Munster Team Talk Thread - Beirne After Reading

I agree with that. I think if some of these injuries can clear up, Munster have a decent team there that can make the knockout stages of both competitions.

It would be great to get Loughman, Blueler, Ryan and Jager, then Edogbo at THL all on the field together, it would really help shore up the scrum, same with POM and the lineout. Unfortunately the depth isn’t there to cover for these injuries and the set piece has struggled.

Really think a strong Munster presence in AIL and strong schools rugby in Limerick is the foundation to build going forward. And unfortunately Munster could be down to one club in Div 1A next season and I see that no Limerick school has even entered the Barry Cup again. That's not good at all for Munster rugby and really needs to be looked at.

Absolutely disagree with you. The reason the Limerick schools aren't entering the competition is because their standards have dropped and fewer kids in Limerick are playing rugby. That's a huge issue for Munster rugby.

The Barry Cup and teams bot playing in that isn't a reason for a drop in standards in limerick and or munster rugby. It's incosequential. Limerick schools aren't entering and haven't for years ad players not in main senior panel can access rugby through the clubs. It isn't a reason for lack of production of quality player.

Part of Munsters issue aswell is the resurgance of GAA in Limerick, Clare, Cork. Its almost more attractive not to play hurling. Look at all the hurling lads who are starting business' and monitising their success. Hurling has been huge in Munster now for 6/7 years, there is a generation of players who have no doubt had to make a choice which sport to play and hurling seemed more attractive

Whats actually wrong with Sean o Brien?

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

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 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

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.

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

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