Munster 2013/2014

[paddyor]

Stander back with the A's

Good to Foley trusted again.

Zebo getting a reailty check.

Hurley at 12 for A team.

Archer for Botha the only change in the starting lineup.
Butler for Stander on the bench.
Don't fancy Stander's chances of a long term future at Munster. Hasn'tt taken his chance this season despite plenty of game time. When he has started he has been ordinary at best and when he has been used as a reolacement he has made little impact.

Tweet machine saying Standers off in the summer.......money well spent.!

[All Blacks nil]

Stander back with the A's

Good to Foley trusted again.

Zebo getting a reailty check.

Hurley at 12 for A team.

Archer for Botha the only change in the starting lineup.
Butler for Stander on the bench.
Don't fancy Stander's chances of a long term future at Munster. Hasn'tt taken his chance this season despite plenty of game time. When he has started he has been ordinary at best and when he has been used as a reolacement he has made little impact.

Tweet machine saying Standers off in the summer.......money well spent.!

Not the best of investments. Came around the same time as the Leinster second row , you know the chef guy. How is he doing? Still raw last I read here. At least Leinster didn't spend a LOTE (tiquiri) money on him.

My opinion on these project players is if they are not better than your young indigenous players cut them loose and let them follow their career elsewhere. How long more will the chef get? As I've said previously I've not seen much of him but then again I don't attend Leinster training sessions. Food must be mustard though when his old man turns up

[deco]

Archer for Botha the only change in the starting lineup.
Butler for Stander on the bench.
Don't fancy Stander's chances of a long term future at Munster. Hasn'tt taken his chance this season despite plenty of game time. When he has started he has been ordinary at best and when he has been used as a reolacement he has made little impact.

Tweet machine saying Standers off in the summer.......money well spent.!

Not the best of investments. Came around the same time as the Leinster second row , you know the chef guy. How is he doing? Still raw last I read here. At least Leinster didn't spend a LOTE (tiquiri) money on him.

At least Leinster aren't broke and have the money to spend. How's Goneway doing for you?

[Alternative Ulster]

Chef thing took me a minute. Thought he meant Sykes.

Now that would have been a good thing to slag us about.

[paddyor]

Not the best of investments. Came around the same time as the Leinster second row , you know the chef guy. How is he doing? Still raw last I read here. At least Leinster didn't spend a LOTE (tiquiri) money on him.

My opinion on these project players is if they are not better than your young indigenous players cut them loose and let them follow their career elsewhere. How long more will the chef get? As I've said previously I've not seen much of him but then again I don't attend Leinster training sessions. Food must be mustard though when his old man turns up

I'm not sure we spent a whole lot on Lote. He was injured for a lot of his time here and someone elsewhere said Medical Joker contracts are usually contingent on fitness and availability. Can't confirm that.

Rouxs development has been hampered by injuries, notably a dislocated shoulder just after he came back from injury, which kept him out for most of the season. He'll come into the reckoning a bit more with Toner and MacCarthy off with the 6N squad and also with Cullen to retire at the end of the season I think. Roux was hardly a marquee signing like Stander. AFAIK he had a 2 year deal like Stander.

I agree with cutting them loose if they aren't better but Lock is and has been a problem position for us for some time. Whereas Munster have lots of back rows -POM, Butler, DOC2.0, Dougall, TOD, Coughlan, Ronan, Copeland next year - that's before you get into the Academy and sub Academy players(of whom I know little) of which there must be a few prospects. Not necessarily all Internationals but good enough at HEC and Pro12 I think. I think an NIQ centre would have been a better move given you loose Lalalalala at the end of the season.

[fourthirtythree]

No, Munster can't have Quinn Roux.

[munster#1]

Both munster and leinster have had their share of poor signings, and i'm not sure that cj is one of these. For me it looks like home grown lads are being given their chances as much as possible.

That can be seen when watching munster this season. We usually have 2 non Irish players in our starting team, which is brought down to one this weekend.
From the outside looking in, it appears that this is a plan. I like most hate this project player cr@p, so it is great to see butler in instead of cj, even if i believe that cj is the better player.

[StrangeButBlue]

Toulouse scrape past zebre to get to 23 pts and 16tries.
Bonus point win tomorrow gives home QF to munster

[Lazarus]

Stander back with the A's

Good to Foley trusted again.

Zebo getting a reailty check.

Hurley at 12 for A team.

Archer for Botha the only change in the starting lineup.
Butler for Stander on the bench.
Don't fancy Stander's chances of a long term future at Munster. Hasn'tt taken his chance this season despite plenty of game time. When he has started he has been ordinary at best and when he has been used as a reolacement he has made little impact.

Tweet machine saying Standers off in the summer.......money well spent.!

Tweet machine is wrong

[blockhead]

A Munster v Leinster QF in Ireland (wherever its played) is a far better prospect that both of us heading to the south of France. So best of luck today Munster, get the BP, and secure that home QF and hopefully we get a 3rd epic Heino clash to rank alongside 2006 and 2009.

[Oldschool]

As I think Clerment will get their BP, I hope you get guys get your BP and another home Q/F.
So you'll get Toulouse and we get to go to Toulon.
Wouldn't have minded another trip to Toulouse or Clerment. However Nice will be another first.
PS I think Edinburgh will make it tough for ye, I think there's still a chance of the Amlin for them.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Embarrassingly bad defence on show from Edinburgh here. Not sure I've ever seen defence so weak off a scrum.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

More thuggish play this weekend. POC taken out with a flying headbutt/shoulder by the Edinburgh flanker. Binned but lucky not to get red IMO

[tackle-bag]

More thuggish play this weekend. POC taken out with a flying headbutt/shoulder by the Edinburgh flanker. Binned but lucky not to get red IMO

Camera angles were bad unfortunately. It certainly seemed as though he was going for a flying headbutt on POC, but there was some slight room for doubt as to the exact angle he came in at.

[Dave Cahill]

More thuggish play this weekend. POC taken out with a flying headbutt/shoulder by the Edinburgh flanker. Binned but lucky not to get red IMO

Camera angles were bad unfortunately. It certainly seemed as though he was going for a flying headbutt on POC, but there was some slight room for doubt as to the exact angle he came in at.

One thing that was clear was that it could have been a Glasgow penalty as O'Connell was illegally playing the ball whilst off his feet.

[sid]

One thing that was clear was that it could have been a Glasgow penalty as O'Connell was illegally playing the ball whilst off his feet.

Toulon still would have won though.

[Dave Cahill]

One thing that was clear was that it could have been a Glasgow penalty as O'Connell was illegally playing the ball whilst off his feet.

Toulon still would have won though.

D'oh!

[blockhead]

Congratulations Munster. Great performance throughout the group phase after the first day blip. Munster are getting stronger and stronger this season.

[munster#1]

Great game from munster today, yet another without conceding a try.

for me the backrow was the most impressive aspect of the game, pom was his usual self, showing why so many rate him so highly. i am wary of praising caughlan as many on here might find offence where there is none, but he was brilliant, and after a performance like that it shows that age is just a number and he is a wasted talent. My motm was tod, he was top class, showed how a real 7 should play, he should IMO be starting all games in the 6n while fit.

POC has been great of late, and put in another performance for the rugby purists to salivate over.

Archer deserves a hell of a lot of praise, he has come from a long long long way back to become a very competent TH.

i could go from 1 to 15 giving similar praise as there were no weak links out there, all players played very well, and i'd say most people would differ over motm selections, but the player i most want to mention is foley, i love to watch 2nd rows, to study what the do, and for me he has a very good game. He is fast becoming the player imagined he would, he does require a couple of kilos yet, but imo he will go on to pick up a few caps and become a regular HC player.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Foley looked to be finding the pace hard to me at times and was the same last week. That's my only criticism though and thankfully it's easily fixed. Played really well, certainly flies into rucks and tackles, don't blame him for being wrecked! I'm looking forward to seeing him as he gets more and more games.

TOD was excellent and has certainly found his form again after being injured. I'd definitely have Henry ahead of him but looking forward to seeing what he can do off the bench.