Ospreys v Munster, 18 Dec, KO 15:30pm. SS1.

calvin_zola

Munster v Ospreys, 18 Dec 3:30pm

was a bit close for comfort last week and over there without Paul O'Connell too. Not looking good imo.

Ospreys by about 10 is my prediction.
What ye think lads??

HEINEKEN CUP TABLE
Pos Team P Pts
1 Munster 3 10
2 Toulon 3 8
3 Ospreys 3 6
4 London Irish 3 5

backrow67n8

Is POC definitely out? I thought his hearing wasn't until today??

calvin_zola

well I'd be very surprised if hes in after his display/behaviour the other day

toomevara

calvin_zola wrote: »

well I'd be very surprised if hes in after his display/behaviour the other day

calvin_zola, refrain from further discussion on this topic until the disciplinary committee has delivered its verdict. Otherwise you will be banned.

calvin_zola

toomevara wrote: »

calvin_zola, refrain from further discussion on this topic until the disciplinary committee has delivered its verdict. Otherwise you will be banned.

I don't understand? Is there a problem with something I posted....

be very careful now as I haven't said anything to warrant a ban

toomevara

calvin_zola banned; one week; back seat modding. Also read the forum charter carefully before you post on this forum again.

calvin_zola

calvin_zola wrote: »

I don't understand? Is there a problem with something I posted....

be very careful now as I haven't said anything to warrant a ban

LOL

phog

Should this not read Ospreys V Munster?

Anyway, I think Munster have a decent shot at winning this game, they were by far the most creative last week and poor handling or poor decisions let them down from getting the BP win. A 4 pointer is enough on Saturday, I dont expect Ospreys to be as poor again but I also feel Munster can play much better than what we saw on Sunday.

phog

From Munsterrugby.ie

Munster have named the same squad as that nominated for last weekend's game, for Saturday's return clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.

Share
Paul O'Connell has been included although he faces an ERC Disciplinary Committee tomorrow morning in Dublin arising from the red card incident in the game on Sunday.
O'Connell was with the squad this morning when they trained in the Cork Instutute of Technology alongside the Munster British & Irish squad who are preparing for their encounter with Bristol Rugby at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday.

Munster Squad: Wian du Preez, Damien Varley, Mike Sherry, Darragh Hurley, John Hayes, Tony Buckley, Dave Ryan, Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell, Mick O’Driscoll, Donnacha Ryan, James Coughlan, David Wallace, Alan Quinlan, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy, Tomas O’Leary, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, Paul Warwick, Johne Murphy, Lifeimi Mafi, Tom Gleeson, Scott Deasy, Denis Hurley, Sam Tuitupou, Keith Earls, Doug Howlett.

So D Ryan is called up to cover O'Connell if he recieves a ban.

Also, I see that Munster A are playing in Bristol on Sunday so if anyone is staying over that way for a few days they might squeeze that game in too.

thomond2006

Munster Squad:
Wian du Preez, Damien Varley, Mike Sherry, Darragh Hurley, John Hayes, Tony Buckley, Dave Ryan, Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell, Mick O’Driscoll, Donnacha Ryan, James Coughlan, David Wallace, Alan Quinlan, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy,

Tomas O’Leary, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, Paul Warwick, Johne Murphy, Lifeimi Mafi, Tom Gleeson, Scott Deasy, Denis Hurley, Sam Tuitupou, Keith Earls, Doug Howlett.

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/8407.php

Same again for Munster. Warwick and Earls are slight doubts.

I'd like to see:
Du Preez, Varley, Buckley, DOC, MOD, Coughlan, Wallace, Leamy;
TOL, ROG, Murphy, Tuitupou, Earls, Howlett, Warwick

Bench: Sherry, Hurley, Hayes, Ryan, Quinlan, Stringer, Deasy, Hurley

Otacon

If Earls and Warwick are out [and POC], I'd like to see...

Team:
W. Du Preez
D. Varley
T. Buckley
D. O'Callaghan
M. O'Driscoll
D. Leamy [I think Leamy plays better at 6]
D. Wallace
J. Coughlan [Coughlan is better at 8]
T. O'Leary
R. O'Gara
D. Hurley
S. Tuitupou
T. Gleeson
D. Howlett
J. Murphy

Bench:
M. Sherry
Da. Hurley
J. Hayes
D. Ryan
A. Quinlan
P. Stringer
S. Deasy
L. Mafi

thomond2006

Otacon wrote: »

D. Leamy [I think Leamy plays better at 6]
D. Wallace
J. Coughlan [Coughlan is better at 8]

I agree but they both played well in their respective positions last week. "If it ain't broke..."

Otacon

thomond2006 wrote: »

I agree but they both played well in their respective positions last week. "If it ain't broke..."

True, true

[/Budweiser Ad]

outwest

why is o connell in squad, i taught a red card was a automatic ban 2 game ban.

phog

outwest wrote: »

why is o connell in squad, i taught a red card was a automatic ban 2 game ban.

No the citing hearing could decide the red card was harsh and allow him play.

CouchSmart

It's pretty much a must win game for Munster, as such I'm expecting them to come away with 5 points. Ospreys showed on Sunday that they're still a poor team.

PhatPiggins

True enough Toulons win against LI has really put the pressure on

CouchSmart

Ye, lose on Saturday and they're going to need a win in the south of France. I think Toulon have realised they can qualify.

Digifriendly

Is it not possible that 2 teams from this pool can qualify if enough bonus points are picked up along the way by second placed side?

conf101

Digifriendly wrote: »

Is it not possible that 2 teams from this pool can qualify if enough bonus points are picked up along the way by second placed side?

Of course it is but no-one want's to be relying on qualifying that way because it's dependent on so many other results. Winn the group and be absolutely sure of your place in the QFs!

Digifriendly

conf101 wrote: »

Of course it is but no-one want's to be relying on qualifying that way because it's dependent on so many other results. Winn the group and be absolutely sure of your place in the QFs!

Agree with you but even with Italian side (Aironi) in Ulster/Bath/Biarritz group looks like only one team may qualify unless a lot of bonus points are garnered over remaining stages. Do think Leicester/Perpignan/Scarlets/Treviso group will probably produce 2 Quarter finalists.

sock puppet

Digifriendly wrote: »

Is it not possible that 2 teams from this pool can qualify if enough bonus points are picked up along the way by second placed side?

I doubt it'll make any difference to Munster. Whoever gets through will presumably have to win 4 games and if Munster do that then their bonus points and tries scored should see them top the group (unless Toulon come through with 5 wins).

phog

CouchSmart wrote: »

It's pretty much a must win game for Munster, as such I'm expecting them to come away with 5 points. Ospreys showed on Sunday that they're still a poor team.

About the only thing I agree with you in this post is that Munster must win, where are you getting that we could get 5 points, we didnt achieve it in Thomond so I dont see us achieving it away and regardless of how they played last week Ospreys are still a good side with quality players.

A one point win on Saturday will do me fine.

CouchSmart

The way I see it going is Ospreys will start to panic and play a stupid game. Munster will take advantage of this and pull away after riding the storm.

PhatPiggins

phog wrote: »

About the only thing I agree with you in this post is that Munster must win, where are you getting that we could get 5 points, we didnt achieve it in Thomond so I dont see us achieving it away and regardless of how they played last week Ospreys are still a good side with quality players.

A one point win on Saturday will do me fine.

One point against the Hairsprays and we'll have to win in Toulon.

phog

PhatPiggins wrote: »

One point against the Hairsprays and we'll have to win in Toulon.

I think we need to win our remaining games, cant be looking at another loss and expecting other results to go our way.

thomond2006

We are going to KICK some serious ass at the Liberty, you heard it here first. I'm really confident.

some_dose

thomond2006 wrote: »

We are going some serious ass at the Liberty, you heard it here first. I'm really confident.

Surely you mean that we are going to KICK some serious ass at the Liberty, no? Or get some serious ass (if you're lucky).

PhatPiggins

some_dose wrote: »

Surely you mean that we are going to KICK some serious ass at the Liberty, no? Or get some serious ass (if you're lucky).

Have you been to Swansea? You could replace KICK with GET. I love the Welsh lassies.

thomond2006

some_dose wrote: »

Surely you mean that we are going to KICK some serious ass at the Liberty, no? Or get some serious ass (if you're lucky).

Fixed. :pac:

3/4 of tickets have been sold for this. A record crowd at the Liberty perhaps?

http://www.ospreysrugby.com/news/5000.php

bleg

Ref?

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Fixed. :pac:

3/4 of tickets have been sold for this. A record crowd at the Liberty perhaps?

http://www.ospreysrugby.com/news/5000.php

Pre recession days and this stadium would be full and the majority would be in red.

Scott Johnson is urging Ospreys supporters to put their best foot forward, cover themselves in black and try and emulate the passion they experienced in a sold out Thomond Park Stadium last Saturday.

imagine an away game looking and sounding like a home game

phog

bleg wrote: »

Ref?

Poite

bleg

phog wrote: »

Poite

Can we ever not have a **** French ref?

Otacon

It's shocking that when I hear some referee's names, my confidence in the result is diminished.

PhatPiggins

Poite is an extremely capable ref, Munster more then anyone know how to work the officials and anyway woe's they've suffered have been self induced.

If POC manages to play he should wear a gag for the match. Some of the stuff he's been saying to the french officials the past 18 months has been beyond stupid.

phog

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Poite is an extremely capable ref, Munster more then anyone know how to work the officials and anyway woe's they've suffered have been self induced.

If POC manages to play he should wear a gag for the match. Some of the stuff he's been saying to the french officials the past 18 months has been beyond stupid.

I would 100% disagree.

Poite is up there with James Jones and the Changleng brothers for being poor officials, one thing getting something wrong but when teams aren't sure why penalties are being awarded then I blame the official.

wixfjord

Twitter saying 4 weeks for POC.

cython

wixfjord wrote: »

Twitter saying 4 weeks for POC.

As are RTE

stejkenny

This is going to be very difficult for Munster; Poite is very hard on weak scrums which Munster have;

Ospreys played a really underclass game last week and were quite clearly only playing for a bonus point for the whole game; They showed 0 ambition for most of the game imo. They still could have a nicked a win at the end dspite playing rubbish as Munster seemed to be quite happy to play Santa Claus with possession. Still its all up for grabs and by no means an easy game for Munster.

Lose this one and Munster will need to win in France; which we all know they are capable off but will still be a huge ask.

[Jackass]

lol at poc ban. deserved 10 minutes, got 4 weeks ... wtf??

As for game, I just can't back Ospreys in a big European game. Bonus point win for Munster.

phog

[Jackass] wrote: »

As for game, I just can't back Ospreys in a big European game. Bonus point win for Munster.

I love your confidence, can I have some of what you're on?

Have you seen the forecast for Swansea, it'll be hard enough to play rugby not to mind trying to score 4 tries. Who'd have thought Leinster would have lost to them in the final in their own back yard last year after beaten them twice in the pool games.

I'd take a one point win but I think we'll be lucky to come away with a losing BP.

phog

Good piece in today's Examiner.

O’Callaghan: It’s only half-time
By Barry Coughlan
Friday, December 17, 2010

THE Ospreys have been warned not to underestimate what’s coming their way at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, even allowing for the absence of Munster’s talisman Paul O’Connell.
Donncha O’Callaghan will be missing his second row partner again – O’Connell has been banned for four weeks to January 10 – but the seasoned second rower won’t be in the least bit troubled at packing down again with his less experienced international colleague Mick O’Driscoll.

Indeed, O’Callaghan this week pointed out that O’Driscoll is one of a few players in the squad who unwinds spending hours analysing how the provincial side can get better!

Undoubtedly, the coaching team will have detailed video evidence of what it’s going to take for Munster to come up trumps away from home this weekend. But O’Callaghan insisted that O’Driscoll would have a huge say in how to go about beating the ever improving Welsh outfit.

"We have two guys in particular who are fairly crazy about the line outs, Micko and Paulie, and they’ll go through all the footage to see if anything needs to be fixed, or to study things that might have been picked up by the cameras that we will have to deal with.

"We go through a lot of line out plays; in general we probably have a library of 80 line-out calls, but the lads will only pick those they feel are right for this game. They do that very well; I spend a bit of time on the computers but these guys are crazy for going through every move and trying to work out how and why the ball can be won in different areas.

"Then you have Quinny (Alan Quinlan) who is experienced in this area as well; it’s a part of the game we’ve always been keen to work on, it’s probably going back to when John Langford came in to ensure that our line-out worked and fired well," said O’Callaghan.

Anyone worried about Munster’s failure to hammer the Ospreys last week should think again, said O’Callaghan, who added that he was satisfied with the win and not worried that it wasn’t a bonus point advantage.

"The win? Spot on, it was the result we needed at home and that’s all we were looking for against a very good team. Actually, we were delighted with it; with 20 minutes to go at Thomond Park, you’re always thinking whether you can get a little bit more (like a bonus point win) but then with Paulie being sent off we had to refocus and just get across the line.

"We feel in this group that only one team will get out of it, so it’s about winning your home games and looking to go on the road and do something special; we’re exactly where we thought we would be, we’re where we thought this group would fold out and we’re exactly where we love being.

"The supporters, again, were brilliant. With a 1 o’clock Sunday kick off there could have been a terrible atmosphere but it was incredible; I think the pressure they put the referee and touch-judges under was incredible.

"People go on about the 16th man, well it was exactly that on Sunday and we’re grateful."

He also noted that the Ospreys now look to be a very different side from even a couple of years ago.

"Yeah, they’re far more galvanised, they have quality players and now play very much as a team, as a quality team, so there has been a major move upwards for them."

But O’Callaghan’s focus is on himself and within the Munster camp, acknowledging that these back-to-back fixtures don’t allow for too much assessment of the opposition.

"It’s probably what makes this round (4) of the European Cup special. There is the little bit of edge to it; there will be afters from last week and it really is only half time. We’ve had our 80 minutes at home and now have to do it away as well."

Munster’s experience of tackling and sometimes beating the biggest and best of Europe’s clubs away from home could, however, stand to them.

"No doubt, it was a relief to get the home leg of this out of the way because, essentially, you have to win at home; you don’t have a hope of advancing otherwise.

"That’s done now and it’s time to refocus to see what we can get. We have to pick up a result (away) at some stage and this is it; like the last ten minutes last week it is really backs to the wall stuff, we simply have to get a result (away) in the next few weeks. Better to start now, so we’ll see how we go Saturday."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, December 17, 2010

wixfjord

Spreys team:
Moved Bowe inside and dropped Bishop for Walker. Good move imo, the backs were ****e last week.

15 Barry Davies

14 Nikki Walker

13 Tommy Bowe

12 James Hook

11 Richard Fussell

10 Dan Biggar

9 Mike Phillips

1 Paul James

2 Richard Hibbard

3 Adam Jones

4 Ryan Jones

5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)

6 Jerry Collins

7 Marty Holah

8 Jonathan Thomas

Replacements

16 Mefin Davies

17 Duncan Jones

18 Craig Mitchell

19 Ian Gough

20 Justin Tipuric

21 Jamie Nutbrown

22 Sonny Parker

23 Andrew Bishop

thomond2006

Munster:
P Warwick, D Howlett, K Earls, S Tuitupou, J Murphy, R O'Gara, T O'Leary, W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, J Coughlan, D Wallace, D Leamy capt.

Replacements: M Sherry, D Hurley, J Hayes, D Ryan, A Quinlan, P Stringer, L Mafi, D Hurley.

Only change is Ryan for POC on the bench.

OSPREYS:

15 Barry Davies
14 Nikki Walker
13 Tommy Bowe
12 James Hook
11 Richard Fussell
10 Dan Biggar
9 Mike Phillips

1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ryan Jones
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah
8 Jonathan Thomas

Replacements
16 Mefin Davies
17 Duncan Jones
18 Craig Mitchell
19 Ian Gough
20 Justin Tipuric
21 Jamie Nutbrown
22 Sonny Parker
23 Andrew Bishop

Bowe moves to 13 with Bishop dropped to the bench, Nikki Walker starts on the wing. Not surprised at that, the centres were muck in attack last week.

irishbucsfan

phog wrote: »

Have you seen the forecast for Swansea, it'll be hard enough to play rugby not to mind trying to score 4 tries. Who'd have thought Leinster would have lost to them in the final in their own back yard last year after beaten them twice in the pool games.

A lot of people. It was the Leinster 3rd team considering all the injuries they had. Richardt Strauss started in the back row!


Munster's chances here depend on which Ospreys team come out to play. Osprey's are such a great team on paper that they're always a danger.

Great to see Bowe in the centre. Cheers Ospreys for developing him for Ireland

phog

irishbucsfan wrote: »

A lot of people. It was the Leinster 3rd team considering all the injuries they had. Richardt Strauss started in the back row!

Not according to here or here.

PhatPiggins

phog wrote: »

Not according to here or here.

Want to keep this one about the game tomorrow?

irishbucsfan

phog wrote: »

Not according to here or here.

Kev McLaughlin went off immediately, iirc.

phog

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Want to keep this one about the game tomorrow?

It is and I was merely pointing out that I cant see where someone has the confidence to say that Munster should win this game with a BP, especially taking into account the weather and it's a home game for the Os.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Kev McLaughlin went off immediately, iirc.

He certainly got injured early but in predicting a score before a game things like cant be known, I was saying prior to the game how many Leinster fans thought Leinster would lose to the Ospreys.