A great big Munster thread

[Groundhog]

@munstermuffin Howdo you rate Dineen as a centre. I've often seen him slated as not being good enough, but he looked to have decent turn of pace and a nice offload today. Also any update on when Bleyndaal will be available?

 

[munstermuffin]

@munstermuffin Howdo you rate Dineen as a centre. I've often seen him slated as not being good enough, but he looked to have decent turn of pace and a nice offload today. Also any update on when Bleyndaal will be available?

He's very good. Smart and direct but injury prone. His contract is up at end of season and I'm hoping he's retained. If you can keep him fit he'd be a good asset and viable option to squad. Definitely has something to offer but at same time isn't the complete answer.

Tyler arrived Friday. Worked with him yesterday and this morning. He's recovering well but still a few weeks away from full recovery.

 

[ruggabee]

Stander can't seem to keep his jersey on! Munstermuffin maybe have a word with the staff about applying some velcro

 

[munstermuffin]

Stander can't seem to keep his jersey on! Munstermuffin maybe have a word with the staff about applying some velcro

Ha ha. Was actually taking the **** out of him last night. At least when BJ does it he shows off the pecks. CJ has his base layer under and floats around.
In fairness if he plays like last night without the jersey I will be ripping it off him myself. His best game since Toulouse for doing the dogged work.

 

[profitius]

Poor first half, good second half. They took their tries well with Earls involved again. Connacht were poor though. The wheels have come off their push for 6th because they've too many injuries and a hard run in.

Jack O'Donoghue has huge potential. He is some athlete and can play too. Heaslips replacement in a year or two!!

How tall is JOD? It says on his profile he is 6'2" but he looks taller than that.

 

[munstermuffin]

Jack is only that 6'2/6'3. Great prospect and certainly will be a challenger for Irish shirt.
But we had massive amount of pros and can be happy to build.

In fairness to Connacht they're picking their battles in run in and made it clear last night wasn't 1

 

[91jmay]

thoughts on JJ Hanrahan? His best position 10 or Center?

 

[munstermuffin]

thoughts on JJ Hanrahan? His best position 10 or Center?

He's a serious prospect. Can have his few lapses in decision making but a superb runner with great feet. He wants to be a 10 now but I think 12 is his better option at moment. He will be a top 10 soon though

 

[91jmay]

Great to hear, thanks. Will get time to play 12 as I expect a lot of our aging back line to be let go and Myler not been in great form this season. Few more additions to the 2nd/back row (Jamie Gibson could be a good reclamation project of sorts and Michael Paterson always impressed me but I would like a legitimate ball carrier) and I will be happy for next season.

 

[Groundhog]

Bleyndaal will play for the A's tommorrow. Great news and I hope he's the real deal for us.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Link to the Munster A team named:
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/20509.php#.VT_bkZPva6g

There are some noteworthy selections in the squad. Obviously Tyler Bleyendaal is the most notable. At openside is Conor Oliver who's a member of the Ireland u20 squad. He played for Skerries at underage club level before Blackrock came calling. It's good to see that even though his route with Leinster may be blocked, he's getting a chance at a pro career with Munster. Likewise tighthead prop JP Phelan has a chance to shine with Munster having seemingly not been in Leinster's plans. The more talented players who can earn a career, the better. Finally, the resurgence of Diarmuid McCarthy continues. He was a sensational schools player, among the best to have come along in the last 10 years. Hopefully he's rediscovered his passion for the game and can deliver on his enormous potential.

 

[Groundhog]

Link to the Munster A team named:
http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/20509.php#.VT_bkZPva6g

There are some noteworthy selections in the squad. Obviously Tyler Bleyendaal is the most notable. At openside is Conor Oliver who's a member of the Ireland u20 squad. He played for Skerries at underage club level before Blackrock came calling. It's good to see that even though his route with Leinster may be blocked, he's getting a chance at a pro career with Munster. Likewise tighthead prop JP Phelan has a chance to shine with Munster having seemingly not been in Leinster's plans. The more talented players who can earn a career, the better. Finally, the resurgence of Diarmuid McCarthy continues. He was a sensational schools player, among the best to have come along in the last 10 years. Hopefully he's rediscovered his passion for the game and can deliver on his enormous potential.

Dunno how I missed McCarthy. His would be one hell of a comeback.

 

[Peat]

This is the Ulster Ravens squad

Ulster Ravens team & replacements to play Munster A, Interprovincial, Naas RFC, Wednesday 29th April (15:00 kick off): (15-9): P Nelson, M Allen, M Best, S Arnold, M Hooks, M Heaney, D Shanahan: (1-8): K McCall, J Andrew, R Lutton, J Donnan L Stevenson (Captain), C Joyce, C Ross, L Dow; Replacements (16-26): P Jackson, R Murphy, A Thompson, N McComb, F Taggart, S Reidy, S Mulholland, C Young, K Joyce, A Lidell, P Dunlop.

It still amuses me that probably the best player in the Ulster academy is a 12 we brought in from England. Coals to Newcastle!

 

[munstermuffin]

Tyler is flying it in training and I guarantee you he is going to be a hit with a fantastic attitude.
Just on McCarthy. I won't go in to why his career stalled but he's back training with us since January and going well. Just a quick profile of him, many here in Limerick rated him a better prospect than Keith Earls. If you YouTube him there may be some fine tries from his schools days. I remember 1 try vs PBC where he scored a magical try burning Zebo in the process.

 

[Feicarsinn]

This is the Ulster Ravens squad

Ulster Ravens team & replacements to play Munster A, Interprovincial, Naas RFC, Wednesday 29th April (15:00 kick off): (15-9): P Nelson, M Allen, M Best, S Arnold, M Hooks, M Heaney, D Shanahan: (1-8): K McCall, J Andrew, R Lutton, J Donnan L Stevenson (Captain), C Joyce, C Ross, L Dow; Replacements (16-26): P Jackson, R Murphy, A Thompson, N McComb, F Taggart, S Reidy, S Mulholland, C Young, K Joyce, A Lidell, P Dunlop.

It still amuses me that probably the best player in the Ulster academy is a 12 we brought in from England. Coals to Newcastle!

 

[Peat]

Is something for Nucifora to fix alright. The Seymour-Whitten-Farrell-Allen backline we're about to have playing abroad would slot nicely enough into other provinces.

 

[munstermuffin]

Just to update we won the game handy enough in end. Tyler was rusty and few iffy kicks but overall was very good in open play.

 

[Groundhog]

Heard McCarthy got 2 tries. Is he a quality player already?

 

[munstermuffin]

Heard McCarthy got 2 tries. Is he a quality player already?

He already was. But well his issues I won't go into were off the field. He's a powerful and skillful centre who was the pick of all the backs today. I'm hoping he will get a contract for next season.

 

[Groundhog]

He already was. But well his issues I won't go into were off the field. He's a powerful and skillful centre who was the pick of all the backs today. I'm hoping he will get a contract for next season.

Still, you wouldn't expect a guy to come back to rugby and be playing pro rugby within the season.