Edinburgh v Munster HC

First topic message reminder :

 Is this the non event of the weekend? Are there any Munster posters here? Can Edinburgh put up any sort of contest? Why is the sky blue?

Only injury concern for Munster is POM with the "alleged" concussion last weekend.....

Munster team and Edinburgh team below...Butler on instead of POM who is ruled out...

Munster:  Felix Jones; Keith Earls, Casey Laulala, James Downey, Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer; Donncha Ryan, Paul O’Connell Capt.; Paddy Butler, Niall Ronan, James Coughlan. Replacements: Damien Varley, James Cronin, BJ Botha, Donncha O’Callaghan, CJ Stander, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Denis Hurley.

15 Cuthbert
14 Fife
13 De Luca
12 Scott
11 Visser
10 Leonard
9 Laidlaw CAPTAIN
1 Dickinson
2 Ford
3 Nel
4 Gilchrist
5 Cox
6 Basilaia
7 Du Preez
8 Denton

Embra subs – 16 Lutui 17 Blaauw 18 Cross 19 Atkins 20 Grant 21 Kennedy 22 Dominguez 23 Hidalgo-Clyne

LeinsterFan4life wrote:The english are right. Connacht and Embra add nothing to the comp.

your in-laws can add them to the list of must-haves in a euro comp

If i had not watched the game i would not even think the Munster could lose too Edinburgh. It will go down has one of the biggest shocks of the year IMO.

It's only two years since Toulouse lost to Edinburgh in this same competition, an even more seismic shock.

Heineken Cup always throws a few up alright.

Gaun yersel MFL
   

It was a calamitous performance from Munster. One of those games were you just knew they were going to blow it the longer the game went on. What a difference a week makes!


The backrow cost Munster. Its the most ordinary looking backrow I have ever seen line up for Munster! Butler is like a younger Coughlan. A skillful 8 but lacking a bit of oomph. Ronan is a featherweight 7. POM is a massive loss, not just for his playing ability but leadership.


Keatley had a shocker I thought.

A bit of credit where credit is due? Edinburgh actually played well.

how was du preez ?

According to the espn stats made 18 tackles. The pack fought hard and he must have been a part of that although to be honest I didn't really notice him

I thought du preez brought outstanding physicality - he was a beast.

Not the barnstorming runs yet, but I'm sure they'll come!

Wow who'd have thought after last weekend's outclassing of Leinster that Munster would be the Irish province to come away with the loss, whilst the others all put in good shifts.

Well done Edinburgh. Just shows, as with Connacht, League form really counts for nothing in the heino.

Guid yin Embra!

Worrying comments from a Munster pov with Penney saying that Munster just weren't mentally up for it. Indeed he said the coaches were having to get the players going at half time!

Du preez does what solomons tells him. At 6 he'll want him tackling which is what he did. Solomons is a bit of an all or nothing type of coach I think. We'll see how it pans out.

Early signs from Solomons are good. Best performance for a couple of years from Edinburgh. Actually looked like a team

Full game here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LcwVx1d8Pg

Call me sad, but I'm gonna watch it again!

Edinburgh were very good and I'd say best game of the weekend.

Trevor40 wrote:Edinburgh were very good and I'd say best game of the weekend.

Did you see the Glasgow game?

Well I watched the game again and thought I'd do some players ratings. It really was a very good performance from Edinburgh - if we can maintain this level of performance we might have a chance of top 6 and picking up a few more HK wins. If our level drops even just a little bit though we're still slim pickings - they've got to push on from here.

Dickinson - 7

Criticised often for his scruamming but was perfectly good on Saturday. Sturdy set piece and busy around the park.

Ford - 8

Perfect lineout, plenty ball carrying and huge defencive shift. More of this please.

Nel - 7

Similar to Dickinson - good scrummaging and a lot of work around the park

Gilchrist - 7

Get criticised often for being a bit soft but put in a lot of effort around the park, and showed good hands for Visser's try.

Cox - 8

Excellent performance - strong in our lineout, stole a few of theirs and put in some big hits. If every Edinburgh player played with his courage and determination we'd be a top 4 side.

Basalaia - 7

Our mental Georgian has had an indifferent start to the season but is coming onto his game now. Carries and tackles with little regard for his well-being and had a very strong performance.

Du Preez - 7

Similar to Basalaia - put in a huge defencive shift. He has made an excellent first impression - can he carry this on and become a Strauss-like signing for Edinburgh? I certainly hope so. Plus, he's only 22 FFS!

Denton - 7

Still lacking a bit in terms of handling and ball playing skills but did exactly what we needed of him - carry the ball, and carry it bloody hard!

Laidlaw - 10

Potentially player of the opening round never just MOTM. Fantastic performance from the inspirational skipper. I don't often give 10s, why not start!

Leonard - 6

Edinburgh's worst player, and his experienced showed at time. That charged down grubber when we had a 3 or 4 man overlap was a prime example of his inexperience. Still, he did some things well, he's young and he's the best we've got just now!

Visser - 7

Very well taken try (he left Earls for dead and he's no slouch) but what was most encouraging was his all round performance - stood out well in defence and looked hungry to get involved.

Scott - 7

Started off very strongly but faded as the game went on. He's still lacking match fitness though and this game will have done him good.

De Luca - 6

Quiet performance but carried well and tackled hard. Still think he's got at least 1 big mistke in him per game though.

Fife - 6

Decent performance, but needs to get involved more. Still our best option for the No. 14 shirt though.

Cuthbert - 7

Well well, the surprise package of the day! He's still as slow as evolution, but put in a commanding performance at 15. Deserves to keep his place for next week.


So all in all a strong team performance - absolutely must keep that level up though because we're only one game away from being a poor team again.

I'm amazed the way most of the flak after the Edinburgh game is being directed at Penney, with most of the Munster big name players not getting the criticism they deserve after such an awful performance.

Penney cited complacency after the win over Leinster as the main factor behind Munster's performance. If that was the case, then it isn't up to just the coach to bring players back down to earth after a win over an undercooked Leinster outfit. Senior players should also be standing up telling the rest of the team to calm down, ok it was a win over the old enemy and we now have so-called bragging rights, but it was only a Rabo game against a Leinster team short a good few key players.

Where were the likes of POC in stopping the Munster team seemingly losing the run of themselves and suddenly thinking they are world beaters after one win over Leinster. Too often, big name players (and it happens with Leinster too) get off scot free after poor performances) and there isn't enough accountability. POC owes a big performance this weekend.

I suppose after that performance will bounce back at the weekend against Gloucester (just as it took being beat by Munster to jizz Leinster into their best display for ages against Ospreys), but they are short in a few key positions in the backline especially with Zebo out for 10 weeks. Denis Hurley is out of his depth at HC level, ditto Johne Murphy, Downey is the same lump he was for years with Northampton, Felix Jones has never recovered from his bad injuries and Keatley is still unproven and unpredictable - great against Leinster then sh1te against Edinburgh. You do have Conway though - a guy we should have never let go.