[quote=āThe Pukeā]just over 72 hours to go and i cant waitā¦would expect the team to be pretty similar to the team that beat gloucester with the only change being horan returning at loose headā¦i wonder would kidney go for a 5-2 split on the bench with a full front row in reserve of sheehan puciarello and mushieā¦with o leary giving cover to the backs in case of injury with stringer and warwick on the benchā¦a lot of people are saying it should be a handy win or that munster will be complacentā¦i dont see this happening but i do think that saracens wont be easy but would expect munster to triumph on a scoreline of:
Munster 19 saracens 8[/quote]
Interesting thoughts on a 5-2 split on the bench. Kidney gave great credit to the Saracens scrum the other day in the paper and commented on how itās an 80 minute machine because they use the bench very well for scrummaging. Although I guess Munster could find themselves picking up a couple of injuries and going uncontested, not Kidneyās style though.
Not sure Iāll see the game as Iām in Glasgow for the huns derby match but weāll see what sort of interest the East End of Glasgow has in rugby I suppose.
I recall being utterly pedantic on here before and explaining the common misconceptions regarding GMT. I was a little ashamed of my anality in the aftermath but fuck it Iām going to correct it again.
Team is as expected, though Buckley is not in the 22:
Prop Marcus Horan and scrum-half Tomas OāLeary have both been passed fit to play for Munster against Saracens in the Heineken Cup semi-final at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Sunday.
Horanās back spasm has settled down sufficiently enough for him to take his place in the front row. But, the decision to go with Federico Pucciariello over Tony Buckley on the bench is an indication that there is a minor doubt over what will happen when the match intensity hits home.
OāLearyās neck injury has subsided to allow him to get the nod over Peter Stringer at nine. Barry Murphy makes the 22 ahead of Kieran Lewis and Donncha Ryan is preferred to Anthony Foley on the bench.
MUNSTER (v Saracens): D Hurley; D Howlett, R Tipoki, L Mafi, I Dowling; R OāGara, T OāLeary; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes, D OāCallaghan, P OāConnell, A Quinlan, D Wallace, D Leamy.
Replacements: F Sheahan, F Pucciariello, M OāDriscoll, D Ryan; P Stringer, P Warwick, K Lewis.
thought freddie would make the bench alright as we could well need his scrummaging ability in the second halfā¦bold move to leave foley out altogether but think its a positive move and i am a big fan of donnacha ryanā¦thought barry murphy made the bench ahead of lewisā¦
Didnāt even notice Foley wasnāt there. Big call again. Got the team from breakingnews.ie Puke so thatās who say Lewis is on the bench.
Saracens team is:
SARACENS (v Munster): R Haughton; F Leonelli, K Sorrell, A Powell, K Ratuvou; G Jackson, N de Kock (capt); N Lloyd, M Cairns, C Visagie, H Vyvyan, K Chesney, P Gustard, R Hill, B Skirving.
Replacements: F Ongaro, C Johnston, T Ryder, D Barrell, M Rauluni, G Ross, D Scarbrough
tough game today which we were lucky to come out on top inā¦fair play to sarries they gave it socks and were unluckyā¦their back three were excellent along with gustard hill and vyvyanā¦sets up a cracker of a final against tolouse nowā¦
hurley had a decent enough game didnt get an amount of ball in hand but used it well when he got it and his defence was solidā¦ian dowling was solid as a rock again while dougie just oozes class his ability to read a game (both offensively and defensively) and pick a line are different classā¦the two centres were solid defensively and mafi threatened with ball in handā¦ronan and o leary were middling to fair today o leary box kicking wasnt up to scratch while o gara missed a few kicks that he wont be happy with, was surprised stringer wasnt brought on as we coulda done with him to steady the shipā¦
the backrow battled manfully and mixed the sublime with the dowm right stupid quinlan and leamy in the second half gave away some stupid penalties which another day could well have cost usā¦the longer the game went on the better o connell got and when he plays well munster win o callaghan was quiet yet he battled away away and kept his disciplineā¦the line out went well apart from the first throw being robbedā¦the front row struggled a bit at scrum time but they went through a nice bit of work between them in the loose although marcos horan seems a bit off the paceā¦
on a side note sorry to see richard hill retire an absolute legend of a rugby playerā¦a lot of other lads would have throw in the towel and retired years agoā¦quiet possibly one of the most under rated players to play the gameā¦
The All Blacks will play Munster on their end of season grand slam tour in November, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said.
The match is scheduled to commemorate the European Cup finalistsā 30th anniversary of defeating the All Blacks in 1978 and the successful redevelopment of Limerickās Thomond Park.
Munster beat the All Blacks 12-0 in 1978, before Graham Mourieās side went on to record test victories over all four home unions ā the first New Zealand team to record the grand slam.
āMunster has a proud history including their famous 1978 victory and a European Cup final this season,ā NZRU chief executive Steve Tew said in a statement.
'We are delighted to be part of another chapter that also has commercial benefit for both teams.
āOne of our aims is to find additional revenue to support the game in New Zealand. As rugby people, weāre glad to see it take the shape of a mid-week match.ā
The match will be played on Tuesday 18 November.
The NZRU are seeking new ways to generate revenue in an effort to stymie player drain to rich European clubs.
They have scheduled a Bledisloe Cup tie against Australia for 1 November in Hong Kong before tests against Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
should be a good night in the new thomond park(which is looking shit hot by the way)
At the end when Munster got a penalty just inside their own half Barnes said something like āItās guaranteed that O Gara will kick for goal here. Iām 100% sure that he will. No doubts.ā
I donāt actually mind the main commentator Miles Harrison, mainly for the fact he consistently calls the Lions āThe British and Irish Lionsā unlike most of his peers in Britain who drop the Irish element to the name. Iāve always been very particular about Ireland not being regarded as part of Britain and respect Miles as a result!
i would have great time for him as well since the time he put it up to andy robinson and martin corry after the autumn internationals a couple of years back(think it was after the loss to argentina)ā¦in fairness to barnes(sound skin and very affable met him out in limerick a few years ago the night of the miracle match with sale) he isnt the worst of them and he doesnt sit on the fence and the two of them seem to have good banter while doing itā¦better than listening to ralph keyes anywayā¦
Munster XV v Ulster in the Magners league at Ravenhill, Wednesday, 7.30pm:
S Payne; B Carney, B Murphy, K Lewis, A Horgan; P Warwick, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, F Sheahan, T Buckley; D Ryan, M OāDriscoll; J OāSullivan, N Ronan, A Foley capt.
Replacements: S Cronin, D Hurley, M Melbourne, J Coughlan, G Hurley, J Manning, K Earls.
strong team considering there are15 changesā¦slurpy to make is 200th appearance for munster fair fucks to the legendā¦