Munster Team Talk Thread - Beirne After Reading

We didn't sell out the Aviva for the horrorshow v the Scarlets. Playing the Aviva is not some grand event for Munster (not surprising since we are usually beaten out the gate there).

I get why you are pro the Aviva, but there is definite benefits to playing a big game in PuC.

We have no sure idea whether it will develop new fans or not, it certainly can't be any less successful at developing new fans than moving big games out of the province has been. I think it would but i've no metric to measure it by, you think it won't but it's not like your opinion is backed up by reports etc.

I presume you at least now acknowledge not all games in the Aviva are big occasions, since we couldn't sell out the final we played there?

As an aside, I missed the posts with the actual rental figures for both the Aviva and PuC, bearing in mind some % of the Aviva figure goes to the FAI (via the stadium management company), does anyone have them to hand? Just how much does each one cost? What would JP (or Reggie from the Blackrock Road) need to pay to keep us out of the piss-stinking city of Dublin?

Thanks for modding the thread, really super work!

If you'd read my earlier comments i agree fully this game will be moved to the Aviva, I'm broadening the discussion as to whether there are other benefits to playing big games in Cork. You don't think there are and that's fine, but don't come in here and tell me what I can and can't discuss, thanks all the same.

I think a lot of people would.

I fully understand why Cork gets no big games, and this season very few games at all, from a ticket sales point of view, but from a brand management point of view it's bad business.

Munster have been struggling for the last decade, not just to win things, but to sell out ordinary league matches and to develop local talent. For example, Limerick hasn't produced a decent international standard forward since Dave Kilcoyne left school over 10 years ago, this is despite Limerick unarguably being the primary base for Munster rugby (all the big matches and the training base is there now). For whatever reason, the game appears to be decline in North Munster (Clare haven't produced an international forward since Horan and North Tipp haven't produced an international forward since Donnacha Ryan, iirc). Yes, there's a handful of backs coming through, but outside of Casey, Healy and Goggin (and maybe Nash) are any getting gametime?

what has that to do with Cork/South Munster? Well, unlike North Munster, Cork has actually produced a few International forwards recently, Coombes and Wycherley, but while schools like Bandon are improving, one of the big rugby schools in Cork, CBC, is actually turning into a hurling school (same thing happened Ardscoil in Limerick). If young players can't get to big matches easily it's easier for other sports to poach them. We are in such dire straits in North Munster we should actually be trying to preserve the gains we made in South Munster. I don't think a one-off game in PuC would fix things either tbh. Munster rugby is a broke and (from the outside looking in) badly run organisation. Underage rugby in Munster is such poor health Cork Con tried to join the u20 comps in Leinster, afaik.

People on here don't seem to see that Munster as an organisation are no longer the institution they were a decade ago. there's no interest on here as to how Munster could win back fans or add new fans (lots of jersey talk though, for some bizarre reason). We are propped up by SA forwards on money from corporate backers and Leinster products like Carbery etc. I'm not losing interest but I consider myself as an exception amongst the group of lads who used to go to matches. The interest levels in Munster generally seem to be down. Being back on RTE is massive for the hype, imo.

You'd think fans would be more concerned about the state of the sport in Munster but as long as they get to wear their jerseys, call the players by the nicknames (lads, you don't know them, they aren't your mates) and go on drinking trips to Italy the average fan on here doesn't seem to care.