October. The
month of the witching hour, ghouls, and the biggest Thriller since 1983:
Leinster V Munster.
Every
year the Aviva stands like a bubbling cauldron, releasing magical experiences
for all who are immersed inside. Since 2010 the Aviva has played host with
attendances averaging over 46,000, a prestigious number for an inter-pro, one
of which rivals that of a test game.
With
numbers aside, the anticipation and rivalry of the annual clash seems to have
simmered in recent years, so what has changed?
Not
the competitiveness for starters. The game itself will hopefully bring a flurry
of tries and tribulations, the annual meeting has been dominated by Leinster in
the last few seasons but with Munster devouring Ulster at home last week, it
would be prudent to think that this year would be in Leinster's favour.
Unfortunately
the crowd-pleaser that most wanted to see will not be happening. With Sexton a
no-show this evening, the much sought after dual with Carbery will have to be
postponed for another occasion. European rugby fixtures commence in less than a
week and the priority to rest certain players has become paramount. The iconic
picture of Sexton aggressively shouting in Ronan O' Gara's face has now been
eclipsed by the dream of European glory. Leinster have decided to change 11
players from their win over Connacht, resting players such as Furlong, Larmour
and Ringrose, something that would have been unheard of back in 2009 for this
particular fixture with Munster.
Leinster veteran Rob
Kearney hits a landmark tonight with his 200th cap for his province, with Luke
McGrath on the bench hopefully earning his centennial.
A
strong Munster side are locked and loaded with Stander and Beirne starting and
O' Mahoney at the helm. The try-scoring machine Dan Goggin who put two past a
deflated Ulster starts also, a dangerous man to have on the field, no doubt Leinster will be watching their
backs.
With
four wins out of five for Leinster and three out of five for Munster so far this season in the Pro14, the odds
seem to be in Leinster's favour but no matter how civil the relationship
between both provinces has become, the rivalry for bragging rights will always
come ahead of the game, Munster are due a win and Leinster know this, without a
doubt there will be fireworks aplenty tonight.
LEINSTER: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Rory O’Loughlin, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jack McGrath, James Tracy, Michael Bent; Devin Toner, James Ryan, Rhys Ruddock (C), Dan Leavy, Seán O’Brien.
Replacements: Seán Cronin, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Mick Kearney, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Noel Reid, Dave Kearney.
MUNSTER: Andrew Conway; Darren Sweetnam, Sammy Arnold, Dan Goggin, Keith Earls; Joey Carbery, Alby Mathewson; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Peter O’Mahony (C), Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, James Cronin, Ciaran Parker, Billy Holland, Chris Cloete, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Rory Scannell.
Italia '90: David O'Leary's penalty kick and Packie Bonner's iconic save, Jackie Charlton's heroic army brought our little nation to a standstill and George Hamilton's words would forever be immortalised in the beating hearts of every Irish man, woman and child, "A Nation Holds It's Breath..." The day that saw Ireland go through to the quarter finals of a World Cup.
Tomorrow, a different type of World Cup will embark upon us. Unlike the aforementioned, Irish Rugby is no stranger to reaching a quarter final, from 1987-2011 (apart from 2007 where Ireland where eliminated in the pool stages) Ireland have never progressed passed a quarter final.
Nothing to be ashamed of, of course, but having reached a historic ranking of 2nd in the world this year and now currently ranked 6th after two defeats to Wales and England, the big exam question needed answering is, can the class of 2015 graduate to a semi-final position or will Groundhog Day come to snarl at Ireland's World Cup dreams yet again?
Looking at Ireland's current form, they have been exceptional under Joe Schmidt's reign. The Schmidt Era has seen Ireland win back to back six nation championships but recent warm up games have shown slight disorganisation amongst the ranks, still no reason to panic, some say it may be a ploy to throw the opposition off the scent or as a precautionary to avoid any injuries or maybe Ireland just take that little bit longer to gel together, whatever it is, one thing is certain, there will be no more warm up games and Ireland need to utilise their match time against Canada and Romania to find their feet.
With all this in mind, who will be the key players for Ireland in the hunt for world cup glory? Sexton for starters that's who. If Sexton were to be compared to a chessboard piece it would be the Queen, Sexton is versatile, powerful and lethal, a useful mastermind to winning any game, but there's a catch, this mostly happens when Sexton is not on flying form, anything less than 100% from the number 10 and the process as a whole becomes flawed, cracks can be seen in the Irish play, and dynamics change. Checkmate.
Not to say that Ireland winning a game is based on Sexton's level of play alone, it's not, and the pressure to guide a game must be truly phenomenal, Sexton cannot do it alone however, step forward captain Paul O' Connell, the powerhouse of the Irish rugby team, he is set to become the only Irish player to have played in four world cups, ever the professional, the Munster lock provides stability to the pack, he digs deep, if ever there was a player to nearly break his own body in half for the sake and love of the game, it's O'Connell, his tackling ability is scary and sometimes he uses other players as human battering rams (remember Zebo) in order to break down the opposition's defence, his only flaw might be that on occasions he can't keep his hands out of a ruck, but like a kid with a cookie jar, if nobody notices and you can get away with it, is anybody really going to tell?
A third set piece who stands out is veteran Rory Best, a cog in the wheels of motion that keep the Irish team going forward, this forward seems to get better each year, who could forget the time he cleared out a ruck with a broken arm against New Zealand, for a Hooker he has pace, a trait that has seen him crash down over the whitewash on numerous occasions, the Poyntzpass native is like a jack of all trades, good at scrum time, gets around the field of play in epic fashion and has overcome injuries time and time again to be one of Ireland's notable players of all time. Stand Up for the Ulsterman.
The only and maybe most important flaw that Best could carry to the world cup (and let's hope not) is his ball handling skills, sometimes Irish lineouts suffer if he can't get his head in the game, opposing teams can feed off on this and many a lineout can be lost, losing out on advantage gained previously towards the try line.
These three giants of Irish rugby along with the other 28 chosen warriors could potentially help lead Ireland through to their best world cup to date, a hard task and something we, as a nation will fully get behind, one thing is for sure though, if Ireland do successfully reach the quarter final stage, this country, whether from holding it's breath or in mourning, is going to be turning some sort of shade of blue.
This has been an
issue for quite some time. It raised its ugly head a few years back and has continued to worm it's way into the lives
of those who live for rugby, racial slurs, player abuse and booing have become
the epicentre surrounding those who allegedly label themselves "real
fans". Professional rugby players
are so called because they get paid to play rugby, at the end of the day it is
their job, yet if they make a slip up people make it their business to harass,
name call, abuse and annoy the player.
Put it into context, if you made an error in work you
may get a small slap on the hand from the boss but you certainly don't have to
put up with abuse from thousands of irate twitter trolls who think they'll get
a reaction from calling someone a disgusting name.
One could argue that they are in limelight and
shouldn't set up a Facebook or Twitter account if they don't want themselves
open to such abuse, but they are normal people who do their job the same as
everyone else, with sport there will always be highs and lows and that is the
beauty of rugby, the unpredictability of it is what makes us sit on the edge of
our seats in wonder and awe at how a game can have a complete turnover within
the dying seconds of the ticking clock.
A handling error
by Jamie Heaslip in the dying seconds against Northampton certainly did not
warrant a barrage of abuse, and in most circumstances, from his own
"fans". The language used is not one to be repeated but calling
someone "fat", "slow" and "useless" while you
have your own derrière parked on your own couch is cowardly, if you think that
about a player, why not address him face to face and have your say?
With the majority of people signed up to at least one
social networking site, it is now easier to have access to a player than ever
before and for some they see this as a safety net for their abuse. You would
have to have been living underground this Summer not to have witnessed
"BODgate" when Brian O'Driscoll was dropped by Lions coach Warren
Gatland for the third test during the Lions Tour. Within seconds of this news
hitting the fans, a media frenzy ensued; the storm in a teacup became well and
truly stirred and blown out of proportion, with a whirlwind of abuse against
both O'Driscoll and Gatland.
For some fans, they expressed their sadness for
O'Driscoll because in their eyes they witnessed a legend at his lowest point
but others took it that step further, abusive and racial comments were thrown
about between nations, nations that were supposedly united as one were now
fighting like teenage girls over who the best looking One Direction boy is,
this didn't just include the fans, pundits had their fair share to say too.
Irish fans not only set upon Gatland with threats but
also decided to have a go at Jonathan Davis by threatening to break his legs,
an innocent bystander whose only crime was being given the number thirteen
jersey. Welsh fans were not so innocent either, recently O'Driscoll made light
of the fiasco in a tweet after Mirror Football had tweeted that he'd been
sacked as manager of Bristol football club, Brian retorted with "Next
thing I know I won't be playing for Wales against Australia this weekend!"
Some saw the funny side of this as it was the same week that Ireland had lost
to New Zealand and Brian picked fun at the fact that his week couldn't get any
worse, it may have even been a jibe at the media, however for others though
they saw this as a smart comment, it may well have been but it did not warrant
one welsh fan tweeting O'Driscoll and calling him a "bitterc**t", a
d**k and a c**k but when challenged by other twitter users, he retracted back
into his shell saying he thought O'Driscoll was a legend. As individuals we are
entitled to an opinion but hurtful language is not an opinion, it's abuse.
It is not just social networks were these plastic fans
cultivate. The Leinster Vs Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium on the 14th
December 2013 brought out the worst of them. One cannot accuse the Leinster
fans for booing because a real Leinster fan stays quiet and respectful when the
opposition's kicker is going for the posts, a real Leinster fan does not goad
his/her own players while they fight for 80 minutes against a team who are
hungry to save face and restore pride after a gruelling defeat the previous
week, and a real Leinster fan does not abuse the referee, some calls may not
have been the most appropriate but to win a match you must put that aside and
up your game. These fans are quite literally "Event" fans, as in,
they show up at bigger matches or finals and reap the rewards that Leinster
give them and if Leinster lose they see it fit to throw abuse at players and
management, after all, they didn't pay "€75 a ticket to watch a load of
sh*te and should have stayed at home!" So why didn't you then?? Real fans
pay up to and over €420 for a season ticket, they sit in the freezing cold
clutching a hot cup of coffee screaming on the lads, they celebrate every try
as if it were a cup final and they never leave before the final whistle.
This has only touched the tip of the iceberg but for
every Twitter troll or plastic fan out there, there are ten real fans who see a
match day as a family day out, a chance to welcome visitors from other parts of
the globe and show them hospitality, sport is there to be enjoyed, with the
fans of both teams respecting each other and having respect for those who are
putting their bodies on the line playing week in week out for their team, to
put it simply by quoting a famous Welsh referee
With just four days between two games, Gatland's Lions will once again roar into battle, this time against the Queensland Reds, captained by legendary Quade Cooper, who left many shocked when he was not selected to be part of the Australian Wallabies team to face the Lions in two weeks time. Cooper is without doubt a master at his game, he is a terrific service man to the Reds and has been all season, he aids in their success having played tremendously at number 10 for the majority of his team's matches. Having played with the Reds since he was 15 years old, Cooper is no stranger to the club, he oozes vitality and leadership and is said to be honoured with the captaincy.He will no doubt have looked back on the previous games that the Lions have played and with experience and strategic implementation could prove a threat to the Lions, a dangerman in the field like this will mean that the Lions will need to up their tactics.
Along with Cooper also starts 9 capped Australian players, this Reds team want to make history by being the first provincial team to beat a touring Lions team since 1971, if they succeed they will be deemed heroes in their own right and will will put a severe dent in the Lion's plans to come back to the Northern Hemisphere undefeated Down Under. The Lions team with the exception of Rob Kearney have all had a chance to show Gatland why they were selected to go to Australia, Sam Warburton captains the side tomorrow and it goes without saying that it will be Last Chance Saloon for many of them. Competition for test positions has never been more of a headache and if Gatland doesn't see consistency within players then they may say goodbye to starting in two weeks.
With injury stricken Cian Healy cleared of all biting allegations, it all ended bitter sweet when a scan on his ankle clarified that it would be the end of his Lions tour and putting him on a flight back home this Sunday. With Gethin Jenkins cautioned after it was revealed that he was suffering from tightness in his calf, it looks as though Mako Vunipola will start tomorrow and it's believed that Glasgow Warrior's Ryan Grant will be flown in to replace the injured Healy. Both Bowe and Tuilagi will once again start against the Reds after playing Western Force on Tuesday. Bowe scored a fine try but still looks to be a little sluggish since returning from injury, in previous matches in the Pro12 and recently in the Pro12 final, his usual encounters with the high balls have not been pristine, knock ons have occured once to often and mistakes like that tomorrow may give the Reds something to ponder on. Tuilagi on the other hand is going from strength to strength, his partnership with O'Driscoll was poetry in motion, his offloads immaculate and tomorrow sees him in the centre with Davies, both players possess animalistic qualities, a dog eat dog approach to rugby and will tyrannically destroy all opposition that get in thie way.
Tomorrow Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane will be the awash with 40,000 plus Reds fans cheering on their beloved team. Just like Moses led his people, so too will Quade Cooper, although parting the Red Sea that will come crashing down on him and his fourteen men may prove a little more difficult!
St.George Queensland Reds 1. Ben Daley (58 Reds - 3 Wallabies) 2. James Hanson (50 Reds - 1 Wallabies) 3. Greg Holmes (103 Reds - 13 Wallabies) 4. Adam Wallace-Harrison (vc) (32 Reds) 5. Ed O’Donoghue (40 Reds) 6. Eddie Quirk (27 Reds) 7. Beau Robinson (35 Reds - 1 Wallabies) 8. Jake Schatz (47 Reds) 9. Nick Frisby (16 Reds) 10. Quade Cooper (c) (87 Reds - 38 Wallabies) 11. Luke Morahan (44 Reds - 1 Wallabies) 12. Anthony Faingaa (58 Reds - 23 Wallabies) 13. Ben Tapuai (38 Reds - 7 Wallabies) 14. Rod Davies (43 Reds - 1 Wallabies) 15. Ben Lucas (60 Reds) 16. Albert Anae (15 Reds) 17. Sam Denny (Queensland debut) 18. Jono Owen (Queensland debut) 19. Radike Samo (32 Reds - 23 Wallabies) 20. Jarrad Butler (12 Reds) 21. Jono Lance (18 Reds) 22. Mike Harris (30 Reds - 8 Wallabies) 23. Dom Shipperley (33 Reds - 8 Wallabies)
British & Irish Lions 15. Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors/Scotland) 14. Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 13. Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers/England) 12. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets/Wales) 11. Tommy Bowe (Ulster/Ireland) 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) 9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England)
1. Makovina Vunipola (Saracens/England) 2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers/England) 3. Matt Stevens (Saracens/England) 4. Richie Gray (Scotland) 5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers/England) 6. Dan Lydiate (Dragons/Wales) 7. Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues/Wales) 8. Tangaki Taulupe Faletau (Dragons/Wales) Replacements 16. Richard Hibbard (Ospreys/Wales) 17. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers/England) 18. Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales) 19. Paul O'Connell (Munster/Ireland) 20. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys/Wales) 21. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland) 22. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster/Ireland) 23. George North (Scarlets/Wales
OK let's be frank, the first two games for the British and Irish Lions has not been much more than a stretch of the limbs for a majority of the players, yes, it has been two high scoring wins for the Lions but come the first test, these boys will need to remember that it won't be second string cubs they will be playing like those of Western Force, who by any recognition gave a valiant effort against a star studded Lions side led by Brian O' Driscoll.
The Force was with Western briefly at times, they managed to sneak 17 points passed the Lions but their lack of discipline and a vacant defence line meant that the Lions pushed forward with intensity to hack up 69 points onto the scoreboard, when looking at this one may think this is a cause for celebration but realistically, the Lions were expected to go over the centennial mark, especially playing such a weakened side. Key players from the Force team were apparently resting for a Super Rugby clash against the Waratahs, inexperienced youths stood in their places instead, talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
However, with Captain Drico at the helm, he kept his cool and showed exactly why this is his fourth tour, going over the try line not once but twice. Anyone would be convinced that this man could quite literally find a needle in a haystack the way he finds and utilises space, his first try contained all the ingredients necessary to show that even with men outside his vicinity he confidently went it alone, crashing into the corner, using every inch to guarantee his teammates and the crowd that the number 13 is still etched firmly on his back, well, for the time being anyway. It kills me to say this but he was unfortunately, non-existent up until that try, something you don't want on a tour when you are a veteran like O'Driscoll, especially with fresh meat like Davies breathing down your neck, sniffing at the chance for a test match start or two.
Speaking of fresh, young, talented Welshmen, the highlight of the game was Leigh Halfpenny's stunning ability to kick from any direction he was given. He kicked 11 from 11, not even breaking a bead of sweat in the process, very different circumstances I'm sure for Sexton and Farrell who must be sweating buckets after watching the Cardiff Blues fullback hammer each kick neatly over the posts with grace. Halfpenny is possibly one of Europe's finest fullbacks and even with Rob Kearney injured he could still be the number one to start all three test matches, he truly is a prodigy and the fans really get their money's worth watching his raw talent and flare.
So what about Cian Healy? One must feel sorry for the guy to be fair. IF and that's a big if, he did bite Brett Sheehan then it's game, set, match for him and yes his consolation prize should be a plane fare home to Dublin, but looking at the footage it is hard to say what has happened. Healy came out of the tackle looking the worst out of it, nobody in the rugby world likes to see any player from any background carted off on the stretcher, especially in their first Lion's tour, something that is a great honour to any rugby union player. Let's just hope the allegations are false and Healy's leg is on the mend.
Other players that shone through on the night were Dan Cole, Sean O' Brien, Jonny Sexton, Jamie Heaslip and Manu Tuilagi. Cole was impeccable at the breakdown while O'Brien prowled on the attack in a consistent manner, Heaslip used momentum and sheer force to keep the game ticking over, while Tuilagi played distinctively well with O'Driscoll, his offloads to Drico were precise and gave the crowd something to smile about. Sexton was probably the best on the field for the night that was in it, his natural way of both play on the field and his kick to touch were top notch and he silently steered the game in the right direction, allowing the superb backline to be unleashed onto the opposition.
So two down and the next match is Saturday against the Reds. Some suggest that the Lions aren't up to scratch, it should be taken into account that these lads are still gelling, getting to grips with how each other plays and building up comradery within the camp. Plus with injury a vital point to avoid during these early games, some may not want to blow a gasket too soon. This may come with a price however, test positions are up for grabs, think of it as a "X-Factor for rugby" scenario and Gatland a Simon Cowell persona. Now is the time to shine because if they don't there's going to be a few very warm benches around Australia in about two weeks time, and I don't mean because of the weather....
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!
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!
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 :)
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'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)
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!!!
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 quevous apportez votrejeu parce quele Leinstervavous apporterleurbandeidiotede 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
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.
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!! ;)
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.
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.... ;)
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)
