Munster 2017 -2018

[Ruckedtobits]

That's got to be one of the worst Provincial performances for years for the first 60 minutes. Racing were beatable but if you don't tackle and support your ball carriers, you're unlikely to compete against anybody. Nucifora would be better off sitting down with management group in Munster and getting a full analysis of their tactical approach and preparation for that game than trying to denude Leinster of players who don't want to move anywhere.

[artaneboy]

The South African mini tour can’t have helped, but Munster were sluggish and inaccurate from the off.


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[LeRouxIsPHat]

That's got to be one of the worst Provincial performances for years for the first 60 minutes

Funny, earlier I was going to post that it was the worst performance by an Irish side in a big game since Argentina at the world up...but then I remembered the Pro12 final. So maybe they do have a mental issue or something wrong with their big game prep.

[tomthefan]

Keatley's going to get it in the neck again...

He's been there a long time and never really made the position his own except by default.
Bleyendaal getting injured, Holland retiring, Hanrahan not stepping up.
He's the number one at Munster but probably ranks 6th or 7th amongst Irish OHs including Madigan
and Jackson.

[Angelsea Angst]

The trip to South Africa dos not seem to have adequately prepared the team. They would have been better advised to have sent a second string team to SA. Also Simon Zebo and JJ should have started the game.

[fourthirtythree]

That's got to be one of the worst Provincial performances for years for the first 60 minutes

Funny, earlier I was going to post that it was the worst performance by an Irish side in a big game since Argentina at the world up...but then I remembered the Pro12 final. So maybe they do have a mental issue or something wrong with their big game prep.

Leinster in the Pro-12 semi final last year v Scarlets?

[Logorrhea]

Lots of very very average players, playing average.

[blockhead]

Munster beat Racing at home this season and almost beat them in their own place later in the group. Today however they were blown away, not at any stage did they look like they had a chance. Racing have improved during this season and will be a serious threat in the final.
Munster did very well to get this far tbh, fair play to them, and they took Toulon out of the equation too.
Plucky little feckers.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

That's got to be one of the worst Provincial performances for years for the first 60 minutes

Funny, earlier I was going to post that it was the worst performance by an Irish side in a big game since Argentina at the world up...but then I remembered the Pro12 final. So maybe they do have a mental issue or something wrong with their big game prep.

Leinster in the Pro-12 semi final last year v Scarlets?

I did think of that but honestly felt Munster were far worse.

[lummix]

Very poor from Munster today. They really need to sign a top quality tight head, openside, and a back 3 player.
Why Wooten was out there ahead of zebo was beyond me.

They should release keatley not because he's a bad player but he's not a European cup winning out half and they go back to him time and again and he fails time and again. To win a champions cup you need a world class no10 so Munster need to get the cheque book out.

[Logorrhea]

They should release keatley not because he's a bad player but he's not a European cup winning out half

Good to see the brave and the faithful going after Keatley again. Classy stuff as always.

[tomthefan]

They should release keatley not because he's a bad player but he's not a European cup winning out half

Good to see the brave and the faithful going after Keatley again. Classy stuff as always.

Lots of very very average players, playing average.

[RAILWAY1]

Ian Keatley does not deserve to be scapegoated for today's performance, it's a team game and the whole team including the management must share the responsibility for what happened in the first half. Hopefully our younger players who got games because of the major injury list will benefit from the experience and with the return of the recovered players we will have a squad that can go further next year.
Since we wont be meeting Leinster hopefully we will get a chance to beat ye in the pro 14 semi final.
Best of luck in Bilbao

[suisse]

I don't get it. Munster fans should be so appreciative of the players' efforts. They made it to a European semi final with that team. It was an extraordinary achievement. If they take off the red blinkers for a moment, they'll notice that a team comprising of Alex Wooton, Sam Arnold, Ian Keatley, JOD, Billy Holland, Jean Kleyn and Stephen Archer have no business being semi final players. 4 of their starting XV had some game time in the Grand Slam campaign. Leinster had more in the front 5 alone. This was the biggest game of their season. They should be proud of getting this far with that collection of players.

As for signing players. Don't Munster sign enough short term deals? They're producing nothing for Ireland. At least Ulster have given us Henderson and Stockdale recently. Connacht gave us Henshaw. They shouldn't be allowed to keep going back to SA when they can't get anyone after 2012 to be a regular in the Irish match day squad.

[suisse]

Another point, any one else think JP Doyle's positioning around the ruck and maul is all wrong? He seems to be getting in the way all the time. He's too close to the action. It was inevitable that at one point he'd be barged by a ball carrier or he'd prevent a tackle.

[olaf the fat]

Keatly is a decent player, just playing in an average team but has to ship the blame for fans favorites who just are not "legend" material.

Without Murray, Munster would go from average to poor. He really is the world class player holding them together, he had an off day today and look at the result.

[leinsterforever]

Maybe we should send them Sexton, Carbery, and Ross Byrne. Both Munster tens were awful, JJ isn't the first cousin of a ten and I'll never understand how he/others think that he is.

What specifically makes you think he isn't a 10? I'd say the complete opposite. I think he's a pure 10, and nothing else. He can bring others into play with his passing, he's a running threat himself, and I think he's got good instincts when it comes to kicking in behind. One dodgy pass that put them under extreme pressure aside, I thought he was pretty good today. I'd love to see them back him as first choice for the rest of the season.

[leinsterforever]

Munster's clearing out at rucks was very poor. There was hardly any good ball for Murray to work with. He looked incredibly frustrated that everyone else around him just wasn't on his level. Must be hard for him when he's used to the expertise of Schmidt's Ireland in ensuring he gets good ball. They really need to up the quality of clear outs. I thought that was their biggest failing.

I suppose we shouldn't be all that surprised if Munster are a rabble for half a game. It happened in Belfast where Ulster bonus-pointed them having been way behind, and the boks copped some hosings and often didn't have focused physicality under van Graan

[neilinboston]

Well, since Leinster are apparently the meat grinder, I guess Munster are a spatula

[hugonaut]

That's got to be one of the worst Provincial performances for years for the first 60 minutes

Funny, earlier I was going to post that it was the worst performance by an Irish side in a big game since Argentina at the world up...but then I remembered the Pro12 final. So maybe they do have a mental issue or something wrong with their big game prep.

They have a big mental issue when it comes to knock-outs away from Thomond, but they're also more or less performing to the limit of their abilities. They're not that good a team compared to some of the lineups that they face, but they are regularly at the business end of tournaments ... and then their weaknesses at the very highest level get exposed.

European Cup semi-final 2018 [Bordeaux]/23 mins: Racing 21 - 3 Munster
Pro 12 final 2017 [Lansdowne Rd]/32 mins: Munster 3 - 29 Scarlets
European Cup semi-final 2017 [Lansdowne Rd]/78 mins: Saracens 26 - 3 Munster
Pro 12 final 2015 [Ravenhill]/31 mins: Munster 3 - 21 Glasgow

The Saracens semi-final is a bit of an outlier because Munster were able to keep the scoreboard in play for quite a long time, despite being really dominated on the pitch. But in the three other games it has been over after half an hour.

To be frank, I'm not sure that there's much more you can ask of them. They've got themselves into back-to-back European semi-finals – that makes them one of the most competitive teams in Europe. I think if you were a Munster fan you'd obviously want them to be more composed in those big knock-out games away from home, because they've choked in them pretty frequently. They're not as bad a side as they've looked in the first half of these games.