Glasgow Warriors V Munster It's a quarter past being a friendly.

First topic message reminder :

Well, we're at the sticky end of the season and the lightweights are all abed by now. Yes Edinburgh Luvvies we are looking at you.
This tie brings Munster to Scotstoun; previous matches at Scotstoun between these two have provided two of my favourite games: Glasgow put 50 odd on Munster on my first visit to the stadium, and the Rob Harley inspired semi which was the single most intense club match I have ever attended. Will Saturday live up to either of those?

First things first; we underestimate Munster at our peril. There are givens in life; rain is wet, beer is good, good blues guitar makes you happy and Munster are an awkward nasty aggressive pain in the erse every single time. The club motto should be POM's greeting of Sam Cane,  "Who do you think you are? You're just a shoite Richie McCaw."

Can you imagine being trapped in a lift with POM and Batman?    

Saturday promises to be a stand up knock down battle from minute one. I wish I was going.

So, Munster will field XV angry red faced fellas with a sense of grievance that goes way back beyond the last ice age. Hopefully some of our Irish posters will give us a slightly more nuanced analysis of their likely line up.

As for Glasgow? Well, I remember driving across to Baarf and being slightly disappointed that I had shelled out a fair few weeks pocket money taking my boys to watch Glasgow reserves get spanked. That was before we realised that the General is a man with a plan. I'll have a stab at naming my side but it'll probably bear no resemblance to the 23 that are named on Friday. The General either rests some players because we may have the URC semi the following week, and the Diddy Cup final the next week,  OR he goes full out because if we lose this we have no semi next week and if that's what we want we could just as well merge with Edinburgh.

Obvious First XV

Bhatti-Turner-Ragnar
Gray-Cummings
Big Shona-Dempsey- Darge
Hornito
Jordan
Seaman
Wee Shona
Shug
Seba
Smith

Rotating XV

McBeth-Matthews-Berghan
Groot-Squaddie
Big Man Jessie-Batman-Mullet
Aldi Price
Forbes
Meatball
Johnson
Stafford
House Elf
Lesser Spotted Miotti

For the Rotation XV I have highlighted the players who could genuinely be upset if they were not in the First XV.  The rest of them could be in the 23.

Only The General knows what it'll be on Saturday, and he's probably had the team sheet in a drawer for five or six weeks now.

It should be a cracking game. Munster could do it. Glasgow are on a great run. I can hear POM in the dressing room before kick off, "Lads! They're unbeaten at home this season....Who the fecc do they think they are?"

Can't wait.

And another one down and possible another card for Glasgow


Looks like a YC, which we will settle for

This is just madness. Another HIA due to a poor tackle technique.

I actually think that's a bit harsh, but probably by the rules.

Well played Munster. Terrific bottle in defence.....and good luck against Leinster!

Munster bench empty except for a prop.

Well done Munster, no complaints about the result, the defence was out of this world.

We did well enough being a man down for 60 mins, but did not take our chances.


I guess a week off won't do us any harm as we try to regroup for the trip to Dublin.

Well done Munster but what a cost.

Commiserations Glasgow. Good luck in the Challenge Cup.

Hard lines Glasgow but Munster literally Munstered Glasgow on their home turf. Just hope Glasgow can put this behind them and play well against Toulon to get something from a solid season.

For one of the few times this season Franco probably got it wrong.

Losing our FH cost us and not having a replacement cost us even more. We also did not use a kicking game, nor take our shots at goal. We have said that before but usually have got away with it, not tonight though.

First up Munster. Excellent defence, clinical attack.

This probably improves our chances of winning the Diddy Cup. A week off will be much needed. Conversely, this victory will seem slightly hollow when Munster realise they only have nine and a half players for the Leinster match.

We all expected a titanic struggle and that is exactly what we got. I do wonder if Glasgow might have been better served by having a "proper 10" playing tonight. Jordan looked to have done something to his hamstring so he must be very doubtful for the Toulon game so it'll be interesting to see if Meatball and /or Miotti are in the 23 or if it's Stafford-Wee Shona-Shug in the midfield.

Apart from the lack of variety in our attacks I can't find anything to criticize in a full bloodied, bare knuckle contest. Both sides ave it their all and I can't begrudge the Munster players their victory.

To paraphrase the Anglo Saxon chronicles; "When the day was over the Munstermen were in possession of the field of slaughter".

Even if his Hamstring recovers, Jordan will be on the naughty step, so no final for him.

Miotti or Weir it has to be.

I don't know why Miotti hasn't had more game time. He's always had good write ups? Jordan seems OK for general league games, but he seems to have gone missing or made errors at critical times in bigger games.
I may be wrong on that summing up, but that's my gut feeling.
I agree with Jimbo though, a weeks break and a fortnight to prepare for the final will allow us to really go for it without the distraction of an attritional semi final.
We can have a proper tilt at the league next season.
I do think that we should develop our play around a fixed first choice 10, are there any reasons why this isn't Miotti?

Well Miotti likely to get a crack in the Euro final. Maybe we can judge better after that!

This looks like it was going to be a hard-fought contest (I guess it still was), until the red card. Glasgow might have nicked it though had they kept 15 throughout the game. Oh well. Hopefully you go on to beat Toulon. Franco Smith seems like a really switched on coach.

The Lesser Spotted Miotti is a conundrum. You don't get to play 10 for the Pumas unless you possess talent and grit in equal measure and yet he has never really threatened to take ownership of a first team jersey.
When I watch Jordan the adjectives that come to mind are "nuggety " and " pugnacious "; he'll never be accused of being crafty or thoughtful. Jordan has had a very good season and carries the ball extremely well. However, last night the Munster defence was crying out for a locksmith rather than a battering ram.
I have a suspicion that Miotti's early season unavailability and Thompson's absence led to Jordan being promoted too early. Full credit to him for doing so well, he's nowhere near as " fish out of water" at 10 as Blairhorn often is...but... he's still light years behind Dancer, or Haircut or Rhubarb, or Dan Parks when it comes to controlling a game.
The General seems to play straight by the players; if they give 100% they stay in the 23. Neither Meatball nor Monkey Man ( I never saw him I only heard of him. Talking bout your big monkey man. As The Specials sang) seem to have convinced The General. I think we could see Stafford at 10 in the final in which case Meatball and Monkey Man should be looking for new employment next season.