I have been really impressed with Billy Holland so far this season. In the Ulster game he was the "go-to" jumper on all critical balls in the second half and some of his work in the loose has been a joy to behold (one particular charge and off-load against the Dragons stands out).
Does he have enough in his locker to keep out Ryan and POC when/if they return? Possibly not, but on current form he can only be lauded for a series of strong performances.
Have a good long hard look at the Clermont v Montpellier game and you will see as the game wears on Montpellier tackling with all the power of a new born. Will a thin red line containing POM, Ryan, POC, Casey, Dougie and Downey be so supine? What do you think? Let's see how handy ASM are after getting smashed backwards for forty minutes
http://www.eamorugby.com @eamorugby
He's 27(according to the deadsite) and many locks don't start hitting their stride until about that age(D.Ryan being the most recent). The vast majority of his game time has been occasional 'B' squad appearances against poor opposition in the CL during the AI's and 6N's.
Now that he's getting game time with almost full strength squads one week after another, he really seems to be growing in confidence and showing how important he's going to be for us over the next few years.
He decided to stay with Munster when they offered him a new contract despite the fact he really wasn't getting much game time which tells me that he really wants to play for Munster. Many other players would have looked elsewhere and who could blame them. I really hope he can kick on and be a very regular starter for us and I trust Penney to give him important game time and not just the November/March appearances we have grown accustomed to.
Agreed. It's funny how the improvements in his play have almost snuck up on us as spectators - we've been focusing a lot on the young back rowers and the nifty moves we've started seeing behind the pack, but Holland has often been portrayed on here as merely a backup, almost a "well someone has to stand there" type of player. I didn't hold quite such a dim view of him myself, but didn't think of him as being central to our squad either. I quite like the fact that for four games in a row now, he's been steadily confounding those preconceptions. More power to him.
Never mind perception because it isn’t real. It’s only what people think. Go out and make them think something else.
- Alan Quinlan on believing in yourself
delighted for Billy, has been Mr. reliable in the last two games in particular ... showed some good work both in the tight and the loose when he linked up with cawlin on the left wing (unfortunately thats when cawlin picked up d knock), absolute gent off the pitch too
Jandek must be chewing on nails
I am the million man.
Yeah I've been impressed with Billy - always has a good attitude and is really making the most of the starts he's getting thsi season
I realised I was dyslexic when I went to a toga party dressed as a goat
He looks bigger.
\"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness\".
Dalai Lama
He was an Academy player of the year a few years ago .. and captained the B&I side for a while as well, but this season has been a definite step-up from him, hope it will continue for him. The one time I met him he came across as an intelligent, well grounded, decent young fella.
Plato: \"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.\"
seen him roaring the head of Butler last sat night in the 1st half when one of the forwards got isolated. Seemed to be telling him he should have been over on the far side of the field to help clear out instead of the other wing waiting for the ball to come back. Seems like a bit of the leader. I think its just another position we have this year where there is a good reliable cover for the 1st choice player.
After all the hype around Toner and Roux, I'd take BH any day over them!
"The Munster fans are probably the best fans in Europe in any sport" - John Hayes. 26/12/2011 after his last ever match.
Realistically, DOC isn't going to be around for ever and with all the cotton wool POC, DR and DOC will be wrapped in there will be chances in the second row for Billy beyond this very impressive early season for him. He has plenty game time ahead of him though with the likes of Nagle around he'll have to keep it up.
He's grown into the position with Micko off in the sunset. To my eyes so far he's been a level above his own performances and Micko's from last season. He's the prime example so far of what happens when a guy is given a fair shake and a run of games.
Also he's bigger (as is most everyone of the playing staff) so that's helping him hugely.
To The Brave and the Faithful, Nothing is Unpublishable.
He does a lot of work around the pitch, Also great physicality, and good hands.
THE IRISH WOULD HAVE RULED THE WORLD, IF THEY NEVER INVENTED THE PUB
And folks here were calling for a clear out of the "dead wood". Hopefully BH's performances will change their minds.
When things go wrong, blame McGahan
I'm far from being a love-one-love-all individual, but it is refreshing to see a thread full of positivity about a player. Long may it continue.
I suspect that BH will be the first to recognise his game has room for improvement, but long may his performances keep building on the standard set over the first four weeks of this season.
Have a good long hard look at the Clermont v Montpellier game and you will see as the game wears on Montpellier tackling with all the power of a new born. Will a thin red line containing POM, Ryan, POC, Casey, Dougie and Downey be so supine? What do you think? Let's see how handy ASM are after getting smashed backwards for forty minutes
http://www.eamorugby.com @eamorugby
Folk here call for an awful lot of nonsense daily.Originally Posted by B.A.
p.s. Holland seems to have stepped up his game considerably this season.
Yeah, found that all a bit distasteful. Why would anyone be hoping that young men lose their jobs and their dreams? Some short memories on show.
Holland has been very good so far. He's a bit more effective in the tight than Micko and his passing and support-play in open-field has been a revelation. He's never going to be brilliant in the lineout, but with options like Butler, O'Callaghan and O'Mahony, that's less important than it might be.
Ya, his pass to Keatley behind the first wave of backs for Ronan's try was the making of that try. No doubt it was a set move but still, it's not easy to pass behind out of your eyeline to a player coming from deep, and for a second row he did great. Same for Zebo's try, trucked up well, had a look, waited for Earls, and then popped a deft reverse offload. Has showed some great skills. The head on him after he went for that 50 yard territorial kick against Ulster was priceless; Hand-up immediately! Don't think we'll be seeing one of those again from him this season. Leave them to Paddy Butler!!!
Billy has had a really good start to the season,he will get a lot of gametime this year when internationals are away and the rest,making the hec cup squads is the target but would probably have to push DOC out in the cold when Paulie comes back,not an easy job either with the start Doc has had
I have to say I'm well impressed with Holland. His pass, on Saturday to Keatley which lead to the second try was top drawer, (I couldn't see Micko executing such a pass).
I love the forwards = backs and visa versa style Penney is adopting. Holland's take from a somewhat isolated O'Gara, his awareness of space and offload in the tackle was breathtaking in the lead up to Zebo's try.
Tommy O'Donnell - David Wallace Mk. 2.
Filling the gap left by Micko impressively
Hip Flasks at the ready, double for a Stringer ankle tap!
From the Examiner
Unlike the Ospreys, Munster have hit the ground running — the only loss was by a point, away to Ulster — and Penney has heaped praise on second-row Billy Holland for his role in helping the team move forward so well.
"He is someone who goes under the radar a little bit and yeah, we’re really happy with him, he has got a really good long-term future, he has such a high work rate. He is a smart kid and does everything really nicely and I think there will be some improvement in his game yet."
Although Holland is a bit shorter than other top class second-rows, Penney figures he makes up for that through his high work rate and street credibility. "With the dynamic nature of young loose forwards coming through, long term Billy is going to be in the middle row," he said.
"He is someone who goes under the radar a little bit" - BH will have to stoop a lot lower to get under the radar of this forum's users.
Have a good long hard look at the Clermont v Montpellier game and you will see as the game wears on Montpellier tackling with all the power of a new born. Will a thin red line containing POM, Ryan, POC, Casey, Dougie and Downey be so supine? What do you think? Let's see how handy ASM are after getting smashed backwards for forty minutes
http://www.eamorugby.com @eamorugby
That comparison is well made, I don't think I'm by any means the only one who has made the point that he's potentially the new MOD, not so much in terms of national squad, but in terms of being the rock bed of the Munster squad. Won't ever be a POC or Ryan or DOC but without guys like him who stick in these kind of performances in the less glamorous games the squad doesn't function. Guys like him will make the difference between what happened in the past when we fielded almost C sides with youngsters and fringers that had no real expectations and what's happened this season where every side we put out is competing as a Munster side.
\"A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard-pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as Battlefield Earth.\"
Wondered how many posts into this thread it'd take before the dreaded "MOD role" surfaced. Billy has played well this season and I'd rather respect his ambition to challenge for spots in the big game than try to slot him into view of a glorified reserve team captain. It looked for a long time that D.Ryan would be the "MOD role" player too.
Billy excellent so far - way better hands than Micko as witnessed by try on Saturday.
Definite role for him.
Would be interesting to see who said what. Consistency is not a trait associated with your average
Hello friends in Brussels. Baldy here
This crossed my mind too.
No self-respecting professional sports player wants the ''Micko Role''. They are professional sports people because they are competitive people and always strive to be the best.
Can I just say on this, Micko probably contributed more to the HEC success than POC or DOC considering their missing the regular league games that built momentum, the injuries etc. It's not meant as a disrespectful comment at all or a limited ambition. It wasn't for a sympathy vote MOD got player of year or made captain in those games or gets mentioned by so many players as being the heart beat of Munster rugby. If you take Ireland out of the equation it's the MOD's of the squad that have made Munster successful.
\"A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard-pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as Battlefield Earth.\"
Realised and appreciated EO, my point is that professional sports people want to reach the top of their sport and I really doubt BH is sitting there thinking 'Wow I hope I get to the stage in my career where the internationals push me out of the squad when they're around and I primarily play Rabo games against mostly inferior opposition with maybe 15-20 mins in the occaisional HEC game.'
'
That isn't meant as disrespectful to MOD in any way, I more than appreciate the graft he's put in with Munster over the years
Essentially I'm trying to say is that I hope we see far more of BH than we did of Micko under Dumpers Reign of Mediocrity.
Last edited by Kevy-Wevz; 27th-September-2012 at 18:58.
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