15. Shane Daly
14. Andrew Conway
13. Chris Farrell
12. Damian de Allende
11. Keith Earls;
10. J Hanrahan
9. Conor Murray
1. Jeremy Loughman
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. Billy Holland
6. Peter O’Mahony (C)
7. Jack O’Donoghue
8. CJ Stander.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, James Cronin, John Ryan, Fineen Wycherley, Chris Cloete, Craig Casey, Rory Scannell, Mike Haley.
I think henshaw/ringrose will cope well with DeAllende and Chris Farrell....both of whom looked very dangerous in attack against us two weeks ago.
Agree with other posters about munster targetting Larmour with high balls and pinching our line out again.
I can't wait for this game.....I think we are favourites but not by much.
Anyone else think munster are better with Casey at 9? Murray is still top notch but nowhere close to where he was a few years go.
hope lowe and larmour improve on their previous performances. that could be key.
I thought de Allende was better than Farrell last match so it's not a stretch to suggest the world cup winner is an upgrade on Henshaw. Farrel's performance was hugely overstated though. He wasnt any of: the best player on the losing team; the best centre on the losing team; or the best 13 on the pitch in my opinion.
Daly had a really tidy game and looked absolutely comfortable at full back, though our shepherding and protection were very poor. Henshaw in particular I thought. Conway is the best Irish winger around in my opinion, Earls can be targeted, England made an absolute mug of him the match that destroyed Ireland's confidence. It was forgotten due to the obvious fact that selecting Henshaw at 15 was crazy and as it turns out, wrong but it's there. If we don't have the tools to target him we won't be winning anything.
munster#1 wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 12:56 pm
Not the Munster team that I would have picked.
Munster appear to have went with mobility rather power in the front row.
I think Leinster have the better pack, but the Munster backline is better than Leinster’s.
The breakdown will be huge.
If Munster can get through the phases and create space out wide like the last game, then we could see our back 3 get over the line.
Munster need to improve their defence as they were caught out by a few great counter attacks in the last game.
As I said before, I expect the Leinster scrum to get the better of the Munster scrum, and we may see a yellow or 2 there.
I still see Leinster taking this one, but as the week goes on I am more confident that Munster can stay with them for much of the game.
Munster have good impact on the bench, so the last 20 will be a great contest.
Not sure I agree on the backline. There are 4 starting Ireland players in there and one who will be in when he qualifies in November.
I suppose it all comes down to opinions.
In my opinion Murray, DDA, earls and Conway are better than their opposite numbers.
Lowe has a lot of flair in attack, but is too prone to brain farts.
Daly is playing very well, and looks much more comfortable at full back than Larmour, even with so few games at 15.
IMO there is little between ringrose and Farrell, but both are behind Aki.
Don’t get me wrong, Leinster have a good backline, I just think that Munster edge it in that area.
Ringrose is in a different part of the universe than Farrell, who is in the same orbit as McCloskey. DDA and Henshaw haven't a cigarette paper between them. Lowe and Earls is a toss-up on any given day. I'll concede Conway ahead of Keenan. However, Henshaw and Ringrose way ahead of DDA & Farrell as a partnership. McGrath & Sexton also far ahead of CM & JJ. Our back three is the only unit in the team where Munster may be superior.
Attitude and intensity will be the decisive attributes and we'll only know who has those right on the day.
munster#1 wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 12:56 pm
Not the Munster team that I would have picked.
Munster appear to have went with mobility rather power in the front row.
I think Leinster have the better pack, but the Munster backline is better than Leinster’s.
The breakdown will be huge.
If Munster can get through the phases and create space out wide like the last game, then we could see our back 3 get over the line.
Munster need to improve their defence as they were caught out by a few great counter attacks in the last game.
As I said before, I expect the Leinster scrum to get the better of the Munster scrum, and we may see a yellow or 2 there.
I still see Leinster taking this one, but as the week goes on I am more confident that Munster can stay with them for much of the game.
Munster have good impact on the bench, so the last 20 will be a great contest.
Not sure I agree on the backline. There are 4 starting Ireland players in there and one who will be in when he qualifies in November.
You’re making the mistake of getting drawn into a troll type argument -really best to ignore
Not sure I agree on the backline. There are 4 starting Ireland players in there and one who will be in when he qualifies in November.
I suppose it all comes down to opinions.
In my opinion Murray, DDA, earls and Conway are better than their opposite numbers.
Lowe has a lot of flair in attack, but is too prone to brain farts.
Daly is playing very well, and looks much more comfortable at full back than Larmour, even with so few games at 15.
IMO there is little between ringrose and Farrell, but both are behind Aki.
Don’t get me wrong, Leinster have a good backline, I just think that Munster edge it in that area.
Ringrose is in a different part of the universe than Farrell, who is in the same orbit as McCloskey. DDA and Henshaw haven't a cigarette paper between them. Lowe and Earls is a toss-up on any given day. I'll concede Conway ahead of Keenan. However, Henshaw and Ringrose way ahead of DDA & Farrell as a partnership. McGrath & Sexton also far ahead of CM & JJ. Our back three is the only unit in the team where Munster may be superior.
Attitude and intensity will be the decisive attributes and we'll only know who has those right on the day.
While I totally agree that Farrell did not deserve the MOTM award Ahead of Gary, I think that’s harsh to say he is in same orbit as McCloskey. Farrell has shown in between injuries that he is a good centre and while I believe behind our first choices he is way ahead of McCloskey
I thought Henshaw was really good last week. He obviously got some praise for the grubber but other than that his performance seemed to go under the radar a bit as people talked up the other three centres. He made things look very easy, a good example being that long pass he threw to set up an attack on the left hand side in the second half.
Up Wexford wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 2:55 pm
Delighted for Connors. I really think he'll rise to the occasion, tackle stats through the roof, if not MOTM. But the do have the edge at ruck time. Who is our "groundhog" to counter Beirne and Stander? Fardy can police a good ruck if in form.
And while no-one here is being complacent, we are ignoring how dominant the were in the line out last time, even without Snyman. Accuracy needed from Kelleher and lifters, and I cannot see Sexton/Keenan/Larmour kicking for touch unless an absolute last resort
The groundhog issue is still a bit of a concern as the jackal is v much "in" right now (esp in the English premiership it seems) and Stander is on top of his game in that regard (even though he's been illegal for quite a few) I would like to see potentially Kelleher try and take up that role ala Bismarck Du Plessis in his pomp. While not as physical, he is a similar build and could be very strong over the ball. It seems to have fallen out of Healy's game a bit, potentially as it can cause such a strain on the body. I wonder if/hope Leavy can return to being the brilliant jackal he was but I wouldn't blame him for approaching it with a bit more caution after the injury (I can't see that happening though).
Our clearouts have to be ferocious and well timed straight after the tackle. We generally get this right against Munster so hopefully the intensity will be there again.
This could be a real test. I thought there were shades of what Munster did away to Gloucester in how they went about creating Conway's first try two weeks ago. And, just based on probabilities, Munster have to get a win in the league semis sometime. Hopefully not tomorrow!
These New Zealand-style kicks towards the goalposts could be a really good weapon here. Munster fill the defensive line, which means the space is in behind. And kicking it removes from the equation the threat of them turning it over. I hope to see this tactic used more than once if they can get proper position on the field.
The new rules favouring the jackcal incentive kicking the ball away, especially in your own half. We might have to do a bit more kicking than usual if Stander, Cloete, etc. manage to flop their relatively short, stocky bodies over the ball.
"This is breathless stuff.....it's on again. Contepomi out to Hickie,D'Arcy,Hickie.......................HICKIE FOR THE CORNER! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 4:29 pm
I thought Henshaw was really good last week. He obviously got some praise for the grubber but other than that his performance seemed to go under the radar a bit as people talked up the other three centres. He made things look very easy, a good example being that long pass he threw to set up an attack on the left hand side in the second half.
He has become a little bit unfashionable over the last year or so, and that has only become more apparent with the arrival of de Allende and Frawley playing well at No12 recently. Henshaw is one of the best players and greatest competitors in the country.
munster#1 wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 12:56 pm
I think Leinster have the better pack, but the Munster backline is better than Leinster’s.
Apart from Hanrahan, it is a very good backline alright. But the only players I would definitely rate higher from your backline are pre-2019 Murray and Conway. Is Murray back on form? A good test for him. I am a fan of Daly: I couldn't understand why you signed journeymen to block him, so good to see him get a run.
2 journeymen. They got them relatively cheap because they had Ireland ambitions.
Munster aren’t phased at all by signing guys and then deciding they didn’t need them. There are 2 young Munster developed players who’ve played been selected for all 3 games since the break. Casey just passed McCarthy for total caps. Munster signed McCarthy and extended Mathewson this season, then decided Casey was their guy. They signed Haley and Gallagher, then abruptly realised that Daly is talented and picked him.
It’s like when they develop an academy player they have to sign an ambitious player with Irish prospects and promptly throw them into the scrap heap. Maybe it helps them get over the shock of giving someone a chance.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 4:29 pm
I thought Henshaw was really good last week. He obviously got some praise for the grubber but other than that his performance seemed to go under the radar a bit as people talked up the other three centres. He made things look very easy, a good example being that long pass he threw to set up an attack on the left hand side in the second half.
He has become a little bit unfashionable over the last year or so, and that has only become more apparent with the arrival of de Allende and Frawley playing well at No12 recently. Henshaw is one of the best players and greatest competitors in the country.
Frawley had one start, it was promising but it wasn’t earth shattering. Henshaw has been expanding his game and I’m happy with his form. 12 is a really poorly understood position in Ireland. It’s no surprise that the extremes of a converting out half and a 17 stone bruiser (Or two) are getting attention right now.
OTT wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2020, 11:31 am
Munster need Friday night a lot more then we do, I think they could nick it, I don't think it would be anything like a Croke Park changing of the guard moment but I just wonder how much we will really want to peak on Friday if we do need to go up through the gears. Hope I am wrong.
They needed it more last year, and the year before that...
