Munster Team Talk Thread - Snymans are(n't) Forever

Was at this, seemed like a bit of a collective malaise where everyone was making silly errors as opposed to any one person being at fault. We didn't get up to the pace of the game in the first half (defensively, especially our line speed) at all and they really punished us. Hard to come back from that.

Joey actually did okay in the first half offensively but then that crazy pass finished it... just when if we'd gotten another score it would have rightly put the **** up them... I'd agree with the above, time to just give Crowley the 10 jersey and let him develop.

Kleyn, Nash, Coombes, Hodnett, Casey, Salanoa did reasonably well, Nash was probably the pick of the bunch.

Just on Haley, that was a bit of a bizarre take - he's just back from a number of weeks out, that performance was a blip compared to his usual standard - he's been superb for us. I'd have been more than happy to see him get called up internationally based on his form.

Probably the worst first half performance I've ever seen by us in Thomond. Even when they came out in the second I thought we'd see more fire and brimstone and urgency. Worrying (and a bit deflating) as we had been on a decent trajectory of form since the South Africa game.

Hopefully returning players like POM, Beirne, RG, Edogbo, Murray, Frisch can give us some impetus. Any timeline on the likes of Earls/Loughman/Scannel?

28 man squad for trip to SA

Forwards: Dave Kilcoyne, Josh Wycherley; Diarmuid Barron, Scott Buckley, Niall Scannell; Stephen Archer, Keynan Knox, Roman Salanoa; Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman, Fineen Wycherley; Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue, Peter O’Mahony.

Backs: Craig Casey, Conor Murray, Paddy Patterson; Joey Carbery, Jack Crowley, Ben Healy; Malakai Fekitoa, Antoine Frisch; Shane Daly, Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Simon Zebo.

Good lineup there although we have a tough two games to play in SA. We have a way stronger set of backs with the return of Casey, Murray and Frisch. Healy - was he not available for the Glasgow game? Or did I miss that in one of the posts?

POM returning will insert a bit of bite boot and bo//ock to the proceedings.

I think we are really missing Beirne in these games but he was flogged in the early part of the campaign.

If The Bulls manage to beat Toulouse, would we not have the Bulls in SA the week later? surely back and forth the Ireland wouldn't be worth it..

Or would the Bulls be played in Thomond..

Probably a mute point, as Toulouse will win...

nice one..

I would be surprised if Carbery doesn't start. For all Carbery's limitations, they don't seem particularly bothered about giving Crowley the job and an away knockout in South Africa would be a big ask of him. (I also think Carbery is much more highly regarded by the coaches than by the fans)

I would be pretty confident of a Munster win this weekend. No reason to fear the Sharks, they look great on paper but that's about it.

Likely team is

1. Kilcoyne
2. Scannell
3. Salanoa
4. Wycherley
5. Kleyn
6. O'Mahony
7. Hodnett
8. Coombs
9. Murray
10. Carbury
11. Daly
12. Feikitoa
13. Frisch
14. Nash
15. Haley
16. Barron
17. Wycherley
18. Archer
19. Snyman
20. O'Donoghue
21. Casey
22. Crowley
23. Zebo

Which I think is far too conservative a selection. POM, Murray and Frisch will make the team more stable than last week but Sharks will have a much stronger 15 and we are relying on their continued lack of cohesion.

Snyman has to start. What would you be holding him back for?

He's been training a couple of months, he's had his gentle reintroduction, and the alternative is Fineen Wycherley... gotta play him from the off

A few things are becoming clear, and I'd say it's only a matter of time before Crowley has the 10 shirt at Munster.

Irish games since the beginning of 2022, wins highlighted in green.

Only two losses had Carbery at 10 (admittedly it was against France and NZ)

However looking at the averages more closely:

He is good for at least one extra score conceded per game. It's a small sample, but even if you take out the NZ game (where we shipped 42), his average is still nearly 18 points conceded per game. Farrell is a defense-first coach, and it's a simple formula: whoever runs the attack from 10, if we concede less than two scores, we probably win.

I wonder if Munster soon realise this. It fits completely with the impression I think a lot of us have had recently, that a lot of our tries are coming through midfield. It also may not even be defending per se, but just key moments on exits that grant easy entry, etc. (THAT pass against Glasgow).

There just seems to be a risk factor, mostly in defense, when he plays. It would be interesting to see what this analysis would look like for Munster games...

Via Dubai

While I don't have a huge issue with the SA teams being involved, in fact, I think they've added to the URC and may do too to the Champions Cup but the travel is a huge issue for European & SA teams travelling to away matches.

its not just now though, the travel involved in the pool stages is a joke too.

what can they do about it? they could have not added teams that are located quite far away to one or both competitions

i think thats fair, they have added to the competition a bit but the logistics are over the top