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Munster 'name' 2006 team to take on Sale Sharks in a throw back to province's heyday
Munster have ‘named’ the 2006 team to take on Sale Sharks in a Youtube re-run of their classic Heineken Cup encounter in that year.
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The famous pool encounter was arguably the catalyst for what would become their first successful European campaign, coming after several years of near misses for the Irish side.
The club are streaming the game at 7.30pm tonight (Wednesday, 8th April).
The team itself has reached iconic status among the storied side’s passionate fans – the forward pack especially has achieved near-mythical standing across the province.
The throwback article reads: “Munster Head Coach Declan Kidney has named an unchanged starting XV for the final Pool One game against Sale Sharks at a sold-out Thomond Park.
“The province are aiming for a 28th consecutive home win in the Champions Cup and are still in with a slim chance of qualifying for a home quarter-final.
“Sale Sharks go into the game five points ahead of Munster having defeated Kidney’s side 27-13 at Edgeley Park in Round 1. Munster kept their quarter-final hopes alive with a stunning 46-9 victory away at Castres last weekend.
“Marcus Horan, John Kelly, Paul O’Connell (two) and Tomás O’Leary were the try scorers as Ian Dowling made his European Cup debut.
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“On the back of such an impressive scoreline, the Munster side is unchanged. Shaun Payne starts at full-back with Kelly and Dowling on either flank.
“Trevor Halstead and Barry Murray are named in the centres with Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara in the half-backs.
“Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery and John Hayes pack down in the front row with Donncha O’Callaghan and Paul O’Connell in the engine room. Denis Leamy, David Wallace and captain Anthony Foley complete the side.”
Munster: Shaun Payne; John Kelly, Barry Murphy, Trevor Halstead, Ian Dowling; Ronan O’Gara, Peter Stringer; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes; Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell; Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Anthony Foley (C)
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Replacements: Denis Fogarty, Federico Pucciariello, Mick O’Driscoll, Stephen Keogh, Tomás O’Leary, Mossy Lawler, Gary Connolly.
Sale team: SaleRobinson (capt); Cueto, Taylor, Seveali’i (Taione), Ripol; Hodgson, Martens (Wigglesworth); Sheridan, Bruno (Titterrell), Stewart (Coutts), Lobbe (Schofield), Jones (Mayor), White, Lund, Chabal
It’s a far cry from what is currently happening at the locked-down PRO14 side.
The current squad and academy have been assigned fitness and S&C programmes set out by Head of Athletic Performance Denis Logan and Lead Academy Development Athletic Coach Ged McNamara.
Monitoring is continuing with daily access and according to Munster: “The medical department continue to manage the rehabilitating players with remote programmes and reviews, and for those requiring closer attention, the medical staff are equipped to manage same.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Can’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to comments