Munster Team Talk Thread - Beirne After Reading

That lad is actually a poster on the site as well so would be gleaning some of the info from that forum, he does have good access though.

Its a cumulative effect

Poor academy, over reliance on NIQ signings for a long time and splashing a benefactors money on marquee signings is always going to come back to bite. Yes the acadamy is starting to produce in the last few years but this was something that was needed around the time ROG and POC left, if not before. So its probably going to be another 5 years before there is an upswing to ireland level

A poster earlier blamed the IRFU for Kleyn, Frisch and Healy (and Snyman and how that played out) but that all points to the actual issue being historic mismanagement which in a team sport takes generations to sort. And IRFU needs that to be sorted. More NIQ signings ain't going to develop players.

Do you think the academy is significantly improved from where it was?

And do you think 3 NIQ signings is too many?

The things you seem to be taking issue with, in the main, seem to have been addressed.

100% agree.

Like, bringing back John Ryan to back up Stephen Archer meant there are two 36-year old guys hoovering up caps in the front row. Fair play to them, great servants etc, but being Irish does not mean they're any value to the Ireland team, so what would have been the harm in getting a top-level foreign TH who could really drive the team forward? (obviously this has changed with Jager's arrival)

You answer the question yourself at the end there, if they had brought in a top-level signing then does the Jager move happen? Does he come in to sit behind a star? No matter how promising an Irish player looks, we see the negative reaction of fans and media if they are ever made to move on - see Snyman for a recent example.

Top level imports also block any likelihood of movement between provinces. Aungier moved to Connacht and has become a solid player there.

For Munster, does Salanoa move down happen if there was also a top-level signing he was competing with in addition to the Munster guys? If Salanoa had stayed fit and progressed with game time, isnt that much more valuable to Ireland than a star front row players 'hoovering up caps'.

If you allow certain provinces to excuse themselves from carrying their weight in development for Ireland then it sets up terrible incentives for all the others.

The IRFU care, you know the people signing the cheques for the provinces to exist.

I'm not saying it is 'always better', the whole thing is vey much case specific, which is why I called Humphreys' statement and policy on front row signings stupid

Correct. But it still doesn’t mean they’ve excused Munster from carrying their weight with regards development.

Again, that’s a massive leap you’ve made.

made an exception for them by paying part of the salary despite him not being on a central contract.

As was the case with Zebo, this isn't an 'exception', all provincial salaries are part-paid by IRFU, just every now and again they choose to highlight this for PR reasons. Central contracts are (or were) fully funded by the central branch.

I never said Munster in that part of my post, I was talking in general, like the OP was speaking in general about what they see as being the positive of signing top-level talent vs being forced to use IQ:

If you allow certain provinces to excuse themselves from carrying their weight in development for Ireland then it sets up terrible incentives for all the others.

This is true across all provinces.

Your responses to me have completely ignored the wider context of the IRFU, basically saying Munster should have been allowed to do 'what is best' for them.

I've repeatedly said I am all about flexibility in the approach to rules, I thought it was something that Nucifora did pretty well.

Many people however moaned about the flexibility so your boy has come now in with stricter rules and now many of the same people are complaining about it. For some the IRFU will never be right.

Ah, come on.

Obviously central contracts are centrally funded and the IRFU put other funds into the budgets of the provinces that then in turn ends up in other wages.

Those examples were clearly top ups in addition to the norm above, which are exceptions (I think there have been other examples in the past too).