Any feedback on what he's adding to the attack? It'll be interesting to see how he goes. He was a smart player and the Scarlets is a good place to go to learn attacking rugby.
Mike Prendergast was good for Munster but I'm glad there's a change now with a different style. Sometimes change for change sake is good. Munster were too lateral and possession rugby isn't great most of the year.
For me it's Keira Metz's cottage. It's the perfect spot for me. I love the area too.
Returning Players: Porter and Paddy McCarthy will be big additions to the loose head. Baird was Irelands best player last autumn but he's been injured since. He would be a big addition to the squad also. And of course Crowley.
New Players: while I don't think there's going to be loads of new players, maybe 2 or 3 might come along next season.
We could do with some new blood.
Lower the Average Age: while it's not as critical as some people make out, id say we've a few too many players who are old. There's a balance to it and we've probably gone from being balanced 3 years ago to too old now. Aki being prime example.
Refreshed: Hopefully they'll get time off around Christmas and at the end of next season. Personally I think it would have done a lot of players great to have taken a sabbatical in their early 30s. Go to Japan for a season or two. It certainly hasn't done the Bok players any harm! They come into world cups fully refreshed.
Defence: more time to bed in Easterby's defensive system. I'm not blaming Nienabar but it takes time to readjust to defensive systems.
New Ideas: they know where they stand now. Firmly in 4th spot. Now it's about bridging the gap to the top 3. They've a year to experiment.
Under the Radar: going into a world cup under the radar isn't a bad thing at all. It's an advantage although I think the Irish media will f-up that advantage. Joe Molloy yesterday was talking about us having an easy world cup pathway. So it's already begun. If Ireland played Argentina in a world cup would you be confident?
On munsterfans recently I saw they discussed moving Coombes to lock as they have plenty of back row talent coming through. At first I dismissed it in my own mind but the more I think about it the more it makes sense.
Coombes has the raw power to be a powerful lock forward. While most try scoring back rows use a combination of agility and speed to score tries, Coombes just ploughs his way to the try line using pure strength. If he trained for the second row he could add another few kgs and be over 120kg.
He's not the tallest and would be a short lock but imo height can be overrated. All things being equal, it's better to be tall in that position but Coombes would add power behind the prop, he is a try scorer and he's got good hands. Many taller lads like Baird, Izzy and Ahern are sometimes more suited to the back row. They like open spaces.
Coombes' lack of height would be an issue but if say you had Cian Prendergast at 7 that would balance it out. He would also offer flexibility to the squad.
It makes more sense for Munster to trial that move. Munster have Gleeson and Luke Murphy coming through, 2 young 8s who are big ball carriers.