Ireland uber alles!

 

 Dan Leavy

A couple of mighty efforts this weekend from the Irish teams to end the weekend four from four again. First up we had Leinster, who had to withstand a serious siege from Edinburgh for large parts of the first half, as well as shipping two loose trio injuries (including sadly Josh van der Flier).but cometh the hour, cometh the man, as Dan Leavy strode on and gave the game a good kick in the b*&^%s. Also cometh  half time...just as Edinburgh fluffed a try in the last moment of the first half.

At half time, Cullen, Lancaster, Dempsey and Fogarty worked their magic, and it was all dancing all singing Leinster in the second half, cruising to the bonus point despite going through all their subs and ending with 14 men. Carberry came out well if you average the first and second halves, Luke McGrath made a fine wing, and Bryan Byrne made a good 6 and took his try well. That was team building par excellence! Edinburgh will start to win if they keep playing like this.

Ulster went up a level against Glasgow, who are obviously feeling the loss of their internationals. But it's onwards and upwards for the Ulstermen, with Marcel Coetzee adding a new intensity that's been missing from their pack recently, and Chris Henry back to his best. Ran Pienaar pulled the strings expertly,Tommy Bowe is more that willing and Gilroy is fizzing. With three Italian matches and the Dragons their  matchesnext, the only way is up!

Munster had a forgettable first half against the Ospreys, but then turned it around in the second, and held on for a great win. When you don't lack self belief, you are nearly impossible to beat. and that's without Kleyn and Taute. They rightly went top the league this weekend, after a real team effort. I saw Chris Hart for Racing Metro the other day, and he's going to add a lot when he comes, both at scrum half and with his place kicking.

Finally, Connacht looked fairly flat this weekend, scoring two tries in the first 14 minutes - and then fairly well switching off the rest of the match. Really the Dragons were unlucky to lose that..or was it the Connacht defense that stood firm when it had to. Connacht haven't been the same this season, especially since Pat Lam announced his departure.

Saturday 18th February
Cardiff Blues 57 20 Treviso
Ulster 37 17 Glasgow Warriors
Ospreys 23 25 Munster
Connacht 14 9 Dragons
Friday 17th February
Leinster 39 10 Edinburgh
Scarlets 42 7 Zebre