Munster vs Connacht, Fri 27 Dec 7:15pm; Live on TG4

thomond2006

Munster:
D Hurley; K Earls, J Murphy, J Downey, R O'Mahony; JJ Hanrahan, D Williams;
J Cronin, N Scannell, J Ryan; D O'Callaghan, D Foley; P Butler, S Dougall, J Coughlan Capt.

Replacements:
G Slattery, A Cotter, S Archer, B Holland, CJ Stander, G Hurley, J Holland, I Dineen



Connacht lineup v Munster

15. Gavin Duffy
14. Fionn Carr
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Eoin Griffin
11. Matt Healy
10. Dan Parks
9. Frank Murphy

1. Brett Wilkinson
2. Jason Harris-Wright
3. Nathan White
4. Mick Kearney
5. Craig Clarke (captain)
6. Andrew Browne
7. John Muldoon
8. Eoin McKeon

Replacements:

16. Dave Heffernan
17. Denis Buckley
18. Rodney Ah You
19. Aly Muldowney
20. George Naoupu
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Jack Carty
23. Darragh Leader

Unavailable/Injured: Jake Heenan, Sean Henry, Michael Swift, Willie Faloon, Mata Fifita, Dave McSharry, Craig Ronaldson, Danie Poolman, Tiernan O’Halloran, Miah Nikora, and Kyle Tonetti

---

It's an interesting Munster selection, with Johne Murphy moved to 13 in the absence of Laulala when Keith Earls would have generally been the backup outside centre. Murphy has played in the centre before for Munster but with the generally anonymous Downey beside him it will be a tricky test for him, particularly as both Griffin and Henshaw are both quality players. Although I prefer Earls to remain on the wing it's a strange call to put Murphy there when Bohane or Dineen are available. The absence of Van Den Heever could be put down to his absence from the Heineken Cup squad, where he can only be added come April.

Paddy Butler returns from injury to start at 6 with CJ Stander again on the bench. All of the players on return to play protocols during the week don't feature: Casey, DOCII and TOD. Niall Scannell gets his first competitive start at hooker having played a large part of the match against Scarlets.

This Connacht lineup is one that should give Munster a tricky match. In between a strong looking pack and backline it will be up to the experienced halfback combination of Murphy and Parks to manage the game. James Cronin who has been in great form this season since his elevation to the senior squad will have a good test against Nathan White.

Munster should have enough to win but it will be close: 7-12 points. This is definitely a good opportunity for Connacht given the respective teams!

jamiedav2011

If I were Connacht I'd be fancying a crack here based in those lineups.
Is Sheridan injured?

S12b

Really looking forward to this one tomorrow night, should be another good test of progress for Connacht.

Disappointing from our point of view to lose Heenan, who in my opinion has been the form 7 in the country this season and McSharry to injury. Marmion is also being rested but I'm sure we'll see him for 20 minutes.

I reckon our pack can go toe to toe with that Munster pack but we might be a bit limited from 9 to 15. A repeat of the Leinster performance with the added bonus of hanging on for the win but be a nice Christmas bonus however!! We live in hope!

evil_seed

Connacht

We should really be giving this a good cut. JJ v Parks is the big one for me

wp_rathead

Munster away and Ulster away are the two fixture's I always dread as a Connacht fan - our record is abysmal and usually we put in rather poor performances

We have played weaker Munster teams than this and gotten trounced

That said, I do believe we have what it takes to disrupt Munster's scrum and lineout - often the backbone of their success. So who knows..

Really wish we'd Heenan and Poolman available for this game, but que sera, sera.

Also, excited about fact I'll finally be down in the new Thomond, was down there as a kid before they redeveloped it - decent sized Connacht crowd heading down to it so should be bit of craic

its_phil

Attack scrum and line out as well as we have to other teams this year and we are in with a shout

Zzippy

Ouncer

Heading down for this one, more in hopes of a good night out than optimism, as we usually have a mare in Thomond...BUT... the weather could be a leveller with high winds forecast, and the pitch will be soft after all the rain. Don't expect a high scoring game, less than 3 tries between both teams, so it might come down to penalties. Fancy our centres to get the better of Downey and Murphy - if - they get enough ball. Heenan is a big loss, Muldoon is not a 7 and we'll miss Heenan's groundhog skills, probably why JHW is starting.
Hopefully its not misplaced optimism, but if Connacht can bring the attitude they did against Toulouse there's no reason why the Thomond duck can't be broken.

CatFromHue

You won't see such an inexperienced pack from Munster again in a long time. Connacht should be able to get the upper hand in both the scrums and the lineouts.

Whether they do or not is a different story!

Murphy in the centre should be good to watch too. I like him as a player as he's very solid and does try a few things too. With Lualala gone next season could this be a possible trial game for him?

gally74

Ouncer

The scrum alone could win it for conn. If they can get on top ally. Pity heenan is out. He's the best 7 at the moment

Mahatma Geansai

Very weak Munster team. Should be a good chance for Connacht.

phog

wprathead wrote: »

Munster away and Ulster away are the two fixture's I always dread as a Connacht fan - our record is abysmal and usually we put in rather poor performances

We have played weaker Munster teams than this and gotten trounced

That said, I do believe we have what it takes to disrupt Munster's scrum and lineout - often the backbone of their success. So who knows..

Really wish we'd Heenan and Poolman available for this game, but que sera, sera.

Also, excited about fact I'll finally be down in the new Thomond, was down there as a kid before they redeveloped it - decent sized Connacht crowd heading down to it so should be bit of craic

Weaker starting 15 maybe but generally we had decent firepower to spring from the bench.

This game could be a lot closer than it needed to have been, naming a team with14 changes from our last outing might be giving the opposition a little chink of hope.

Perhaps Penney is hoping the 2nds can secure a win here and then target a win in Ravenhill next week with a near H/cup squad.

Howard Juneau

Munster team is a mixture of experience & youth, should be a good game but I expect the Munster pack to provide the solid basis for a good win

jamiedav2011

Howard Juneau wrote: »

Munster team is a mixture of experience & youth, should be a good game but I expect the Munster pack to provide the solid basis for a good win

Really? Comparing the front 5, I'd have Connacht shading it potentially.

thomond2006

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Really? Comparing the front 5, I'd have Connacht shading it potentially.

Well this would be my fantasy composite team:

Cronin, Harris-Wright, White, DOC, Clarke, Muldoon, Dougall, Coughlan
Murphy, Hanrahan, Healy, Griffin, Henshaw, Earls, Jones

Some areas more contentious than others, no argument about centres but backrow is a very close one.

freyners

Ouncer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Well this would be my fantasy composite team:

Cronin, Harris-Wright, White, DOC, Clarke, Muldoon, Dougall, Coughlan
Murphy, Hanrahan, Healy, Griffin, Henshaw, Earls, Jones

Some areas more contentious than others, no argument about centres but backrow is a very close one.

Wouldnt take cronin ahead of Wilkinson at the moment, hes has a bright future but Brett is a very very underated player (even by Connacht fans) excellent in the scrum and is far more experienced.

thomond2006

freyners wrote: »

Wouldnt take cronin ahead of Wilkinson at the moment, hes has a bright future but Brett is a very very underated player (even by Connacht fans) excellent in the scrum and is far more experienced.

Only one player you disagree with? I'll take it!

Fireball07

Connacht

Interesting Munster selection... people saying the pack is inexperienced, I'd be much more worried about the backs though. Centre partnership is hardly inspiring.

Having the likes of DOC, Coughlan and Dougall is good- while I, personally, would take Cronin over Wilkinson. I really rate him. White will be a big test in the scrum though.

Scrum could be targeted, would be more confident about the lineout, Scannell seems pretty reliable and between DOC, Foley and Butler- we have good jumpers.

Connacht backline looks stronger, bar maybe the half-backs. Neither pair of half-backs looks that great. And we do have Earls, let's hope we can get him into space.

freyners

Ouncer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Only one player you disagree with? I'll take it!

Trying to be less argumentative these days:P

In fairness outside that one this isn't one I would outright disagree with, some close ones for sure but Cronin/Wilkinson is the standout for me.

jamiedav2011

thomond2006 wrote: »

Well this would be my fantasy composite team:

Cronin, Harris-Wright, White, DOC, Clarke, Muldoon, Dougall, Coughlan
Murphy, Hanrahan, Healy, Griffin, Henshaw, Earls, Jones

Some areas more contentious than others, no argument about centres but backrow is a very close one.

It's all great comparing player by player, but LH doesn't go up against LH, and Wilko, JHW and White is a better unit than Cronin, Scannell, Ryan.

Second row is fairly even with Munster shading BR.

Certainly wouldn't say I'd expect Munster pack to provide a solid basis for a good win based on that, which is why I asked the question.

Howard Juneau

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

It's all great comparing player by player, but LH doesn't go up against LH, and Wilko, JHW and White is a better unit than Cronin, Scannell, Ryan.

Second row is fairly even with Munster shading BR.

Certainly wouldn't say I'd expect Munster pack to provide a solid basis for a good win based on that, which is why I asked the question.

Imo, the Munster pack is overall, a slightly better unit, but we have more in reserve on the bench than Connacht, that's a huge bonus as I expect the game to be dominated by forward play

gally74

Ouncer

well that conn pack humiliated a welsh team last weekend, lets wait and see,

but conn scrum and pinout has been excellent this year. the best I can remember.

jamiedav2011

Howard Juneau wrote: »

Imo, the Munster pack is overall, a slightly better unit, but we have more in reserve on the bench than Connacht, that's a huge bonus as I expect the game to be dominated by forward play

I don't agree with that at all, where do you think they're overall better?
In terms of subs, here too it's fairly even, though Munster shade probably with experience and nous.

thomond2006

Hopefully we'll have POM and POC back for the Ulster trip and that is why they don't feature in this match. The Heineken Cup side will need a run out in any case.

Ospreys losing today gives us a chance to go 8 points clear which is a cushion we may require given that we still have to travel to Leinster, Scarlets and Ospreys and of course Ulster next week.

The north terrace is closed for the match and I can't see a big crowd turning up on the day given the weather. Plus it's not exactly a lineup that would entice the casual fan to go.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Hopefully we'll have POM and POC back for the Ulster trip and that is why they don't feature in this match. The Heineken Cup side will need a run out in any case.

Ospreys losing today gives us a chance to go 8 points clear which is a cushion we may require given that we still have to travel to Leinster, Scarlets and Ospreys and of course Ulster next week.

The north terrace is closed for the match and I can't see a big crowd turning up on the day given the weather. Plus it's not exactly a lineup that would entice the casual fan to go.

Ospreys won today.

thomond2006

phog wrote: »

Ospreys won today.

oh ffs back to sleep I go.

Point still stands mind.

Connacht

I really hope Connacht compete at the very least. There have been so many dire performances in Cork and Limerick down the years that even if the Munster side looks far from formidable I won't be getting too enthused about Connacht getting a result. The win against Dragons was important for Connacht last week but the performance was poor outside the set-pieces. I have yet to see consistent convincing evidence that Connacht are going in the right direction.

Picking Frank Murphy at scrum half is a bad call imo. I wasn't previously much of a fan of Paul O'Donohue but he did consistently well when coming off the bench earlier in the season and should be 2nd in line imo but Lam is looking at them every day so he must see some reason to pick Murphy. I really hope it doesn't end up costing Connacht the match.

phog

Dudley Philips, mixed bag of a team, poor weather, my confidence of a win is gone. Anything can happen.

Missing my first home game in ages, will probably miss the TV coverage as well, will Sky+ for viewing tomorrow.

Gwan Munster

its_phil

phog wrote: »

Dudley Philips, mixed bag of a team, poor weather, my confidence of a win is gone. Anything can happen.

Missing my first home game in ages, will probably miss the TV coverage as well, will Sky+ for viewing tomorrow.

Gwan Munster

If it's any consolation we don't like Dudley either

pappyodaniel

I reckon this evenings game will be a fairly route1. It won't be a very enjoyable game for the fullbacks, goalkickers and hookers what with the howling gales we have.

thomond2006

Late changes for Munster:

Jones is out with a neck spasm so Hurley starts at 15 with Dineen coming onto the bench. Varley not recovered from illness so his bench spot is taken by Ger Slattery of Young Munster.

phog

Late Change.

Jones suffered a neck spasm, dropped out of squad, replaced by Hurley and Dineen gets the bench spot.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Late changes for Munster:

Jones is out with a neck spasm so Hurley starts at 15 with Dineen coming onto the bench. Varley not recovered from illness so his bench spot is taken by Ger Slattery of Young Munster.

Hadn't heard about Varley, Slattery is a good hooker but we need Varley back for Ravenhill.

Fireball07

Connacht

thomond2006 wrote: »

Late changes for Munster:

Jones is out with a neck spasm so Hurley starts at 15 with Dineen coming onto the bench. Varley not recovered from illness so his bench spot is taken by Ger Slattery of Young Munster.

Really not ideal... we've got a hooker who's never started, and a hooker who isn't even involved in the Munster setup in any way. Has he even trained with the team before?

pappyodaniel

Fireball07 wrote: »

Really not ideal... we've got a hooker who's never started, and a hooker who isn't even involved in the Munster setup in any way. Has he even trained with the team before?

He's top class, excellent thrower and a driving maul specialist. I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen him dot down for pushover tries. Delighted for the guy.

phog

Fireball07 wrote: »

Really not ideal... we've got a hooker who's never started, and a hooker who isn't even involved in the Munster setup in any way. Has he even trained with the team before?

Not sure but I think he's featured in a few B&I games so would have some training done with the team. I'd also hope he knew there was a chance he might be on the bench before he pigged into his Christmas dinner and the vino.

Mahatma Geansai

pappyodaniel wrote: »

He's top class, excellent thrower and a driving maul specialist. I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen him dot down for pushover tries. Delighted for the guy.

Does he still placekick? His problem is that he isn't big enough for professional rugby, but he should be well able for Pro12 cameos.

phog

Wind and rain picking up again and the temperature dropping in Limerick, going to be tough night for the supporters. Fill up the hip flask, going to be needed.

phog

Why is the poll closed?

CatFromHue

I think the wind is meant to ease tonight so hopefully by ko off time it'll be manageable

Fireball07

Connacht

CatFromHue wrote: »

I think the wind is meant to ease tonight so hopefully by ko off time it'll be manageable

Hopefully...


Couple of trees came down near me last night.

thomond2006

Congrats ouncer, the forum believes in you more than Connacht.

Tomtom364

Weather getting steadily worse as we head north from cork.

Get the whiskey on to heat lads.

phog

Frank Murphy earns his 100th cap this evening. Congratulations to him.

wp_rathead

Hip flask full of Jameson - couple "special hot chocolates" and a Connacht performance should keep me warm

ouncer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Congrats ouncer, the forum believes in you more than Connacht.

Just after browsing the match thread. Didn't even look at the poll until I read your comment. Well funny :-)

ouncer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Congrats ouncer, the forum believes in you more than Connacht.

Just after browsing the match thread. Didn't even look at the poll until I read your comment. Well funny :-)

pappyodaniel

My cúpla focal ain't all that but I think Jerry Fla' just called Archer a Derek Davis lookalike :pac:

jamiedav2011

Jaysus that's a rough night.
Pitch looks quite good though.

Chabals Beard

I dunno about the players tonight but I love playing games in these kind of conditions.

Taco Corp

Chabals Beard wrote: »

I dunno about the players tonight but I love playing games in these kind of conditions.

why's that?

Losty Dublin

Cracking Connaught scrum to win a penalty. Munster hadn't any hope in dealing with that drive.