blockhead wrote:Oldschoolsocks wrote:
just because you are born in a stable does not make you a horse
You really put the boot in there OSS.
It really p!sses me off that Munster are poaching and being allowed to poach Leinster players at an increasing rate, but what can we do?
But for Munster, what does the future hold? Do Munster fans really not care that their team has become a collection of saffers and Leinster boys? The non-Munster contingent in the squad is now at 20 and is likely to increase in the near future.
A 42 man squad was announced for the AIs a few days back, 7 Munstermen in the 42, seven.
Of course we care but the damage was done 10 years ago. Back then I was talking about a clear trend of Munster players retiring and noone coming through to replace them. All we're seeing now is the result of that neglect in bringing players through.
There is a lot of talent around the academy now with plenty of young players around. Goggin, Shane Daly, Coombes, Liam O'Connor, Neil Cronin, Wycherley, Sean O'Connor, Tom Ahern, Calvin Nash, Sean French, James French (who is like a young Cian Healy) and more who will be pro14 standard minimum. That's the way it should be all the time.
I think your treating players like some kind of video game characters. Leinster don't own the players and believe it or not, many want to leave. Carbery was 3rd choice 10 behind Byrne. He got what, 2 start there last season? Crazy.
McCarthy is getting a few minutes here and there and firmly behind Gibson Park and McGrath. Those 2 are not Much older than him so what is he to do, hang around the reserves all his career? That would be fine for Leinster but not the player.
I said it before that the trend is clear. Let's look at this logically. Leinster academy are overproducing for what they need. First the Leinster squad starts to turn more youthful and home grown. Secondly, it starts to grow bigger with more depth of talent. Thirdly, as there's more competition for places, more players will want to leave. That's just the natural order of things.
The ABs lose loads of quality players per year. James Lowe decided he didn't want to hang around so Leinster benefited. Maybe there's some kiwis complaining about Leinster poaching.
Looking at the Munster squad, the current former Leinster players are Carbery, Beirne, Keatley, Conway, Loughman, Hart, Oliver. There'll be less by the end of the season. I think the non Munster percentage has peaked now and will start to go down in the coming years. It currently stands at 19 which IS very high but I've explained the reason for that.