Leinster A v Munster A, Tuesday 12th March, UL

swiftman

.ak wrote: »

Where does Fanning usually play?

darragh fanning, former connacht winger. he's 26 and 6ft 3. he's been to oz for a season and a bit since he left us playing for the vikings and done very very well. no surprise to see him scoring a few hatricks for them and if i remember even scored 4 trys in one game.

he's also ginger

thomond2006

I was at the game. Decent sized crowd at it, POC's return was the big draw no doubt.

POC had a very industrious fourty minutes, he was bursting to make an impact. He took a big hit in the Leinster 22 at the end of the half but seemed fine when he was surrounded by journalists after the match. Hopefully he'll be fine to make an appearance against Connacht and work from there.

Dineen showed up well I thought, he got a knock in the second half but seemed to run it off. He got gametime at both centre and wing and was involved in a lot of Munster's attacking play. John Ryan was a frequent carrier. CJ Stander played the 80 minutes but was mostly anonymous. Luke O'Dea went off for Scanlon early on, hopefully he's ok. JJ had a good outing and nailed a few tricky place kicks.

I missed the first Leinster try of the second half but Marsh's try was a good finish. He played well in general. I didn't notice much from Quinn Roux but he is one big Saffer! Auva'a was a beast with ball in hand.

ormond lad

What was Danny Barnes like leaky, thomond?
Munster match report here and photos of the game here

leakyboots

ormond lad wrote: »

What was Danny Barnes like leaky, thomond?
Munster match report here and photos of the game here

Very good game. Did little wrong, himself and Dineen linked up well. Dineen had the better game of the two as he made the more breaks. I think Barnes made one over the far side for the first Munster try but I couldn't be sure. Both of them and JJ were the pick of the backs. I thought Scanlon was very good when he came on for LOD.

Both Barnes and Dineen could be looked at again at senior level to be honest, I've been surprised how little gametime Danny has gotten when you consider he was on the park the day we beat Leinster for the league and he handled Leinster's midfield fine - 95 mins in total this season.

EDIT: Only four other squad members have had less time, Deasy, John Ryan, Henry and Barry O'Mahony. When you consider our woes at centre this season and the guy's obvious talent, it's a bit bizarre

shuffol

leakyboots wrote: »

Very good game. Did little wrong, himself and Dineen linked up well. Dineen had the better game of the two as he made the more breaks. I think Barnes made one over the far side for the first Munster try but I couldn't be sure. Both of them and JJ were the pick of the backs. I thought Scanlon was very good when he came on for LOD.

Both Barnes and Dineen could be looked at again at senior level to be honest, I've been surprised how little gametime Danny has gotten when you consider he was on the park the day we beat Leinster for the league and he handled Leinster's midfield fine - 95 mins in total this season.

EDIT: Only four other squad members have had less time, Deasy, John Ryan, Henry and Barry O'Mahony. When you consider our woes at centre this season and the guy's obvious talent, it's a bit bizarre

He was exposed by O'Driscoll at one stage though thats no great shame, thought he struggled when he stepped up to HEC level last season, physicality was an issue for him as he got stripped in possession on a few occasions against Northampton.

awec

Jesus wept, those tracksuit bottoms! :pac:

Foxtrol

leakyboots wrote: »

Very good game. Did little wrong, himself and Dineen linked up well. Dineen had the better game of the two as he made the more breaks. I think Barnes made one over the far side for the first Munster try but I couldn't be sure. Both of them and JJ were the pick of the backs. I thought Scanlon was very good when he came on for LOD.

Both Barnes and Dineen could be looked at again at senior level to be honest, I've been surprised how little gametime Danny has gotten when you consider he was on the park the day we beat Leinster for the league and he handled Leinster's midfield fine - 95 mins in total this season.

EDIT: Only four other squad members have had less time, Deasy, John Ryan, Henry and Barry O'Mahony. When you consider our woes at centre this season and the guy's obvious talent, it's a bit bizarre

People really need to stop quoting this single match as evidence when trying to back up selections. In it Leinster played below themselves and were down to their bare bones by the end of the game and even taking account for the extra time to prepare a lot of Munster players also played above themselves (as they should in a cup final). Munster deservedly won on the day but this game is to this day referenced way too much.

trouttrout

Foxtrol wrote: »

People really need to stop quoting this single match as evidence when trying to back up selections. In it Leinster played below themselves and were down to their bare bones by the end of the game and even taking account for the extra time to prepare a lot of Munster players also played above themselves (as they should in a cup final). Munster deservedly won on the day but this game is to this day referenced way too much.

Still a little sore so

Was at the first half, had to leave for the second to see a horse race

Conway's try was fantastic. First time I've seen his pace in the flesh and by god was it effective. Noel Reid did very well to put him through the hole though

Leo Avua had one miraculous offload right infront of me too.

POC was good from what I saw. Carried well and linked up nicely with Stander a few times

Thought Dineen was good if a little too selfish.

shuffol

I'd imagine Conway would be the quickest player in the country, though he hasnt look quite as fleet of foot so far this season.

trouttrout

oh, Quinn Roux looked very good too for a player coming back from injury too.

durkadurka

I think you'll find that when he moves to Munster he'll become fairly average.



But an international call up wont be far behind.

Tox56

trouttrout wrote: »

Still a little sore so

Was at the first half, had to leave for the second to see a horse race

Conway's try was fantastic. First time I've seen his pace in the flesh and by god was it effective. Noel Reid did very well to put him through the hole though

Leo Avua had one miraculous offload right infront of me too.

POC was good from what I saw. Carried well and linked up nicely with Stander a few times

Thought Dineen was good if a little too selfish.

Did Leavy do anything of note when he came on? Number 20 I think

trouttrout

Tox56 wrote: »

Did Leavy do anything of note when he came on? Number 20 I think

Left after the first half to lose money!

shuffol

trouttrout wrote: »

Left after the first half to lose money!

Very unprofessional.

trouttrout

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94006866@N08/sets/72157632983382760/

Pics from game (not taken by me)

Beery Eyed

That young buck at no. 5 for Munster looks like an impressive specimen!

lurtz

durkadurka wrote: »

I think you'll find that when he moves to Munster he'll become fairly average.



But an international call up wont be far behind.

Sorry dont know if thats a joke or what but Conway is a class act,anyone who's followed him from school will know what immense talent he has. Class players dont become average

Foxtrol

lurtz wrote: »

Sorry dont know if thats a joke or what but Conway is a class act,anyone who's followed him from school will know what immense talent he has. Class players dont become average

Think he was making a joke about the ease that Munster players get called up to Ireland.

Conway is class at what he does but similar to Carr I dont think he currently has the skill set that allowed him to shine with the tactics Leinster are employing. Munster have shown with the likes of Zebo and Earls that their style suits a pacey winger more.

Beery Eyed

I really enjoy this level of competition. Similar to the Rabo games during the international window, it gives a good look at the extended squads of the provinces involved. It's a pity it can't be covered, perhaps through a live stream online, but hopefully there will be some highlights circulating soon.

What really struck me was the quality in both squads for the game. Even with all of the internationals & extended training squad away in Carton house (this also takes into account the extra depth that they've had to pull in due to the extensive injury list). Both provinces were also missing any players involved in the U20 setup. Yet despite what would seem like an extreme test of the player resources, both teams were very strong in terms of the personnel that lined out, and judging by the live updates and the couple of comments from people at the game it seemed like a good standard of game overall too.

The depth of good quality players across the country has definitely been improving over the last number of years. Now that the academies are turning out greater numbers of players through their systems, the overall standard is continuously rising. Sure, they won't all become top level players or internationals, but the greater depth all the way down through the system will eventually start to reap dividends at the highest level.

My only concern about this level of fringe player is that there doesn't seem to be enough high level, consistent game time for them in a professional/semi-professional environment like this. The addition of the B&I cup has been great, but it is still a relatively small number of games & is quite dispersed throughout the season. At the level below, the AIL is improving, but whether or not it can become a suitable level for developing professional level players is still to be seen. I love the competition, but the gap between provincial & club remains too wide in my opinion & needs to be bridged with a level in between.

My own preference would be for more games of this level to be played, but also on a more consistent basis. Perhaps that will come about through the B&I cup. But whatever the setup, I think the provinces would benefit from these guys getting more consistent game time in the provincial structure, rather than at the club level. I'm certainly not trying to bash the AIL club setup, being a product of it myself, but it's just my opinion for continuing to improve the professional game.

Teferi

Fantastic to see POC back anyway, both Ireland and Munster have missed him.

thebaz

Beery Eyed wrote: »

I really enjoy this level of competition. Similar to the Rabo games during the international window, it gives a good look at the extended squads of the provinces involved. It's a pity it can't be covered,

agree, at the moment much prefer these type of matches , than the huff and puff misfiring Kidneys Ireland . Until kidney is gone , this is what i would pay good money to see, rather than inflated over priced internationals

thomond2006

Match Highlights: http://www.munsterrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14693

Reaction from POC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZU3I7wsYh8

.ak

POC looked like he broke onto a pitch with a load of mini's playing.

leftleg

Munster A video stops halfway through, anyone else got that problem as well?? or is it just me??

opinionatedfan

leftleg wrote: »

Munster A video stops halfway through, anyone else got that problem as well?? or is it just me??

yeah at 5:46

impressed with conway's speed in his try, doesn't show that often with the first team. Reid's pop for it was nice aswell.

POC looked good aswell in that.

ed7890

thomond2006 wrote: »

Match Highlights: http://www.munsterrugby.ie/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=14693

John Ryan really looks good in the loose, gets involved a lot for a TH, had one great offload during that clip. Scrum looked solid as well. Shame the clip stops half way through.

bamboozle

shuffol wrote: »

He was exposed by O'Driscoll at one stage though thats no great shame, thought he struggled when he stepped up to HEC level last season, physicality was an issue for him as he got stripped in possession on a few occasions against Northampton.

Not wishing to have a go at Barnes but in fairness he should be running amok at this level, it's been 3 seasons since he made his senior break through and he hasn't kicked on. Munster would have been far better off starting an academy player like hircock in the centre to see if he has what it takes.

Munster really need to be more ruthless/professional in moving players on rather than giving them chance after chance, if they don't do so they are only holding back younger and potentially better players from developing.

Best thing for the likes of Barnes and Dinesen is to move to England and get some decent exposure like copeland, keating, McKinney, Monaghan etc or head west like Cronin, Kearney Carr did.

thebaz

Teferi wrote: »

Fantastic to see POC back anyway, both Ireland and Munster have missed him.

agree, as a leinster and dormant Irish fan , POC represents everything good about Irish and Munster rugby - great to see him back

budhabob

thebaz wrote: »

agree, as a leinster and dormant Irish fan , POC represents everything good about Irish and Munster rugby - great to see him back

He seemed to be a good bit more dynamic in that clip than in a long time. Obviously hard to tell until its a full game, but still it looks promising.

trouttrout

budhabob wrote: »

He seemed to be a good bit more dynamic in that clip than in a long time. Obviously hard to tell until its a full game, but still it looks promising.

His carrying was very impressive in the half I saw. Ran over a few Leinster defenders and all!

jamiedav2011

bamboozle wrote: »

Not wishing to have a go at Barnes but in fairness he should be running amok at this level, it's been 3 seasons since he made his senior break through and he hasn't kicked on. Munster would have been far better off starting an academy player like hircock in the centre to see if he has what it takes.

Munster really need to be more ruthless/professional in moving players on rather than giving them chance after chance, if they don't do so they are only holding back younger and potentially better players from developing.

Best thing for the likes of Barnes and Dinesen is to move to England and get some decent exposure like copeland, keating, McKinney, Monaghan etc or head west like Cronin, Kearney Carr did.

In fairness to Barnes, judging by what's going on in the courts he might have other stuff on his mind.

Don't think he's every going to make an international, but bringing in Downey and LauLala didn't help his deveopment.