Ulster cruise, Leinster stagger, and Munster...

Missed (picture http://bit.ly/T2ZGQb)

Ulster started the weekend in fine style for the Irish provinces with a bonus point win. Marshall was in fine form at scrum half – hope Declan Kidney was watching –full value for his two tries, and super sub Ruan Pienaar put the cherry on top with a bonus point try after the hooter had sounded.

Next up were Munster, who had to play on a soggy pitch in driving  rain. That would have suited them once, but in fairness, they are trying to play some running rugby, and it didn’t quite come off. The annoying thing is they could have won, but managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and it was all their own doing. This wasn’t just the one that got away, it the one that stopped on the way to wave it’s private parts in your aunties face. I guess like Leinster, they have got to learn to earn the right to go wide first. Impressive first outing from Paulie. I’m ignoring the 6 foot 2inch elephant in the room (Connor Murray) as I’ve said enough about him already.

Leinster looked none to sharp fumbling past Exeter. That doesn’t do justice to how well Exeter played, they are team in serious form. But Leinster are trying to do fancy wrap arounds and what not, before theforwards have tied up the defence and created the space. The lineout is a shambles, they are missing SOB, but to play badly, and still beat a side like Exeter, they doing OK. Die hard Leinster supporters will be pointing to the fact that they looked pretty pooey at the start of their last two triumphant HC campaigns, but it takes a lot of belief to back them at the moment – Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny will be handing them the HCup this year!

Connacht got the win over Zebre, and I watched a fair amount of Quins/Biarritz, and it was impressive how Quins picked themselves up in the second half and put their foot on the accelerator.

Watched a bit of the Leicester/Toulouse match,a nd saw 30mins of hard work by the Tigers undone by one bit of magic from the Frenchmen.

Heineken Cup Ospreys
 38 - 17 Benetton Treviso 
Ulster 41 - 17 Castres
Racing Metro 92 22 - 17 Munster 
Zebre 10 - 19 Connacht 
Leinster 9 - 6 Exeter 
Clermont Auvergne 49 - 16 Scarlets 
Edinburgh 0 - 45 Saracens
 Harlequins 40 - 13 Biarritz
Northampton 24 - 15 Glasgow 
Sale 34 - 33 Cardiff Blues 
Toulon 37 - 16 Montpellier 
Toulouse 23 - 9 Leicester

It's Autumn - your life is not your own because the Heineken Cup is going to take it over!

Sooo, the biggest club rugby competition in Europe (some say the world) is about to kick off. Toulouse have won the competition a record four times, Leinster three times, while Munster, Leicester Tigers and London Wasps have won it twice each. Leicester and Leinster have both won it twice in a row, but it’s never been won three times in a row…UNTIL this season?!

Leinster are the incumbents, and all the challengers have to wrest the cup from their cold dead hands. They have had a moderate start to the season, some would say crappy(me). Their major loss in the off season was Brad Thorne, and they still look a bit light in the lock department. They are carrying a fair amount of injured players, and some of the older guys (D’Arcy and O’Driscoll) are held together by gaffer tape and chewing gum at this stage. But…when you learn how to do something like win the Heineken Cup, you don’t forget in a hurry. They have a tough enough group with Clermont, Scarlets and Exeter . We all know what Clermont can do but Exeter and Scarlets could trip you up just like that. On pedigree though, Leinster should make it out their group, and will have to and should beat Exeter first up.

Munster are in with Edinburgh, Racing Metro and Sarries. Not the worst group really, and if they bring their good running game and their pack stands up, I could see them topping their group, with Sarries the big obstacle.

Ulster have Saints, Glasgow and Castres. In the form they’re in, no problem for them to get out of the group, starting by thumping Castres, with a certain Ruan on the bench.

Connacht have Zebre, Quins and Biarritz. Could they get a second and scrape into the next round? Certainly not impossible, I want to see it! Quins should top this.

Then, out of the final two groups, Toulouse and Toulon should top their groups, with the Tigers scraping out.
Bring it ONNNN! I’ve updated the pool and fixtures HC cup pages on my blog, so peruse at your leisure.

Ulster look dead handy, Leinster turn up, and the All Blacks are all powerful.

Damian Brone (picture http://bit.ly/PM7i2T)

I started off the weekend watching Connacht get comprehensively beaten by Ulster. Ulster are in some serious from, Marshall looks really sharp, Bowe did well, but the whole team functions as such a tight unit it’s hard to pick out stand out players. Connacht played well, gutsy is their by word, and it’s a shame Eric Elwood is throw in the towel, because with a bit more support from the IRFU to retain players, they could turn into something really good.

The Leinster/Munster match was way better than I expected, in fact it was a belter. Reddan made a huge impact for me, combined with Sexton, and a pack that stood up. I’d pick Damian Browne out as a top performer, and Jodi Murphy’s work rate is top notch.  I’d like to see more of Fionn Carr, he’s earned his place. As much as I rate Madigan, maybe it’s worth giving Carr a shot at full back? Munster are there, nearly there, they have a counter attacking game now I can’t ever remember them having, and with a few more tweaks they will be awesome. That pack is getting better and better.

It was a black day in Soweto as New Zealand pretty comprehensively dismantled the Bokke, after an impressive start by the home team. Those All Blacks are pretty well invincible at the moment, best team in the world by a country mile. I will say this though, the Springboks are starting to evolve. It’s going to take a while to get from Neanderthal  through Cro-Magnon to Homo Erectus, but they have started on a journey, and when they arrive, they are going to be fearsome.

The Wallabies wrapped up their tournament by beating  Argentina. Great result for a team cobbled together with bits of string, and Argentina are getting their act together, and will be so much better next time around.
RaboDirect PRO12
Ulster  25 - 0  Connacht 
Zebre 16 - 34 Ospreys 
Scarlets 24 - 13 Newport-Gwent D'gons 
Edinburgh 22 - 27 Benetton Treviso
Cardiff Blues 3 - 18 Glasgow 
Leinster 30 - 21 Munster 
Rugby Championship
South Africa 16 - 32 New Zealand
Argentina 19 – 25 Australia

The big Irish clash this weekend is sure to be a thriller - will Ulster beat Connacht? :) Plus I'm going Boks and Pumas

(picture http://bit.ly/SJhutF)

The big match this weekend, the one we’ve all been waiting for, the big Irish derby, is of course between Connacht and Ulster. But let’s for sentimentalities sake imagine that the little matter of Leinster taking on Munster at the Aviva stadium – with 45000 people watching – is in fact the big Irish match taking place this weekend.  Munster come in of the back of a good beating at the hands of the Ospreys, while Leinster were thrashed by Connacht. Munster have at least put a few performances together this season, looking excellent in patches against the Dragons, and playing well against Ulster even if they lost. Leinster’s form, meanwhile has been – I think the technical term is crappy. Both teams want to use this match to springboard their seasons – I guess Leinster will win in their own back yard, but at this stage it’s hard to see how this will be the start of anything for either of them. Ulster should win their match easily enough I’d say. No good news on the Injury front either with Rob Kearney out  for months. And if we get Boss or Reddan back that would be a huge step forward.

The Rugby Championship has been wrapped up by New Zealand, so the matches left are dead rubbers now.  The All Blacks however are on a 15 match winning streak, and the Springboks always want to beat them, they are their favourite team to beat.  The match is in Soweto, I think the stadium holds 90000 people, and I’m going with the Springboks, notwithstanding the performance the All Blacks put in last weekend. I think the Springboks are going to be absolutely desperate for the win.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies have limped into Argentina with a severely depleted squad.  If you’re an Aussie supporter going to the match, bring your boots.  I think Australia are ripe for the taking, and that Argentina are going to get their first win.

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Friday , October 5
Zebre vs Ospreys 
Ulster vs Connacht 19:05
Scarlets vs Newport-Gwent D'gons 19:05
Edinburgh vs Benetton Treviso 19:30
Saturday , October 6
Leinster vs Munster 18:30
Cardiff Blues vs Glasgow 18:30
Rugby Championship
Saturday , October 6
South Africa vs New Zealand 16:30
Argentina vs Australia 20:10

Lurching Leinster, magic Ulster, and wobbling Wallabies

(Picture http://bit.ly/QfMWkp)

I had to work late on Friday night, so that ruled out watching the Leinster game, then I had it on the hard drive – and, oh no, the kids deleted it so I didn’t get to see them getting pumped by Connacht. Leinster chops and change every week, scrum half is a problem, but lads, sort it out! Fair play to Connacht, even if it was Dan ‘Evil’ Parks, the nemesis of Leinster and Ireland on numerous occasions, who did a lot of the damage. Now, I wish I’d recorded the Ulster match instead – what a result! And that’s without a host of their big names. I watched bits and pieces of the Munster match – they are going two step forwards, one and half steps back at the moment. ROG is not playing great still, and that magic offloading game they had last weekend absent. Result for Treviso, and Zebre did well as well.

I watched the Springboks sort out Australia quite to my satisfaction on Saturday. I was amazed with how easily they did it – I know Australia were shipping injuries like rats leaving a sinking ship, but the Boks were hardly threatened at all. Look at what happens when you pick a fly half who doesn’t kick all the time. Their goal kicking was ordinary to say the least, otherwise it would have been a thumping for Aus. A player at the top of his game is Francois Lowe, his work on the ground, tackling and linking play between forwards and backs is pretty well faultless. Also in superlative form is Bryan Habana, who is a handful all over the pitch. Australia look down and out – they put in a decent 5 minute spell at the 60 minute mark, apart from that, they just didn’t look like they wanted to be there.

The AB’s wrapped up the Championship in fine style by smashing the Pumas in Argentina. The Pumas tried to open things up a bit, and paid the price. They have come on a lot over the last 6 weeks, and will be looking for their first win next weekend against the Aussies. The Al Blacks looked fairly flat in their last two games, but with Carter back in the seat it was business as normal again. Looking forward to that last game against the Springboks!

RaboDirect PRO12
Newport-Gwent D'gons 32 - 12 Edinburgh 
Connacht 34 - 6 Leinster 
Cardiff Blues  19 - 48  Ulster 
Glasgow 22 - 19 Zebre
Benetton Treviso 22 - 20 Scarlets 
Ospreys 30 - 15 Munster
Rugby Championship
Argentina 15 - 54 New Zealand
South Africa 31 - 8 Australia

Bowe's back, and New Zealand/Argentina is going to be a physical onslaught not seen I gave my ma lip all those years ago

Bowe's Back (picture http://bit.ly/V3P3uR)

The two big matches in the RDP12 are Cardiff Blues v Ulster, and Munster’s trip to play the Ospreys. Tommy Bowe gets to line up for Ulster for the first time in his return to the club. A worry for Ulster is their injury list and absentees, with some real star quality missing: Johann Muller, Stephen Ferris, Paddy McAllister, Chris Farrell, Robbie Diack, Ruan Pienaar, Roger Wilson, Declan Fitzpatrick, Rory Best.  Despite that, it’s going to be an emotional occasion for them, I think they’ll be really fired up and take this one.

Connacht welcome Leinster, who will arrive with Rob Kearney on the field for the first time this season. Madigan gets a start. With Cooney at 9, who’s blowing hot and cold, and a host of changes again from last week, could be a tough day the office for the boys in blue, but they should just about scrape it.

Munster have a tough assignment in the shape of the Ospreys. I had a taste for the Munster scrumming prowess in the burger queue at the Ploughing in Wexford. They are trying Earls and Laulala in centres would should be interesting but.. we’ll see. When are they going to put Murray there like I want them to? Billy Holland seems to be getting more game time under Rob Penney, and is playing well. On the results so far, I’d say Munster could well get an away win.

In the RC, Aus arrive in South Africa with a camp in discord, well as far as I can see from Dublin anyway. Copper is having all sorts of hissy fits, Curtley ‘Make mine a double’ Beale is at fly half. Nathan Sharpe is the only Aussie player not to have played fly half this season. Phipps and Beale at 9 and 10 is going to be challenging for all concerned I’d say. Meanwhile, in hold the press style, Heyneke Meyer has unveiled Johan Goosen at 10. That could be such a step up for SA rugby, their pack is stellar, world beating, and with a bit of attacking flair behind them now, I’m expecting big things from the Boks, with a good win.

In Argentina, the Pumas team is unchanged since their last outing, while Carter is back for the Blacks. I think if the All Blacks get home, it’ll be through old fashioned nous rather than anything else, because I reckon they are going to get slammed by Argentina. It’s going to be a physical onslaught not seen since I gave my ma lip all those years ago. I cannot wait, this is what the game is all about, 80 minutes of barely controlled violence.

RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , September 28
Newport-Gwent D'gons vs Edinburgh 
Cardiff Blues vs Ulster 
Glasgow vs Zebre 
Connacht vs Leinster 
Ospreys vs Munster 18:30
Saturday , September 29
Benetton Treviso vs Scarlets 18:05
Rugby Championship
Saturday , September 29
South Africa vs Australia 17:00
Sunday , September 30
Argentina vs New Zealand 00:10

Leinster stagger along, and Connor Murray as a center?

Minutes silence for Nevin Spence at the RDS - Picture with kind thanks to @eoinmcdon

Well, I was a bit red faced watching Connacht after writing them off and seeing how well they got on.  That is such a well drilled team, they weren’t making up the numbers against Glasgow, they weren’t going for a point, they were going for a win, and pushed Glasgow all the way. I was impressed by Mathew Jarvis – what do you say we grab him for Ireland, or is he already tied in to Wales?

Leinster’s match, as did all the Pro 12 matches, started with a minutes silence for Nevin Spence, and then the Leinster crowd singing Stand Up For the Ulstermen. I was so impressed they did the minutes silence in England as well. Makes me proud of my sport.

Leinster still look vey rusty, they could easily have been the team in red they were that rusty. We all know Leinster have great backs, but their strength is always based on a rock solid pack, which it isn’t at the moment. They are trying to do all the pretty bits before the hard work is being done, which is why they are only scraping by. Come back Nathan Hines, pleeease. And we need a SOB like you can’t believe.  Scrumhalf is a bit of problem area, I’ve been impressed by John Cooney so far, but his inexperience told, passing to isolated players, kicking to nowhere in particular. It’ll only get better I suppose. I thought Fionn Carr was at the heart of everything did well, he  deserves to be up the pecking order now.

Munster meanwhile were in smashing form against the Dragons. They have fearsome forwards again, loose forwards to burn, and have developed an off loading game from somewhere that is going to take them far. Downey continues to impress. O’Gara doesn’t though, he is a bit out of sorts, which I suppose game time will fix. If I was the Munster coach (which, thankfully for all concerned, is not the case) I’d take Earls out of center and play him at full back. He’s a dangerous runner, but has all the ball handling and passing skills of a prop forward. Then I’d put Murray into the centre, and play a lot more of Kearney at Fly Half. I’m not blown away by Murray at scrum half, never have been, but with his size he’d make a great centre.

RaboDirect PRO12
Scarlets 16 - 23 Ospreys 
Glasgow 27 - 17 Connacht
Leinster 22 - 16 Edinburgh 
Cardiff Blues 34 - 18 Benetton Treviso 
Munster 33 - 13 Newport-Gwent D'gons