Ulster performed an astonishing smash-and-grab raid in the first half-hour at Thomond park, then stuck around to take an absolute walloping from the suddenly awakened and irate home-owners before finally staggering away with the spoils. Continue reading
McGahan lost a serious chunk of the Munster fanbase in the course of eighty minutes. It mightn't have been fair, but it happened.
However, the arc of McGahan’s tenure, and the feeling with which he was regarded by Munster fans, changed unalterably over the space of eighty minutes. Continue reading
Declan Kidney giving the game away in a typically outspoken pre-match press conference. Somebody needs to put a zip on that guy's lip. He's all mouth.
Declan Kidney’s Rotund Shadow
Declan Kidney is basically George Smiley, firstly. Old Smiley has returned to prominence over the last year as a result of Tomas Alfredson’s cinematic reprise of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Gary Oldman plays him a little on the reptilian side compared to Alec Guinness’ ‘Declan Kidney in a British Warm’ portrayal from the BBC series of the late 1970s, so it mightn’t leap out at you if you’ve neither read the book nor seen the Guinness version. A highpoint in broadcasting. Continue reading
"Kick it into the corner, then maul it over. Else drop a goal."
Failing to get out of the pool stages of last year’s Heineken Cup was perhaps a blessing in disguise for Tony McGahan and his need to find replacements for Generation Ligind. The journey was always going to have to end somewhere but until then it was difficult for McGahan to jettison proven campaigners. Kidney’s silverware gave him the status to make some structural changes, notably introducing O’Leary and Hurley against Gloucester. McGahan’s status as an “outsider” without silverware meant he lacked the political capital to rock the boat too much. The fact that Munster finished the season by winning the league and beat Leinster in a match that mattered was very important for Dumper. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 