OâGaraâs day has come and gone alright but Keatley is not the answer at 10 if they want to once again challenge ever winning the thing again. A quarter final this year will be good for this young teamâs development though.
Agreed, Keatley got an armshair ride yesterday and was still poor enough. Canât ever see him developing into anything more than an average squad player at Munster. I would have thought that they would have been giving more gametime to JJ Hanrahan this year and trying to fast track him given his performances for the Under 20âs last year.
I thought Keatley did reasonably well yesterday bar his kicking flaws. The one major advantage he gives the team compared to OâGara is his ability to thrive on flat quick ball from Murrary. OâGara sits so deep at times he could be above on the terrace, still you would rather have OâGara kicking your penalties in a tight game.
In general i have been very disappointed in OâGaraâs performances this year, so Keatley rightly deserves a chance now but he will not start the next day.
The pet hate under Penny seems to be the continued stationing of big lugs of forwards on the wing when ball goes out wide, if they try that shit at the Stoop an unmerciful hiding could be on the cards. All in all though, a trip to Harlequins is much more winnable than a trip to Clermont or Toulan.
OâGara will most likely play on next season and, despite his fairly terrible form this year, that will mean he will start the HC games. I really hope Hanrahan gets a lot more Rabo action next season-in fairness to Penney, he doesnât mind starting young lads so I think he will give him a chance next year.
Surprised how little of a mention there was over the fact that Wayne Barnes is lucky to be alive today. Similar to Van Persei the other week, he could have been killed
<img src=âhttp://ballsdot.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/barnesgif.gifâ alt="barnesgif.gif]
A mesmeric image
:lol: 
Good move for him and Irish Rugby, youâd like to see a lot more of this happening.
Andrew Conway, a standout performer for the Irish Under-20s when scoring five tries in both the 2010 and 2011 Junior World Cups, is on the verge of making one of the more intriguing moves of the professional era by leaving his native Leinster at the end of the season to join Munster.
The Dublin-born 21-year-old looked set for a rapid rise through the ranks with Leinster after a celebrated under-age career with Blackrock, Leinster and the Ireland schools and under-20 sides, but in his fourth season with Leinster has evidently become a little frustrated at playing just 30 times for the province in that timespan (scoring five tries).
Ankle and neck injuries, coupled with his back-to-back summer campaigns at Junior World Cups, prevented him from an extended pre-season until last summer, but despite his own hopes that this season would mark a breakthrough, he has been confined to just 11 appearances in which he has scored two tries.
Compounding Conwayâs frustration at his lack of progress would have been the sight of Simon Zebo and Craig Gilroy overtaking him en route to their first steps in Test rugby. The pacey winger-cum-fullback with an eye for the try line like few recent underage products, Conway had also attracted interest from Connacht and France, with Leinster also keen to retain him.
Following Fionn Carrâs decision to return to Connacht, Conwayâs prospective switch to Munster will heighten speculation about the future of the latterâs captain, all-time record try-scorer Doug Howlett, who was due to enter talks with Munster about his future after the completion of the Heineken Cup pool stages, but it is understood no decision has been made.
Are the rats fleeing a sinking ship? Are both teams going through a transitional period or what? and are Munster ahead in the development of a new team? O Connell Ogara and O Driscoll etc must all be finished??
Sorry for all the questions but Runt isnât IM and Iâve no one else to ask.
No
Yes
No
Nearly
Can anyone tell me what is the story with Dominic Ryan of Leinster? He looked an excellent prospect a few years ago
Injuries. Came back late last season. Think heâs played a few games this year too
He would still be young enough. Hopefully he can regain the form he had a couple of years ago before injury
We in Munster will happily accept some more of the lads who canât get more playing time in Leinster-send on Rhys Ruddock as well. Delighted if Conway came down but not at Howlettâs expense.
IRFU due to make a statement shortly on Jonny Sextons future, according to twitter it seems as if heâs off to Racing Metro.
Clermont at evens and Montpellier at 4/6 both to win away tonight look like reasonable bets.
From the Irish Times website.
Sexton signs with Racing Metro
Rugby: Ireland and Leinster outhalf Jonathan Sexton is believed to have signed a two-year contract with French side Racing Metro this morning having turned down a final offer from the IRFU.
The 27-year-old is set to join the Paris club in the summer and become the highest paid Irish rugby player of all time, earning âŹ750,00 per year.
The move comes as a huge blow to Leinster and coach Joe Schmidt, who himself signed a one-year extension to his contract with the province that will keep him in Ireland until the end of the 2013-14 season.
IRFU Statement
The Irish Rugby Football Union has been informed that Johnny Sexton will not be renewing his contract to remain playing full time in Ireland from the end of this season.
Philip Browne, IRFU Chief Executive said: "We are very disappointed, as we know the Irish rugby public will be, that Johnny Sexton will not be playing his rugby full time in Ireland from next season. Johnny is a major talent and his full time presence in Ireland will be missed, particularly by Leinster.
"We wish Johnny continued success with his career and he will receive all the support he needs over the next number of weeks in what we know was a very difficult decision for him.
"While we remained in the fight right up until the last possible moment to keep Johnny in Ireland with a very strong offer, ultimately, following negotiations with the playerâs agent, we had no option but to take the decision that it would not be in the best interest of Irish rugby to chase the reported financial incentives being offered.
"The IRFU has made a commitment to, and been largely successful in, keeping as many Irish players as possible playing full time in Ireland. However, we have always recognised that some of our players will be targeted by overseas clubs with offers which, quite simply, are not within our orbit.
âWhile Johnny has made the decision to move on to a new club, the IRFU is fully committed, together with the provinces, to maintaining its programme of nurturing and retaining Irish rugby talent. We feel that the benefits of the careful and considered management of those players will allow us to maintain this policy.â
Leinster Coach Joe Schmidt said, âNaturally, Iâm disappointed. Iâve really enjoyed Johnnyâs input over the last few years and he has added tremendous value to the Leinster environment both on and off the field. The offer he has received is exceptional, even by French standards, but I know that it was still a tough decision for him.â
Fair fucks to Sexton
He is 27 so why not earn the money while he can? Worst case scenario is he returns to Leinster in 3 years & signs a decent 2 year contract again. He is pretty certain of his Ireland spot regardless of playing club rugby in France as there is fuck all else to play 10 bar young Jackson.
âŹ750,000 a year, 