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

It's important to compare apples-to-apples though.

The issue is less about the loose. You mentioned yourself two of the key areas: scrum and maul. Add to that goal-line attack, where carriers are usually hit by two forwards, defenders are coming from a metre away, and rucks likewise usually have two men trying to slow the ball down. That's where big locks earn their corn, carrying and cleaning.

And together, those are the three areas where I am less convinced by Edogbo (maul, scrum and goal-line attack). So much so that I was quietly suspecting Wig to move him to 6 earlier in the season, before they moved Ahern.

I caveat all of this with: "he's still 20", and it's still beyond impressive that a lad his age can hang in any department of the professional game.

And he already brings so much in other areas of the pitch.

There’s no way he could play 6 in munster’s system unless they changed that role .

As a big fan of Coombes I can see why he's behind Doris and Conan in the Ireland stakes. He's an old fashioned no.8, big, strong and powerful but he's not the type of athletic player now needed at international level at that position. He'll likely go down as a Munster legend but just that. Same as Jean Klyen, big and strong but not quite a staring XV at world class level.

Strange game that we were proably lucky to escape with a draw …..tbf we were short a lot of what would be regarded front liners and it took from our pack

Crowley for me showed why some of us have doubts still ….failed to control the game and play % …drop kick was way off (not faulting him for the miss but again control and patience …could of waited longer for better position ….Ben Healys absence now with joey also out leaves us very weak at 10

I’d have him mirror Snyman over Klein. What got Edogbo into the academy as an 18 year old with zero schools experience was his size, ball carrying and aggressiveness. I don’t think he’s durable enough to be a reliable workhorse but he has the potential to be a game changing athlete. What’s been so encouraging about him this season has been his effectiveness carrying in the tight, which is a stark contrast to his tentative carrying last season. He’s obviously a million miles off Snyman but imo you have to back him to be high impact low volume because I don’t think he has it in him to grunt out 80 minutes 20+ times a year.

Ya he’ll be 21 this month but he struggles to play 65 minutes which isn’t a great sign if you want a JK like player. On top of that you have a major injury and a consistent profile of smaller knocks over the course of the last two and a half years. Whatever the profile of Ahern I think you have to bank on Edogbo being a high impact player.

Kleyn has never contributed the carrying that Beirne does, he never contributes the turnovers that Beirne does.

Kleyn is a great rugby player without the ball, Beirne is a great rugby player with the ball.

I dont buy this “ we dont have big players so we lost”

We have never had “big” players. DOC, POC, Horan, Flannery, weren’t particulally arge players. Even back then the English and french forwards were huge brutes . The difference was always our hunger and ability to get stuck into them.

our front 5 were bullied for most of the game and we had to commit large number to the breakdown. Bayonne had a bench that was significantly better than ours and that made a difference in the last 10 mins. But we should have been out of sight at that stage.

i thought F Wycherley, Coombes , Murray, Crowley, Scannell and Ryan were particularly bad.

disappointing result , and we have to win next week , but we only know how to do things the hard way

Before the match Kleyn & RGS walked along the touchline, I turned to my mate and said how good would it be to have one of them playing against a big French pack. As the game progressed it was clear we were missing the bulk that they'd have provided.

It's a game we could have won but Bayonne will look at a few errors that cost them a score or too, a draw might well have been a fair result but not a good one for Munster.

It was a great day for Bayonne and their fans, first time in a "Heineken Cup" first away match, first time in Thomond Park and they drew. Bigger& better teams have failed to get a result there. Their fans met Munster fans at Bedford Row and walked to the ground together, they went to the Market yesterday morning and played & sang sings to entertain the crowd. Huge day for them, they'll want to return, which is part of the magic on the H/cup.

The clown in the crowd that tugged the jersey of the Bayonne player needs to have a good long hard look at himself, he'll bring a bad name on rugby fans, Munster fans, Thomond fans. I hope Munster follow up on this and ban him.

You lost this specific game because nash didn’t pass and beirne threw one into touch. Either of those things don’t happen and you probably win.

You do lack power though up front.

Stop talking sense, you should know better 🤣.

Long season ahead and plenty of lads to come back into the side onwards and upwards hopefully

Might explain the wayward kick

True, if munster get fit again for the knockouts then they are a problem.

i do think you lack front row power even in the best team but still could beat anyone.