Go’way would ye Danny Boy. Obvious attempt as a wind up. Most back lines in Europe have been better than Munsters for years.
Between that and rock saying that O’Gara could be dropped for Warwick I honestly think this thread is starting to go down the mairegangaire route (and I dont mean sleeping with brian lohan)
Rock / MBB - it was only the Dragons that they beat - I’d say Garryowen or Shannon would have beaten them so relax a second and put it into perspective.
[quote=“Mac”]Go’way would ye Danny Boy. Obvious attempt as a wind up. Most back lines in Europe have been better than Munsters for years.
Between that and rock saying that O’Gara could be dropped for Warwick I honestly think this thread is starting to go down the mairegangaire route (and I dont mean sleeping with brian lohan)
Rock / MBB - it was only the Dragons that they beat - I’d say Garryowen or Shannon would have beaten them so relax a second and put it into perspective.[/quote]
I wasn’t getting carried away about the score or performance, I said that Earls looks the real deal in his skills, and that Warwicks game has come on a lot.
Not much else after that.
The line out was a mess mind you.
[quote=“Mac”]Go’way would ye Danny Boy. Obvious attempt as a wind up. Most back lines in Europe have been better than Munsters for years.
Between that and rock saying that O’Gara could be dropped for Warwick I honestly think this thread is starting to go down the mairegangaire route (and I dont mean sleeping with brian lohan)
Rock / MBB - it was only the Dragons that they beat - I’d say Garryowen or Shannon would have beaten them so relax a second and put it into perspective.[/quote]
Me neither, I think I wasa pretty restrained in m views to be honest Mac.
No wind up, I wouldnt swap our backs. Ya your right most back lines have been better than Munsters for years, thats the fookin point? But thi year I dont think they will be…
Id swap BOD and Kearney for Barry Murphy and Hurley alright, but Im sure Leinster would swap Dempsey and Horgan for Earls and Howlett as well!!
There’s an interesting point, Shane Horgan, wtf has happened and how will we get him back or will we ever get him back?
Don’t see a return to form for Horgan being ever on the cards. He’s lost a bit of confidence and to be honest his skill and strength levels were never really good enough anyway. He turned himself into a smashing finisher but as a ball carrier and a game breaker he was too anonymous for too long.
Mac, nobody was going to town on Munster’s performance. Second game of the league though and they were impressive in how they took their tries and in their individual efforts around the park. Lineouts and restarts were a shambles but that’s the sort of thing that can be rectified.
Didnt see the Munster game and from reading my posts I was obviously more pissed last night than I remember. From reading everyones posts together though it was evident that there was a perception out there that Munster will clean up all round them this year. Particularly worrying that patriotic Laois and Fingal men seem to have their arses firmly nailed on the Munster bandwagon.
on the money with that post
Outside the pale is Munster when it comes to rugby for me. Stems back from over 10 years ago when I went to a Leinster game as a Fresher in College and found myself in among a load of shithead Leinster fans. I soon found out what those cunts thought of us culchies, tainted me forever to be honest. I never saw Leinster rugby as Leinster as a result, I saw it as a D4 culture and just could never warm to them as a result.
I’ll be quite happy to take the slings and arrows that people wish to throw at me as a result of being a Laois man supporting Munster, I’ve heard it all before.
Dont know how you came to that conclusion Mac. I cant speak for the rest of the lads but I thought I was pretty restrained. I am positive about our start no doubt about, but we are the European chammpions to be fair, I think we are entitled to a degree of confidence!
Earls try, nice flick up at the end!
from skysports.com
Seven days is a long time in rugby and an even longer time for my email server to deal with the abuse from certain quarters.
Throughout the season we will put forward a skysports.com XV for the opening Test against South Africa based on performances from the weekend’s action.
However, it seems the XV selected in the first of these features riled one or two of you enough to question my parentage.
Undeterred, skysports.com unveils its latest selections from the last seven days - with a number of players knocking on the door the selectors.
We have also listed those who are unlucky to miss out on our XV and those who have failed to impress.
And we will be looking for your own starting XV and suggestions of who deserves to be in there based on their performances after the latest round of fixtures.
Let us know who you think via the form below…
15 Keith Earls
A number of players have staked their claim for the No.15 shirt with Lee Byrne, Nick Abendanon, Morgan Stoddart and last week’s selection Olly Morgan all impressing. However, a superb hat-trick from Earls in Munster’s win over the Dragons earns the highly-rated 20-year-old his place.
14 Thom Evans
A hugely colourful character, Evans is making a big name for himself on the pitch. The nephew of DJ Chris Evans, the 23-year-old has turned his back on a music career to concentrate on rugby. And if his two-try performance in Glasgow’s defeat to the Ospreys is anything to go by, he has made the right decision.
13 Brian O’Driscoll
The irrepressible force that is Brian O’Driscoll makes his first appearance in the skysports.com XV after a classy performance for Leinster against Edinburgh. More than played his part in his side’s six-try romp with his incisive attacking play and was unlucky not to score himself.
12 Luke Fitzgerald
Okay, okay… before people complain, I know Fitzgerald scored his hat-trick against Edinburgh on the wing, however he has proved that he is equally adept at inside centre - and a partnership alongside O’Driscoll is just too tempting to ignore.
11 Mark Jones
The Scarlets winger may have been forced to live in the shadow of his international team-mate Shane Williams, however there is no doubting Jones’ talent. Another first-class performance was rewarded with a try against Connacht.
10 Jonny Wilkinson
Just like the full-back position, there was a whole host of contenders for the No.10 jersey - however the return of Wilkinson really caught the eye. A faultless display was topped with a 45m drop goal - from his supposedly weaker right foot - and his influence on the Newcastle team was clear to see.
9 Danny Care
One of two players to retain their place in the XV from the opening week, and there is little doubt that on this form Care will be in the Test team for the Lions. Yes, Dwayne Peel and Mike Blair might be quality operators, but Care is something special as his dominant display for Harlequins proved.
1 Andrew Sheridan
The behemoth that is Sheridan was back at his best for Sale and he certainly gave Census Johnston a rough workout. Powerful in the scrum and frightening in the loose, Sheridan is pushing to be the cornerstone of the Lions pack.
2 Matthew Rees
Tough call between Rees, Frankie Sheahan and Rory Best - with all three hookers performing well. However Rees just gets the nod, particularly as Sheahan blotted his copybook with a yellow card. Rees was superb in the loose against Connacht and quietly effective in the scrum.
3 Gethin Jenkins
Along with Care, Jenkins retains his place in the side, although the versatile Cardiff prop switches to tighthead to accommodate Sheridan at loosehead. Jenkins has started the season in immense form and will be key to any hopes Wales and the Lions have of success.
4 Alun Wyn Jones
With Nick Kennedy sitting out London Irish’s defeat to Leicester, Wyn Jones has stormed into claim the No.4 shirt. Not content with his classy performance against Cardiff in midweek, Wyn Jones grabbed the match-winning try against Glasgow.
5 Malcolm O’Kelly
With international colleague Paul O’Connell rested on the bench for Munster, Leinster’s O’Kelly used his return to action to stake his own claim for a place in the Lions side. A big presence on the pitch and top-notch lineout jumper.
6 Tom Croft
England boss Martin Johnson will certainly have taken note of Croft’s performance against London Irish. Fellow back-row Ben Herring may have stole the headlines, but Croft’s work on the deck was exemplary - and he even topped his display with a try.
7 John Barclay
Plenty of contenders, but Barclay’s work-rate against Ospreys sees him included in the XV. A good honest professional, he got stuck into the Welsh side and can count himself unlucky to have finished up on the losing side.
8 Luke Narraway
Under-fire after spurning a try-scoring chance in the opening defeat to Leicester, Narraway bounced back in the best possible way - a storming display and a try.
Unlucky to miss out
Jason Hobson, Charlie Hodgson, Toby Flood, Geordan Murphy, Lee Byrne, Nick Abendanon, Morgan Stoddart, Olly Morgan, Shane Williams, Nathan Brew, Stephen Jones, James Hook, Marcus Horan, Frankie Sheahan, Scott MacLeod, Shane Jennings and Jordan Crane, Rory Best.
In danger
Ryan Lamb, Dan Parks, Nick De Luca, Matt Mustchin, Tom Rees, James Haskell, Josh Lewsey, Lee Mears, Matt Stevens.
thats ridiculous in the extreme…
Its not often that I would have issues with irish players being selected, but the selections here are questionable at best.
Earls - Great player and a rising talent. best fullback available? No
MOK - Past his prime
BOD - Always there or there abouts.
Luke F - Unproven at the highest levels, Like Earls he is a great player and a rising talent. Will be lucky to be in the centre for Leinster.
Time will tell…
who’s selection is that ?
Talk about trying to create a debate.
tony curtis i believe…never heard of him myself…said i would put it up to see was i the only one that thought it was mad…
[quote=“myboyblue”]Outside the pale is Munster when it comes to rugby for me. Stems back from over 10 years ago when I went to a Leinster game as a Fresher in College and found myself in among a load of shithead Leinster fans. I soon found out what those cunts thought of us culchies, tainted me forever to be honest. I never saw Leinster rugby as Leinster as a result, I saw it as a D4 culture and just could never warm to them as a result.
[/quote]
Nice one, I think the Irish Rugby supporters are a shower of tossers so i’m off to support the All Blacks.
[quote=“myboyblue”]Outside the pale is Munster when it comes to rugby for me. Stems back from over 10 years ago when I went to a Leinster game as a Fresher in College and found myself in among a load of shithead Leinster fans. I soon found out what those cunts thought of us culchies, tainted me forever to be honest. I never saw Leinster rugby as Leinster as a result, I saw it as a D4 culture and just could never warm to them as a result.
I’ll be quite happy to take the slings and arrows that people wish to throw at me as a result of being a Laois man supporting Munster, I’ve heard it all before.[/quote]
IOTM material there
Bring it on bitch.
Back to this wonderful sport (rugby is the heartbeat of Ireland now after all), have me tickets for Leinster Munster, cant fucking wait.
well technically mbb is half a clareman/munsterman at this stage…
dont like the ole ole leprechauns- think Ill follow Italy http://www.thefreekick.com/board/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif
[quote=“A2LUE42”]Its not often that I would have issues with irish players being selected, but the selections here are questionable at best.
Earls - Great player and a rising talent. best fullback available? No
MOK - Past his prime
BOD - Always there or there abouts.
Luke F - Unproven at the highest levels, Like Earls he is a great player and a rising talent. Will be lucky to be in the centre for Leinster.
Time will tell…[/quote]
Ah I wouldnt read too much into a selection like that, just shooting the shit. I’d call that a pub conversation meself. Doubt her man even saw all those games those players played in.