Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

phog · 27-04-2012 11:54AM

Johne Murphy tweeted

So we need 3 tops gloves and goggles for a fitness session on the pitch today!! Not looking forward to whatever maybe in store!!!

I hope he lets us know what happened and how he got on.

Legion2008 · 27-04-2012 12:12PM

How water logged is the pitch ?

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 12:35AM

So, of todays A side, who'll make into HEC squads next season.

Kilcoyne - should move ahead of Horan soon
Henry - Still behind Sherry and Varley, would be a good option for Connacht
Archer - Already in squads
Hayes - looked good but behind at least three Int players
Nagle - same as Hayes
Holland - will struggle though he's a solid pro
O'Callaghan - more of a 6 than a 7, could still bulk up, played HEC this season
Butler - Has the ability to push Coughlan, imo, can also play 7, might be the bench option.

Williams - career has stalled, behind Murray and probably Stringer
Deasy - still not convinced he has the kicking game to be a HEC level outhalf, will be behind ROG and Keatley
Hurley - place under serious pressure
Dineen - solid but not in Downey's class yet (which isn't all that high a standard)
Barnes - should make the bench
O'Dea - knack for scoring, could push in ahead of Murphy and Hurley on the wing
Scanlon - looked good going forward, wasn't really tested today, unlikely to be ahead of Jones

It's hard to see the backs really coming through but you'd have to think guys like Kilcoyne, DOCv2.0 and Butler will be there or thereabouts in the 23's next season.

ormond lad · 28-04-2012 01:56AM

Anyone hear of who will be joining the academy next season? heard during the week that waterpark no 8 jack o donoghue, an irish youth this year and 2 year munster youth, is in and that dolphin no 8 ryan murphy may alsohave an academy spot

Fishooks12 · 28-04-2012 02:08AM

Butler is vastly underrated here IMO

Has the blueprint to be a brilliant 8 for Munster and Ireland

irishbucsfan · 28-04-2012 06:26AM

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Butler is vastly underrated here IMO

Has the blueprint to be a brilliant 8 for Munster and Ireland

Ah he's not. He was rated highly here when he was playing u20s. Then he demanded to skip the academy and go straight onto a pro contract. He hasn't lived up to that until the end of this season tbh.

phog · 28-04-2012 08:44AM

@Munsterrugby have tweeted about a Q&A today on twitter

You can also ask @Paul_OConnell @wa22y @FelixJones15 your questions here at 2pm using #askthelads. Best question gets 2 tix our next game.

GerM · 28-04-2012 08:54AM

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Butler is vastly underrated here IMO

Has the blueprint to be a brilliant 8 for Munster and Ireland

He gets a fair bit of praise and has done since he was playing under age. Considering he only has 5 senior pro starts, I wouldn't have thought he's underrated at all. He looks a very good prospect but, similar to many, that's all he is right now until he gets a run with the full team.

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 10:19AM

ormond lad wrote: »

Anyone hear of who will be joining the academy next season? heard during the week that waterpark no 8 jack o donoghue, an irish youth this year and 2 year munster youth, is in and that dolphin no 8 ryan murphy may alsohave an academy spot

Let me guess, they are both slight, will o the wisp, guys with great skills?

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 10:20AM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Ah he's not. He was rated highly here when he was playing u20s. Then he demanded to skip the academy and go straight onto a pro contract. He hasn't lived up to that until the end of this season tbh.

I don't know if you can say he has or he hasn't, tbf, he hasn't been picked. I don't recall him being awful whenever he has been picked, just a little light.

irishbucsfan · 28-04-2012 10:58AM

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Ah he's not. He was rated highly here when he was playing u20s. Then he demanded to skip the academy and go straight onto a pro contract. He hasn't lived up to that until the end of this season tbh.

I don't know if you can say he has or he hasn't, tbf, he hasn't been picked. I don't recall him being awful whenever he has been picked, just a little light.

Fair enough. I don't think he has been underrated though, do you?

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 11:16AM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Fair enough. I don't think he has been underrated though, do you?

No, not really, he's always been quite highly regarded to the point where maybe too much is expected of him. He's still just a kid, Munster need guys like him and POM to be International quality sooner rather than later, which is huge pressure.

Fishooks12 · 28-04-2012 11:27AM

Was pissed last night saying that about Butler! Can't even remember it!

Not too sure if he's that underrated at all! Obviously after a night out I do!

Cpt_Blackbeard · 28-04-2012 12:17PM

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Was pissed last night saying that about Butler! Can't even remember it!

Not too sure if he's that underrated at all! Obviously after a night out I do!

He looks like a younger, better handling Coughlan. He ran similar lines and always got over the gainline, but he had a great offload and awareness of support. I think we've the makings of a great backrow for the next 10 years in DOC-Butler-POM.

What age is Barry O'Mahony? Afaik he's in his mid-twenties which is a bit of a disappointment. That said, he looks like a very talented natural 7 and we really improved at the breakdown when he was introduced.

RuggieBear · 28-04-2012 03:16PM

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

He looks like a younger, better handling Coughlan. He ran similar lines and always got over the gainline, but he had a great offload and awareness of support. I think we've the makings of a great backrow for the next 10 years in DOC-Butler-POM.

What age is Barry O'Mahony? Afaik he's in his mid-twenties which is a bit of a disappointment. That said, he looks like a very talented natural 7 and we really improved at the breakdown when he was introduced.

butler was the pick of his u/20s irish backrow imo. he's light but he had the best skills.

Somebody told me that O'mahony turned down going pro and is holding down a decent job as well as setting up his own business (and at the same time playing for Clontarf). Considering he has so much else on his plate, he didn't look out of place with the up and coming pros at the b&i cup semi i saw him at.

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 07:30PM

RuggieBear wrote: »

butler was the pick of his u/20s irish backrow imo. he's light but he had the best skills.

Somebody told me that O'mahony turned down going pro and is holding down a decent job as well as setting up his own business (and at the same time playing for Clontarf). Considering he has so much else on his plate, he didn't look out of place with the up and coming pros at the b&i cup semi i saw him at.

Heard that alright but other reports saying he's been offered some sort of contract next season by Munster.

shuffol · 28-04-2012 08:18PM

RuggieBear wrote: »

butler was the pick of his u/20s irish backrow imo. he's light but he had the best skills.

Somebody told me that O'mahony turned down going pro and is holding down a decent job as well as setting up his own business (and at the same time playing for Clontarf). Considering he has so much else on his plate, he didn't look out of place with the up and coming pros at the b&i cup semi i saw him at.

Do you mean the backrow with Dom Ryan and Rhys Ruddock?

shuffol · 28-04-2012 08:25PM

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Heard that alright but other reports saying he's been offered some sort of contract next season by Munster.

There'll be a lot of backrows at Munster next season if thats the case.

6- POM, Leamy, DOC
7- Ronan, Wallace??, TOD, B.O'Mahoney, Dougall
8. Coughlan, Butler

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 08:29PM

shuffol wrote: »

There'll be a lot of backrows at Munster next season if thats the case.

6- POM, Leamy, DOC
7- Ronan, Wallace??, TOD, B.O'Mahoney, Dougall
8. Coughlan, Butler

Badly needed though, given the injury rate. Ideally this time next year guys like Butler will be pushing in as starters.

RuggieBear · 28-04-2012 09:02PM

shuffol wrote: »

Do you mean the backrow with Dom Ryan and Rhys Ruddock?

yep. they were physically bigger and better developed but he looked the best player imo.

phog · 28-04-2012 09:06PM

shuffol wrote: »

There'll be a lot of backrows at Munster next season if thats the case.

6- POM, Leamy, DOC
7- Ronan, Wallace??, TOD, B.O'Mahoney, Dougall
8. Coughlan, Butler

I'd be very doubtful of Wallace, saw him last night after the B&I Cup final and he's almost dragging his right leg and I'd have a fear for Leamy too, he jsut doesn't seem to be recovering, hope I'm wrong on both counts as I never like to see players retire due to injury.

Amazotheamazing · 28-04-2012 09:14PM

RuggieBear wrote: »

yep. they were physically bigger and better developed but he looked the best player imo.

Players develop differently and luck plays a part too. If Dom Ryan had stayed fit I think there's a good chance he'd have made Irish squads ahead of POM, conversely, if Paul Ryan didn't have to retire, it's possible Dom Ryan would still be on the fringes of the Leinster team.

Butler is never going to be an SOB or Ferris type athlete, then again, neither is Heaslip (or was Foley), but he still looks lightweight to me.

phog · 28-04-2012 09:49PM

Munster Juniors beat Leinster Js today in Edenderry and I think Connacht Js beat Ulster Js as well..

shuffol · 28-04-2012 10:00PM

RuggieBear wrote: »

yep. they were physically bigger and better developed but he looked the best player imo.

High praise indeed, I watched all the games that year myself and Butler did impress, very aggressive and always looking to carry, typical Munster forward, thought he was the least likely of the 3 to make it TBH but the others were standout. Felt he'd need to add a bit more to his game if he was to impose himself at pro level. From what I've seen of him for Munster he reminds me of Coughlan, not the biggest but carries intelligently targetting weak shoulders and getting over the gainline. People say he has good handling skills and thats good to hear, think thats badly needed in the Munster pack.

ForeverYoung90 · 28-04-2012 11:23PM

Im going to the Munster v Ulster game next week.What can I expect?;borefest now that Ulster are in the HK final?

Monty Burnz · 28-04-2012 11:31PM

ForeverYoung90 wrote: »

Im going to the Munster v Ulster game next week.What can I expect?;borefest now that Ulster are in the HK final?

Munster might try to right the 'injustice' of Ulster getting there. Could see sparks fly.

NikNak8 · 28-04-2012 11:34PM

Any update on the coach situation?

donfers · 29-04-2012 12:12AM

NikNak8 wrote: »

Any update on the coach situation?

looks like it's between penney and foley with perhaps umaga as backs coach or someone else coming in if he is not fancied or his wage demands are too high

personally i'd go for penney, i think foley will be a fine coach but i'd like Munster to try a complete outsider to give them a fresh coaching perspective for now

Amazotheamazing · 30-04-2012 04:46PM

Interesting that perception is Penney will get it, any word yet?

theKramer · 30-04-2012 05:57PM

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Interesting that perception is Penney will get it, any word yet?

Word "on the street"

is that Penney made a very good impression on the Munster "brains trust". Lots of inverted commas there

I think most people would like Foley to get another cpl of years as forwards coach before getting the main gig.
Whoever comes on board, I hope to God that they are allowed pick a new backs coach...

Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

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