Following on from here
New Munster chat thread folks. warning deserved there. https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=109477571#post109477571
Gaining Beirne, Loughman, Timoney, Tom Farrell, Oli Jager in the process. The scrum halfs Murphy, cooney and patterson too.
Jager is from London and Loughman is from Reno.
Define where you come from because Jager and Loughman went to school in kildare
I accept that. Would let you keep McCarthy who is from New York.
Mod: ok i think we can drop the "what if provinces were restricted to only their own produced players" discussion on the Munster thread please
indeed would need to have defined rules. Maybe the parents of children born abroad would need to indicate the province when registering the foreign birth. The American ROG, and the Israeli Heaslip for instance.
Munster have more than 3 NIQs right now - Bleuler, Kleyn, Nankivell and Abrahams.
You know this but no harm in clarifying for those that don't, Bleuler is a medical joker.
Also, without wanting to open old wounds but it's a crying shame that Kleyn became NIQ after representing Ireland in a RWC. Sometimes, I wonder about the thought process of allowing that to happen.
Bleuler is a medical joker. There will always be leeway for them, and they aren’t a strict NIQ.
Edit: what phog said.
Is he currently in the squad or not?
I don't know what you mean by "aren't a strict NIQ". He's not eligible for Ireland, which makes him NIQ.
It was rumoured a while back that all medical jokers would have to be IQ. If true, this requirement has been suspended for Munster.
I'm sure Ulster after having had to recruit Corrie Barrett and Bryan O'Connor would like to be in Munster's position of "not having" an NIQ prop.
Rumoured!
There’s an obvious difference between a short-term medical joker, only signed because of an injury crisis and a legit NIQ signed on a 2 year deal. It was rumoured a while back that all medical jokers would have to be IQ.
It was rumoured a while back that all medical jokers would have to be IQ.
Where was this rumoured? I didn’t hear this at all tbh.
Also, I'm sure Munster would love to be able to sign a Slimani on a full-time contract rather than as a medical joker but there you go
Where do you draw the line? Do 6-month (Jordie Barrett) and 1-year (Slimani) contracts also not count? Brad Thorn's time at Leinster is still talked about. That was only three months. I would call that an excellent NIQ signing.
About the medical jokers, I read it on some forum or other a year or 18 months ago. I'm not going to spend time digging up posts. A quick google doesn't turn up anything. But the IRFU were quite opaque when Nucifora was there.
The reason I asked was because a post on a forum is quite different to a report from a journalist, say. I don’t expect you to dig it up, but even if you did, I wouldn’t read anything into forum rumours. The obvious difference is a medial joker wouldn’t be sanctioned without the injury crisis.
The vast majority of Munsters players during the golden years in the mid 2000’s played schools rugby. The current academy players still play AIL every week.
Is there a genuine belief there is an irfu conspiracy to keep Leinster strong? Some posters (not necessarily on here more on twitter) seem to think there is.
Leinster definitely have seized an advantage with the current model but this model is largely the same as it ever was. You produce your own, or you sign Irish, and you can add some NIQ players to the mix. (In the past 5 now it seems to be 3 but as we saw that even seems flexible as with the bleuler)
I get that "more NIQ's is the solution" argument but from the person paying the bills (irfu) is that going to work? How many NIQs per province? 5/6/7/8? Are Leinster going to be able to sign more if they want if that is the new system? If 3 of the provinces have a stack of NIQ players (because it isn't going to be a Munster only solution) how do you make sure Irish side isn't snookered in a key position? Back to the quietly disposed of system of "only one person position" which patently didn't work either.
I get the desire to be competitive but the solution is what it's always been in Irish rugby sign or develop Irish players
It's easier to blame the IRFU or Leinster than look at your own province and admit they have issues.
I see it online all the time but still can't work out why people think the IRFU are deliberately trying to weaken any of the provinces.
Is there a genuine belief there is an irfu conspiracy to keep Leinster strong?
Genuine question, was this posted in the wrong thread?
Mod Edit
Warning issued.
Its Jim Demps. A well known WUM across multiple platforms.
The general point though is held by a good deal more fans on multiple platforms.
So why not take it up there, the Leinster or the Irish Rugby Thread rather than in the Munster thread.
Or, indeed, on those other platforms…
The rest of my post was about what are people looking for? Three red kings another prominent Munster fan was looking for more NIQ'S but he is such a wind up merchant he doesn't allow replies.
It's a forum, kinda point of them is to discuss things.
A Leinster fan getting outraged over something he read somewhere else, why have we to suffer here about your outrage.
Maybe , if you need it discussed on Boards then the Leinster thread might be the correct one
Having four competitive provinces benefits Irish rugby by creating a wider talent pool for the national team, increasing fan engagement nationwide, and ensuring financial sustainability. It balances player workloads, raises the standard of domestic competition, and enhances Ireland’s resilience in international rugby. A strong Connacht, Munster, and Ulster alongside Leinster spreads talent, drives revenue, and keeps rugby thriving across the country—not just in one region.
Non-Irish qualified players also play a key role, providing invaluable experience and raising standards. Younger Irish players benefit from training and playing alongside seasoned internationals, learning professionalism, new skills, and different playing styles, which accelerates their development.
How do we properly develop anybody if are 3 other packs are struggling and always going backwards. The game needs fan engagement if its to grow and compete with the GAA outside of Dublin. I dont know the answer but the current situation is just silly even dangerous for the young lads coming through. How long do we keep playing the stalwarts or thrusting into young lads to an already struggling pack
An example
Munster have had a rake of centres signings in the last 20 years. Who have they developed to be a first choice regular at Munster, never mind Ireland?
How do you suggest the talent is spread out?
I dont have the answers but that’s a fair point about Munster’s history with signing centers. It highlights the challenge of balancing player development with immediate squad needs. While signings can fill gaps and raise standards, they shouldn't block pathways for local talent. A competitive environment is key, but so is planning to develop and retain homegrown players.
As for spreading talent, there could be more structured movement between provinces, with the IRFU encouraging younger players to go where opportunities exist. For example, if Leinster is stacked in one position, players could be incentivized to move to Connacht, Munster, or Ulster to get game time. This already happens to some degree but could be expanded. It’s about managing resources to ensure every province is competitive while giving Irish-qualified players the platform to thrive.
Edit: I also think that Leinster or any other province should be compensated aswell if they lose talent that they have developed. I also understand its not that easy in real life either, young lads might not want to make a move
If Munster hadn't brought in centres they wouldn't have been competitive enough to consistently play knockout rugby and guys like O'Mahony, Earls and Murray would have had a lot less exposure to rugby at the highest club level. Incidentally Munster have their 4 best centre prospects in decades coming through now with O'Leary Kareem, Smyth, Wood and O'Leary. Munster don't have huge player base and there is going to be variance in positions that require a hard to find size or skillset. Munster currently have a very weak front 3 and that makes it harder for talented players like O'Connell, Edogbo, Hodnett, Kendellan, Coombes, Casey and Crowley to succeed. It's very hard to make an impression when your front 3 are being beasted every time you come up against decent opposition.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/v2/ad289898c0c6dda7e667bf900ae26d0c.svg)
