hugonaut wrote:I don't buy that at all. You don't 'bring through' young players [i.e. select them for games] by bloating the squad with NIQ players on short-term contracts and not selecting said young players. That's patently nonsense.dropkick wrote:ronk wrote: The system is designed to prevent it due to separation of decision making but Munster just have too much influence. The furore over Leinsters selection for the Thomond game brought back just how much influence rests with the people who only watch a few select games. Seasonal and long term considerations can be damned, the provincial game is really just there for a few big days out between internationals.
It simply looks like a restructuring of Munster by Nucifora. We heard at the end of last season that Nucifora was going to sort out the mess in Munster himself and basically get Munster to copy the Connacht model of bringing through more young players. Rassie said the other day that over the next 2 or 3 years the squad is going to be trimmed down. http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugb ... 37361.html
What we're seeing now is Munster in the process of revamping the squad. Yes there are a load of NIQs but as someone who has supported lowering the number of NIQs, its nothing to be angry about. As an analogy, its like tidying a house. If you tidy a house, sometimes during the tidying the house looks worse than it was because there are items everywhere but thats only temporary. Once done the house will be in order.
Munster have two former Irish U20 tightheads in Year 3 of their academy: Brian Scott [23] who started in the academy four years ago, and missed a whole year [2014/15] due to a neck injury; and Rory Burke [22] who is repeating his Year 3 due to a run of injuries in previous years. Both of these lads have essentially spent four years in the Munster Academy environment.
Scott has played 29 mins over four games this season, Burke hasn't played a single minute. Why do they need to bring in du Toit [younger than either of them] as a tighthead on a short-term deal? Why don't they give Scott more than the 29 mins he has played, or give Burke a chance? Leinster have played four props younger than Burke – the younger of the two, the guy who hasn't played a minute – this season: Dooley, Heffernan [A], Loughman [A] and Porter [A]. Why can't Burke, a guy who started 9 of the 10 U20 internationals in 2014, get a single minute of Pro12 rugby?
Erasmus wants to get wins under his belt because that's the head coach's job: to get wins. Once you're winning, everything is much easier. I don't blame Erasmus for wanting to keep Taute; Taute makes Munster a better team.
In general teams Munster fans have, over the last four or five years, proved that they're no better or worse than other fans when it comes to supporting their side – they can raise a decent crowd for a big match, but they don't show up in anything like the same numbers if they're not winning. The lack of attendance was hurting the province and hurting the IRFU's bank balance. Now that things are going well, Nucifora doesn't want to stick a spoke in the wheel for the sake of 'fairness' – people are coming back to Thomond, money is coming back in and it's going back to the IRFU. That's hardly a conspiracy theory, and figuring it out isn't rocket surgery.
I'm not disagreeing with your last sentence but its more than that. Its mainly about making Munster become more self sufficient in churning out more IQ players for Ireland. If it was simply money the IRFU would leave all the provinces sign more NIQs and keep the likes of Pienaar. It was said at the end of last season that after Munster failed to pay their debt on time the IRFU / Nucifora had redrawn up the agreement and part of that was Nucifora being allowed make changes in Munster. So it was flagged last season that changes would be happening this season with Erasmus charged with revamping the squad. The NIQs signed are mostly injury cover and most of the NIQs will be gone next season.
Regarding the props, maybe Rassie had already agreed to bring in du Toit before he arrived and assessed the squad. He probably knew very little about the squad and looking at the videos last season the scrum was bad. That was the big worry in the summer. Then Archer got injured again so I'd say he was on the phone to du Toit fairly early in the season.
Scott actually looked impressive in his 29 minutes. He won a few scrum penalties in that time so I remember thinking to myself that I'd like to see him get some more time on the pitch instead of a few minutes at the end of each game to see what he is like. But with du Toit signed they had to use him. The age doesn't really matter either especially with props. They mature at different rates. Scott and especially Burke had a few injuries.
The Leinster props you named are getting game time alright but Leinster have a lot more depth at prop than Munster. Ross is injured but for big games they've Furlong and Bent (who is a very good player). They've Healy, McGrath and Dooley on the loosehead side. In the same scenario, for a big match, if Munster lost Ryan they'd be down to Archer and the academy lads. If they lost Cronin or Kilcoyne it would be McCabe or the academy lads. McCabe was injured too this season. So you're not comparing like with like.
ronk wrote:Burke and Scott are getting cut. du Toit was an extended trial like Taute and Lloyd, dressed up as short term deals.
I doubt that. As I said above, Scott looked surprisingly good in his brief appearances in the scrum. He is a big man and at 6'5 is very tall for a prop but if he can become a decent scrummager he will be signed up. He can play both sides of the scrum also. Burke has been riddled with injuries but looks a good player.
Taute and Lloyd are on trial alright. Taute will be a long term signing it looks like and on less than half of Saili's wage. A good bit of business by Erasmus that.