janeymac08 wrote:paddyor wrote:janeymac08 wrote:
What exactly did they achieve? Getting gubbed in 2 finals and 2 SFs where he was as lathair? FWIW, as one of the richer clubs in Europe with turnover of €15.9m (Scarlets are c£10m - or €11.4m, Glasgow less again) I'm not sure you have over achieved. How many teams can afford 5 Ohs on their books?
Being a top 4 club in Europe would be regarded as an achievement. Plenty of clubs that would bite your hand off for that. Anyway, its not as if Munster had instant success. There was a fair bit of heartbreak up to when Munster actually its first Heineken Cup. Scarlets didn't have to develop or maintain a stadium, let alone two. Glasgow are doing great - at least they own their stadium (which is equivalent to Musgrave Park in size and facilities).
Muller captained Ulster before Schmidt took over Ireland. Best did it for maybe a year and a half, probably less given international call ups. People constantly point to the fact that POM has been a captain all the way thru age grade and into being a pro (so have Ruddock, Jack McGrath and others), that he has "pedigree". I think it's reasonable to ask what exactly has he achieved. Best has had a few tough days at the office but he's achieved plenty.
Best was captain since Muller left (2014) bar one season when Andrew Trimble captained Ulster. POM captained the U20s team that Ruddock was on. How come Ruddock or McGrath were not club captains for Leinster instead of Nacewa if they were that brilliant. POM became Munster club captain at a very young age even though POC was still playing in Munster. POM has won 2 Six Nations Championships and a Grand Slam, plus selection for the Lions, captaining a Test side as well as a win over the Maori which he captained. Schmidt worst 6Ns championship was with Best as captain and an injured POM (out for a year with a cruciate injury). As soon as POM got back, Ireland started improving again.
Best took over in 14/15. He was with Ireland for the AIs(5weeks), the 6N(9weeks). Ulster topped the league and lost narrowly(thank you Robbie Diack) in the RDS having had to surrender home advantage. and in the 15/16 was away for the RWC(circa 8weeks) and became Ireland captain at the following 6Nseason Well, under MOC Cullen, Jernnings and Heaslip were the main captains. But generally we tend to pick a captain who won't miss a third of the season with Ireland be rested for a few other games. Like Ruddock for instance who captained Ireland in the AIs. FWIW, it seems at this stage Ruddock will be a case of what might have been given the way his career has been blighted by injury.
Well, actually we started improving after the away loss to eventual slam winners England. best captained the side to it's first win in SA despite it being a depleted squad(no Payne, no Sexton, no SOB, no POM, no Healy, no Zebo....snigger), losing the series by an aggregate total of 6pts. Ireland went on to complete a SH slam with a first win over NZ(again with no POM and no SOB). The guys got pedigree! Happy enough for him to get the summer off so he's able for next year
If it were me. I'd give it to Ryan. He's head and shoulders above any of the other locks(by comparison his stats are outrageous) and he lead an U20 team to the JRWC final. His ref craft probably needs some work at this level but it can't be any worse than POMs and the start of a RWC cycle is the perfect time for it.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014
Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles