Munster 2014/2015

[simonokeeffe]

True of course. It was purely hypothetical. Were he available now I'd have him in the squad ahead of Copeland. That sounds nasty on RC and I don't mean it that way. Take it as an intended compliment for Stander.

neither have an Irish passport though

[fourthirtythree]

True of course. It was purely hypothetical. Were he available now I'd have him in the squad ahead of Copeland. That sounds nasty on RC and I don't mean it that way. Take it as an intended compliment for Stander.

neither have an Irish passport though

Optional baby. Optional.

It's how you do in the sing-song that is the real clincher.

[blockhead]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/g ... 89200.html

Munster will roll out their big guns for the arrival of Zebre this weekend as coach Anthony Foley goes in search of his first home win.

Paul O'Connell, Conor Murray, Dave Kilcoyne and JJ Hanrahan will all play some part on Friday as Foley gets his first chance to field his Ireland stars.

Foley has had an injury-hammered start to his tenure too though, and there still appears to be no good news in sight for second row Donnacha Ryan, who remains sidelined with a foot ailment.

According to Foley, skipper Peter O'Mahony (shoulder) is also now unlikely to return in time for next week's tussle with Ospreys as initially expected, while Ryan will visit his surgeon on Friday to see if he can ramp up his recovery.

"He has been doing (full training) for the past two weeks, but there is just stuff he cannot do and we need to figure out a way around that," said Foley.

"Peter is doing a bit more contact, but he has got a few more weeks to go. The urge will be to try and get him back quickly but I don't think that is the right thing to do."

After securing their first win of the season against Treviso at the weekend, there was more good news for Foley as Munster yesterday clinched a work permit for new Argentinian hooker Eusebio Guinazu. The head coach is reluctant to throw him straight into the action this weekend against Zebre, though, as he still has to sort out his travel arrangements.

"Hopefully he'll be here this week, we're just waiting for him to get flights to get over here," said Foley.

"But we are happy with where Duncan (Casey) and Kevin O'Byrne are at the moment. We picked up an injury with Ger Slattery a couple of weeks ago. Niall Scannell still isn't back, Mike Sherry and Damien (Varley) still aren't back.

"We're minding the two boys but we're conscious as well that it would be great for him to get over here. But the two boys are going really well for us and we're quite happy at the moment.

"We have a few more back so it does make for interesting selections now in terms of fellas going forward, but that is what we need. We need that competition within the squad and hopefully we will see that in the game on Friday night."

Foley was speaking after running his eye over his squad at training in UL yesterday, where a number of his injured players featured in various roles.

Varley took a limited part in training as he recovers from his foot problem, while Keith Earls also ramped up his recovery from a knee problem picked up during Ireland's training camp in August.

"Keith is flying, you saw him over there, running up and down the pitch. He is another fella who is a couple of weeks away and we need to patient around that again," said Foley.

"It's getting there. We've a lot of inherited injuries that we need to get off the books. A lot of them are coming back now and hopefully over the next few weeks we'll see a few more back.

"That just raises the competition within the squad and within that competition, performances will grow. That's what we're after and hopefully we'll get that," added Foley as he bids to back up the win in Italy with a first home win of the season
- See more at: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/g ... qPYpz.dpuf

[Xanthippe]

Oh FFS!!!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

[fourthirtythree]

[ichabodscrane]

Plonker! I'd say Bowe, Trimble and company are sh!tting themselves.

[RoboProp]

Oh FFS!!!

[hugonaut]

Plonker! I'd say Bowe, Trimble and company are sh!tting themselves.

Well, he just scored a hat-trick against Zebre in a home fixture. Andrew Trimble went the full 80 in a home fixture against Zebre last week and got one try. So maybe they're not shitting themselves, but they certainly know that they've got competition. That's his third hat-trick in four seasons and he's scored four tries in his first three games this season. Good going.

[munster#1]

Great example of psychology in operation. Puts a reminder on his arm, much like many others have been doing for years, and boom, he scores yet another hat trick. I think only the fifth first half hatrick ever in the pro 12.

As a munster fan I hope he never gets selected for Ireland again, but as an irish fan, you would have to ask for a reason not to include him.

Hopefully this will be a big season for zebo.

[RoboProp]

Great example of psychology in operation. Puts a reminder on his arm, much like many others have been doing for years, and boom, he scores yet another hat trick. I the can only the fifth first half hatrick ever in the pro 12.

As a munster fan I hope he never gets selected for Ireland again, but as an irish fan, you would have to ask for a reason not to include him.

Hopefully this will be a big season for zebo.

I don't get why you don't want him selected for Ireland. Test rugby is the ultimate for any player and to become a better footballer you need to test yourself against the best. Plus, he can learn more from the coaches in the National set up. The player benefits in the long run and so do club and country

[PCASEY]

Great example of psychology in operation. Puts a reminder on his arm, much like many others have been doing for years, and boom, he scores yet another hat trick. I think only the fifth first half hatrick ever in the pro 12.

As a munster fan I hope he never gets selected for Ireland again, but as an irish fan, you would have to ask for a reason not to include him.

Hopefully this will be a big season for zebo.

the guy has obvious talent but he is inconsistent; he doesn't always perform to the high levels people hope / expect of him. if this is what it takes for him to do that then grand. however if a guys main driver for excellence is only to improve what other people think of him, (ie. to prevent him from being 'underrated') then I question if that can help him reach greatness. personally, i think this is an example of bad sports psychology

[simonokeeffe]

Control yourself Control the game

I liked Zebos attitude last year when he openly talked about the work ons he was giving from Joe and how he was keen to focus on them. If he wants to make Ireland squad potentially disruptive beahviour/attitude is not going to help. Working on his defence and clearouts will. Not like he is under rated by the media, Munster fans, Munster squad so who else is it aimed at? Women?

[All Blacks nil]

Was at the game last night.
Hopefully some highlights footage will emerge from somewhere.
Munster played well without ever having complete control. Zebre had plenty ball but never looked like they might score from their own ball with their best moments arising from turnovers. As I said they had plenty of possession and if stats do appear on the game I would imagine tackling and possession stats would not be as one sided as the score line.

Zebo's first two tries were excellent finishes in the corner, for his third he ran a good inside support line to receive an inside pass from Hanrahan to score under the posts. JJ's inside pass was probable a more difficult pass to execute than a simple pass to O'Mahoney but Zebo did well to catch it one handed from slightly behind him. He also chipped in with an assist for Smith's try, a long pass from right to left for Smith to score in the corner. He fielded plenty of poorly kicked ball and was a threat throughout. Solid defensively but as I say Zebre were very limited in possession

Upfront honours were pretty even, with for me Botha and Butler the pick of the pack. I can say in years to come that I was there when Jack O'Donoughue replaced Copeland (Butler went to 8, JOD AT 6)for the last twenty minutes or so and did well getting on the ball and generally being a physical nuisance. Good to see him debut and certainly did not look out of place. It was a cameo against a well beaten team but he did well.

The backline worked well with Hurley playing his role well regularly carrying up to and beyond the gain line. Pretty much the way James Downey should have been used last season. Munster varied their play well and indeed their first try came from the space created by using Hurley as a decoy off first phase. Smith cut through and threw a scoring pass to Zebo.
Ronan O'Mahoney did well on the wing, creating the second try with a super running catch from a Hanrahan up and under. His kick chase especially in the first half was excellent, making the right decision to compete or tackle consistently. He seemed to be suffering from cramp late on.

Defensively Munster, apart from a few turnover attacks, were comfortable and organised.
All in all a good bonus point win, against a limited side. I wouldn't like to get too carried away with a big win against a limited side as you never know what might happen next week!!!!!

[domhnallj]

This was Copeland's first run out for Munster. Anyone got an opinion on how he went?

[rookie]

This was Copeland's first run out for Munster. Anyone got an opinion on how he went?

Didn't carry a whole lot, but tackled well. Paddy Butler looked busier

[munster#1]

Butler is a player that I hope makes it. I had the privilege of meeting him a few weeks ago, he is one of the most genuine people you could ever meet, he went above and beyond with everyone in my group.

[Morf]

Control yourself Control the game

Wise wise wise words.

[simonokeeffe]

Control yourself Control the game

Wise wise wise words.

think you need to have awesome hair to get away with that on your wrist

[leinster4life13]

Great example of psychology in operation. Puts a reminder on his arm, much like many others have been doing for years.

Next he will be wearing balance bands, hologram bracelets and iso-charged under armour....