Watching it myself, 6 o clock on a sunday is a fair shite time for a match
They have started very well, they have all packed it on alright, murphy as well. But they are still lean enough.
The skills look to be improved, great hands etc so far,
I said it here last week we need earls to keep scoring and he has a kanck of getting on the end of things alright (edit: hes just got a second and it was a cracker from half way chipped ahead and with an unbelievable bit of showboating he flicked the ball up with his foot instead of picking it up with hand, class)
great atmosphere thereā¦no fookin singing but a proper rugby atmosphere with a bit of bite in it, getting on dragons backs under kicks etc
Great half of rugby from Munster. Plenty of mistakes to be ironed out yet but three class tries and the defence was impressive also. Pity about the lineouts and restarts being a mess.
good solid performance from munster but it was a scrappy gameā¦anything āluke the fookā can do keith earls can do betterā¦good performances from the second rowers and ryan in the pack, warwick had a good game at ten while earls and howlett took their tries wellā¦
though ian dowling was playing very well til he was taken offā¦he just always seems to take the right option and is solid as a rockā¦hope kidney gives him a chance on the left wing in the autumn testsā¦an irish backline of dowling, o driscoll, fitzgerald, bowe/horgan and kearney has a lot of potential with keith earls a good impact sub to bring onā¦has bowe been getting his game with the ospreys
barry murphy was solid but still doesnāt seem to be the player he was before he got that bad injury back in 2006ā¦i wonder has he lost just half a yard of paceā¦
Edit: forgot to mention that neil francis is a prick talking shit before the game
Great win in fainress but never put the boot down at all.
I think for the first time in 10 years I wouldnt swap our backs for leinsters.
Dowling Howeltt Earls is a good bakc 3. I dont think Earls is a full back though. He got three good scores last night but hit no full backs line in the game. There is a serious traffic jam at FB into the irish team as well so Id focus on another position if I were him for the long term.
Think he actually played much better last week v Edinburgh, was far more involved.
Most positive aspect was Warwick, excellent stuff, great distribution and kicking was solid. His pass for the first try was outstanding. Thought he ran the game very well.
Dragons were chronic bad though, but Munsters handling and skill levels were very good all night.
Think yeāre both harsh enough on Munster. Always hard to press on against a limited side like the Dragons but they did what they had to do. Set pieces (lineouts and restarts especially) were disappointing but individually nearly everyone had a solid game.
Thought Earls did well at full back - doesnāt matter where he hits the line as long as he injects something from deep when he gets there which is what he did. 3 times if memory serves me. http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif His fielding needs some work but otherwise his positional play and his decision making were fine. Ultimately I think heāll be the centre with Fitzgerald outside him or behind him but I donāt think itās a huge issue that theyāre developing in different roles at the moment.
Anyway as good as he was Warwick was better. That was a superb performance from him at 10.
Spot on Rock, Warwich was subllime in everything he done, its great to have such back up there and again, I think heāll really put some pressure on ROG this season, which can only be a good thing. Good to see Dougie get his tries also, he put in some lovely hits over the course of the game and looks to be really enjoying himself.
Nice to see Axel and Payne among the others on the line there too.
Is that a new guy Setanta have on the sideline interviewing everyone? Seemed like they were all Aussies at the start and Daire OāBrien quipped that itās like an episode of neighbours. Except it didnāt look like a quip, it looked like he was pissed off.
If Warwick keeps that up then heāll have OāGara under huge pressure alright.
in fairness to warwick he has been an excellent signing for munster and more often than not plays wellā¦did he play underage for australia or would he be eligable to play for irelandā¦he would be a nce option along with sextonā¦
i would say that o gara is as good as undroppable rockā¦barring him playing the worse rugby of his career to dateā¦although its good top see we have a quality back-up option in this areaā¦
[quote=ātherock67ā]Is that a new guy Setanta have on the sideline interviewing everyone? Seemed like they were all Aussies at the start and Daire OāBrien quipped that itās like an episode of neighbours. Except it didnāt look like a quip, it looked like he was pissed off.
If Warwick keeps that up then heāll have OāGara under huge pressure alright.[/quote]
His place kicking isnt up to scratch I dont think unless he has worked very hard on it since last season. Had some howlers when he couldnt kick anything. New rules suit him far better than ROG alright though.
No harm to put a bit of pressure on ROG for first time in agesā¦
Dara O brien was cranky last night! was not happy that Mcgahon wouldnt let them interview Earls! twas petty enough in fariness out of Munsterā¦hes gonna have to get interviewed some time.
[quote=ādancarterā]
Dara O brien was cranky last night! was not happy that Mcgahon wouldnt let them interview Earls! twas petty enough in fariness out of Munsterā¦hes gonna have to get interviewed some time.[/quote]
Ah fuck O Briain, heāll be alright too. Nothing wrong with McGahan putting the arm around Earls. Heās an outstanding Munster born backline prospect, you can see why there might be hype about him! ALl in moderation though.
Really enjoyed watching the munster back last nightā¦ Earls little MattyFordesque flick up for his second try was magic, even if that cunt Farncis said it was a fluke (if Drico did it he would have came all over the Setanta studio).
Thought Barry murphy played well also, and Warwick was differnt class. The pack were good and Micko really was superb.
Aside, where did Setanta get the sidelne reporter from, Trenton Trundell or something.
He was undroppable with an Irish coach. An Australian coach with no loyalties except to the players themselves might not be as clearcut. I think Warwick is still a long way from actually getting the starting slot but a loss of form for OāGara with Warwick playing like this would end up costing him his place I reckon.
Anyway itās streets ahead of the Manning/Burke options in recent years.
[quote=ātherock67ā]He was undroppable with an Irish coach. An Australian coach with no loyalties except to the players themselves might not be as clearcut. I think Warwick is still a long way from actually getting the starting slot but a loss of form for OāGara with Warwick playing like this would end up costing him his place I reckon.
Anyway itās streets ahead of the Manning/Burke options in recent years.[/quote]
Mentioned that to the missus last night as was watching the game. Saying that, carters right, Warwicks kicking isnt up to standard yet, although it is definitely better than when he was Connacht.
[quote=āThe Pukeā]
i see burke is after landing a coaching role with heinike meyer at leicsterā¦[/quote]
Hadnt spotted that, best of luck to him. Limited player, but gave it everything always, so fair play to him. He always got a decent Club too, so there must have been something about him.
Yeah good point. Must have some reading of the game or something to justify his inclusion at Munster, Leicester etc and that would be supported by the coaching role.