This is….I’m really not sure what the word is.
Someone was late to training, I'd say. 😂
Also for Munster in 2 years time Coombes will be 2nd choice 8 to Gleeson which I think is fairly nailed on barring injuries. So this was probably his only chance of being at the WC
considering how much cover there is for 6 & 8 i thought it strange to not have a back up 7 since it basically means POM/Doris have to be involved in every game if one of them is the backup to VDF
Have to think Connors injury issues have played a part in that. If he'd been healthy, I think he'd have made it over Prendergast
Ignoring the shaved letters/numbers and the hair colour for a moment (if that's really possible)
Hansen looks utterly different without the long hair and beard.
as much as i kinda agree, if that is actually the case then id have serious questions about the coaching team's decisions
not picking a backup 7 just because the second choice (if even at this stage) leinster 7 wasnt available would be bizarre imo. especially seeing as one of the other options was playing fantasticly well all season and happened to be player of the match in the URC final.....
I like him. Going by his interviews this strangely doesn't strike me as odd. Fair play I say!
Even if he a third choice 8 then, he doesn't need time as much as the others do who will be travelling.
If he gets called up to the squad he'd only be playing against the minnows, where he can gain sharpness in case he is needed in a bigger match.
I don't see a scenario where he gets into the 23 against the big boys without a disastrous run of injuries in the backrow and at that stage we're f'ked anyway. To heavily paraphrase a famous NFL quote, it is a waste investing time for a scenario where we're that f'ked.
I think that's the case for other positions like LH, but imo Coombes is a significantly better back-up than you're giving him credit for here.
I'm not talking about the quality of him coming in meaning we're f'ked, it is if we get the 3 or 4 injuries to the backrow to have him playing against the big teams we're f'ked due to the loss of the guys in front of him
Given the management decisions to this point, for him to start at 8 against one of the big teams we're talking Doris, Conan, probably POM, and maybe even Prendergast being out. At that stage even if Coombes comes in and plays above expectations we'd still be f'ked.
Spending time on him in case that scenario happens is a waste.
I don't disagree, all around it's a bit of an odd choice, given the putative backup 7s (POM and Doris seemingly) aren't at the same level in that position.
Gleeson will be barely twenty one in two years and a third year academy player (assuming no accelerated senior contract).
As much as I'd love to see him as a first choice eight at that stage, that ain't going to happen.
I think you know that though
I think he's good enough to be the Munster No.8 at the age of 21.
Why am I really nervous that he'll now be a completely different player and lose his mojo completely
All the talk about Coombes being sent home from camp, he was photographed in training on Thursday after being 'dropped' on Wednesday
Seems to be covering for Conan in Training while he's injured.
All I can read from that is that Coombes is on the bubble and Conan is expected to be fully fit for the RWC so if there is an I jury to him or Doris, Coombes is next man up
Maybe they 'dropped him' early to end the speculation about whether he'll be picked in the final warm up game against Samoa but are confident enough that he could be drafted I if needed due to injury (similar to how they have Loughman pulled in without much notice cause they know he can do the job)
It wasn't "talk"
It was from the IRFU themselves.
very strange for then to say the squad was reduced to 38 players, if in fact, it wasn't reduced.
I'm sure he will be called up if there's injuries but as it stands now Conan, Doris and Prendergast will need to pull before he gets his chance.
Hows it going FFF?
I'm enjoying retirement and having the odd lurk, thanks for asking.
I very definitely did not re-reg.
Can confirm that FFF and I are not the same person. We do have a very similar of Kleyn, though.
Quiet enough around Lansdowne rn, hoping it picks up in the next few hours.
I'd say he will be accelerated. He could follow a similar path to Doris.
He only needs one of those players to have an injury to be in the squad. You're welcome to continue thinking Prendergast is ahead of Coombes as an outright 8, but I think it's a fairly ridiculous proposition. Either way, we can make no definitive view on it from today's selection.
Yeah. I'd assume the order for 8 is Doris, conan and then Coombes. So one injury and Coombes is in France. And conan is currently not fully fit.
I personally didn't think predergast at 8 was a possibility but as it stands he is now in position of the jersey with an excellent chance to show what he can do. Let's reacess after the game.
For Prendergast to be in consideration for 8 at the RWC, it’d required a number of injuries to the point that Coombes would almost certainly be called in.
I don’t think this tells us anything definitive about the depth chart at 8 if both Doris and Conan were injured.
It tells us who Farrell might move there during a RWC game against, say Romania if one of Doris or Conan got injured.
Has Prendergast gone off?????
Lads, Gleeson is a generational talent, imo. I think he's going to be starting for Munster in a couple of years. His power is just crazy. Jaysus, himself and Quinn, and Culhane! Scary. McNabney is a good option for down the road. We are loaded! It's great! It won't take long either for Quinn and Gleeson. Culhane will have to wait. A massive amount of talent in front of him.
I'll admit when I'm wrong. First time ever now. Put that handsome feckin acrobatic young fella may be on the plane.
I’m sure we all thought that about Max Deegan a few years ago. Hopefully they all come through but it’s a big step up to professional rugby.
Summersaulting into the history books
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