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Magner's League Grand Final - Munster Vs Leinster

Was right about the Munster win and also about the team! I am fairly suprised Leinster didnt score a try!
 
Was right about the Munster win and also about the team! I am fairly suprised Leinster didnt score a try!

You said TOL was starting even after I told you he wouldn't ;)
As for tries we just produced plenty of heart and did exceptionally well to save a few try-scoring chances.
Felix Jones saved 15points at least
 
no i said it would Be O'Leary or Stringer which i admit i got it wrong! and you never said that he wouldnt!
 
no i said it would Be O'Leary or Stringer which i admit i got it wrong! and you never said that he wouldnt!

But you did say that O'leary would start and I do remember MM suggesting that he would not.

Anyway, this is very petty. Comment on the match and not past posts.
 
Congrats Munster, the best team won. While I'm disappointed at Leinster's defeat, it's only right that the team which finished top of the table won the ***le.

Jones, Wallace and Howlett were excellent.
 
I'd been saying to everyone that munster would win :) Delighted
 
Really intense and enjoyable match. Two guys i was looking out for today were McFadden and Barnes. Have to say i wasn't that impressed with McFadden at centre today. I don't think i ever saw him throw a pass and seemed like he was playing more like a winger with those darting runs, which he did well, he just hardly ever looked outside him. Barnes was ok but seemed to be working around the rucks too much instead of out wide. He was solid though. Leinster looked fatigued but Munster deservedly won on the day the way they know how to win with a lot of grit and passion.

EDIT. thought Reddan was completely crap. Murray and Jones should start for Ireland!
 
Really intense and enjoyable match. Two guys i was looking out for today were McFadden and Barnes. Have to say i wasn't that impressed with McFadden at centre today. I don't think i ever saw him throw a pass and seemed like he was playing more like a winger with those darting runs, which he did well, he just hardly ever looked outside him. Barnes was ok but seemed to be working around the rucks too much instead of out wide. He was solid though. Leinster looked fatigued but Munster deservedly won on the day the way they know how to win with a lot of grit and passion.

EDIT. thought Reddan was completely crap. Murray and Jones should start for Ireland!

I agree Reddan was really poor and didn't play the right style at certain times of the match. I still have questions about him behind a pack going backwards but when we have momentum Reddan is brilliant at keeping the pace to high for the opposition. Wondering whether Hayes' performance booked him a ticket to the world cup? I thought Sherry was brilliant when he came on. I have always like him and he has a huge work rate, carries well and is solid at throwing in the lineout.

All in all the better team won and we learned that:
-Felix Jones is the best Irish fullback ATM and he must travel to NZ especially if Kearney and Murphy cannot regain form or fitness.
-Murray has alot of talent and the way he has coped so well under pressure in his first proper season suggests he could cope with the WC. He has the talent.
-Ryan is on form and should head to NZ
-Jennings adds something completely different and he should be in the world cup squad
-Fitz is good in defence but makes mistakes in attack and Earls is in a complete different class at the moment.
 
Here's some of my expert analysis on the game on a few players.

-The Munster back rows were vastly superior to Leinster's, which surprised me. Heaslip had a very quiet game and when he did get the ball he didn't go anywhere. SOB was a bit better but still much too quiet for a player of his status. Jennings was immense, and was in my opinion the best Leinster man on the pitch. He consistently made yards when he got the ball.
I just love Wally. That turnover he made at around 54 minutes was simply amazing and he was great throughout the whole game. Really deserved the MOTM. Coughlan was good and Donncha Ryan should be a no-brainer for the RWC if he continues to play like that.


-Felix Jones was good in attack, but he was just amazing in defence. He was making tackles non stop and was just everywhere. He has been playing well for the whole season and deserves to go the the world cup.

-I know I might be a bit strong here, but I think Luke Fitzgerald has lost it and shouldn't be starting for Ireland at all. Sure he did put in the Monster of a tackle on Dougie, but that was about it for the whole game. He has been crucial at times for Leinster, but I can't remember the last time he put in a full performance for Ireland.

-McFadden wasn't great today, but I still think he's a class player and should get game time at the world cup.

- Mafi was excellent today. He set up Dougies try (and probably could have scored himself) and made some very clever runs. He was also great in defence and managed not to kill anybody with any high tackles for once.


Overall I have to say I'm delighted with the result and I think it was a good game for Ireland in the long run. Quite a few players got their chance to prove themselves for the WC today.
 
I agree Reddan was really poor and didn't play the right style at certain times of the match. I still have questions about him behind a pack going backwards but when we have momentum Reddan is brilliant at keeping the pace to high for the opposition. Wondering whether Hayes' performance booked him a ticket to the world cup? I thought Sherry was brilliant when he came on. I have always like him and he has a huge work rate, carries well and is solid at throwing in the lineout.

Yeah he seemed really flustered. It's all very well and easy when the ball is coming back quickly and you have no forwards on your ass but when things don't go so smooth it comes down to rugby smarts and composure. He was all over the place today and thats a worry if he starts against a team like NZ/SA where they are ruthless up front.

All in all the better team won and we learned that:
-Felix Jones is the best Irish fullback ATM and he must travel to NZ especially if Kearney and Murphy cannot regain form or fitness.
-Murray has alot of talent and the way he has coped so well under pressure in his first proper season suggests he could cope with the WC. He has the talent.
-Ryan is on form and should head to NZ
-Jennings adds something completely different and he should be in the world cup squad
-Fitz is good in defence but makes mistakes in attack and Earls is in a complete different class at the moment.

Up till today i thought he was only good on the ground but today he showed he has a running game too. I got him confused with O'Brien a few times at the start. I'm pretty sure he bounced off O'Gara. The Leinster backrow must be taking turns at him :p
 
Special mention should go to Marcus Horan who displayed all the diving attributes of a dying swan.
 
Yeah great game. Leinster looked a little tired and Munster were alot more clinical. Munster back row won it today, just shows the emphasis now on the looseies can win or loose games. However to put the game on standing with the English premiership I would of liked to see the final in the Aviva, make it a real show piece. But I know alot of Munster fans wouldn't be happy with that.
 
However to put the game on standing with the English premiership I would of liked to see the final in the Aviva, make it a real show piece. But I know alot of Munster fans wouldn't be happy with that.

Ya the fact that it was on in Limerick really helped Munster with their performance!
 
To be fair, Cian Healy would have to lose both his legs to not get the better of John Hayes. The man offers absolutely nothing at all in any way anymore.
My god, poor Healy he needs a wheel chair now :(
 
Didn't see it. Was at Slane. I laughed/cried when I saw penalty try for a scrum. I hope this doesn't make Deccie feel obliged to bring John Hayes to NZ.
 
Didn't see it. Was at Slane. I laughed/cried when I saw penalty try for a scrum. I hope this doesn't make Deccie feel obliged to bring John Hayes to NZ.

Hayes was always going to be going, this just means he'll start every match ;)
 
*insert Leinster excuse here*
No excuses at all. The better team deservedly won and could have won by more. Leinster will just have to console themselves with this:
2205_jstrop_stf_898864t.jpg

On a side note, Felix Jones should get at least two starts for Ireland (and also start the game against Connacht) in the run up to the World Cup. I wouldn't be averse to giving Conor Murray a couple of games too. Both were very, very good again yesterday.
 
No excuses at all. The better team deservedly won and could have won by more. Leinster will just have to console themselves with this:
View attachment 861

On a side note, Felix Jones should get at least two starts for Ireland (and also start the game against Connacht) in the run up to the World Cup. I wouldn't be averse to giving Conor Murray a couple of games too. Both were very, very good again yesterday.

I have been very impressed with him and the way he managed to return straight into form after injury shows that he really is playing well and is ready for a challenge. He has shown he is very good in all aspects, Solid under the high ball, Great attacking threat, He runs superb lines and is always willing to have a go and beat players, His defence yesterday was outstanding. The question is can he play that well at international level? If he proves that he can I see no reason why he shouldn't be our first choice fullback for the world cup.
 
Well lads what a night and good send off for a few.

As on the game I'll start with Munster,
- First up just great to see a bit of heart and passion back in the jersey.
- David Wallace was immense yesterday and again my view is simple Ferris has to dislodge one of O'Brien, Wallace and Heaslip. He hasn't done that yet.
- Felix Jones probably showed one of the best defensive displays of a 15 all season and made some excellent tackles.
- Danny Barnes did ok but did not look out of place against 2 fine players in BOD and McFadden and can be proud of his display.
- Again Connor Murray (just 3 weeks ago) wasn't considered to be 1 of Irelands top 4 9's and I hope yesterday really changes Deccies views as I really think he is the best 9 we have at moment. And if Reddan is anything to go by I'd be worried if he is a starter as much as I'd worry about TOL starting.
- Donnacha Ryan really stood up to challenge and was excellent at 6 and I think has outplayed McLaughlin to that lock/6 jersey. Not saying McLaughlin was poor but while both performed well last few weeks Donnacha Ryan has been the better performer and for Munster I think it isn't impossible for him to be ahead of DOC for Munster next season.
- I think Mafi deserves a mention as I think he has really rediscovered his form lately and I think there are 2 reasons for this. 1 is he is a 12 (even though he sood at 13 defensively alot yesterday to mark BOD) but mainly because he has found a player in Barnes that has similar attributes to Tipoki and that type of player beside him is what Mafi craves.
- Paul O'Connell was immense again yesterday and well really is a heartbeat of this team and well what a performance yesterday.
- Mike Sherry to I must say I thought was superb when he came on and really made the hard yards and seem to improve all our set pieces too.
- Lastly the Bull, Thats his field and love him or hate him, That was a magical 80 mins yesterday. I still think he should go to RWC as cover because of lack of other decent options but only use him if last resort.
- Also our defense as a unit deserves recognition and Anthony Foley really was superb in training this week and went above and beyond his duty especially on the Tuesday session when these guys did 2 hours non-stop heavy duty defense

On Leinster:
Won't go in to detail but they did play well yesterday and well they are deserving Heineken Cup champions. They did well yesterday but it was evident we wanted it more and I know it's not an excuse they'd want to use but fact is they really had alot taken out of them in that thriller last week in Cardiff. I think in a strange way despite the rivallary still been there the respect has really grown.

For Ireland we learned:
- We have 2 excellent 10's
- We discovered players like Jones and Murray are up to big games, and McFadden is really in with a shout over removing D'Arcy
- We have argubally some of best backrow options in World
- We're coming off the back of a very successful year in Irish rugby and the RWC could be a great tournament for us.
 

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