Munster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread II

Good enough!

.ak wrote: »

Is Edinburgh any use? Never been, but myself and the girlfriend are thinking of heading over to Edi for the Leinster game in December.

Yes. Great city with plenty of culture and caters for tourists well. Lots of good pubs, restaurants and hotels. Rose Street, just behind Princes Street, has multiple pubs and eateries. Bit of a tourist trap but good atmosphere.

Take full advantage of the touristy element. Go to the castle, Royal Mile, Grassmarket etc. The best thing I did though, by a distance, was the City of the Dead tour. It begins at about 10pm and walks you through the old city vaults and finishes with in Greyfriars Kirkyard around midnight which is over 500 years old and creepy as hell. Tour is performed by a professional actor who really sets the atmosphere.

Aside from that, do all the usual and soak up the atmosphere. Enjoy a few local whiskys and sample the local grub. There's a half decent bus tour also.

Anybody heading to any of the away Italian fixtures?

Edinburgh is class for rugby. Dunno if there are many better cities to go rugby-jaunting in

Podge_irl wrote: »

No one ****ing knows the game is on when you're in London. Most locals thought I was a Chelsea fan after the final there.

Same happened to me, at the Heineken final in 2012 I was talking to a bar man(who was definitely British) and he had never heard of the Heineken Cup and he saw my Leinster jersey and didn't know what sport it was for, it was bizarre.

RobbieRuns wrote: »

I would put Saracens or Northampton ahead of Munster in that next 4 ! Not a wind up either, just do not see them in there. Ulster yes.

A poor Munster team was able to handle both these teams in the last 2 sessions and make a Simi last sessions no way there ahead of Munster

Rightwing wrote: »

Hoping we have another good season, a repeat of last season would do.

Top 4 in Europe at the moment imo

Toulon/Clermont/Toulouse/Racing

Next 4

Leicester/Munster/Leinster/Ulster.

So a semi final H cup would do me.

Leinster are the top ranked team in Europe so don't know how you consider them not even in the top 4!

Quint2010 wrote: »

Leinster are the top ranked team in Europe so don't know how you consider them not even in the top 4!

A full strength Leinster side this season could probably take on Clermont and Toulon anyway. Toulouse aren't what they were so we should be able to push them. And Racing are a bit of an unknown right now. Personally I'd go with:

Top 4: Leinster/Clermont/Toulon/Racing

followed by:

Leicester/Munster/Ulster/Toulouse

None of them being in any particular order.

Quint2010 wrote: »

Leinster are the top ranked team in Europe so don't know how you consider them not even in the top 4!

Now, in fairness, the rankings are always purely historical... so while sometimes they can be accurate, they don't take into account current form/new signings/departures, etc.

Leinster may well still be in the top 4 teams in Europe, but I think I'm gonna wait and see how they cope without Sexton and Nacewa, and with BOD a year older before passing judgment.

I wonder should someone like Castres be counted too. They might not perform that well in Europe, but they did win the Top 14, they are a quality side.

finatron wrote: »

A poor Munster team was able to handle both these teams in the last 2 sessions and make a Simi last sessions no way there ahead of Munster

I don't think Munster are miles ahead of either Saracens or Northampton, but they're certainly not behind them. On par, at the very least imo.

molloyjh wrote: »

In fairness it was 1-1 against Saracens last season. There's not much between the sides. And don't forget Munster wouldn't have made the QF had it not been for a joke shop Edinburgh side in rounds 2 and 5 plus a totally disinterested Racing side in round 6. The return of POC changed everything for the QF but had Munster had a tougher group then they wouldn't have made the QF.

As for this season you'd expect them to get a home QF with another relatively handy group. Gloucester are no great shakes, Perpignan didn't qualify on their own and haven't looked great in some time and Edinburgh seem to be in a bit of a shambles. And while you'd fancy them to win a home QF you have to remember they could be hosting a top notch side given how some of the pools have gone. Clermont, Toulouse, Racing, Ulster and Leicester are all quite possible QF opponents. It will be an interesting season for Munster and a lot will hang on how Penney wants the team to play. Has he defaulted back to the "old" Munster, will he try and get his own game plan back up and running or will it be something new?

Munster got a losing bonus point away to Saracens (19-13) - and that was without POC. Ulster didn't turn up (final score 27-16 to Sarries).

Munster have the easier pool and have a good chance of a home QF which will make it very hard for any of the French teams. Clermont are on the slide now and need to rebuild - Munster would be confident against them at home after their performance last season down there. Toulouse have slipped a bit and if you look at how long it took Toulon to get going with all their star players, it might take a season or two for Racing to gel. I'd imagine that the Top 14 would be first thing on their agenda anyway and they are in a very difficult group.

Penney was using the Rabo to develop a 2nd string to Munster bow - he has always said that he was never trying to ditch the 'old' Munster.

Fireball07 wrote: »

I wonder should someone like Castres be counted too. They might not perform that well in Europe, but they did win the Top 14, they are a quality side.

They have lost their highly regarded coaches to Racing.

molloyjh wrote: »

That's it. Take one game in isolation and ignore the rest of the season. That'll paint an accurate picture.

My point was a poor Munster side did not make the SF. A poor Munster side made a QF because of an easy pool. When POC arrived back (it seems) he transformed Munster from a poor side to a good side. That good side made the SF and were narrowly beaten. The Munster we saw in the QF and SF last season was a totally different beast to the one we saw in the pool stages.

Well, hopefully POC will remain fit and thats the team we will see next season. And how confident will all those young players be after making a semi last season. Look how much Kilcoyne, Zebo, POC & Murray will have gained over the last while - I don't expect Murray to have the kind of brain fart he had against Racing last season that lost Munster the away game. Squeezing out of that pool as Munster did will be great experience for those young players.

it is a very "up in the air season" as Buer said. Lots of teams adding new players and losing players. Racing Metro especially will have almost a new team, but like Toulon a few years ago who went down the Galactico route..... who knows what will happen (Toulon HC Champs)

I would deffo put Leinster in the top 4 in Europe, I do not think that Sexton will be that big a loss and expect Gopperth and Madigan to fill the role. Not sure that Munster can replace ROG that easily. Howlett, class act that he was will not be missed as much mostly due to the position that he played. I see other teams bringing in good players, Northampton for example got to Premiership final last year and have added Corbiseiro and George North, two stand out Lions to their squad. Munster had a great run as always in the Heino last year and the win at Quins was the game of the season for me, good that the semi was as well, but they need the top players fit and to play beyond themselves in games like that. You do not have the capacity to do that every week in the Rabo, you have to be able to play at cruise control and pick the big games to peak for. I just do not see improvement in them this year squad wise. Munster will always be a feared team and if they got to semi finals again this year it would be a great achievement, another great achievement. Hope they do, but can't see it.

Rightwing wrote: »

Hoping we have another good season, a repeat of last season would do.

Top 4 in Europe at the moment imo

Toulon/Clermont/Toulouse/Racing

Next 4

Leicester/Munster/Leinster/Ulster.

So a semi final H cup would do me.

What happened to Munster being better 'virtually everywhere' than Toulouse?

molloyjh wrote: »

In fairness it was 1-1 against Saracens last season. There's not much between the sides. And don't forget Munster wouldn't have made the QF had it not been for a joke shop Edinburgh side in rounds 2 and 5 plus a totally disinterested Racing side in round 6. The return of POC changed everything for the QF but had Munster had a tougher group then they wouldn't have made the QF.

It's kind of bizarre that you highlight how weak Munster's pool was, neglect to mention Saracens were in the same pool, and use that as proof that Saracens are ahead of Munster?

Rightwing wrote: »

i don't intend to be getting involved in little petty sniping.

Hope this helps.

It's a question? Your tone is a tad unnecessary.