Following on from here
New Munster chat thread folks. warning deserved there. https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=109477571#post109477571
20,500 tickets sold for tomorrow's game, Shame the weather has been so bad this week as they probably won't get many walk ups at this stage.
I got the impression it was post AIs til end of season.
I don't really see the point of it, but if it's not coming at the expense of other signings they are more in need of then it's hard to say no to the possibility.
Maybe they'd sell a few tshirts and beers but I can't imagine this will do much for the silverware cabinet.
Yeah fair point, can't see any window then, unless it's a move from Japan for the season and he joins after the AIs
It wouldn't even be that. The Rugby Championship runs into early October and then there's the AIs in November.
Doesn't make any sense as Toyota verblitz will most probably still be playing rugby up until at least mid may 2025.
So possibly from sept to start Dec 2025.
Worth it for that??
Well POM will probably be gone and maybe a short term signing or something to bring us into 2026 and they have someone lined up from 2026 but I'd prefer a front row player
A jordie barrett type deal
bums in seats.
last thing munster need is another backrow.
Werent they after him prior to signing Jenkins?
That's a weird rumor. What use would a short term deal in late 2025 be?
Rumour from BlueSky
I'd sooner we be allowed sign a front row player
Are there GAA policies in place to approve freebies (given the amateur status of the game) or is it all under the table still?
Yes. The weather has a part to play but I think the way we've been playing lately has more to do with it.
Hard to get excited about munster in general this season
"Willis looks very sharp and apparently looks like a start at 8 v Ireland"
If TNT Sport had their way anyway.
Definitely. I'm intrigued to see how Munster can combat Itoje and the BR of Gonzalez, Earl, Willis.
Willis looks very sharp and apparently looks like a starter at 8 v Ireland.
Hope Coombes has a stormer. & POM, & Beirne to change from Clark Kent back into Superman.
Having bounced back from injury and Wasps’ collapse, Jack and Tom join a long list of the sport’s great battlers
Sometimes people forget the most priceless quality in a rugby player. It can also be easily overlooked, particularly on sunny days in benign conditions when tries flow like warm honey. Even away from home in deepest midwinter, with sub-zero temperatures freezing your snot, it is only fully visible to those aware of just how deep certain individuals have already had to dig to be there.
So yes, size clearly matters to some extent. Vision, too, in a game that grows ever quicker. Athleticism, power and pace, obviously. Tactical nous, regardless of position. Above all else, though, is something that goes beyond mere routine commitment. Call it resilience, character, stubbornness, competitiveness or virtual insanity, it is particularly evident in adversity. Some people have it by the bucket-load, others less so.
It is often the reason why certain players are more revered by their teammates and coaches than by the wider public. They don’t just talk a good game, they consistently go out and deliver, regardless of the obstacles. Eddie Jones, for one, specifically used to favour players who regained their feet fastest and instantly rejoined the defensive line. Everyone will get knocked down at some point in life; not everyone can bounce straight back up again.
We are not talking here, to be clear, about foolishly playing on when badly injured or dazed, once the default behaviour of supposedly macho warriors. It is more about saluting the type of player who endures morale-sapping injuries, desperate career disappointment or off-field anguish and re-emerges the stronger for it. There continue to be some deeply impressive case studies, none of whom would be where they are now without serious inner steel.
Take the Willis brothers, Jack and Tom, now starring for Toulouse and Saracens respectively. Not so long ago both siblings were unemployed after the abrupt financial collapse of Wasps. Jack also suffered a horrible knee injury playing for England against Italy in February 2021 but has rebounded to become one of the finest back-rowers in Europe. Tom had to pack his bags and briefly relocate to Bordeaux but is now back in north London and edging ever closer to Six Nations recognition.
It remains to be seen whether the latter will be thrust straight in at No 8 for England against Ireland next month in Dublin, where he may find the opposition tackling more robust than some of Bristol’s weekend efforts. But if the 25-year-old is named in Steve Borthwick’s squad he will be striking a sizeable blow not merely for the wider Willis family but for big-hearted, persevering pros everywhere.
Judging by the most eye-catching of his two tries at the weekend, a thunderous 40-metre effort that left at least three would-be tacklers in his wake, the younger Willis is very much the type of player who reacts positively to a challenge. His older brother is made of similar stuff, having already missed out on his first senior tour with England, to South Africa in 2018, because of an untimely injury prior to his Twickenham misfortune four years ago.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/07/rugby-union-breakdown-tom-jack-willis-england
it's probably because we are a bit crap at the moment, half our team are in the treatment room and Saracens are coming stacked.
Same team that played bristol, probably.
There are only a few hundred stand tickets still available on Ticketmaster. It may not sell out, but there'll be well over 20k there on Saturday.
Think people are more concerned and bothered with the weather than a rugby match at the weekend just yet
Is it just me or is there a lot less hype around the match at the weekend? Not sure if it's the format of the competition or what but you'd be hoping with just 2 home pool games that these would sell out. Guess there's still a few days to go so might be more interest as week goes on.
And now a 2yr extension for Tom Ahern.
https://www.munsterrugby.ie/2025/01/07/tom-ahern-signs-two-year-contract-extension/
I assume it's down to finance, which is a pity from the player's pov, as you say, he's proven he 's good enough
Remember the good old days when a forwards coach was also a scrum coach, a lineout coach and defence coach.
Shay McCarthy is moving onto a 1 yr development contract next season and then a 1 yr senior deal after that.
https://www.munsterrugby.ie/2025/01/07/shay-mccarthy-signs-two-year-contract-extension/
I've no idea why they wouldn't just move him straight onto a senior contract. He's already proven that he's good enough IMO.
Also Cian Tracey is reporting that we're trying to get Colm Tucker down from Connacht as scrum coach.
been quite a few of those 15 players that have been rehabing for quite some time..
Daly can cover 13 if needed. Although I'd expect that we'll go 6-2 on the bench so there wouldn't be any real cover even if everyone was fit.
Was hoping for more better news, but I suppose we have to take with what we got. Still the very bare bones in the centre. Getting Murray back will be a help for Europe. Actually Kilgallen looked handy against the NZ XV and the Bath preseason game earlier this year.
15 players undergoing rehab for injury, or 30% of the squad unavailable. It's just not sustainable for a successful season.
Its the younger current generation that are starting to monetise their success, coffee shops, burger places all opened recently by GAA players. They are becoming pseudo celebs, getting weddings paid for etc, I liken it to the early days of professional rugby
I have no knowledge of the relative opportunities of players retiring from different sports but I'd have thought that actually getting decent wedge to play would make rugby attractive, and quite a few Munster vets are doing well out of their rugby reputations between coaching and media careers. Is it the case that GAA veterans are doing better?
quite a team from the injured players :
Team out injured 1.Loughman 2. Buckley 3. Salanoa 4. Edogbo 5. klyne 6. POM 7. Donnelly 8. Hurley 9. Casey 10. - 11. Abraham’s 12. nanks 13. Liam Coombes 14. Sean o Brien 15. Campbell 17. Wycherley 18. kilcoyne
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