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

[munster#1]

Genuinely thought the media were just stirring things but the Jenkins signing has been confirmed.

Always great to add experienced players to a squad, and I’m sure that Jenkins will be a great addition, especially with the introduction of the SA teams into the league, but not sure if that is where I would have spent the money.

The only logic I can apply to this is that Munster have been instructed to use Beirne as a 6 going forward, and they are taking RGs likely absence during international windows into account.

[Keith]

Genuinely thought the media were just stirring things but the Jenkins signing has been confirmed.

Always great to add experienced players to a squad, and I’m sure that Jenkins will be a great addition, especially with the introduction of the SA teams into the league, but not sure if that is where I would have spent the money.

The only logic I can apply to this is that Munster have been instructed to use Beirne as a 6 going forward, and they are taking RGs likely absence during international windows into account.

Well he's there now so may as well just get behind him. He's already under enormous pressure to perform though with all this spotlight on him.

[mildlyinterested]

The coaching staff and these key players are all out of contract next season: Carbery, Beirne, Murray, DDA, Snyman.

[fourthirtythree]

Is he that experienced? I didn't think he was.
He's a couple of years older than the less talented Wycherley but around the same number of senior caps.

Has tbat international cap I suppose.

[munster#1]

Genuinely thought the media were just stirring things but the Jenkins signing has been confirmed.

Always great to add experienced players to a squad, and I’m sure that Jenkins will be a great addition, especially with the introduction of the SA teams into the league, but not sure if that is where I would have spent the money.

The only logic I can apply to this is that Munster have been instructed to use Beirne as a 6 going forward, and they are taking RGs likely absence during international windows into account.

Well he's there now so may as well just get behind him. He's already under enormous pressure to perform though with all this spotlight on him.

That’s it in a nutshell. No point whinging now.
Especially without knowing any of the back story.

Me trying to put a positive spin on it, hopefully this allows Beirne to move to 6 permanently and become Ireland’s best ever blindside.
Additionally, perhaps Munster feel that Ahern needs more time before playing at this level week in week out, and this 1 year signing will allow him time to progress.

[mildlyinterested]

The42 understands that Munster had provisionally agreed a one-year contract with du Toit that would have been worth more than €600,000 and strongly supported by private investment, as in the case of de Allende and Snyman, the Springbok pair who joined the province on two-year deals last summer.

However, it’s understood that IRFU performance director David Nucifora was not willing to sanction such a big-money deal amidst the sweeping financial cuts many players in Munster and the rest of the country are facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.the42.ie/pieter-steph-du-to ... 7-Mar2021/

[Dave Cahill]

We should sign him for the lols

[fourthirtythree]

"it’s thought that Munster have made assurances to the IRFU that he will be used at blindside flanker. "
So there goes the theory that the IRFU was forcing Munster to play Beirne at blindside and that's why they allowed this.

[mildlyinterested]

i'll be very surprised if Jenkins plays 6

[Ruckedtobits]

So, Nucifora has the IRFU Press Officer brief Murray Kinsella with the back story of how Jenkins is being signed to replace CJ because Lucifora wouldn't approve signing of Du Toit @ €600k p.a. - some of which would be privately financed. Suggestion therefore is that "it's not my fault, we didn't know he was going and we had to allow them replace him".

Still a farcical situation. Munster have now recruited another NIQ who isn't even a specialist where they need one. They have Coombes, and several other good back rows, including Tagdh Beirne possibly the best No 6 in the country, they've given PO'M a 2-yr National contract and they can't afford to retain quality Squad players like Sweetnam and JJ.

This does not look like good recruitment and certainly not beneficial to the national rugby interests. Poor and wrong decisions by JvG and DN.

[ronk]

The42 understands that Munster had provisionally agreed a one-year contract with du Toit that would have been worth more than €600,000 and strongly supported by private investment, as in the case of de Allende and Snyman, the Springbok pair who joined the province on two-year deals last summer.

However, it’s understood that IRFU performance director David Nucifora was not willing to sanction such a big-money deal amidst the sweeping financial cuts many players in Munster and the rest of the country are facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.the42.ie/pieter-steph-du-to ... 7-Mar2021/

Some parts of that story don’t fit well, like Munster going to market after Stander decided to retire. Signing the World Player of the Year takes lead time.

[Oldschoolsocks]

The42 understands that Munster had provisionally agreed a one-year contract with du Toit that would have been worth more than €600,000 and strongly supported by private investment, as in the case of de Allende and Snyman, the Springbok pair who joined the province on two-year deals last summer.

However, it’s understood that IRFU performance director David Nucifora was not willing to sanction such a big-money deal amidst the sweeping financial cuts many players in Munster and the rest of the country are facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.the42.ie/pieter-steph-du-to ... 7-Mar2021/

Some parts of that story don’t fit well, like Munster going to market after Stander decided to retire. Signing the World Player of the Year takes lead time.

It would be a massive irony if CJ retired to make way for do Toit

[wixfjord]

Some really strange and (if I were a Munster fan) worrying stuff coming out of the camp over the last few days.

Obviously the manner of the loss is a big blow.

But that, supported by them looking to blow 600k on a one year deal for PSDT, and then signing a poor imitation in a position they have lots of talent in already, just smacks of short termism and lack of strategy.

When was the last time Munster signed a 'finesse' player by the way? A guy who can pick locks instead of just try to burst them open? Joey?
The default strategy seems to be 'WE NEED BIGGER AND MORE SOUTH AFRICAN!'

Then you team this up with the strange comments from Stephen 'Comical Ali' Larkham who contradicted JVG's summary that they're miles off by saying:

“So, if you look at it, Leinster had 45 possessions in the game and they made 14 errors with those. We had 36 possessions and we made 10 errors, so it’s like 32pc error rate for them and 28pc error rate for us."

“We were evenly matched. They just got us on the night. It’s one try between us really that sort of broke our back in that second half."

“When you lose the number of games that we’ve lost to Leinster you start to doubt yourself, so that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”

At best, it's poor communication strategy. At worst, it's a coaching team that don't really know what went wrong and possibly Larkham putting up a gentle flag against JVG.

[Dave Cahill]

I doubt any of this happened quite so recently.

I wonder did Munster get caught by Covid on this one - did the deal on PSDT expecting Nucifora to be propping up a bar in Summer Bay over christmas as is his wont (sure why be in the country during contract season) only to find that he hadn't buggered off after all and was in situ to put a halt to their gallup tout suite

[wixfjord]

Toulouse is clearly a massive game for this Munster side by the way.

A win would wash away some of the issues of the last week.

Toulouse are potentially without Tekori and Guitone, and have a bit of an injury crisis at centre, along with lots of French guys re-integrating.

But a loss of any magnitude will further embed those doubts that Larkham has talked about, particularly with the clearout of experienced names that's coming (CJ, Cronin, Marshall, Holland, JJ, Sweetnam).

[Dave Cahill]

[wixfjord]

Pretty strong stuff from Darce here. Hard to argue with it.

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... -1.4524254

[mildlyinterested]

enjoyed that

[munster#1]

Lots of real extremism on this site over the last few days.
Munster make the final of the Pro14 with ease, and are one of 2 provinces to still be in Europe’s premier competition due to winning 100% of their games, which also awards them with a coveted home match.

Yet, if you were to read the comments on here you would believe that Munster were a bottom or the barrel team.
Munster have a very good record in comparison to most teams, and the fact that they generate such a response from their recent loss to one of Europe’s best teams, would suggest that most media outlets and rugby fans believe that they are still a very good team.

Some of the comments are so myopic that we even had one poster suggest that Munster are the only team that do not believe in developing their own squad. This while using 53 players to date this season. Including Playing academy players in big European games, and still making a final and being one of 2 provinces left in the HC.

I am not sure of the numbers, but I would be very surprised if Connacht and Ulster have used more home grown players this season?

Munster are by no means perfect, and when you compare them against Leinster, they are poor. But Leinster are the outlier, and to compare any team against an outlier is a poor way to analyse them.

Surely it would be fairer to compare them with the norm? If you do, you will see that Munster are not as poor or as evil as this witch hunt would suggest.

[wixfjord]

Witch hunt?

Extremism?

Jaysus man give it a break will you.