Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

Amazotheamazing

ormond lad wrote: »

Good player, decent defence. great awareness of space.
At least the schools have players playing in the right positions.
Seamus Keating is playing winger for the youths and to be honest im not sure he's quick enough to play back 3. Good enough at outhalf but just doesnt have the out and out pace you need to play on the wing

That's good to hear, his 100m's time are nearly impressive enough to suggest he should focus on athletics if pro rugby isn't a go-er.

As for the outhalf on the wing, I've never seen him play but lack of pace never held Dowling or Luke Fitz back... Seriously though, I hope there's some logic behind it, doing weird things like playing guys where they aren't suited can ruin a young lads confidence.

Amazotheamazing

From today's Irish Times. Brief interview with Flannery about the match on Sunday and about Foley's prospects.

"Flannery, in Dublin yesterday as a Guinness rugby ambassador, was asked out straight: Ferris or not, can Ulster win in Limerick? “Ulster can definitely win, yeah. But I would back us. I think Munster will be favourites, particularly because we are at home, but Ulster have the wherewithal to come down and win. I’ve played against Ulster in Thomond Park before and lost.

“It’s hard as a Munster player to try and imagine that something is a mental barrier for other teams because that makes you inherently a little bit weaker. Makes you feel like you don’t have to try as hard. But I think that Ulster don’t have that issue coming down to Thomond Park.

“It is not like a freak that they have managed to get here. They have been generally improving over the last couple of years.

“They’ll be looking, much like Leinster had against us in 2009, for that win that can kick you on and suddenly people start really believing what they are doing.”

The best man to replace Tony McGahan is Foley, right? “He’s either ready for the job or he’s not. I don’t know whether there are skills Axel has to develop. He’s always been up there for me. Captain when I came into first year (in St Munchin’s). Then he was captain of Shannon, captain of Munster and captain of Ireland as well. And now he is coaching Munster. I’d love to see him make the step up. I know the measure of Axel.”"

budhabob

Munster v Ulster Squad: Johne Murphy, Ian Keatley, Tomas O’Leary, Felix Jones, Denis Hurley, Keith Earls, Lifeimi Mafi, Simon Zebo, Ronan O’Gara, Conor Murray, Danny Barnes, Duncan Williams, Scott Deasy, David Wallace, Donnacha O’Callaghan, Stephen Archer, Marcus Horan, Damien Varley, James Coughlan, Tommy O’Donnell, Peter O’Mahony, Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan, BJ Botha, Mike Sherry, Wian Du Preez, Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland, John Ryan, Denis Fogarty.
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10328.php
Well all the injured parties are back in the mix. good news.

Otacon

I think a huge factor in this game will be whether Ferris is out. Also, is Best injured?

thomond2006

Munster v Ulster Squad:
Johne Murphy, Felix Jones, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Scott Deasy
Keith Earls, Lifeimi Mafi, Danny Barnes
Ronan O’Gara, Ian Keatley
Conor Murray, Tomas O’Leary, Duncan Williams,

Denis Fogarty, Mike Sherry, Damien Varley
Marcus Horan, John Ryan, Wian Du Preez, BJ Botha, Stephen Archer
Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan, Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland, Donnacha O’Callaghan,
David Wallace, James Coughlan, Tommy O’Donnell, Peter O’Mahony,

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10328.php

Dave O'Callaghan left out of the squad, is he injured? I was hoping he would start in this.

I'd like to see:
du Preez, Sherry, Botha, Ryan, POC, TOD, POM, Coughlan;
TOL, ROG, Zebo, Mafi, Earls, Hurley, Jones

Bench: Varley, Horan, Archer, DOC, Wallace, Murray, Keatley, Murphy

Murray has been out longer than POC and Ryan, I'd be nervous about chucking him back in straightaway. TOL also played well last week, his best game this season by far.

padraig.od

thomond2006 wrote: »

Munster v Ulster Squad:
Johne Murphy, Felix Jones, Denis Hurley, Simon Zebo, Scott Deasy
Keith Earls, Lifeimi Mafi, Danny Barnes
Ronan O’Gara, Ian Keatley
Conor Murray, Tomas O’Leary, Duncan Williams,

Denis Fogarty, Mike Sherry, Damien Varley
Marcus Horan, John Ryan, Wian Du Preez, BJ Botha, Stephen Archer
Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan, Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland, Donnacha O’Callaghan,
David Wallace, James Coughlan, Tommy O’Donnell, Peter O’Mahony,

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10328.php

Dave O'Callaghan left out of the squad, is he injured? I was hoping he would start in this.

I'd like to see:
du Preez, Sherry, Botha, Ryan, POC, TOD, POM, Coughlan;
TOL, ROG, Zebo, Mafi, Earls, Hurley, Jones

Bench: Varley, Horan, Archer, DOC, Wallace, Murray, Keatley, Murphy

Murray has been out longer than POC and Ryan, I'd be nervous about chucking him back in straightaway. TOL also played well last week, his best game this season by far.

Murray & POC were injured in the same match. Think DOC2 was injured last weekend although I haven't seen that stated anywhere.

thomond2006

padraig.od wrote: »

Murray & POC were injured in the same match. Think DOC2 was injured last weekend although I haven't seen that stated anywhere.

Oops you're right about POC and Murray.

CatFromHue

From last weeks press release:

"Ryan took a limited part in training yesterday while O'Connell and Murray travelled to Dublin to see a Specialist who cleared them for training next week.

Ryan would look to be on track for inclusion in the squad for the Ulster game while O'Connell and Murray's participation will depend on how they come through training."
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10309.php

---

The yesterday mentioned was last Thursday so Ryan should be good for the game on the weekend. Whereas Murray and POC will only be testing out their injuries this week.

NikNak8

When will the team be named?

CIARAN_BOYLE

NikNak8 wrote: »

When will the team be named?

probably friday

.ak

It'll be a great pity if Ferris misses this - from an entertainment point of view.

Cpt_Blackbeard

.ak wrote: »

It'll be a great pity if Ferris misses this - from an entertainment point of view.

He's been named in the Ulster squad, so his injury could be all smoke and mirrors.

Tox56

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

He's been named in the Ulster squad, so his injury could be all smoke and mirrors.

It could be, but in fairness if it is genuinely this touch-and-go, they would want to wait until the latest possible moment to make a decision, and ruling him out on Wednesday was always unlikely.

Amazotheamazing

padraig.od wrote: »

Murray & POC were injured in the same match. Think DOC2 was injured last weekend although I haven't seen that stated anywhere.

DOCv2.0 got a slight knee injury against Leinster.

Our A team is really going to be up against it, let alone our senior team.

Tefral

Update on the Semi Final here.

Due to the short turnaround time between the Heineken Cup quarter-final matches this weekend and the semi-finals at the end of this month, all clubs involved in the quarter-finals are preparing for ticket sales to their supporters in advance of a potential semi-final.

In the event that Munster win their quarter-final match against Ulster this Sunday, ticket sales to members of the Supporters Club for the semi-final in the Aviva Stadium, against either Toulouse or Edinburgh, will be handled by Ticketmaster, the ticket sales agent for ERC Rugby. Ticketmaster have agreed to a €1 discount to members on each ticket purchased off their standard service charge. Ticket prices and charges are listed at end of news item. The MRSC will receive an allocation of over 20,000 tickets.

Details of ticket purchase for members is as follows;


- Sunday 8th April between 6pm and 10pm - an email to be issued from Ticketmaster to ALL Full and Associate members containing a link and a unique password.

- Sale to commence Monday 9th April at 12 noon and remain open until Thursday 12th April at 12 noon – limit of 2 tickets per member.


Following this sale to members and Munster Rugby's sale to other groups, any tickets remaining will be offered to members of the Supporters Club as follows;


- Second sale to open on Friday 13th April at 4pm to Monday 16th April at 12 noon (unless previously sold out) – offering another 6 tickets per member.


TICKET PRICES

Ticket range in price from €20 up to €70


TICKETMASTER SERVICE CHARGES

Ticketmaster service charges as listed below. Please note that there is a reduction of €1 per ticket being offered to members of the supporters club.

Ticket Price Service Charge
€20.00 - €2.95
€25.00 - €3.25
€30.00 - €3.50
€35.00 - €4.00
€40.00 - €4.50
€45.00 - €5.25
€50.00 - €5.75
€55.00 - €6.25
€60.00 - €6.95
€70.00 - €6.95




Filed by
J. Kiernan
04042012

Amazotheamazing

Backs coach Kiss hints O'Driscoll will have to win 13 shirt back from Earls
By Des Berry
Monday April 02 2012

IRELAND'S backs coach Les Kiss has given the strongest indication yet that Brian O'Driscoll might not be an automatic starter for Ireland against the All Blacks for the three-Test series in June.

He was quick to back the skills of the incumbent 13 Keith Earls following Leinster's defeat of Munster in the PRO12 League on Saturday evening.

"Keith in the past has come under a bit of fire for certain parts of his game but he had a fantastic campaign for us (in the Six Nations) at 13. He was exceptional," said Kiss, on Setanta Sport's iTalkSport yesterday. "He missed the first game but played the rest and was very good. Defensively, last night, I thought Earls had an exceptional game. He didn't have many opportunities with the ball in hand."

Of course, there have been calls for Ireland captain O'Driscoll to move to inside centre to accommodate the wheels of Earls around the outside.

"I thought Drico just had a good, solid game - paced himself well. Not many opportunities but when he did something, it had some impact in the game.

"It's nice to see. It's 80 minutes for Brian, so things are looking good for him after the operation," added Kiss.

- Des Berry

Amazotheamazing

Huge praise for Earls. Hope he can take confidence from it and continue to do well against another challenger in Cave this weekend.

Obviously, (imo) no one will ever be able to do what BOD has done, as a player and as captain, but it's interesting to hear what Kiss is thinking.

Tox56

BOD will probably move into 12 because they couldn't do without him on the field, and they see a successor at 13 more important than at 12.

I don't mind as long as all choices are given equal opportunity, Earls having experience due to also being a winger shouldn't have a significant bearing, although knowing Kidney McFadden is still probably 2nd choice..

Amazotheamazing

Tox56 wrote: »

BOD will probably move into 12 because they couldn't do without him on the field, and they see a successor at 13 more important than at 12.

I don't mind as long as all choices are given equal opportunity, Earls having experience due to also being a winger shouldn't have a significant bearing, although knowing Kidney McFadden is still probably 2nd choice..

Also, all our 12 options aren't great, whereas we have a few decent prospects at 13. I'd love to see Earls outside a proper 12.

CatFromHue

I read the article and I saw Kiss on iTalksport but I've no idea where the author got the idea that BOD would be moving to 12.

Amazotheamazing

CatFromHue wrote: »

I read the article and I saw Kiss on iTalksport but I've no idea where the author got the idea that BOD would be moving to 12.

Well, no way BOD will be dropped, and Earls needs to be playing somewhere, it might be the best use of resources.

Tox56

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Well, no way BOD will be dropped, and Earls needs to be playing somewhere, it might be the best use of resources.

That's the problem with Kidney, even at the expense of others.

Amazotheamazing

Tox56 wrote: »

That's the problem with Kidney, even at the expense of others.

You can't leave a guy with Earls' pace out, not until speedsters like Zebo and Conway come through.

Tox56

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

You can't leave a guy with Earls' pace out, not until speedsters like Zebo and Conway come through.

Even if you replaced him with, hypothetically, McFadden at 12 and BOD at 13?

He's a good player but he shouldn't be kept in the side at all costs.

Amazotheamazing

Tox56 wrote: »

Even if you replaced him with, hypothetically, McFadden at 12 and BOD at 13?

He's a good player but he shouldn't be kept in the side at all costs.

No player should be kept at all costs, even POC and BOD, but I'd put Earls in the "must start" category.

totallegend

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Tox56 wrote: »

That's the problem with Kidney, even at the expense of others.

You can't leave a guy with Earls' pace out, not until speedsters like Zebo and Conway come through.

Or you could drop Earls and D'Arcy and play McFadden at 12, then you've got a "proper" 12, a proper 13 in BOD and probably the quickest guy in the panel on the pitch.

El_Duderino 09

I remember listening to Gerry Thornley talking about that year Ireland played John Hayes in the Autumn international series (2010 i think). He said the international series is not so much about the blooding of players and trying new combinations as we might like to think. Its about money sure and simple. For both countries to sell the games to TV audiences at home they need the big players to play. By big I mean most well known to both audiences. Thats why John Hayes played and Mike Ross didn't. Thats why BOD will play whether it is in the interest of Irish rugby or not. Pitty but thats what the autumn series is about.

In fairness if that wasn't the way, we would be without most of the older players and it would be pretty boring.

Amazotheamazing

totallegend wrote: »

Or you could drop Earls and D'Arcy and play McFadden at 12, then you've got a "proper" 12, a proper 13 in BOD and probably the quickest guy in the panel on the pitch.

Is McFadden a proper 12? I don't know tbh, I think the time has come to try out guys like Downey, Griffin, Cave etc.

Tox56

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

No player should be kept at all costs, even POC and BOD, but I'd put Earls in the "must start" category.

Earls's case is different, he is so versatile it also means that it's hard for him to nail down one position.

If he tries to nail down 13 (as he says he wants to) but isn't the best 13 available (which is more than possible), you can't just shunt him out to the wing for the sake of keeping him on the pitch because, A) It would be denying full-time wingers their chance, and He probably wouldn't have played there frequently enough to warrant starting over regular wingers.

Laulala coming to Munster will be interesting, as will DK's selection around NZ (although that will probably be less interesting..).

Tox56

Also, Downey is only 1 year younger than D'Arcy, and is far more one-dimensional, his time has passed I feel.