Home Pro 14 Semi-Final, Sat 18/5 @ The RDS, 14.30

[neiliog93]

Kilcoyne's approach is scrum at a 45 degree angle and hope not to get caught. Very effective with lower level refs but the top guys ping him immediately and then he has to scrummage square, and the results aren't pretty.

He's lost weight and his ball carrying is very good at the moment, I'll give him that.

[joooooe]

This was a bad game for any Munster players in 50/50 calls with Leinster counterparts for Ireland. Earls was menacing. He looked threatening. Farrell was good and I thought Carbery looked really dangerous. His footwork os excellent. Our D took care of him but he despite being smacked backwards numerous times, he comes back for more. And more.

Carbery had a few good kicks. Good footwork isn’t enough at outhalf, there’s a back line outside you watching you dance.

Carbery gave some very quick, slick, flat passes to his outside backs yesterday, especially in the first half when Munster had more ball.
Then he realised his mistake.

Stop the competition, comment of the year has been won.

[FLIP]

And with that, a mighty cheer went up from the heroes of Munster. They had banished the awful Pro 14 forever, because it was haunted.

There will be a run on turnip juice.

And one more:

[Oldschool]

I just saw the gratuitous fat shaming by Scannell when he got his yellow card. There’s no place for that. If the fat community aren’t accepted on the rugby field, where are we to go??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

'Don't make me run onside, I'm full of chocolate'!

Is that dark chocolate (good) or milk chocolate (not so good)?

[Hippo]

I'm warning ye, much more of this shyte talk and I'll shout for Glasgow in the final.

You're right about Darcy. Awful co-comms. Simply dreadful. Surprised he's still goin after last years diabolical effort in twickers.

Ah here I'm not having this. Toland is comfortably the worst co-comm in the business and I enjoyed GD correcting him several times yesterday.

[Dave Cahill]

The great advantage of having Darcy, or indeed anybody, splitting the punditry with Toland is that it halves the amount of time that Toland can talk. Now I like Toland as a pundit, I think he has lots of interesting things to say, but not as a co-comm - thats not the job. A commentators job is to say, briefly, what you're seeing, a co-comms job is to say, equally briefly, why you're seeing it. Toland though, just never shuts up

[riocard911]

The great advantage of having Darcy, or indeed anybody, splitting the punditry with Toland is that it halves the amount of time that Toland can talk. Now I like Toland as a pundit, I think he has lots of interesting things to say, but not as a co-comm - thats not the job. A commentators job is to say, briefly, what you're seeing, a co-comms job is to say, equally briefly, why you're seeing it. Toland though, just never shuts up

In a nutshell!! +1

[RoboProp]

And with that, a mighty cheer went up from the heroes of Munster. They had banished the awful Pro 14 forever, because it was haunted.

There will be a run on turnip juice.

And one more:

Not. From. A. Conway.

[blockhead]

The great advantage of having Darcy, or indeed anybody, splitting the punditry with Toland is that it halves the amount of time that Toland can talk. Now I like Toland as a pundit, I think he has lots of interesting things to say, but not as a co-comm - thats not the job. A commentators job is to say, briefly, what you're seeing, a co-comms job is to say, equally briefly, why you're seeing it. Toland though, just never shuts up

Liam "the corridor of power" Toland is bad, agreed.
Darcy is painful to listen to.
Drico is not great either but is a very good analyst.
Jackman, no. Luke Fitz? good lord.
Heaslip made a very promising start with CH4 this season.

[suisse]

Conway is really taking a lot of stick online these days. And it is enjoyable reading. I wonder what he makes of his career path now. He will be 28 years old when he lines out in a competitive fixture again. Conway left Leinster after starting - and winning - two Finals in May 2013 as a 23 year old. Since then, he has been part of very competitive Munster teams, making plenty of semis and 1 Final, losing them all. But no medals. Zilch. Nada. 12 Ireland caps to his name seems like a very, very low return given how highly rated he was leaving Blackrock. He looked grumpy and irritated on Saturday, arguing with international team mates and scrapping with Lowe. No tears shed for him. He's watching a host of younger Leinster and Ulster players bypass him for medals and caps. Jordan Larmour has 13 Irish caps and Stockdale 19. The worst part must be boarding a bus back to Limerick, of all places, when he could have walked back home in South Dublin.

[ronk]

Its more than Brendan Macken has.

Not many players from that cohort (2010 u20s) made it without a 2nd chance.

[olaf the fat]

I just saw the gratuitous fat shaming by Scannell when he got his yellow card. There’s no place for that. If the fat community aren’t accepted on the rugby field, where are we to go??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1, Stand up for the ample

[Ruckedtobits]

The great advantage of having Darcy, or indeed anybody, splitting the punditry with Toland is that it halves the amount of time that Toland can talk. Now I like Toland as a pundit, I think he has lots of interesting things to say, but not as a co-comm - thats not the job. A commentators job is to say, briefly, what you're seeing, a co-comms job is to say, equally briefly, why you're seeing it. Toland though, just never shuts up

Liam "the corridor of power" Toland is bad, agreed.
Darcy is painful to listen to.
Drico is not great either but is a very good analyst.
Jackman, no. Luke Fitz? good lord.
Heaslip made a very promising start with CH4 this season.

Agree, almost entirely on your rating / ranking.

Drico is usually very cogent in his OTB pieces on Friday night but his co-commentaries on BT Sports are a much harder gig, as he has to sit alongside (and listen to) some very one-eyed waffle.

Darcy writes well in the IT and perhaps should stick to the page and leave the airwaves.

Jamie is excellent on his analysis on Ch 4 and sees patterns and weaknesses long before the average viewer.

Quinny is however a 'fan with a Mic' when Munster are playing. He's at his best when he's a total neutral.

Luke Fitz, Toland & Jackman will wither on the vine.

[olaf the fat]

Going back to a previous post re Munster using nothing but brute force and niggle. It's a very good point.

Munster seem to use "niggle" as a tactic, rather than actual like rugby tactics. They have some top players, so it works to a certain level but just bringing intensity and passion does not amount to a plan.

[OTT]

Conway is really taking a lot of stick online these days. And it is enjoyable reading. I wonder what he makes of his career path now. He will be 28 years old when he lines out in a competitive fixture again. Conway left Leinster after starting - and winning - two Finals in May 2013 as a 23 year old. Since then, he has been part of very competitive Munster teams, making plenty of semis and 1 Final, losing them all. But no medals. Zilch. Nada. 12 Ireland caps to his name seems like a very, very low return given how highly rated he was leaving Blackrock. He looked grumpy and irritated on Saturday, arguing with international team mates and scrapping with Lowe. No tears shed for him. He's watching a host of younger Leinster and Ulster players bypass him for medals and caps. Jordan Larmour has 13 Irish caps and Stockdale 19. The worst part must be boarding a bus back to Limerick, of all places, when he could have walked back home in South Dublin.

I remember Conway coming through at schools and then the Irish U20's I really thought he would be a fixture for Leinster and Ireland for years. He made a decision and I was very disappointed in it but that was his choice. There are two ways to go after that one you play your heart out for your new team and be humble or two you go the easy route aka the Niall Ronan Expressway and always big up the culture you found compared to the one you left, big up the pride you have in playing for the jersey above others you have played for, you over celebrate beating the team you previously played for. Just generally being gratuitous. It satisfy's your current fan base but it shits on those you left behind. They love you for it and naturally the team you left and their supporters want to f%~king put you into the dirt every chance they get, in my opinion it is the way Conway chose to go.

Nugget is close to being a Leinster legend but I don't see him doing the same sh!t over the last decade about Munster/Connacht or more recently Henshaw is respectful about his time with Connacht. It is a classier way to be imo Felix Jones became a real Munster man but he never seemed to need to get involved in sledging or cheap pops in newspapers the same for Keatley. I guess it is just different guy's character. It will be interesting to see which way Joey ends up going, he is the new face of Munster and they will surely try to get him to lean heavy on the pride and pashun when he talks, hopefully he doesn't forget his past.

By the by I thought over the last two seasons Conway should have earned a lot more Irish caps then he has done.

[Oldschool]

Conway is really taking a lot of stick online these days. And it is enjoyable reading. I wonder what he makes of his career path now. He will be 28 years old when he lines out in a competitive fixture again. Conway left Leinster after starting - and winning - two Finals in May 2013 as a 23 year old. Since then, he has been part of very competitive Munster teams, making plenty of semis and 1 Final, losing them all. But no medals. Zilch. Nada. 12 Ireland caps to his name seems like a very, very low return given how highly rated he was leaving Blackrock. He looked grumpy and irritated on Saturday, arguing with international team mates and scrapping with Lowe. No tears shed for him. He's watching a host of younger Leinster and Ulster players bypass him for medals and caps. Jordan Larmour has 13 Irish caps and Stockdale 19. The worst part must be boarding a bus back to Limerick, of all places, when he could have walked back home in South Dublin.

I remember Conway coming through at schools and then the Irish U20's I really thought he would be a fixture for Leinster and Ireland for years. He made a decision and I was very disappointed in it but that was his choice. There are two ways to go after that one you play your heart out for your new team and be humble or two you go the easy route aka the Niall Ronan Expressway and always big up the culture you found compared to the one you left, big up the pride you have in playing for the jersey above others you have played for, you over celebrate beating the team you previously played for. Just generally being gratuitous. It satisfy's your current fan base but it shits on those you left behind. They love you for it and naturally the team you left and their supporters want to f%~king put you into the dirt every chance they get, in my opinion it is the way Conway chose to go.

Nugget is close to being a Leinster legend but I don't see him doing the same sh!t over the last decade about Munster/Connacht or more recently Henshaw is respectful about his time with Connacht. It is a classier way to be imo Felix Jones became a real Munster man but he never seemed to need to get involved in sledging or cheap pops in newspapers the same for Keatley. I guess it is just different guy's character. It will be interesting to see which way Joey ends up going, he is the new face of Munster and they will surely try to get him to lean heavy on the pride and pashun when he talks, hopefully he doesn't forget his past.

By the by I thought over the last two seasons Conway should have earned a lot more Irish caps then he has done.

No sign of Joey going the Conway route.
If anything he's generally got a warm welcome from and hasn't reacted to his ex team mates.

[Logorrhea]

No sign of Joey going the Conway route.

Joey can go and f*ck right off with himself.

[Blueberry]

I think the thing that these guys forget (Conway / Carbery / Jordi etc etc) is coaching. Leinster (bar our brief soujorn with that fella who I dare not moction) has been by far the best place to be for access to top coaching and opportunities.

Conway was a talent and who knows where he could be if he had stayed at Leinster with Lancaster coaching him and Carbery I fear will not reach his ceiling if he stays down south. It's all well and good getting starting game time by shifting province but consistent brilliant coaching in the right environment is the only way to reach the very top elite level. Unless things radically change down south no chance of that.

Of course the flip side is the competition for places is fierce at Leinster but this in someway also defines the player as the very best players see it as the ultimate challenge and perform and become the number one - look at Healy coming back to being first choice, Sexton's drive, Conan sticking firm etc etc. Carbery should have stayed and said right I'm going to displace Sexton or Rob (depending on where he wanted to play). It takes that sort of character to be the very best - leaving the elite province and arguably the best club in Europe in the last decade and moving to a lesser team is unlikely to get you to the top.

[joooooe]

I think the thing that these guys forget (Conway / Carbery / Jordi etc etc) is coaching. Leinster (bar our brief soujorn with that fella who I dare not moction) has been by far the best place to be for access to top coaching and opportunities.

Conway was a talent and who knows where he could be if he had stayed at Leinster with Lancaster coaching him and Carbery I fear will not reach his ceiling if he stays down south. It's all well and good getting starting game time by shifting province but consistent brilliant coaching in the right environment is the only way to reach the very top elite level. Unless things radically change down south no chance of that.

Of course the flip side is the competition for places is fierce at Leinster but this in someway also defines the player as the very best players see it as the ultimate challenge and perform and become the number one - look at Healy coming back to being first choice, Sexton's drive, Conan sticking firm etc etc. Carbery should have stayed and said right I'm going to displace Sexton or Rob (depending on where he wanted to play). It takes that sort of character to be the very best - leaving the elite province and arguably the best club in Europe in the last decade and moving to a lesser team is unlikely to get you to the top.

He was playing, albeit out of position most of the time, for the best team in Europe. He was rightly being lauded as the future international 10 and he let his impatience and possibly ego get the better of him by moving to a rival club who have tended to be on the wrong end of results against his old team. He also left behind possibly the best coaching and development structure in Europe and the opportunity to continue learning off the best player in the world, who also plays his position. Within a few months he has ended up on a higher wage and longer contract so he got that aspect right, I suppose.

If you ask me, Neymar should never have left Barcelona for PSG.

[Flash Gordon]

Conway is really taking a lot of stick online these days. And it is enjoyable reading. I wonder what he makes of his career path now. He will be 28 years old when he lines out in a competitive fixture again. Conway left Leinster after starting - and winning - two Finals in May 2013 as a 23 year old. Since then, he has been part of very competitive Munster teams, making plenty of semis and 1 Final, losing them all. But no medals. Zilch. Nada. 12 Ireland caps to his name seems like a very, very low return given how highly rated he was leaving Blackrock. He looked grumpy and irritated on Saturday, arguing with international team mates and scrapping with Lowe. No tears shed for him. He's watching a host of younger Leinster and Ulster players bypass him for medals and caps. Jordan Larmour has 13 Irish caps and Stockdale 19. The worst part must be boarding a bus back to Limerick, of all places, when he could have walked back home in South Dublin.

I remember Conway coming through at schools and then the Irish U20's I really thought he would be a fixture for Leinster and Ireland for years. He made a decision and I was very disappointed in it but that was his choice. There are two ways to go after that one you play your heart out for your new team and be humble or two you go the easy route aka the Niall Ronan Expressway and always big up the culture you found compared to the one you left, big up the pride you have in playing for the jersey above others you have played for, you over celebrate beating the team you previously played for. Just generally being gratuitous. It satisfy's your current fan base but it shits on those you left behind. They love you for it and naturally the team you left and their supporters want to f%~king put you into the dirt every chance they get, in my opinion it is the way Conway chose to go.

Nugget is close to being a Leinster legend but I don't see him doing the same sh!t over the last decade about Munster/Connacht or more recently Henshaw is respectful about his time with Connacht. It is a classier way to be imo Felix Jones became a real Munster man but he never seemed to need to get involved in sledging or cheap pops in newspapers the same for Keatley. I guess it is just different guy's character. It will be interesting to see which way Joey ends up going, he is the new face of Munster and they will surely try to get him to lean heavy on the pride and pashun when he talks, hopefully he doesn't forget his past.

By the by I thought over the last two seasons Conway should have earned a lot more Irish caps then he has done.

Andrew Conway is a very good player, what we saw during the game was a massive amount of frustration from him. Playing in that blunt backline must be extremely frustrating for him, they just shuffled the ball backwards and forwards attempting to bully a better team than them. Probably wasn’t a good idea to wind up the best player on the pitch however…..
The reality is that Munster are not well coached. You see it with Joey, Ross Byrne is a lad with less talent but he is well coached and is developing, Joey hasn’t moved on at all since he left us.
Thought we were very patchy in the first half but unstoppable in the final quarter, we were punching their line from all angle. Josh was absolutely outstanding but I really have to shout out Rhys who was absolutely top drawer, incredible shift.
Line out was a bit messy and McGrath had another very poor game. Think his decision making is poor at the moment – the tap and go penalty for example - and his distribution was poor on Saturday, timing and quality of pass were awful at times.