Munster Vs Clermont

marco_polo

Wasps big bonus point win tonight surely means that a bonus point win here and a win away to the Scarlets must be the target for the week ahead if Munster are to have a realistic chance of winning the group.

The forcasted bad weather should be a help to Munster in winning the game however there it will not be helpful while trying to scoring four tries.

The fact that Clermont have also made 14 changes from last week is also an encouraging sign although it is by no means a poor team as they have a very strong squad this year. Perhaps the are concentrating more on the T14 more this year?

remus808

Very strange choice for Clermont to play their 2nd string. IMO Clermonte are one of the top contenders for the tournament, they have an incredible squad and play some great rugby. Their performance against LLaneli was excellent, so it baffles me that they're not giving the HC a real go.

That said, it's good news for Munster.. hopefully manage a solid win today. But it saddens me that a great team like Clermont don't commit themselves fully..

Clermont XV wrote:

Some great players, but nothing close to their strongest side..

15 Malzieu
14 Delasau
13 Chanal
12 Joubert
11 Estheruizen
10 Baï
9 Pic

1 Shvelidze
2 Smit
3 Zirakashvili
4 Vigouroux
5 Samson
6 Etien
7 Alexandre
8 Broomhall

remus808

Great result for Munster, but a disappointing match. Fans deserve better than to see 2nd string teams being sent out... Think they would have had a real task on their hands againsnt the Clermont 1st XV.. Munster play today was very sloppy IMO

Hopefully Leinster will do the business tonight, would make a great fortnight for Irish rugby (Ulster who?)

edit: Horan's ridiculous wing positioning finally paid off ...

Marshy

Comfortable bonus point win for Munster in the end. Wasn't a vintage performance but they did enough to put away the Clermont 2nd string with relative ease.

Again O'Gara played very solidly and the pack were quite impressive I thought. Line out and scrum seem to be functioning well so it should bode well.

EdgarAllenPoo

Quinlan played well again (a wee two finger salute to EOS) Mafi and Tipoki just seem to get better but was it just me or did Stringer look a bit off? Rushing passes, passing to players' boot laces, he just didn't seem all there.

bugler

Quinlan was good. Wallace wasn't. Munster could have been a bit more ruthless in putting the tries away, but mission accomplished I suppose.

Reggie Corrigan named Joubert MOTM (yes, the OC for the second string side who lost by 20+ points and 5-1 on tries).

Losing BP and above for Leinster will be a good result.

Jackz

Reggie's MOTM selection was called out over the PA to booo's, I loled.

komodosp

Hmmm... a bit worrying for Munster in the 2nd half... Clermont made decent ground a few times and it looked like Munster were getting away with things that they wouldn't against a better side...

EdgarAllenPoo

Both Wallace and Hayes looked a bit ropey this week, O'Callaghan seems to have improved his game since O'Connell's injury.

Anybody else notice that as was mentioned on these very forums last week that Marcus Horan was again planting himself out on the wing. At least he managed to score a try while there but he really shouldn't be there unless it's become Munster policy to have big men on the wing when they get close to the line so they're not bolwed into touch as easily as a smaller player might be.

Crash

Munster defence looked awful in the second half - was letting second string players through much too easily.

As for Horan, yeah he scored on the wing, but they probably would have gone over with him driving in the middle anyhow :P

Sabre0001

Good result though they tried to force it a bit at times (and made me a little worried in the mean time!)...Not top class rugby (probably as a result of forcing it) but a win and a bonus point is exactly what they came for...

RuggieBear

BONUS point win...nuff said.

bleg

horan isn't positioned on the wing, he's being lazy, loads of front row players do it to get a bit of a rest when their team is attacking

marco_polo

Good win in the end, not much more can be said about it really. A bonus point is a good return in those conditions. Two wins back to back over the misfiring Scarlets is what is now required would leave us in a good position to kick on when Doug H makes his entrance.

On the negative side we conceeded a few too many second half linebreaks for comfort.

zAbbo

You'd have to wonder about the attitude of some of these french teams for away games.

14 changes, and Smit didn't know any of the lineout calls...

Stev_o

zabbo wrote: »

You'd have to wonder about the attitude of some of these french teams for away games.

14 changes, and Smit didn't know any of the lineout calls...

T14 conflicts with most if not all of the Heineken Cup matches they play, most likely they have a match tomorrow and would rather have a strong French campaign and put the Heineken Cup second in list of priorities

zAbbo

Fair enough, they've a game in 6 days time, but their priority could have been to grab a BP, or deny Munster a BP.

Homer J Simpson

It escapes me as to how Corrigan awarded the MOTM to a Clermont player.

Quinnie or even Sean Payne deserved it. Good performance by Munster despite having a huge task to complete. Wally was poor however. I was delighted to see Tony Buckley come on for The Bull. Buckley is a fine player and will prove his worth by end of season.

Homer.

MikeHoncho

My friend who was there texted me before the game to say Reggie was on the touchline and getting a terrible time off the crowd. The man of the match selection was probably his way of getting back at them. Dont think anyone really stood out all day though. ROG was steady and Quinlan was impressive again but thats about it.

bleg

tony buckley is the bull's successor both provincially and nationally

EdgarAllenPoo

I'm no expert on forward play but does Hayes really warrant the amount of praise he gets. Yes the Munster and Ireland scrum is rarely driven back but it's not like they demolish the opposition either.

suppafly

Was a good enough win in the end. i found, as other have said, that they were trying to force it a few times, like in the wasps game. Also how come when they were at the line that thet were only breaking for it in ones and not going in pods?? Also thought Dowling had a brilliant game. Playing far better stuff then Horgan, who had a shocker last week and was the cause for at least one of the tries. Good overall performance for Munster thought. Llanllei twice now next

choco_77

thought Quinlan was great & really is starting to make EOS look foolish for leaving him out of ireland team

zAbbo

GDM wrote: »

I'm no expert on forward play but does Hayes really warrant the amount of praise he gets. Yes the Munster and Ireland scrum is rarely driven back but it's not like they demolish the opposition either.

A good scrum doesn't always have to push the opposition back 20 yeards each shove, holding the scrum, giving a good platform for your team is as important if not more.

bugler

The extra work Hayes does around the pitch is what earns him most of his praise. Yesterday was a prime example, several big hits around the fringes, gobbled some lineout ball, and then ripping the ball off John Smit to end a period of Clermont pressure.

He's often taken flak for his scrummaging in the past, but his performances internationally over the past year have put paid to the notion he's weak in that regard. I think the difference he made to the scrum when coming on as a sub against Scotland in the WC warm-up opened a lot of peoples eyes.

He also hasn't had the benefit of a beast of a LH on the other side of the hooker to take some of the heat off. He'll be badly missed, even if Buckley seems to be progressing fairly well. It's a tough trade to ply.

bleg

GDM wrote: »

I'm no expert on forward play but does Hayes really warrant the amount of praise he gets. Yes the Munster and Ireland scrum is rarely driven back but it's not like they demolish the opposition either.

keep an eye on the amount of times he clears out a ruck and the amount of tackles he puts in during a match. he might not be world class but he's by far the best in ireland. look at leinster's scrum yesterday with ollie le roux messing up quite a few times.

il gatto

You don't miss the water until the well runs dry. If Ireland or Munster lost Hayes for a lenghty duration or ,God forbid, permanently, I think people would see how vital he is. He's surprisingly dynamic for such an ox of a man. Maybe he doesn't do much in the loose, but that's not what he's there for. Scrums, rucks, mauls and big tackles are all his strenghts, as well as lifting at the lineout, and even the occasional run with ball in hand (but in fairness, I just see those runs and stare in disbelief. Like watching a lorry with no brakes:D).

Stev_o

Just wondering actually whats Hayes age since everyone is talking about his retirement already

Erin Go Brath

Stev_o wrote: »

Just wondering actually whats Hayes age since everyone is talking about his retirement already

He's just gone 34. No spring chicken for sure. Lucky for Munster and Ireland that Buckley looks like a ready made replacement. Although the bull will be missed whenever he retires.

Munster looked pretty good on Sunday. The backs look pretty sharp, and we should see a lot of scores coming from these this year. Qualification will still be difficult. Will need to do the double over Scarlets now to stay in with a chance. No room for slip ups in this group. I think Clermont were insane making so many changes, they could regret it in the end.

Stev_o

Erin Go Brath wrote: »

He's just gone 34. No spring chicken for sure. Lucky for Munster and Ireland that Buckley looks like a ready made replacement. Although the bull will be missed whenever he retires.

Munster looked pretty good on Sunday. The backs look pretty sharp, and we should see a lot of scores coming from these this year. Qualification will still be difficult. Will need to do the double over Scarlets now to stay in with a chance. No room for slip ups in this group. I think Clermont were insane making so many changes, they could regret it in the end.

Hmmm might still have 2 more years left in him considering he only took it up at the age of 20 and for everyones sake i hope he does. If only we could get Horan to retire and Get Buckley in there then what a combo we could have there

phog

GDM wrote: »

I'm no expert on forward play but does Hayes really warrant the amount of praise he gets. Yes the Munster and Ireland scrum is rarely driven back but it's not like they demolish the opposition either.

GDM, I'm no expert either and George Hook would tell us Hayes is next to useless . Aside from scrumming which I think he certainly contains the opposition - I've seen De Bull lift Paul O'Connell on his own in lineouts to win the opposition's lineout and on at least one occasion (Vs Connacht in TP) score a try - so I think Hayes is invaluable to Munster and Irish rugby. BTW he is also an British and Irish Lion.