Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

GerM

bamboozle wrote: »

In fairness to the AIL the standard has picked up considerably, unfortunately by doing away with the play offs i think a lot of the games in the final 30% of the season will be uncompetative as teams will have nothing to play for.
Its the best option for provincial squad players to pick up some decent game time.
I was at Con v Clontarf a few weeks back, Con had Deasy, Ryan, Archer and Zebo playing, while Tarf had Dundon, Chipman (last season's captain of NZ NPC side Manawatu),Leinster Academy players Noel Reid, Collie O'Shea, Des Merry propped for tarf due to injury, for 50 minutes he held his own against Archer, great experience for a 19 year old sub academy prop.

Whilst I would agree it's the best option available, it's also probably the only option available outside of the few A games. The problem with AIL is that whilst the top sides put out a handful of contracted players each week and the academy players are often playing against one another that is only the case at the top sides. When a team suffers a couple of injuries they have to dip into their J1 squad and very quickly you have a player that has aspirations of being a HEC player facing someone who is handy by layman standards but works a 9-5pm and plays to keep fit. It's very difficult for someone like Murray to really get up to speed at that level. It shows still when he plays with Ireland or Munster that he's a second behind the play and simply not used to such a level.

The one area I think there's a decent level of competition there is the front row though. Does a lot of props no harm to cut their teeth in the AIL against some nasty 35 year old who lives to scrummage and little else.

funky penguin

Enjoyed reading this from Quinlan:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1123/1224308000568.html

Seems level headed, and very honest. I thought he did well with the Munster match and I look forward to him getting some more commentary action.

But it's the commentary on life after retirement I found most interesting. It must be so difficult for professional players to cut something from their life that defined the majority of their life, and just carry on.

Amazotheamazing

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

How so? O'Gara doesn't pick the team.

Of course O'Gara wants to be ahead of keatley, same way Keatley wants to be ahead of O'Gara.

Christ, the whole entire reason that we had to enter this topic of conversation is that I said that ROG is definitely clever enough to understand that what's best for the team isn't for him to play every game.

Are you purposely being overly antagonistic? I feel like you're just winding me in circles for no reason.

CatFromHue

GerM wrote: »

Whilst I would agree it's the best option available, it's also probably the only option available outside of the few A games. The problem with AIL is that whilst the top sides put out a handful of contracted players each week and the academy players are often playing against one another that is only the case at the top sides. When a team suffers a couple of injuries they have to dip into their J1 squad and very quickly you have a player that has aspirations of being a HEC player facing someone who is handy by layman standards but works a 9-5pm and plays to keep fit. It's very difficult for someone like Murray to really get up to speed at that level. It shows still when he plays with Ireland or Munster that he's a second behind the play and simply not used to such a level.

The one area I think there's a decent level of competition there is the front row though. Does a lot of props no harm to cut their teeth in the AIL against some nasty 35 year old who lives to scrummage and little else.

I once played against Tom Hayes in a thirds game. I'm not sure what his aspirations were....mine were to not get sick as I was very hungover! :pac::pac:

Amazotheamazing

Deleted User wrote: »

Christ, the whole entire reason that we had to enter this topic of conversation is that I said that ROG is definitely clever enough to understand that what's best for the team isn't for him to play every game.

Are you purposely being overly antagonistic? I feel like you're just winding me in circles for no reason.

You should read Quinny's article today. It makes things a lot clearer.

GerM

CatFromHue wrote: »

I once played against Tom Hayes in a thirds game. I'm not sure what his aspirations were....mine were to not get sick as I was very hungover! :pac::pac:

Good example of it. He would do damage to the average bloke in the tight. My first ever game of rugby as a student was against one of the big clubs third side. Their AIL no. 8 played 40 minutes for a run out. He nearly broke me in two literally in a maul. There are rules in place but they're not monitored whatsoever.

pajunior

funky penguin wrote: »

Enjoyed reading this from Quinlan:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1123/1224308000568.html

Seems level headed, and very honest. I thought he did well with the Munster match and I look forward to him getting some more commentary action.

But it's the commentary on life after retirement I found most interesting. It must be so difficult for professional players to cut something from their life that defined the majority of their life, and just carry on.

That's a brilliant article, I remember reading one from Ciaran Whelan who went through something similar after leaving the Dublin setup. I've been pretty impressed with him as a media man/journalist so far, I hope Sky keep him on.

He's pretty well spoken for such a muck savage :pac:

Amazotheamazing

pajunior wrote: »

That's a brilliant article, I remember reading one from Ciaran Whelan who went through something similar after leaving the Dublin setup. I've been pretty impressed with him as a media man/journalist so far, I hope Sky keep him on.

He's pretty well spoken for such a muck savage :pac:

It's good he recognises he has to distance himself from Munster too, I didn't think he was too biased last Saturday.

vinny chase

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's good he recognises he has to distance himself from Munster too, I didn't think he was too biased last Saturday.

No, I'd agree. I thought he was good last weekend. Always came across as honest; and as someone who'd be willing to call Munster on something he thinks they're getting wrong, which must be tough for someone with such close links to the squad and management.

GerM

That's a great piece from Quinlan. Really appreciate how odd it is to go from being inside to the outside at the flick of a switch. I've a lot of respect for how he handles himself now and refuses to be drawn back into the hangers on club. There's a few people that could learn a bit from him. Also mucho respect for getting into a tiff with Geraghty. Quinlan has been in the media a matter of months and already is a better writer and interviewer than him.

Fireball07

funky penguin wrote: »

Enjoyed reading this from Quinlan:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/1123/1224308000568.html

Seems level headed, and very honest. I thought he did well with the Munster match and I look forward to him getting some more commentary action.

But it's the commentary on life after retirement I found most interesting. It must be so difficult for professional players to cut something from their life that defined the majority of their life, and just carry on.

That's a really good piece. Brutally honest and very interesting.


I miss Quinny as a player though...

fitz

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's good he recognises he has to distance himself from Munster too, I didn't think he was too biased last Saturday.

Fully agree...big difference from his appearances on Against the Head when he was still/just finishing up playing...

I actually thought it was one of the best commentary performances I've heard in a while. He gave great insight into what was going on, and there was no real bias shown at all. I look forward to hearing more of him as a commentator, and if he can keep writing as well as he does in that Irish Times piece, I look forward to reading his work too...

thomond2006

Great piece from Quinny, hopefully he'll be a pundit that won't engage in either buttering up his old mates (Frankie Sheahan) or engage in media groupthink.

thomond2006

thomond2006 wrote: »

Great piece from Quinny, hopefully he'll be a pundit that won't engage in either buttering up his old mates (Frankie Sheahan) or engage in media groupthink.

don't think he could be either tbh. Doesn't seem to be the kind of guy to take part in any sort of brown-nosery.

MaryKing

ormond lad wrote: »

We do and it isnt working that well, if murray is as good as he is being made out to be by many(and hopefully he is) the garryowen AIL games are not going to be as much of a challange as you make it out to be. Too much is being emphasised on how the AIL is so great for the development of players for the pro game. It is strong enough in div 1A but is it for the most part good enough for future pros to be playing in regularly, would a higher standard of rugby surely not be better??
Munster have a huge problem in always picking the older player and not giving the younger players enough of a chance
If Ian Nagle/Dave Foley were in other clubs they would have many more first team caps, yes you do have to earn your spot on the first team but munster nearly always seem to prefer the old reliables than the younger player

Murray & Sherry would have been two of the main players for Garryowen and would have been the two that the rest of the team were looking to get a few results (which didn't all work out). But they were getting experience of having to come up with the goods and learning what its like to lose games where they weren't under pressure for their skill level. Even at that, if the opposition was so poor, they wouldn't have been losing as many matches as they did. Both of them are very young and they both got into the Munster 23 very quickly.

Of course Munster are going to prefer the better player (even if they are over 30). When (like Peter O'Mahoney) they are good enough to start Heineken Cup rugby for Munster, they will.

MaryKing

thomond2006 wrote: »

Great piece from Quinny, hopefully he'll be a pundit that won't engage in either buttering up his old mates (Frankie Sheahan) or engage in media groupthink.

His twitter is a good laugh. Exchanges between himself and POM.

peterom6 Peter O Mahony

@AlanQuinlan1 hanging around the gym today like a bad smell kid!!ha

AlanQuinlan1

@peterom6 I must say kid I didn't recognise you today your head was so swollen you've changed mind my jersey and no yellows like me ha ha
@peterom6 Peter O Mahony
@AlanQuinlan1 I'll do my best...big shirt to fill...u stretched it around the belly!ha


He also posted on his twitter that when getting the plane to France with the team 'the f***ers all ignored me".

Podge_irl

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

It's good he recognises he has to distance himself from Munster too, I didn't think he was too biased last Saturday.

I thought he was excellent. I've heard a couple complaints but I genuinely have no idea what they're on about. That article is brilliant too.

thomond2006

Strings is starting for the Barbarians this weekend.

Amazotheamazing

Podge_irl wrote: »

I thought he was excellent. I've heard a couple complaints but I genuinely have no idea what they're on about. That article is brilliant too.

It's great he's not afraid of criticising Munster, Frankie would be a good analyst too if he was protecting his client list all the time. He's good when he's not commentating on players he knows.

phog

RPD12 Kick-off dates and times up to March have been announced, also the H/C game away to Northampton is set for 21/1/12.

Fixture list attached, I wonder if either Munster or Leinster get a Friday night QF in the H/C will they field a weakened team for the RPD game in Thomond as it's set for the Saturday before the QF weekend.

kerrysdad

Can you not smell John Teeling's monetary influence around Castle Avenue ?

GerM wrote: »

As far as I'm aware they don't really get the money. Academy players are encouraged to join one of several clubs normally so they play with a better standard. I know Tom Sexton was told to leave Suttonians back in the day to play a higher level and, in fairness, it's needed. There is a similar level of talent at Blackrock, Lansdowne and Belvedere and certainly more money. Clontarf don't have any big benefactor like some other teams. Clontarf have traditionally relied far more on a community based approach than the other big Dublin teams in the top flight. It's only in recent years that the contracted players have been pushed towards them.

What I never understood was the monopoly that Cork Con have on contracted players in Cork. Dolphin and Con are both top flight teams yet the disparity between the number of contracted players is ridiculous.

bamboozle

kerrysdad wrote: »

Can you not smell John Teeling's monetary influence around Castle Avenue ?

he's too busy still playing J5's!
he used help out with the 20's and underage teams not sure if it goes beyond that.

skregs

MaryKing wrote: »

peterom6 Peter O Mahony

@AlanQuinlan1 hanging around the gym today like a bad smell kid!!ha

AlanQuinlan1

@peterom6 I must say kid I didn't recognise you today your head was so swollen you've changed mind my jersey and no yellows like me ha ha
@peterom6 Peter O Mahony
@AlanQuinlan1 I'll do my best...big shirt to fill...u stretched it around the belly!ha

Can I get a translation of this funny exchange into English please?

pajunior

skregs wrote: »

Can I get a translation of this funny exchange into English please?

Peter: Alan, you were in the gym today even though you are not in the Munster squad. rofl lol (unlikely that Peter was actually rolling on the floor laughing or indeed laughing out loud)

Alan: I can not contain myself young mad, I did not recognize you in said gym today because your cranium has swollen to a huge degree (probably a metaphor on his recent success and media attention). Please look after my old jersey (again a metaphor due to the fact that Peter wears Alan's old number). Also please don't receive any sin binnings like I used to. ROFL LOL etc (again unlikely that Alan was actually rolling on the floor laughing or indeed laughing out loud.)


Peter: I will give my greatest effort, (to look after said jersey (see metaphor above)) but your jersey is quite large (another metaphor that some would take as a compliment to Alan's long distinguished playing career (but wait for the punchline)) your jersey has grown large around the middle (a perfect hook to his earlier set-up, he is implying that Alan was on the large side and now the jersey does not fit Peter's exceptional physique) Rofl Lol etc (Again it's unlikely that peter was actually laughing, and one must wonder at someones humor when they pretend to laugh at their own joke.)

All in all a quite lively session of internet banter

Amazotheamazing

Munster likely to rest a few
Rugby : Denis Leamy, Donnacha Ryan and Peter Stringer have all been left out of an extended Munster squad to face Edinburgh at Thomond Park this Saturday (8.30pm), but they are likely to be joined a few more familiar faces when the team is revealed tomorrow.

Under the IRFU’s player management programme Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara are expected to sit out the PRO12 clash, while Conor Murray may also make way for Tomás O’Leary to return the starting line-up.

Leamy is omitted after aggravating a hip injury while Ryan has an injured toe. Both are expected to train next week, as will Stringer, who is on Barbarians duty for their game against Australia on Saturday.

Munster : J Murphy, D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, D Hurley, L O'Dea, T Gleeson, S Zebo, S Deasy, W Chambers, I Keatley, R O'Gara, T O'Leary, D Williams, C Murray, M Horan, W Du Preez, J Ryan, J Hayes, D Fogarty, D Varley, BJ Botha, S Henry, S Archer, P O'Connell, I Nagle, P Butler, T O'Donnell, B Holland, M O'Driscoll, D O'Callaghan, J Coughlan, N Ronan, P O'Mahony,

Amazotheamazing

Hopefully O'Dea, Butler and Henry will get some time, ideally Nagle and Archer will start.

Cpt_Blackbeard

Hopefully we'll see something like:

1. Horan - He needs the gametime.
2. Fogarty - Varley needs to be rested. We saw the fall off in his performances last year when he was relied on for 80mins every week.
3. Archer - Not too sure about this but, we need to see if he has improved.
4. DOC
5. Nagle - I think that this could be a great partnership. The responsibility to help Nagle along should help both players.
6. POM -Give him next week off when Leamy is back.
7. Ronan - He is playing well and improving with every game. He is usually excellent at this level too.
8. Butler - Hopefully he will step up with a strong pack and our first choice 6/7 around him.
9. TOL - His pass is still poor quality but, he is improving.
10. Keatley - Its time to begin stepping up and showing that he is a viable alternative.
11. Zebo - Hopefully he will put his hands up for the HC.
12. Barnes - Not sure whether to put him at 12/13 but, he needs to be given a chance to show last week was a once off. He is still learning his trade and needs games too.
13. Chambers - He has been brilliant in his cameos and hopefully we'll see more from him.
14. Howlett - He has been on fire and his experience will be needed.
15. Murphy - He has been improving in the 15 jersey but, I'd like to see O'Dea get a runout too. Ideally Murphy will push out to the wing and will be there in case O'Dea needs some guidance.

Risteard

I'd agree with that team Cpt. particularly Varley. It's a shame DOC2 is injured, with Leamy out he could have been in with a shout. Let's hope Ronan continues his performance from last week. I suppose he gets a lot of flak from fans, myself included, but he played quite well last week against a physical pack.

I really hope that some positions are up for grabs though. I'm speaking with particuar emphasis on Zebo, he's a good broken field runner and I'm hoping he'll take his opportunity. Though with Earls to come back it might be difficult to stare a claim for the starting 15 against Scarlets.

EDIT: On Archer he had a really tough time against D. Jones who's an old experienced scrummager but in the earlier matches this season I thought he was much improved on last season. Our scrum was pretty comfortable in the early season and I maintain that he should be on the HC bench ahead of John Hayes.

thomond2006

CatFromHue

Hahaha
That's great lip synching by the Cookie Monster!
The look on the Kermits face too =