Biarritz Olympique vs Munster,Sunday 2 May 3:15pm SS2.*Mod Warning Post #1*

pappyodaniel

*Mod Warning*
Great weekend in prospect, so lets enjoy it. Bear in mind that each of the specific match threads are just that, match threads, and not occasions for inter-pro crap. Keep them OT. There will be zero-tolerance for Inter-pro rubbish on all these threads.

Well seeing as no-one else wants to do it I'll get the ball rolling (though it's not gonna be as shiny or informative as it should be). The First XV for Munster hasn't been announced yet, but the squad has---
-- Marcus Horan, Tony Buckley, Julien Brugnaut, John Hayes, Damien Varley, Jerry Flannery, Mick O'Driscoll, Billy Holland, Donncha O'Callaghan, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Nick Williams, James Coughlan, Niall Ronan, Tomas O'Leary, Peter Stringer, Ronan O'Gara, Paul Warwick, Lifeimi Mafi, Jean de Villiers, Tom Gleeson, Doug Howlett, Denis Hurley, Ian Dowling, Keith Earls, Scott Deasy.

Probable
1.Horan
2.Flannery
3.Hayes
4.DOC
5.MOD
6.Quinlan
7.Wallace
8.Coughlan (I'd prefer to see Williams but he could make an impact as a sub)

9.TOL
10.ROG
11.Dowling (Mafi would be my choice though)
12.JdV
13.Earls (lets hope he's fully fit)
14.Howlett (ditto)
15.Warwick

16.Varley
17.Buckley (another impact sub, deserves at least 15mins)
18.Brugnaut
19.Ronan
20.Williams
21.Stringer
22.Hurley
23.Mafi

BIARRITZ
(Possible):
15.I Balshaw
14.T Ngwenya
13.A Mignardi
12. K Hunt
11. I Bolakoro
10. J Peyrelongue
9. D Yachvili
1. F Barcella
2. B August
3.C Johnstone
4. J Thion
5. M Carizza
6. W Lauret
7. F Faure
8. I Harinordoquy.

thomond2006

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/heineken/news/2385700.htm

The second semifinal in this year's Heineken Cup is also a France-Ireland affair, but this match is being played in San Sebastian, Spain!

The match is a repeat of the 2006 final, where Munster were able to narrowly beat 23-19 at the Millennium Stadium.

Having finished seventh in a disappointing season in the Top 14, Biarritz seem to have played much of their best rugby in the Heineken Cup, with an outstanding display to beat a strong Ospreys team 29-28 in the quarterfinals. With nothing else left to play for the French club will go all out for the victory on Sunday.

Biarritz are also the only of the three semifinalist who are yet to lift the trophy and will be relying on the massive Basque support they enjoy in San Sebastian.

Biarritz captain Jerome Thion is under no illusions about how tough Munster are going to be to beat, but feels his side will be more than ready for anything the Irish throw at them.

"Their main goal is to win the Heineken Cup and our encounters are always huge battles involving a very intense and physical contest. They are used to these major showpiece occasions and have been crowned European champions twice, so we are certainly up against one of the top European squads," Thion said.

"But there is absolutely no feeling of an inferiority complex on our part and we have beaten them in the past, even though it was five years ago. So now we have the chance to meet them again and we know we can do as well as them in our quest for the Heineken Cup - the game promises to be a massive clash."

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio has Munster as the favourites for the match given their strong lineup and history of being able to win away from home.

"I think they [Biarritz] can count themselves a little bit fortunate to still be in the competition, they are not in great form in the Top 14. You just feel that Ospreys had an opportunity to really beat them, but they didn't take it, Dallaglio said.

"Munster have all the pedigree, they have been here and done it so many times before. They [Munster] don't seem to worry too much about where they play."

One of the major talking points leading into the game is that both sides have suffered a major set back, with the hero of the quarterfinal Damien Traille missing through injury for Biarritz, and stalwart captain Paul O'Connell who hasn't recovered from a groin strain absent from the Munster ranks.

Biarritz will be breathing a sigh of relief that No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy has recovered from injury in time to be considered for the match as he plays such a big role from the back of the scrum and is always a menace on attack.

Date: Sunday, May 2
Venue: Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian
Kick-off: 16.15 (14.15 GMT)
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees: Chris White (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO: Daniel Irazoqui (France), Graham Hughes (England)

I'm confident that Munster can win this game. Against Ospreys, Biarritz's midfield defence looked tame and Traille is a massive loss.

Hopefully Iain Balshaw will retain his spot at fullback. No prizes for guessing what ROG is going to do then. He's definitely a weaklink that Munster can exploit.

Whoever is opposite this lad on the wing will have fun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBHjSnPfEyY

The likes of Barcella, Harinordoquy, Yachvili and Ngwenya scare me but I think Munster have enough quality to do the business. Munster by less than 7.

I'd like to see:

Horan
Flannery
Hayes
DOC
MOD
Quinlan
Wallace
Williams (Tough on Coughlan, but Williams' performances have been so good when he had a run of games, brilliant link-up player. Won't happen though.)
TOL (please oh please some consistency)
ROG
Mafi
JdV
Earls
Howlett
Warwick

Varley
Buckley
Brugnaut
Holland
Coughlan
Stringer
Deasy
Hurley

PhatPiggins

That Biarritz backline is chock full of hit and miss tacklers

pappyodaniel

Yours is better.

Aidric

Cannae wait for this on Sunday. I fancy Munster by a 5-7 spread.

outwest

i fancy munster to win by 10, jdv will show his class,

phog

This is going to be brill - two match threads and a TV to keep an eye on, hope I don't miss anything.:D

toomevara

Merged, thanks Thomond, Pappy...nice jobs both...

spoon

I recon the munster team will be pretty much teh same as above. Who gets the wing spot and who gets into the back row between Coughlan and Williams are the only places for contention, by the looks of it.


Personally, i'd like to see Mafi on the wing, he was punching holes in the defense against Ospreys every time he got hands on the ball. However Hurley seems to be near match fitness again, and he has been brilliant all season for us and made imediate impact when he got on the pitch last week.

As for for the back row. I'd personnally prefer to see Williams get the spot, he has great hands and when his offloads are sticking, he releases people brillianty. Coughlan has huge work rate though and has been a huge find since he started getting back to back games. Either way, both are strong players and in great form so i'm not too worried who starts between them.

bleg

Hurley at 11 for me.

buck65

Coughlan must start has done little wrong at 8. Williams is a good imoact player though at 6 or 8.

thomond2006

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/7499.php

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/31_61.php

Munster: P Warwick; D Howlett, K Earls, J de Villiers, I Dowling; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll; A Quinlan, D Wallace, J Coughlan.

Replacements: D Varley, J Brugnaut, T Buckley, N Williams, N Ronan, P Stringer, L Mafi, S Deasy

Dowling ahead of Mafi on the wing and Hurley not in the 23 is a bad joke. He must be injured...

Biarritz:
15. Iain Balshaw, 14. Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13. Arnaud Mignardi, 12. Ayoola Erinle, 11. Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, 10. Karmichael Hunt, 9. Dimitri Yachvili,
1. Eduard Coetzee, 2. Benoit August, 3. Campbell Johnstone, 4. Jérôme Thion, 5. Trevor Hall, 6. Magnus Lund, 7. Wenceslas Lauret, 8. Imanol Harinordoquy,

16. Romain Terrain, 17. Fabien Barcella, 18. Rémy Hugues, 19. Manuel Carizza, 20. Florian Faure, 21. Valentin Courrent, 22. Julien Peyrelongue, 23. Philippe Bidabe,

Karmichael Hunt at 10 is interesting, didn't know he played there.

Risteard

Dowling v Ngwenye.:o

Good to see Earls fit. Hunt at 10? Not often a leaguie plays there, he's played there before for Biarritz I think, but still a bit unusual.

bleg

Risteard wrote: »

Dowling v Ngwenye.:o

Hurley must be injured...

Podge_irl

Risteard wrote: »

Dowling v Ngwenye.:o

At least Dowling knows he's slower than Ngwenya and won't offer up the outside to him on any occasion (of course that will leave other options open to him).

Stev_o

Hunt at 10 should be interesting, ridiculously talented bloke with pace to burn id fancy his chances to back himself off a 5m scrum between ROG and DeVillers.

Really i want this to be a cracker but i know it's going to go down one route and one route only, the aerial one. One can only dream though!

wixfjord

Some great match ups here! Erinle is obviously there to stop De Villers and run at ROG. Ngwenya on Dowling should be interesting to say the least! The duel between O Leary and Yachvilli could be vital and Harinordonkey and Quinlan will be epic (not in direct comp i know but Quinny will be singling him out).

Anyone know what K Hunts (tee hee hee) kicking from hand is like?

PhatPiggins

15. Iain Balshaw, 14. Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13. Arnaud Mignardi, 12. Ayoola Erinle, 11. Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, 10. Karmichael Hunt, 9. Dimitri Yachvili,

Very happy with the Halem Globe Trotteresque backline Biarritz have named. They're capable of scoring 20 and conceding 30. Hunt is gash at 10, I dont think he's up to much at centre either.

wixfjord

PhatPiggins wrote: »

15. Iain Balshaw, 14. Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13. Arnaud Mignardi, 12. Ayoola Erinle, 11. Jean-Baptiste Gobelet, 10. Karmichael Hunt, 9. Dimitri Yachvili,

Very happy with the Halem Globe Trotteresque backline Biarritz have named. They're capable of scoring 20 and conceding 30. Hunt is gash at 10, I dont think he's up to much at centre either.

Aye but this is to match their HUGE pack. Also the number 12 isnt exactely Carlos Spencer either!!
First kick ROG gets will be sent straight down Balshaws throat no doubts about that!
Will be interesting to see whether Biarritz use their scrum and maul to great effect, if they can win this Yachvilli is very good at pinging the corners. Can only see Munster drawing parity which might help the Biarritz backline if ROG is on the backfoot. Youd have to say that Ngwenya one on one with any of Munsters back three would be very dangerous aswell.

PhatPiggins

Ayoola Erinle is great at running at speed in straight lines but is a very suspectible to changes in angles. DeVilliers matchs up up very well against physical one up hitters, think Downey,Nonu and so on, and I think Earls will embarass Erinle on a few occassions. Their pack like all top 8 French teams is big but its no better then Perpignans, Northamptons or Clermonts and we've always out thought the likes of them.

wixfjord

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Ayoola Erinle is great at running at speed in straight lines but is a very suspectible to changes in angles. DeVilliers matchs up up very well against physical one up hitters, think Downey,Nonu and so on, and I think Earls will embarass Erinle on a few occassions. Their pack like all top 8 French teams is big but its no better then Perpignans, Northamptons or Clermonts and we've always out thought the likes of them.

But none of them have had an 8 as good as Biarritz or a playmaker as good.
I think Munster will win, but Biarritz are certainly more than a match in crucial areas like scrum lineout and maul, and have imo the best 9 in the world atm and the quickest winger in the world too. Should be a great game.

PhatPiggins

wixfjord wrote: »

But none of them have had an 8 as good as Biarritz or a playmaker as good.
I think Munster will win, but Biarritz are certainly more than a match in crucial areas like scrum lineout and maul, and have imo the best 9 in the world atm and the quickest winger in the world too. Should be a great game.

Are you referring to Harinordoquy when you say an 8 or the pack? If its the former I agree but as a unit Munster have played better packs this season.

wixfjord

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Are you referring to Harinordoquy when you say an 8 or the pack? If its the former I agree but as a unit Munster have played better packs this season.

No I meant Harinordoquy.
Barcella on the bench is also one of the best impact subs on any bench in the comp this weekend.

PhatPiggins

wixfjord wrote: »

No I meant Harinordoquy.
Barcella on the bench is also one of the best impact subs on any bench in the comp this weekend.

Its a huge plus that he is too. The guy is an absolute beast. When you think of the damage his French stand in Domingo did in the 6N's :eek:
France really have strength at loose head.

pappyodaniel

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Its a huge plus that he is too. The guy is an absolute beast. When you think of the damage his French stand in Domingo did in the 6N's :eek:
France really have strength at loose head.

With Buckley and Williams on the bench, Munster have 2 wrecking balls also. I think this game is gonna be a cracker. Biarritz/Ospreys game was very high scoring, they are dangerous in attack and their defence isn't water-tight. So in perfect (well, maybe for Biarritz) conditions, this game can be suited to running rugby. I expect players like Warwick, Earls and O'Leary for Munster to have key roles, for Biarritz it would be the usual suspects like N'Gwenya, Yachvilli and Harinorduquy. Also, O'Gara has to test Balshaw.

McGahan is another man with a BIG role to play. He has to use his bench, Buckley, Brugnaut, Williams and Mafi will have to figure.

Risteard

Apparently Dowling and Howlett have had to pull out and have been replaced by Mafi and Hurley.

phog

TV 3 have announced that Dowling and Howlett are out with Mafi and Hurley taking their places, no announcement on the replacements for the bench spots

Podge_irl

Awfully odd that they've pulled out only hours after the announcement.

That's a big loss to Munster though. Both wings being out won't help their preparations.

pappyodaniel

Dowling and Howlett out? :eek:

I secretly wanted to see Mafi play 11 anyway, but the downside to this is our bench will be understrength. Howlett is definately a big loss.

toomevara

pappyodaniel wrote: »

Dowling and Howlett out? :eek:

Christ on a bike....

ScrubsfanChris

Who's going to be called up to the bench, Manning? Zebo?

Podge_irl

Gleeson

Otacon

toomevara wrote: »

Christ on a bike....

+1

Not nearly as bad as Leinster have it but still!

ScrubsfanChris

Podge_irl wrote: »

Gleeson

Ya, its confirmed:
http://munsterrugby.ie/news/7503.php

TheTMO

Risteard wrote: »

Apparently Dowling and Howlett have had to pull out and have been replaced by Mafi and Hurley.

I think this could be a blessing in disguise for Munster. Make no mistake about it Howlett is a loss but Hurley deserved to be there ahead of Dowling and Mafi looks to be a serious threat on the wing, I reckon he will punch holes in that Biarritz backline.

Aidric

Howlett is a big blow. Mafi & Hurley aren't bad deputies all the same. Bad news but not fatal.

TheTMO

Aidric wrote: »

Howlett is a big blow. Mafi & Hurley aren't bad deputies all the same. Bad news but not fatal.

Howlett and Mafi starting with Hurley on the bench would of been ideal. If Mafi can strengthen his kicking then I think he could become an incredible winger. Hopefully Felix Jones recovers well from his injury, he could of seen a lot of gametime this season.

Crash

Aidric wrote: »

Howlett is a big blow. Mafi & Hurley aren't bad deputies all the same. Bad news but not fatal.

yeah, I don't think yee suffer in the first 15, its the bench impact in the backs thats lost a bit for Munster there, so depending on how the game goes, thats the factor.

Junior

I know this might sound a bit daft, but anyone got a weather report for what it's going to be like over there on Sunday ?

Aidric

Junior wrote: »

I know this might sound a bit daft, but anyone got a weather report for what it's going to be like over there on Sunday ?

Heavy rain showers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/2862

castie

That will do nicely.

Crash

Typical - sunny as hell in Connacht, lashing in Biarritz. strange weather.

Aidric

Don't think it will suit either side tbh.

lawrencesummers

there is the possability of another change to the starting team before sunday seemingly

PhatPiggins

TheTMO wrote: »

I think this could be a blessing in disguise for Munster. Make no mistake about it Howlett is a loss but Hurley deserved to be there ahead of Dowling and Mafi looks to be a serious threat on the wing, I reckon he will punch holes in that Biarritz backline.

And he would have been if he was fully fit but he's not and I cant see him playing a full game which could leave us in bother.

castie

lawrencesummers wrote: »

there is the possability of another change to the starting team before sunday seemingly

Any details?

ANTONIOFELLINI

heading to Biarritz in few hours entirely confident despite the late changes!!! Munster Abu!!!!:p

lawrencesummers

castie wrote: »

Any details?

not yet

phog

lawrencesummers wrote: »

there is the possability of another change to the starting team before sunday seemingly

lawrencesummers wrote: »

not yet

Posts like these are really annoying, they're so juvenile really. The "I know something that you dont and I cant tell you". Why bother with the hint of knowledge if you cant say, if it happens Munster will announce it like they did yesterday, if it doesn't happen then your source was wrong?

lawrencesummers

phog wrote: »

Posts like these are really annoying, they're so juvenile really. The "I know something that you dont and I cant tell you". Why bother with the hint of knowledge if you cant say, if it happens Munster will announce it like they did yesterday, if it doesn't happen then your source was wrong?

i would have said the name if i knew, it seems warwick might not start not, but its not confirmed

pappyodaniel

lawrencesummers wrote: »

i would have said the name if i knew, it seems warwick might not start not, but its not confirmed

Going by some of the chat on munsterfans, Warwick might be out, someting to do with a family illness, i hope it's bull****....i really do. http://www.munsterfans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=25422&TPN=4