2nd title in a row or 1st title since 2011?
Big match today to end the season promises to be a classic.
Obvs the Stormers will be favourites on their home patch but anyone who thinks Munster can’t complete what would be an unprecedented 3 away playoff wins on the bounce hasn’t been paying attention.
FWIW I reckon Graham, Peter & co will get ‘er done.
For the past few weeks we’ve been putting the matchday squads from upcoming matches through ChatGPT to see what kind of match it generates so for the record, this is what the app came up with….
PROMPT
Imagine a game of 15-a-side rugby union between DHL Stormers and Munster Rugby over two halves of 40 minutes with the two lineups outlined below, taking into account the current reputation and form of all the players involved.
DHL Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff (captain).
16 JJ Kotze, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Clayton Blommetjies.
Munster: 15 Mike Haley; 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Shane Daly; 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray
1 Jeremy Loughman, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 3 Stephen Archer; 4 Jean Kleyn, 5 Tadhg Beirne; 6 Peter O’Mahony (C), 7 John Hodnett, 8 Gavin Coombes.
16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Keith Earls
Write 2000 words on the progress of the match in the form of a timeline (no conclusion, just the timeline only) reporting incidents like tries, conversions, penalties, injuries and yellow or red cards.
0’ – The match starts with DHL Stormers kicking off to Munster.
4’ – Evan Roos makes a powerful run but is tackled by Peter O’Mahony. Stormers get penalized for holding on.
5’ – Jack Crowley kicks the penalty over and Munster take an early 3-0 lead.
9’ – A great offload from Tadhg Beirne sends Gavin Coombes over the line for a try. Crowley converts and Munster lead 10-0.
14’ – Herschel Jantjies puts in a clever chip over the Munster defense and Leolin Zas collects it, dives over the line and scores a try for Stormers. Damian Willemse misses the conversion. Munster leads 10-5.
19’ – Munster put together a great attack, Jack Crowley releases Antoine Frisch who dives over in the corner to score a try. Jack Crowley converts, Munster 17-5 up.
25’ – Evan Roos makes a break through the Munster defence, but is tackled by Diarmuid Barron. The Stormers knock on and Munster wins the scrum.
31’ – A great box kick from Conor Murray is collected by Antoine Frisch who twists and turns his way through the Stormers defence to score his second try of the match. Crowley with a great conversion extends Munster’s lead to 24-5.
36’ – The Stormers put together a number of phases and eventually Ruben van Heerden burrows his way over the line for a try. Damian Willemse converts. Munster still leads 24-12.
40’ – Half time arrives with Munster in control of the game, leading 24-12. The Stormers will need to stage a comeback in the second half to win.
45’ – The Stormers start the second half dominating the early exchanges, but are unable to convert into points.
50’ – A great break from Herschel Jantjies sends Damian Willemse over the Munster try line to score. Willemse adds the conversion. Stormers start to pull their way back into the match, Munster 24-19.
55’ – A red card for Munster! Peter O’Mahony is shown the red card for a high tackle on Herschel Jantjies. Munster will play the rest of the match with 14 men.
59’ – The Stormers capitalize on the one-man advantage with Steven Kitshoff scoring a try to level the game at 24-24. Willemse makes the conversion, Stormers in the lead for the first time in the match, 26-24.
62’ – Munster hit back with a break from Shane Daly. Antoine Frisch scores his hat-trick, with Crowley converting to give Munster the lead once again, 31-26.
68’ – The Stormers make changes, bringing on Willie Engelbrecht, Neethling Fouche and Ben-Jason Dixon.
72’ – A yellow card for Stormers’ Hacjivah Dayimani after a high tackle on Jack Crowley.
74’ – Jack Crowley slots the penalty over, increasing Munster’s lead to 34-26.
79’ – Munster on the attack, but the ball is turned over by Stormers’ Deon Fourie who makes a break. Munster penalized for holding on.
80’ – Full time! Munster Rugby hold on to win the match 34-26 over DHL Stormers.
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 