Two smashing semi finals in Super Rugby!

 

 Nehe Milner-Skudder (picture http://bit.ly/1KjDObr)

Two unbelievable matches closed up the Super Rugby semi finals. And for once, justice is done, because if you take out the conference system, it’s the teams who finished first and second who will be contesting the final. Add to that the two teams that scored the most tries got the wins, shows that things are looking pretty good in Super Rugby.

The Canes put the Brumbies way first up, very clinically. Their attack is just about unstoppable, and they attack relentlessly, there’s no defending of leads in their psyche. They have forwards who can offload, two excellent locks, a good all round team, and some outstanding players. Ardie Savea, Nonu, and Milner-Skudder are just playing out of their skins. The Brumbies started well, but that travel must have tired them,  but they look like a team for the future.

In the other semi, the Highlanders used the same approach, attack as if your life depended on it, and play it down their end of the field.  The Tahs looked like they hadn’t played for a month, wild passes and missed tackles was the order of the day. Naholo and Aaron Smith were outstanding for the Highlanders, they sweep into the final, featuring two teams that have never won the competition.

Super Rugby
Saturday, June 27
Hurricanes 29 - 9 Brumbies    07:35
Waratahs 17 - 35 Highlanders    09:55

My take on the Irish rugby squad , and Super Rugby semi time!

 

 Rhys Ruddock (picture http://bit.ly/1LzHTuf)

This is the preliminary Irish Squad for the world cup, broken down as follows:

Connacht 2
Leinster 22
Munster 9
Racing Metro 1
Ulster  11

Even for me as a Leinster supporter this seems a little unbalanced, I mean 9 players from Munster, that’s way too many!  In fairness, it does look a little like you could not even play rugby, but happen to be passing the RDS at the right time, and find yourself on the Ireland squad! Absentees who probably should have been in contention to me anyway are Archer and Cronin. Dave Foley and Robin Copeland would surely have been in there were they not injured (and we could really do with another quality lock), and CJ Stander only qualifies for Ireland the day after the World Cup Final. Denis Hurley has had the season of his life, so for me he should have at least made the 45.  Ian Keatley is not there, but in a tournament where goal kicking is likely to be vital, he is just not that reliable.

In Ulster, I think Marshall is not there for concussion reasons, with players like Olding and McCloskey to be challenging for places soon, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Wiehahn Herbst in there one day.

For Leinster Rhys Ruddock is player who shines for his country, while one day maybe Ben Te’O whill have his chance.

And for the players left out, it doesn’t take very many injuries in key positions to suddenly be required.

Forwards: Rory Best (Ulster), Michael Bent (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Rob Herring (Ulster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Martin Moore (Leinster), Jordi Murphy (Leinster), Sean O'Brien (Leinster), Paul O'Connell (Munster) (c), Tommy O'Donnell (Munster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster)

Backs: Isaac Boss (Leinster), Tommy Bowe (Ulster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Felix Jones (Munster), David Kearney (Leinster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Noel Reid (Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro 92), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Simon Zebo (Munster)

Finally, there are the Super Rugby semis this weekend.  The Hurricanes have had a week off, and will be at home, wyhile the Brumbies have earned mega frequent flyer miles on the way to beating the abject Stormers last week. Home advantage is key, the Canes have been the form team this season, so they should close this out.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, the Tahs get to grips with the Higlanders. Again, home advantage is huge. Without a conference system though, the highlanders would have finished second and had home advantage this weekend. I haven’t really seen the Tahs too much this season, and they have Folou at centre which is good in attack, but may not work in defence.  So maybe the Highlanders can sneak this one.

Super Rugby
Saturday, June 27
Hurricanes vs Brumbies    07:35
Waratahs vs Highlanders    09:55

Ireland's ladies get off to a flyer,and the Waratahs finally get their name on the Cup!

 

 (picture http://bit.ly/WUW0Ux)

I got to watch two tense, close matches this weekend, result! First up Was the Irish ladies team taking on the USA. The USA sit one point above Ireland in the World Rankings, in 5th, so it was likely to be a close affair. And what a good match! Both teams played to their strengths, and the match had a good tempo. Ireland have a really well drilled side – scrumming isn’t their forte, and the Americans had the upper hand there, but they have just about an unstoppable maul. And they’re good at holding on to the ball, going through the phases, and keeping the pressure on. I thought Mary Louise Reilly at 4 was outstanding for Ireland, safe hands at the line out, and busy all round the park. After closing out a tense match, they play the All Blacks on Tuesday, who had little more than a training run against Kazakhstan.

Then on Saturday, it was the Waratahs welcoming the Crusaders to Sydney. This was the third time they’d met in the final, with the Saders winning the first two. No exaggeration to say that’s one of the best matches I’ve watched, played at frantic speed. This was no cagey conservative match, this was full blooded rugby, with both teams prepared to spread the ball wide and gamble. Adam Ashley Copper always amazes me, he’s had a great career, he might not be the most skilled out, but he knows where the try line is, and crossed twice this match. The ‘Tahs came out of the blocks at a million miles an hour, and were 14-0 up in no time. Full credit to the Crusaders for never lying down, and hanging in there, right until the end, with the lead changing hands twice in the last 5 minutes. Nick Phipps was the MOTM for me, great crisp passing and game management, and game saving cover tackling. Foley excelled, the ‘Tahs loose trio was epic, and Folau ruled the airways. For the Crusaders, Todd was everywhere, Nadolo was impressive, but let’s face it, every starting player and every sub for both sides put their hand up. Great to see a new name on the cup, good news for the Rugby Championship too as they will surely invigorate the Wallabies.

Super Rugby
Saturday , August 2
Waratahs 33 - 32 Crusaders   

01/08 - 13:00    New Zealand    79 - 5    Kazakhstan   
01/08 - 15:00    Canada        31 - 5    Spain   
01/08 - 15:45    Australia    26 - 3    South Africa   
01/08 - 17:00    USA        17 - 23    Ireland   
01/08 - 18:00    England        65 - 3    Samoa   
01/08 - 20:45    France        26 - 0    Wales

Womens World Cup kicks off, even if the ladies aren't quite getting first class treatment, and Super Rugby final!

 

 (picture http://bit.ly/XkthIE)

First up, the Women’s World Cup! This kicks of tomorrow, and has had a medium profile in the build up I guess. Digging a little further, and you can see that the ladies aren’t quite getting a fair deal out of this. The IRB doesn’t do a world ranking for the women’s game (?), but rugby statistician Serge Piquet does a ranking of his own which is generally accepted, on which Ireland are ranked 6th.  We were third in the 6 Nations this year, so we have a handy team.

Looking at the schedule, it’s pretty ridiculous, test matches on a Friday, and then a Tuesday. Ireland open their account against the USA tomorrow, and then play New Zealand on Tuesday.
The Irish team for the USA features 14 out of the 15 that the won the Grand Slam in 2015, and fair play to TG4, will be live on Irish TV. C’mon Ireland!

Super Rugby reaches its climax in Sydney on Saturday, in front of what is likely to be a record final crowd, of more than 55000. I want the ‘Tahs to win this one, it’s their third final, they’ve never won it, and frankly deserve their turn for playing some great rugby over the years. And the Crusaders have hogged the title on and off, time to get some new blood into the system. Of course, deserving and getting are two completely different things, otherwise the Sharks would have a title already. On the form of last weekend, it looks like the Crusaders  have it in the bag, but how much of that was the Sharks making them look good is hard to say. Also, the Waratahs finished at the top by some distance, and beat a very good ACT side, then there’s the 50000 odd home fans who will be driving them on. One thing you always notice about Australia is that they play intelligent rugby, and I’m sure they’ve done their homework on the Crusaders, and are going to make life awkward to feck for them. After that, I reckon Phipps, Foley and Folau, nearly the 3 F’s, will guide them home. So the ‘Tah’s for the win then!

Elsewhere the Munster Race has been on with the Munster team on manoeuvres all over the Munster, a good treat for their fans, and the Limerick Worlds Sevens are on the 10th and 11th of August. Nice to invite the other provinces lads! Ulster got their new kit, while not a lot is happening in Leinster or Connacht.

Super Rugby
Saturday , August 2
Waratahs vs Crusaders

Women's World Cup 2014
Match Day 1: Friday 1st August
1300 New Zealand v Kazakhstan Marcoussis 2
1500 Canada v Spain Marcoussis 2
1700 USA v Ireland Marcoussis 2
1545 Australia v South Africa Marcoussis1
1800 England v Samoa Marcoussis 1
2045 France v Wales Marcoussis 1
MATCH DAY 2: TUESDAY AUGUST 5
1300 USA v Kazakhstan Marcoussis 2
1500 Australia v Wales Marcoussis 2
1700 Canada v Samoa Marcoussis 2
1545 England v Spain Marcoussis 1
1800 New Zealand v Ireland Marcoussis 1
2045 France v South Africa Marcoussis 1

Crusaders thunder home, while the Waratahs get there in the end!

 

 SP Marais ( Picture http://bit.ly/1qGnMkA)

No surprises really on the weekend in the Super rugby semi’s. The Sharks didn’t run out in drag anyway.

The Crusaders looking all conquering in the first match, giving the Sharks a right good stuffing. I’m not looking to make too many excuses for the Sharks, but they did look off their peak, which comes back to their air miles. It’s not often you’re going to see a Sharks line out all over the place like that, or their scrum being rocked. But the brainless kicking away of possession deserves no excuses, it barely works when it’s contested, nevermind handing over the ball to the most potent 15 man attack in the world, bar the All Blacks. The only time they threatened was when they played the Crusaders at their own game, a bit of vision from the impressive Marais, and a good long pass at Kankowski taking them right up the field from their own 25.  Can the Cruasaders be stopped? It’s going to take something special.

In Sydney, it was a far cagier affair,  with mega amounts of tackling. The Waratahs didn’t look nearly as impressive as the Crusaders, with two of their tries coming through lucky breaks. But what was impressive was how they defended, against a very determined Brumbies attack. If ACT keep on playing like that, they’ll be making the final themselves soon enough again. The Waratahs used their defence to tire the Brumbies out, and then just eased away from them at the end. Can they hold out the Cruasaders next week? I think it’s going to be way closer than most people are predicting, the Waratahs should have a massive crowd behind them, and they have far more to show than they did this week.

Super Rugby

Saturday , July 26

Crusaders 38 - 6 Sharks 

Waratahs 26 - 8 Brumbies 

Hard to see past the Crusaders and the Waratahs!

 

 (picture http://ab.co/1pjZ1El)

Another pair of great matches to look forward to this weekend, as the Super Rugby competition nears its end.

First up will be from Christchurch, where the Crusaders are hosting the Sharks. The Sharks have traveled at least half way around the world to get to Christchurch, which is hardly ideal, and face a team refreshed and coming off a bye, and in a rich recent vein of form. That doesn’t really look too promising for the Sharks does it, also taking into account that the Sharks score a lot of their points through penalties, and the Crusaders have given away the least penalties so far this year. The Crusaders have never lost at home at this point in the tournament, and aren’t planning to change that on Saturday. Having said all that, the Sharks did turn the Saders over earlier on this season, with 14 men for most of the match, admittedly while the home side were without Carter and Reid. Out of all the SA sides, they have the most ammunition in the backs  to turn to a plan B if the forwards can’t bludgeon the opposition into submission. If the Sharks can really get in the Crusaders faces early, and put them off their game, they have a chance, otherwise it’s only going to go one way.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, there’s a great derby coming up with the Waratahs hosting the Brumbies. The ‘Tahs have been impressive from the middle of the season on, while the Brumbies really hit their straps last week against the Chiefs. The key men I think will be Henry Speight and Israel Folau, and how they are contained, as either could go one to turn the match. Home advantage for the Tah’s is massive, but travel wasn’t much of a burden for the Brumbies, and this is a pretty evenly matched contest. Overall, though I’m backing the consistency of the Waratahs to see them home at home.

Super Rugby
Saturday , July 26
Waratahs vs Brumbies 
Crusaders vs Sharks 

I'm going Brumbies and Sharks this weekend!

 

As the play offs begin, I was having a look at some stats. Super Rugby in the last 10 years has only been won by a side finishing first or second. So while 4 sides toil away this weekend, the winners are probably sitting at home in Sydney and Christchurch. Also, the Crusaders haven’t played the Tah’s yet, although with the alchemy of the of how the playing schedule is decided, they probably had an easier run in than the other NZ sides.

Putting all that aside, we have some great games to look forward to this weekend. The Chiefs haven’t quite found their form of the last two years this season, while the Brumbies have done better than expected after Jake White left them in the lurch in the off season. There are two great backlines coming up against each other, and although semis are normally cagey affairs, I reckon this could be something special, neither of them is going to leave anything on the filed. I’m going with home advantage to see the Brumbies home.

The other match takes place in Durban, with the Sharks out to prove a point, after the Highlanders caught them on the hop at home early in the season. The Sharks have an awesome starting team, a great bench, but seem to blow hot and cold. The top spot was theirs for the taking mid-season, then they lost their way. The Highlanders meanwhile, are the only side in the top 6 to have a negative points difference, so while we know they are fairly handy on attack, their defense is not exactly watertight. I’m expecting no great pyrotechnics, and for the Sharks to grind out the win.

In Ireland, the big news is the signing of Simon Easterby to replace John Plumtree in the Ireland set up. Plumtree will be missed, he certainly seemed to have made improvements in the Irish scrum in his brief time there, but Easterby no doubt has a great deal to contribute himself.

Super Rugby
Saturday , July 19
Brumbies vs Chiefs 
Sharks vs Highlanders 

Tiny Super Rugby round up

 

The pool stages of Super Rugby are a wrap with the play offs starting next weekend. The Tah’s finished with a flourish, thumping the Reds, and get their feet up for next weekend. Likewise, the Crusaders put in a crushing performance against the Highlanders, getting a bonus point win that was enough to secure 2nd spot.

The Sharks had a tough match against an up for it Stormers side in Cape Town, but ground out a good win, in a way they’ve found difficult of late. They finish in third, and welcome the Highlanders next weekend, while the Chiefs will travel to Canberra to take on the Brumbies.

Saturday , July 12
Stormers 10 -34 Sharks
Reds 3 - 34 Waratahs
Lions 60 - 25 Cheetahs
Crusaders 34-8 Highlanders

Ulster, Mark Anscombe and bits and pieces of Super Rugby

 

( picture  http://bit.ly/1qsa3LK)

Mark Anscombe made an abrupt exit this weekend from Ulster, on his first day of work for the new Season. Give him a one year extension, then tell him to sling his hook. It follows the resignation of David Humphries last month. It’s said Anscombe had ‘lost the dressing room’.  I don’t rate the Ulster lads as prima donnas, far from it, so things must have been pretty bad. Hopefully, they’ll pick up a good coach and go forwards again – Wayne Smith or Robbie Deans would be perfect for the job, if they can get either. There’s going to be some testing times ahead though, the new coach is going to need to stamp his authority pretty quick – player power is all vey well, but someone has to be in charge.  It all just seems a real pity, UIster have come up such a long way, and it needs a lot of patience to get the big results – Leinster played second fiddle to Munster for ages before they finally broke through.
 

Otherwise, there’s still a lot of Super Rugby going on. The Kiwi derbies will probably be the most entertaining, with a very competitive conference, and Crusaders/Blues should be something awesome. In South Africa, Sharks/Cheetahs probably won’t be a thriller, but the Sharks need that one badly. And finally, the Tahs are riding high with Leinster’s old boss, Michael Cheika, and will have a tricky task taming the Highlanders to maintain their good run.
 

Super Rugby
Friday , July 4
Chiefs vs Hurricanes 
Lions vs Melbourne Rebels 
Saturday , July 5
Crusaders vs Blues 
Western Force vs Reds 
Stormers vs Bulls 17:05
Cheetahs vs Sharks 
Sunday , July 6
Waratahs vs Highlanders 16:05

The Lions limp out of Sydney, Ireland fire, and Scotland...get so close!

This weekend I caught the Lions, some of the All Black/French match, and the second half of the South Africa/Scotland match. Whoa are the Lions shipping back line injuries! It wasn’t quite their first team but they still looked classy against NSW in attack, although a little suspect in defense. The loose trio looked more potent than the last match, and apart from the injuries, the team performance is growing all the time. Not too impressed with some of the NSW tactics though – you’re playing one of the top teams in world rugby – don’t let yourself down with cheap shots.
France shuffled their pack of cards again for the All Blacks, and went backwards, The team played well last weekend – back them and pick them again! The prospect of a win next weekend is pretty slim.

I watched Scotland go into a absolutely deserving 17-6 lead against the Sprinboks. The Springboks may be my reserve international team, but boy do they play some boring stodgy rugby. Without Jim Hamilton’s silly yellow, a great upset was on the cards. What a bounce back for the Scots after last weekend! It was the reserves for South Africa, mostly young players, who put things right in the end so at least there is a glimmer of hope the Boks will start to reach their potential.

I didn’t see the Ireland/Canada game, but the match report is here http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/29386.php. Fergus McFadden got a hat trick – Trojan work again from one of Ireland’s most solid players, when does he ever let you down? And tries also for Cave Trimble and O’Donnell, the bubbling under pack are finding their feet.

International Match
Sunday , June 16
Canada 14 - 40 Ireland
Saturday , June 15
Japan 23 - 8 Wales 
New Zealand 30 - 0 France 
Samoa 39 - 10 Italy 
Argentina 26 - 51 England 
South Africa 30 - 17 Scotland 
More International Match results
British & Irish Lions
Waratahs 17 - 47 British & Irish Lions 

Cardif Blues Triumph - Super 14, Heineken Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup

Heineken Cup Final Biarritz 19 - 21 Toulouse


Super 14 Semi Final Bulls 39 - 24 Crusaders

Super 14 Semi Final Stormers 25 - 6 Waratahs

Amlin Challenge Cup Final Cardiff Blues 28-21 Toulon

Heineken Cup

The Heineken cup reached it’s finale in Paris and the rugby gods even organized some sparkling sunshine to crown the occasion. Well, the sunshine was probably the most sparkling thing on Saturday afternoon as Toulouse kicked their way to their fourth title but is was a final so more conservative rugby is likely to be the order of the day. Biarritz gave Toulouse a big scare with a late try but it was a fair result as the better team triumphed, and brought the competition to a close for another year.

Super 14

I had to smile when I read some of the Australasian reports on the upcoming semis. There was one report talking up a final in Sydney, and other stuff like’8 reasons why the Crusaders will win’. It reminds me of being at school and not having studied for an exam but looking for every little reason as to why I was still going to scrape through. The facts of the matter are that to win the Super 14, you have to finish top of the league and get home semis. Thus, he spake, it ever was. Home advantage gives you overwhelming odds of winning. So it would have been refreshing to see a little bit of honesty, along the lines of ‘Basically we’re shagged unless they give it to us on a plate’. Both the Crusaders and the ‘Tahs are really good teams, but the momentum at the moment is with the SA teams – a few years ago it was the complete opposite, and in a few years it’ll probably swing around, with the Aussie teams poised en masse to make a big impact on the tournament. For the moment, the Bulls and Stormers can bask in the glow of successful seasons, and dream of lifting the trophy next Saturday.

In the first match, the Bulls flexed their not inconsiderable muscles as they gored the Crusaders – they’ve perfected doing all the simple things really well and the Crusaders had no answers. The Stormers also looked dominant apart from scrum time where they obviously have a weakness that the Bulls can exploit next weekend. The ‘Tahs weren’t helped by some unsympathetic refereeing but they never really got going and made loads of mistakes. The match was sealed with Juan de Jong’s moment of magic, a player who’s young but surely has Springbok stamped all over him.

So it’s over to Orlando stadium in Sowetu next weekend with prime servings of South African beef on the menu.

Amlin Challenge Cup

This turned into a sensational match in the end, particularly if you were a Blues supporter. Toulon were all over Cardiff like a rash in the first half, looking all the time like they were about to run riot. Then in the second half, Jonny Wilkinson was injured, and after that it was Cardiff running wild, taking all their opportunities and running away with the match, all under the baking French sun.

Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup Finales and Super 14 Semis

Heineken Cup



Saturday , May 22

Biarritz vs Toulouse 17:00

More Heineken Cup fixtures


Super 14


Saturday , May 22

Bulls vs Crusaders 17:05

Stormers vs Waratahs 19:10

Amlin Challenge Cup

Sunday

Cardiff Blues vs Toulon

Super 14

The average Super 14 match can be pretty average, there are lots of mismatches and you never know what you are going to get. Now the men have been sorted out from the boys, so to speak, what we are left with is real quality. First up are the Bulls and Crusaders, the old masters versus the new kings of Super 14. The Bulls are an old fashioned team in lots of ways, this is no cool team, no fancy hairdos a la Nonu, no precisely cut beards, half of them probably still live with their parents. What they have going for them is a certain brutal efficiency, they are bigger and stronger than everyone else, and follow a simple game plan – simple so they can all understand it. The Crusaders meanwhile are also the least cool of the New Zealand sides, it’s all about the team with them, and while they have their stars it’s an ego free zone. They have had a bit of an up and down season, and while they are on the up at the moment you don’t know exactly what team is going to show up. If anyone can beat the Bulls they can, but with their big stars not really firing, and the long trip back to SA, even at Orlando Stadium in Soweto I can’t see them beating the Bulls.

Then it’s over to Cape Town for the match between the Stormers and the Waratahs. Both teams bought wisely in the off season, Jacque Fourie and Bryan Habana for the Stormers, and Drew Mitchell and Berrick Barnes for the Waratahs. The Stormers seem to be finally realizing the potential they’ve always had, but you’re going to have to excuse them a bit of nerves as they are in pretty unfamiliar territory getting into the semis. The Waratahs are a really solid team and their backs in particular are really starting to gel. The Stormers have the best defense in the tournament and their attack is beginning to fire. So who’s it going to be? I’m going with Stormers at home in front of a sell out crowd.

Heineken Cup

Paris in the spring… but there’ll be no love lost between Toulouse and Biarritz as this great tournament reaches its finale. Toulouse on paper are the stronger team , but Biarritz are also a star studded team. When are they going to sort out a Super 14/Heineken Cup winners match so people in the South can understand how good some of these Northern teams are? The French tradition is that home wins are non negotiable, no matter who you play, while they are decidedly more temperamental playing away. This really leaves the match wide open, and with two superb attacking teams it promises to be a fitting end to tournament. Toulouse will probably shade it in the end.

Amlin Challenge Cup

This rounds of the weekend nicely on Sunday in Marseilles as teh Cardiff Blues take on Toulon. It could nearly be the match of the weekend, both teams are red hot in attack, and although the trophy's not as prestigious as the Heineken Cup, that in some ways means the teams have tyhe freedom to really go for it. Neither of these sides is going to die wondering, and I'm giving it to Toulon as their stars are bigger and it's in France.

Imperious Leicester - Guiness Premiership, Super 14, Magners League

That was a clean sweep of predictions this weekend, OK you didn’t have to be Sherlock to spot half of them but pretty good anyway.


Super 14

The Hurricanes look disorganized and nervy, more like a summer breeze as the ‘Tahs (narrowly defeating the Cheetahs in the competition for the ugliest jersey) rolled up their sleeves and ground out the victory. Their prize is a trip back to the Republic to take on the Stormers who had few problems getting 5 points against an understrength Bulls team – all very cosy to keep it in the family. The final semi position went to the Crusaders as they overcame the Brumbies to book their date with the Bulls to be played in Sowetu stadium because of the upcoming World Cup. The Reds capped an excellent season by beating the Highlanders to come in a very creditable 5th. Things are looking up for the SA and Aussie teams, but not so good for the Kiwis.

Magners League

Glasgow would have to feel aggrieved by the shambolic manner by which they were denied a home semi, with the Ospreys being deducted 4 points next season for failing to fulfill an earlier fixture. But the smart money would have been on the Ospreys wherever they played. They made short work of the Warriors anyway. Munster’s woeful season continued as Leinster overpowered them to book their date in the final in Dublin. The old man of Europe is showing his age – time for a firesale of all the wrinklies and a big infusion of new blood.

Guinness Premiership

The first encounter on Sunday was fast paced and exciting, the lead swinging backwards and forwards several times. Brendan Venter may be famous for his SA style diplomacy i.e. none but he has got Saracens in to the final where anything could happen. Northampton just lost it at the end, where was the drop goal attempt? Leicester swept in to their umpteenth final in fine form. Not the most interesting match mind you, but they have a kind of ruthless efficiency that is admirable if not exciting. Watching Butch James temper fray as Bath were pinned back repeatedly in their 22 was the highlight of the match.

Leicester pull the plug - Guinness Premiership, Magners League, Super 14

Super 14


This is going to be a great tussle for the remaining places in the play off. Some of the Kiwis and the Aussies are kicking up a fuss about the Bulls fielding a second string side for their final match. Of course the Bulls are going to do whatever suits them, including letting the Stormers in if they feel like it’s a good tactical move. The teams that are whinging should have beaten the Bulls in the first place (OK the Crusaders probably did but that’s another story). So this is how I see it panning out: the Crusaders should tame the wild horses of the Brumbies, working through the travel fatigue and the dodgy loss to the Bulls. Tah’s and Canes – this is tricky one, both on a bit of a roll but home advantage should tell as the Tah’s blow the Canes out of town. Bulls and Stormers: well I reckon even the orange peeler and the scorer for the Bulls are pretty big guys so the Stormers won’t have it all their own way but should win and claim second spot, followed by the ‘Tahs and the Crusaders.

Magners League

First up is the Ospreys taking on Glasgow. Practically the whole Osprey team – apart from Jerry Collins and Marty Holah who are All Blacks – have played for Wales so at home they are just going to way too strong. The Ospreys always play attacking entertaining rugby so it should be a good match. Then it’s the Irish derby, Leinster vs Munster at the RDS. Neither side is firing on all cylinders, but Munster seem to have developed serious engine problems that only a whole of new parts is going to fix, and not in time for this weekend – Leinster as the tide turns for them.

Guinness Premiership

Wha a weekend as the Premiership nears the end. Saturday’s matches start with Northampton taking on Saracens. This is incredibly hard to call, the Saints should take it at home but Saracens have been in a rich vein of form. I’d love the Saints to win because of their exciting style, but I think Sarries are on a roll so I’m going for an upset for them. Then it’s Leicester and Bath slugging it out in the other semi. Leicester are creaking a bit, whereas bath are 10 from the last 11 – the one loss to…Leicester. Home advantage pays here as Leicester pull the plug.