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

Keeping Craig Gilroy out wasn't a big achievement, and both Bowe and Trimble were on their last legs at that point, Bowe got 1 minute against Wales. None of them ever played for Ireland again, whereas Conway only made his debut in the last game of that 6N.

That 6N was not indicative of a major importance of Zebo to Ireland.

Munster to play Crusaders confirmed on Saturday 3rd February. Venue not confirmed yet so could potentially be exploring PUC hosting it. https://twitter.com/Munsterrugby/status/1674312254953598976?t=vPcbNe-7D6VjPE8GLEYBMA&s=19

They'll play Bristol Bears also, same as South Africa A last season which suggests there's some sort of arrangement in place behind the scenes with the same people arranging the fixtures. That bodes well for the future and potentially another similar game next season.

Another vanity fixture 😂

This type of event can only be good for Munster, helps with badly needed income, keeps lads not involved with Ireland focused during the international window and gives valuable development time to the wider squad.

I think it will also be very much a game the fans will want to get to see, I can see them trying out PuC again for this game.

Personally I think you are splitting hairs and being overly precious about a player you are a fan of. I wouldn’t rate Madigan very highly as a player. Though comparing an outhalf to a wing, is a fairly futile exercise. Neither player was particularly important for Ireland. Both were very easy to replace.

I think it could be played there too but I wonder because it clashes with the 6Ns could that have an impact on ticket sales. We have 3 home 6Ns games this year so anyone buying tickets for them might be somewhat cash strapped. We also have an extra game v The BaBas in the autumn in Thomond Park.

I never said he only missed opportunities due to Sexton. But you made a claim, the exact opposite of which was true.

You keep trying to argue Zebo was better. Grand. The post you replied to literally says "Madigan was shyte" so I'm not sure what battle you're fighting.

But Zebo was never an important player for us. Never. He was useful in an injury crisis but beyond that, there was always someone ahead of him.

Indeed no, it would be fairer to compare him to Dave Kearney. Though Dave never left Ireland, so it’s not relevant either. Zebo was first choice for one 6 nations campaign. He really wasn’t that important to Ireland and even if he stayed, he would have been replaced by Stockdale the next year. You can split hairs about the relative unimportance in terms of Irish selection between Zebo and Madigan but the truth is, neither were that important. You could point to the fact Madigan started a World Cup quarter final. Where as Zebo didn’t play in any significant game in that World Cup. Again it still doesn’t change the point that neither were really that important to Ireland and them leaving made no difference to the national squad, except maybe to improve it.

How many games did Sexton not start between 2012 and 2015?.

Significantly more yes but what difference does that make to the original point. Which is neither were particularly important for Ireland. Neither were ever likely to be regularly first choice in their position. The varying degrees of their unimportance doesn’t seem very relevant.

It's a laughable comparison. Look at their careers abroad, Madigan only lasted one season in the top 14 before going off to the English second tier. Zebo played three seasons in the Top 14, with one of the top 5 clubs in Europe at the time, and reached a Champions Cup Final (where he scored two tries). Madigan's level was at a bottom half Premiership Club, Zebo's was at one of the best teams in Europe.

Was there a discussion about 1 versus the other? I missed that. I wrongly assumed it was a comparison between two international players. Who decided to move abroad to play rugby. Neither of whom were regular starters or vital to the teams success.