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Continuing on from my season preview and squad depth chart I decided to do updated depth chart, periodically, for a first choice starting XV during the season.
At present the form part of the equation is fairly limited with a sample size of only one game but the hope is that as the season progresses we should be able to track the progress and development of the squad members and where they rank in their respective positions.
I am using the premise that each player should only be considered for one position (although they may be chosen on the bench for their ability to cover multiple) and while I may have to amend positions as the seasons goes on I have started with the assumption that Munster will use a hybrid lock at 6 (ie Beirne) and for the moment Simon Zebo is still considered a full back.
Tight Five
Dave Kilcoyne was without doubt the number one loosehead in the squad and Saturday nights match just confirmed that. His scrummaging and particularly his carrying make him a shoe in for the Ireland 23 even with Porter switching sides. Of more interest was Jeremy Loughman's performance. He was in that block of three players (himself, Josh Wycherley and Liam O'Connor) just below Kilcoyne who are fighting for the bench spot. Loughman excels in the loose but he added solid scrummaging, some good carries and even a jackal to his impact off the bench against the Sharks. That performance is enough to shoot him up to the second in the rankings and make the 17 jersey his until one of the other contenders make an impact to take it away from him.
Niall Scannell was another who had an excellent match in Thomond at the weekend. The best scrummaging hooker in the squad, his lineout throws were pretty much on the money and he even made an impact with ball in hand on occasion. He cemented his place in the starting line up. Kevin O'Byrne still seems to be second choice hooker and while Diarmuid Barron was solid in his 20 mins off the bench I don't think he made enough of an impact to displace KOB when he is back and fit.
Tighthead is where I think we saw the biggest impact on the rankings this week. John Ryan came into the season still as the starting TH and while he had a great night in the set piece that cemented his role in the 3 jersey it was Keynan Knox's performance that caught the eye. Knox was dominant in the scrum, made some excellent heavy carries and showed the silky hands to offload in the build up for Zebo's second try. Although Stephen Archer hasn't played a competitive game so far this season, I think Knox's performance showed enough that he should be leapfrogging Archer to the bench spot. Archer will get his chance in the coming weeks but Knox has now set the bar for his own performances as well as those looking to take the 18 jersey.
Both Munster locks, Jean Kleyn and Fineen Wycherley were impressive against the Sharks. I though Kleyn may be under pressure for his starting position in the line up this season but he put in a huge shift. Against a very big and imposing Sharks tight five, Kleyn time and time again met them on the gain line with his physicality and won the personal battles. He continued the development of his handling game where he is becoming more and more comfortable as a distributor pulling passes back to the backline when he carries.
Wycherley called the lineout and was outstanding at both the attacking and defensive rucks. I think Wycherley's role may well be the back up hybrid lock but we will need to see him play in that role in the coming weeks.
Snyman and Ahern off the bench brought a real X factor to the proceedings, which was best illustrated in Zebo's second try. Snyman holding the ball in one hand, fakes to go down the blind side and takes SEVEN, (yes 7) defenders back that way with him, before flicking the offloading the ball out of the back of his hand to the waiting scrum half who spots the space created and available out wide.
Ahern who was on the opposite side of the pitch for the kick off shows his blistering pace to out sprint Simon Zebo to the line.
These two huge specimens could provide a real game changing impact on the biggest of stages and I think Snyman even in his short cameo has shown why he must be in the starting XV and Ahern's potential and lack of gametime so far for other options put him in a great position for a bench spot.
Back Row and Half Backs
Peter O'Mahony started at 6 on Saturday although when the Lions players are available again I think that will be Tadhg Beirne's jersey with O'Mahony moving to the openside jersey. POM had an excellent game and patrolled the wider channels where he is so effective.
Jack O'Donoghue played the POM role at openside extremely well and likewise his pace and power out wide caused the Sharks problems. His skillset and ability to play across all three positions in the back row make him a very attractive proposition to spring from the bench in a match day 23.
Gavin Coombes showed yet again that Andy Farrell is going to have a nightmare job picking the starting No 8 for Ireland. Coombes has the heavy carry and offloading game that is unparalleled within the Irish squad. He took his two tries well and sucked in defenders to create space for others around. CJ Stander may have left a big hole to replace but they don't come much bigger than Gavin Coombes who is without doubt the starting 8 when fit.
Craig Casey put in a player of the match performance but he was never in trouble of falling out of the match day 23 for Munster. The real question is can he put enough pressure on Conor Murray, who remains in the driving seat for the number 9 jersey, to change the rankings. Whether he does or not is slightly irrelevant for Munster as the competition between both at provincial and international level can only be seen as a good thing.
Joey Carbery had a bit of mixed bag on Saturday evening. He started well, making his touch finders and putting his forwards on the front foot when required. As the game wore on though he started to compound mistakes on top of each other, missed touch, missed tackles and restart out on the full. Its not that he had a bad game but its not that he's playing to his full potential either and thats not something we've really since he returned from the long term injury. He's still very much the number 1 in terms of out half rankings but he's going to need to up his game because Ben Healy is starting to catch up. Healy's siege gun boot was in evidence but its his ability to manage the game and run that back line that needs to develop if he is to overtake Carbery in the pecking order.
Back five
There was a distinct difference in the selection between the front five and the back five for this game. Munster picked a very strong front five full of "first choice" players but the back five went a little further down the depth chart.
Rory Scannell had a very good game and his skillset actually suits how Munster want to evolve their game plan tactically, but I'm not sure there are many people outside the Scannell household who would have him ranked higher than Damian De Allende. Injury saw Dan Goggin get his chance at outside centre, but like the Scannell situation I think Chris Farrell remains the first choice when fit. Goggin put in a lovely kick for Zebo's second try and stop up to the physical challenge the Sharks posed but some unsympathetic passes fired at team mates too hard and/or wayward didn't help his cause to push ahead of Farrell.
Both Munster wingers had excellent games. Conway showed once again his kick chase is at a truly elite level and when given the chance he will pose problems to defenses. Zebo scored two tries, played to the crowd and was commanding under the high ball. I think if everyone is fit and available he, Conway and Earls are the best fit for the back three. That may be harsh on Mike Halley who himself was excellent on Saturday but Zebo offers that little bit more spark and X factor, and his ability to drift into first receiver in phased play challenges defenses in different ways. My only concern about the back three overall is that Munster don't see to create enough opportunities for them to show what they can do when put in space and/or in one on one positions against their opposite numbers.