Happy Christmas everyone!

Ulster spare Irelands blushes in a challenging weekend for rugby here!

 

 Luke Fitzgerald

Well, Leinster had the task of getting Ireland of to a good start this weekend…and couldn’t. They had a smashing first half, absolutely hammering away at Toulon, and profiting. They took on Toulon at the breakdown, and beat them at their own game. Ruddock had a fantastic match, he’s a powerhouse – tackling, carrying the ball up, and making a great break. I’d say really, although we lost, very few players had a bad match. We struggled in two areas – we didn’t have the quality of replacements in the scrum – Marty Moore struggled when Ross went off – is Furlong not second choice now? And out and out, we struggled with their size, too many tackles on huge huge men eventually took its toll. I’m probably on my own here, we’re nowhere near where we should be, but we’re on our way up again. Sexton is getting some form, and Fitzgerald has never played better. Time to forget about the Champion’s cup, and get our season underway in the PRO 12.

Ulster are a team on the up, after a so so start to the season, they’ve come roaring back, very few teams beat Toulouse home and away. Huge character from the Ulstermen to get this win, and keep themselves in the hunt. I have the feeling they will have to beat Saracens away to ensure they qualify – but on this sort of form, it’s all on.

Connacht’s chronic run of injuries caught up with them as Newcastle ran out easy winners at home.

Finally, it was left to Munster to even up the results for Ireland at Welford road against the Leicester Tigers. Ultimately, although they played way better than last week, they came up short. And they’ll be kicking themselves, because they made chances, with a few good breaks, but it all fell down at just the wrong moment. Their intensity was good, they played really well, and away this sort of loss is no disgrace. If they keep up like this, the wins will come. Copeland and Stander were outstanding, and Saili is a real talent. He just needs a bit of tempering though, to learn when to hang on and when to offload.

Friday, December 18
Northampton Saints 9 - 9    Racing 92
Saturday, December 19
Saracens 55 - 13    Oyonnax
Bath Rugby 10 - 36    Wasps
Stade Français Paris 40 - 14    Benetton Treviso
Bordeaux Begles 33 - 27    Ospreys
Leinster 16 - 20    Toulon
Scarlets 6 - 9    Glasgow Warriors
Sunday, December 20
Stade Toulousain 23 - 25    Ulster
Clermont Auvergne 42 - 10    Exeter Chiefs
Leicester Tigers 17 - 6    Munster

Leinster's desperation for a win could well see them home!

 Devin Toner ( http://bit.ly/1NAlARR)

It’s a weekend of back to back match ups in the Champions Cup this weekend – so if it all went wrong last weekend, it’s a chance to rectify that. Or suffer more… whatever the case may be!
Leinster are in action on Saturday, hoping to beat one of the biggest club sides in Europe, in the world. Cian Healy is in the do do after some ridiculous foul play – well he is a prop after all! I would look to shake things up a bit for this match – put Jonny on the bench, and give Mads his shot, and change our tactics at the breakdown. We are just going to have throw more people in their, violent people (within the law obviously) who are going to send player like Steffan Armitage packing in a hurry. I wouldn’t pick SOB yet, doubt if he’s fit. I heard with alarm Bernard Laporte praising Devin Toner – hands off! No Christmas shopping for him or anyone else while you’re here. I think we could actually win this, mainly due to the general French lack of away form, and our complete desperation for a win.

Munster tackle the Tigers at Welford road. I don’t know what else Munster can bring that could tip this in their favour – more intensity and more precision I guess. But the Tigers will be a fearsome prospect at home, so a win for the Munstermen will be a surprise. Cross fingers!

Ulster go to Toulouse on the back of an amazing win last weekend. Mental toughness is not the forte of French teams, so maybe Ulster have played with their heads enough to open the door for a win. If Ulster can take an early lead, the heads might drop, that’s their chance. But I’d expect a home win.

Finally, wouldn’t be surprised at all if Connacht get one over on the Falcons.

Friday, December 18   
Northampton Saints v    Racing 92     7:45 PM
Saturday, December 19
Saracens v    Oyonnax     1:00 PM
Bath Rugby v    Wasps     3:15 PM
Stade Français Paris v    Benetton Treviso     3:15 PM
Bordeaux Begles v    Ospreys     5:15 PM
Leinster v    Toulon     5:15 PM
Scarlets v    Glasgow Warriors     7:45 PM
Sunday, December 20
Stade Toulousain v    Ulster     1:00 PM
Clermont Auvergne v    Exeter Chiefs     3:15 PM
Leicester Tigers v    Munster     5:15 PM

50% enjoyment, 50% torture for the Irish teams!

 

 Rhys Ruddock

Friday night at Ravenhill was one to savour for the Ulstermen as they absolutely thrashed Toulouse. That was some win, it’s an awesome team, but Toulouse looked completely ordinary as Ulster brought red hot intensity. Hard direct running from Trimble, Gilroy and McCloskey put Toulouse on the backfoot, and then the forwards climbed in and made their presence felt. Pienaar was superb too, if Ulster can play like this for the rest of the season they’ll do well.

Connacht put their injuries aside as they got a good home win against Newcastle.

Then it was an uncomfortable evening for Munster against Leicester on Saturday. Munster have nearly all the elements of a good team, but they don’t quite fit together yet. Some great performances from Copeland, Murray and Earls. But lots of all too ordinary play, with terrible defence letting Ben Youngs in for his try. You shouldn’t lose your home games in this tournament, and they’ve left themselves a lot to do now. I thought Mark Chisolm made a big difference when he came on, making good yards, and to be honest, I’d be starting him all the time, probably make him captain.

If Saturday evening was hard to watch, Sunday afternoon was even more woeful, as Leinster’s slim qualification hopes spluttered out in Toulon. Murdered in the breakdown and on the scoreboard, Leinster just didn’t have the answers. Wrong tactics, they had to look after the breakdown better easy than that, poor execution of the tactics they did have, and bad discipline (although Toner’s yellow card was really harsh). There were a few bright patches – the scrum and line out were ultra solid, Ruddock had a stormer, and Fitzgerald is on fire. But Sexton looks just completely out of form. No easy fixes either, and there is just a general lack of leadership too.

Friday, December 11
Ulster 38 - 0    Stade Toulousain
Saturday, December 12
Glasgow Warriors 43 - 6    Scarlets
Benetton Treviso 17 - 50    Stade Français Paris
Racing 92 33 - 3    Northampton Saints
Exeter Chiefs 31 - 14    Clermont Auvergne
Ospreys 19 - 16    Bordeaux Begles
Munster 19 - 31    Leicester Tigers
Sunday, December 13
Toulon 24 v 9    Leinster
Wasps  23 v 25  Bath Rugby
Oyonnax 10 - 45    Saracens

Looking pretty dodgy for all the Irish teams this weekend to be honest

 

 Stuart McCloskey ( picture http://bit.ly/1IY3gAg)

Ulster and Connacht are in European action this Friday, but I’m more hopeful for Connacht than for Ulster. Having said that, it’s injury central in Connacht, with 18 (whew) players out injured. But the arriving Falcons are without a win this season in England, and the systems and self-belief of Connacht should see them through.

Ulster have named a strong side, there’s no denying the quality in the side with players like Pienaar, Best and McCloskey. But Toulouse are formidable – huge pack, exciting backline, and they lie in second in the T14 so they’re playing well.  We haven’t really seen much from Ulster this year – they have had the same problems as Leinster with reintegrating their internationals, and the team is just not firing properly. If they were to pull off a win here, even at home, it would be some achievement.

Munster face the visit of the in form Leicester Tigers to Thomond Park. The men in red have a pretty special home record, they very seldom lose European matches at home. But their form this season has been pretty patchy, they have two loss’s on the trot, albeit that last weekend’s team was practically a b- team. When I’ve watched Leicester, I’ve been impressed with their physicality, so Munster are going to have to really front up, and then behind that pack Ben Youngs is a master at pulling the strings. Munster can win this one  - but theyre going to have to dig awesomely deep.

Finally, Leinster go into their away match against Toulon with a horror start to the campaign, played 2 lost 2. Is it any consolation that Toulon were hammered even more efficiently by Wasps than Leinster were? Probably not. The French galactacos are not infallible, but are rarely fallible and seldom at home. If Leinster were in early Joe Schmidt form, I’d give them a decent chance of a win, but playing as they are – pretty hard to see really. Well, then we can really focus on the PRO12!

Friday, December 11   
Ulster v    Stade Toulousain     7:45 PM
Saturday, December 12
Glasgow Warriors v    Scarlets     1:00 PM
Benetton Treviso v    Stade Français Paris     3:15 PM
Racing 92 v    Northampton Saints     3:15 PM
Exeter Chiefs v    Clermont Auvergne     5:15 PM
Ospreys v    Bordeaux Begles     5:15 PM
Munster v    Leicester Tigers     7:45 PM
Sunday, December 13
Oyonnax v    Saracens     1:00 PM
Toulon v    Leinster     3:15 PM
Wasps v    Bath Rugby     5:15 PM

Connacht get pipped, Ulster win, Scotstoun groundsman look away, and Munster have a bad day at the office.

 

 Matt Healy ( picture http://bit.ly/1NDf9fW )

Connacht didn’t manage to get an away win in Cardiff, but they were close. They have the ball handling skills that are the envy of the other Irish sides, and don’t have any fear. Sometimes, a little bit more structure would suit them – there can be lot of passing , but very little ground made. You need to suck in a few defenders before you can play it loose again. Cardiff were good value for their win, but it was close all the way up until the end. Where the Blues did struggle a bit was with tackling – they couldn’t catch hold of Bundee Aki at all, and Matt Healy seemed to have smeared himself in grease before the match, he would not just stay tackled! I hope someone in the IRFU is keeping an eye on his contract.

Ulster got back to winning ways at home, putting Edinburgh away.

Then in Scotstoun, the Glasgow Leinster match  match was called off because of a waterlogged pitch. Now, I was expecting that perhaps one corner was too soggy, and the pitch was unplayable. Meanwhile, the pitch looked like a swimming pool! They could have brought their speedos and had a gala! In Glasgow, you’d think they might expect to have a drop of rain from time to time, like all day every day! That leaves Leinster with no warm up for Toulon. But, maybe it’s not the worst thing, a good few of the Leinster players could do with a break, we don’t have any more injuries, and they won’t need any motivation for Toulon.

Finally, Munster had a bad day at the office slipping up at the Dragons. They butchered not one, but two tries, that would have put them in control of the match. I’m sure there are few people wondering why Ashton Hewitt wasn’t yellow carded for tackling Ronan O’Mahony in the air, me included which would have helped too. The Dragons were battling but not particularly threatening, but the days of send in second string sides there looks to be over.

Friday, December 4
Cardiff Blues 20 - 16    Connacht
Ulster 14 - 7    Edinburgh
Saturday, December 5
Benetton Treviso 20 - 22    Scarlets
Glasgow Warriors 0 - 0    Leinster
Sunday, December 6
Zebre 22 - 39    Ospreys
Dragons 22 - 6    Munster

Amazingly, post no 600, and three Irish provinces looking for their mojo!

 600 posts, how did I ever get here?

Meanwhile, there's another weekend of Pro 12, and hopefully a weekend when 3 of the 4 Irish provinces can rediscover their mojo. Connacht travel to Cardiff to take on the Blues as league leaders in a match they should really win. The Blues have some good players, but with all due respect, when I’ve watched them this season, they’ve been a 70 minute team, hanging in there, but then getting put away in the last 10 minutes. If Connacht keep their composure from last week, they could win well.
The other three provinces are riding low on form and confidence. At least Ulster have Ravenhill to lift them for the visit of Edinburgh. They have so much talent, it’s going to start coming together for them soon, and this match could be the springboard for the rest of their season.

Glasgow is not the sort of place you want to be heading these days if things aren’t clicking properly. But I kind of feel like Leinster are turning the corner – they have the quality of players, they’re trying too hard. Even if they don’t win this, I think they’ll put in a performance they be pretty happy with. When they have to dig deep, they do.

Finally Munster will hopefully get back on the horse against the Dragons, after a pretty demoralising loss to Connacht last weekend. Just one good win and your whole season can look different

Friday, December 4   
Cardiff Blues v    Connacht     7:05 PM
Ulster v    Edinburgh     7:35 PM
Saturday, December 5
Benetton Treviso v    Scarlets     2:00 PM
Glasgow Warriors v    Leinster     3:00 PM
Sunday, December 6   
Zebre v    Ospreys     2:00 PM
Dragons v    Munster     2:30 PM

Leinster struggle by Ulster, and a famous day for Connacht!

 Josh van der Flier

Leinster and Ulster got the Irish derbies going on Friday night. And we got to see the best and worst of Leinster again. There is lot more intensity, and lot more urgency from Leinster, and thankfully the scrum managed to hold together, and even dominate at times. And you can see Sexton starting to ease into his role, exerting the control that he used to have. But there’s the bad as well, you’d have to be 8 foot tall to catch some of Reddan’s passes, and then just our handling and keeping your head – how did Ben Te’o not score? Still, we got the win, against an Ulster side that defended well and tried really hard to make up for last week. Fitzgerald is on fire at the moment, and van der Flier is just hungry for work. Ulster meanwhile, have a lot of talent, a lot of experienced players, but just seem to be struggling to pull a pattern of play together.

After that intense, low scoring affair, the action moved to Thomond Park for the visit of Connacht to take on Munster. For 29 years, there’s only been one result, it had to change one day, and this Saturday it did. On paper, Munster are way way stronger – Irish, Australian, Argentinian and All Black internationals, versus a team of decent but not  (mostly) outstanding players. You have to hand it to Pat Lam, as he said – that win started on the training ground, everyone knows what their role is, and they carry it out. That enabled them to retain the ball so impressively, and make space when they needed to. You’d still be scratching your head as to how such a physical side like Munster didn’t dominate Connacht in the collisions. And where in Ireland can we find a turnover machine that the Southern Hemisphere seem to churn out all the time – Munster could so badly do with that. Also,   I’m a bit like a broken record, but they’ve been persisting with Keatley forever, and it’s not working – he’s an inconsistent play maker – give someone else a chance, and stick with them. Whatever Munster’s deficiencies were though, you can’t take away from Connacht who just deserved that win all day long.

Edinburgh 32 - 13    Dragons
Glasgow Warriors 13 - 6    Benetton Treviso
Leinster 8 - 3    Ulster
Saturday, November 28   
Ospreys 13 - 6    Cardiff Blues
Munster 12 - 18    Connacht

Two Irish derbies, and Pat, don't you want to come and live in Dublin?

Pat Lam (picture http://bit.ly/1TgVpE1 )

Well pretty straightforward to talk about this week with two derbies. And first up is Leinster v Ulster at the RDS, so not getting any easier for anyone really. Leinster come in the match on a two match losing streak, and have looked a bit lightweight in both matches. What a time for Henderson, Tuohy, and Williams to ride into town! But at the end of the day, we could have won last week with a bit of luck, even with a powder puff scrum. So at home we could go one better, especially as Ulster are a  bit shell shocked from their defeat to Saracens. Having said that there’s a umpteenth tinker with the midfield – Ben Te’o and Fitzgerald look the best b a country mile, but no Luke is on the win and in comes Madigan. With all the controversy around his future, maybe they have felt they had to play him. I am as confused as our coaches and every other supporter as to what outr chances are, hopefully our experience will see us home.

Then on Saturday we have Connacht travelling to Munster, probably feeling quietly confident. As they would going to Leinster or Munster. They don’t have the stars, they have the grafters, and probably the best provincial coach in Ireland. Don’t you want to come live in the big city Pat? Munster have so much talent to call on, but do they have the coaching, the tactics and the flyhalf to unleash it? They’ll probably win it on pure guts.

Friday, November 27       
Edinburgh v    Dragons     7:35 PM
Glasgow Warriors v    Benetton Treviso     7:35 PM
Leinster v    Ulster     7:35 PM
Saturday, November 28   
Ospreys v    Cardiff Blues     3:00 PM
Munster v    Connacht     5:15 PM
Sunday, November 29       
Scarlets v    Zebre     2:30 PM

Connacht spare Ireland's blushes!

 

 Luke Fitzgerald

After last weeks woeful showing, Leinster at least gave their fans something to shout about this weeks. But in the cold light of day, played two lost two means that Leisters European season bar a minor miracle is down the tubeIt wasn’t all bad. Ben Te’o and Luke Fitzgerald present a serious challenge in midfield – hard straight running lines, jinking and making space, and Te’o putting in some savage hits. There was a good pace in the game from Leinster too, a bet of tempo back. The problem was in the scrum – giving away penalties for free. And after last week’s poor showing, it was the area Bath were going to target, and it gave them rich rewards. I’ve said it before – we just lack grunt in our scrum – what would you give to either a Nathan Hines or a Brad Thorne in their prime back in the team? Kane Douglas left us in the lurch.

Wasps stunning bonus point victory over Toulon, and the uncertainty of the Toulon Bath replay will make this group really interesting.

And it was no more cheery for Ulster, given a hiding by Saracens at Kingspan Stadium. It wasn’t a great game from Ulster at all, but in fairness Saracens were pretty awesome. I’m not a big fan of Owen Farell, but he was superb, moving play around in such a way that it was very hard to defend.
Connacht at least spared Ireland’s blushes with a good victory over Brive at home

Friday, November 20   
Ulster 9 - 27    Saracens
Saturday, November 21   
Benetton Treviso 3 - 36    Leicester Tigers
Bath Rugby 19 - 16    Leinster
Stade Toulousain 24 - 18    Oyonnax
Glasgow Warriors 15 - 26    Northampton Saints
Scarlets 12 - 29    Racing Metro
Exeter Chiefs 34 - 19    Bordeaux Begles
Sunday, November 22   
Clermont Auvergne 34 - 29    Ospreys
Wasps 32 - 6    Toulon

Leinster float like a bee, sting like a butterfly!

Jonah Lomu (picture http://bit.ly/1MpQHRL)

  (Above is Clive Woodward on his team talk before an All Blacks match)

Such sad new about Jonah Lomu, only 40, he never had any luck with his health.

Well, after the debacle of last weekend, time for Leinster to get back on track… or is it? I heard both Leo and Jonny do a lot of soul searching during the week. Jonny reckons it was his worst experience in a Leinster jersey, and there was not a lot of happiness coming from everyone really. Well, they’ve had a week to sort it all out, and have a few more players to pick from.  But whether that’s enough time to instil the urgency and aggression that was so sadly absent last weekend, well, we’ll see. It’s quite hard to see us winning this weekend, and if we don’t, that’s us in the competition. Are we going to end up like the French sides? Fielding an academy side because we can’t win anything? Well, faint heart never won fair lady, all we can do is go for it and surprise ourselves!
Ulster have Saracens on Friday, and have Ian Henderson back in the team, what a boost! It’ll be tough, but I’d say they have a good chance at home.
Munster’s match is postponed and Connacht have Brive at home. To say the men from the west have had a nightmare journey home is the understatement of the year, I don’t even know if they are even all back from Russia yet. It’s going to hard to get themselves together for the match.

Friday, November 20           
MATCH           
Ulster v    Saracens     7:45 PM   
Saturday, November 21           
MATCH           
Benetton Treviso v    Leicester Tigers     1:00 PM   
Bath Rugby v    Leinster     3:15 PM   
Stade Toulousain v    Oyonnax     3:15 PM   
Glasgow Warriors v    Northampton Saints     5:15 PM   
Scarlets v    Racing Metro     5:30 PM   
Exeter Chiefs v    Bordeaux Begles     7:45 PM   
Sunday, November 22           
MATCH           
Clermont Auvergne v    Ospreys     1:00 PM   
Stade Français Paris v    Munster     3:15 PM   
Wasps v    Toulon     5:15 PM   

I'm downgrading my expectations for Leinster this season...

It was a weekend when events in Paris made rugby and most things in life pale into insignificance, and our thought have to be with the whole of France.

Well I took my son to the Leinster match, probably with fairly modest expectations – no Rob Kearney, no Isa, no Ben Te’o, no Like Fitzgerald. I did  have a few more realistic expectations about our ability to throw, catch and kick the ball, and have a decent line out. But, it was not to be. Scrum penalizes and free kicks were frequent, the first in the opening two minutes. Line outs? Well, we butchered a good few of those. Kicking and passing? Kick offs fluffed, penalties kicked dead, balls fumbled, passed forward. And this is no red hot Aviva Premiership team either, they’re 8th, and really had very little to do – a bit of defending in the first half, and after that, the safest place for the ball was with Leinster. It’s definitely the easiest game we have in the pool, and we got thumped! I’m readjusting my expectations for the rest of the season. So much work to do, we need some energy and we need it fast! It’s going to take a minor miracle for Leinster to get of this pool now.

Munster made heavy weather of beating Treviso in the first half, then pulled away convincingly in the second. And Ulster’s match was postponed, while Connacht at least got a win.





Leicester Tigers 33 - 20    Stade Français Paris
Saturday, November 14       
Oyonnax 0 - 0    Ulster
Racing Metro 0 - 0    Glasgow Warriors
Munster 32 - 7    Benetton Treviso
Saracens 32 - 7    Stade Toulousain
Northampton Saints 15 - 11    Scarlets
Sunday, November 15    
Leinster 6 - 33    Wasps

Bluffers guide to the Champions Cup!

 

Right. Tadah! The Bluffers guide to the Champions Cup! Below are all the pools, and this is how I think it’ll pan out.

Pool one has Oyannax along for the ride,  and a huge battle for Ulster to get out of this group. Saracens and Toulouse are the big spending heavy weights, who will most likely be slugging it out for the top spot, and the Ulstermen are going to have dig deep to do this.

Pool 2 has Bordeaux Begles who I KNOW have no serious intentions in this competition. Clermont should top the group, Ospreys will be competitive, and Exeter are the dark horses, a team on the rise.

Pool 3 is probably the most open, any of the teams could top it, in theory Racing Metro should take it, but none of these teams has ever really delivered is this cup formerly known as Heineken.

Pool 4 Benneton do not belong here, so it’s going to be between Munster, Stade Francais and the Tigers. Munster have the potential to do well here, they are going to have to fight, but they’re good at that!

Pool 5 is pretty robust, Toulon are the strongest, Wasps the weakest, and Leinster and Bath are in between. On the overall performance of last season,  Leinster are going to struggle o get out of this group. But we have a new coach, Jonny Sexton and Isa Nacewa back, so let’s see…

Ulster and Munster should have nice gentle warm ups to get them going.

Leinster will have their hands full against Wasps, and I’ll be there to see how they do! I think we should win, it’s really Ireland v Wasps

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 1   
   
Pos    Team
1    Oyonnax
2    Saracens
3    Toulouse
4    Ulster
   
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 2   
   
Pos    Team
1    Bordeaux Begles
2    Clermont Auvergne
3    Exeter Chiefs
4    Ospreys
   
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3   
   
Pos    Team
1    Glasgow Warriors
2    Northampton Saints
3    Racing Metro
4    Scarlets
   
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 4   
   
Pos    Team
1    Benetton Treviso
2    Leicester Tigers
3    Munster
4    Stade Francais
   
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 5   
   
Pos    Team
1    Bath Rugby
2    Leinster
3    Toulon
4    London Wasps

19:45 (GMT)    Leicester Tigers    Stade Francais
14-Nov-15       
13:00 (GMT)    Oyonnax    Ulster
15:15 (GMT)    Racing 92    Glasgow Warriors
17:15 (GMT)    Munster    Benetton Treviso
17:30 (GMT)    Saracens    Toulouse
19:45 (GMT)    Northampton Saints    Scarlets
15-Nov-15       
13:00 (GMT)    Bordeaux Begles    Clermont Auvergne
13:00 (GMT)    Leinster        London Wasps
15:15 (GMT)    Toulon    Bath Rugby
17:30 (GMT)    Ospreys        Exeter Chiefs

Four from four for the Irish provinces! However, 'scrappy' is the best description.

 

Hayden Triggs ( picture http://bit.ly/1WHcNaz)

Leinster on Friday night started in the worst possible way letting the Scarlets score a try in the first few minutes. This was supposed to be a relaxing Friday night, watching the returning names for Leinster sort out the Scarlets and get revenge for the defeat earlier in the season. Instead, it was the Scarlets who played most of the rugby in the first half, and looked a lot more cohesive and threatening. It was only Madigan’s kicking that were keeping Leinster in the game. But Leo no doubt issued the hair dryer treatment at half time, that steadied the ship, and it looked slightly more comfortable after that. 

The best description of the Irish sides I saw playing was scrappy. Scrappy scrappy scrappy. Healy and O’Brien giving away silly silly penalties and so many dropped balls from everyone.  Leinster also seem to lack grunt, we were getting beaten up by the Scarlets all the first half. I’ve been impressed by the difference Hayden Triggs has made, he offers uncompromising physicality which is very welcome! We had a breathless few minutes at the end that weren’t too pleasant. But, we got the win and that’s what counts, over a very tidy Scarlets side.

Connacht put Treviso away to go top of the table. Great start to the season for them!

On Saturday, It was another Irish side hanging on for dear life in the last few minutes.  Munster played well in the first half, Murray is pure class, Earls is energised, and Donnacha Ryan is awesome. But there’s still an issue of control lots of loose and bad kicking from Keatley among others. And just basic tactics, Munster were up a player in the last 5 minutes, but kept kicking the ball back to Edniburgh and tried to play an expansive game – surely it was time to hang onto the ball and stuff it up the jumper? Anyway, they got the win, and will just have to keep tinkering until they get it right.

Finally, Ulster got an away win over the Dragons, to complete a clean sweep for the Irish provinces.

Connacht 33 – 19 Benetton Treviso
Leinster 19 - 15    Scarlets
Ospreys 36 - 3    Zebre
Cardiff Blues 30 – 35 Glasgow Warriors
Edinburgh 14 – 16 Munster
Dragons 12 – 17 Ulster