A great big Munster thread

[munstermuffin]

Snoop while I agree with what your saying the fact is Munster and Leinster only measure their season on Heineken cup but I do think we have to give it a good shot at Amlin BUT only while blooding some youngsters.

Brive are a funny package although I know they aren't going great and finacially bad. But if we overcome that then we will have true test at home regardless but it is a great chance and well we won 2 Heineken Cups but no irish province has ever won Amlin so we said we'd try fix that stat instead

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

This is buried at the bottom of an article about Ian Nagle re-signing:

There are others, however, in the Munster camp who could be targeted by overseas clubs, particularly those who have played well over the last couple of seasons in the British and Irish Cup.

That includes the likes of Paddy Butler, Danny Barnes, Stephen Archer, Peter O'Mahony, Declan Cusack, Dave Foley and Scott Deasy, all of whom are believed to be in negotiation with Munster to either continue on development contracts or to upgrade.



http://irishexaminer.ie/sport/rugby/rising-star-nagle-snubs- saints-to-pen-new-contract-with-munster-143504.html

Butler and O'Mahony absolutely must be re-signed on 2 or 3 year deals since Munster lack depth in the backrow and each player has international potential. Deasy is average but his versatility makes him a useful Magners Leaue player to have in the squad. I don't see what Stephen Archer and Declan Cusack bring to the table and both could move on without impacting at all on Munster's depth. Foley and Barnes look good but are buried down the depth chart - perhaps 1 year loan deals could be arranged with Connacht to get them game time.

Has anybody heard the rumour about Tony Buckley being offered a new deal, being on the verge of accepting it and then the offer was withdrawn? It's bad form on the IRFUs part if true. I don't rate Buckley but that's no way to treat a person.

 

[munstermuffin]

That is true regards Tony. Was orginally offered an Irish contract and agreed terms then IRFU withdrew and only offering a provincal contract and well things are bit uneasy at moment

 

[Feicarsinn]

Good. The man doesn't deserve to be anywhere near a central contract. It shows how little the heads of Irish rugby know about their sport that he was even in contention for one. We get 20 central contracts. Two have been wasted on DOC and ROG while another one went to Trimble. IMO the following 11 players are musts:

Cronin
Sexton
Ferris
Healsip
Hagan
Nagle
O'Brien
Tuohy
Fitzgerald
Earls
Rob Kearney

These are th guys that our 2015 team is going to be built around. We've got to keep them in the province and make sure they are given all the support to develop into quality internationals.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

That's really shoddy treatment. However if he's not on an international contract, Munster have a lot of leeway in terms of selection.........

.......John Hayes is probably retiring (although we've been saying that for the last 15 years!). Munster have invested a lot in Peter Borlase who can't possibly be as poor as he's looked so far- he probably just needs a break after a long season in NZ. Munster can approach any tighthead prop to compete for the tighthead shirt with a view to signing him since they won't be coaxed into selecting an Irish contracted player. This gives some credence to the Mike Ross returning rumour (although while the Indo says Jamie Hagan has signed for Leinster, it only says Munster are interested in Mike Ross).

If Buckley was offered a good deal by Castres, he should take it. If Munster have a chance to re-sign Mike Ross, they should grab it with both hands. All parties win in the short term. Buckley gets well paid, Munster fix their scrum, Ireland have to fork out for one less player.

The "losers" are Connacht who look like losing the fast improving Jamie Hagan to Leinster and Leinster in the short term since Hagan isn't yet on Ross' level. Long term it would benefit Leinster.

 

[munstermuffin]

Thing is Snoop we have to be smart and remember Buckley and Ross are both over 30 so we need a young guy too. Borlaise I hope people reserve judgement on until he gets in to next season as he has been playing 12 months straight and needs the break. He has a decent reputation in New Zealand too.
John Hayes will be retiring from us at end of season and after the World Cup for Ireland.
I do think some of this French talk from Buckley could be in battle over contract too.
Also ROGs contract is seperate to Central Contracts allocation from what I've been informed.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Thing is Snoop we have to be smart and remember Buckley and Ross are both over 30 so we need a young guy too.

Definitely. Ross is a quick fix. He's 31 now and has 2 good seasons ahead of him as a starter with another couple of years after that as a squad player a la Julian White. However if Munster get two strong years out of Ross, they'll have done really well out of that potential deal. That gives them plenty of time to groom somebody to take over from him or for Peter Borlase to show that he wasn't a waste of money. Also, if they re-sign Ross and the scrum doesn't improve significantly, what would that say about the job Paul McCarthy is doing?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

On Borlase, could it just be that Munster pack aren't good enough in the scrum?
I've just been watching clips of him in the ITM/super rugby and he looks very strong in the scrum, yet at Munster, nothing.
I remember last year (i think it was) the commentators mentioning that as soon as POC was switched for Cullen, the Irish scrum looked much stronger. Coinky-dink?

 

[munstermuffin]

Well now that it's mentioned and well I've seen it on other places too.
Bruggernaut is at Racing Metro now. He was good before and after leaving Munster but not great with us.
Same applies to others like Du Preez and Borlaise.
There is big calls for Niallo to be brought in as Fisher/McCarthy seem to be doing no good here. It may be harsh but if players are doing it elsewhere good but poor here then the coaches have to be examined.
Olly it's well known Paulie is the Lineout lock and DOC the scrum lock. If we put it that way but fact is we have everything good except the technique
Oh yea it was DOC missing when Cullen came in

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I saw this on MF.com:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/la...ohs-hold-on-for-win-492352.html#ixzz1DBKejWtH

UL's defensive efforts was epitomised by the brilliant Dave Foley, who signed a full contract with Munster earlier this week

Good news for Munster. With him and Ian Nagle both signing contracts, could one (or more) of Donnacha Ryan, Billy Holland or Mick O'Driscoll be on their way out?

​

 

[munstermuffin]

Was in UK at weekend with Sean Henry who is expected to sign with the Saints. I don't know if this will be a blow as he will be super hooker and I fear this will be another Sean Cronin scenario

 

[Feicarsinn]

Meh, Mike Sherry is the future owner of the Munster 2 shirt. They have two or three good hookers at the mo, it's one of their few positions of real strength. They'll be fine.

 

[munstermuffin]

Feic believe it or not Henry will be better than Sherry and well that isn't putting Sherry down it just Henry is a superb player probably just a year behind Sherry in developing

 

[profitius]

Feic believe it or not Henry will be better than Sherry and well that isn't putting Sherry down it just Henry is a superb player probably just a year behind Sherry in developing

I disagree. I think Sherry will turn out to be the better player. I'll admit I havn't seen much of Henry and indeed he looks a solid player. Good luck to him at saints. It wouldn't surprise me if he turned out better than Varley though. Not knocking Valrey but I think he is limited.

Any players on their way to Connacht?

 

[munstermuffin]

Well I won't argue as they're both superb prospects and it all depends on development.
Regarding Connacht there nothing really to report at moment but I suspect that majority of deals with Connacht will be done in June/July as players who do move won't really have many other options and so rush isn't there

 

[profitius]

Well I won't argue as they're both superb prospects and it all depends on development.
Regarding Connacht there nothing really to report at moment but I suspect that majority of deals with Connacht will be done in June/July as players who do move won't really have many other options and so rush isn't there

They might have to hurry though or risk having no options especially if Elwood makes a few more signings before then. I'd say Connacht would be attractive for Irish players because they only need to hop into the car to get home quickly.

 

[munstermuffin]

Well I can't put up links but 10 lads are after signing new deal and Douggie is using the extension on his current deal so we have majority of young guys signed now.
Check Munster Rugby for names.
Profitius Connacht won't sign many because they haven't got the cash to bring alot from overseas - they have to raid AIL or simply depend on other provinces

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

As stated in the post above:

http://munsterrugby.ie/news/8623.php

The week that Munster resume their Magners League campaign began in the most positive sense with the news that eleven of the current squad have agreed contract extensions.

They include the Munster crop of young talent such as Darragh Hurley, Mike Sherry, Ian Nagle, Dave Foley, Peter O'Mahony, Paddy Butler, Tommy O'Donnell, Conor Murray, Scott Deasy and Felix Jones while it was officially confirmed that Ian Keatley will join from Connacht at the end of the season on a two year contract.

Doug Howlett has also agreed a further extension that will keep him in Munster red until the end of the 2011/2012 at least despite more lucrative offers from abroad.

Nagle, Foley, O'Mahony, Butler and Deasy were on Development contracts while hooker Sherry and scrum-half Murray come straight from Academy to be fully contracted.

Great news. I can see most of those players becoming mainstays of the Munster team over time. I really think Munster should have trumpeted this more though by adding quotes from the players and coaches about how "there's something special happening at Munster and I want to be a part of it"..

 

[coonor]

Keatley should now be in the frame for international selection as he really does run the show for Connacht. Munster Could really use a player like Keatley and he could play 12 if need be.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I agree with you, Keatley could see action at 12. I think he'll be a very good player.

As good as the bunch of players getting new contracts is, perhaps it's worth noting who wasn't included on that list. By announcing 11 new contracts, I'm guessing that's the bulk of Munster's inexperienced players tied down. There's no mention of Stephen Archer, Sean Henry, Dave Ryan, Duncan Williams, Ivan Dineen, Simon Zebo and Danny Barnes on that press release. Henry may be off to Northampton as munstermuffin says. Could the rest be off to Connacht?