Well it's been a while since I've done a blog, bloody work has kept me so busy! The Leinster boys however have kept me thoroughly entertained for the last few weeks, their work during their Heineken Cup campaign has been fluid, I was at the Aviva to witness the hammering they gave Bath,Sexton was phenomenal,Luke Fitzgerald was undeniably one to watch for the 6 nations, he seems to have a score to settle after missing out on the RWC, and try after try I'm thinking no words were required to show Declan Kidney that the number 11 spot is still under threat. The one thing I noticed was that the entire team worked incredibly well as a unit, they were outstandingly solid, the rugby was undoubtedly world class, playing with ferocious speed and passion. The last few matches have seen Leinster finish with a very high score, crossing the 50 point barrier against both Cardiff and Bath, and more recently smashing Ulster at the RDS 42-13. The one thing that worries me is though, with still approx 5 months of the season to go, have Leinster peaked too early?? I certainly hope not, and the stuffing they gave Ulster on the 26th showed that if they keep rolling with the punches like they are, the potential to "do the double" this year may become more reality than fantasy. McFadden's kicking abilities against Ulster was better from what I've seen from him in a long time, with tries coming from all angles, the boys in blue certainly lifted the Christmas spirits, they certainly lifted mine as I toasted a G&T in their honour ;) Now let's hope they can take on Connacht in a similar fashion on New Year's day, I'll hopefully be on better blogging form :) until then Cúige Laighean Abú :)
oh and before I go, check out my Q&A with one of last weekend's try scorer's, Jamie Hagan :)
Name: Jamie hagan
Nickname: hago
Age: 24
Hometown: Balbriggan
Position: prop
Caps for Leinster: 10 I think
Caps for Connacht 50
School: Gormanston College
how did you first get into rugby?
In fourth year, went to play touch with balbriggan and went from there
do you remember your first match with Leinster and tell us about it?
Yeah it was against the dragons three seasons ago, 10 mins off the bench,was a good experience
Funniest person on Leinster team? Tom sexton (hooker) doesn't even know it!
Funniest experience you've had on the pitch or in a scrum?
While playing for Connacht Mike McCarthy told Luke Charteris he was a very naughty boy!
If you weren't playing rugby what would you like to do?
A teacher
Proudest moment with Leinster/Connacht?
Playing with Connacht was playing in the Amlin semi final against Toulon,with Leinster it was my try against Ulster
What do you like to do outside of rugby and training?
I like to cook and play guitar
Best prank you've ever played on one of the boys or prank that's been done to you or another?
Eh can't say.....!
Worst injury youve ever had in a game or seen in a game?
I've subluxed my knee cap was very sore.
Ever thought about becoming a wing after that cracker of a try against Ulster?
Eh I'd play anywhere but I think the wing is defo not for the likes of me :)
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Monday, 21 November 2011
Leinster win the battle against Warriors: Post match views
I stand corrected.
I said that Brian O' Driscoll was a central cog in the Leinster team but he certainly wasn't missed on Sunday. Eoin O' Malley stepped up to the mark and stood his ground as the number 13 for Leinster going over the line not once but twice for the boys in blue. The game opened with a penalty awarded to the Warriors against the Leinster scrum with Duncan Weir putting the first three points on the board with a belter of a kick.
Their lead was short lived however, Sexton made a sweet little kick to Nacewa, the little Fijian then pops it to the beautiful Kearney who dives over the line for an early try, Sexton converts and its now 7-3. Minutes later, Leinster earn themselves a penalty from a maul which Sexton misses, I'm pretty sure after this the whole crowd were thinking "please God, let Jonny have a good game!"
My reckoning is that the RDS's prayers were answered, another penalty comes our boys' way, and this time the foot of Jonny puts another three points on the board, 10-3. Punishment came when Toner is sent to the sin-bin, I always get nervy when a player is sent off, a player down for ten minutes is like losing a limb, although Glasgow didn't seem to take advantage of this, Weir did convert the penalty to make the score 10-6, however the next ten minutes were to see that a new centre saviour had been born and his name is Eoin O'Malley...
A mistake by Glasgow give Leinster possession, Sexton makes a quick ball to O'Malley who sneaks in under the posts, J10 converts it to make the score 17-6. But hold on a minute, O'Malley isn't finished just yet, if there's one way to silence the critics (including myself), it's to score a try in the shirt of Brian O'Driscoll, if there's one way to stun them and give them the finger it's to score a second try approx. seven minutes later while you're a man down, an offload from the Dorce sees O'Malley under the posts and Sexton converts to make it 24-6.
Glasgow are given an opportunily when they're awarded a penalty and opt for a lineout. The ball is turned over by Leinster who gain metres away from their own line, a mistake by Glasgow being offside during a ruck costs them dearly, Sexton opts to kick for a lineout and the result sees D'Arcy go over the line for a try, delighted I must say, it's good to see Dorce play well again, Sexton converts again and the HT score is 31-6, cheeky bonus point in the bag!
Glasgow set the tempo with fire (or possibly the haggis they had for breakfast) in their bellies for the second half only to be cut short by a forward pass, the penalties start to go in their way as both Sean Cronin and Cian Healy, who had been brought on for van der Merwe are punished, Glasgow opt for a scrum, Wilson is just short of the line for Glasgow but the strong Leinster defence hold him off before giving away yet another penalty.
Glasgow drove on but the whistle blows and the Leinster boys get a penalty for their efforts. Leinster make more changes in the second half, but still no score from either side, a far cry from the first half. After more scrappy play from both sides, a try is given to Glasgow for their poor efforts, Pyrgos gets under the posts and is converted to make the score 31-13.
A final try from Boss (obviously his magic powers weren't concealed in his mullet after all) which is converted by Madigan cancels out the try by Glasgow and finishes the match with a final score of 38-13, job done. It really was a one half wonder but with 5 points taken from this game, do we really care?! ;)
I said that Brian O' Driscoll was a central cog in the Leinster team but he certainly wasn't missed on Sunday. Eoin O' Malley stepped up to the mark and stood his ground as the number 13 for Leinster going over the line not once but twice for the boys in blue. The game opened with a penalty awarded to the Warriors against the Leinster scrum with Duncan Weir putting the first three points on the board with a belter of a kick.
Their lead was short lived however, Sexton made a sweet little kick to Nacewa, the little Fijian then pops it to the beautiful Kearney who dives over the line for an early try, Sexton converts and its now 7-3. Minutes later, Leinster earn themselves a penalty from a maul which Sexton misses, I'm pretty sure after this the whole crowd were thinking "please God, let Jonny have a good game!"
My reckoning is that the RDS's prayers were answered, another penalty comes our boys' way, and this time the foot of Jonny puts another three points on the board, 10-3. Punishment came when Toner is sent to the sin-bin, I always get nervy when a player is sent off, a player down for ten minutes is like losing a limb, although Glasgow didn't seem to take advantage of this, Weir did convert the penalty to make the score 10-6, however the next ten minutes were to see that a new centre saviour had been born and his name is Eoin O'Malley...
A mistake by Glasgow give Leinster possession, Sexton makes a quick ball to O'Malley who sneaks in under the posts, J10 converts it to make the score 17-6. But hold on a minute, O'Malley isn't finished just yet, if there's one way to silence the critics (including myself), it's to score a try in the shirt of Brian O'Driscoll, if there's one way to stun them and give them the finger it's to score a second try approx. seven minutes later while you're a man down, an offload from the Dorce sees O'Malley under the posts and Sexton converts to make it 24-6.
Glasgow are given an opportunily when they're awarded a penalty and opt for a lineout. The ball is turned over by Leinster who gain metres away from their own line, a mistake by Glasgow being offside during a ruck costs them dearly, Sexton opts to kick for a lineout and the result sees D'Arcy go over the line for a try, delighted I must say, it's good to see Dorce play well again, Sexton converts again and the HT score is 31-6, cheeky bonus point in the bag!
Glasgow set the tempo with fire (or possibly the haggis they had for breakfast) in their bellies for the second half only to be cut short by a forward pass, the penalties start to go in their way as both Sean Cronin and Cian Healy, who had been brought on for van der Merwe are punished, Glasgow opt for a scrum, Wilson is just short of the line for Glasgow but the strong Leinster defence hold him off before giving away yet another penalty.
Glasgow drove on but the whistle blows and the Leinster boys get a penalty for their efforts. Leinster make more changes in the second half, but still no score from either side, a far cry from the first half. After more scrappy play from both sides, a try is given to Glasgow for their poor efforts, Pyrgos gets under the posts and is converted to make the score 31-13.
A final try from Boss (obviously his magic powers weren't concealed in his mullet after all) which is converted by Madigan cancels out the try by Glasgow and finishes the match with a final score of 38-13, job done. It really was a one half wonder but with 5 points taken from this game, do we really care?! ;)
Other Results
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Saturday, 19 November 2011
Leinster Pucker Up for a Glasgow Kiss: Leinster V Warriors Preview
I'll keep this preview short and sweet as I'm sure I'll have plenty to say in my post match analysis! With Munster making it two from two games in their HC pool,all thanks to ROG's spectacular drop goal technique, it looks like Leinster need to step up their game this weekend or else they'll be left with a face redder than the Munster home jersey. The sweet advantage is that they're on home ground at the RDS, a place where Leinster have punished their visitors, particularly in the HC, if Glasgow can do this, they're doing pretty darn well it has to be said, Leinster haven't lost a HC match to anyone at home in the last two years.
Warriors got the better of Leinster in the Pro12 only a couple of months ago beating them 23-19, but can they give the same performance tomorrow against the current HC champions?? It's hard to predict this, the only thing is, both teams will have players who were away at the time of the RWC when the two teams last met, so there may be different dynamics involved.
Over 17,500 tickets have been sold, so it's sure to have an explosive atmosphere, I unfortunately won't be there as I was supposed to be working but they changed my shift last minute so now I'm not working and ticketless for the game :( If anyone wants to take me though, feel free! :)
This week sees Eoin O'Malley take the number 13 jersey in place of Drico, nothing against O'Malley at all, he's a great player, but I'm just hoping that now that Drico has had the Op that he'll be back well before April and fighting fit please God, he really is an important cog in the Leinster force that keeps them going strong. Other changes from last week see Sean Cronin starting instead of Richardt Strauss, well earned in my opinion, the boy played a stormer against Montpellier and I reckon his try booked him a place in the starting 15.
Reddan starts alongside Sexton, with Boss on the bench, I actually prefer this if I'm honest, Boss its a gutsy player but I just think Reddan starting is a good omen, Boss is a great man to finish what Redser starts, I just feel Reddan's got the XFactor when it comes to the battle of the scrum-halves. One other change sees Toner starting, I think it's only fair considering he was crowned Bank of Ireland Player of the Month, well deserved!
So here's to looking forward to 12.45pm tomorrow, more than likely I'll be sitting on my own in a pub waving a tiny Leinster flag :) Until then Cúige Laighean Abú!!!
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Eoin O'Malley
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Eoin Reddan
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Sean Cronin
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Devin Toner
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Richardt Strauss
17: Cian Healy
18: Nathan White
19: Rhys Ruddock
20: Shane Jennings
21: Isaac Boss
22: Ian Madigan
23: Fionn Carr
GLASGOW WARRIORS:
15: Stuart Hogg
14: Tommy Seymour
13: Peter Murchie
12: Graeme Morrison
11: Colin Shaw
10: Duncan Weir
9: Chris Cusiter
1: Ryan Grant
2: Pat MacArthur
3: Mike Cusack
4: Richie Gray
5: Al Kellock CAPTAIN
6: Rob Harley
7: John Barclay
8: Ryan Wilson
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Finlay Gillies
17: Jon Welsh
18: Ed Kalman
19: Tom Ryder
20: Henry Pyrgos
21: Chris Fusaro
22: Federico Aramburu
23: Troy Nathan
REFEREE: Andrew Small (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Martin Fox, Roy Maybank (both RFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Kevin Beggs (IRFU), 5th OFFICIAL: Brian MacNeice (IRFU), TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
Warriors got the better of Leinster in the Pro12 only a couple of months ago beating them 23-19, but can they give the same performance tomorrow against the current HC champions?? It's hard to predict this, the only thing is, both teams will have players who were away at the time of the RWC when the two teams last met, so there may be different dynamics involved.
Over 17,500 tickets have been sold, so it's sure to have an explosive atmosphere, I unfortunately won't be there as I was supposed to be working but they changed my shift last minute so now I'm not working and ticketless for the game :( If anyone wants to take me though, feel free! :)
This week sees Eoin O'Malley take the number 13 jersey in place of Drico, nothing against O'Malley at all, he's a great player, but I'm just hoping that now that Drico has had the Op that he'll be back well before April and fighting fit please God, he really is an important cog in the Leinster force that keeps them going strong. Other changes from last week see Sean Cronin starting instead of Richardt Strauss, well earned in my opinion, the boy played a stormer against Montpellier and I reckon his try booked him a place in the starting 15.
Reddan starts alongside Sexton, with Boss on the bench, I actually prefer this if I'm honest, Boss its a gutsy player but I just think Reddan starting is a good omen, Boss is a great man to finish what Redser starts, I just feel Reddan's got the XFactor when it comes to the battle of the scrum-halves. One other change sees Toner starting, I think it's only fair considering he was crowned Bank of Ireland Player of the Month, well deserved!
So here's to looking forward to 12.45pm tomorrow, more than likely I'll be sitting on my own in a pub waving a tiny Leinster flag :) Until then Cúige Laighean Abú!!!
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Eoin O'Malley
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Eoin Reddan
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Sean Cronin
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Devin Toner
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Richardt Strauss
17: Cian Healy
18: Nathan White
19: Rhys Ruddock
20: Shane Jennings
21: Isaac Boss
22: Ian Madigan
23: Fionn Carr
GLASGOW WARRIORS:
15: Stuart Hogg
14: Tommy Seymour
13: Peter Murchie
12: Graeme Morrison
11: Colin Shaw
10: Duncan Weir
9: Chris Cusiter
1: Ryan Grant
2: Pat MacArthur
3: Mike Cusack
4: Richie Gray
5: Al Kellock CAPTAIN
6: Rob Harley
7: John Barclay
8: Ryan Wilson
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Finlay Gillies
17: Jon Welsh
18: Ed Kalman
19: Tom Ryder
20: Henry Pyrgos
21: Chris Fusaro
22: Federico Aramburu
23: Troy Nathan
REFEREE: Andrew Small (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Martin Fox, Roy Maybank (both RFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Kevin Beggs (IRFU), 5th OFFICIAL: Brian MacNeice (IRFU), TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
Sunday, 13 November 2011
My Heineken Cup Hangover: A round-up of all four Irish provinces
Ow my head.
I don't know whether it's the after effects of red wine or the sheer panic that Leinster almost suffered a defeat at the hands of Montpellier only for Jonathan "cool as a fish's fart" Sexton's dying seconds penalty to go safely over the posts that has me feeling a little tender today. From the start Montpellier went at it with all guns blazing, the pool C clash saw Sexton edging the lead with two penalties in the first few minutes with a retaliation from the French boys to make it 6-3.
A block from the French side resulted in a try by Fulgence Ouedraogo, the Montpellier captain had now given them the lead, his try being converted by Benoit Paillaugueto give the home side a lead of 13-6 at the half-time break. Their devil-may-care attitude saw them almost go over the line in the first few moments of the second half, Leinster got lucky by turning it in their favour but were severely punished by conceding a penalty and the boot of Trinh-Duc made it 16-6.
If there's one thing about Leinster, it's a good strong comeback, winning the Heineken Cup twice in three years isn't an easy task and Leinster seem to fight tooth and nail when their backs are up against the ropes. At the 66th minute, Sean Cronin, who had come on to replace Richardt Strauss got over the line and with a conversion from Sexton, the boys from our fair city were now just three points down after a dismal first half. It was shit or get off the pot time when a final penalty was awarded to the Leinster lads against Remy Martin, Sexton, the little hero that he is, put another three points on the board from a tight angled penalty to upset the apple-cart and give a final score of 16-16, not the finest of matches by a long shot but better than going home humiliated!
The 11/11/11 saw Connacht open their HC campaign against Quins, they got off to a great start and really put the pressure on, the opening score came with a penalty taken by Nick Evans for Quins, minutes later Nikora levelled the score for Connacht, Connacht were then penalised for being off-side, Evans kicked to make it 6-3 and put Quins back in front.
A try coming from Tiernan O’Halloran and converted by Nikora saw Connacht take the lead at 10-6 before another penalty was awarded to Quins and Evans brought the score back to a one point difference. A try came for Quins when Karl Dickson shot over the line, with Evans' conversion and yet another penalty, the home team took the lead to 19-10 at half-time.
The second half saw Gavin Duffy find his voice and silence the Quins crowd by bringing the team from the whesht of Ireland back into it, O'Connor converted to bring the score to 19-17. Connacht gave away the match by giving away two more penalties, which saw Evans pop them neatly over the posts giving a final score of 25-17.
Over at Ravenhill, Ulster were busy entertaining Clermont, an early penalty for the French visitors saw Parra chip it over, veering over too far, and letting the Ulstermen breathe a sigh of relief. They weren't so lucky when Noa Nakaitachi got through the Ulster defence to put five points on the board. Parra couldn't kick a habit and the conversion didn't come for the Frenchies.
The first points for Ulster came for a penalty on Clermont's behalf when they couldn't hold up in the scrum and Humphries kicked over the posts to make it 5-3. They couldn't hold onto this two point difference however and a penalty awarded to Clermont saw Skrela kick for three points making the score 8-3.Two more penalties on either side saw a half-time score of 11-6.
The second half went in Ulster's favour, after missing one penalty, Humphries made sure he didn't miss the next and brought the score to 11-9. The kicker then went over the line and converted his own try to make it 16-11, final score.
Possibly one of the best matches of the weekend was the meeting of Munster and finalists Norhampton Saints at Thomand Park. If ever there was a man who can handle pressure it's Ronan O' Gara. The game was opened up with a try by Damain Varley and a conversion by ROG, Saints retaliated with Ashton (ugh) going over the line minutes later but Dougie Howlett cancelled that one out just before the half-time whistle blew. Ryan Lamb kicked over two penalties for the Saints in the first half also, leaving the score 14-13 in Munster's favour.
The second half was another scorcher with James Downey going over the line for Saints, no conversion this time and the Saints now led 18-13. The Munster men dug in deep after a lineout taken by Varls and Donnacha Ryan led a strong maul over the line for another try converted by ROG, the score standing at 20-18. The cat and mouse game continued with Lamb throwing over another three points and again Saints led 21-20. The final clincher came when the winking wizard himself did what he does best and pulled a move that we've rarely seen since Ireland beat Wales for the Grandslam in '09, a wonderful drop goal attempt gave the Munster lads a last second victory, winning 23-21 and giving Limerick something to shout about. I had to include the youtube video as I could not stop laughing at the commentating hahahaaa! All in all, two wins, one draw and one loss wasn't too bad for the first matches of the HC, roll on next week I say, better go iron my kilt for our showdown with Glasgae!! ;) Until then Cúige Laighean Abú!!!
I don't know whether it's the after effects of red wine or the sheer panic that Leinster almost suffered a defeat at the hands of Montpellier only for Jonathan "cool as a fish's fart" Sexton's dying seconds penalty to go safely over the posts that has me feeling a little tender today. From the start Montpellier went at it with all guns blazing, the pool C clash saw Sexton edging the lead with two penalties in the first few minutes with a retaliation from the French boys to make it 6-3.
A block from the French side resulted in a try by Fulgence Ouedraogo, the Montpellier captain had now given them the lead, his try being converted by Benoit Paillaugueto give the home side a lead of 13-6 at the half-time break. Their devil-may-care attitude saw them almost go over the line in the first few moments of the second half, Leinster got lucky by turning it in their favour but were severely punished by conceding a penalty and the boot of Trinh-Duc made it 16-6.
If there's one thing about Leinster, it's a good strong comeback, winning the Heineken Cup twice in three years isn't an easy task and Leinster seem to fight tooth and nail when their backs are up against the ropes. At the 66th minute, Sean Cronin, who had come on to replace Richardt Strauss got over the line and with a conversion from Sexton, the boys from our fair city were now just three points down after a dismal first half. It was shit or get off the pot time when a final penalty was awarded to the Leinster lads against Remy Martin, Sexton, the little hero that he is, put another three points on the board from a tight angled penalty to upset the apple-cart and give a final score of 16-16, not the finest of matches by a long shot but better than going home humiliated!
A try coming from Tiernan O’Halloran and converted by Nikora saw Connacht take the lead at 10-6 before another penalty was awarded to Quins and Evans brought the score back to a one point difference. A try came for Quins when Karl Dickson shot over the line, with Evans' conversion and yet another penalty, the home team took the lead to 19-10 at half-time.
The second half saw Gavin Duffy find his voice and silence the Quins crowd by bringing the team from the whesht of Ireland back into it, O'Connor converted to bring the score to 19-17. Connacht gave away the match by giving away two more penalties, which saw Evans pop them neatly over the posts giving a final score of 25-17.
Over at Ravenhill, Ulster were busy entertaining Clermont, an early penalty for the French visitors saw Parra chip it over, veering over too far, and letting the Ulstermen breathe a sigh of relief. They weren't so lucky when Noa Nakaitachi got through the Ulster defence to put five points on the board. Parra couldn't kick a habit and the conversion didn't come for the Frenchies.
The first points for Ulster came for a penalty on Clermont's behalf when they couldn't hold up in the scrum and Humphries kicked over the posts to make it 5-3. They couldn't hold onto this two point difference however and a penalty awarded to Clermont saw Skrela kick for three points making the score 8-3.Two more penalties on either side saw a half-time score of 11-6.
The second half went in Ulster's favour, after missing one penalty, Humphries made sure he didn't miss the next and brought the score to 11-9. The kicker then went over the line and converted his own try to make it 16-11, final score.
Possibly one of the best matches of the weekend was the meeting of Munster and finalists Norhampton Saints at Thomand Park. If ever there was a man who can handle pressure it's Ronan O' Gara. The game was opened up with a try by Damain Varley and a conversion by ROG, Saints retaliated with Ashton (ugh) going over the line minutes later but Dougie Howlett cancelled that one out just before the half-time whistle blew. Ryan Lamb kicked over two penalties for the Saints in the first half also, leaving the score 14-13 in Munster's favour.
Friday, 11 November 2011
It's Game On at Stade de la Mosson
Bonjour! Bonjour! Here's to my brutal French and to hopefully a great weekend of Heineken Cup rugby. All four Irish provinces go into battle this weekend, my main focus being Leinster overthrowing Montpellier, nobody, especially the current holders, want to lose a first round match, and with France coming second in the RWC, French teams are no doubt riding high on the crest of the rugby wave.
When Leinster lifted the Heineken Cup this year, it will be a day that I will never forget, a few tears were shed for different reasons, 1) I was sitting in a bar where nobody except for myself and Ruth Melody were remotely interested in the match, 2) I was studying for my pharmacy pre-registration exam and I was an emotional and hormonal wreck and 3) I wasn't in Cardiff when I should of been (stupid exam getting in my way!) Nevertheless it was a great day and I went home to my books with a spring in my step.
Now its starting all over again and by no means will Leinster have it easy, Montpellier are the runners up to Stade de France in the Top 14, from watching French teams in the past I've noticed that they are opportunists, they take advantage of every penalty that goes their way, nothing is wasted, I remember being at the Aviva watching Leinster play Toulouse in the HC semi-final, a penalty given to Toulouse, it hits the post and bounces back, a lovely take by Florian Fritz and he pops it over the line for a try while Leinster stand there with their pants around their ankles. A lucky bounce for them some might say but in my opinion there is no such thing as a lucky bounce for those prepared to chase.
Last week's clash with Munster showed that there was still a stale smell of RWC hangover off the boys, the rustiness and the mistakes need to be ironed out or Montpellier will punish us, our scrum set seems mildly weakened by the absence of Nathan Hines, he was such a great asset to Leinster and Devin Toner has some very big boots (or possibly small, the guy is 6ft10!) to fill if he wants to partake in the second row. Damian Browne comes into the side instead of Toner so let's hope he has something to say in the scrum tomorrow.
With Drico out with a shoulder injury until April (that is a very bitter pill to swallow), it looks like McFadden has claimed the centre spot, he partners D'Arcy again with Sexton and Boss acting as 10 and 9 respectively.
Another blow came when Cian Healy gained an injury during training this week, as a caution the Leinster management decided to play Heinke van der Merwe alongside Richardt Strauss and Mike Ross. Final change sees Kevin McLaughlin starting instead of Shane Jennings, with all other players from last week's Pro12 game remaining unchanged.
The other provinces go head to head also with Connacht kicking off their campaign against Harlequins tonight, lets hope the luck of 11-11-11 is with them! Ulster take on Clermont at Ravenhill while Munster take on finalists Northampton Saints at Thomand Park.
So fingers crossed it'll be a positive weekend for the four proud provinces of Ireland and to anyone who speaks fluent French... J'espère que vous apportez votre jeu parce que le Leinster va vous apporter leur bande idiote de grenouilles...ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!! ;)
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Damian Browne
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16; Sean Cronin
17: Jack McGrath
18: Nathan White
19: Devin Toner
20: Shane Jennings
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley
Montpellier:
When Leinster lifted the Heineken Cup this year, it will be a day that I will never forget, a few tears were shed for different reasons, 1) I was sitting in a bar where nobody except for myself and Ruth Melody were remotely interested in the match, 2) I was studying for my pharmacy pre-registration exam and I was an emotional and hormonal wreck and 3) I wasn't in Cardiff when I should of been (stupid exam getting in my way!) Nevertheless it was a great day and I went home to my books with a spring in my step.
Now its starting all over again and by no means will Leinster have it easy, Montpellier are the runners up to Stade de France in the Top 14, from watching French teams in the past I've noticed that they are opportunists, they take advantage of every penalty that goes their way, nothing is wasted, I remember being at the Aviva watching Leinster play Toulouse in the HC semi-final, a penalty given to Toulouse, it hits the post and bounces back, a lovely take by Florian Fritz and he pops it over the line for a try while Leinster stand there with their pants around their ankles. A lucky bounce for them some might say but in my opinion there is no such thing as a lucky bounce for those prepared to chase.
Last week's clash with Munster showed that there was still a stale smell of RWC hangover off the boys, the rustiness and the mistakes need to be ironed out or Montpellier will punish us, our scrum set seems mildly weakened by the absence of Nathan Hines, he was such a great asset to Leinster and Devin Toner has some very big boots (or possibly small, the guy is 6ft10!) to fill if he wants to partake in the second row. Damian Browne comes into the side instead of Toner so let's hope he has something to say in the scrum tomorrow.
With Drico out with a shoulder injury until April (that is a very bitter pill to swallow), it looks like McFadden has claimed the centre spot, he partners D'Arcy again with Sexton and Boss acting as 10 and 9 respectively.
Another blow came when Cian Healy gained an injury during training this week, as a caution the Leinster management decided to play Heinke van der Merwe alongside Richardt Strauss and Mike Ross. Final change sees Kevin McLaughlin starting instead of Shane Jennings, with all other players from last week's Pro12 game remaining unchanged.
The other provinces go head to head also with Connacht kicking off their campaign against Harlequins tonight, lets hope the luck of 11-11-11 is with them! Ulster take on Clermont at Ravenhill while Munster take on finalists Northampton Saints at Thomand Park.
So fingers crossed it'll be a positive weekend for the four proud provinces of Ireland and to anyone who speaks fluent French... J'espère que vous apportez votre jeu parce que le Leinster va vous apporter leur bande idiote de grenouilles...ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!! ;)
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Damian Browne
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16; Sean Cronin
17: Jack McGrath
18: Nathan White
19: Devin Toner
20: Shane Jennings
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley
Montpellier:
1.Naama Leleimalefaga - 2.Agustin Creevy - 3.Maximiliano Bustos - 4.Mickael De Marco - 5.Thibaut Privat - 6.Fulgence Ouedraogo (capitaine) - 7.Mamuka Gorgodze - 8.Masi Matadigo - 9.Benoit Paillaugue - 10.François Trinh-Duc - 11.Yoan Audrin - 12.Santiago Fernandez - 13.Geoffrey Doumayrou - 14.Timoci Nagusa - 15.Lucas Amorosino
Replacements:
16.Rassie Van Vuuren - 17.Mikheil Nariashvili - 18.Giorgi Jgenti - 19.Drikus Hancke - 20.Rémy Martin - 21.Julien Tomas - 22.Paul Bosch - 23.Martin Bustos Moyano
REFEREE: Dave Pearson (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: David Rose, Paul Dix (both RFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Arnaud Blondel (FFR), 5th OFFICIAL: C. Clave (FFR), TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Fever in the Aviva 2: The Aftermath
Praise Lord Jesus, Hallalujah! So one of my predictions was right after all, it looks like the good Lord answered my prayers about Sexton's kicking abilities, the match was all about penalties including a penalty try awarded to Munster in the final dying minutes of the match. The game began as the usual scrappy affair, it didn't have the usual "Umph" that these historic clashes usually have, and within the first few minutes, Earlsy came out worst in what looked like a highball tackle and had to be carried off. I do feel sorry for the chap as he won't be running to Champion Sports any time soon to stock up on Nikey Air Maxs, poor soul! I do hope he has a speedy recovery however.
With Earlsy off, Danny Barnes came bouncing on and soon ROG was putting the first three points on the board, however this 3 point lead didn't last too long, the Leinster forwards made sure of that by punishing Munster into giving away a penalty and soon the boot of Sexton made it all square again.
Munster brought on O'Mahoney and Coughlan with about half and hour to go to see if they could throw a spanner in the works, they didn't, and the possible highlight of the game came when the beautiful left foot of Rob Kearney smashed over a drop goal attempt from approx. 30 metres to throw another three points on the board for the home boys. Now Dublin City could finally hear the Aviva's Roar, Leo the Lion beat his drum to the echos of the crowd as finally, after about 55 minutes of play, something worthy of a cheer happened and Leinster were now leading 21-12.
All in all it wasn't a bad game, the rugby wasn't it's usual standard in my opinion and I reckon there's still a bit of RWC hangover looming over both sides. Whatever the reason, I know this much is true, the Heineken Cup campaign for Leinster kicks off next week against Montpellier and if they want to defend their title they are going to have to sober up and play more fluid and clever rugby, if there's one thing a French team can do it's play clever and entertaining rugby, let's just hope that the blue magic will be fully back so that they aren't given that chance :)
Until then....Allez Les Bleus!! ;)
With Earlsy off, Danny Barnes came bouncing on and soon ROG was putting the first three points on the board, however this 3 point lead didn't last too long, the Leinster forwards made sure of that by punishing Munster into giving away a penalty and soon the boot of Sexton made it all square again.
With an infringement by Donnacha Ryan, Pascal Gauzere's whistle sounded once again, giving Sexton the chance to take the lead for Leinster, and that he did, his kicking was on form again last night, missing none of the seven penalties that Leinster were awarded, a complete turnaround from the RWC where he might as well have been pissing into the wind with the kicks he was producing. Last night saw Sexton and ROG play a game of cat and mouse, earning points for both their teams, mistakes were being made by both teams for being offside and scrums that couldn't handle the opposing front rows, this favoured in Sexton's advantage and he opened the gap to make it 15-9 at the halftime break.
The beauty about a match like this is that it's very rare it will go the full 80 minutes without the handbags being drawn and a few explicits being exchanged. Three cheers for Conor Murray trying to take on Sean "The Tullow Tank" O' Brien (seriously,what was he thinking!), a few more players get involved and you have yourself a grand old fisti-cuffs, tensions and passions are always at a maximum between these two teams but I fear that if Murray tries his luck with O'Brien the next time, he'll be found hanging by his cacks at the top of the posts...just a warning. ;)
The second half opened up with a firey start by Munster, Paulie O' Connell made yards for his province and Munster's fast paces began to put the Leinster defence under immense pressure, the whistle blew again and let ROG kick to make it 15-12. Lukey Fitz managed a great run which ended in a penalty going Leinster's way and Sexton's boot opened up the score to a six point lead once again at 18-12.
Nacewa, who was fairly silent (just like the crowd at the Aviva) during the first half, made a dash for the line in the second half, it looked promising for the flighty Fijian until he was battered by the Munster defence into the fair right corner, so close! Munster brought on O'Mahoney and Coughlan with about half and hour to go to see if they could throw a spanner in the works, they didn't, and the possible highlight of the game came when the beautiful left foot of Rob Kearney smashed over a drop goal attempt from approx. 30 metres to throw another three points on the board for the home boys. Now Dublin City could finally hear the Aviva's Roar, Leo the Lion beat his drum to the echos of the crowd as finally, after about 55 minutes of play, something worthy of a cheer happened and Leinster were now leading 21-12.
A yellow card for Denis Leamy saw another penalty come Leinster's way with Sexton swinging it in the right direction, the gap now opening to 24-12. Minutes later, ROG suffered his first blow of the match by missing a penalty but squeaky bum time came when Munster got a penalty just yards from the Leinster line, ROG opted to kick it into the corner for a lineout, this happened about three times in succession for Munster but the Leinster defence held on strong although Heaslip and his fluorescent green boots (I'm still seeing spots in front of my eyes) were sent to the sin-bin, regardless of this mishap, Munster couldn't get to grips with the Leinster defence and were given a good old ass smacking when a penalty went against them and in Leinster's favour.
It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Red Army as they were awarded a penalty try with about five minutes to go before fulltime, Jamie Hagan came on for Mike Ross and the penalty try came just inches from the tryline with the Munster scrum bitch-slapping the Leinster one. ROG converted to make it a final score of 24-19.All in all it wasn't a bad game, the rugby wasn't it's usual standard in my opinion and I reckon there's still a bit of RWC hangover looming over both sides. Whatever the reason, I know this much is true, the Heineken Cup campaign for Leinster kicks off next week against Montpellier and if they want to defend their title they are going to have to sober up and play more fluid and clever rugby, if there's one thing a French team can do it's play clever and entertaining rugby, let's just hope that the blue magic will be fully back so that they aren't given that chance :)
Until then....Allez Les Bleus!! ;)
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Burning up for Fever in the Aviva 2
Ok ok, my first blog so please be gentle(!), I thought I'd give my point of view on what will potentially be a scorcher (see what I did there!) of a game, the Rumble in the Jungle,the Clash of the Titans, the Fever in the Aviva, call it what you like, but the meeting of Leinster and Munster has always been a historic occasion, a blood bath with a score to settle.
As a proud Leinster fan, I naturally have blue magic coursing through my veins, but I'll try not to be bias, well for the moment at least! The last two head to heads at Thomand Park have seen Munster come out on top, seeing them crowned the then Magner's League champions, they certainly wiped the smile off Leinster and Leinster fans' faces (there may have been tears....) and ruining my "Joe Schmidt walks into a bar" joke thoroughly! (For those that haven't heard it, the punchline is "I'll have a Heineken and a Magners please bartender",ruined!!)
But let the past be the past, and let's focus on the game in question, over 46,000 tickets have been sold, the third largest attendance in league history ,game on, last year's record attendance was 50,645 against Munster in the Aviva Stadium (2nd October 2010) and the previous record crowd of 48,000 attended 'The Last Stand' against Ulster in Lansdowne Road (31st December 2006). Cullen our captain leads the way, with Healy,Strauss and Ross smashing it up in the front row, two out of the three of those being the epi-centre of our scrums at the RWC, with Strauss being no slouch either, the boy works hard and I admire him for his supposed cheeky comeback to the "adorable" Chris Ashton during the HC final: Ashton-"Can't believe you got smashed by our 10"
Strauss-"Can't believe you're 10 points down...!!" Classic!
To be fair, Munster's front row are not what you'd like to meet walking down a lane way to Coppers on a Friday night, with two Bokkies Wian du Preez and new boy BJ Botha partnering Damian "for the XFactor" Varley (If you've seen the videos from the RWC you'll understand, the man can sing!) ,my advice to the Leinster boys is this, have your crash helmets ready because you're in for a rough ride.
Second row sees Cullen, Toner, The Tullow Tank and Jennings, with Heaslip bringing up the rear (no pun intended), opposing them are the tag team that are O'Callaghan and O'Connell, both played tremendously well during the RWC, I think I actually turned to my dad during the Aus game saying "Jaysus Paulie has the look of menace in his eyes, looks like he'd eat Chuck Norris right about now! Alongside them are Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan and Denis Leamy, ousting Peter O'Mahony and James Coughlan respectively. When two lads like Donners and Paulie gel and play well together, they're like an unstoppable force, when they don't play well, cracks start to appear,and penalties are dished out (usually because of Paulie's hand in the ruck!), this could be an advantage for Leinster and J10's kicking boots (although he seemed to misplaced those during the RWC,poor lad), let's be honest J10 plays better in a Leinster jersey than an Irish one, he could have kicked that ball through the eye of a needle during the HC final, when the boy is on form he is on form, the only thing is his opposition is ROG, the master of the boot, the winking wonderboy himself (take that Chris Ashton) he could kick the arse off a donkey and get way with it, I remember sitting in Thomand Park last season during the league, a very close game, Leinster give away a penalty, it was a tight one, I kept thinking "miss it you b"$%*rd", no such luck, when the pressure is on, ROG rises to the challenge, a very cool, calm and collected individual that he is.
Isaac Boss (doesn't he look great since he got rid of the mullet?) comes into the Leinster side to act as Sexton's wingman, with Conor Murray as scrum-half for Munster. With Reddan as replacement for Boss, the New Zealand born lad can get a good run out, especially as he had his ass parked on the bench for most of the RWC, Conor Murray on the opposite side had in my opinion, a great RWC, the youngster of the Irish pack, he dug in deep, even scoring a disallowed try against the Aussies, but can he withstand the maturity and experience of both Boss and Redser??
With Drico out due to a whack to the shoulder, it looks like McFadden has his spot as the lucky number 13 (let's just hope he isn't a triskaidekaphobic) alongside Gordon D'Arcy, making up the centre partnership. I'm just hoping Dorce is back on form, the guy hasn't played fluid rugby for a while, he fumbled a lot during the RWC and a cheeky try from him would boost the confidence no end.
Fitzgerald and Nacewa make up the wings, although I will miss Shaggy at 14 (I think it's his beautiful flowing dark locks), I know Nacewa can cause an upset, let's be honest, the man is a legend, Fiji's loss is our gain, he scored some absolute belters during the HC campaign and you would think the man had played GAA for Dublin the way he catches a high ball, add that with his speed and agility and it equals a real crowd pleaser with echos of "ISA! ISA! ISA!" all across the Aviva stadium. Rob "too beautiful" Kearney is back in action again as full-back, and he really is back with a bang it has to be said, let's just hope Johne Murphy doesn't try to mangle his pretty face tomorrow as the opposite 15, Murphy is a real livewire and he can easily match the fast paces of Kearns, there'll be a power struggle for possession between these two and Murphy will have the backing of Howlett, Chambers, Mafi, and Earls. Earlsy had an truly amazing RWC, he made it over the try line on numerous occasions, my favourite being his celebratory "let's all take the piss out of Chris Ashton" dive across the line, a pure dangerman against Leinster, the Moyross man has some superb pace and if he gets a sniff of freedom at all or sees any gaps left open by the (usually) solid Leinster defence then he'll take full advantage and I have no doubt that he'll be putting points on the board for Munster.
LEINSTER:
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss
1: Cian Healy
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Devin Toner
6: Sean O'Brien
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Sean Cronin
17: Heinke van der Merwe
18: Jamie Hagan
19: Kevin McLaughlin
20: Rhys Ruddock
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley
MUNSTER: Johne Murphy; Doug Howlett, Will Chambers, Lifeimi Mafi, Keith Earls; Ronan O'Gara, Conor Murray; Wian du Preez, Damien Varley, BJ Botha; Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell CAPTAIN; Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy
REPLACEMENTS: Denis Fogarty, Marcus Horan, John Hayes, Peter O'Mahony, James Coughlan, Tomas O'Leary, Ian Keatley, Danny Barnes
REFEREE: Pascal Gauzere (FFR), ASSISTANT REFEREES: David Wilkinson, Simon McDowell (both IRFU), 4th OFFICIAL: John Montayne (Leinster Rugby Referees), 5th OFFICIAL: Tom Tuohy (Leinster Rugby Referees), TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)
As a proud Leinster fan, I naturally have blue magic coursing through my veins, but I'll try not to be bias, well for the moment at least! The last two head to heads at Thomand Park have seen Munster come out on top, seeing them crowned the then Magner's League champions, they certainly wiped the smile off Leinster and Leinster fans' faces (there may have been tears....) and ruining my "Joe Schmidt walks into a bar" joke thoroughly! (For those that haven't heard it, the punchline is "I'll have a Heineken and a Magners please bartender",ruined!!)
But let the past be the past, and let's focus on the game in question, over 46,000 tickets have been sold, the third largest attendance in league history ,game on, last year's record attendance was 50,645 against Munster in the Aviva Stadium (2nd October 2010) and the previous record crowd of 48,000 attended 'The Last Stand' against Ulster in Lansdowne Road (31st December 2006). Cullen our captain leads the way, with Healy,Strauss and Ross smashing it up in the front row, two out of the three of those being the epi-centre of our scrums at the RWC, with Strauss being no slouch either, the boy works hard and I admire him for his supposed cheeky comeback to the "adorable" Chris Ashton during the HC final: Ashton-"Can't believe you got smashed by our 10"
Strauss-"Can't believe you're 10 points down...!!" Classic!
To be fair, Munster's front row are not what you'd like to meet walking down a lane way to Coppers on a Friday night, with two Bokkies Wian du Preez and new boy BJ Botha partnering Damian "for the XFactor" Varley (If you've seen the videos from the RWC you'll understand, the man can sing!) ,my advice to the Leinster boys is this, have your crash helmets ready because you're in for a rough ride.
Second row sees Cullen, Toner, The Tullow Tank and Jennings, with Heaslip bringing up the rear (no pun intended), opposing them are the tag team that are O'Callaghan and O'Connell, both played tremendously well during the RWC, I think I actually turned to my dad during the Aus game saying "Jaysus Paulie has the look of menace in his eyes, looks like he'd eat Chuck Norris right about now! Alongside them are Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan and Denis Leamy, ousting Peter O'Mahony and James Coughlan respectively. When two lads like Donners and Paulie gel and play well together, they're like an unstoppable force, when they don't play well, cracks start to appear,and penalties are dished out (usually because of Paulie's hand in the ruck!), this could be an advantage for Leinster and J10's kicking boots (although he seemed to misplaced those during the RWC,poor lad), let's be honest J10 plays better in a Leinster jersey than an Irish one, he could have kicked that ball through the eye of a needle during the HC final, when the boy is on form he is on form, the only thing is his opposition is ROG, the master of the boot, the winking wonderboy himself (take that Chris Ashton) he could kick the arse off a donkey and get way with it, I remember sitting in Thomand Park last season during the league, a very close game, Leinster give away a penalty, it was a tight one, I kept thinking "miss it you b"$%*rd", no such luck, when the pressure is on, ROG rises to the challenge, a very cool, calm and collected individual that he is.
Isaac Boss (doesn't he look great since he got rid of the mullet?) comes into the Leinster side to act as Sexton's wingman, with Conor Murray as scrum-half for Munster. With Reddan as replacement for Boss, the New Zealand born lad can get a good run out, especially as he had his ass parked on the bench for most of the RWC, Conor Murray on the opposite side had in my opinion, a great RWC, the youngster of the Irish pack, he dug in deep, even scoring a disallowed try against the Aussies, but can he withstand the maturity and experience of both Boss and Redser??
With Drico out due to a whack to the shoulder, it looks like McFadden has his spot as the lucky number 13 (let's just hope he isn't a triskaidekaphobic) alongside Gordon D'Arcy, making up the centre partnership. I'm just hoping Dorce is back on form, the guy hasn't played fluid rugby for a while, he fumbled a lot during the RWC and a cheeky try from him would boost the confidence no end.
Fitzgerald and Nacewa make up the wings, although I will miss Shaggy at 14 (I think it's his beautiful flowing dark locks), I know Nacewa can cause an upset, let's be honest, the man is a legend, Fiji's loss is our gain, he scored some absolute belters during the HC campaign and you would think the man had played GAA for Dublin the way he catches a high ball, add that with his speed and agility and it equals a real crowd pleaser with echos of "ISA! ISA! ISA!" all across the Aviva stadium. Rob "too beautiful" Kearney is back in action again as full-back, and he really is back with a bang it has to be said, let's just hope Johne Murphy doesn't try to mangle his pretty face tomorrow as the opposite 15, Murphy is a real livewire and he can easily match the fast paces of Kearns, there'll be a power struggle for possession between these two and Murphy will have the backing of Howlett, Chambers, Mafi, and Earls. Earlsy had an truly amazing RWC, he made it over the try line on numerous occasions, my favourite being his celebratory "let's all take the piss out of Chris Ashton" dive across the line, a pure dangerman against Leinster, the Moyross man has some superb pace and if he gets a sniff of freedom at all or sees any gaps left open by the (usually) solid Leinster defence then he'll take full advantage and I have no doubt that he'll be putting points on the board for Munster.
So the scene is set for yet another unpredictable squeaky bum clincher, the D4-Tress stands waiting with bated breath as to who will take the glory, it may only be a league match but it is so much more than that, I hope and pray that our Sexton's on fire tomorrow night, at the end of the day, this game could quite easily be won on penalty kicks alone and we need Jonny boy to be on top form. Whatever the outcome I know that no amount of Calpol six plus is going to quench the fever for the Aviva I have right now, the only cure is to see Leinster win on home turf (now I'm being bias!) and if they can't do that and Munster come out on top, well, fair enough I suppose, the main thing is, be it Leinster or be it Munster, one of them has to ruffle some feathers and get the Ospreys off the top of the table, come on lads, it's time to knock that bird off its pirch.... ;)
15: Rob Kearney
14: Isa Nacewa
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Luke Fitzgerald
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss
1: Cian Healy
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Devin Toner
6: Sean O'Brien
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jamie Heaslip
REPLACEMENTS:
16: Sean Cronin
17: Heinke van der Merwe
18: Jamie Hagan
19: Kevin McLaughlin
20: Rhys Ruddock
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley
MUNSTER: Johne Murphy; Doug Howlett, Will Chambers, Lifeimi Mafi, Keith Earls; Ronan O'Gara, Conor Murray; Wian du Preez, Damien Varley, BJ Botha; Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell CAPTAIN; Donnacha Ryan, Niall Ronan, Denis Leamy
REPLACEMENTS: Denis Fogarty, Marcus Horan, John Hayes, Peter O'Mahony, James Coughlan, Tomas O'Leary, Ian Keatley, Danny Barnes
REFEREE: Pascal Gauzere (FFR), ASSISTANT REFEREES: David Wilkinson, Simon McDowell (both IRFU), 4th OFFICIAL: John Montayne (Leinster Rugby Referees), 5th OFFICIAL: Tom Tuohy (Leinster Rugby Referees), TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)
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