Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

Risteard

1. du Preez
2. Varley
3. Botha
4. Ryan
5. POC
6. Leamy
7. POM
8. Coughlan
9. Murray
10.ROG
11.Zebo
12.Mafi
13.Barnes
14.Howlett
15.Hurley

16.Fogarty
17.Horan/Ryan
18.Archer
19.DOC
20.Ronan
21.TOL
22.Keatley
23.Chambers

Not likely to happen.

thomond2006

You would drop Murphy? I thought he did ok. Some of his kicks were monsters.

Risteard

Yes, I thought he had a poor enough game. Might keep him on the wing but I don't think he is a fullback.

Still have to watch it back, that was my first impression though.

Fireball07

thomond2006 wrote: »

du Preez, Varley, Botha, Ryan, O'Connell, Leamy, O'Mahony, Cawlin;
Murray, O'Gara, Hurley, Mafi, Barnes, Dougie, Murphy

Bench: Fogarty, Ryan/Horan, Hayes, O'Callaghan, Ronan, O'Leary, Keatley, Chambers

Leamy made a big impact when he came on so I'd have him in ahead of Ronan with POM moving to 7. Ronan mixed the good with the bad against Northampton, he is involved in so much play everytime he plays but he is generally ineffective.

Ryan played very well at lock so I'd keep him there, although DOC was very busy when he came on.

I agree with this. Though if Chambers can play 12, I'd nearly rather see him there than Mafi. I thought he made an impact when he came on, he's a much more powerful carrier than either Barnes or Mafi.

danthefan

Never realised Murphy had such a massive boot. I think he threw a few dreadful passes, stepped out of the 22 for that kick too. Not sure I'd drop him though if I were picking the team.

irishbucsfan

danthefan wrote: »

Never realised Murphy had such a massive boot. I think he threw a few dreadful passes, stepped out of the 22 for that kick too. Not sure I'd drop him though if I were picking the team.

I was impressed as well. I think he should be given more time, I think he could mature into the position in Jones' absence.

Risteard

Hmm, opinions seem to differ on Murphy. I'll watch it again once I can find a place to watch, could be that his poor mistake at the mark is colouring the rest of his performance.

Fishooks12

I thought Murphy had a decent game, great boot that was essential when we were under pressure and made a few half breaks

I'd go for the same team but with POM switching to 7 and Leamy in for Ronan

GerM

Thought Murphy was good. Booming boot and looked a threat with the ball in hand. Bit iffy defensively but he's the best option for that jersey right now.

LuckyLloyd

Ronan is getting thrown under the bus a bit I feel. He forced a couple of turnovers in the first half and got through a lot of work. You need to have a bench that can make an impact. Having Leamy and DOC to throw out when the going gets tough on 55 minutes or so is arguably the best way to approach things.

Cpt_Blackbeard

Murphy is an odd one. He has a great boot which is a great asset as a fullback. He also makes a disproportionate number of (half) breaks for a player of his speed or strength with ball in hand should. All those things are great assets for a fullback but, I don't feel that he has the awareness or decision-making for the position. When Earls is back, I'd probably throw him in at 15 and move Murphy to 11 but, Murphy should probably stay at 15 for the time being as, we don't have anyone else with much experience there.

Amazotheamazing

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ronan is getting thrown under the bus a bit I feel. He forced a couple of turnovers in the first half and got through a lot of work. You need to have a bench that can make an impact. Having Leamy and DOC to throw out when the going gets tough on 55 minutes or so is arguably the best way to approach things.

Ronan and Murphy have become players it's ok to dislike so every mistake the make is magnified. Now, I'm not saying either are great players, but they come under an extraordinary level of scrutiny in every game.

I don't think they'll ever be the mainstays of the team but I don't think they were disastrous either.

Amazotheamazing

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

Murphy is an odd one. He has a great boot which is a great asset as a fullback. He also makes a disproportionate number of (half) breaks for a player of his speed or strength with ball in hand should. All those things are great assets for a fullback but, I don't feel that he has the awareness or decision-making for the position. When Earls is back, I'd probably throw him in at 15 and move Murphy to 11 but, Murphy should probably stay at 15 for the time being as, we don't have anyone else with much experience there.

Murphy is greedy with the ball alright, which is fine in a winger but fatal in a fullback, he needs to improve his passing and awareness, luckily we've a top class backs coach to help him.

matthew8

Alright I've been warned in another thread not to be negative so I'll keep this short and say the only positive thing I can.

You guys have to play Chambers. He's your only inside back with any attacking prowess and Danny Barnes won't be causing HEC teams much trouble. He could cause Castres a lot of trouble.

danthefan

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Ronan and Murphy have become players it's ok to dislike so every mistake the make is magnified. Now, I'm not saying either are great players, but they come under an extraordinary level of scrutiny in every game.

I don't think they'll ever be the mainstays of the team but I don't think they were disastrous either.

Ronan in particular comes under scrutiny because he has virtually never ever played well in the HEC or even in a big ML game (e.g. against Leinster).

DDC1990

danthefan wrote: »

Ronan in particular comes under scrutiny because he has virtually never ever played well in the HEC or even in a big ML game (e.g. against Leinster).

Thought Ronan was good yesterday.

Shouldn't have broken from the Maul going forward, but was good other then that.

Amazotheamazing

matthew8 wrote: »

Alright I've been warned in another thread not to be negative so I'll keep this short and say the only positive thing I can.

You guys have to play Chambers. He's your only inside back with any attacking prowess and Danny Barnes won't be causing HEC teams much trouble. He could cause Castres a lot of trouble.

Why not play Chambers and Barnes? Barnes is only a young lad but he's Irish.

Amazotheamazing

danthefan wrote: »

Ronan in particular comes under scrutiny because he has virtually never ever played well in the HEC or even in a big ML game (e.g. against Leinster).

Not every player is Peter O'Mahony getting MOTM's in their first HEC game. I have doubts about Ronan, big doubts, but I think he's improving a bit this season. He's never going to be an all-time great but not sure he deserves to be dropped.

Will this 6 nations be too soon for O'Mahony though?

matthew8

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Why not play Chambers and Barnes? Barnes is only a young lad but he's Irish.

I really don't rate Barnes, however you could put Chambers on the wing when Earls is gone. I'd rather have Mafi/Chambers than Chambers/Barnes in the centre. Some time on the bench wouldn't do Barnes much harm either.

danthefan

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Not every player is Peter O'Mahony getting MOTM's in their first HEC game. I have doubts about Ronan, big doubts, but I think he's improving a bit this season. He's never going to be an all-time great but not sure he deserves to be dropped.

Will this 6 nations be too soon for O'Mahony though?

Ronan and POM are completely different cases. Ronan is about 30 and has played a significant number of HEC games at this stage, in which his good performances have been very few and far between. POM is much younger and obviously very talented.

matthew8

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Not every player is Peter O'Mahony getting MOTM's in their first HEC game. I have doubts about Ronan, big doubts, but I think he's improving a bit this season. He's never going to be an all-time great but not sure he deserves to be dropped.

Will this 6 nations be too soon for O'Mahony though?

I don't like O'Mahony but he looks like the best 7 going forward for Ireland. O'Brien isn't on a great run of form and Jennings has missed his international chance. He was very much outshone by Gorgodze yesterday, nothing to be ashamed of though.

Cpt_Blackbeard

matthew8 wrote: »

I don't like O'Mahony but he looks like the best 7 going forward for Ireland. O'Brien isn't on a great run of form and Jennings has missed his international chance. He was very much outshone by Gorgodze yesterday, nothing to be ashamed of though.

If POM does his job right, a majority of Leinster fans should/will hate him for 10 or so months a year.

Amazotheamazing

danthefan wrote: »

Ronan and POM are completely different cases. Ronan is about 30 and has played a significant number of HEC games at this stage, in which his good performances have been very few and far between. POM is much younger and obviously very talented.

Ronan's 29 and has only started 7 HEC games. Let's not pretend he's a massively experienced campaigner.

Amazotheamazing

matthew8 wrote: »

I don't like O'Mahony but he looks like the best 7 going forward for Ireland. O'Brien isn't on a great run of form and Jennings has missed his international chance. He was very much outshone by Gorgodze yesterday, nothing to be ashamed of though.

Why don't you like POM?

RuggieBear

matthew8, perhaps you misunderstood the previous warning... Post about Munster again on this forum and you will be banned. PM me in a month or so and we will review.

irishbucsfan

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

If POM does his job right, a majority of Leinster fans should/will hate him for 10 or so months a year.

Actually after last weeks game I said I'll love him 50 weeks a year, and hate him when he's playing against Leinster.

Don't know why I'd hate him when he's playing for Munster against anyone else though.

CIARAN_BOYLE

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Actually after last weeks game I said I'll love him 50 weeks a year, and hate him when he's playing against Leinster.

Don't know why I'd hate him when he's playing for Munster against anyone else though.

Probably hate him 48 weeks a year. When Leinster and Munster meet in HEC and ML knockous we'll hate him as well.

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Ronan's 29 and has only started 7 HEC games. Let's not pretend he's a massively experienced campaigner.

7HEC starts 10 HEC caps as a replacement. A total of 88 Munster caps and 37 Leinster caps as well as 4 Ireland caps and a few caps for Ireland A or Ireland non cap matches. He should have the experience at this stage of his career.

Cpt_Blackbeard

Don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but, it might just be one of the most significant aspects of the game yesterday. We went a full match without collecting a yellow card; if that's not a case for celebration, I don't know what is.

danthefan

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Ronan's 29 and has only started 7 HEC games. Let's not pretend he's a massively experienced campaigner.

I think expecting a 29 year old to suddenly come good is a bit optimistic. There's a good reason he has only started 7 games then, he's not really good enough and gets in when there's an injury.

MaryKing

danthefan wrote: »

I think expecting a 29 year old to suddenly come good is a bit optimistic. There's a good reason he has only started 7 games then, he's not really good enough and gets in when there's an injury.

Nothing to do with David Wallace then?