Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious, the Series Finale??? - 2020/21

[munster#1]

Well, as with every season, I am now looking forward to next season with blind optimism.

The ultimate goal of any team in sport is to win silverware, but first Munster must identify why they continually come undone at the semifinal stage, and then remedy it.

With the uncertainty of the effects of the new HC format, I am assuming that we will see some big upsets.
Teams will have to be on their A game all of the time to win next season’s HC.

With the league, the goal for Munster has to be to top their pool, assuming that the current format will remain, and avoid the likelihood of playing Leinster in yet another away semifinal.
Potentially lining up a final against Leinster in TP.

As Munster have performed a remarkable clearout over the last 2 seasons, they now have no choice but to trust the players who remain.

Munster have the find the right balance to give the young guns minutes and still win a large percentage of their games.
They have to look to the future, yet still remain in the present.
This is something that not many teams get right.

Munster showed glimpses this season of an evolving game, which was again evident with the tries in the first game against Leinster, so they need to build on that.
Earls is right behind Zebo with try count, and my hope is that we see our wingers run in double digit numbers over the course of the season, and see earls finish out his career as Munster’s all time top try scorer.

Munster have all of the right ingredients to win silverware, they have the players, the facilities, the coaches...

[The Doc]

Well, as with every season, I am now looking forward to next season with blind optimism.

Should be written at the top of every fan forum

I think the Munster coaching team need to remember that home semi finals are decided in November and January. Teams can make the knock outs with a good run when the whole squad is together. But winning the games (home or away) when the internationals are what determines home semi finals. And to do that, they need the second tier getting some time on the pitch with the front liners so that they can lead the team in November and January.

The HEC is going to be a lottery - I think we all need to realise that the nature of two sets of mini leagues within each group could lead to very unusual results. A team could win all their games and still not qualify or get a bad draw because of results between teams they have no games with. So I'm not sure any of us can have expectations of how we do in the HEC other than just look at performances and then hope for good luck

[Oldschool]

Hopefully next season's Thread title will include the words "Born Again".

[Up Wexford]

Even with the signings, under JVG 20/21 is going to be more of the same. And I think thats what they should do, and target ROG to come in when his La Rochelle contract is up in one or two years time. JVG will make the mistakes, he will succeed with some of the youth and others will fall by the wayside, the faithful will be desperate for change and ROG as their saviour. The Munster administration should be working to have the environment perfect for ROG and tee him up as best they can for a 5/6 year stint. The parallels with MOC/Leo arent exact, but they are there.

[offshorerules]

Should the thread title be:

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious - 2020/21 - The Sequel?

[munster#1]

Should the thread title be:

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious - 2020/21 - The Sequel?

The Sequel kind of infers that 2020/2021 is only the second instalment.

[blockhead]

I read or heard somewhere that neither Snyman or Kleyn call lineouts.
Is that true?

[offshorerules]

Should the thread title be:

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious - 2020/21 - The Sequel?

The Sequel kind of infers that 2020/2021 is only the second instalment.

The ongoing saga? Never ending Story? Decent into oblivion? I just feel it needs something...

[Logorrhea]

As Munster have performed a remarkable clearout over the last 2 seasons, they now have no choice but to trust the players who remain.

When you say "performed a remarkable clearout" you mean "massively invested in both the playing squad and the coaching unit" yeah?

Funny thing for me in the post-mortem of the latest semi defeat, is the manner in which most people seem to focus on the game plan and ignore the injuries. If Munster went into that semi with their first choice front-five it could well have been a very different game, we could have been talking about their first final with them as favorites. As it is, they went in seriously under powered, their pack fed their backs shite ball all day long as a result of this, and so they played the percentages off the shite ball they were given. The fact they were competitive at all was an achievement.

A decent front five will give them decent ball and we are starting to see they can play off of that.

Personally I think DDA is a luxury signing they didn't need. I don't think he'll be particular effective for them and they would have been much better off buying in a decent tight-head. Munster, with a decent front five next year, and bit more depth in the pack, will scare the shite out of a lot of the big teams.

[munster#1]

As Munster have performed a remarkable clearout over the last 2 seasons, they now have no choice but to trust the players who remain.

When you say "performed a remarkable clearout" you mean "massively invested in both the playing squad and the coaching unit" yeah?

Funny thing for me in the post-mortem of the latest semi defeat, is the manner in which most people seem to focus on the game plan and ignore the injuries. If Munster went into that semi with their first choice front-five it could well have been a very different game, we could have been talking about their first final with them as favorites. As it is, they went in seriously under powered, their pack fed their backs shite ball all day long as a result of this, and so they played the percentages off the shite ball they were given. The fact they were competitive at all was an achievement.

A decent front five will give them decent ball and we are starting to see they can play off of that.

Personally I think DDA is a luxury signing they didn't need. I don't think he'll be particular effective for them and they would have been much better off buying in a decent tight-head. Munster, with a decent front five next year, and bit more depth in the pack, will scare the shite out of a lot of the big teams.

I think the numbers stand at about 15 senior players released over the last 12-14 months.
Munster also released 7 players from their academy last season.
To me that is a remarkable number, and a big statement as to where the coaching staff seen weaknesses in the squad.

On the tighthead, I don’t disagree, but I don’t see it as a position where Munster are weak.
We have 2 senior TH’s, both have been very solid over the last few seasons, with the Munster scrum rarely in trouble.

They cleared out 2 other senior tight heads, and look like backing Knox and Salanoa to succeed.
Signing another tight head would definitely stunt their development.

[fourthirtythree]

Ryan is excellent but needs his games managed unfortunately. Archer is an embarrassment. Only reason he gets away with the amount of offf the ball shenanigans he does is that he's so very, very slow lumbering about the pitch the ball is nowhere near his fouling.

It's amazing he's had a pro career, Knox needs to replace him asap. Salanoa carrying would add serious impact at the end of a game.

I thought de Allende was excellent against us in his first game, particularly as a first game. While he's another symptom of Munster's opportunistic rather than strategic HR policy, if he was available you have to go for him. We are just as guilty of that when we got Lowe knowing we wouldn't be able to play him for lots of games.

[dropkick]

Ryan is excellent but needs his games managed unfortunately. Archer is an embarrassment. Only reason he gets away with the amount of offf the ball shenanigans he does is that he's so very, very slow lumbering about the pitch the ball is nowhere near his fouling.

It's amazing he's had a pro career, Knox needs to replace him asap. Salanoa carrying would add serious impact at the end of a game.

I thought de Allende was excellent against us in his first game, particularly as a first game. While he's another symptom of Munster's opportunistic rather than strategic HR policy, if he was available you have to go for him. We are just as guilty of that when we got Lowe knowing we wouldn't be able to play him for lots of games.

Bit harsh on Archer. Hes not international quality but he has been solid for munster after a tough start to his career. I'd expect him to be phased out in the next 2 or 3 years but he's not a bad player to call on while the young tightheads get up to speed.


Apart from Knox and Salanoa, there's also James French who is in the academy. He was a late convert to prop and looked very impressive for Ireland U20s at loosehead. He is an impressive athlete and won an all ireland shot put title, like Cian Healy. Theyre converting him to tighthead now so it will be interesting to see how he goes.


The tight 5 looks healthy going forward. Not this season but next season when those props are coming through and Snyman comes back as well as Ahern and the other locks coming through. My main concern is hooker. Niall Scannell is a decent set piece player but a non entity in the loose. If he had either decent skills or was a decent ball carrier then fine but he's poor in both departments. Dairmuid Barron looks promising but will he get a chance this season?

[munster#1]

Ryan is excellent but needs his games managed unfortunately. Archer is an embarrassment. Only reason he gets away with the amount of offf the ball shenanigans he does is that he's so very, very slow lumbering about the pitch the ball is nowhere near his fouling.

It's amazing he's had a pro career, Knox needs to replace him asap. Salanoa carrying would add serious impact at the end of a game.

I thought de Allende was excellent against us in his first game, particularly as a first game. While he's another symptom of Munster's opportunistic rather than strategic HR policy, if he was available you have to go for him. We are just as guilty of that when we got Lowe knowing we wouldn't be able to play him for lots of games.

Bit harsh on Archer. Hes not international quality but he has been solid for munster after a tough start to his career. I'd expect him to be phased out in the next 2 or 3 years but he's not a bad player to call on while the young tightheads get up to speed.


Apart from Knox and Salanoa, there's also James French who is in the academy. He was a late convert to prop and looked very impressive for Ireland U20s at loosehead. He is an impressive athlete and won an all ireland shot put title, like Cian Healy. Theyre converting him to tighthead now so it will be interesting to see how he goes.


The tight 5 looks healthy going forward. Not this season but next season when those props are coming through and Snyman comes back as well as Ahern and the other locks coming through. My main concern is hooker. Niall Scannell is a decent set piece player but a non entity in the loose. If he had either decent skills or was a decent ball carrier then fine but he's poor in both departments. Dairmuid Barron looks promising but will he get a chance this season?

Rhys Marshall is a very skilful player imo, but unfortunately it appears that the scrum suffers when he is on the field.
That may not be a fact, but that is my perception.
So you have a trade off, have a player who is good in the loose, or one that is very solid in the scrum.

I don’t think Scannell is weak in the loose, he is just not your stereotypical modern hooker.
Strange to be having this conversation, when only 12 months ago Scannell looked set to replace Best in the Irish team.

[Oldschoolsocks]

.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Bismark du Plessis said it best, “my job is to to throw the ball in straight into the lineout and to scrummage hard“

[dropkick]

Bismark du Plessis said it best, “my job is to to throw the ball in straight into the lineout and to scrummage hard“

We'll swap Scannell for Kelleher.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Bismark du Plessis said it best, “my job is to to throw the ball in straight into the lineout and to scrummage hard“

We'll swap Scannell for Kelleher.

yeah - when you put it like that...

[offshorerules]

Should the thread title be:

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious - 2020/21 - The Sequel?

The Sequel kind of infers that 2020/2021 is only the second instalment.

The ongoing saga? Never ending Story? Decent into oblivion? I just feel it needs something...

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious, the Series Finale??? - 2020/21 - Nope that isn't it...

[munster#1]

The Sequel kind of infers that 2020/2021 is only the second instalment.

The ongoing saga? Never ending Story? Decent into oblivion? I just feel it needs something...

Munster Rugby - Semi Conscious, the Series Finale??? - 2020/21 - Nope that isn't it...

Still not good enough?
Well I am not changing it.

[blockhead]

Munster Rugby - Season 2020/21- Hierdie keer is dit persoonlik!