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

I think people were missing the point in the URC final regards Snyman coming off the bench. Beirne and Kleyn were our best pairing, Snyman despite his size is more of a loose side lock, his impact is seen more in the loose and lineout than in the scrum and in the tight collisions, where we preferred Kleyn, and Beirne was undroppable and O'Mahony captaining from blind side. Also an injection of Snyman with 30 to go would be a big boost if needed, his dynamism and offloading skills against tired bodies would be dangerous. As the match panned out we lost O'Mahony early to a HIA so Snyman came in and Beirne shifted to the back row until Kendellen came on for Kleyn with 12 minutes to go.

Any source?

One of the reporters confirmed it on a recent podcast, it was either the Left Wing or 42. Same as the IRFU funded part of Zebo's contract to get him back.

Never said he was shoe horned anywhere, I'm sure the player had some choice. However the IRFU and AF himself have been working on Jager for years. If they aren't involved and dangling caps I doubt he'd be back. Unsurprisingly, he came back, did well, actioned feedback from AF and quickly got his cap.

There is a clear pathway for the guys who do the right things in a position of need.

Frisch released back doesn't change anything other than add fuel for the Trolls.

The real danger from a Munster POV is that Frisch will go on the summer tour with France while the Top14 players are tied up in the knockout games.

Easterby said that they'd wait and see, well now, they now have time of their side to do something about Frisch

Suppose they have to decide if they see him as a viable option for ireland, not wanting to cap him and then never play him and have him miss out on an international career. I think he was better last year than he has been this year for Munster. Do I think both himself and Haley deserve to be looked at as part of a wider camp setup, yes...definitely ahead of some players that have been brought in.

He wouldn't have been my choice but I'd welcome the signing

I'll give you that but my main concern would be his lack of kicking for Ulster

Probably not but he just doesn't even have to do it so much nowadays but look he's a better option than Scannell and I always felt Irish fans shat all over him when he kicked that penalty dead v Wales a few years ago.

Doak and cooney have the best kick percentages in the urc as far as i know

Opposition (Ospreys ) news

Possible knee surgery for Oli Jager. Unbelievable.

Munster Rugby | Squad Update | Preparations Continue For Ospreys

Must-win game this week against Ospreys away on Friday (7:35 TG4 & Premier Sports 1).

Looks like we'll be selecting something like the following:

Loughman, N Scannell, Ryan,

Snyman, Ahern,

Kendellen, Coombes, O'Sullivan,

Casey, Carbery,

Daly, R Scannell, Frisch, O'Brien,

Haley.

Bench: Clarke, Wycherley, Archer, Hurley, Hodnett, Coughlan, Butler, Zebo.

Thoughts:

With Kilcoyne, Barron, Salanoa and Jager out we are going to be under fierce pressure in the front row for depth over the next 3 weeks. Knox left at a bad time. We'll probably need Donnelly and Buckley to bench against Cardiff to rest Loughman and Scannell before the Northampton fixture. We've no other senior options at tighthead, so Ryan and Archer are probably going to have to rotate starting and benching every second week unless they want to bring one of the two academy tightheads, McSweeney or Foxe onto the bench against Cardiff, hopefully we won't be using Loughman to cover tighthead.

Second row we are in trouble, no Kleyn, no Edogbo, no F Wycherly, and Beirne not available. One injury there and Coombes could have to cover lock, and the possibility of Evan O'Connell getting a call up to the bench.

Back row without O'Mahony, and with O'Donoghue just back in training, and Ahern needed in the second row, we're going to be stretched a bit with the frontline players, but outside the usual starters, Gleeson still out I think but there are still a few options. Jack Daly, Ruadhán Quinn and Daniel Okeke. We should be OK but might not be dominant, which is where the Welsh sides will take us on I guess.

We're lucky that our half-backs are good, Casey and Carbery should be as good or better than the opposition, and really like the academy half-back pairing from Ennis as backup, Coughlan and Butler.

Despite Nankivell being out with concussion, we'll still have options in the centre, could go with Frisch and O'Brien, but expect them to go with Scannell and Frisch. If we end up with Scannell and O'Brien I'm not sure we'll be able to impose ourselves on the opposition. Nankivell will be missed in terms of his attacking ability, hopefully he won't be out for long. Have not seen Gibbons so can't say if he should be given a run against Cardiff if there are any more injuries.

Even though we're missing Campbell and Liam Coombes, and with Nash not available yet, the back three should still be steady, and have played a bit together now and should be fairly cohesive. Don't know how good Hogan is, or if Shay McCarthy is a better player. Zebo might not be able to come back into the 23 on his first week back training, maybe he won't make the bench. Presume Ben O'Connor is an option too should we need him.