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

That's about right, croke park is 55k to break even

Anything above 30k for puc then is bonus territory.

Would still prefer thomond as its a rugby ground

They said they made morw monry off of it vs sa. The cost from cork gaa is relativly low.

Hosting a few games a year in your most populous county where most of your players are from is good for the province

im very pro-more games in cork, i do however think they have to be careful about how they use PuC going forward outside of possible knockout URC/Euro games. The odd one-off game against a touring side every 2/3 years is probably a good idea but if something is played in PuC every year i would worry that the 'novelty' factor would wear off?

One thing I wonder about is how much of the fans attending PUC are Cork men as opposed to people travelling from Limerick (I know theres 4 other counties but to make it simple).

The former Leinster CEO (Mick Dawson) wasn't a fan of exhibition games against touring internationals or big friendlies as many of the tickets sold would sold to casual fans who would go to one less regular season game as a result of going to the exhibition game.

The Cork/Limerick divide could be very helpful in selling tickets to the Crusaders game without negatively effecting regular season games.

Munster could see a big bump in attendances this season. Off the back of winning the URC, getting a favourable Heineken Cup draw and having so many really promising young prospects coming through. Rowntree Leamy and Prendergast seem to be building something really special.

The Pre-season v Leinster should also bring some hype going into the URC and I'd expect a decent crowd there despite the RWC kicking off an hour after it finishes

If the traffic on the N20 on the return journey back to Limerick after the SA game there last year is anything to go by then there was a sizable number from the Limerick direction at the game but as you would expect Cork would provide the majority of the support for a game in Cork.

This isn't just about ticket sales though, it's about growing the fan base in Cork and having corporate events in Cork around the game and of course. Because of 10 year ticket sales, possible naming rights on Thomond Park, etc, I still don't know if we'll see a regular pool game being held in PuC in the short term but I could see Munster trying to hold a knock-out game there

Oh this old nut again of Limerick fans not wanting to travel... Everybody knows if we didn't travel then Musgrave Park would have zero viability as they'd attract less than half the crowds they currently get

The issues around traffic management on the night, a small screen in the corner for the replays, sitting beside people reading the newspaper and being an extra 20m away from the action are all part of the Cork experience that we should all love are they?

I don't think TP will be renamed, wouldn't be a bad way of making easy money in my mind but I don't see it happening... The 10 year tickets would be the biggest thing to stop it I think

next level? I'll have you know he'll be touted for the 6Ns squad in 2024

I don't think that anybody is seriously suggesting that a regular season game or a European pool game should be moved to PuC

You mentioned the Toulouse game that had to be moved to Landsdowne Road because of Ed Sheeran concerts, if we had won that game we would have been the "home" team against Leinster in that same stadium. So that's 2 examples of games where PuC would have been a good shout. It's not a great stadium but it's better than having to go to Dublin

Connacht moved their game V Ulster to Landsdowne last season and despite fans groaning they had nearly 10,000 fans in attendance, double the Sportsground capacity, and ripped Ulster apart. Whether it was as much of a success as it was hoped to be in the long term is up for debate though

Is anyone watching the 20's? It seems kind of mad that Gleeson didn't get an academy spot last year over O'Connell and even Quinn. He looks by far the most ready for senior rugby.

Gleeson seemed to come out of nowhere, I can't remember anyone projecting him to be starting 8 for the 20s.

He started for Ireland u18's last year and stood out at that level to be fair. Will admit I thought Quinn would start at 8 with McNabney rotating when needed, given they are a year older.

I've seen a few people reckon that he should be getting decent senior minutes next season but I'm a bit more cautious, especially with forwards due to the jump in physicality and wear and tear. I get the whole 'if you're big enough, you're old enough' thing but he still a year left at u20 so no rush - I'd play him in preseason like Quinn with one or two bench appearances dues to injuries. I don't think Doris debuted until after his second stint at u20's (could be wrong) and I remember Jordan Joseph for France dominated u20's for three years basically but seems to have completely stagnated.

With internationals away there's still kendellan and Hodnett as standouts, O'Donoghue to provide stability/leadership and I'd want to see more of Jack O'Sullivan - he was showing some form before the injuries. So plenty of time to ease Gleeson in. Hugely exciting though, very rare combination of size, skill and subtlety to his game.

Anyone want to have a stab at your first choice backrow a few years down the line, post POM? Couple of questions on my mind - is Coombes an effective blindside? Is Quinn definitely a 7 at the next level? Kendellan or Hodnett long-term?

First choice back row is tough. I see Kendellan as a natural incredibly abrasive 7. Hodnett is a different kind of 7.

I’d guess Gleeson, Coombes, Hodnett with Kendellan and Quinn pushing hard.

Its very interesting that kendellan seems an obvious future captain but may not be an obvious starter when everyones healthy