Leinster get the bragging rights in the big derby!

 Rory O'Loughlin

Well, it was another enjoyable trip to the Aviva Stadium - I haven't been there to see Leinster lose yet, nor Ireland. Not that I've been there that often. There was a good crowd, a genial family atmosphere, and a bit of good natured banter between the fans. Pretty impressive support for Munster, but then I suppose a lot of them live up here (taking our jobs, stealing our partners etc ).

The game itself was a bit of a relief for me, as Leinster actually turned up and played some decent rugby. They still have to work on their defense, and Munster hurt them a couple of times on the counter attack. But apart from that, our scrum shaded theirs, our lineout was rock solid, we kicked better, attacked better, and our handling was better. We controlled the match all the way through really. Robbie Henshaw made a welcome return, Sexton is looking awesome, and Joey Carbury is combining well with the other backs. Daly and Berne competited well in the air for Sextons kicks, and O'Loughlin took his try superbly. And the pack put in a muscular controlled performance, letting the backs shine.

In fairness to Munster, they are really missing Taute who is a rock in midfield for them. Robin Copeland in the lock probably upset their scrum too. Keatley took his try well but his kicking was ordinary, and their handling let them down. A few tweaks needed. Tommy O'Donnell is a real gem for them.

Ulster overcame Connacht with reasonable ease, with Tommy Bowe putting a good performance, and John Cooney more than earning his keep. Connacht look like they're on the cups of better things, and I think Tiernan O'Halloran was a big loss for them early on.






Saturday 7th October
Leinster 23 17 Munster FT
Benetton Rugby 31 3 Southern Kings FT
Ospreys 18 19 Scarlets FT
Friday 6th October
Cardiff Blues 43 29 Dragons FT
Cheetahs 26 29 Glasgow Warriors FT
Edinburgh 16 15 Zebre FT
Ulster 16 8 Connacht

Three out four wins for the Irish teams, but streaky enough by Leinster and Ulster!

 

 Rory O'Loughlin

Three out of four wins this weekend for the Irish teams, but it wasn't necessarily as good as it sounds.

Ulster got things going on Friday. Well 'going' is a slight exaggeration, it was a stop start affair, played in fairness on a sandpit. Those seem to be the choices atr Rodney Parade, mudbath or sandpit, you nearly need different rules for the games there. The Dragons are seriously impressive at home, ( certainly not away from home) they don't have the players on paper to play as well as they do. But it was a very frustrating performance from Ulster, that was a good team picked, and it was only the last 5 ninutes when they pulled away.

Munster whacked Zebre, easily picking up the bonus point.

I think Leinster watched the Ulster performance and took their cues from that, it was one step forward, one step back the whole match for them. Big credit to the Cardiff Blues, who a really came to play. We have a lot of talent in the backline..not neccessarily in our tackling talent though. there seemed to be a fault line between O'Lauglin and Berne that Cardiff mined for three tries. Then in attack, we did well, but also made a lot of mistakes, dropping and turning over the ball. But all in all, not a bad effort from the Juniors, at least we got the win, but great to have the cavalry back next weekend for Wasps.

Finally, Connacht played a really good game against Glasgow, but the Scots always seemed to have another gear when they needed it. Everyone who came to Scoutstown got value money for anyway. Poor match for Tim Swinson, red carded for a swinging arm to the head. Connacht left it all on the field anyway, they'll never die wondering that's for sure.

 Saturday 25th March
Leinster 22 21 Cardiff Blues
Zebre 14 50 Munster
Glasgow Warriors 35 24 Connacht
Treviso 13 5 Ospreys
Friday 24th March
Scarlets 26 10 Edinburgh
Dragons 17 27 Ulster