Saturday 24 March 2012

Ospreys Ruffle Leinster's Feathers at the RDS

So I'm back on the blogging bandwagon, it's been too long and I think it's time to resurrect the blog by giving an account of last night's match. I was at the RDS to witness the Ospreys make Leinster suffer their first defeat at the RDS for a long time now, and at halftime it looked like we were going to cause yet more embarrassement for the Ospreys, to be fair, they haven't had a good run of late, with the Welsh rugby team making their mark as one of the strongest, clinical teams I've seen play with such grace and fluidity for the last while, the regions seem to be suffering and paling in comparison, the opposite happening with Irish rugby.

 But boy did they show me how wrong I was. The match started a little flat, to be honest I was more interested in my pint of Bulmers. The first points on the board came from penalties from Biggar and McFadden, soon Leinster had the edge at 9-3. The Leinster crowd seemed a lot more silent than usual last night with the Osprey visitors belting out a few Tom Jones specials, however, a scuffled lineout led to Ian Madigan getting his nose over the tryline for Leinster, he's some kid, and soon it was the Leinster crowd who were silencing "Delilah" with the scoreboard showing 16-6.

The Osprey boys soon closed the gap with a try from George Stowers, a nice little beauty set up by Ashley Beck. With Biggar kicking better than I've seen in a long time, the score was soon 19-16 and the visitors looked hungrier for the win. Unfortunately a TMO decision went against Leinster after Heinke Van Der Merwe tumbled over the line, it looked legitimate but the TMO said otherwise, saying it had been held up.

 McFadden's boot opened up the lead to a 6 point difference again but the Ospreys were once again on the warpath, with an unfortunate tackle on Jamie Hagan, the whole crowd were very worried but thankfully he is ok with just a rib injury and I wish him a speedy recovery. The final few minutes were Leinster's demise, a lapse in concentration saw the big man Richard Hibbard soar over the line, the TMO giving the thumbs up for a try.

The final kick from Biggar saw the most bizarre of conversions, the ball hitting the top of the left post and then popping over to give them the one point lead and the win. If we can take anything positive from this match it was this, Captain Cullen is back and the man we've all been missing, Drico. He may have only played for the guts of an hour but he looked fit and sharp, a much needed player for two weeks time for the HC quarter final. And as for the Ospreys, I'd really love to ring that bird's neck ;)
Until next time Cuige Laighean Abú

Here's a player QandA with Leinster's try scorer from last night,Ian Madigan :)

Name:  Ian madigan

Nickname: Mads

Age: 22

Hometown: Dublin

Position: 10/12/15

Caps for Leinster:  37

School:  Blackrock

how did you first get into rugby? mini rugby with my dad and brother in Belvedere rfc

do you remember your first match with Leinster,and tell us about it?last league game of the 09 season away to the dragons!only lasted a few minutes but I remember being very nervous

funniest person on team? Fergus mcf

funniest experience you've had on the pitch? Took a restart after half time against Connacht this year but the reff hadn't come out yet!got a good reception off the crowd

if you weren't playing rugby what would you be doing? Travelling the world

proudest moment with Leinster?getting to play alongside players like Shane Horgan and b o d who id always llwstched on t.v as a kid

what do you like to do outside of rugby and training? Crazy golf in dundrum!!evening course in college

best prank you've ever played on one of the boys or prank that's been done to you or another? We usually hav to give urine samples before games,Ferg pretended to trip up and spill his piss all over me but it was actually lime cordial!it got a good reception off the other lads

worst injury youve ever had in a game or seen in a game? Dislocated shoulder

Best match you've seen in the last 12 months? Hcup final last year

Most favourite try you've scored so far? V dragons this year!

Sunday 8 January 2012

The boys in blue beat the er,boys in blue!!

The match in Cardiff may have seen Leinster get the win over Cardiff but by no means was it straight forward. Leinster started with all guns blazing, taking a quick penalty tap from Eoin Reddan saw Sean O'Brien seal the deal under the posts, Kearney silenced the Cardiff crowd once more by sliding over the line, two lovely tries that Sexton had no problem in converting and giving the away team an advantage of 14-0.
This was short lived however, Leigh Halfpenny's boot was on fire last night, he's a genetic freak when it comes to long range kicking abilities, and hammered over two penalties to change Leinster's early lead to 14-6.
Just before half-time Leinster got lucky with Halfpenny narrowly missing a mammoth of a kick, however, Dan Parks and his sideburns surprised a sleepy Leinster by slicing over a cheeky drop goal to narrow the score to 14-9. Leinster answered back with a penalty successfully kicked over by Sexton.
Gordon D'arcy hasn't had the best of times of late and last night was another blow for him with what appeared to be a smack to the ribs, he was taken off with our boy Isa put on as replacement. Penalties came to  both sides with Sexton successfully slotting his over and thankfully to the Gods above Halfpenny missing some of his.
Sexton had to be taken off as a caution due to what appeared to be a leg injury but was later confirmed as cramp, better to be safe than sorry with two HC matches in the next two upcoming weeks.
The Blues reeled in the score to a one point gap with a try by Gethin Jenkins, to be honest I didn't agree with this one, from what I saw the TMO was inconclusive but then again Blues had been pushing Leinster to their limits, they dominated Leinster thereafter and I thought they may have had it for the winning, Halfpenny was given more opportunities and failed to use it to his advantage, McFadden gave Leinster a four point lead with a penalty awarded after Andrew Conway was impeded while chasing his own kick.
The final dying seconds saw Blues have advantage and it seemed the game could have been theirs until McFadden saved the day, resulting in a turnover that saw Kearney kick the ball out to let the final whistle blow with a fulltime score of 23-19, phew!
I always say a win is a win but Leinster seemed a little sluggish in their last two matches against Connacht and Blues, just hoping their blue magic is back in force this weekend! Until then, Cúige Laighéan Abú!

As we had a Welsh region this weekend, here's a Q and A with Osprey's lock Ian Gough

Name: Ian Gough
Nickname: Goffey , Van, Merv
Age: 35
Hometown: Cwmbran
Caps for Ospreys: 105
Caps for Wales: 64
School: llantarnam

What do you do for fun outside of rugby and training?
motorbikes, surfing, stand up paddle boarding , aerobatic flying and the odd game of squash

How did you get into rugby?
Was it because you were too clumsy for any other sport? ;)
All my mates played soccer but I wasn't that great to be fair! So one Sunday whilst bored my father says right you're going to play rugby , soccer kit in hand went along had my first game and boom that was it!

Who's the dimest player at the ospreys?
Well no ones too dim but Ian Evans does come up with some absolute classics at times, he borders on comedy genius but don't think he means it! (check out yantos yak!)

Gavin Henson, your thoughts??
great talent, too much is said about him , people should just let him play now and cut all this hype crap - when he puts a seasons worth of form together then we can comment

Who's the longest in the shower?
Luke charteris !!!

If you were granted three wishes what would they be?
Wish my plate is always full , glass is never empty and there's always a roof over my head - simple things for simple folk !

Best rugby moment?
Have many , any time we've won anything - leagues, cups , rep honours - 2008 grand slam sticks out though

Worst injury on the pitch? Give us all the gorey details!
Dislocated shoulder and popped ribs wasn't a pleasant experience , although James king having his ear ripped off last week beats my ones!

Worst injury off the pitch? (Clumsy!)
Ripped leg open with a stanley knife trying to cut carpet, almost took a finger off making a Dutch arrow with a Stanley knife - guess I should stay away from them eh!

Best prank you ever played on someone?
3 man lift on a mouthy mate whilst on a stag due in Amsterdam - needles to say he is still distraught

Best prank someone ever played on you?
Was working in Cardiff prison and my dad who was a warden at the time set it up for a prisoner to come in the room and start getting aggressive ! I was 17 and new pants were needed afterwards....

If you and Paddy Doherty the pikey were in a brawl, who would win?
Paddy - I'm a lover not a fighter!

Tell us a random fact about yourself?
Middle name is Mervyn after 70's welsh number 8 mervyn Davies

Funniest thing you've heard in a scrum or during a match?
Alun Wynn Jones chasing a kick running along side his opponent telling him how sexy his red boots looked!