Munster Team Talk Thread - New season title pending....

14/14 in the lineout.

Ya I agree, he was jettisoned last year. Maybe that burnt him. An awful pity, we're not awash with tight head talent like.

Scannell is no world beater but his darts are on the money. We arguably have better hookers around the park but his scrummaging and lineout prowess are too important to us currently.

Honestly think that was a good win against a massive pack playing with 14 men.

I thought they should have kicked the penalty around 65 mins and kicked the one into the corner near 75mins. Didn’t really understand those decisions.

Made total sense to start Scannell today, especially with Salanoa starting.

I think the JOD red card was correct, But Northampton should have been down a hooker before then for the hit on Joey.

The mitigation called by the ref was nonsense

Apart from that, Munster did well. got the win.

If we had equal numbers on the pitcch, we would almost certainly have gotten the TBP

I don't think he makes it past POM at 6. The latter is so important to the lineout and also as an out wide carrier. He's developed his game incredibly well in the late stages of his career. He's vital to how we play.

Doris and VDF are better options at 7&8. Coombes could be a decent option from the bench, but right now there are better players, or players vital to the game plan, in the positions he also covers.

I wouldn't move Doris from 8. I think he's rivalling Savea and Aldritt as the best in that position worldwide.

Bench as backrow cover sure, I can see that. He covers blindside and 8 to a high level. But we have at least 4 better second rows. Coombes can cover there in an injury pinch at provincial level, but we're in huge trouble if we ever have to do that at the test stage.

In the past I think his fitness caught him and his ability to give an 80 mins performance. That and he's not as athletic as those you've mentioned. His performances over the past 6 weeks has put that to bed. I would have him on the bench ahead of Conan now. Not sure Andy Farrell will though. Bringing on a fresh Coombes with 20 mins to go in 6N games could be a great asset. He could pinch big holes in tiring defences and is lethal from inside 5m.

Rewatched a good chunk of the game just now.

More to follow, but you can see tiny little things emerging that will all build toward a very effective attacking system.

Like Crowley here, takes the ball with two men to his left, Frisch running an arc behind:

Looks in the direction of Kilcoyne and Frisch the whole time:

Before shuffling it to Beirne at the last moment:

A single player makes the tackle, with his two closest defenders out of position thanks to the other moving parts. Beirne could offload from the deck under no pressure and keep the attack moving quickly:

Contrast this dynamism with Saints' moves in the first half, where it almost always went from 9 to the first carrier in a pod, who just took it into contact.

Munster could stay narrow, men in position to compete and slow down ball.

Next phase Saints go down the short side and get turned over.

We drop to 6th after Stormers tbp win against London Irish. Sharks and Saracens currently 2nd and 3rd on 14 points each. Still 1 round to play. A lbp away to Toulouse would be decent. Not getting a tbp yesterday might be costly of it costs us a better ranking.

Wasn't really sure how I felt at the final whistle, initial thoughts were we left a BP behind us and very lucky to win it but while thinking about it later I was very happy with how we managed our defence against the 15. Joey should have put that ball into Row Z and let our defence settle again but that try gave Saints belief.

No cribs with Jack 's RC, even with the ball carrier dipping from being tackled by Crowley but it appears (haven't seen it on TV yet) the ref allowed mitigating factors to be considered when reviewing Haywood's late hit. My take is if it's was illegal to begin with and then you make head contact as a result of the late hit why look for mitigating factors. It will be interesting to see if he's cited or banned.

I was surprised but happy to see how Rowntree managed the use of the squad and the bench

The game started without Zebo, Earls or Murray, lost JOD to a RC & then we subbed key players like Joey, Kleyn, POM & Killer while chasing the win.

I think Niall Scannell had a great game as had Coombes, Haley & Daly.

I thought the offside pen was harsh on Daly for his intercept as ref had ignored worse but he put in some hit later, saved a try.

Barring Sale getting a BP win next weekend v Ulster we're through but we don't want to end up in 8th place either.

A home game in the Last 16 is probably out of reach.

At least we play the last game in our pool so will know the lay of the land. That being said there's a big difference in know what needs to be done and what can be done. Either way a win will be targeted but Toulouse away will be very tough match. A home round 16 tie wasn't on the cards but better to be 5th than 6th/7th say.

Munster not progressing requires no points from Toulouse game AND Sale to win in Belfast (unlikely), AND Montpellier to beat LI at home (definite) AND Clermont to win away to Stormers (can't see it).

Chances of all four of these happening is as close to zero as you can get.

A home tie needs a win in Toulouse and probably Stormers to lose at home to Clermont.

He absolutely smoked an 11 and a 15 over 60 metres there. That’s some going for an 8 at AIL level. For all the talk of the athletic qualities of players coming through like Quinn, O’Connell and his older brother, Sean looks to be the best athlete of the lot. Not sure being stuck behind Gleason at UCC for another year is the best place for him, especially if he is left out of the academy for 2023/24