Munster Team Talk Thread - Beirne After Reading

I lost count how many penalties were awarded at scrum. Irish sides will continue to lose games until the front row issue us addressed.

Any word for all the coincidental injuries that Munster happened to come just before scrums yesterday? For example Coombes who took a seat when Munster had a scrum on their own 22 and the clock going 80 - having given away numerous penalties. Didn't even look like the physio even feigned doing anything, just put ice on him why he had a drink and a breather.

To me Murray was the one that made the whole thing worse. I can understand him feeling the pressure as it is potentially his last game but wouldnt expect it out of someone that experienced.

He was in the faces of the medics the second they got over to help Hendrikse and it escalated the whole situation. It also made Adamson less likely to move the player with another one shouting at medics and a player on the ground.

Kickers regularly have to wait to make kicks, be it because of injuries or TMO checks. It isn't a big deal unless you make it a big deal, which Murray did.

When it comes to gamesmanship on the pitch, if you get a rise out of someone then you've succeeded. Seeing an opponent who is about to take a pressure kick lose the head is wink worthy if he was injured or faking it.

To be fair to Crowley he stayed calm through it all and then gave it to him afterwards - how you'd ideally want your players to react.

As posters have mentioned, it didn't matter at all in the end - all the kicks afterwards were slotted over. Focus should be more on the kick that was missed and why Crowley wasn't the one taking a more difficult kick. You'd want to hope he was injured as otherwise it doesnt bode well for how Munster see him or his general confidence to accept the decision (I'd want my 10 demanding to take the tougher kick). With his bad miss earlier in the game and the shape of some of his other kicks it was probably the right decision to give him the easiest option but it isnt what you want to see.

I remember him kneeling down to tie a shoelace right on the mark where Leinster had a kick up the line from in a match about 5 years ago.

For goodness sake, if you cramp, you don't go down like a sack of spuds. It's painful but you hobble away. Even in soccer once it goes to penalty shoot out, the messing stops largely. Great effort, so proud of them. TH is the second best paid position in rugby for a reason.

I think people sort of get mixed up between sportsmanship and gamesmanship. Like gamesmanship happens practically in every game, in practically every sport, as teams push the limits of the rules.
What leaves a sour taste on the match is the conduct of the Sharks and management, of which I’m not certain do I agree that it didn’t have an effect on the penalties. Their sledging and jeering of Rory Scannell for his two penalties clearly irritated him, you can look back on the highlights and see his reaction to the Sharks bench after he got the second penalty. Maybe he might have missed the first one anyway, but that level of classless, low grade stuff isnt something you want to see regularly in the game.

crowley was taking the ones in the middle because murray and scannell are long range kickers. the kicks on the 10m line 15m in from touch are a pretty decent distance due to the angle so it would make sense to give them to the long range kickers

scannell is also left footed so it would make sense for him to take the ones from the right

murray has great distance but his accuracy is a bit mixed so giving him the ones in front might mean sacrificing scoring an easier kick. he missed from in front in the aviva game against toulouse for example

crowley is a very good goalkicker (albeit has been a bit inconsistent this season) but doesnt have massive distance, with 45m being about the extent of his comfortable range, probably being able to push it to about 47/48m if he forced it a bit but then that brings further inconsistency. the angled kicks are probably at the edge of his range so it would make sense to have him in front and the long range kickers from out wide. its likely he was also not fully recovered from the injury in the benetton game (why he was made to play on for so long in that game is beyond me) so again, giving him the 'easier' kicks would make sense so he would not have to 'force' kicks as much. finally, it also isnt a crazy plan to give your best kicker the easiest kicks to 'guarantee' those as scores. again, in the last shootout munster missed in front as well as out wide so giving the best goalkickers (carbery and healy in this example) the harder kicks didnt work out

so all in all its pretty easy to see why JC was kicking from in front, but its also easy to come on to the forum of a team which you dont actually support and spout some proper rubbish about not being trusted by the coaching staff or his confidence not being right

Someone asked at the very start of the match why the thread was so quiet... you can see why.

good reply.

Munster can give as good as they get.

Munster went out fighting. Scoring 3 tries in a high intensity game in humidity filled durban, with half the springbok team on the opposition.

Missed 1 kick in a penalty shoot out.

No problem from here.