Munster Thread 2010/2011

[Armchair]

If it's a tough b$&%@#d they want then Mike Brewer is ready and willing I'm sure

They could do a lot worse than to bring in Brewer as forwards coach. He did a great job with us before Jonno came in and Scotland also benefitted from his coaching. Certainly he'd do a better job than Fisher, who I believe is one of the main culprits in the current Munster debacle.

Surely it has to be Michael Bradley for Munster!

[Eristic]

That's a convincing argument Ronk. There's a good bit of talk on Munsterfans about getting Dean Richards in, which would sort of be a hilarious appointment given the Bloodgate history with Leinster. I don't know if the IRFU have to okay it, but I doubt that they would, if they do.

John Beatie on the BBC suggested him for a spot on the Lions ticket.
I actually don't know why I bother reading anything he says.

[JohnB]

I was sorry to see Munster bow out but they were well beaten. If I was McGahan I'd want to flay DOC alive for his gross stupidity. His YC and the points conceded were the turning point in the match. By the time DOC returned to the pitch it was all over. They've been magnificent standard bearers for Irish rugby over the last 12 seasons in the Cup and some of their play during that time was sublime. I still think that one of the tries they scored against Toulouse in the 2000 SF was one of the best team tries I've ever seen. When one considers some of their outstanding play over the years in the HEC it becomes obvious how far they fallen this season below those playing standards. But they will be back as these things are cyclical. If someone had told me after we failed to get out of the pool in the 07/08 season that we'd win the Cup the following season I'd have found it hard to believe but that demonstrated that all things are possible. Munster does have some very promising young players like Deasy, Nagle, Murray, Jones and O'Mahony to rebuild around along with some of their senior players who have a few years left in them. It would be great for Ulster and for Irish rugby generally if Ulster could qualify for the Qtrs. If they do I'll support them when I'm not supporting Leinster. Allez les blues et les blancs!

[ronk]

If it's a tough b$&%@#d they want then Mike Brewer is ready and willing I'm sure

They could do a lot worse than to bring in Brewer as forwards coach. He did a great job with us before Jonno came in and Scotland also benefitted from his coaching. Certainly he'd do a better job than Fisher, who I believe is one of the main culprits in the current Munster debacle.

It can't be someone with Leinster history. Even if he's not influenced by that, he's open to the accusation.

Richards isn't available and will most likely get a job in England when his ban is up. There's a lot of Munster history there in terms of the hand of Back and being English could have its problems. I think they need to look further afield, with their All Black association I'd say they could try poaching someone from the setup after the World Cup, maybe Steve Hansen. Alternatively, the name that really jumps out at me is Jim Williams, he's a Munster hero, he's in the Australian coaching setup and appears to be a respected coach. While he's close to some of the existing players, I wouldn't know that he's afraid of them and he may be able to bring in some good coaches.

He's probably not going to get the Australia job straightaway and Munster would look great on his CV, he probably wasn't ready when Kidney left and he's a hungry young coach.

[munster#1]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

[fourthirtythree]

. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

I think they should if they do it the way you suggest. Down South didn't understand what it meant to us under Cheika when we won it. It was important.

[Dexter]

. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

I think they should if they do it the way you suggest. Down South didn't understand what it meant to us under Cheika when we won it. It was important.

I agree. Any sort of silverwear is a platform for further success, particularly if a bunch of young up-and-coming players help to win it. Winning the Challenge Cup or the ML should not be knocked.

[ratpack]

Winning that Magners title was a massive stepping stone for Leinster, particularly the manner in which we did it. The win in the rain and mud of Llanelli still stands out for me as one of our best performances under Cheika.

Munster would be unwise to see this season as a write off at this stage. Time to embrace the new blood and look to the future. The way the papers and media are carrying on its as if someone close relative has died. Munster will be back, and the sooner they're back the better we'll all be. Leinster and Irish rugby needs a strong Munster team, as well as Ulster and Connacht, if we're to continue to be competitive internationally.

[Heineken2009]

I'm fed up with people sticking their noses up at the Magners. It's as prestigious as you make and it's definitely not easy to win with the new play off system. I would be delighted with either trophy, both if possible.

[nopeare]

I'm fed up with people sticking their noses up at the Magners. It's as prestigious as you make and it's definitely not easy to win with the new play off system. I would be delighted with either trophy, both if possible.

well as quality of the teams are now i think it has surpassed the premiership

[fourthirtythree]

I'm fed up with people sticking their noses up at the Magners. It's as prestigious as you make and it's definitely not easy to win with the new play off system. I would be delighted with either trophy, both if possible.

well as quality of the teams are now i think it has surpassed the premiership

The belittling of it is an outdated relic from an earlier era. Things have changed and somebody needs to kick Hook up the arse and get those out of touch commentators up with the 21st century.

[hugonaut]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

That's a pretty terrible attitude to have Munster #1. I badly wanted to win the Magners League last year, especially with Girv, Mal and Berch retiring. Silverware is silverware, winning is winning.

I realise you don't represent Munster Rugby, but why would you even compete in the league if you don't want to win it?

[CRAZYDAVE]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

What academy. When last I heard, there were only 9 in the academy.

The way things are going with contracts, Deccie might have to pass some of our bright, well-blooded, young lads over to ye to keep you going.

[lummix]

It's pointless just starting 15 kids, what should be done is try the most talented youngsters in a team with senior players, to aid their development, say o Mahoney deasy zebo nagle, Hurley prop, etc

I also think you should try get ruddock from Leinster as he's 4th choice here but undoubtedly has talent

[ormond lad]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

What academy. When last I heard, there were only 9 in the academy.

The way things are going with contracts, Deccie might have to pass some of our bright, well-blooded, young lads over to ye to keep you going.

9 in academy, theres actually 18
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/rugby/academyprofiles.php

[CRAZYDAVE]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

What academy. When last I heard, there were only 9 in the academy.

The way things are going with contracts, Deccie might have to pass some of our bright, well-blooded, young lads over to ye to keep you going.

9 in academy, theres actually 18
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/rugby/academyprofiles.php

Apologies. That's why I qualified by using "when last I heard". Earlier this season the talk was that only 9 academy contracts had been offered out of approx. 20 places available

[Oldschool]

i think they should call it quits if they don't make it to the amilin. bring in as many of the young lads as possible and give them as many mins as possible. they have probably done enough already to make it to the ML play offs, if they win some of the games against weaker opposition. i would put out a team made up of mostly second string and academy against leinster to give them experiance of good opposition. if they make the semi i would stick with the young lads and have them get experiance of knock out rugby. after all, is anyone really going to celebrate another ML title.

I think, in principle you are right, but you also have to face a few tough decisions.
Buckley - Fail to bite the bullet here and you create two problems. (The game is up here, all your opposition are going to exploit this and no amount of dreesing it up or minimalising it is going to convince your opposition that they're not onto a good thing here.)
1. The scrum will remain disfunctional.
2. As in the case of Hayes, the next generation will be stifled.

The phasing out of the older players has to be handled carefully.
Losing is one thing, getting stuffed is another. Morale has to be maintained.

Hoping that Flannery will make a comeback is counter productive.
Nagle or Ryan don't need to be wondering about MOD being somebody's worry rug.
Pick them and give them extended runs.
The same applies to the backs. Accept that Earls is a winger and more importantly make him accept it.
Experiment with other players a la Aussies - I've mentioned Hurley before in this sense.
Munster need to optimise their resources and stop living in the past selection wise.
When somebody is 36/37 it is highly unlikely they will be up to it, accept it and get over it.
When somebody is 33, you know they'll be 37 in 4 years time - Nobody yet has found a way around this.
There are too many people with a say in selection in Munster (Ditto in the Ireland setup) - Either the coach decides or it won't work.
DK is not helping either, by insisting that 33 + 4 does not equal 37 (if you get my meaning)
Getting rid of the denial is an absolute necessity.
(non of above is aimed at you personally BTW)
Finally - Personal disagreements affecting the smooth running of Munster must be put to one side.
Nobody should be or is that precious.

[sid]

Fla, The Bull, POC, DOC, Quinny and (for some strange undefinable reason!!!) even ROG are in my thoughts tonight. However, over and above these are Wally and Strings who, I have to say, have long been my favourite Munster players. To me these eight players in particular epitomise everything Munster stands for and they have given themselves heart and soul to their club.

Second everything you said, but that especially. Felt pretty bad seeing ROG getting booed as he was lining up a kick with the game well beyond them. Just something a bit depressing about it.

[Sosume]

If Munster dont want the ML then I'd gladly have Leinster take it again (as part of a double would be fantastic but somewhat unrealistic I fear...)
Munster are streets ahead in the ML and are the best team in the league so far (results dont lie). Will be interesting to see how they go fpr the rest of this year in that. Plus the Amlin should be a minimum requirement for them now (imagine a Munster Clermont final) - same for us if we dropped into it...
Munsters problem is the same problem all teams face, their side needs to be rebuilt, I do think thy could have started a few years ago but I can see why it would have been difficult with the quality they had.
I think they need a new management team too..
But that aint my business, they know what they have to do. Just hope not too many of the Leinster squad are pushed south for regular game time. You could see them targetting the likes of Dominic Ryan, Eoin O'Malley, Dave Kearney (even Rob Kearney if Felix Jones doesn't make it back) who would all be a fantastic additions for them. But their ours so I dont want them going anywhere...

[jezzer]

The problem with them reverting is that they don't have the personnel to play their traditional game anymore. The Munster pack is underpowered, both in the front 5 and the back row. Its fine saying POC is alright, but he can't do it on his own.

Agreed. McGahanball to me seems like some sort of b$&%@#d child of the old munster game and the new law interpretations. If I had to name the biggest problem with munster's style of play it that they seek contact while trying to play an expansive game. Recipe for turnovers.

Of the old guard only ROG is capable of playing a running, offloading game -'he was excellent against Glasgow in patches while everyone outside him was embarrassing.

So if the old guard can't move forward or go back, where exactly do they go?

First step is a new coaching ticket. Matt Williams is absolutely NOT the answer , but his time in Scotland is instructive. He went in to overhaul them and they threw him out for telling them they weren't good enough.

Leinster got it right with cheika.

The
Next munster coach needs to be progressive and ruthless. he should be a kiwi, IMO.