Munster v Scarlets - Sunday

First topic message reminder :

Keith Earls has been included in the 29 strong Munster squad named this morning for the Heineken Cup round four game at Thomond Park Stadium on Sunday (12.45).

Earls came through the squad training session in UL yesterday and if he does likewise in tomorrow's run could be a contender for a place in the match day squad with Tony McGahan adding "We've to wait and see, he's been out of action for three to four weeks, so we'll have to see how he gets on in training for the rest of the week."

Munster Squad (29): Marcus Horan, Wian du Preez, Stephen Archer, John Hayes, BJ Botha, Denis Fogarty, Damien Varley, Donncha O'Callaghan, Donnacha Ryan, Paul O'Connell, Mick O'Driscoll, Ian Nagle, Billy Holland, Denis Leamy, Niall Ronan, James Coughlan, Tommy O'Donnell, Tomas O'Leary, Conor Murray, Ian Keatley, Ronan O'Gara, Johne Murphy, Denis Hurley, Scott Deasy, Simon Zebo, Will Chambers, Lifeimi Mafi, Danny Barnes, Keith Earls.

viewtothegym wrote:God i could punch my way through a mother efing wall right now, same every season Munster given everything they want.

Artful we've need one of those for the last 4 seasons! Timani has been an improvement for us but it is still clearly the one position we're still lacking in.

I going to have a cuppa tea now so and nobody not even Pearson is going to stop me

Cymroglan wrote:Scarlets are just the odd knock on and missed kick from being a very good side.
They just need to work on the basics then they will win the majority of their matches.
Well done Munster you managed to grind out another hard fought win.

They were tearing holes in Munster for the first forty but couldn't convert that into points. Bit more composure and less white line fever and they'll be better for it. Pearsons bad call for the knock on should have been a try, so they're almost there, and their previous matches in rounds one and two are proof of their abilities. At the HEC level it's about doing it consistently.

Well done Munster. Real, battling Heinken Cup rugby! Bad luck Scarlets - progress is being made, as a couple of seasons ago this would have been a big defeat for them.

I've not read back on the discussion but I bet there's plenty of blaming the ref from the usual suspects

Kaiser Soze?

Yeah, the one typing with a limp.

castres been hammered. munster will be strolling to quarters guys. poor game today but munster winning and will have players returning in the new yr like jones. scarlets might qualify to?

Saints could finish above Scarlets at this rate.

Scarlets are fairly safe i think, as i said before, if they get their handling up to scratch they should be fine.

Scarlets should have won this game. Their backs made ground but poor handling errors and some decent last ditch defending from Munster( it was a try for Edwards a minute or so before Owens went over) Munster were awful again, lineout making us even worse and those people who call us cynical and cheaters. What do you call the first yellow for Scarlets? That is being cynical.

rugbydreamer wrote:

munkian wrote:Cmon now lads , he's a little frustrated , Scarletts blew going ahead with poor handling.

Gracious winning goes a long way too

+1

Sorry Dreamer, but who is not being a gracious winner.

Munster are well able to slow down a ruck, I've no problem in admitting but Scarlets version of sexy rugby is merely a mixture of obstruction and forward passing (both of which to be fair the referees have all spotted over last few games). We all have our own version of the dark arts.

Its a crying shame that not one single solitary Scarlets fan has the decency to say "well done Munster and congrats" after the day. Instead its just a lot of telling us to be more gracious and complaining about the ref.

Cymroglan wrote:Scarlets are just the odd knock on and missed kick from being a very good side.
They just need to work on the basics then they will win the majority of their matches.
Well done Munster you managed to grind out another hard fought win.

You need to read the posts and you would see I'm not the only one who congratulated Munster

I haven't seen any gloating of any kind from any of the munster fans, just whinging from plenty of welsh fans over the past few matches about cheating, and referees.. Totally agree with stag here.

Cymroglan wrote:

Cymroglan wrote:Scarlets are just the odd knock on and missed kick from being a very good side.
They just need to work on the basics then they will win the majority of their matches.
Well done Munster you managed to grind out another hard fought win.

You need to read the posts and you would see I'm not the only one who congratulated Munster

In which case I withdraw my comment. Fair play Cymroglan though to be fair you aren't a Scarlets fan as I recall.

As I said on my profile I support all the regions and come boxing day I shall be at Parc Y Scarlets.

Good man

how ya red stag. just joined this site and think its bout yr since i seen ur posts on the old 606 so this is where u been hangin out eh. is this where everyone from 606 went?

Yea basically most of the usual faces are on here I think.

not really in same league numbers wise as 606. but to be expected. i been hopping from forums of late and still the usual negativity from welsh re refs etc. yawn

Some are here using a new name and others have come here and thought they could continue to wum like they did on the old 606.
Admin and Mods have got rid of them though.

Its not limited to Welsh. Visit Munsterfans.com and you'll see Munster fans whinging about refs in every match. It has its flaws but this is a decent site vastly better than old 606 I reckon

lookng forward to the usual rog slating and cheating comments come 6 nations game from our welsh cousins. scrumv is goin nuts over ref today. lots of comments re try not allowed today but scarletts scored a try a min later if try had been allowed anyway so didnt lose out there. nothin bout the off the ball punches scarletts got away wth to.

btw some wumming can be good craic but repetitve stuff is boring.

delighted with castres result to and it might open the door for scarletts to.

flynnnio Enjoy the site and yes there will be plenty of wumming posts but all genuine rugby fans tend to avoid them.

Cymroglan wrote:flynnnio Enjoy the site and yes there will be plenty of wumming posts but all genuine rugby fans tend to avoid them.

Yea exactly I mean theres this one crazy loon who thinks NORTH WALES should be a region. . . . .

just reading the posts on munsterfans.com and your right red stag. lots of ref baitng there to

Really? I hadnt actually read anything there in a while but there are some Munster fans that simply are not rugby fans at all so Im not surprised. Cant really see what we have to be angry with Pearson about though?

red_stag wrote:

rugbydreamer wrote:

munkian wrote:Cmon now lads , he's a little frustrated , Scarletts blew going ahead with poor handling.

Gracious winning goes a long way too

+1

Sorry Dreamer, but who is not being a gracious winner.

Munster are well able to slow down a ruck, I've no problem in admitting but Scarlets version of sexy rugby is merely a mixture of obstruction and forward passing (both of which to be fair the referees have all spotted over last few games). We all have our own version of the dark arts.

Its a crying shame that not one single solitary Scarlets fan has the decency to say "well done Munster and congrats" after the day. Instead its just a lot of telling us to be more gracious and complaining about the ref.

when did I say anyone wasn't being a gracious winner? I was just agreeing with the comment that it goes a long way

and are you on about Scarlets fans at the stadium not saying congrats? I have seen Scarlets fans on here (including myself) say it.

It's a shame at times that Pearson allowed the crowd to ref the game. Munster look really hard to beat, their defence is hard to breach. I still feel Scarlets could go a long way in this competition playing like that but without the handling errors obviously. They need to win both of their remaining games and try and get the 5 points in one. Saints at home perhaps? Castres are bound to throw in the towel after today.

In that case Dreamer all I'll say is that it goes a long way to stop bloody whinging about the ref every time your team lose. . . . .not saying anyone is doing it though

Rory_Gallagher wrote:I haven't seen any gloating of any kind from any of the munster fans, just whinging from plenty of welsh fans over the past few matches about cheating, and referees.. Totally agree with stag here.

Does that make you stupid then Rory the Clown, seeing as you are in total agreement with an incorrect statement which was later withdrawn?

Right, i was with this thread the whole day and only one poster had a whinge.

It was a great thread enjoyed by fans of both sides and neutrals.

Have watched the match again now and amazed that the Scarlets did not punish Munster in the first 25mins. ROG was skinned cleanly 3 times as the Scarlets tore Munster apart. If they can sort their handling out and be more clinical in the next two games, they will surely have no problems reaching the quarters.

I actually think that ROG the Human Speedbump worked in our favour. Scarlets wasted their time running straight at him and while Rugbydump will no doubt get a montage of ROG ending up on his backside a few times, their best chance was down their left wing.

How is it wasting their time if Scarlets can gain ground running through (as they did) Ronan O'Gara? He has been put flat on his ass 2 weeks in a row now, how can a pro have such poor defence.

I only saw him get dumped once or twice on his royal, stag. I was more concerned with his positioning in the defensive line in the first 25 minutes. He was all over the place and was inviting the Scarlets midfield to run past him. It was only after POC got to him that he stood his position and was much better after that. All the Scarlets breaks in the first 25 were down his channel, i am still amazed that they didnt score from any of those chances.

Some great last ditch defence kept Munster in it.

Morgan you never actually ran through him from what I remember. You ran at him. He stood his ground and was bundled over. Another player would then tackle the Scarlets. We knew that the game plan was "Run at ROG" and acted accordingly.

As to how a professional can have such a weak defence the honest answer is that we can deal with a 10 who cant tackle. Its a team game.

Stag, he was only bundled over when POC had a word with him and he started defending in the right position. Prior to that (the first 25mins) he was skinned cleanly 3 times, not just barged over.

Great guy to have in the team but the first 25mins worried me alot today and he looked very frustrated by it as well. Its more that if he does that against a team in a more clinical finishing maode than Scarlets were today then Munster would be in trouble.

The game plan wasn't run at O'Gara though. That's a myth you Munster fans come out with when he gets flattened, which is very often. Rees, McCusker, Davies and Williams all put him on the floor or ran over him as you put it. Munsters defence is good. I don't see how making tackles Munster would normally make is Munster sussing out what you believe to be the Scarlets game plan and "acting accordingy." I'll say again. It was not a waste of time targetting O'Gara as territory and points were the result. Granted O'Gara tallied up some points of his own with his immaculate boot.

Morgan,

Thats all fair enough. Personally I thought that far greater rewards were on offer had the Scarlets taken other options.

In fairness Morgan, a big chunk of Scarlets attacking gameplan would have been to target ROG's channel as they know full well his failings in that area. Munster do accomodate for this and cover him well.

Scarlets had some very good set pieces today that were let down by their handling, that has to improve to turn these wee breaks into points. Scarletes had the beating of Munster today, i honestly believe that.

red_stag wrote:Morgan,

Thats all fair enough. Personally I thought that far greater rewards were on offer had the Scarlets taken other options.

Don't see how. ROG is the only weak link in Munsters defence, so it makes some sense. Despite this, I can't think of him costing Munster any games. It has been the opposite in fact.

eirebilly wrote:
Scarlets had some very good set pieces today that were let down by their handling, that has to improve to turn these wee breaks into points. Scarletes had the beating of Munster today, i honestly believe that.

They're the only Wales superclub I can watch to be honest. Scrums and lineouts were all good, I can see them sticking with the players they got for the forseeable future as the forward power is no longer a massive weakness for them.

Oh it makes sense I agree. Just there's more than one way to skin a cat. ROGs tackling has been exposed by Scarlets in both Rounds 3 and 4. Yet Scarlets have lost both games and the pundits are waxing lyrical about Munsters great defense.

I dont know were you at the match today but there was a dazzlingly bright low winter sun in the first half and it was right in the Munster faces for the opening 20 minutes. I was amazed to see the likes of Zebo and Murphy weren't challenged more in the air.

Keith Earls has just returned from a knee injury and yet Scarlets didn't try chipping in a kick or two just over him to force him to turn quickly.

Your backline was playing extremely close to the gainline which often worked very well for you with flat passing (in fact there was a large amount of forward passes called against Scarlets today). However it also meant that there were fewer options to contend with and it allowed Munster to use smother tackles for most of the match.

I felt Stephen Jones was reading the game very well and was a massive loss. Also not starting him last week probably cost Scarlets the match.

Stag, what was your impressions of TOL when he came on?

I was really gutted that Murray had a knock as he was running the game and TOL almost single handedly put Munster on the backfoot.

Eirebilly - usually the Scarlets handling is very, very good - enabling great flowing rugby with offloafing in most tackling and putting players into small gaps.

However as we've barely had anytime together as a squad and only had a 2 days to prepare for the 1st game and this week has been the most the squad has been together as a while for the season. I think this has severly affected how well the team can prepare and how well-drilled they are - I'm sure they will improve to the standards of last season as soon as they've had a decent spell together.

I always tought this season the standards would be poor from the regions after the WC and especially with the Oz game breaking up any sort of continuity or recovery time the regions (and internationals) could develop.

In the previous 3 HEC matches O'Leary did very well especially against Castres.

Today he nearly cost us the game. What angered me most was when we were trying to wear down the clock in last few minutes he attempted to take a quick tap and a quick lineout. The whole plan was to sit on our lead.

I know what your saying priest but some of the handling errors were nothing to do with not being together. They were just poor. It must have been so frustrating being a Scarlets fan today watching them get well into Munster at Thomond and just be let down by some silly handling errors.

As i said earlier, cut them out and Scarlets will be a very good side and will get through to the quarters. Their set piece play today was very impressive.

Didn't see the game today unfortunately (damn Murdoch) - but agree with Red Stag that we should have started with Jones at 10 for the 1st game and Priestland at 15.

Anyone look at the stats for todays game?

http://www.espnscrum.com/heineken-cup-2011-12/rugby/match/144317.html

They make quite interesting reading and seems again (for Scarlets and Wales) if we'd slotted our kicks we could have gotten something - but I thought the territory/possession stats, offloads, defenders beaten and penalties conceeded stats were interesting - Though as I say I ain't seen the game.

He has his moments stag but i think that he is so far from being a consistent performer that it may be time to look further afield. On form he is steady, on days like today he can cost matches.