Treviso v Munster - 20th Sept @ 8.30 (Local time)

Munster:
15. Denis Hurley
14. Keith Earls
13. Casey Laulala
12. James Downey
11. Simon Zebo
10. Ian Keatley
9. Duncan Williams

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Mike Sherry
3. Stephen Archer
4. Donnacha Ryan
5. Billy Holland
6. Peter O’Mahony Capt.
7. Niall Ronan
8. James Coughlan.

Replacements: Damien Varley, James Cronin, John Ryan, Donncha O’Callaghan, CJ Stander, Cathal Sheridan, JJ Hanrahan, Ivan Dineen.


TREVISO:
15 Luke McLean
14 Christian Loamanu
13 Michele Campagnaro
12 Alberto Sgarbi
11 Ludovico Nitoglia
10 Mat Berquist
9 Edoardo Gori
8 Manoa Vosawai
7 Alessandro Zanni
6 Simone Favaro
5 Marco Fuser
4 Antonio Pavanello (capitano)
3 Alberto De Marchi
2 Enrico Ceccato
1 Michele Rizzo

A disposizione:
16 Giovanni Maistri
17 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet
18 Pedro Di Santo
19 Valerio Bernabò
20 Dean Budd
21 Robert Barbieri
22 Fabio Semenzato
23 Alberto Di Bernardo

Last year's report of the corresponding fixture last season doesn't make for pleasant reading if you're a Munster fan: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/rabodirect-pro12/munster-get-a-thumping-at-treviso-29091066.html

The return of Earls, Zebo & O'Mahoney should ensure that Munster are at least competitive. I'm backing them to beat Treviso though, but it will be close.

Niall Ronan starting at 7 is a welcome sight, even if it does come at the expense of Tommy O'Donnell, who could be out of action for up to 12 weeks with a knee injury picked up against Zebre last weekend.

Plently of impact on the bench which is great to see. Unfortunately this one isn't on Irish TV once again. It's a shame because it should be a very "robust" affair - to borrow from Rob Penney's lexicon.

Hopefully we get a win. Its been a good start to the season it would be nice to continue but Trevino can be a handful at home.
 
If we could see it I would be looking forward to seeing the returning Trio...
 
As for other Munster supporters on here ..... as seen in the hilarious comments concerning the first squad picked by HolyJoe. If it was DK who picked the squad there would be uproar

Hey DOD, ya there seems to have been a bit of an exodus of Munster fans lately alright...  

What do you make of the team? And of the season so far? I think the difference in skill levels has been marked this year. It's great seeing so many guys putting their hands up for places. Nice to see from this selection that we're taking Treviso seriously. I really like the look of the backrow, and the centres too.

Yeah even Sin has disappeared.

So far so good. The main difference is that the mistakes are diminishing and we are being more direct when we need to be. Even D Williams is looking more assured and Casey is playing a lot better. A win against Treviso would be very positive

Ya there's been none of the side-to-side stuff that plagued us last season. Teams used to just push us harmlessly out to the sidelines when defending, we made it far too easy at times. We had a pretty decent start to last season too though until things started going a bit pear-shaped so I'm optimistic but still fairly cautious.

I've been impressed with the various options at halfback so far. As you mentioned, Williams looks a different player this year - it's great to see. The battle between him and Sheridan as Murray's understudy can only help us. The battle for the 10 shirt has been great viewing so far. Would I be right in saying that in the 4 games so far (preseason included) every time either JJ or Keatley have come off the bench they've scored a try? It's great to see them pushing each other.

Looking forward to seeing how they all get on tomorrow night. Too bad it's not on TV...

Treviso were literally humiliated at scrum time against the Scarlets, i expect a fully comitted, very aggressive performance from them tomorrow even if that means a few yellow cards going their way.

So.. Is Earls not a 13 anymore or what?  

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So.. Is Earls not a 13 anymore or what?  

Careful now!  casey's been playing so well it would've been harsh on him to parachute earls back in the second he's fit. I'd have a sneaky fiver on him starting at 13 against the dragons though with casey being rested. We're so light on 13 cover that Penney can't afford not to play them both in some sort of rotation.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So.. Is Earls not a 13 anymore or what?  

Same question regarding D Cave...apparently HolyJoe doesn't think so  

St Joe the saviour please Dekko.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:St Joe the saviour please Dekko.

Joe the Messiah is one I go for myself...

Don't you like my new handle in honour of him..

ME-109 - Messerschmidt...

ME-109 wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So.. Is Earls not a 13 anymore or what?  

Same question regarding D Cave...apparently HolyJoe doesn't think so  

Well no, Cave has always been at 13 for Ulster, he is definitely a 13.

Earls on the other hand isn't even playing there for Munster this game, has Laulala finally made 13 his own?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

ME-109 wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So.. Is Earls not a 13 anymore or what?  

Same question regarding D Cave...apparently HolyJoe doesn't think so  

Well no, Cave has always been at 13 for Ulster, he is definitely a 13.

Earls on the other hand isn't even playing there for Munster this game, has Laulala finally made 13 his own?

Er...no...

Treviso 9 - 12 Munster at half time. Munster with 2 tries. Earls playing very well.

Treviso must be doing pretty well to be 10 points clear of a Munster team on a roll. Another Italian team is winning away from home at this moment in time as well.

Total collapse from Munster from a game they were well in control of. I think they're down to 12 or 13 players near the end.

Haven't seen the game but to score 3 tries and lose away is criminal. Reality check I would say

Another 3 tries... Penney is adding something to Munster, I guess it just needs more time to come to fruitition.

ME-109 wrote:Haven't seen the game but to score 3 tries and lose away is criminal. Reality check I would say

3 tries, 10pts up and butchered a few kicks and chances to score more. It looked like a matter of how much they'd win by. Then Treviso kicked off long into the Munster 22, Williams passed to Keatley and Keatley dropped the ball on the Munster line. Treviso scored off the scrum. It all fell apart after that.


I think Munster ended up with 4 yellow cards in the second half. The softest yellows you'll every see..

profitius wrote:Treviso 9 - 12 Munster at half time.  Munster with 2 tries. Earls playing very well.

Glad to hear. I do genuinely think he is a very talented player, and yet to play his best rugby. Did he stay on the wing all game?

ME-109 wrote:

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:St Joe the saviour please Dekko.

Joe the Messiah is one I go for myself...

Don't you like my new handle in honour of him..

ME-109 - Messerschmidt...

I do. Genius. I wish we had both won though. I wanted us to be the ones that ended your winning streak

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

ME-109 wrote:

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:St Joe the saviour please Dekko.

Joe the Messiah is one I go for myself...

Don't you like my new handle in honour of him..

ME-109 - Messerschmidt...

I do. Genius. I wish we had both won though. I wanted us to be the ones that ended your winning streak

The reason I picked it is cos it was fast, shiny and very aggressive. Did very well in the initial stages but ultimately flattered to deceive and crashed and burned...

Does anyone know where I can find highlights for the game?

Rory, apparently RTE are showing the Connacht vs Ulster match and their coverage will feature highlights of this game starting from 6.

BBC NI are showing it too, obviously, but no highlights probably so I'll start with RTE and switch over.

Thanks Notch!