#munster world cup

[piggybacktail]

[fourpeatinarowww]

World Cup delivering for new players 🤣😍

[capseycartwright]

ireland got knocked out of the rugby world cup, i am apoplectic with grief, i have channelled those big sads into a buddie rugby ficlet. yes buck plays for ireland and yes eddie is a irish coach no you don't need to know how they got there.

for my rugby girlies. i hate this sport and also i love it with every part of me. i also think this counts for seven sentence sunday so thank u for tagging me @fangkinkdiaz

The final whistle goes, and Buck knows it's over. He doesn’t need to look up at the scoreboard to know that they didn’t make it - the World Cup dream is over. 

Tears are dripping from the curve of his chin before he even realises he’s crying - but Buck isn’t surprised, really. He’s not sure he’s ever felt devastation quite like it - four points standing between them, and a World Cup semi final for the first time in history. 

Four points. 

This one was going to hurt for a long time yet, Buck knew.

Accepting the hand offered by a teammate, Buck allowed himself to be pulled up off the field where he’d been sitting, hot, frustrated tears streaming down his cheeks, only adding to the mess of blood, and dirt on his jersey. 

“I thought we had it,” Jack mumbled as he dragged Buck to his feet, his hand shaking in Buck’s grip. It was his first world cup, Jack one of the youngest of their squad. It was Buck’s second, but his first with a team he really thought could make it all the way: and the devastation was worse, when you went into a competition believing the win was yours. At least last time, he had been playing for fun.

Buck could only grimace in response. 

He thought they had it too. 

Four fucking points.

It’s a blur, as he walks around the field, shaking hands with players in black celebrating, exchanging tight hugs with his own teammates, his own devastation reflected in their expressions as they take a lap of the field, thousands of sad faces in bright green jerseys looking on as they clapped a congratulations Buck wasn’t sure they had quite earned this time. 

Buck watched, standing alone on the field as his teammates went to find their friends and family. He’d always been jealous of that. Maddie tried to come, when she could, but Buck played for a team thousands of miles away from her California home, and she had a kid now - it wasn’t as easy as it used to be for her to be in the stands. 

He was more jealous of the players who were seeking out their wives, and girlfriends, sympathetic faces pulling them in for hugs, and kisses, the kind of reassurance Buck himself was craving as the adrenaline started to leave his body, and the reality started to hit: the World Cup was over. Rugby was a funny career. Buck liked to think he’d still be fit, and playing, by the time the next World Cup came around, but he knew one bad hit was all it took to end a career.

It was what happened to Eddie, after all.

Buck had watched Eddie play on TV more times than he could count, had stared, astounded, as Eddie had played some of the best rugby Buck had ever seen. And then one day, it was over. 

It had been a warm-up test - not even a championship game. Buck had been watching it back home in California, and it was 3am, and his eyes had ached from the brightness of the TV as he’d watched Eddie line out, 10 emblazoned on his back and a familiar confident grin on his face. He had been the best in the world, and then one bad hit had broken his shoulder so badly, he’d never regained full fitness again.

Eddie had joined the coaching squad, after his career had been cut short, and Buck had sought out the familiarity of another American voice in the Irish camp the first day he had arrived, three long years finally making it so he qualified to play for the country he had adopted as his home after Munster had offered him a contract to play club rugby. It had been a rogue decision, from their coach - America wasn’t lauded for creating the most memorable rugby players - but they’d seen something in Buck. 

He was grateful for that. 

Something in Buck broke as he watched another teammate embrace his girlfriend, and he started to walk, his feet carrying him where his heart so desperately wanted to be.

Eddie was standing near the edge of the field, teeth worrying the corner of his lip as he watched the devastation unfold around him. One thing that people didn’t know about coaches, Buck felt at least, was that they felt the hurt as much as the players did: coaches just had the harder job of putting on a brave face sooner and making sure the squad got back on their feet. 

His lanyard was tucked under his arm, in that ridiculous way Eddie always wore his accreditation, and his hair was a mess: Buck knew if he watched back the match, every time the camera panned to the coaches, he’d see Eddie running his hands through his hair. 

“You fought like hell,” Eddie offered, and Buck knew he wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the comfort he wanted, there and then. 

The thing was - somewhere along the way, Eddie had stopped being that familiar American face, and he’d started to be Buck’s best friend, and then he’d become the love of Buck’s life - in that order, with a few stops in between. They’d talked about it - all the ways going public would affect Buck’s career, how it might make him a target, if he was ready for the snide remarks that would come with being an out rugby player in the peak of his career - and they’d agreed to keep it a secret until Buck retired. 

But they’d just gotten knocked out of the World Cup, and Buck wanted to kiss his goddamn boyfriend.

“There’s no going back, if you do,” Eddie whispered, and that was when Buck realised he’d said it out loud. Eddie had come out after his career had been cut short, never one to dream of being an advocate but suited to the role, all the same, rainbow laces in trainers and a pride flag pinned to his jacket a constant reminder to the world that he was here, and he was queer. 

“I don’t want to go back,” Buck shook his head. They had lost the World Cup - he would be a different rugby player for it, now. He was ready to be a different man, too. 

“Are you sure?” Eddie inclined his head slightly. “Buck, you’re not thinking straight right now - you’ve just played a crazy eighty minutes, and -” 

Buck kissed him. He was gross, and sweaty, and disgusting, and there was blood pouring down his face, escaping the plaster the medical team has hastily put on his head 47 minutes in, but Eddie kissed him back with a familiarity and certainty that Buck would never get used to as long as he lived. Eddie was home. This team was home, and Eddie was home - and he’d figure out the rest. 

The noise of the stadium hadn’t lessened - it hadn’t gone silent, in shock. No, the noise was still roaring, and the world had kept turning, and Buck was pretty sure that was an ITV camera that was recording the way Eddie kept a tight hold of the hem of Buck’s jersey and -

“You’ll take the heat off us losing, with that one,” Patrick grinned, and Buck let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding as his teammate teased him. 

“I was just doing it for the team,” Buck retorted, and despite everything, despite the hurt and the loss and the way it would take weeks to find his love of rugby again after coming so close - but not quite close enough - he looked at Eddie and couldn’t help but smile, his boyfriend returning the grin.

Yeah.

Everything was going to be okay, actually.

[thaivun]

Munster will play the Crusaders in a novel fixture next February

The inaugural 'Clash of Champions' between Munster and the Crusaders, the Super Rugby champions, is scheduled to take place in 2024. Crusaders Munster Rugby

The New Zealand team, headquartered in Canterbury, defeated the Chiefs in Waikato over the weekend to win their seventh straight Super Rugby title.

It was confirmed this morning that they would play Munster, the URC winners, on February 3rd of the following year.

Although it is uncommon for club teams from the northern and southern hemispheres to play each other, the Gallagher Premiership and the URC expressed support for the notion of a Rugby Club World Cup last year.

Rob Penney, the new head coach of the Crusaders, will be making a return visit to his old haunts for the match in February 2024. The New Zealander coached Munster from 2012 to 2014. Penney will take over as the All Blacks coach following the World Cup, succeeding the phenomenally successful Scott Robertson.

We are delighted to welcome the Super Rugby champions to Munster, hosting a groundbreaking fixture against the Crusaders,said Ian Flanagan, CEO of Munster Rugby.

We hold a proud and rich history of playing touring sides and I've no doubt next February's game will be a special occasion for all involved.

The Crusaders are thrilled to be coming over to Ireland and the UK to face some stiff competition away from home," stated Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge.

NZ and Australian clubs have been working on the World Club Competition for years, so when an opportunity for Super teams to play Northern Hemisphere counterparts came up, it was just too good to pass up, Mansbridge stated.

More News :: Super Rugby Pacific Live Game Today

Munster is especially tough competition since they have a reputation of giving visiting teams a difficult time. Additionally, Rob Penney, our new head coach, coached there, so that's a bonus, Mansbridge added.

[recipesfromhome]

Perfect Grilled Cheese

Ah, the humble grilled cheese sandwich. So deceptively simple, yet so universally beloved. So hotly debated on Reddit. So nostalgic for so many.

It seems I'm on some sort of nostalgic foods kick. Maybe I'm just in that kind of mood lately, haha. It was raining today and yesterday, so maybe it's the weather that brings it out in me. The cold and damp just makes me want to curl up in front of the fireplace with a cup of rosemary tea and a grilled cheese.

When I was a child, my dad made our grilled cheeses on whole wheat bread with American cheese and ketchup. When I was a kid it was the best thing in the world. These days, that's... a bit conceptually gross, but I still get the craving for how those sandwiches used to taste to my undeveloped taste buds. For a long time, I wanted to recapture that feeling- make something that tastes as good to me now as crappy grilled cheese tasted to me then.

It's not as good as popping home for the weekend, but it's the closest I can get. Please enjoy a recipe for objectively flawless grilled cheese.

Perfect Grilled Cheese

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 slices sourdough bread (Any bread is fine, but I prefer something with lots of structural integrity, and I like the taste of sourdough.)

Mayonnaise

Munster cheese (enough to cover bread)

2 slices tomato (Fresh from the garden always tastes the best but any tomato is fine in a pinch)

Salt and pepper

Directions

Prepare your sandwich assembly area. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat until water splashed on the surface "dances." While pan is heating, apply mayonnaise to one side of one slice of bread. Sprinkle salt and pepper over tomato slices, to your taste. (Garlic salt could also be good here. You can never have too much garlic.)

When pan is hot: Place one slice of bread mayonnaise-side down on pan. Add a layer of cheese.

Place tomato slices on layer of cheese. Add another layer of cheese.

Add remaining slice of bread on top, then spread mayonnaise on the outside. (Note: There is a reason I recommend doing the steps in this order. Assembling the sandwich on the griddle will keep you from getting mayo everywhere and make it less messy to transfer. Sandwiching the tomatoes between the cheese ensures there is always a layer of "glue" adjacent to the bread. This will keep your ingredients from sliding around as you eat your sandwich. Mayo fries better than butter; it's tastier and burns less easily.)

Press down gently with a spatula. Cook until edges of cheese start to droop and appear slightly translucent. If you're unsure, you can flip the sandwich to check. Cooked bread should appear golden brown.

Flip sandwich. This can be tricky; a flat spatula, or pancake flipper, will make your life easier. You can also stabilize the sandwich with another spatula.

Cook until cheese is gooey or until both sides are golden brown. (Note: cook times will depend on your stove or griddle and the heat you're cooking over. Cooking your sandwich hotter will make it done faster, but using a lower heat helps avoid a sandwich that is burned on the outside and not melted on the inside.)

Cut diagonally and serve hot.

[dailyrugbytoday]

South Africa v Wales Rugby at Twickenham Stadium

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/south-africa-v-wales-rugby-at-twickenham-stadium/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/south-africa-v-wales-rugby-at-twickenham-stadium/

South Africa v Wales Rugby at Twickenham Stadium

The South African Rugby Union is in charge of the nation’s national rugby union squad, also referred to as the Springboks. The Springboks, the national animal of South Africa and a native antelope, are represented by their insignia, a green and gold jersey with white shorts. Since their first test match against a touring side from the British Isles on July 30, 1891, the team has represented South Africa in international rugby union.

In men’s international rugby union, the Welsh Rugby Union is represented by the Wales national rugby union team. The Welsh Rugby Union, which oversees the sport, was founded in 1881, the same year that Wales participated in their inaugural international match versus England. The team’s home games are held in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, which took the position of Cardiff Arms Park as Wales’ national stadium in 1999.

South Africa vs Wales Rugby

The legions of Wales rugby supporters who made the trip will recall vividly how Warren Gatland’s team destroyed Eddie Jones’ Australia with a record 40–6 victory, setting up a World Cup quarterfinal matchup with Argentina. However, Welsh rugby had a gradual downturn after that, which persisted until the end of the domestic season. Before Munster defeated the Ospreys in the quarterfinals on Friday, the team had advanced to the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs, demonstrating their radiance. News for The Daily Rugby

The men’s team from Wales dropped to 10th in the global rankings after losing to the Pumas in the global Cup quarterfinal and a convincing loss in the Six Nations to win the Wooden Spoon for the first time since 2003. In their competition, the Wales Under-20 team came in fifth place.

Wales’ women’s team mimicked the men’s team a year after placing third, topping the Six Nations table despite only managing a dramatic last-day victory over Italy.  Only Ospreys emerged from the Welsh teams who participated in the URC in the top eight, with the other teams placing far lower in the standings. Dragons finished the season in 15th position out of 16, while Cardiff finished in 12th place, one spot ahead of Scarlets.

The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals will be held in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, and it will be the first time that no Welsh team competes in Europe’s premier championship.

Given the budgetary limitations, it has turned out to be the season of difficulty that most anticipated. No matter how you spin it, Welsh rugby is still in danger. both within and without the field. Tom Shanklin, a former center for Wales, warned Scrum V that things would worsen before they get better.

For all four of the Welsh professional teams this season, just making it through could be the biggest accomplishment. David Buttress, the departing CEO of the Dragons, described how the Gwent area was on the verge of collapse last summer. During that campaign, Cardiff’s preseason consisted of just eight players, and due to roster shortages, clubs had to practice against one another.

[sftsocialnews]

Munster elected to retain Jean Kleyn (r...

[qudachuk]

The 30-year-old Munster lock represented Ireland at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

[miyamiwu]

“Hey, Munster, listen.” He pressed his forehead against Munster’s and cupped his face. “Bennett is just a guest, so I have to be polite to him...” He tried to explain things in the human world to Munster, but Munster interrupted him halfway. “I am Rand’s dog,” Munster said happily. Rand blinked. It took him a while to find the words to form a sentence. “No, no, Munster, that’s not the case.” Rand didn’t know how to explain it. Apparently, Munster had overheard his conversation with Bennett earlier. It was just that he had no idea what “dog” meant. “You’re not my dog. Listen…” “Munster is Rand’s dog.” Munster repeated earnestly. “You are not. Munster, you are not a dog. You are not a pet. You have to remember this... You are, you are...” Rand pondered for a while, then smiled gently at Munster. “You are my friend.”

I love them so much. Rand is so soft for Munster.

Disclaimer: quoted text is roughly edited mtl because this chapter isn't translated yet. Also did it on mobile, so I can’t double-check how accurate it is.

[hslades]

Rugby World Cup starterlist: 27/ ∞ : Conor Murray Age: 30 Country: Ireland Caps: 72 Club: Munster  Position: Scrumhalf

[capseycartwright]

what would a buddie rugby au look like 👀

listen. i am nothing if not a self indulgent bitch so in this au buck and eddie would be contracted to irish teams and play for the national team based on residency (best in the world, obvs, so they’d wait their three years old and get to put the green jersey on)

buck would play for leinster and eddie for munster (separate provinces) and they come together to play for ireland in the world cup and their steamy affair gets hard to hide u know?

[podcastpalace]

Ken vs Chris Sutton, 2000th Show Celebrations With Greg Louganis, Champions Cup A La Linford by The Second Captains Podcast .... Our month-long 2000th episode celebrations kicked off on the World Service last week with the big day itself and continued this week with the first of our big interviews, with Olympic diving legend and HIV/AIDS activist Greg Louganis. Ken had a barney about Martin O'Neill with Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live on Monday evening before unloading everything he wished he'd said on the World Service.  And with the Champions Cup knock-out stages starting tomorrow evening, we have some golden advice for Munster.

[dailyrugbytoday]

All You Need To Know | Munster v Stormers in Thomond Park

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/watch-munster-v-stormers-rugby-online/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/watch-munster-v-stormers-rugby-online/

All You Need To Know | Munster v Stormers in Thomond Park

This Saturday, Munster v Stormers at Thomond Park as part of the United Rugby Championship’s Fifth Round. Munster URC winners will face the Stormers finalists at Thomond Park on Saturday night. Tadhg Beirne and captain Peter O’Mahony are back in the starting lineup after their post-World Cup hiatuses.

Since the Lions defeated Munster in Johannesburg in March 2022 the province has gone undefeated in their previous six URC meetings with South African opponents.

The DHL Stormers had two wins to start their 2023–24 United Rugby Championship, but they have lost in Rounds 3 and 4.

Three straight United Rugby Championship games have never ended in a loss for the Stormers. Munster had defeated the Stormers in all three of their prior meetings including the Cape Town Final from the previous season.

Read More: Munster vs Crusaders Rugby in inaugural ‘Clash of Champions’ in 2024

Where is the game being played?

Thomond Park, Stadium in Limerick, Ireland

What time is kick-off?

The game is due to begin at 5.15pm, Saturday, November 18

How to Stream Munster v Stormers Rugby

In the UK and Ireland, the only location to watch every Munster vs. Stormers rugby match live is on Viaplay Sports, formerly known as Premier Sports. Viaplay Sports will broadcast the Stormers vs. Munster game live, commencing at 4 p.m.

If you have a contract with Sky Sports, you can add Viaplay Sports for £14.99 a month, which is also the same price with Virgin Media. If you sign up once a year, you can save £3. Alternatively, for £11.99 a month, you can directly subscribe to Viaplay Sports and watch Munster vs. Stormers rugby matches online.

Munster v Stormers Squad

MUNSTER: S Daly; C Nash, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S McCarthy; J Crowley, C Casey; J Loughman, S Buckley, J Ryan; E Edogbo, T Beirne; P O’Mahony – captain, J Hodnett, G Coombes.

Replacements: C Moore, J Wycherley, S Archer, T Ahern, J O’Donoghue, C Murray, R Scannell, A Kendellen.

STORMERS: W Gelant; B Loader, R Nel, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu, L Zas; J-L du Plessis, P de Wet; S Sithole, J Dweba, N Fouche – captain; R van Heerden, G Porter; W Engelbrecht, B-J Dixon, E Roos.

Replacements: A-H Venter, A Vermaak, B Harris, A Smith, K Morabe, H Jantjies, C Blommetjies, A Davids.

[rugbylovers]

Crocked Bok set for swift comeback Munster h... #funny #memes #sports #live #tweets #win #twitter #tweet #bet #manchester #rugbymen #rugby union #irish rugby #super rugby

[sftsocialnews]

Munster elected to retain Jean Kleyn (right) over fellow World Cup-winning second row RG Snyman (left)Munster head coach Graham Rowntree says the decision of South African World Cup winner RG Snyman to join Irish rivals Leinster was "a huge surprise".With places for non-Irish players limited, Snyman, 28, was not offered a new contract with Munster after an injury-hit three years in Limerick.Leinster announced on Tuesday the capture of the Springbok second row from next season."I'm not going to lie, [it was] a huge surprise," Rowntree said.external-link"Obviously I wasn't fully aware of where he was going. I knew there was chat of him going to Bath to see my old mate and his former coach Johann [Van Graan]. "There was chat of him going back to South Africa, but I was surprised [he went to Leinster], yeah."Heading to Munster in 2020, a year after winning his first World Cup, Snyman sustained an ACL injury on his debut for the province. Another lengthy ACL injury followed and he was limited to six appearances last season, however he returned to help Munster win the United Rugby Championship title in May. After winning his second World Cup in France in October, Snyman is now facing another spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.Munster faced a dilemma between Snyman and fellow second row Jean Kleyn, whose switch from Ireland to South African made him ineligible as an Irish-qualified player.The province could not retain two NIQ [non-Irish qualified] players in the same position and Munster elected to keep Kleyn, who came off the bench alongside Snyman for South Africa against New Zealand in the World Cup final.After being announced by Leinster, Snyman said his desire to stay in Ireland had been a major factor in his decision."It's a business, this, isn't it? I sat down with him in the first week of November, and said there wasn't a contract for him, unfortunately," Rowntree added."Within a couple of weeks this news is upon us that he's gone to Leinster. There we go, we deal with it, we row on."I have no doubt in his commitment to us to the end of the season. I've already seen that in the last couple of days in particular, I've no doubt about that commitment. It is what it is."I'm not frustrated, no. We can't determine where he goes. I'm the bloke sitting in front of him saying there wasn't anything for him."It's not like we've been out-bid by Leinster. We had nothing for him. That's business. I'm quite able to move on, I have more things consuming my mind at the moment than this." #World #Cup #winner #Snymans #move #Leinster #huge #surprise #Rowntree