Stringer dropped for tomorrow!

louthandproud

Anyone got any insight on this decision?

Thomas O'Leary is in instead? All else as expected.

figs86

I don't have any insight into it,

Good decision though

Though it might be a bit of a Declan Kidney indicator to IRFU - ''look at me, I can make original decisions, droppin the old guard and bringing in new blood''

Bit of both maybe?

Tim Robbins

louthandproud wrote: »

Anyone got any insight on this decision?

Thomas O'Leary is in instead? All else as expected.

Apparently O'Leary has been playing well in ML games recently. But I thought ML wasn't serious so it's an interesting decision.

marco_polo

figs86 wrote: »

I don't have any insight into it,

Good decision though

Though it might be a bit of a Declan Kidney indicator to IRFU - ''look at me, I can make original decisions, droppin the old guard and bringing in new blood''

Bit of both maybe?

Or maybe he is just picking what he believes to be his most in form side?

Fizman

Shawn Payne and Brian Carney have also been dropped! Was that expected??? They are some very bold decisions for such a big game. I hope Kidney knows what he is doing. Lets hope it doesnt backfire.

Stev_o

TOL isnt the most highly regarded SH according to word on the munsterforums. He hasnt played HC rugby this year and DK throws him not even the deep end but the bloody sea of a quarter final just seems mad.

Fizman

Stev_o wrote: »

TOL isnt the most highly regarded SH according to word on the munsterforums. He hasnt played HC rugby this year and DK throws him not even the deep end but the bloody sea of a quarter final just seems mad.

I think its crazy!! TOL is ok to come on and do a job for 15-20 mins in the big games but playing him from the start? Has something happened that we don't know about?

WithCheesePlease

Some very odd selections there to say the least. Also would have thought he'd start Foley and not use him later on.

Can't believe Thomás O'Leary starting though. And no sign of Carney is a shame, but Payne?! He's having a great season since "retiring".

Looks like I could be selling my final ticket...

Fizman

gearoid_healy wrote: »

Some very odd selections there to say the least. Also would have thought he'd start Foley and not use him later on.

Ah here.....are u telling me Foley is also dropped?? I only heard some of the team on the radio. I won't believe it until I see it myself. Foley and Payne have arguably been 2 of our best players this season!!

marco_polo

Fizman wrote: »

I think its crazy!! TOL is ok to come on and do a job for 15-20 mins in the big games but playing him from the start? Has something happened that we don't know about?

Stringer has been in pretty poor form and TOL has been very impressive in his recent apperances so there is no mystery really.

Stev_o

And some men in Red want DK for Ireland :rolleyes:

louis626

gearoid_healy wrote: »

Some very odd selections there to say the least. Also would have thought he'd start Foley and not use him later on.

Can't believe Thomás O'Leary starting though. And no sign of Carney is a shame, but Payne?! He's having a great season since "retiring".

Looks like I could be selling my final ticket...

First of all.... Brian Carney - what has he done since joining munster?? nothing. He is useless!
Shaun Payne.... i dont know about this one but who are we to doubt Kidney??
As for Foley I think its the right decision, he's a good impact player but maybe doesnt have it in him to go for 80 minutes!!
Tomas O Leary has been playing well and whos to say he doesnt deserve a chance??!!
I wouldnt be selling my final ticket just yet.... but if you have no faith in Munster then maybe you could send me your ticket!!

Sherifu

figs86 wrote: »

Though it might be a bit of a Declan Kidney indicator to IRFU - ''look at me, I can make original decisions, droppin the old guard and bringing in new blood''

I hope not. Selections should be on form and nothing else.

bugler

I'm pretty sure that's Payne retired now. He's into manager mode.

TOL is a big call, he has the ability to open up defences, but how will his pass fare?

Incidentally, Gloucester are without Qera and Strokosch in the squad. If this is due to anything other than injury I find it extraordinary. That is an average backrow Glos have. Full teams for ye:

Gloucester: Morgan, Paterson, Simpson-Daniel, Allen, Vainikolo, Lamb, Lawson; Wood, Titterrell, Nieto, Bortolami (capt), Brown, Buxton, Hazell, Narraway.
Replacements: Paul, Dickinson, James, Delve, Cooper, Walker, Tindall.

Munster: Hurley, Howlett, Tipoki, Mafi, Dowling, O'Gara, O'Leary, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell (capt), Quinlan, Wallace, Leamy.
Replacements: Sheahan, Buckley, O'Driscoll, Foley, Stringer, Warwick, Lewis.

Very sorry for Niall Ronan too.

Stev_o

bugler wrote: »

I'm pretty sure that's Payne retired now. He's into manager mode.

TOL is a big call, he has the ability to open up defences, but how will his pass fare?

Incidentally, Gloucester are without Qera and Strokosch in the squad. If this is due to anything other than injury I find it extraordinary. That is an average backrow Glos have. Full teams for ye:

Gloucester: Morgan, Paterson, Simpson-Daniel, Allen, Vainikolo, Lamb, Lawson; Wood, Titterrell, Nieto, Bortolami (capt), Brown, Buxton, Hazell, Narraway.
Replacements: Paul, Dickinson, James, Delve, Cooper, Walker, Tindall.

Munster: Hurley, Howlett, Tipoki, Mafi, Dowling, O'Gara, O'Leary, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell (capt), Quinlan, Wallace, Leamy.
Replacements: Sheahan, Buckley, O'Driscoll, Foley, Stringer, Warwick, Lewis.

Very sorry for Niall Ronan too.

Crash balls up the midfield all day and it should go fine for Munster as long as JSD doesnt have a day of magic of course

bleg

apparently payne has been encouraging hurley to step up for some time as he feels he is too old to continue playing. he knows he's lost pace and doesn't want to be responsible for letting the team down. it was obvious he wasn't going to play, he hasn't played with munster in 4 or 5 weeks.

i rate dowling higher than carney. carney has a better strike rate, dowling does more around the pitch, regularly comes in off his wing to offer himself and always gains ground. carney generally goes to ground and occasionally takes crazy lines and runs sideways and backwards. it's a tough call but i think kidney has made the right call.

i'd have stringer in myself however i think o leary is more threatening all over the pitch and his pass has improved. the opposition cannot be 99.9999999% certain that the ball will go to o gara every time tomorrow.

the leamy/foley call is 50/50. do you put the old head foley on at the start or the young abrasive leamy. the game is certainly going to be fast paced in the opening half and maybe foley is better coming off the bench in the second half?

depends on what the game plan is. i reckon we're going for a high intensity start to send a message to gloucester and try to put them off balance, especially lamb, who can be very flakey.

if this doesn't go to plan then there's always plan B and with stringer, foley and MOD on the bench to shore things up if necessary.

Peter B

Stev_o wrote: »

And some men in Red want DK for Ireland :rolleyes:

eh no we don't.

louis626

Am I the only one here who doesnt rate Carney at all?
He is poor at best... he rarely beats his man.... he takes terrible running lines... he can only score on overlaps....

phog

Bold decisions maybe but not that surprising really, TOL/Stringer and Hurley/Payne being the boldest but Payne hasn't started for Munster for a while, he had an AIL match last week with UL Bohs and Stringer was certainly limping last Friday night during the Connacht game even then TOL has something else to offer in the SH position and he can cover if needed the wing or FB.

I'd have started with Foley and MOD and brought on Leamy and POC for the 2nd half. They're 50/50 calls really but that would be my thinking.

I'm not sure we'll win but I'm certain that team wont let us down.

thehighground

louis626 wrote: »

Am I the only one here who doesnt rate Carney at all?
He is poor at best... he rarely beats his man.... he takes terrible running lines... he can only score on overlaps....

Think his development in rugby union got a severe knock back when he spent 2 months holding tackle bags in the RWC! Don't think he has recovered like Quinlan did.

thehighground

Stev_o wrote: »

And some men in Red want DK for Ireland :rolleyes:

Not if it means getting Michael Bradley :rolleyes:

figs86

louis626 wrote: »

Am I the only one here who doesnt rate Carney at all?
He is poor at best... he rarely beats his man.... he takes terrible running lines... he can only score on overlaps....

i don't think carney is a smart rugby player, he's very strong, agile and quick but his decision making is poor, even for a winger.

have seen him make the initial break several times but he never looks to offload or looks around for support, just sticks the head down and tries to beat the next man himself.

can't blame him, instincts from years of top class league must be hard to shake off

jayteecork

Carney is no great shakes but he's better than Dowling IMO.
Does Doug Howlett prefer the right wing? If so I guess it makes sense to put him there.

Is Payne seriously dropped or is it because he's not fully fit? Strange, strange decision IMO.

As for Tomas O'Leary? WTF? I'm no Stringer fan overall but His experience will be absolutely valuable away to Gloucester. The last time I saw Tomas play in the HC was 2 years ago in the centre and he absolutely sucked then.
I sincerely hope Kidney knows what he's doing.

This is definitely one of those selections where he'll either be labelled a genius or a f*cking idiot.

Let's hope it's the former.

remus808

TBH this team makes me very nervous. Excited about the possibilities, but nervous it could all come unstuck. I'd prefer to see Foley, Stringer and Payne starting tbh.

Edit: Reckon Glouscester will be at 6's and 7's with that backrow (ho ho ho, see what I did there). Losing Strokotsch and Quera has got to be a huge blow for them, with the backrow we've picked we should be all over them. So maybe we'll manage without Foley. Think Dowling might have problems dealing with the elusive Paterson, hopefully won't see any tries being leaked.

Erin Go Brath

Im surprised to see Stringer left out, interesting call by DK on that one and i'm not sure i agree with it. I'm glad to see Hurley getting the nod, he deserves the chance.
Apart from that no real surprises. All in all i feel its a pretty strong Munster team comparing it with Munster teams in the last few years, in other words we're not as dependent on our forwards to do the business now. The SH trio in our backline can cause serious problems if they see enough of the ball, Dowling is having a fantastic season too.


Cant wait it should be a cracker. 35 of 44 HC QFs have been won by the home team so its a distinct advantage to be playing at home for Glos. Despite that i still think we have the edge in experience and quality and should do it just about, expect it will be close though.

Stick_man

Its an interesting decision by DK, Im not suprised by foley's omission. Hes gone with the form back-row though Niall Ronan can count himself very unlucky, I think Stringer's exclusion can only be put down to the emphasis being on pace tomorrow, O Leary offers that as well as a threat around the fringes, Its a brave call that could back-fire. Hurley has been superb lately and deserves his shot.

Oilrig

Guys, the only logical call here is that DK is closer to the action than we are.

Hold tight and support!

marco_polo

Erin Go Brath wrote: »

Im surprised to see Stringer left out, interesting call by DK on that one and i'm not sure i agree with it. I'm glad to see Hurley getting the nod, he deserves the chance.
Apart from that no real surprises. All in all i feel its a pretty strong Munster team comparing it with Munster teams in the last few years, in other words we're not as dependent on our forwards to do the business now. The SH trio in our backline can cause serious problems if they see enough of the ball, Dowling is having a fantastic season too.


Cant wait it should be a cracker. 35 of 44 HC QFs have been won by the home team so its a distinct advantage to be playing at home for Glos. Despite that i still think we have the edge in experience and quality and should do it just about, expect it will be close though.

Encouragingly two of those 9 away wins have been by Munster against Leicester and Stade . Should be in bed as it is gonna be a big day tommorrow but I can't imagine how I will be able to sleep.

bleg

feeling very sick now:(

figs86

well owned up bleg,

think o leary did more than enough, in horrible conditions, to earn his place.

fair play to munster, lucky with paterson's MARE with the boot but took their opportunities and dominated the game after about half an hour until the final whistle

phog

Fair play to Kidney, he picked the team to the necessary job and what a job they did. He was also quick enough to get Freddie onto the field when we needed him to avoid a penalty try, very shrewd indeed.

Well done to all involved.

bleg

and to think, some reds want him for ireland...

EdgarAllenPoo

I was very happy with and for O'Leary he did very well today, he did break just for the sake of it and generally did what he had to do. His pass is a little slow though.

Hopefully he'll continue to get game time and will improve and possibly fight his way into Ireland contention (the more competition the better).