Alan Quinlan Announces Retirement

TheRevolution · 31-03-2011 2:07pm #1

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/munster-legend-quinlan-to-call-it-a-day-499392.html

My fondest memory is his try against Argentina. However I can't say I am too sorry to see him go, as a rugby fan I've had serious qualms about some of his actions on the pitch over the years. I think his retirement was to be expected but still big news all the same.

Quint2010 · 31-03-2011 2:27pm

Good player-but far too mouthy.

ormond lad · 31-03-2011 2:29pm

A legend of the game and a great servant to Munster Rugby, Best of luck Quinnie

smurphy29 · 31-03-2011 2:32pm

A really annoying player who I don't think too many outside Munster will be terribly unhappy to see the back of, but he was a valuable competitor and probably a bit underrated as a footballer - for all his mouthiness, non-binding at scrums, cheeky shirt-pulls and general irritation levels, he was a more skilful player than was given credit for.

JB81 · 31-03-2011 2:35pm

Best of luck, good player, good servant for club and country

MIRMIR82 · 31-03-2011 2:37pm

A brilliant player - was waiting for it tho. He has some medals in the cabinet!!

LeeroyJones · 31-03-2011 2:38pm

smurphy29 wrote: »

A really annoying player who I don't think too many outside Munster will be terribly unhappy to see the back of, but he was a valuable competitor and probably a bit underrated as a footballer - for all his mouthiness, non-binding at scrums, cheeky shirt-pulls and general irritation levels, he was a more skilful player than was given credit for.

I agree, but isn't that the ultimate compliment you can pay a back rower! Worth more than just 27 caps - which is still a great achievement but was unfortunate to play in a time when Ireland have had backrows aplenty.

irishbucsfan · 31-03-2011 2:40pm

Shame to see him go. Was great to watch him play, as long as it wasn't againt Leinster!

john kinsella · 31-03-2011 2:40pm

Excellent player, as said above to be considered a b*llox by teams that play against you for a backrow is a complement. He was up there with the best in the world at it too!
He was and is a terrific player and a great servant to Irish and Munster rugby. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

David900 · 31-03-2011 2:42pm

As a Leinster supporter, I for one am not sorry to see the back of him. I hoped he would have kept going. I think his plan of a year in Connacht would have been great even next year, where he could have contributed a lot to the team as a player and coach. I loved his abrasive style of play and his I'd rate him as a much better player than his 27 international caps - although that is not to be sneezed at.

LK_Dave · 31-03-2011 2:42pm

All the best for the future and thanks for the memories Quinny, you’re a legend.

I'll bet there will be more than a few referees exhaling a collective sigh of relief!!

PhatPiggins · 31-03-2011 2:44pm

Achieved a lot but always seemed to get injured or banned at exactly the wrong time.

He's book is a welcome break from the autobiographical tripe we've been subject to by retired players for the last decade

smurphy29 · 31-03-2011 2:45pm

LeeroyJones wrote: »

I agree, but isn't that the ultimate compliment you can pay a back rower! Worth more than just 27 caps - which is still a great achievement but was unfortunate to play in a time when Ireland have had backrows aplenty.

Agreed! It may not have read like it, but I mean all of that in the best possible way.

Otacon · 31-03-2011 3:06pm

Great player, the best at what he did.

Was at the Barbarians v. Munster game where he got a standing ovation going off. Brilliant moment to witness.

Hope he keeps up the punditry. It was great during the Six Nations, having the Other Audio option. I could listen to Quinnie instead of Brian Moore!

GerM · 31-03-2011 3:13pm

As a Leinster fan the highest compliment I can pay him is thus:
THANK F*CK WE NEVER HAVE TO FACE THAT IRRITATING GIT AGAIN!

A great player. People will remember what an irritance and wind up merchant he was on the pitch but he possessed a skill set that was one of the top in the country for a back row player. I recall he played no. 8 about 2 or 3 years ago and punted a sumptuous cross kick for a try which no other back row player would have done. He was also an excellent line out operator and a great source of ball for Munster. Skillful, versatile and a terrific work rate all contributed to a good career. If he had kept his head in one or two major appearances (away to NZ when winning and getting yellow carded and the Cullen incident) he would have been far more decorated and had an honour list befitting of his ability.

thomond2006 · 31-03-2011 3:28pm

freyners · 31-03-2011 3:31pm

sorry to see him go...quinny was one of my favourite munster players...
will be forever be remembered by irish fans for that try v argentina, and by opposition players as one of the most irritating players to come up against

especially by this man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0EwqZ5i0Mg

David900 · 31-03-2011 3:32pm

GerM wrote: »

As a Leinster fan the highest compliment I can pay him is thus:
THANK F*CK WE NEVER HAVE TO FACE THAT IRRITATING GIT AGAIN!

A great player. People will remember what an irritance and wind up merchant he was on the pitch but he possessed a skill set that was one of the top in the country for a back row player. I recall he played no. 8 about 2 or 3 years ago and punted a sumptuous cross kick for a try which no other back row player would have done. He was also an excellent line out operator and a great source of ball for Munster. Skillful, versatile and a terrific work rate all contributed to a good career. If he had kept his head in one or two major appearances (away to NZ when winning and getting yellow carded and the Cullen incident) he would have been far more decorated and had an honour list befitting of his ability.

I really don't think thats an indictment on him, really don't think it was intentional. It wasn't a Burger moment on Fitzgerald

GerM · 31-03-2011 3:35pm

David900 wrote: »

I really don't think thats an indictment on him, really don't think it was intentional.

No, I don't think it was either. But it was just reckless in a very high profile game. He just should have known better. Cost him what would have been the highlight of his career no doubt.

JGEP · 31-03-2011 3:46pm

Absolute legend, would've earned more caps (and deservedly so) if EO'S didn't have a man crush on Simon Easterby.

pappyodaniel · 31-03-2011 3:57pm

Was expected. Can we have have Dominic Ryan now please?

Podge_irl · 31-03-2011 3:59pm

JGEP wrote: »

Absolute legend, would've earned more caps (and deservedly so) if EO'S didn't have a man crush on Simon Easterby.

Quinlan was his own worst enemy in that regard. Great player, but when you play on the line as much as he does you're bound to cross it occasionally, and he just did that a bit too often.

Cpt_Blackbeard · 31-03-2011 4:07pm

Its an insult to the man that he only has 27 international caps.

He is a true legend of Munster Rugby and was a vital part of one of a truly great backrow in Quinny, Axel & Wally.

Hope he tries his hand at coaching as he has unbelievable knowledge to pass on.

durkadurka · 31-03-2011 4:16pm

Munseter - Leinster wont be the same without him.

danthefan · 31-03-2011 4:19pm

GerM wrote: »

As a Leinster fan the highest compliment I can pay him is thus:
THANK F*CK WE NEVER HAVE TO FACE THAT IRRITATING GIT AGAIN!

As a Leinster fan I'd much rather he played tomorrow, he's been completely blown off the park in the last few Leinster/Munster games.

[Jackass] · 31-03-2011 4:48pm

Delighted to see him go.

I suppose, as a Leinster fan, that's the best compliment I can pay him.

If he was a Leinster man I've no doubt I would have loved him.

phog · 31-03-2011 5:05pm

There aren't many players I'd call legend to but without doubt Quinny is one of them, he has given 100% to club, province and country. I saw him play for Shannon, Munster, Ireland and the Baa-Baas, his try against the Pumas in the W/C is probably my favourite moment of his career.

It's a pity that he lost out in not traveling with the Lions as he was on the panel on merit.

Best wishes Quinny and thanks for the memories.

Dr.Evil · 31-03-2011 5:14pm

Somewhere, Felipe Contepomi breathes a sigh relief..

Haruki · 31-03-2011 5:23pm

27 international caps:eek: shockingly low amount for someone who was a great player.

GerM · 31-03-2011 5:34pm

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

Its an insult to the man that he only has 27 international caps.

In fairness, a significant reason he didn't was his own poor discipline. His last cap resulted in him serving a suspension for stamping. His previous appearance against NZ saw him come on and receive a yellow card almost immediately for a stamp also. In international matches, coaches struggle to give games to those they have a discipline concern over. It seems to me that Quinland was rated but EOS just didn't have faith in him to keep his a lot of the time. Injury obviously was a massive issue throughout his career too. His time coincided with some other fantastic back row players unfortunately for him. Simon Easterby was a test Lion and fantastic at slowing ball down without being penalised. He was always going to struggle to get in ahead of him. In another era, he would have been first choice for 8 or 9 years.

CatFromHue · 31-03-2011 6:27pm

getting 27 caps in an era with players like wallace, foley, miller, costello, gleeson, best, and o connor all going for the back row is a pretty good achievement in my opinion. then there was also leamy and heaslip that came along latter!

he was and still is a very good player, his success with both shannon and munster have showed this so many times. it was unfortunate for him and munster that he was injured this season.

i never cared for his niggly play though. the clip above where he jumps around like a clown after pelous kicks him really irritates me. there is no doubt he had skills but if he'd concentrated on them as opposed to being a niggily dope, he could have been much more.

twinytwo · 31-03-2011 6:36pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

getting 27 caps in an era with players like wallace, foley, miller, costello, gleeson, best, and o connor all going for the back row is a pretty good achievement in my opinion. then there was also leamy and heaslip that came along latter!

he was and still is a very good player, his success with both shannon and munster have showed this so many times. it was unfortunate for him and munster that he was injured this season.

i never cared for his niggly play though. the clip above where he jumps around like a clown after pelous kicks him really irritates me. there is no doubt he had skills but if he'd concentrated on them as opposed to being a niggily dope, he could have been much more.

haters will always hate

Quinny was simply the man. full stop.

Thomond Park will never be the same

LeeroyJones · 31-03-2011 6:59pm

Here's a few more 'cute' bits in the first half of the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPPtc-tgJxc

Perhaps it's unfair to keep coming back to this aspect of his game as he was a terrific player even with this side of his game aside.

As a Leinster fan, maybe it's reasonable to give out about this side to his game, but I would be a hypocrite because if one of the Leinster lads does something similar on Saturday I will love it! It's one of those things in sport that will always be there, horrible if it goes against you, but brilliant if it goes for you!

itsallaboutheL · 31-03-2011 7:06pm

phog wrote: »

That's not legal.

lol.

LuckyGent88 · 31-03-2011 7:07pm

Absolute legend and will be badly mised by Munster and the Thomand park crowd.

wixfjord · 31-03-2011 7:15pm

Two schools of thought on quinnie. I'm of the latter.
Dirty cheating diving, albeit talented type IMO.
Think that kick from pelous summed it up, and if that was a French player we'd allbe castigating him.
Never really backed it up against Leinster.
I'm happy to see him go tbh.
Don't think he has the intelligence to make a pundit.

totallegend · 31-03-2011 7:17pm

JGEP wrote: »

Absolute legend, would've earned more caps (and deservedly so) if EO'S didn't have a man crush on Simon Easterby.

Quinlan is/was a great player, but Easterby was better.

Ill always remember being in Adelaide when he went over against Argentina. Pity he had so many injuries.

sioda · 31-03-2011 7:27pm

Quinny youve given us all great memories. You ll be sorely missed by players fans but not by refs or Dr Fil

phog · 31-03-2011 8:01pm

wixfjord wrote: »

Two schools of thought on quinnie. I'm of the latter.
Dirty cheating diving, albeit talented type IMO.
Think that kick from pelous summed it up, and if that was a French player we'd allbe castigating him.
Never really backed it up against Leinster.
I'm happy to see him go tbh.
Don't think he has the intelligence to make a pundit.

I've seen some fair few digs at players but this is surely the lowest of the low. Do you really know the guy to be making statements like that.

wixfjord · 31-03-2011 8:24pm

Someone should probably think of the children then!

The quinny fans are all getting in on the act with the thanks tho I see :P

Different rules for different players lads?

Hyperbullet · 31-03-2011 8:36pm

wixfjord wrote: »

Someone should probably think of the children then!

The quinny fans are all getting in on the act with the thanks tho I see :P

Different rules for different players lads?

Do you know Quinlan personally to post a dig at his intelligence levels? If not, then you could have left it at the constructive part of your argument about his actions on the pitch which are plain for us all to see and have an opinion on.

wixfjord · 31-03-2011 8:45pm

Hyperbullet wrote: »

Do you know Quinlan personally to post a dig at his intelligence levels? If not, then you could have left it at the constructive part of your argument about his actions on the pitch which are plain for us all to see and have an opinion on.

Or maybe ye munster lads should stop being so protective?
Nope never met quinnie, thank god, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen of him in interviews and doing punditry, so are any of ye great friends with him to tell me I'm wrong?!
See that's the thing about opinions, they can differ from yours, and no matter how alien you think they are, no amount of bleating about "the lowest of the low" will change that!

Cpt_Blackbeard · 31-03-2011 8:51pm

wixfjord wrote: »

Or maybe ye munster lads should stop being so protective?
Nope never met quinnie, thank god, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen of him in interviews and doing punditry, so are any of ye great friends with him to tell me I'm wrong?!
See that's the thing about opinions, they can differ from yours, and no matter how alien you think they are, no amount of bleating about "the lowest of the low" will change that!

Worried that you're going to lose your job, George?

thomond2006 · 31-03-2011 8:52pm

Quinny is a very smart player. Yes he maybe doesn't play by the book but he is one clever ****er.

When he made a fool out of Ashton at Thomond last year by making Ashton hold onto the ball in touch, that was genius. He is a master of making a mountain out of a molehill and creating an advantageous situation from nothing.

His famous try against Saracens in 07/08 showed his keen sense of awareness.

I could keep going tbh. There's merit in calling him a cheat, dirty etc etc but to call him unintelligent is ridiculous.

durkadurka · 31-03-2011 8:56pm

I think it all comes down to the
'he's a psycho, but he's our psycho' analogy.

Sin a bhfuil · 31-03-2011 8:57pm

wixfjord wrote: »

Or maybe ye munster lads should stop being so protective?
Nope never met quinnie, thank god, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen of him in interviews and doing punditry, so are any of ye great friends with him to tell me I'm wrong?!
See that's the thing about opinions, they can differ from yours, and no matter how alien you think they are, no amount of bleating about "the lowest of the low" will change that!

I think you are confusing his intelligence with dislike of his punditry/person. I don't like Tony Ward's punditry, that doesn't make him unintelligent, just because I don't rate him as a pundit.

wixfjord · 31-03-2011 8:58pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

Quinny is a very smart player. Yes he maybe doesn't play by the book but he is one clever ****er.

When he made a fool out of Ashton at Thomond last year by making Ashton hold onto the ball in touch, that was genius. He is a master of making a mountain out of a molehill and creating an advantageous situation from nothing.

His famous try against Saracens in 07/08 showed his keen sense of awareness.

I could keep going tbh. There's merit in calling him a cheat, dirty etc etc but to call him unintelligent is ridiculous.

That's sporting intelligence thomond. Not doubting that.
Knowing how to play rugby, and knowing how to talk about it are two different things.

Quint2010 · 31-03-2011 9:12pm

David900 wrote: »

I really don't think thats an indictment on him, really don't think it was intentional. It wasn't a Burger moment on Fitzgerald

Sorry but give me a break. It was 100% intentional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg28666NFGc

[Jackass] · 31-03-2011 9:17pm

Another big personality leaves the Munster dressing room, the old breed become one less. Who's the natural Quinny replacement?

Ryan, Ronan & Leamy the backrow in 2 years?

Hyperbullet · 31-03-2011 9:18pm

wixfjord wrote: »

Or maybe ye munster lads should stop being so protective?
Nope never met quinnie, thank god, I'm basing my opinion on what I've seen of him in interviews and doing punditry, so are any of ye great friends with him to tell me I'm wrong?!
See that's the thing about opinions, they can differ from yours, and no matter how alien you think they are, no amount of bleating about "the lowest of the low" will change that!

Who's being protective? I'm focusing on the aspect of your post that questioned a players intelligence off the pitch even though you have no connection to the player whatsoever. Made even more poignant by your efforts to blanket any view opposing yours as "Munster protectionism".

I won't be debating this with you any further because I do enjoy reading some of the stuff you do post on here and rather not turn this into a petty argument.

All the best to Quinny in the future whatever he tries his hand at. Can see him in a coaching role in the academy.

Quint2010 · 31-03-2011 9:24pm

I think he is an awful pundit. He is hesitant-as if he is looking for others to finish his sentences. That doesnt mean he isnt intelligent:)

Alan Quinlan Announces Retirement

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