Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread II

thomond2006

Howlett Back In Action
20 July 2012, 2:48 pm
By The Editor

On the injury front good news for Doug Howlett (achilles) who has served his time in rehab and returned to full training, and for Dave Foley who has recovered from his shoulder injury.

In the hooker department Damien Varley continues his rehab and is envisaged to make a return to full action in 3 to 4 weeks while academy player Duncan Casey is making strides with his rehab from reconstructive shoulder surgery.

Duncan Williams (hip) is integrating back into full training sessions this week and Dave O’Callaghan (knee tendon) continues on his rehab with a close return on the cards. Niall Ronan (knee) and Paul O’Connell continue to make steady progress with the view that O’Connell will return to training at the end of month.

There is no further update for Ian Nagle (shoulder), Felix Jones (shoulder) and Troy Smith (knee) who are still expected to make a return to action towards the end of the autumn.

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10623.php

CatFromHue

Felix Jones and Nagle out til the end of the Autumn? That's bad news!

justsomebloke

justsomebloke wrote: »

The 3 most important factors when it comes to training are work, nutrition and recovery.

So the question really becomes even if CIT has the better training facilities does the difference offset the extra time that could be used for recovery if everything was based in the one place.

I think a lot of people are over emphasising the need for "state of the art" gyms. Truthfully the most over looked things in most gyms nowadays are the 2 of the most basic things in weight training, A free bar and a good bit of space to move.

Actually the lack of a prowler in both pictures in a bit worrying though as it would be one piece of equipment that I think would be very beneficial in Rugby

I sure hope that they use prowlers, but I would imagine that they well do, they certainly use sleds anyway, and the two are usually not far apart!

SOB discussed the speed increases he was getting when working with one, and didn't TO'L's eye injury come as a result of using a sled for speed training?

thomond2006

Season Ticket Packs announced today, with the following Pro12 games to be held in Cork.

Rd 9 Munster v Scarlets 23/24/25 Nov
Rd 13 Munster v Cardiff 4/5/6 Jan
Rd 14 Munster v Edinburgh 8/9/10 Feb
Rd 18 Munster v Connacht 22/23/24 Mar

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10627.php

First interpro fixture at Musgrave since Thomond Park was reopened.

phog

ERC Rugby have announced we'll know on Thursday the dates for the first 4 H/cup games.

Our group are talking of the first away game, so lets see what the draw will bring. This year all the cities are fairly well served with flights so hopefully, Ryanair wont try to push his prices for H/cup week-ends.

The fixtures, dates and kick-off times for the first four rounds of the 2012/13 Heineken Cup will be announced on on THURSDAY, 26 JULY. at approximately e 12.00 noon (UK and Irish time).

The fixtures and weekends for Rounds 5 and 6 will also be released, with the exact dates and kick-off times confirmed at a later stage.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Season Ticket Packs announced today, with the following Pro12 games to be held in Cork.

Rd 9 Munster v Scarlets 23/24/25 Nov
Rd 13 Munster v Cardiff 4/5/6 Jan
Rd 14 Munster v Edinburgh 8/9/10 Feb
Rd 18 Munster v Connacht 22/23/24 Mar

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10627.php

First interpro fixture at Musgrave since Thomond Park was reopened.

That's four decent teams heading to Cork, I see Edinburgh are being sent to Cork this year, take em out of Thomond in their H/cup season with us.

Connacht fans probably wont be too happy with the extra 60 odd miles added to their journey, especially now that they have a motorway from Gort to Limerick.

Lelantos

Just switched on Zaders v Bulls hoping to catch a glimpse of CJ Stander, he's not in the squad today, is he hurt or just tactical?

GerM

Lelantos wrote: »

Just switched on Zaders v Bulls hoping to catch a glimpse of CJ Stander, he's not in the squad today, is he hurt or just tactical?

It was tactical, I believe. Van der Merwe coming back in from injury and they've reshuffled their bench as a result.

yimrsg

Lelantos wrote: »

Just switched on Zaders v Bulls hoping to catch a glimpse of CJ Stander, he's not in the squad today, is he hurt or just tactical?

Stander looks to have dropped down in the reckoning for the Bulls since the move was announced and hasn't gotten any real opportunities off the bench in the last few games. Stegman seems to be preferred over him as the replacement flanker. Both the Potgieters have been very good of late and Spies is the captain so it could be that Stander's early season form has dropped and/or since he's leaving shortly he's being overlooked for guys who will be around next year.

thomond2006

yimrsg wrote: »

Stander looks to have dropped down in the reckoning for the Bulls since the move was announced and hasn't gotten any real opportunities off the bench in the last few games. Stegman seems to be preferred over him as the replacement flanker. Both the Potgieters have been very good of late and Spies is the captain so it could be that Stander's early season form has dropped and/or since he's leaving shortly he's being overlooked for guys who will be around next year.

Is it set in stone that Stander will play Currie Cup? South African teams are generally open to releasing players before it if they have other players to develop.

yimrsg

thomond2006 wrote: »

Is it set in stone that Stander will play Currie Cup? South African teams are generally open to releasing players before it if they have other players to develop.

I'm not sure. His wikipedia page says he'll move after the currie cup but it's got no reference to back that up. Anyone know for sure?

GerM

Bulls CEO said he'll be with them for their Currie Cup campaign. I'd be surprised if we saw a U turn on that. I'd expect him in Ireland for the first week of November.

RoundBox11

CatFromHue wrote: »

Felix Jones and Nagle out til the end of the Autumn? That's bad news!

I see on the Munster site that Ian Nagle is now listed as 17st 10. Thats a good sign he really needed the extra weight. He's gained about 2 stone in the past 3 years

.ak

Don't feed the trolls.

And don't be afraid to use the report post button either. Sends us a nice poke in the face....

athtrasna

yimrsg wrote: »

I'm not sure. His wikipedia page says he'll move after the currie cup but it's got no reference to back that up. Anyone know for sure?

His fiancée was talking about a November move on twitter

phog

Howlett is back to full training, timely return just as the rest of the sqaud are starting back for the new season.

Not such good news on a few others

Munster have released an update on some of their injured players as they continue their preparations for the 2012/13 season under new head coach Rob Penney.

On the injury front, there is good news for Achilles injury victim Doug Howlett who has served his time in rehab and returned to full training, while young lock Dave Foley has recovered from his shoulder injury.
In the hooker department Damien Varley continues his rehab programme and is envisaged to make a return to full action in three to four weeks' time.

In addition, Academy player Duncan Casey is making good strides with his rehab from reconstructive shoulder surgery.

Duncan Williams (hip) is integrating back into full training sessions and David O'Callaghan (knee tendon) continues on his rehab with a close return on the cards.

Niall Ronan (knee) and the province's captain Paul O'Connell continue to make steady progress with the view that O'Connell will return to training at the end of month.

There are no further updates for Ian Nagle (shoulder), Felix Jones (shoulder) and Troy Smith (knee) who are still expected to make a return to action towards the end of the autumn.

phog

Highlights from the recent talent camp in Rockwell.

ormond lad

phog wrote: »

Highlights from the recent talent camp in Rockwell.

Good to see in the video the squads based in rockwell went up to Nenagh to do a training session in the 200mtr indoor track.

phog

Not to be dragging the Connacht thread off topic

I copied this post from here

porterbelly wrote: »

Musgrave isn't viable. Having 2 stadiums isn't viable. Having 2 training bases isn't viable. Thomond Park is the home of Munster Rugby. UL is nearby. Time to get rid of the politics and move everything to Limerick. Munster are struggling to make repayments for Thomond and it's no wonder with having to rent facilities in both Cork and Limerick, office facilities and training facilities. It's absoloutely crazy

Musgrave isn't viable. Having 2 stadiums isn't viable.

I'd be of a similar opinion but I would rule out an increased capacity (say around 15K) Musgrave Park for some games

Having 2 training bases isn't viable

This looks like it's being addressed but I'm not sure it's as bad as some make out, if it was such a noose around Munster's neck all along you'd have to wonder where out success came from? If it's despite the 2 bases what was everyone else doing wrong?

Munster are struggling to make repayments for Thomond and it's no wonder with having to rent facilities in both Cork and Limerick, office facilities and training facilities.

I assume they're paying very little rent for their base in Cork as they own MP so it's only what they have in the industrial estate that they pay for. As for the rent of the 2 training centres, woudl they not be paying for the use, so if they move to one they increase their payment there.

As for the repayments, I think they were just unlucky like eveyone else who built or purcahsed during the boom, now they have the issue of repayments. It shouldnt be an impossible task to repay the loan if they can keep up their attendance figure and get a bit more usage of Thomond Park by the IRFU and others.

porterbelly

Seemingly, the rent is pretty high in both places, there's gym, offices and pitches which are used 5/6 days a week. If they moved exclusively to UL this would be halved. Musgrave barely gets 4,000 for games, it's bloody crazy to think that they want to develop it for Heineken Cup games

The space was there within Thomond Park to build a gym with the redevelopment but it wasn't pursued. LIT offered to build a training facility for Munster, at no cost to Munster, but it wasn't good enough for them. Instead, politics and the influence that Cork Con have mean that Munster will continue to have 2 bases, redevelop Musgrave at great cost, and for that they'll continue to struggle with repayments and also struggle to attract top players. The mind boggles

ormond lad

porterbelly wrote: »

Seemingly, the rent is pretty high in both places, there's gym, offices and pitches which are used 5/6 days a week. If they moved exclusively to UL this would be halved. Musgrave barely gets 4,000 for games, it's bloody crazy to think that they want to develop it for Heineken Cup games

The space was there within Thomond Park to build a gym with the redevelopment but it wasn't pursued. LIT offered to build a training facility for Munster, at no cost to Munster, but it wasn't good enough for them. Instead, politics and the influence that Cork Con have mean that Munster will continue to have 2 bases, redevelop Musgrave at great cost, and for that they'll continue to struggle with repayments and also struggle to attract top players. The mind boggles

It would be silly for Munster to disregard Cork city. The southern half of the province is where we can expand and develop most in terms of more fans etc and not having many of the big games, the team ever training in the city would be the wrong way to go.
Munster already cut costs by moving the domestic rugby offices based in LIT to UL.
You are slightly exaggerating when you say "Musgrave barely gets 4000 for games". The past 3 seasons the average for the league games in cork has been about 7500.
There is elements of politics in all decisions that will affect both cities.
LIT could have offered to build a new facility for Munster Rugby to use but Munster Rugby would have been silly to go for it when UL is over the other side of the city and has fairly good facilitys already and has much more room for expansion. i dont really see where munster could have put a facility on the site in LIT as the college is fairly stuck for space as it is.

kub

Am I correct in that Munster are also in the process of building a structure at the Well end of Musgrave Park? The plan being to move the administration offices out of Tramore Rd., Industrial Estate. Surely another money saving exercise.

phog

porterbelly wrote: »

Seemingly, the rent is pretty high in both places, there's gym, offices and pitches which are used 5/6 days a week. If they moved exclusively to UL this would be halved. Musgrave barely gets 4,000 for games, it's bloody crazy to think that they want to develop it for Heineken Cup games

The space was there within Thomond Park to build a gym with the redevelopment but it wasn't pursued. LIT offered to build a training facility for Munster, at no cost to Munster, but it wasn't good enough for them. Instead, politics and the influence that Cork Con have mean that Munster will continue to have 2 bases, redevelop Musgrave at great cost, and for that they'll continue to struggle with repayments and also struggle to attract top players. The mind boggles

I think all provinces suffer from politics, Munster may have it more difficult because the largest city in the province doesn't have the biggest stadium. I'm not sure about your figues for MP and this is being addressed by bringing bigger matches there.

totallegend

thomond2006 wrote: »

Season Ticket Packs announced today, with the following Pro12 games to be held in Cork.

Rd 9 Munster v Scarlets 23/24/25 Nov
Rd 13 Munster v Cardiff 4/5/6 Jan
Rd 14 Munster v Edinburgh 8/9/10 Feb
Rd 18 Munster v Connacht 22/23/24 Mar

http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10627.php

First interpro fixture at Musgrave since Thomond Park was reopened.

Not to throw petrol on the Cork v Limerick fire, but three of those games clash with international matches; the only exception being the Cardiff match which is the week before round 5 of the HEC, so that is likely to be the only time the big names are on show in Cork.

Amazotheamazing

ormond lad wrote: »

LIT could have offered to build a new facility for Munster Rugby to use but Munster Rugby would have been silly to go for it when UL is over the other side of the city and has fairly good facilitys already and has much more room for expansion. i dont really see where munster could have put a facility on the site in LIT as the college is fairly stuck for space as it is.

Afaik, LIT were interested in getting some of the land from Moyross for new facilities under the regeneration, they already have a hurling side based in Moyross called LIT Sarsfields. There is a good bit of land reasonably near to LIT to develop if LIT actually own it out long the Old Cratloe road etc.

CatFromHue

I don't the Connacht game clashed with an Ireland game but it's the first game weekend after the 6 Nations so the Ireland starters won't be playing.

If you look back at last year the biggest attendance in Musgrave was the game against Aironi because all the big names were there. Same story with the season before and there's no reason it won't be different this season i.e. the Cardiff game will have the biggest attendance.

phog

totallegend wrote: »

Not to throw petrol on the Cork v Limerick fire, but three of those games clash with international matches; the only exception being the Cardiff match which is the week before round 5 of the HEC, so that is likely to be the only time the big names are on show in Cork.

Last season Munster played Ospreys on the evening of the Irish/Wales world cup game the attendance in TP was close to 17k, we played Cardiff the night before Ireland played Italy in the 6Ns, again there was almost 17k tickets sold.

Judgement Day

phog wrote: »

Howlett is back to full training[/URL], timely return just as the rest of the sqaud are starting back for the new season.

Not such good news on a few others

Good news about Dougie, I'm hoping he has a great season for Munster - his last (?) - as he has been sorely missed. I wonder how long Felix Jones will last, if and when he returns, as he is very injury prone.

marienbad

ormond lad wrote: »

It would be silly for Munster to disregard Cork city. The southern half of the province is where we can expand and develop most in terms of more fans etc and not having many of the big games, the team ever training in the city would be the wrong way to go.
Munster already cut costs by moving the domestic rugby offices based in LIT to UL.
You are slightly exaggerating when you say "Musgrave barely gets 4000 for games". The past 3 seasons the average for the league games in cork has been about 7500.
There is elements of politics in all decisions that will affect both cities.
LIT could have offered to build a new facility for Munster Rugby to use but Munster Rugby would have been silly to go for it when UL is over the other side of the city and has fairly good facilitys already and has much more room for expansion. i dont really see where munster could have put a facility on the site in LIT as the college is fairly stuck for space as it is.

It seems no matter the argument your mind is made up, Cork or nowhere.

And how do consider any choice other that Cork is disregarding cork city ? .

It is what is best for the club and not the city is the objective. And your constant theme about the greater area of expansion is just rubbish at this stage . If after over 1oo years cork pro rata has not even nearly caught up with other areas in the provinve why do do you think it will do so know ?

And will cork people only get on board if they are bribed ? as that appears to be your message .

totallegend

phog wrote: »

Last season Munster played Ospreys on the evening of the Irish/Wales world cup game the attendance in TP was close to 17k, we played Cardiff the night before Ireland played Italy in the 6Ns, again there was almost 17k tickets sold.

I was just making the point that the Cork fans aren't really going to get to see the first team; as a Leinster fan I hope the bickering and in-fighting tears the squad apart

One caveat from the above post; tickets sold and actual people in the ground are very different things. I've often been in the RDS surrounded by empty seats and the announcement comes out that there are 15,000 people there.