Irish provinces NEWS and GOSSIP thread part 2

by **profitius** Tue 12 Sep 2017, 5:16 pm

First topic message reminder :

Continued from this one. https://www.606v2.com/t63658-irish-provinces-news-gossip-thread-2016-17
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by SecretFly Sun 11 Feb 2018, 2:02 pm

profitius wrote:There's talk that Munster have sold enough 10 year tickets to pay off the debt and have a nice surplus. As well as that there is a waiting list for season tickets.

All based on Zebo the crowd pleaser staying for the full 10 years...... Whistle

Oh dear, the refund requests will be starting any day now Run

by eirebilly Tue 20 Feb 2018, 2:27 pm

Seems EOS is not really happy with Leinster signing James Lowe, feels he is blocking future Irish prospects...

by Pete330v2 Tue 20 Feb 2018, 4:07 pm

eirebilly wrote:Seems EOS is not really happy with Leinster signing James Lowe, feels he is blocking future Irish prospects...

Ah sure send Lowe up to Ulster, there's no prospects to block up here.

by The Great Aukster Tue 20 Feb 2018, 5:42 pm

Isn't Lowe a future Irish prospect?

EOS never did grasp the concept of squad rotation. The professional game demands it and Leinster manage it better than most. Over exposure of inexperienced youngsters is almost as detrimental to their development as too little gametime. The "Against the Head" team were suggesting Stockdale might be dropped for Larmour, yet they picked out his errors for the tries in the Italy match, so presumably Lowe must be stopping Larmour learning wing-play properly?

by LeinsterFan4life Tue 20 Feb 2018, 6:30 pm

eirebilly wrote:Seems EOS is not really happy with Leinster signing James Lowe, feels he is blocking future Irish prospects...

Thankfully he doesn't make decisions on foreign signings then.

by geoff999rugby Tue 20 Feb 2018, 6:43 pm

James Lowe is not eligible for Ireland

by SecretFly Tue 20 Feb 2018, 7:12 pm

Thank God for Brent Pope. The only man who ever makes continuous sense on those RTE panels... and that includes the oft lauded past contributor, Conor O'Shea.
EOS tripped himself up in his own logic and then got hot when Brent pointed it out to him.

by eirebilly Wed 21 Feb 2018, 7:05 am

LeinsterFan4life wrote:
eirebilly wrote:Seems EOS is not really happy with Leinster signing James Lowe, feels he is blocking future Irish prospects...
Thankfully he doesn't make decisions on foreign signings then.

I do not share his views but he does have a point. Leinster are currently churning out players left right and centre and probably do not need to have Lowe. That said, he is not really blocking any future Irish prospects as far as I can see.

by Pete330v2 Wed 21 Feb 2018, 9:20 am

eirebilly wrote:
LeinsterFan4life wrote:
eirebilly wrote:Seems EOS is not really happy with Leinster signing James Lowe, feels he is blocking future Irish prospects...
Thankfully he doesn't make decisions on foreign signings then.

I do not share his views but he does have a point. Leinster are currently churning out players left right and centre and probably do not need to have Lowe. That said, he is not really blocking any future Irish prospects as far as I can see.

Fergus McFadden is being blocked by him, a great looking young prospect.

by **rodders** Wed 21 Feb 2018, 9:56 am

SecretFly wrote:Thank God for Brent Pope. The only man who ever makes continuous sense on those RTE panels... and that includes the oft lauded past contributor, Conor O'Shea.
EOS tripped himself up in his own logic and then got hot when Brent pointed it out to him.

That was funny, Popey and Eddie were at it a few times, I though Pope was going to swing for him as Eddie kept talking over him.

by Sin é Mon 26 Feb 2018, 10:57 am

So, Jamie Heaslip is to retire. Sad ending to what has been a great career. Best of luck in the future.

http://www.the42.ie/jamie-heaslip-ireland-leinster-retires-3872547-Feb2018/

by SecretFly Mon 26 Feb 2018, 11:09 am

I think Jamie is looking at what's out there and seeing all these new faces and thinking 'even if I did get back... I'd have to work like a dog to move some of these new fellas now'
Not worth the hassle. He's right.

He and Tommy should now get an Irish version of Top Gear going. It wouldn't have to be about cars either (I hate motorheads!) but a lad's show with the two of them having the craic. Sexton could join them when he retires for the comedy bits..... Cool

by thebandwagonsociety Mon 26 Feb 2018, 6:20 pm

SecretFly wrote:I think Jamie is looking at what's out there and seeing all these new faces and thinking 'even if I did get back... I'd have to work like a dog to move some of these new fellas now'
Not worth the hassle. He's right.

He and Tommy should now get an Irish version of Top Gear going. It wouldn't have to be about cars either (I hate motorheads!) but a lad's show with the two of them having the craic. Sexton could join them when he retires for the comedy bits.....

That's completely not on fly, the lad has had two major surgeries to try and save his playing career. You're dragging his name through the mud by claiming that he wouldn't have the fight in him, That he's a lazy player that wouldn't do it as its not worth the hassle! A complete character assassination.

by SecretFly Mon 26 Feb 2018, 6:36 pm

............................... Shocked

wot rot.

Get off the snowflake train, band - I'm sure you're too old to be on it.

by carpet baboon Mon 26 Feb 2018, 7:28 pm

I don't think bandwagon has ever noticed your posting style, and doesn't quite grasp your high praise for him there fly

by Sin é Tue 27 Feb 2018, 3:59 pm

Munster set to sign Irish-qualified fullback Mike Haley from Sale Sharks

http://www.the42.ie/munster-mike-haley-fullback-signing-3874067-Feb2018/

Surprising move since Haley is on the fringes of England team (played for Saxons and England v. Barbarians).

He is being brought in as Zebo is leaving.

Plenty of players have gone from Munster that I don't mind losing, but Zebo is a huge loss from every point of view (on and off the pitch).

by Collapse2005 Tue 27 Feb 2018, 4:02 pm

He is a good player alright and a positive character but Ireland aren't missing him that much so who knows maybe this Haley guy will prove to be to Munster what Stockdale is to Ireland now. Wouldn't that be good?

by Sin é Tue 27 Feb 2018, 4:10 pm

Stockdale is a wing, not fullback. Zebo plays fullback for Munster and Ireland. If you are comparing Zebo to anyone, it should be Rob Kearney, and I think there are a quite a few Irish supporters who would prefer to see Zebo at fullback for Ireland.

by Collapse2005 Tue 27 Feb 2018, 4:19 pm

Sin é wrote:Stockdale is a wing, not fullback. Zebo plays fullback for Munster and Ireland. If you are comparing Zebo to anyone, it should be Rob Kearney, and I think there are a quite a few Irish supporters who would prefer to see Zebo at fullback for Ireland.

Does Zebo not have more caps on the wing for Ireland than fullback?

by Sin é Tue 27 Feb 2018, 5:15 pm

Collapse2005 wrote:
Sin é wrote:Stockdale is a wing, not fullback. Zebo plays fullback for Munster and Ireland. If you are comparing Zebo to anyone, it should be Rob Kearney, and I think there are a quite a few Irish supporters who would prefer to see Zebo at fullback for Ireland.

Does Zebo not have more caps on the wing for Ireland than fullback?

Since Felix Jones' retirement Zebo has moved to fullback for Munster. With Stockdale now doing so well with Ireland, I'd say Simon would have been starting fullback. With him at fullback, Ireland would have some attacking back 3 players with Stockdale, Earls, Conway and Zebo.

by Collapse2005 Tue 27 Feb 2018, 5:16 pm

I doubt it. For Ireland he was a winger that occasionally covered full back.

by geoff999rugby Wed 28 Feb 2018, 10:10 am

I watch a fair bit of the Aviva and in my opinion Haley has gone backwards this year and is nowhere near the England team.

Can be exciting going forward but flakey defensively, particularly under the high ball

by Sin é Wed 28 Feb 2018, 10:55 am

Collapse2005 wrote:I doubt it. For Ireland he was a winger that occasionally covered full back.

Well, he was being played out of position for Ireland on the wing.

by Sin é Wed 28 Feb 2018, 10:58 am

geoff999rugby wrote:I watch a fair bit of the Aviva and in my opinion Haley has gone backwards this year and is nowhere near the England team.

Can be exciting going forward but flakey defensively, particularly under the high ball

Hopefully, some of his relatives from Kerry (Granny from Tralee) will sort out the high ball bit. He is signed now anyway.

by SecretFly Wed 28 Feb 2018, 10:58 am

But he was a wing for Munster first, wasn't he? He can't be swapping around in his Province and expecting Ireland to go with the flow. We already had our world class full back.

by **profitius** Thu 01 Mar 2018, 3:48 pm

geoff999rugby wrote:I watch a fair bit of the Aviva and in my opinion Haley has gone backwards this year and is nowhere near the England team.

Can be exciting going forward but flakey defensively, particularly under the high ball

That seems to be the gist of what the Sale fans are saying on their site. But at least there is talent there that Munster can get out of him.

by eirebilly Sat 24 Mar 2018, 5:54 pm

My god Munster are in some bad shape.

Playing at home against the Scarlets and kicking every available ball to them, would not mind if Munster were challenging but the kicks are too long and the Scarlets have all the room to attack...

by Geen sport voor watjes Sat 24 Mar 2018, 8:15 pm

We are so sh1t billy we won.

by Pot Hale Fri 30 Mar 2018, 8:25 am

Just in case anyone thought rugby was actually popular in Ireland...

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ewan-mackenna-in-this-lazy-era-of-event-junkies-irish-fans-dont-love-sport-they-love-winning-36757687.html

It's already been buried under the weight of mood and marketing. And, of course, marketed mood. But it's worth remembering that short of two-and-a-half years back, the Munster brand was in trouble.
At the beginning of 2016, after just 7,200 had shown up to Thomond Park for a derby with Ulster, the province had shifted only 160 tickets for an away-day with Stade Francais of which 40 per cent were purchased abroad. The late Anthony Foley even bemoaned the terrible interest and attendances, stating that "the umbilical chord has always been there between Munster and our supporters. It's important people come and support us. You've got to come and sample it".
His appeal didn't work however with the Munster hierarchy soon releasing a step-by-step guide titled 'Respect', telling the few showing up how to behave after booing greeted defeat after defeat.

Much has changed since, such is the way of peaks and troughs. Half the country claimed to have been present in 1978, two men and a dog were there in the '80s and much of the '90s, by the 2000s they were the ultimate Celtic Tiger team via wine weekends to south France where the game was only part of the luxury package, and now they're back to an impressive degree. What they show better than most is the bandwagon nature of rugby and, beyond that, of Irish sport......

by formerly known as Sam Fri 30 Mar 2018, 9:14 am

geoff999rugby wrote:I watch a fair bit of the Aviva and in my opinion Haley has gone backwards this year and is nowhere near the England team.

Can be exciting going forward but flakey defensively, particularly under the high ball

Important to remember that he is only 23 and that players that break through as young as him often have a dip in form at some point. He looked very good vs Worcester last weekend though Wuss were shocking and seemingly couldn't tackle.

If Munster have a decent coach or mentor for him you should have a good fullback for the next decade because he has the footballing skills, the swerve and the speed you just need to refine the positioning and his work under the high ball. Let's face it nobody is better under the high ball than the Irish so I'm sure you can teach him a thing or two.

Pot, every club has a core of fans that turn up whatever and then the rest are dependent on the weather, form and opposition. People were threatening to send back their Tigers season tickets before Christmas we were so Poopie, no hint of that now we've got a competent forward coach in.

by Pot Hale Fri 30 Mar 2018, 10:56 pm

Just looking at the latest update on provincial hires, transfers and releases for 2018/19.

Ulster
In
Moore - Irl capped
Murphy Irl capped
Addison (Eng) IQ uncapped
Out
Piutau (NZ) - Bristol - capped
Herron (Eng) - Jersey Reds - uncapped
Bowe - ret.
Black (IQ) - Worcs - uncapped

Connacht
In
Claffey, Gallagher, O'Donnell (Irl) - Academy
Copeland (Irl) capped
Godwin (Aus) capped
Horwitz (Aus) uncapped

Out
Heenan (NZ) uncapped - Bristol
Pita Ahki (NZ) uncapped - released
Ilii (NZ) uncapped - released
Deegan (Aus) - Brumbies - capped
Dawai (Fij) - capped - released
Muldoon (Irl) - ret.
Coulson (Irl) - released
Brennan (Irl) - released
O'Toole (Irl) - released
Crosbie (Irl) - released

Leinster
In
Larmour (Irl) Academy - capped
Out
Murphy (Irl) - Ulster - capped
Heaslip (Irl) ret.

Munster
In
O'Connor, Wycherley, Nash (Irl) - academy
Beirne (Irl) uncapped
Haley (Eng) - IQ uncapped
Out
Zebo (Irl) - Racing - capped
Copeland (Irl) - Connacht - capped

4 NZ leaving
1 Aus leaving
1 Fiji leaving
1 Eng leaving
2 Irish leaving Ireland
2 Irish transfer between provinces
2 Irish retired
4 Irish released

2 Irish returning
2 Aus NIQ
2 Eng IQ
7 Irish academy
2 Irish transferring

The foreign player contingent seems to be changing - so far.

by Geen sport voor watjes Sat 31 Mar 2018, 12:41 am

Pot Hale wrote:Just in case anyone thought rugby was actually popular in Ireland...

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ewan-mackenna-in-this-lazy-era-of-event-junkies-irish-fans-dont-love-sport-they-love-winning-36757687.html

It's already been buried under the weight of mood and marketing. And, of course, marketed mood. But it's worth remembering that short of two-and-a-half years back, the Munster brand was in trouble.
At the beginning of 2016, after just 7,200 had shown up to Thomond Park for a derby with Ulster, the province had shifted only 160 tickets for an away-day with Stade Francais of which 40 per cent were purchased abroad. The late Anthony Foley even bemoaned the terrible interest and attendances, stating that "the umbilical chord has always been there between Munster and our supporters. It's important people come and support us. You've got to come and sample it".
His appeal didn't work however with the Munster hierarchy soon releasing a step-by-step guide titled 'Respect', telling the few showing up how to behave after booing greeted defeat after defeat.

Much has changed since, such is the way of peaks and troughs. Half the country claimed to have been present in 1978, two men and a dog were there in the '80s and much of the '90s, by the 2000s they were the ultimate Celtic Tiger team via wine weekends to south France where the game was only part of the luxury package, and now they're back to an impressive degree. What they show better than most is the bandwagon nature of rugby and, beyond that, of Irish sport......

Oversimplification of the problem. Using Munster as an example shows a lack of understanding of the problems Munster brought on themselves due to the business decisions that they made. But then again expecting any kind of depth or analysis from you outside of the bleeding obvious would be a bit too much I feel.

by eirebilly Sat 31 Mar 2018, 5:52 pm

Happy as hell here with Munsters win today.

To all ye Leinster fans out there, best of luck tomorrow. It would be brilliant to see you guys beat Saracens thumbsup

by Don Alfonso Mon 30 Apr 2018, 7:56 pm

Keane leaving Connacht.

by Pot Hale Mon 30 Apr 2018, 10:21 pm

Geen sport voor watjes wrote:
Pot Hale wrote:Just in case anyone thought rugby was actually popular in Ireland...

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ewan-mackenna-in-this-lazy-era-of-event-junkies-irish-fans-dont-love-sport-they-love-winning-36757687.html

It's already been buried under the weight of mood and marketing. And, of course, marketed mood. But it's worth remembering that short of two-and-a-half years back, the Munster brand was in trouble.
At the beginning of 2016, after just 7,200 had shown up to Thomond Park for a derby with Ulster, the province had shifted only 160 tickets for an away-day with Stade Francais of which 40 per cent were purchased abroad. The late Anthony Foley even bemoaned the terrible interest and attendances, stating that "the umbilical chord has always been there between Munster and our supporters. It's important people come and support us. You've got to come and sample it".
His appeal didn't work however with the Munster hierarchy soon releasing a step-by-step guide titled 'Respect', telling the few showing up how to behave after booing greeted defeat after defeat.

Much has changed since, such is the way of peaks and troughs. Half the country claimed to have been present in 1978, two men and a dog were there in the '80s and much of the '90s, by the 2000s they were the ultimate Celtic Tiger team via wine weekends to south France where the game was only part of the luxury package, and now they're back to an impressive degree. What they show better than most is the bandwagon nature of rugby and, beyond that, of Irish sport......

Oversimplification of the problem. Using Munster as an example shows a lack of understanding of the problems Munster brought on themselves due to the business decisions that they made. But then again expecting any kind of depth or analysis from you outside of the bleeding obvious would be a bit too much I feel.

Errr - I take it that you didn’t read the article then.

by Geen sport voor watjes Mon 30 Apr 2018, 11:42 pm

Pot. You pontificate on here like you have some inside knowledge of Irish rugby because you once smelt a fart from someone “big” at a schools game in Leinster. When in fact you or Ewan don’t have a friggin clue as to what are the issues with Munster ( for example). As I said your tendency to state the bleeding obvious is a good way of dumbing down any discussion on here.

by Pot Hale Mon 30 Apr 2018, 11:55 pm

Don Alfonso wrote:Keane leaving Connacht.

Read that. Part of a trend?

SH exodus 2018 so far from IRFU

Kiss
Gibbes
Erasmus
Nienabar
Keane
Lealiifano
Piutau
Isa Nacewa (ret)
Gerbrandt Grobler
Jake Heenan
Pita Ahki
Andrew Deegan
Naulia Dawai
Stacey Ilii
Richardt Strauss (ret)

Who’s likely to be added to that list? Think Connacht have finished shedding. Ditto Leinster. Is Bleyendaal likely to recover at Munster? Payne presumably will retire from playing at Ulster. What about any of Herbst, Coetzee, va der Merwe, Deysel, Ludik, Ah You?

Incoming SH 2018
Johan van Graan Head Coach Munster
JP Ferreira asst coach Munster
Kyle Godwin Connacht next season
David Horwitz Connacht next season

by Pot Hale Tue 01 May 2018, 12:03 am

Geen sport voor watjes wrote:Pot. You pontificate on here like you have some inside knowledge of Irish rugby because you once smelt a fart from someone “big” at a schools game in Leinster. When in fact you or Ewan don’t have a friggin clue as to what are the issues with Munster ( for example). As I said your tendency to state the bleeding obvious is a good way of dumbing down any discussion on here.

And what was the bleeding obvious about Munster that I wrote in the previous post that has so irked you?

by Sin é Thu 17 May 2018, 1:23 pm

So, will Munster do the 5 in a row!

2015 Paul O'Connell
2016 CJ Stander
2017 Conor Murray
2018 Keith Earls
2019 ?

by The Great Aukster Thu 17 May 2018, 1:42 pm

2019 Dave Kiljoyne

by **rodders** Thu 17 May 2018, 2:16 pm

The Great Aukster wrote:2019 Dave Kiljoyne

He's better than Darren Sweetnam anyway.

by Don Alfonso Thu 17 May 2018, 6:04 pm

Arno Botha joining Munster.

by Sin é Tue 26 Mar 2019, 3:42 pm

So, Joe Carbery has extended his contract to 2022. Alby Matheson is remaining with Munster until November (as cover for Conor Murray at the world cup).

Other news - according to reports, France want ROG on a short term contract for the RWC as defence coach. POC (& Prendy) is leaving Stade Francais after a year and maybe going to join Toulon as coach. Seemingly, they are not getting on with Meyer (too much slagging about thinking that CJ was too small!)

Reports that France also want POC for world cup.

by eirebilly Mon 01 Apr 2019, 3:12 pm

Am hearing that Dan Leavy has been ruled out for the remainder of the season and the RWC. That is horrible for him and Leinster. Great player who I feel was a certain pick for the RWC squad.

Hope he gets well soon.

by **rodders** Tue 02 Apr 2019, 10:13 am

Yup terrible for Leavy and Ireland. Conan and Sean O'Brien's RWC prospects look enhanced now but bad news for Leinster with VDF out and big games to come.

It seems like Best's injury is not as bad as it looked so hopefully we will see him again in an Ulster jersey.

by mikey_dragon Thu 25 Apr 2019, 6:40 pm

Interesting story. The highly rated winger James McCarthy - former Wales u18, Munster academy, and grand slam winner with Ireland u20 has opted to return home and is believed to have decided that his rugby future is with Wales.

by **profitius** Fri 26 Apr 2019, 11:11 am

mikey_dragon wrote:Interesting story. The highly rated winger James McCarthy - former Wales u18, Munster academy, and grand slam winner with Ireland u20 has opted to return home and is believed to have decided that his rugby future is with Wales.

Very good attacker but looks a little bit on the skinny side for professional rugby.

by SecretFly Fri 26 Apr 2019, 12:16 pm

Welsh u18, Irish u20..... going back to Wales ....as in giving up on the dream of International? Or can he now revert back to potential Welsh International? Is that actually doable if that's his ambition? Thought there was a cut off point for chopping and changing and was of the opinion that u20 was it? Am I wrong? - again.
Just seems strange that he'd go back home to Wales to forget about International.

by Collapse2005 Tue 07 May 2019, 5:02 pm

Flannery and Felix Jones are set to leave Munster at the end of the season. Bad news for the province.

by carpet baboon Tue 07 May 2019, 7:30 pm

Collapse2005 wrote:Flannery and Felix Jones are set to leave Munster at the end of the season. Bad news for the province.

Any news on weather it was there choice or VanGrans?

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