Munster Rugby 2012-13

Munster should have no problem tomorrow. Good result for them today with Saracens just getting 4 pts and Racing gettting none. 5 pointer should be a strong possibility if Munster can get control of the game early and don't present Edinburgh with any gifts.

another shocker for munster, 3-3 at half time vs zebre. some what the same as playing vs edinburgh in the heineken cup but edinburgh were scoreless.

munster were awful and clueless but in the second half zebre got tired and munster got the gaps they needed. jj hanrahan made his first start scored two trys and got man of the match.

keatley had a decent game, made jj second, how ronan o gara is ahead of him in the ireland team is a joke, an awful joke at that. this will cost the supporters and the irfu alot.

munster wont go far without luck, any good team would beat them.

thomand park was very close to empty. about 5,000

Saw the last 5 minutes and am suddenly not sorry I missed the game. Seemed a very sloppy game alright. The hype for JJ is going to go into hyperdrive now. Soon they'll be putting out a pool of water for him to walk across or make wine into. Don't get me wrong he's a good player but he's played one and a half games and he's already pegged as the second coming give the boy a chance. Zebre really need to pick up there fitness.

First half was dire, Munster got a bit of continuity in the 2nd half and once they got the 1st try they were always going to pull clear. Gaps appeared alarmingly in the 2nd half for Zebre. Some poor tries conceded. Hard to see them getting much more than about 10-15 points this season.

Its 5 points for Munster which is what they were looking for but there weren't many for Munster who advanced their claims tonight.

9 of the munster starting line up were u23. in this game thats a lot of kids on the pitch at once.

they got the bonus pt which is what they were after and jj found his feet. keats played well as did o dea and butler. i think they will have to start looking at better options than archer for th. ryan was lauded during his loan spell at irish but cant get a look in at munster. he showed more promise in 3 wks there than archer has shown in 3 seasons.

they should be top 4 after the wkend with their 3 toughest fixtures of season out of the way. not bad. for a team in transition.

Fair enough, what I meant was actually in an Irish context (sorry didn't state that), O'Callaghan and Ryan didn't convince me.

Back row has talent coming through. I rate all three of them as good players.

I like Kilcoyne as a future option.

Hanrahan should make it, last night was as easy as it gets at this level but really like what I've seen from him at underage.

O'Dea reminds me of Dowling, solid player will always do a job for you.

All in all just a hard game to generate any enthusiasm for. Like last week Munster didn't do the basics well in the 1st half but they were always going to get the bonus point once they got the initial breakthrough.

Munster should get Top 4 but will need to work hard to get the all important home semi as Ulster will target the Rabo for silverware, Leinster are going to be there again as are Ospreys and Scarlets and Glasgow will target the league. Munster won't have as many callups as in the past though so should be strong during the international games.

swift4prez wrote: another shocker for munster, 3-3 at half time vs zebre. some what the same as playing vs edinburgh in the heineken cup but edinburgh were scoreless.

munster were awful and clueless but in the second half zebre got tired and munster got the gaps they needed. jj hanrahan made his first start scored two trys and got man of the match.

keatley had a decent game, made jj second, how ronan o gara is ahead of him in the ireland team is a joke, an awful joke at that. this will cost the supporters and the irfu alot.

munster wont go far without luck, any good team would beat them.

thomand park was very close to empty. about 5,000

they are saying 7-8k actually attended the game. they have 15k season ticket holders so that may reflect in official att.
im one of them and i didnt travel. i was down on sunday and didnt fancy the drive so soon again and obviously a lot more felt the same.

unlike leinster particularly but also ulster and even connacht, munsters support base is split in 2. that is approx 70% is split between cork and limerick with the other 30% coming from the rest of the province and further.

im always met by lots of munster supporters in supermacs gort for instance after games in thomond. this was a game against the worst and newest team in lge on a cold friday night 5 days after a home hec game. its a poor show no doubt but unferstandable in this day and age.

in relation to munster only scoring only after zebre tired penney refered to that in an interview with newstalk during week. its on their site. he speaks of a multi facetted attack designed to take the legs of the opposition. he also says that munster arent good at it yet but its a work in progress. its well worth a listen. gives a great insight into the charector and mindset of the man.

Saw the Saracens game today and I think the result was fair. Just wanted to say how impressed I've been with Peter O'Mahony always thought before he was a loose canon but he's controlled aggression itself. As much as I criticize Kidney he was right with Zebo and POM (if maybe not the timing).

connachtexile wrote: Saw the Saracens game today and I think the result was fair. Just wanted to say how impressed I've been with Peter O'Mahony always thought before he was a loose canon but he's controlled aggression itself. As much as I criticize Kidney he was right with Zebo and POM (if maybe not the timing).

pom has that mc geeney ( u want to play football we will play football, u want to box we will box quality that every team needs. zebo is just class. he has been put down recently because its popular but class shows in the end.

i think theres a very real chance of a qtr final rematch in the aviva between ulster and munster.

i meant to add that jhw showed pom and mcgeeney like qualities v biarritz at home. want to c it again.

For the first time yesterday, Zebo convinced me that he is the real deal at this level. ROGs tactical kicking was good and kept Munster in it but defensively he's far too much of a liability at this stage. I dread to think of him starting a 6 nations game against any of the big 3. They'd run down his channel all day. Sherry and O'Mahony advanced their claims also.

In fairness to Munster they are missing a few players. Kilcoyne was a loss. Marcus Horan coming off the bench in a tight HC game is a disaster.

Thought Munster battled hard but Saracens were well organised defensively. Both sides probably should make the quarter final. Don't think either side will go past the quarter final in any case but its important for both sides to get that far anyway.

Did anyone see the article in the Indo that Botha is basiclly gone next year? Add this to the rumours I've heard about Hagan and Munster and I can see him heading there. To be frank as much as I'd like Jamie to come back to Connacht it could be the better move with Botha gone as Munster have no one left but Archer who can't scrummage. Would be good for Ireland as well having him getting gametime to keep Ross honest and push Bent for the number 2 spot.

connachtexile wrote: Did anyone see the article in the Indo that Botha is basiclly gone next year? Add this to the rumours I've heard about Hagan and Munster and I can see him heading there. To be frank as much as I'd like Jamie to come back to Connacht it could be the better move with Botha gone as Munster have no one left but Archer who can't scrummage. Would be good for Ireland as well having him getting gametime to keep Ross honest and push Bent for the number 2 spot.

Im still holding out hope that they will give him the 2 yr contract that he wants. Hes here since 2008 and his kids are in school here. in addition he does a lot of coaching with the development, acadamy and even schools/sub acadamy props so he is adding value to munster and irish scrummaging.

There has also been a precident set by irfu in that they granted Nacewa the 2 yrs extention when he was outside the age profile. hes also here since 08 and contributing off the field. he has kids in school here and his extension was reportedly granted because taking everything into account he added value and it was the decent thing to do for his family. I think Munster will be looking for a similar exception to be made.
While id like to see Hagen arrive in thomond it wont be as a replacement of Botha. I think a situation where Ross and Bent share leinster, BJ and Hagen munster, Afoa and Fitzpatrick ulster and White/loughs connacht would have the current 5 best THs in ireland getting regular game time while keeping the provinces as competitive as possible is the best scenario for irish rugby at this time.

While id like to see Hagen arrive in thomond it wont be as a replacement of Botha. I think a situation where Ross and Bent share leinster, BJ and Hagen munster, Afoa and Fitzpatrick ulster and White/loughs connacht would have the current 5 best THs in ireland getting regular game time while keeping the provinces as competitive as possible is the best scenario for irish rugby at this time.

Sounds like the best ideal alright. Plus if Hagen moved it would give the likes of the one of Leinster's young turks such as Moore more gametime to develop.

Did anyone see the Ulster team picked for the Munster game. It's pretty weak compared to what they've put out before I think Munster have a good chance of ending Ulster's Rabo streak.

Its a pretty new/weak team and the front row in particular seems underpowered. They have put the pressure onto Munster for this one, no harm/shame in the winning streak finishing in Thomond Park in December and allows Ulster to continue on without what could become a millstone for the team. Meanwhile if Munster cannot win this game well then it will be hard to see them making the top 4 at the end of the season.