RP12 Semi-Final 1; Glasgow vs Munster, 16 May

First topic message reminder :

Glasgow Warriors v Munster Rugby

Friday 16 May 2014, KO: 19:35
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Live on BBC ALBA/TG4/SC4

Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 29th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Giuseppe Vivarini, Stefano Penne (both FIR)
Citing Commissioner: Dennis Jones (WRU)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (FIR)

A. Teams:

I. Glasgow

15. Peter Murchie
14. Sean Maitland
13. Mark Bennett
12. Alex Dunbar
11. Tommy Seymour
10. Finn Russell
9. Chris Cusiter

1. Ryan Grant
2. Dougie Hall
3. Jon Welsh
4. Jonny Gray
5. Al Kellock (Captain)
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Josh Strauss

16. Pat MacArthur
17. Gordon Reid
18. Geoff Cross
19. Tim Swinson
20. Leone Nakarawa
21. Niko Matawalu
22. Ruaridh Jackson
23. Sean Lamont

II. Munster

Felix Jones, Keith Earls, Casey Laulala, James Downey, Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Damien Varley - Capt, BJ Botha; Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell; CJ Stander, Sean Dougall, James Coughlan.

Replacements: Quentin MacDonald, James Cronin, John Ryan, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paddy Butler, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Andrew Conway.

B. Previous Championships

I. Glasgow

None

Playoff Record - Played 3, Lost 3:
2010 Swansea: lost to Ospreys 5-20
2012 RDS: lost to Leinster 15-19.
2013 RDS: lost to Leinster 15-17.

II. Munster

Three (2002-2003; 2008-2009; 2010-2011)

Playoff Record - Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2:
2010 RDS: lost to Leinster 6-16.
2011 Thomond Park: beat Ospreys 18-11.
2012 Swansea: lost to Ospreys 10-45.

C. Form - head to head:

23 Played 23
8 Wins 14
14 Losses 8
1 Draws 1
44 Tries 57
31 Conversions 41
59 Penalties 51
1 Drop Goals 1
462 Points 523
26 Avg. Age 26

D. Form - this season & last:

Sat 1 December 2012, 19:45
Munster Rugby 31 - 3 Glasgow Warriors
Thomond Park

Fri 29 March 2013, 20:05
Glasgow Warriors 51 - 24 Munster Rugby
Scotstoun

Fri 25 October 2013, 19:35
Glasgow Warriors 6 - 13 Munster Rugby
Scotstoun

Sat 12 April 2014, 18:30
Munster Rugby 5 - 22 Glasgow Warriors
Thomond Park

Would be quite a good incentive for Niko and Leone to stay if we could bring rugby to them again and for them to spread the Warrior word in Fiji.

Gents I now have proof of Mark Bennett's status as the Messiah...

Spoiler:

Ah UiG were you able to hang up yer stethoscope last night ?

Wow, still taking the result in. Weegies, proud of yous

I screamed at Mitrea thru the TV as Munster pushed the rules to the limit - but that is why they are such a great side, with European trophies under their belt. In comparison, Glasgow are years behind them as a club, but last night was theirs

Kia, love you dearly, but you are wrong about the Weege - they are a great bunch, would have bayed for blood during the match, but would have hugged every Munsterman they could find afterwards and before. Mitrea allowed the nous of Munster to make it a difficult match in which to be neutral, and the passion that flowed was inevitable. I'll take you as my guest to the final and you'll see

The Warriors looked nervous for long periods, and gave Munster too much early on. But they held on, stuck at it and came right back. Two teams contributed to a spectacle which kept me on the edge of my seat for two hours - thank you both

UlstermaninGlasgow wrote:Gents I now have proof of Mark Bennett's status as the Messiah...

Spoiler:

Clyde - where the hell have you been? Quieter than a trappist monk with laryngitis.

Watched the whole game again just to pick up some of the detail. Couple of things stood out from a Glasgow perspective.

1. Mitrea did fine. Only at a couple of scrums were decisions simply not correct (and that's within the permitted margin of error for all refs). We conceded so many penalties because we made so many mistakes. That's it.

2. There's a reason we choose Dougie Hall instead of Pat MacArthur. It's not just for the extra bulk. Dougie just makes far fewer mistakes than his younger colleague. Throwing in squint into a 13 man lineout is quite a feat.

3. Gordon Reid has kicked on this season more than almost any other player. He is a genuine force on the loosehead side and is starting to match power to his size.

4. Leone Nakarawa is absolutely indispensable. If we aren't going to start him, then he should be the first sub listed. He was enormous in defence as well as making the offloads that open the game up. An amazing athlete.

5. The loose forward trio of Bluto/Fozzy/Boabster really has to be one of the finest combinations Glasgow has ever had.

6. Harley is probably our most important forward. Oh yes. I went there.

7. Apart from missing one kick, Finn did nothing wrong and hits above his weight in defence. He is apparently called 'The Muscle' Russell by the team because he delivers a much bigger punch than it looks like he should.

Very Well Done Glasgow- A brilliant performance

Surely jonny Gray is the best forward? He's not missed a tackle in 150 odd no???

Not to say ginger Boab isn't great. I'd have him starting at 6 for Scotland.

Away final it is then - Glasgow just need to make sure they come top of the league next year!

Shows how crucial it is getting the BPs and ensuring wins against teams like the Dragons.

After our previous 2 semi final defeats at the RDS, can't think of anything sweeter than ruining BOD's send off party!   

Also apparently, the cost of a flight from Glasgow to Dublin for the final has gone from £118 to £365 this evening.

Absolute scumbags.

They did the same for Edinburgh's HK semi so we flew to Belfast and took the train down - would recommend that to anyone.

Yeah, ironically, it's (currently at least) half the price to fly Edinburgh to Dublin. Sorely tempted.

It's very easy and cheap to get from Belfast to Dublin you know. It'll add maybe 2 and a half hours onto your journey but it'll save you money.

How cheap and easy we talking Notch / RDW?

Bus from the airport to the city centre every half hour. Bus from city centre to Dublin city centre every hour. Both 24 hours a day, fares relatively low.

Note it'll save you money in that you'll avoid the Glasgow-Dublin price gouging. You might be able to just get a flight from Edinburgh to Dublin as cheaply.

Cheers for the info Notch.
Sadly, they've cottoned on to those trying to sneak over via Edinburgh. Prices have gone up £100 from earlier!

Supply and demand I'm afraid.

GLove39 wrote:How cheap and easy we talking Notch / RDW?

On a scale from Finn Russell's sister up to Miley Cyrus?

SRU charter being looked at on glasgowwarriors.org

The Belfast route was easy and ended up saving a lot of money. Train to Dublin takes only a couple of hours and wasn't too expensive.

Besides, any excuse to have a pint in the Crown first makes it well worth a trip to Belfast in any event.

!!

This was in the Scotsman article - has the squad been announced?

"Russell will be asked to bring some of that positive energy to Scotland’s summer squad, announced on Tuesday, where he will be joined by his colleague Kevin Bryce, the bolter in the squad, despite the hooker only playing 46 minutes for Glasgow all season."

Ryanair
Edinburgh to Dublin
Depart Friday Morning
Return Saturday Evening (22:00)
Total Cost £80.98

And P and O ferries was around £200 for a car with 4 people, I think return, Liverpool to Dublin

Just looked at London-Dublin flights but the cheapest is about £110. Don't think I'll be making it as Schiz and Baby Schiz drank all my bawbees. I'll miss the florins with Queen Victoria on them.

Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

BigGee wrote:Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

Would love to believe that's true Gee, but some of the most cycloptic, crapulent desk monkeys in all of meeja write rugby columns.

Shall I start a finals thread? Feels much too early.

Give us a few days to get our breath back and bask!

I think there is a Scotland squad announcement to keep everyone busy for a few days anyway!

Just to say I re-watched the match and I do have to take back my comments on the referee being a bit iffy. Most of his calls were spot on and he did let the game flow well. Also noteworthy that he wasn't bought by the persistent running ref commentary from Munster.

I'd say he was OK, not as good as Nigel Owens, but handled the game fine.

----------------

Re finals thread, the team apparently have until Wednesday off and given it's in 2 weeks time I doubt there will be much to discuss in the coming days. Less importantly, but also important, the Scotland summer squad/s is announced on Tuesday which will maybe have some discussion points.

Am not worried that us Scots posters will be scrabbling around for banter.

We got 1,000 posts out of a thread (1872 Cup) about 2 games of rugby.  

Lots of comments in the heat of the night about the ref, but actually he was not that bad. Both TMO tries were contentious and not clear, I don't think he asked the right question the first time around, so I guess to get one and lose one was about right. He certainly missed a few squint throws but on the whole let the match flow and as Nemotode says, did not give in to the Munster chat, as so many refs have in the past!

Kellock should not have started on merit and Swinson definitely upped the physicality when he came on, but the big man did what he was on the pitch to do and did not let the Irish get away with murder chatting to the ref. That may have made the difference between winning and losing in such a close game!

Interestingly the heir apparent seems to be young Johnny Gray who took the armband when Big Al went off. 19 years old, what a mature head on such a young body. Some captains lead by words, some by deeds, he seems to be of the latter persuasion!

BigGee, I have to disagree slightly. I thought the ref was ok in certain area's and I have no quibbles about the try being awarded.

My issue was he seemed unable to control the breakdown and allowed Munster to lie all over our side. At one point I thought Leo Cullen had signed for them.

George Carlin wrote:

BigGee wrote:Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

Would love to believe that's true Gee, but some of the most cycloptic, crapulent desk monkeys in all of meeja write rugby columns.

Shall I start a finals thread? Feels much too early.

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

cakeordeath wrote:

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

Well, it was certainly upsetting to the Munster fans!

cakeordeath wrote:

George Carlin wrote:

BigGee wrote:Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

Would love to believe that's true Gee, but some of the most cycloptic, crapulent desk monkeys in all of meeja write rugby columns.

Shall I start a finals thread? Feels much too early.

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

I assumed that was a verb rather than a noun, but that might just be my naive, happy-go-lucky nature.

George Carlin wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

George Carlin wrote:

BigGee wrote:Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

Would love to believe that's true Gee, but some of the most cycloptic, crapulent desk monkeys in all of meeja write rugby columns.

Shall I start a finals thread? Feels much too early.

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

I assumed that was a verb rather than a noun, but that might just be my naive, happy-go-lucky nature.

Wait, you have happy go lucky nature!

  

tigertattie wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

Well, it was certainly upsetting to the Munster fans!

  

cakeordeath wrote:

George Carlin wrote:

cakeordeath wrote:

George Carlin wrote:

BigGee wrote:Well just got back from from a weekend indulging my other passion, cycling. London to Hull on Thursday, them an overnight, York back to Hull on Friday night. 300 miles over three days, so having a quiet recovery day today!

Had to follow on twitter while away, but watched the game last night when I got home. I know it has already all been said, but feel I have got to add my two pence worth. What a great win for the mighty warriors and again what a team performance. No-one left a thing out there, dare we say it, it was Munstereque!

Can't wait for the final and I am glad they have got a week off to recover, there were some sore bodies at the end of it. It never gets any easier, but to win a trophy why should it. It does not mean we cannot win though. I don't think some sides of the press will be taking us so lightly next time round!

Would love to believe that's true Gee, but some of the most cycloptic, crapulent desk monkeys in all of meeja write rugby columns.

Shall I start a finals thread? Feels much too early.

Did anyone notice the headline on RugbyDump?
"Glasgow Warriors upset Munster then Leinster edge Ulster in tense PRO12 Semis"

So apparently our result was an upset

I assumed that was a verb rather than a noun, but that might just be my naive, happy-go-lucky nature.

Wait, you have happy go lucky nature!

Photo below of me and my colleagues last Casual Friday:

You the blond? If so get your coat.....