Munster Thread 2011-2012

[Isaac4leinster]

Things getting bad at Munster

http://rugbyonslaught.blogspot.com/2011 ... ncial.html

[Slipper1]

That delivery "prize" was a great plan, a simple marketing idea with zero cost involved.

I'm not sure about the "surprise" element of it though, yer mans house must be like the tardis if all those people live there

[deco]

Charming guy. Munster Rugby won't be too happy with the picture though - it'll damage their 'working man' fan marketing strategy:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 40577.html

[TerenureJim]

Things getting bad at Munster

http://rugbyonslaught.blogspot.com/2011 ... ncial.html

The indebted club? Well they're not a club and are they in debt? and if so to who the IRFU? Must try harder to be funnier rugby blog.

[Isaac4leinster]

Things getting bad at Munster

http://rugbyonslaught.blogspot.com/2011 ... ncial.html

The indebted club? Well they're not a club and are they in debt? and if so to who the IRFU? Must try harder to be funnier rugby blog.

Criticism noted, though I see it comes from a man who freely admits to listening to Harry Potter soundtracks while reading fantasy novels

[TerenureJim]

Criticism noted, though I see it comes from a man who freely admits to listening to Harry Potter soundtracks while reading fantasy novels

And I make no apologies for it, Game Of Thrones is a quality read and a very intricate and detailed plot which would trump most standard seriel killer, courtroom, Andy McNabb etc. etc. type books. As for the Harry Potter soundtracks well they're good scores.

Sorry if I did sound a bit critical though, I just hate the shite that you seem on some websites about Leinster, Munster etc being in debt because of national/international financial problems. Some of the nonsense that was in the English media really peeved me in the run in of the heino last year.

[Isaac4leinster]

I was only teasing, should have added a

[Donny B.]

Despite a strong second half performance, Munster came up short in the Stade Marcel Deflandre this evening when they went down three tries to two for a 19-14 defeat to La Rochelle.


At one stage in the first half they trailed by 19 points, went in at the break down 19-7 but enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges that yielded the only try of that half from Ian Keatley.
La Rochelle: B Dambielle; M Lebourhis, V Roux, J Jacquet, F Ninard; S Fauque, D Neveu; P Toderasc, F Pani, G Guyon; F Jacob, R Sazy; R Carmignani, P Som, T Soucaze. Replacements: B Geleden, T Leupolu, C Grobler, U Antonio, B Ferrou, I Rodriguez-Mudr, G Devade, S Clement, R Mohr, N Djebaili, A Vaeluaga-Toala, Q D'Aram De Valad, D Cler, S Barry, A Cestaro.

Munster: J Murphy; D Hurley, D Barnes (S Scanlon ht), S Deasy (JJ Hanrahan 52nd min), S Zebo; D Cusack (I Keatley ht), G Hurley (P Stringer ht); W du Preez (M Horan ht), D Varley (D Fogarty ht), S Archer (P Borlase ht); B Holland (I Nagle ht), M O'Driscoll; D O'Callaghan (P O'Mahony ht), T O'Donnell (N Ronan ht), J Coughlan capt (P Butler ht).

[Peg Leg]

Despite a strong second half performance, Munster came up short in the Stade Marcel Deflandre this evening when they went down three tries to two for a 19-14 defeat to La Rochelle.


At one stage in the first half they trailed by 19 points, went in at the break down 19-7 but enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges that yielded the only try of that half from Ian Keatley.
La Rochelle: B Dambielle; M Lebourhis, V Roux, J Jacquet, F Ninard; S Fauque, D Neveu; P Toderasc, F Pani, G Guyon; F Jacob, R Sazy; R Carmignani, P Som, T Soucaze. Replacements: B Geleden, T Leupolu, C Grobler, U Antonio, B Ferrou, I Rodriguez-Mudr, G Devade, S Clement, R Mohr, N Djebaili, A Vaeluaga-Toala, Q D'Aram De Valad, D Cler, S Barry, A Cestaro.

Munster: J Murphy; D Hurley, D Barnes (S Scanlon ht), S Deasy (JJ Hanrahan 52nd min), S Zebo; D Cusack (I Keatley ht), G Hurley (P Stringer ht); W du Preez (M Horan ht), D Varley (D Fogarty ht), S Archer (P Borlase ht); B Holland (I Nagle ht), M O'Driscoll; D O'Callaghan (P O'Mahony ht), T O'Donnell (N Ronan ht), J Coughlan capt (P Butler ht).

Looking forward to watching This man this year.

[TerenureJim]

It'll be interesting if the step up to a bigger profile in Munster will allow Keatley to make a push for international caps. It'd be great to see him push Sexton and RO'G. Defo more potential than Humphries (nothing against Humphries I just don't think he's up to international due to defence issues)

[gfo]

It'll be interesting if the step up to a bigger profile in Munster will allow Keatley to make a push for international caps. It'd be great to see him push Sexton and RO'G. Defo more potential than Humphries (nothing against Humphries I just don't think he's up to international due to defence issues)

Keatley peaked about two/three years ago before Johnny really hit his stride, but I don't really think he has much to offer besides being the starting out-half for an Irish province.

[Eristic]

Despite a strong second half performance, Munster came up short in the Stade Marcel Deflandre this evening when they went down three tries to two for a 19-14 defeat to La Rochelle.


At one stage in the first half they trailed by 19 points, went in at the break down 19-7 but enjoyed the better of the second half exchanges that yielded the only try of that half from Ian Keatley.
La Rochelle: B Dambielle; M Lebourhis, V Roux, J Jacquet, F Ninard; S Fauque, D Neveu; P Toderasc, F Pani, G Guyon; F Jacob, R Sazy; R Carmignani, P Som, T Soucaze. Replacements: B Geleden, T Leupolu, C Grobler, U Antonio, B Ferrou, I Rodriguez-Mudr, G Devade, S Clement, R Mohr, N Djebaili, A Vaeluaga-Toala, Q D'Aram De Valad, D Cler, S Barry, A Cestaro.

Munster: J Murphy; D Hurley, D Barnes (S Scanlon ht), S Deasy (JJ Hanrahan 52nd min), S Zebo; D Cusack (I Keatley ht), G Hurley (P Stringer ht); W du Preez (M Horan ht), D Varley (D Fogarty ht), S Archer (P Borlase ht); B Holland (I Nagle ht), M O'Driscoll; D O'Callaghan (P O'Mahony ht), T O'Donnell (N Ronan ht), J Coughlan capt (P Butler ht).

Was he always a 6 or are they trying to make another 5.5?
Good to see Butler playing too.

[tackle-bag]

All joking aside, when in God's name are Munster going to complete their remaining signings for the season ahead? They won't stand a chance of making the latter stages of the HEC unless they bring in an international class back-row forward and a similarly talented centre/utility back.

Don't get me wrong, they have plenty of talent coming through in a number of important positions. I think Peter O'Mahony could be a superb player, but he needs at least one more season of development. Likewise, Zebo looks the business on the wing but is still a bit raw.

[deco]

All joking aside, when in God's name are Munster going to complete their remaining signings for the season ahead? They won't stand a chance of making the latter stages of the HEC unless they bring in an international class back-row forward and a similarly talented centre/utility back.

Don't get me wrong, they have plenty of talent coming through in a number of important positions. I think Peter O'Mahony could be a superb player, but he needs at least one more season of development. Likewise, Zebo looks the business on the wing but is still a bit raw.

how many niq spots have they left to fill?

[hugonaut]

All joking aside, when in God's name are Munster going to complete their remaining signings for the season ahead? They won't stand a chance of making the latter stages of the HEC unless they bring in an international class back-row forward and a similarly talented centre/utility back.

Don't get me wrong, they have plenty of talent coming through in a number of important positions. I think Peter O'Mahony could be a superb player, but he needs at least one more season of development. Likewise, Zebo looks the business on the wing but is still a bit raw.

I'd just play those lads as it stands. O'Mahony is behind schedule already, he needs to get starts and hit the ground running. He's 22 in about a month and has two starts under his belt for Munster. Leinster have at least as competitive a backrow as Munster [I'd say more competitive] and managed to give 15 starts to Dominic Ryan last year and 10 starts to Rhys Ruddock, both of whom are a year younger than O'Mahony.

I appreciate than O'Mahony shipped some injuries, but you could make a very strong case that in playing terms he's now two years behind them – a year older and a year's less gametime.

[TerenureJim]

I'd just play those lads as it stands. O'Mahony is behind schedule already, he needs to get starts and hit the ground running. He's 22 in about a month and has two starts under his belt for Munster. Leinster have at least as competitive a backrow as Munster [I'd say more competitive] and managed to give 15 starts to Dominic Ryan last year and 10 starts to Rhys Ruddock, both of whom are a year younger than O'Mahony.

I appreciate than O'Mahony shipped some injuries, but you could make a very strong case that in playing terms he's now two years behind them – a year older and a year's less gametime.

Agreed tbh the IRFU need to get all provinces trying to expose more young Irish players to a higher level as and where they can. It benefits the province ad we all like to see a new guy come in and do well and ultimately it'll help build towards squad numbers for the 2015 tilt which should be starting now.

[tackle-bag]

how many niq spots have they left to fill?

Two, I think. They have 5 NIQs on the books at present, but Borlase is a project player so he doesn't count.

Luke McAllister would have filled the void in the back-line perfectly, but he has now signed for Toulouse. Alternatively, the likes of Conrad Smith or Richard Kahui would be ideal.

It's in the back-row that they're really goosed though. Quinlan is gone, Leamy still hasn't recaptured his form of old and David Wallace (hero though he is) simply can't keep going forever. They'll struggle to win anything with a triumvirate of Leamy, Old Man Wallace & Coughlan. During the RWC, and possibly later in the season if they ship any injuries, they may have to play important games with a back-row of O'Mahony, Ronan & Butler.

[TerenureJim]

how many niq spots have they left to fill?

Two, I think. They have 5 NIQs on the books at present, but Borlase is a project player so he doesn't count.

Luke McAllister would have filled the void in the back-line perfectly, but he has now signed for Toulouse. Alternatively, the likes of Conrad Smith or Richard Kahui would be ideal.

It's in the back-row that they're really goosed though. Quinlan is gone, Leamy still hasn't recaptured his form of old and David Wallace (hero though he is) simply can't keep going forever. They'll struggle to win anything with a triumvirate of Leamy, Old Man Wallace & Coughlan. During the RWC, and possibly later in the season if they ship any injuries, they may have to play important games with a back-row of O'Mahony, Ronan & Butler.

I'd imagine if the project 4/6 of Ryan for RWC goes well he could fill the sizeable Quinlan gap. Well I say fill clearly he isn't at that level of niggling, annoying, thorough class professional No. 6 that Quinlan was with Munster for years. Considering they've gone from Quinlan/Foley/Wallace to O'Mahony, Ronan & Butler or even Coughlan thrown in there it is a step down in quality of backrow.

I could see them maybe hoping to poach someone like Dominic Ryan or Ruddock from us. Could work out a loa Felix Jones by providing top level exposure outside of a crowded area at Leinster maybe. Terrible view i'm shoping but hey the forum is for debate so let's turn it up.

[hugonaut]

I could see them maybe hoping to poach someone like Dominic Ryan or Ruddock from us. Could work out a loa Felix Jones by providing top level exposure outside of a crowded area at Leinster maybe. Terrible view i'm shoping but hey the forum is for debate so let's turn it up.

They actually have a big amount of contracted back-five forwards though:
Second-rows: P. O'Connell, Do. O'Callaghan, M.O'Driscoll, I. Nagle, D. Foley [5]
Second-row/Backrow: D. Ryan, Da. O'Callaghan, B. Holland [3]
Backrow: D. Wallace, D. Leamy, J. Coughlan, N. Ronan, T. O'Donnell, P. O'Mahony, P. Butler [7]

There's 15 players scrapping it out for 5 positions there, although realistically speaking O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan and David Wallace are all bolted in for keeps for at least another season. So in a way there's 12 players scrambling for 2 positions.

Aside from being facetious, they've actually got good depth there – 3 players per position, more or less.

[dropkick]

POM is a fantastic athlete from what I've seen of him. I think 7 will be his best position because hes not the biggest but he can play anywhere in the backrow and be used in the lineouts. Himself and Paddy Butler look to have plenty of potential and Dave O'Callaghan is another coming along. I hope Axel Foley will be pushing to play those 3 more this season.

All joking aside, when in God's name are Munster going to complete their remaining signings for the season ahead? They won't stand a chance of making the latter stages of the HEC unless they bring in an international class back-row forward and a similarly talented centre/utility back.

Don't get me wrong, they have plenty of talent coming through in a number of important positions. I think Peter O'Mahony could be a superb player, but he needs at least one more season of development. Likewise, Zebo looks the business on the wing but is still a bit raw.

I'd prefer no new signings apart from a new center. The squad is already massive and there are players like Sean Scanlon on development contracts. Scanlon has impressed me whenever I've seen him and he could challenge the likes of Dennis Hurley and Johne Murphy this season, if given the chance.