His lack of impact along with others was due to travel fatigue allied to altitude fatigue.
Francis yesterday in the indo
The plane journeys and the logistics are a factor - but they don't really explain the lethargy of Munster's performance. You can't put that performance solely down to attitude - fatigue and altitude did most of the damage.
I never spotted the link before!
If Franno was picking a user name it'd be his first choice, so obvious now. FrannOldschool I'll keep shtum.
molloyjh wrote:If fatigue was an issue, then why were they the team on top in the final quarter? I know Racing had switched off, but it was them who had guys down with cramp and sauntering around the pitch, not Munster.
The point I was trying to make is that Francis is coming on here, stealing Oldschool's ideas and then getting paid to regurgitate them in the INDO.
Or, that Oldschool and Francis are one in the same.
Would explain a few things tbh.
I don't know why I do this to myself but I listened to OTB AM coming back from a game tonight. It doesn't get any worse than Dave McIntyre and Adrian Barry discussing rugby. They're OTB's two most ridiculous presenters - Barry butchers every point he tries to make - and here was McIntyre rattling on about "a tipping point" when it comes to Leinster players in the Ulster team. For some reason, it is okay to have a bunch of Saffers cos.....well, he gave a sh!t reason.
Does anyone know his take on PP? Has he ever denounced it? Talked about a tipping point. Because it is more relevant there.
That Brendan Fanning is a cracking reporter with fantastic rugby knowledge.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ ... 03253.html
"Back in 2011 Leinster made the trip to Thomond Park a week after their remarkable comeback over Saints. Looking lost at half-time in Cardiff they had summoned up a unique turnaround in the second half, and cantered home to their first Heineken Cup."
"His 'A' team were beaten out the gate by Ealing Trailfinders on Saturday - a grizzled, old pack playing wet-weather rugby to a tee - and on the back of that showing none of that crew will be breaking the door down to start in Limerick."
"but no one does that better than Henshaw. And he has a fine passing game to match. So he will be leading the charge in Limerick on Saturday."
The editors don't have the knowledge. A majority of Irish sports journos are lazy and have less knowledge than most committed fans (despite being paid 40-50k+ per year to write about rugby). Gerry, Murray Kinsella and a few others are exceptions to the rule.
"This is breathless stuff.....it's on again. Contepomi out to Hickie,D'Arcy,Hickie.......................HICKIE FOR THE CORNER! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This article by Gavin Cummiskey is confusingly written. He's quoting Labit, then changes to quoting Cullen without acknowledging the change in speaker.
Brendan Fanning had some good insight into Lancaster's appointment back in 2016 too:
"So whatever Lancaster brings to Leinster it's not a track record of success at the highest level. The points of greatest interest for us now are the style of play, the results, how the day-to-day coaching will be divvied up, and who will be left standing at the end of the season.
Some in Leinster see Leo Cullen as director of rugby next term, with Lancaster, in a semantic stroke, promoted from senior coach to head coach. That is unlikely, not least because it's probable that the Englishman is more suited to what happens around the field, and the relationships that drive it, than the stuff inside the four white lines. The other way around would make more sense, with Lancaster as DoR.
For that to have happened, however, would have involved Leinster gazumping Cullen, which clearly would have made him unhappy, as well as making them look culpable for having installed him in the first place. In the meantime, Glasgow pick up Dave Rennie, back-to-back Super Rugby-winning coach with the Chiefs, and Bath grab hold of Todd Blackadder from the Crusaders, the most successful outfit in the history of that competition.
Surely if you aspire to be the "global standard bearer" then these are the names you should be attracting, and for longer than the single season for which Stuart Lancaster has been hired. His experience will certainly be useful, but there is nothing to suggest it will be transformative. On the field."
And then yesterday:
"Then they got lucky with Stuart Lancaster. Lucky that he was available; luckier still that his head had withstood the melting of his World Cup experience with England in 2015. It has been the near perfect marriage, blessed with the fruits of earlier labours: a supply of young talent that had become more a gush than a flow. Crowning it with silverware yesterday was important for Cullen and Lancaster, and Leinster's ability to think their way out of a mess."
Edna Kenny wrote:Brendan Fanning had some good insight into Lancaster's appointment back in 2016 too:
"So whatever Lancaster brings to Leinster it's not a track record of success at the highest level. The points of greatest interest for us now are the style of play, the results, how the day-to-day coaching will be divvied up, and who will be left standing at the end of the season.
Some in Leinster see Leo Cullen as director of rugby next term, with Lancaster, in a semantic stroke, promoted from senior coach to head coach. That is unlikely, not least because it's probable that the Englishman is more suited to what happens around the field, and the relationships that drive it, than the stuff inside the four white lines. The other way around would make more sense, with Lancaster as DoR.
For that to have happened, however, would have involved Leinster gazumping Cullen, which clearly would have made him unhappy, as well as making them look culpable for having installed him in the first place. In the meantime, Glasgow pick up Dave Rennie, back-to-back Super Rugby-winning coach with the Chiefs, and Bath grab hold of Todd Blackadder from the Crusaders, the most successful outfit in the history of that competition.
Surely if you aspire to be the "global standard bearer" then these are the names you should be attracting, and for longer than the single season for which Stuart Lancaster has been hired. His experience will certainly be useful, but there is nothing to suggest it will be transformative. On the field."
And then yesterday:
"Then they got lucky with Stuart Lancaster. Lucky that he was available; luckier still that his head had withstood the melting of his World Cup experience with England in 2015. It has been the near perfect marriage, blessed with the fruits of earlier labours: a supply of young talent that had become more a gush than a flow. Crowning it with silverware yesterday was important for Cullen and Lancaster, and Leinster's ability to think their way out of a mess."
Brilliant work retrieving all this info. I would love for you to email it to the relevant people at the Indo, or better still, send it in as a letter from a reader.
"This is breathless stuff.....it's on again. Contepomi out to Hickie,D'Arcy,Hickie.......................HICKIE FOR THE CORNER! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheBear wrote:This article by Gavin Cummiskey is confusingly written. He's quoting Labit, then changes to quoting Cullen without acknowledging the change in speaker.
That's in keeping with Cummiskey's normal journalistic standards.
Leicester Tigers top attendance tables across Europe despite inconsistent season
ByPaul Jones 15 MAY 2018
Leicester Tigers are the best supported club in Europe, even if a season of inconsistency saw them miss out on the Aviva Premiership play-offs.
Figures published by the Rugby Paper show that Tigers averaged 22,878 for their home league games at Welford Road during the 2017-18 season. Begles-Bordeaux, who had topped the list for the previous four seasons, were next with 22,000.
Premiership outfits Harlequins and Bath completed the top four with 18,856 and 18,527 respectively. Both of those figures were helped by moving a game apiece to Twickenham - Tigers were Bath's opponents, drawing 60,000 fans in early April to see a Leicester bonus-point win.
Leicester Tigers winger Jonah Holmes relishes the chance to feature in stellar back-line
Elsewhere in the Midlands, on average Wasps attracted 17,140 to the Ricoh Arena, while a difficult season at Northampton Saints saw them pulling in an average of just 13,003, more than 2,000 down on the previous campaign.
The lowest average in the Premiership was at Sale Sharks, where there were 6,244 regulars at the AJ Bell Stadium. Across Europe, the lowest average was at Zebre in Italy, who attracted 2,926 per game.
In European competition, Tigers were third in the list. They came in just below the 20,000 mark at 19,856 for their trio of home games with Castres, Munster and Racing 92 in the Champions Cup.
The top two slots were taken by Irish sides, Munster averaging 23,734 at Thomond Park, while nobody could touch Leinster's figure of 30,926
That backing was rewarded as Munster lifted the trophy in Bilbao last weekend after a tense victory over Racing.
In their fupping dreams they did.
You know I'm going to lose,
And gambling's for fools,
But that's the way I like it baby, I don't want to live FOREVER!
Franno with a nicely incendiary line in the Indo: "The Spanish presence in the ground was unmistakeable. Amateur, colourful, noisy, partisan and there to simply watch the big boys - just like the Munster fans."
"This is breathless stuff.....it's on again. Contepomi out to Hickie,D'Arcy,Hickie.......................HICKIE FOR THE CORNER! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then: "I think Leinster people have long since stopped taking offence at the hordes of Munster supporters who have gone to finals to support Leicester, Northampton, Racing and probably even Ulster.
Donnacha Ryan supporters' clubs, Racing jerseys with Zebo on the back, and red jerseys with Racing scarves.Not even a 'Munster by the grace of God' - langer for a day T-shirt."
"This is breathless stuff.....it's on again. Contepomi out to Hickie,D'Arcy,Hickie.......................HICKIE FOR THE CORNER! THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In their fupping dreams they did.