Time to get rid of the provinces.
Bring back the club game.
Give me Shannon and Young Munster going at it any day over Munster and Leinster.
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Not a chance is he as good a 7. The two lads youāve named above are the most natural actual 7s weāve produced on this island that I can remember. The closest before them would have been gleeson who was an Aussie. Murphy was never in that league of specialist 7.
What good would Murphy staying at Leinster done? Was behind OāBrien for half a decade already, clearly had these young guys on his heels, hadnāt cemented provincial/intl 7 Jersey and had since gone on to become not just regular but Captain at Ulster. What would stayng in Leinster have done to match or better that? I think fair dues that he swallowed his pride instead of fading to obscurity
I genuinely wonder is thatās what is needed? We were a minute away from a world cup semi in 91 at the height of club rugby. Weāve gotten further and further from that the more provincial success
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Iām missing the bit where it says 5 world classā¦
Murphy had started a world cup quarter final, started in a win against South Africa in South Africa and started in Irelands first ever win against NZ all by the age of 25. He moved to Ulster and within months was more or less cast aside by the international side. Moving and surrounding yourself with inferior players is a huge risk for your international hopes, sure as you say yourself there are at least 2 lads who canāt get a start at Leinster ahead of him now in the pecking order despite his achievements in Ulster.
Murphy was a bench player at his province barring injury. He finally got a shot at it and instead of holding on to it had better coming up the ranks. He wouldbtc start ahead of vdf, penney and Connors. If he did, b heād likely still be at Leinster.
Heās done very well with what he has achieved and applaud him going to achieve more than he would have staying. Consummate professional and held himself very well.
But in talks of shifting lads around provinces so as not to stymie progress, Murphy would be the other side of the same coin. Instead of moved away to get experience, he was moved on so others coming up could grow at the province
I wonder actually if heād been given a good run at 8 if he couldnāt have been pushing stander. More guile and silk with no shortage at breakdown or carries. But again at Leinster never really got a look there when now, the build of an 8 would suit him and his game than it works have 7/8 years ago
The minute you clicked
I think there is a bit of revisionism going on there. Werenāt his last 2 games for Leinster a pro14 and European Cup final, he started both and they won both. Up to the age of 26 he had some career, and then he moved to Belfast. John Cooney now is in a similar situation too, only to be used as a last resort it seems with the Leinster reserve ahead of him.
Was Jordi ever a nailed on starter when all fully fit?
When Heaslip was at 8 and OāBrien at 7 he wasnāt no, but they were among the best in the NH.
Injuries probably took the edge off him as well. Coombes and Hodnet look super players at Munster.
I think Jack OāSullivan at Munster is the one to watch. Sublime skill. Finding his feet at the minute but will be pushing hard for Irish 8 jersey. Bad injury but hopefully behind him now
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Really nice crop of young players at Munster, the next few years with them plus the 2 South Africans and all the current experience is probably the time to win something.
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Problem with just shifting lads round the provinces is that it will eat further into the integrity of a rubby provincial system which has been around for a century. Itās debased enough as it is. If they just shuffle players out of a central (Leinster largely) card deck, the whole thing becomes like a series of training runs.
Rugby is an increasingly debased and poor spectacle anyway tbh.
They need to end the provinces or find a way to add more competition.
Bring back the club game
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I guess you could say Pom getting two years is an investment in a way. Heās still integral to Munster and if he left it would be tough for Munster to replace him. It could also impact Munster getting say a home quarter final in the European cup or a semi final in the aviva which would easily cover the contract for the irfu.
I heard Murray kinsella say they should introduce a base contract for the provincial players and use the rest to top up the international players on an appearance basis.
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Kiwis look at super 15 as a Mickey mouse comp. Natinlonal selectors use it as breeding ground but, to the spectator, far more interest in the NPC than the provincial. Same as it was in Ireland in 80s/90s.
If we want to get serious about world cup berth, then approach has to change somewhere and provinces is the obvious choice. Thereās an amount of talent also being lost as theyāre not making the academy and club game not given the resource to grow
Lads this is the anti-rugby thread. @Bandage a few yellow cards or āsin-binsā are required here. Discuss that fat man mud wrestling somewhere else
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