad, which is a considerable size, and given the calibre of players in that 47 man squad, you’d imagine that it is not cheap to maintain.

Leinster like the other 3 provinces are going to have to cut their salary bill over the next 24 months.
With some players likely to come off of central contracts in that time, will having so many 7s make any sense?

Maybe, but it’s not Munster’s call how Leinster allocates its budget.

[riocard911]

Listen I understand the desire to get a dig in at Munster or Nucifora, but the reality is we have enormous inbuilt advantages, compounded by brilliant coaching. So we can't expect to keep every guy who comes through, nor can we expect them all to be happy to sit on the bench (if even that).

"The biggest factor in whether we can hold onto Penny is whether Munster develop Hodnett." eh?

Well I mean what about if Scott Penny decides he wants to leave for more game time?!

Again, you're falling into the trap of thinking Nucifora is the only one making the decision here.

I wasn’t having a dig at Nucifora (this time) and I’m saying that Munster have the ability to develop the talent they already have. Nucifora is always part of the decision, provinces have to get permission for all contracts.

The advantages that you refer to support the idea of players staying at Leinster rather than moving. If Penny wanted to leave, his destination would be determined by a number of factors including the need at the position of clubs looking to sign him.

Deegan played 7 a fair few times for Leinster in spite of our supposed depth.

Munster had 5 outhalves when Carbery arrived. They had to clear out 2 scrum halves to make room for McCarthy (& they still extended Mathewson). It’s a bit of a stretch but with the amount of international rugby that Furlong and Porter are due to play then 5th choice tight head at Leinster is at least as good as 4th choice at Munster. And Munster released Parker and signed Salanoa. The net effect to Irish rugby was the loss of a young player (reprieve through rare good fortune), and Knox has missed out.

What would be the benefit to Irish rugby if Munster cut bait on Hodnett to sign a shiny Penny?

+1!!!