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[2018-19 Guinness Pro 14] Round 4 (21 & 22/09/2018)
- Thread starter TRF_heineken
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, Owen Lane covers Scully.
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Well done Cardiff. That was a strong Munster team - to run rings round them like that in the 2nd half was amazing.
AmericanRugbyFan
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Indeed. Was fun to watch. Maybe we are turning the corner. Way to finish Blues!
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Munster have a really strong squad. Joey Carbery and Tadhg Beirne bolstered them in positions they lacked depth and they've internationals all over the park. I asked after the Glasgow game whether Johann van Graan was good enough. I'll ask again now. Is he getting the most out of his players? There's a trend going back to last season of not delivering in big games. The problem is primarily behind the scrum.
There's no shame losing away from home against a very strong Blues team. I though Tomos Williams was fantastic, the speed and delivery of his service were always on point.
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Blues finally put an 80min performance together, and they deservedly smashed a strong Munster side. They've shown glimpses of it in their first 3 losses, and could have easily won all 3, but they upped the physicality yesterday and ensured that they were in control throughout. They left a couple of try's out there as well with the last pass going astray.
Huge shifts from the forward pack, with Nick Williams outstanding. Anscombe, Tomos Williams and Halaholo superb in the backs. Probably Anscombes best match yet, very rounded display. 100% from the tee as well!
Onwards and upwards hopefully.
Huge shifts from the forward pack, with Nick Williams outstanding. Anscombe, Tomos Williams and Halaholo superb in the backs. Probably Anscombes best match yet, very rounded display. 100% from the tee as well!
Onwards and upwards hopefully.
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The pro14 is whack this year!
It's tempting to sharpen the knives but there is another way of looking at it. The Pro14 is much improved this year (and I suspect things will get even harder for Munster in the league), with good wins coming from Kings, Benetton, Zebre; Connacht, Edinburgh and Ulster looking stronger, etc. Cardiff could easily be on a 4 match winning streak now including a victory over Leinster, 2 pts short in all 3 matches. They are actually a really decent side now, being Challenge Cup champions is great for them. Tbf they've never been a terrible team so it's great to see them string some consistency and confidence together. There is no shame in losing to them (though to lose in a fashion like that is still unacceptable from a squad with this much talent).
Anyways my point is that Cardiff are a very good side, a lot can change in a season and it's not time yet to judge JvG. He seems like a sound bloke (irrelevant) and seems to have really bought into the Munster culture. Last night's result was pretty deflating but I won't call anything yet. Teams can and do turn around, it's only week 4. But very soon the pressure will crank up for JvG. After Ulster, it's Leinster (A), Exeter (A), Gloucester (H) and Glasgow (H). Ulster is suddenly a huge match. I don't want to be hopeless but I kinda am. It's easy to be negative though.
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It might not be time to get the sharpen the knives but questions must certainly be asked. JVG has 4 wind and 8 losses in his away games for Munster. The two losses this season are as bad as Munster have played this decade which is hugely worrying as away form was literally season breaking last season with the two away losses to Racing and the away loss to Leinster stopping them from playing for silverware. Munster really need to do better than last season for this season to be a success given the players they've added to the squad. To this, admittedly early point, they've been worse and the games are only set to get more difficult.
Picking that team and losing 5-0 in log points to a conference rival is pretty criminal.
It really is. Nothing can mitigate it. At least in the Glasgow match we came back in the second half, and it was a B team... You have to wonder why Fla and Felix have been kept around for so long too, with Munster's dip in form happening under them over the past few years. I wasn't as optimistic as other people pre-season, with a very tight Euro pool and a much improved league, this looks to be one of the toughest seasons ever. I'm preparing for the worst, hoping for the best.
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Well, I certainly didn't see that result coming based on current form. Anscombe at 10 really worked last night, the flow of the game suited him a lot. The back row played well also, a lot of crucial turnovers, good to see Navidi getting his fitness back. There seemed to be a little more structure to Cardiff's game and you can believe what Mulvill said about sticking to the new plan. But, I equally thought Munster were a bit off their game at times. Let's hope it's the start of things coming together following all the changes in the back room for Cardiff.
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Why is Liam Toland suggesting scrum halves need to do research to realise Toner is tall?
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We're slick.
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How was that not a knock on by Leinster?
The edinburgh player Lowe had chucked the ball at was in front of him.
Also why was the TMO used for a lineout call? Ref being used by the home crowd.
The edinburgh player Lowe had chucked the ball at was in front of him.
Also why was the TMO used for a lineout call? Ref being used by the home crowd.
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I was waiting for the Southern Kings first upset after their improvement this year, but I wasn't expecting this one (although Glasgow put out pretty much a full second string).
Well drilled in defence (surprising) and handy on attack and counterattack (not surprising) - glad that Rassie was on hand personally to see what a well coached SA club can actually look like. If Deon Davids gets support in his third year the Kings will challenge for playoffs - he is consistently that good with a bunch of relative unknowns.
Kings are now too good to send a full second string against, although their pack picked up a tragic number of injuries here which may impact on them badly. And like Zebre, they'll be a walkover in poor conditions.
Same old problems with a lack of depth at Glasgow. They can scrape together a great starting XV then the drop-off is pretty massive.
Well drilled in defence (surprising) and handy on attack and counterattack (not surprising) - glad that Rassie was on hand personally to see what a well coached SA club can actually look like. If Deon Davids gets support in his third year the Kings will challenge for playoffs - he is consistently that good with a bunch of relative unknowns.
Kings are now too good to send a full second string against, although their pack picked up a tragic number of injuries here which may impact on them badly. And like Zebre, they'll be a walkover in poor conditions.
Same old problems with a lack of depth at Glasgow. They can scrape together a great starting XV then the drop-off is pretty massive.
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(1) Generally a good weekend for many supposedly weaker teams viz-a-viz stronger ones - Blues, Cheetahs, Connacht and most of all the Kings.
(2) What is interesting is how so far this season both West Wales teams have largely reverted to type - Ospreys crush weaker teams while struggling against stronger ones, and Scarlets raise their game against stronger teams but become decidedly complacent against weaker ones.
(3) Although last season Cheetahs were far better than Kings, this season might actually be the reverse, since Cheetahs seem to have lost rather more key players to other teams than Kings have.
(2) What is interesting is how so far this season both West Wales teams have largely reverted to type - Ospreys crush weaker teams while struggling against stronger ones, and Scarlets raise their game against stronger teams but become decidedly complacent against weaker ones.
(3) Although last season Cheetahs were far better than Kings, this season might actually be the reverse, since Cheetahs seem to have lost rather more key players to other teams than Kings have.
He must think they are a fairly stupid bunch.
I suppose, if you look at wee stupid rat-dogs barking like f**k at say, a big German Shepard, and the big dog wondering "what the f**k does this dopey little runt think its doing - I'd eat it in two bites", then compare that to scrum-halves yapping and mouthing at the forward pack...
Was that for the game deciding 4th try? Or was it the 5th?
Once again, another game clearly decided by the referee. You'd think they have a vendetta against poor wee dick.
