Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread IV

Wang King

HT 17-13 to Munster, Oliver got a try in his debut, think O'Dea and Murphy are the other try scorers, conversion from Tyler

Micky Dolenz

So the O' Connell/ Toulon rumour is just that. No doubt Paulie is telling the truth.

http://m.rte.ie/sport/rugby/international/2015/0429/697605-video-paul-oconnell-retirement-toulon/

Hagz

hendo12 wrote: »

Who is Conor Oliver

Former Blackrock College openside flanker, currently playing his rugby at St.Mary's and a member of the u20s jwc squad.

phog

Match report from the42.ie

Impressive win.

balbriggan100

Tyler needs a lot more games before we see the best of him. Diarmuid McCarthy has to be signed by Munster after that second half. 2 chances, neither straightforward and he scores both.

Cookiemunster

balbriggan100 wrote: »

Tyler needs a lot more games before we see the best of him. Diarmuid McCarthy has to be signed by Munster after that second half. 2 chances, neither straightforward and he scores both.

It's good to see he's playing well, but Munster are well stocked on the wings. Zebo, Earls, Van Der Heever, O'Mahony, O'Dea, Conway and Sweetnam are already there. Plus he's 25. He'll likely see some gametime next season during the world cup and play for the A team in the B&I cup, but I don't see him getting a contract.

The Lost Sheep

balbriggan100 wrote: »

Tyler needs a lot more games before we see the best of him. Diarmuid McCarthy has to be signed by Munster after that second half. 2 chances, neither straightforward and he scores both.

What kind of contract would you see McCarthy getting? We've plenty of wings/full backs. TBH id rather we looked at guys already in the academy. Great to see Diarmuid back playing rugby. Used torment us when playing age grade back 05/06/07 when we played against him for C'troy etc

I don't think we should be talking and saying things like he has to be signed by Munster. The fact this guy is back playing rugby at all is good news let alone at potentially a professional level. He was a real talent not just in rugby and its great seeing him simply on the pitch at this level.

thomond2006

I'd rather give someone like that a chance then bring a player like Barnes back.

Also Ivan Dineen is out of contract so McCarthy could replace him.

balbriggan100

As is Van Den Heever and O'Dea. Someone will sign McCarthy, I would sooner he played for us as against us.

phog

Given that Munster has McCarthy in training camps and appearing in a few A games in the later stages of the season I reckon Munster will offer him something for next season at least.

If he's good enough then he'll pass out those that are now seen as being ahead of him.

phog

Match report from Munster Rugby


Dave O'Callaghan picked up an knee injury at the game.

phog

WTV's blog of the A Game in Naas

phog

Micko on McCarthy

O'Driscoll said he hoped to see the former schools star signed up to a senior deal next season.

"We're hopeful of getting something for him," he said of McCarthy. "He certainly did himself no harm today. When he came on he did very well, carried well and scored two good tries."

irishbucsfan

Tony Ward will be delighted!

#mccarthyforireland

thomond2006

How old is McCarthy? 24/25?

Cookiemunster

balbriggan100 wrote: »

As is Van Den Heever and O'Dea. Someone will sign McCarthy, I would sooner he played for us as against us.

Vas den Heever is contracted until 2016. From Garrett Fitzgerald When Gerhard joined us, he started in November 2013 on a 2 year 8 month contract, so his current contract runs until June 2016.

Cookiemunster

thomond2006 wrote: »

How old is McCarthy? 24/25?

He won the Schools Senior Cup with Castletroy back in 2008, so he'd be around that age.

thomond2006

HOOKERS

Mike Sherry 2015
Damien Varley 2015 - RETIRING
Duncan Casey 2016
Niall Scannell 2017
Kevin O'Byrne 2016
Eusebio Guinazu 2015

Max Abbott Year 1

PROPS

James Cronin 2016
Dave Kilcoyne 2017

BJ Botha January 2016
Stephen Archer 2018
John Ryan 2016
Alan Cotter 2015 - LEAVING (AIX-EN-PROVENCE)
Martin Kelly 2015 - RETIRING

Niall Horan Year 2
Rory Burke Year 2
Brian Scott Year 1

LOCKS

Paul O'Connell 2016
Donnacha Ryan 2017
Donncha O'Callaghan 2016
Dave Foley 2017
Billy Holland 2016

Sean McCarthy Year 2
John Madigan Year 2
Darragh Moloney Year 1

FLANKERS

Peter O'Mahony 2018
Dave O'Callaghan 2016
Sean Dougall 2015 - LEAVING (PAU)
Tommy O'Donnell 2016
Barry O'Mahony 2015
Shane Buckley 2016
Jordan Coghlan 2016 - ARRIVING

Ryan Murphy Year 3

NUMBER EIGHTS

Robin Copeland 2016
Paddy Butler 2015 - LEAVING (TBC)
CJ Stander 2016
Jack O'Donoghue 2018

SCRUM-HALVES

Conor Murray 2016
Cathal Sheridan 2016
Duncan Williams 2017
Tomas O'Leary 2017 - ARRIVING

Jack Cullen Year 2
Ryan Foley Year 1
Jame Glynn Year 1

FLY-HALVES

Ian Keatley 2017
JJ Hanrahan 2015 - LEAVING (NORTHAMPTON SAINTS)
Tyler Bleyendall 2017
Johnny Holland 2017

Gearoid Lyons Year 2

CENTRES

Ivan Dineen 2015
Cian Bohane 2017
Denis Hurley 2016
Andrew Smith 2015
Francis Saili 2017 - ARRIVING

Rory Scannell Year 2
Dan Goggin Year 1

WINGERS

Simon Zebo 2016
Keith Earls 2016
Gerhard Van Den Heever 2016
Johne Murphy 2015
Andrew Conway 2016
Luke O'Dea 2015
Ronan O'Mahony 2017
Darren Sweetnam 2017

Alex Wootton Year 2
Greg O'Shea Year 2

FULLBACKS

Felix Jones 2017

David Johnston Year 2
Stephen Fitzgerald Year 1

---

With VDH under contract, our NIEs for next year are:

- BJ Botha (NIE)
- Tyler Bleyendaal (NIE/project)
- Francis Saili (NIE)
- Gerhard Van Den Heever (NIE/project)

CJ Stander qualifies (ugh) in November so I'm not counting him. In the video Fitzgerald mentioned 4+1 instead of 3+1 so it looks like there is space for a hooker? Tbh Guinazu has been such a good signing that maybe we will keep him on if a bigger name like Craig Burden doesn't sign.

accidentprone1

thomond2006 wrote: »

CJ Stander qualifies (ugh) in November so I'm not counting him.

Didn't think you felt that strongly about it?

The Lost Sheep

thomond2006 wrote: »

How old is McCarthy? 24/25?

25 this year sometime. Same age as Zebo, Paddy Butler

thomond2006

accidentprone1 wrote: »

Didn't think you felt that strongly about it?

I don't like project players. I have no problem with the players in question, they just want to make €€€ and I won't begrudge them that. My problem is more with the IRFU and the provinces actively recruiting players for Ireland. Designating a '+1' spot for a project player effectively does that. This should not happen.

Anyway the above is nothing I haven't said before on here so I won't drag the thread off topic.

accidentprone1

thomond2006 wrote: »

I don't like project players. I have no problem with the players in question, they just want to make €€€ and I won't begrudge them that. My problem is more with the IRFU and the provinces actively recruiting players for Ireland. Designating a '+1' spot for a project player effectively does that. This should not happen.

Anyway the above is nothing I haven't said before on here so I won't drag the thread off topic.

No worries, thanks for clarifying. I see your point about the +1 thing and agree with it. We'll leave it there sure!

The Lost Sheep

Munster Awards are on today
winners:

CJ Stander - Senior Player of the Year
Duncan Casey - Young Player of the Year
Jack O Donoghue - Academy Player of the Year

Young Munster - Senior Club of the Year
Clonmel - Junior Club of the Year
Ennis - Youths Club of the Year
Bandon Grammar - School of the Year
Listowel - Mini Rugby Club of the Year
Ciara Griffin - Munster Women's player of the Year
Andy Brace - Referee of the Year
Noel Murphy - Hall of Fame inductee

Cookiemunster

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Munster Awards are on today
winners:

Tommy O Donnell - Senior Player of the Year
Havent seen who has won Academy Player

Young Munster - Senior Club of the Year
Clonmel - Junior Club of the Year
Ennis - Youths Club of the Year
Bandon Grammar - School of the Year
Listowel - Mini Rugby Club of the Year
Ciara Griffin - Munster Women's player of the Year
Andy Brace - Referee of the Year
Noel Murphy - Hall of Fame inductee

Jack O'Donaghue is the Academy Player of the year and Duncan Casey is Young Player of the Year.

Cookiemunster

Munster Rugby ‏@Munsterrugby 49s50 seconds ago

Congrats @CJStander Munster Player of the Year; First overseas player to win this award http://tinyurl.com/kzjc5fl

phog

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Munster Rugby ‏@Munsterrugby 49s50 seconds ago

Congrats @CJStander Munster Player of the Year; First overseas player to win this award http://tinyurl.com/kzjc5fl

No huge surprise there though Tommy O'Donnell must have ran him close.

Mahatma Geansai

phog wrote: »

No huge surprise there though Tommy O'Donnell must have ran him close.

Cj had to get the award. His try-scoring and number of MOTM awards are crazy.

Hagz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MN8YARjyl4

Wang King

^^^^^ Closet Munster fan

Hagz

Wang King wrote: »

^^^^^ Closet Munster fan

Haha. I'm excited about the young talent across Ireland in all the provinces. Great to see John Madigan injury free and always great to see a lock in full flight.

phog

An interview with Alex Walters, Munster's S&C coach via Joe.ie

CatFromHue

Ah now I get it.

The A game was in Naas so that's why both teams wore their away jerseys :P

slingerz

phog wrote: »

An interview with Alex Walters, Munster's S&C coach via Joe.ie

Pity his name is Aled not Alex!

phog

slingerz wrote: »

Pity his name is Aled not Alex!

Damn auto correct

sioda

I see there are 2 munster tries up for sky sports pro 12 try of the year Copeland & JOD.

https://youtu.be/x5PI8MfDhgY

irishbucsfan

Which is better, Copeland's or O'Donoghue's?

slingerz

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Which is better, Copeland's or O'Donoghue's?

Jacks definitely

Mahatma Geansai

slingerz wrote: »

Jacks definitely

Earls work for JOD's try was fantastic. I mentioned it at the time, but he must have beaten ~6 players with his run.

phog

Any word on Dave O'Callaghan's injury that he picked up early in that A game?

Fireball07

Some great tries there, JOD's was class. Gilroy's and Healy's were both very nice too. Gilroy probably had the best individual try but some awful defending at the same time- but I suppose that's the same for them all.

Fireball07

Been watching pretty much everything YouTube has to offer on Saili and I'm excited. I know that YouTube clips can make a hero out of anyone, but he seems to have a very good skillset, his game is well-varied. A lot of tries from taking a great line, he's got a fine burst of acceleration and is quite powerful. Looks to offload a lot and doesn't seem to be overly selfish on the ball, well able to fix the defender and put a winger away.


I don't want to be too harsh on Smith but Saili is on a different level completely, and if he was put at 12 alongside Earls, it could be a really exciting partnership. There is also the option of him being at 13 with Bleyendaal/Hurley inside him but as far as I can tell, 12 is his preferred position.

If he's allowed to play, he can do serious damage. I can't wait for it tbh. Pity that there will be so much disruption next season with the WC, SH is a bit of a worry for us... our backs are rarely as good when Murray isn't there. Maybe TOL can help a bit?

phog

Fireball07 wrote: »

Been watching pretty much everything YouTube has to offer on Saili and I'm excited. I know that YouTube clips can make a hero out of anyone, but he seems to have a very good skillset, his game is well-varied. A lot of tries from taking a great line, he's got a fine burst of acceleration and is quite powerful. Looks to offload a lot and doesn't seem to be overly selfish on the ball, well able to fix the defender and put a winger away.


I don't want to be too harsh on Smith but Saili is on a different level completely, and if he was put at 12 alongside Earls, it could be a really exciting partnership. There is also the option of him being at 13 with Bleyendaal/Hurley inside him but as far as I can tell, 12 is his preferred position.

If he's allowed to play, he can do serious damage. I can't wait for it tbh. Pity that there will be so much disruption next season with the WC, SH is a bit of a worry for us... our backs are rarely as good when Murray isn't there. Maybe TOL can help a bit?

He's starting at 13 tomorrow v Western Force

Wang King

phog wrote: »

He's starting at 13 tomorrow v Western Force

He started last week at 13 too I think, scored a nice try and all

phog

Wang King wrote: »

He started last week at 13 too I think, scored a nice try and all

Yes and yes

Lovell have a sale on Munster gear at moment
http://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/shop/Rugby-Team/Munster/Special-Offers/40-pounds-and-under/referrer/Newsletter0515-MayV1-Munster

Oregano_State

Deleted User wrote: »

Lovell have a sale on Munster gear at moment
http://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/shop/Rugby-Team/Munster/Special-Offers/40-pounds-and-under/referrer/Newsletter0515-MayV1-Munster

Cheers.

I just impulse-bought the shit out of the hoody and trackie pants. Payday was yesterday and I got a pretty hefty promotion this week too, so this came along at good time.

CoDy1

Pro direct has the Anthem jacket in all the sizes. just picked one up.

http://www.prodirectrugby.com/products/adidas-Munster-14-15-Anthem-Jacket-Mens-Rugby-Replica-BlackDark-Shale-83561.aspx?

Micky Dolenz

Deleted User wrote: »

Lovell have a sale on Munster gear at moment
http://www.lovell-rugby.co.uk/shop/Rugby-Team/Munster/Special-Offers/40-pounds-and-under/referrer/Newsletter0515-MayV1-Munster

Sound, been meaning on picking up the training jersey. Although now that I look at the site there are a few more things I might pick up . I'll need to set myself a budget.

Wang King

http://m.independent.ie/sport/rugby/toulon-owner-mourad-boudjellal-sparks-paul-oconnell-transfer-rumours-again-31193142.html
Still no actual denial about POC being a target.

phog

Owens to ref our game next Saturday.

Nigel Owens (@Nigelrefowens) tweeted at 0:54 PM on Mon, May 04, 2015:
Time to start preparing for this weekend's big match in Belfast now. Refin Ulster v Munster Saturday in the crunch @PRO12rugby Irish Derby