Munster, celtic league, heineken cup, general and tag rugby thread 🐐

Question for everyone concerned? If Munster and the All Blacks had not been sponsored by Adidas would last nights match ever have happened?

The All Blacks are strapped for cash at the moment. They played a Tri-Nations game in Hong Kong for fucks sake to bring money in. They used the line about growing rugby in the region and bringing it to the world. What a contradiction when the 2011 WC could have been in Japan but the Kiwis wouldnt step back. They’re decimated by All Blacks moving abroad to play and are losing out on revenue at home as receipts are down cos some of their best known players are in Europe at the moment. The NZ rugby board is in financial trouble and I think 2 of their major sponsors pulled out recently or else didnt renew contracts.

They’ll pretty much do anything for money and last nights match was a great example of this. The fact it coincided with the 30th anniversary and the stadium opening gave the marketing people something to play off. I wouldn’t quite stretch to Appendages claim of match fixing but it does make financial sense for the All Blacks to win like they did rather than hammering the fuck out of Munster.

If that Brazilian team had 10 days previosuly beaten an International side then maybe your argument would hold some water.

This is the team that beat scotland 32-6 last saturday week, 13 in were involved in one way or another last night.

Isaia Toeava; Anthony Tuitavake, Richard Kahui, Ma’a Nonu, Joe Rokocoko; Stephen Donald, Piri Weepu; Jamie Mackintosh, Keven Mealamu (capt), John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Ali Williams, Kieran Read, Adam Thomson, Liam Messam.

Corey Flynn (for Mealamu, 60), Neemia Tialata (for Mackinstosh, 55), Ross Filipo (for Williams, 64), Richie McCaw (for Thompson, 60), Andy Ellis (for Weepu, 52), Dan Carter (for Ellis, 69), Cory Jane (for Toeava, 54).

And by the way, if Celtic reserves beat Brazil reserves id be expecting a fookin poem, a novel and a month of shite talk out of you on here.

Now get back to work or il get the growler to take away your internet privilges

[quote=“Mac”]Question for everyone concerned? If Munster and the All Blacks had not been sponsored by Adidas would last nights match ever have happened?

.[/quote]

definately not, but not sure what thats got to do with the price of spuds

[quote=“Mac”]Question for everyone concerned? If Munster and the All Blacks had not been sponsored by Adidas would last nights match ever have happened?

The All Blacks are strapped for cash at the moment. They played a Tri-Nations game in Hong Kong for fucks sake to bring money in. They used the line about growing rugby in the region and bringing it to the world. What a contradiction when the 2011 WC could have been in Japan but the Kiwis wouldnt step back. They’re decimated by All Blacks moving abroad to play and are losing out on revenue at home as receipts are down cos some of their best known players are in Europe at the moment. The NZ rugby board is in financial trouble and I think 2 of their major sponsors pulled out recently or else didnt renew contracts.

They’ll pretty much do anything for money and last nights match was a great example of this. The fact it coincided with the 30th anniversary and the stadium opening gave the marketing people something to play off. I wouldn’t quite stretch to Appendages claim of match fixing but it does make financial sense for the All Blacks to win like they did rather than hammering the fuck out of Munster.[/quote]

Not just the all blacks to to this craic mac…Ireland and South Africa were trying to set up a test match in december in Dubai but it fell through…

So what if munster are also sponsored by adidas also and if it was somewhat a marketing exercise…as marketing exercises go I don’t think you could have ask for a better one to be honest…

The All Blacks will do anything to grow their brand at the moment due to financial problems so a result like last night will probably sell a fair few jerseys down in the southwest over the next few months. Lomu turning on the Xmas lights would also feed into this.

Was it not a competitive game? Jesus i could have sworn they were batein the bollix outta each out there.

The fact that you can’t recognise this as a good night for Limerick people shows you up more than anyone else, they haven’t had much to cheer about recently and this was something. It may not get your hair standing, but it does it for other people, so why not let them enjoy rather than trying to belittle whatever pleasure they may get from it.

I agree with you somewhat on the England and maturing bit, we kept our mouth shut for someone else’s national anthem, well who fucking hoo. I was there and what i thought was mature of us was that we paid them their respect and then went out and bate the fuck out of them, just like so many other teams (English included) have done to us.
I was far more proud of being an Irishman when all the elderly people marchewd on Dublin demanding a fair break, now that was a day to be proud, and we should be up burning the bastards cars far more often when they fuck the ordinary man over.

Now back to the rugby, the fact that front liners weren’t playing was largely irrelivent to me, they were All Black and Munster were wearing Red. Just like next year, if Donal Og, Deano and the Rock aren’t playing for Cork it wouldn’t stop me roaring them on to victory as much as my vocal cords can take it.

Did you stop following Celtic when Henrik left?

Oh ya your definately right, Im not contesting that. Just curious as to what bearing this had on the match? it was a spectacle. I have no problem admitting that Munster rugby is a well oiled commercial machine.

Doesnt take from my enjoyment of the team.

I don’t go in for friendlies - never have or never will so a poem would not be forthcoming. But it’s funny, Limerick came from nowhere to reach an All Ireland Hurling Final last year and there was a buzz in hurling areas in the county but none of this grandiose, over the top guff. Meanwhile, Munster B play a friendly against New Zealand B last night and it signifies a bright new age not just for sport in Limerick but for the whole county. Nah, I’m not having it.

This is more begrudgery, so what if they are exploiting their name, Munster game etc. They are fucking professionals for fuck sake, they need the money, they are running a business. They are dead right to push their brand. They are also smart in the fact that they probably know that outside of Wales, we probably look at the AB’s as a special more than anyone else, there is a serious “gra” for the Blacks in Ireland.

I don’t know where you were bandage, you must have been in the wrong county…plenty of hype around limerick in september 2007, nearly every second lad,lady and child had a limerick jersey on…how many were in the gaelic grounds for the offaly match less than a year later

But Munster Rugby isn’t just run by Limerick people, and they have a marketing department, so i don’t think you can compare it to the Limerick hurling team.
Your kinda proving people right here about the begrudgery thing, making it a GAA verses Rugby thing.

I heard them mention on Newstalk (on George Hook’s show)that it was the brainchild of an Adidas executive.
Now ye can buy into your history and nostalgia all ye want but when I hear that on one hand and see the excitement of the fans and all the pageantry with the match ball and the Munster NZ lads doing the haka…
It just doesn’t work for me. It was all so hollow and choreographed.
Id agree with Mac that Appendages remarks are too far past the line of conspiracy to be taken seriously but it was a tour match between two teams playing their second strings.
The rest is all garnish devised by Adolf Dasslers corporation.

The victory in 1978 is something to be proud of. But I see the Heineken Cup victories as greater.
I believe this event last night took away from 1978, rather than added to it.

hillarious stuff from the herald today, it said munster lifted us out of the economic gloom last night:D:D
im far from a rogbee fan but as this site is about opinions Ill give mine
as far as i can see this was a meaningless friendly for a new zealand team that had a bigger friendly on saturday,id say the new zealand b team had little knowledge about munster so wernt that pushed while the munter team had 30 years of so called history to fire them up, when munster got a lead NZ cranked it up a gear & got a facile victory. i cant believe some muldoons are talking about a b team beating munter in a meaningless friendly in a minority sport as a sense of history. hook said there are only 9 rugby countries in the world & we are 8 out of those 9
leinster get bigger crowds than munter but at least they dont continually go on about how great they are which is one thing that I find off putting about munter - leinsterprobably have better fans as from the outside looking in munter fans just seem like self praising event junkies.The media are tripping over their own hyperbole in the rush to eulogize the Munster rugby team because it fills radio shows and sells papers & the lemming munter fans buy into the hype

to summarise a fired up team representing a recently energised corporate creating were beaten by a b team who were on the piss since saturday

dead right caoimhaoin…this is more double standards, people don’t bat an eyelid when the top soccer teams in europe go over to Asia and the USA to play preseasan matches to extend their brand and revenue streams but when the All blacks do it they are a shower of cunts and all they want is money

A good point, they’re not even World Champions. Not even World Cup semi finalists. And that is their first team I’m talking about. We in Ireland have a completely OTT view of the All Blacks and thier status within the game. For years rugby needed a world tourney to create some sort of consistent gauge of where teams stand. That tourney has consistently told us that the All Blacks choke when it the pressure comes on.

In fairness to their B team they kept going, even though it was only a friendly.

Go Munster.

[quote=“dancarter”]Oh ya your definately right, Im not contesting that. Just curious as to what bearing this had on the match? it was a spectacle. I have no problem admitting that Munster rugby is a well oiled commercial machine.

Doesnt take from my enjoyment of the team.[/quote]

Just that the more I think of it the more it seems like they were playing last nights match to keep Adidas and the NZ Union happy more than actually wanting to play it themselves. Just had that inevitable feel to it that they would manage to sneak a win to keep their pride. More and more like a theatre production.

yes, a little too predictable for my liking

still the verbose munter fans such as pukey will be ringing up des cahill talking about the history there last night

Double standards me hole. I’ve little interest in soccer bar a passing interest in Leeds and keeping an eye on the Irish soccer team. Away from that I’d happily watch any other sport ahead of soccer. My point is purely that it was in both Munsters and the All Blacks best interests to have the match end as it did last night. Maybe that might explain why Warwick played an awful grubber through at the death when he knew time was up? Munster get a moral victory and the All Blacks keep their pride.

Out of interest anyway lads, how many players who started or came on last night were from Munster? Bar the 3 Kiwis, Ronan, Warwick and Dowling were the rest all originally from Munster?

[quote=“north county corncrake”]yes, a little too predictable for my liking

still the verbose munter fans such as pukey will be ringing up des cahill talking about the history there last night[/quote]

I love the way lads here have to try and discredit this munster team, can’t ye all just admit that they are a fine side and one of the finest teams that this country has ever produced

[quote=“north county corncrake”]hillarious stuff from the herald today, it said munster lifted us out of the economic gloom last night:D:D
im far from a rogbee fan but as this site is about opinions Ill give mine
as far as i can see this was a meaningless friendly for a new zealand team that had a bigger friendly on saturday,id say the new zealand b team had little knowledge about munster so wernt that pushed while the munter team had 30 years of so called history to fire them up, when munster got a lead NZ cranked it up a gear & got a facile victory. i cant believe some muldoons are talking about a b team beating munter in a meaningless friendly in a minority sport as a sense of history. hook said there are only 9 rugby countries in the world & we are 8 out of those 9
leinster get bigger crowds than munter but at least they dont continually go on about how great they are which is one thing that I find off putting about munter - leinsterprobably have better fans as from the outside looking in munter fans just seem like self praising event junkies.The media are tripping over their own hyperbole in the rush to eulogize the Munster rugby team because it fills radio shows and sells papers & the lemming munter fans buy into the hype

to summarise a fired up team representing a recently energised corporate creating were beaten by a b team who were on the piss since saturday[/quote]

Bang on the money there NCC.

‘Lifted us out of the economic gloom’

Deary fooking me.