Munster v Edinburgh Saturday 7.30pm Musgrave Park

thomond2006

The Munster team to face Edinburgh this Saturday (7.30pm, 21st February 2009) at Musgrave Park has been named.


Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Ciaran O'Boyle, 10 Paul Warwick, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mick O'Driscoll (c), 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Denis Fogarty, 1 Federico Pucciariello.

Replacements: 16 Michael Essex, 17 Darragh Hurley, 18 Billy Holland, 19 Alan Quinlan, 20 Mike Prendergast, 21 Jeremy Manning, 22 Kieran Lewis.

Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Andrew Turnbull, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Mark Robertson, 10 David Blair, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Allister Hogg (captain), 7 Alan MacDonald, 6 Simon Cross, 5 Ben Gissing, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Ryan Grant, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Kyle Traynor.

Replacements: 16 Steve Lawrie, 17 Bruce McNeil, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Scott Newlands, 20 Ben Meyer, 21 Jim Thompson, 22 Roland Reid.

Denis "cannot catch a garryowen" Hurley at fullback, *sigh*.

Ciaran O' Boyle on the wing???

Predictions anyone???

Stev_o

1. Who's O'Boyle and is he any good? Can vaguely remember him playing the A match i think?
2.Good to see Earls back from injury.
3.Will Buckley do anything in this match or will we prove yet again what a waste of space he is.

thomond2006

Stev_o wrote: »

3.Will Buckley do anything in this match or will we prove yet again what a waste of space he is.

Buckley, waste of space: +1

buck65

Should be a lively game. Would expect Munster to scrape it but on a score of 28 -25 or something equally loose.

thehighground

Stev_o wrote: »

1. Who's O'Boyle and is he any good? Can vaguely remember him playing the A match i think?
2.Good to see Earls back from injury.
3.Will Buckley do anything in this match or will we prove yet again what a waste of space he is.

1. O'Boyle is on a development contract. We'll soon find out how good he is!

2. Yes. He should be back in the mix then for the England game if he gets through this ok.

3. Don't know if you realise it, but Buckley has been sick for most of this year - first of all with (undiasnosed) Plurisy and then Glandular Fever.

Having had both illnesses, I'm surprised he could even get out of bed, let alone play rugby. They are both very debilitating. I still wouldn't expect too much from him against Edinburgh as he hasn't played for a couple of months now and I'd say he could actually write off this year. I had one after another, and it took me about six months to get back to feeling anyway normal and playing sport again - and that was only school stuff, not professional.

phog

Stev_o wrote: »

1. Who's O'Boyle and is he any good? Can vaguely remember him playing the A match i think?

He stood in at short notice for Munster against Ospreys in Liberty stadium and did ok. He is an academy player but will need more ML gametime if he is to stand out.

Stev_o

phog wrote: »

He stood in at short notice for Munster against Ospreys in Liberty stadium and did ok. He is an academy player but will need more ML gametime if he is to stand out.

You sure your not thinking about Doyle?

2040

yeah, it was conan doyle for the ospreys match, at 10.

sm.org

buck65 wrote: »

Should be a lively game. Would expect Munster to scrape it but on a score of 28 -25 or something equally loose.

Thats a paricularly weak Edinburgh team and considering how poorly their first team is playing away in the ML this season I can see them getting a bit of a hiding tomorrow.

Looking foward to a MOTM performance from Hurley tomorrow . Some of the flak he gets on here is boderline stupid. He's 25 , in his second season and you'd swear he was already washed up the way some are going on.

Keith Earls hasn't played well since november and you dont see anyone ragging on him.

chupacabra

Earls needs to put in a strong performance, im not convinced on him just yet, tomorrow is as good a day as any to shine against a weak Edinburgh team. Would have loved to see Tipoki at the least on the bench, he needs to get back up to match sharpness before the heineken cup comes roaring around the corner again.

thehighground

sm.org wrote: »

Thats a paricularly weak Edinburgh team and considering how poorly their first team is playing away in the ML this season I can see them getting a bit of a hiding tomorrow.

Looking foward to a MOTM performance from Hurley tomorrow . Some of the flak he gets on here is boderline stupid. He's 25 , in his second season and you'd swear he was already washed up the way some are going on.

Keith Earls hasn't played well since november and you dont see anyone ragging on him.

I agree with you that Hurley has got a bit of a rough ride, but Keith Earls is a completely different class to Hurley. As a matter of interest, which games do you think Earls didn't play particularly well in?

sm.org

thehighground wrote: »

I agree with you that Hurley has got a bit of a rough ride, but Keith Earls is a completely different class to Hurley. As a matter of interest, which games do you think Earls didn't play particularly well in?

I dont think he's played well since the Autumn test against Canada. Granted he's already set the bar fairly high , so I like most expect a lot from him everytime he plays. Wasn't particularly impressed when he filled in for Tipoki in the HC games. Needless to say I'd rather see him on the pitch then Murphy.

Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations.

thehighground

sm.org wrote: »

I dont think he's played well since the Autumn test against Canada. Granted he's already set the bar fairly high , so I like most expect a lot from him everytime he plays. Wasn't particularly impressed when he filled in for Tipoki in the HC games. Needless to say I'd rather see him on the pitch then Murphy.

Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations.

In the Heineken Cup in Dec/Jan, Earls played outside Mafi in the Heineken Cup team that demolished Sale (37-14) which had Luke McAlister in midfield.

Away to Mauntaban, he also played in midfield and the score was 13-39.

He played fullback against CA in Thomond in Dec, where no Munster player covered themselves with glory, but still came away with the win 23-13 in the end.

He is still a very young player and deserves a bit of space. Luke Fitz struggled a bit against the ABs in midfield, but seems to be flourishing on the wing. Earls has never made a Kearney-Toulouse like mistake in the H Cup, and (Keaney is also a class act), so yes, going on all of that, you do have unrealistic expectations of Earls at this stage

Amazotheamazing

sm.org wrote: »

I dont think he's played well since the Autumn test against Canada. Granted he's already set the bar fairly high , so I like most expect a lot from him everytime he plays. Wasn't particularly impressed when he filled in for Tipoki in the HC games. Needless to say I'd rather see him on the pitch then Murphy.

Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations.

It's a pity there's a ban on personal abuse on this forum, because if ever a post "merited" personal abuse, it's that one.

If you watch Earls closely, you'll see he's behind so much of what we do. it was his break which made Horan's try against Clermont, his kick and catch that lead to POC's try against Sale, etc. Don't mind the flash stuff, it's the fact that he makes hard things look easy that impresses, imo.

bleg

fair play, can't wait to see him excel later on

sm.org

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's a pity there's a ban on personal abuse on this forum, because if ever a post "merited" personal abuse, it's that one.

If you watch Earls closely, you'll see he's behind so much of what we do. it was his break which made Horan's try against Clermont, his kick and catch that lead to POC's try against Sale, etc. Don't mind the flash stuff, it's the fact that he makes hard things look easy that impresses, imo.

If you actually bother to read what I posted I mentioned not ragging on him, have nowhere critisised him and clearly stated that I was looking to give young players space and not to be downing them i.e what I said about Hurley.

If you want to come give me some "personal abuse" by all means PM. I cant stand keyboard hero's.

barnesd

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's a pity there's a ban on personal abuse on this forum, because if ever a post "merited" personal abuse, it's that one.

If you watch Earls closely, you'll see he's behind so much of what we do. it was his break which made Horan's try against Clermont, his kick and catch that lead to POC's try against Sale, etc. Don't mind the flash stuff, it's the fact that he makes hard things look easy that impresses, imo.

The look at him trying to tackle Malzieu when Malzieu scored in TP. Earls has good points to his game, and points that need work. The tendancy of some to get incredibly defensive about him is really odd. Calling for a poster to be banned! He's not the finished article yet, that is a fact.

Tirabaralla

Sorry, I had to share...It's my first big live match ever (except the ones of the University guys when I was veeery young)...can't wait for it, since I re-descovered rugby thanks to Munster when I first was in Cork 5 years ago...
excitedexcited! C'mon Munster

Amazotheamazing

barnesd wrote: »

The look at him trying to tackle Malzieu when Malzieu scored in TP. Earls has good points to his game, and points that need work. The tendancy of some to get incredibly defensive about him is really odd. Calling for a poster to be banned! He's not the finished article yet, that is a fact.

Em, re-read my post, I'm not calling for him to be banned.

And rewatch Malzieu's try, Murphy gets in Earls' way, defensive mix-up, nothing more, nothing less.

barnesd

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Em, re-read my post, I'm not calling for him to be banned.

And rewatch Malzieu's try, Murphy gets in Earls' way, defensive mix-up, nothing more, nothing less.

1st piont - fair enough, apologies.

2nd point - That's not what happens at all. Earls has ample opportunity to make the tackle, he goes high and flaps at Malzieu and a try is scored.

[Jackass]

Ah Earls is pure class. Wouldn't be surprised to see him run riot against Edinburgh today.

Should be a decent game to relax and watch after the Leinster game for me, but to be honest I can't see any problems what so ever for Munster in this one.

Never heard of this O'Boyle lad either, looking forward to seeing him come into the fold.

Amazotheamazing

[Jackass] wrote: »

Never heard of this O'Boyle lad either, looking forward to seeing him come into the fold.

Plays on the wing for Garryowen, scores a good lot of tries, solid player but unlikely to make it much beyond ML, imo.

barnesd

[Jackass] wrote: »

Ah Earls is pure class. Wouldn't be surprised to see him run riot against Edinburgh today.

Should be a decent game to relax and watch after the Leinster game for me, but to be honest I can't see any problems what so ever for Munster in this one.

Never heard of this O'Boyle lad either, looking forward to seeing him come into the fold.

I'd be of the opinion that he will be pure class in the not too distant future.

Agree anyway, Munster by a decent margin.

sm.org

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Em, re-read my post, I'm not calling for him to be banned.

And rewatch Malzieu's try, Murphy gets in Earls' way, defensive mix-up, nothing more, nothing less.

I'm still waiting for your response or are you one of those guys who likes to sound off behind the safety of their keyboard?

johnnysmack

anyone got a link for the game if its being streamed?

johnnyboy4711

+1

chupacabra

Good win. Decent performance from O'Boyle and Earls, now stop bickering :pac:

Crash

sm.org wrote: »

I'm still waiting for your response or are you one of those guys who likes to sound off behind the safety of their keyboard?

The pair of yee, stop acting like kids.

Orizio

Anyone want to give an account of the match? Was out at a restaurant.

dvemail

Solid munster performance, Fogarty played exceptional i thought

Tirabaralla

Orizio wrote: »

Anyone want to give an account of the match? Was out at a restaurant.

I wish I had enough knowledge and enough english to do it for you. I just can say it was really enjoyable, they played seriously until the last minute and there were many good and thrilling actions (plus...the players are YUMMY...hahaha...ehm :pac:).

Crash

My summation would be:

Munster backline, attacking from deep, looked very threatening and penetrating the Edinburgh defensive line fairly often. Edinburgh better than expected,posed a decent threat from time to time in attack, but rarely enough to be anything majorly threatening. If it weren't for a second string Munster defense which scrabbled slightly on a couple of occasions, there would have been a much larger gap.

Orizio

Tirabaralla wrote: »

I wish I had enough knowledge and enough english to do it for you. I just can say it was really enjoyable, they played seriously until the last minute and there were many good and thrilling actions (plus...the players are YUMMY...hahaha...ehm :pac:).

So you enjoyed yourself then?

Amazotheamazing

sm.org wrote: »

If you actually bother to read what I posted I mentioned not ragging on him, have nowhere critisised him and clearly stated that I was looking to give young players space and not to be downing them i.e what I said about Hurley.

If you want to come give me some "personal abuse" by all means PM. I cant stand keyboard hero's.

Just because you deserve abuse doesn't mean I'm bothered enough to give you any.

Earls is the best young 13 in Ireland, probably in the the HEC too, by some distance. It's nothing to me if you don't see it.

Podge_irl

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Earls is the best young 13 in Ireland, probably in the the HEC too, by some distance. It's nothing to me if you don't see it.

Cave? He's playing 13 more regularly too.

remus808

Yeah, I think Earls is a better all-round player than Cave, but we've yet to see the best of Earls in the centres, whereas Cave has been impressive week in week out.. Definitely shades it as a 13 at the moment IMO. Seems Luke is maybe out of the running for 13, shame as I think his defence has gotten huge, but he seems to pose more attacking threat from the wing

Amazotheamazing

Podge_irl wrote: »

Cave? He's playing 13 more regularly too.

Cave is a decent player, but he hasn't Earls' pace, his ability to side step without breaking pace, his handling, or his kicking game. Earls' biggest weakness is his distribution, the rest of his game is better than Caves, imo.

conf101

Score?

Tirabaralla

Orizio wrote: »

So you enjoyed yourself then?

Oh gosh, I did!
it's quite different from professional soccer (at least in Italy) in terms of "relationship with the public"...I was so near to the pitch I couldn't believe it :eek: which is lovely, makes u feel more part of the game...and then I was lucky enough to go to the bar upstairs in The Dolphin and see the players "in person" and about this I'll take my hormonal comments for myself ^_^

sm.org

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Just because you deserve abuse doesn't mean I'm bothered enough to give you any.

Earls is the best young 13 in Ireland, probably in the the HEC too, by some distance. It's nothing to me if you don't see it.

My mistake I assumed by "personal abuse" you were suggesting that you were going to say it to my face, but then again of course your not.

I didn't say that Earls was a bad player , I said I thought his levels hade dropped since November , but because he is the next big thing nobody is critical of him and that I wished Dennis Hurley was/would be given the same breathing space.

Stev_o

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Cave is a decent player, but he hasn't Earls' pace, his ability to side step without breaking pace, his handling, or his kicking game. Earls' biggest weakness is his distribution, the rest of his game is better than Caves, imo.

Do you think he's at 13 though?? Mean it's a hard call as iv seen him play outstanding in the back 3 where his pace and ability to cause havoc in defences is more noticeable then him at 13. But then on the CC tour we saw him score two great tries against the Saxons from 12. But look he's only a young lad and he's playing steady in the centre and there is no alarm bells ringing when he's playing there so it's just a matter of him getting the experience of playing there week in week out.

RuggieBear

sm.org and amazo enough.

sm.org

RuggieBear wrote: »

sm.org and amazo enough.

Sorry

Was anyone else as impressed as I was of Leamy? Thought that Nick Williams showed a few glimpses of his true self.

phog

Stev_o wrote: »

You sure your not thinking about Doyle?

Yes, I was thinking of Doyle and the stupid thing is I was thinking of O'Boyle when Doyle was mentioned for that game.

The game from Munter's point of view as I saw it.

Hurley - fielded the high balls well and got enough of them from Patterson, kicked one out in the full, but I've seen internationals do that.
Howlett - Always hungry for ball, got one try and chased one down but it was never a try, tho' the ref went to the TMO to decide.
Earls - made a few nice runs, first try cam from one of his breaks
Mafi -is Mafi, always looking for ball and work, gave a nice cross kick for Earls' try
O'Boyle. Looked the business, one mistake that I can't remember right now but certainly should see more game time.
Warwick - Renew his contract whatever it takes, great 10 and is like a centre at times.
Stringer - Had a good game, tho' getting some very poor ball and protection at times, gave away a certain try with a dummy pass.:mad:
Williams - Looks fitter than when I saw him last but still needs to lose a bit, has a great pair of hands and is a workhorse.
Ronan - Thought he had a good game and will certainly be more game time
Leamy - Edinburgh must;nt know what hit them, he was in their faces all eveing, hungry for ball, Heaslip watch out.
O'Driscoll - Capt and led by example and put it a fine performance
Quinnie - Stood in late for Donncha Ryan and was like Leamy, in their face all evening.
Buckley - Back from being sick and is still not 100% but carried well and made some hard yards and busted though Patterson fro a fine try, great pass fromStringer. Went over on his ankle but stayed put for most of the match.
Fogarty - Lineout throwing was poor but was always looking to make a break with ball in hand, wouldn't have been as good as Fla or Jackman but I thought he did well.
Puc. Always plays to perfection.

Overall, it was a 5 pointer and well deserved, Edinburgh score two tries one from a lineout brought back because Hurley kicked the ball out in the full, then Mafi pops the ball up and who catches the pop up only their centre Cairns with noone in his way to the tryline. :mad: Their second came late in the game when Munster had emptied the bench.

Most disappointed in the way Munster didn't protect ball at ruck time or the breakdown, 3 or 4 turnovers at least and most of these were less that 5m from the tryline.

[Jackass]

Actually, as a man who often takes every given oppertunity to criticise him I think it's worth a mention, I have to say Hurley did very well last night. Fielded well, was solid. Fair play to him.

thomond2006

The last post pretty much summed it up.:):):)