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Kiran McDonald secures a temporary URC deal after Wasps redundancy

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The break-up of Lee Blackett’s out-of-work Wasps squad continued on Friday when second row Kiran McDonald became the latest to find a new employer after he was one of the 167 players and staff made redundant by the Gallagher Premiership club on October 17.

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A summer signing from Glasgow Warriors where he had been for five seasons, McDonald quickly became a Wasps first-choice as he started all four of their matches in the 2022/23 Premiership before the club fell into administration. He has now taken up a short-term deal at Munster to tide him through the winter.

A statement read: “Munster Rugby and the IRFU can confirm the short-term signing of lock Kiran McDonald as injury cover on a three-month deal. From Scotland, the 27-year-old was playing with Wasps earlier this season after making the move from Glasgow Warriors where he had been playing since 2017.

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“The second row will link up with the province this weekend. On the injury front, there was disappointment for Jean Kleyn and Tom Ahern following scan results for respective rib and shoulder injuries sustained against Leinster last weekend. Kleyn will be unavailable for the next number of weeks while Ahern is due to meet with a specialist next week.

“The duo join Fineen Wycherley (shoulder), RG Snyman (knee) and the uncapped Paddy Kelly (head) on the unavailable list, while Tadhg Beirne is with the Ireland squad for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series.”

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Confirmation that McDonald had got himself sorted out for the next few months at least came on Friday after a busy few days where other members of the redundant Wasps squad also sourced new employment. Ex-Ireland international John Ryan returned to Munster on Monday, ex-England international Brad Shields was snapped up by Perpignan on Wednesday, with Springboks prop Vincent Koch and one-time England prospect Paolo Odogwu switching to Stade Francais on Thursday.

A short-term deal was also struck for Dan Frost to link up with Exeter and he will be a travelling reserve for Friday night’s Premiership game at Gloucester. Those moves followed last week’s signing by Harlequins of Josh Bassett, Bristol’s short-term deal with Will Porter, and Racing bringing in Biyi Alo.

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f
fl 1 hour ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Why do you downplay his later career, post 50? He won a treble less than two years ago, with a club who played more games and won more games than any other team that managed the same feat. His crowning achievement - by his own admission.”

He’s won many trebles in his career - why do you only care about one of them?

I think its unsurprising that he’d feel more emotional about his recent achievements, but its less clear why you do.


“Is it FA cups or League cups you’re forgetting in his English trophy haul? You haven’t made that clear…”

It actually was clear, if you knew the number he had won of each, but I was ignoring the league cup, because Germany and Spain only have one cup competition so it isn’t possible to compare league cup performance with City to his performance with Bayern and Barcelona.


“With Barcelona he won 14 trophies. With Bayern Munich he won 5 trophies. With City he has currently won 18 trophies…”

I can count, but clearly you can’t divide! He was at Barca for 4 years, so that’s 3.5 trophies per year. He was at Bayern for 3 years, and actually won 7 trophies so that’s 2.3 trophies per year. He has been at City for 8 completed seasons so that’s 2.25 trophies per year. If in his 9th season (this one) he wins both the FA cup and the FIFA club world cup that will take his total to 20 for an average of 2.22 trophies per year.


To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. In fact by most metrics he has gotten worse!

182 Go to comments
f
fl 3 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He made history beyond the age of 50. History.”

He made history before the age of 50, why are you so keen to downplay Pep’s early career achievements? In 2009 he won the sextuple. No other manager in history had achieved that, and Pep hasn’t achieved it since, but here you are jizzing your pants over a couple of CL finals.


“If continuing to break records and achieve trophies isn't a metric for success”

Achieving trophies is a metric for success, and Pep wins fewer trophies as he gets older.


“He's still competing for a major trophy this year. Should he get it, it would be 8 consecutive seasons with a major trophy. Then the world club cup in the summer.”

You’re cherry picking some quite odd stats now. In Pep’s first 8 seasons as a manager he won 6 league titles, 2 CL titles, & 4 cup titles. In Pep’s last 8 seasons as a manager (including this one) he’s won 6 league titles, 1 CL title, & 2 (or possibly 3) cup titles. In his first 8 seasons he won the FIFA world club cup 3 times; in his last 8 seasons he’s won it 1 (or possibly soon to be 2) time(s). In his first 8 seasons he won the UEFA super cup 3 times; in his last 8 he won the UEFA super cup once. His record over the past 8 seasons has been amazing - but it is a step down from his record in his first 8 seasons, and winning the FA cup and FIFA club world cup this summer won’t change that.


Pep is still a brilliant manager. He will probably remain a brilliant manager for many years to come, but you seem to want to forget how incredible he was when he first broke through. To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. That was false!

182 Go to comments
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