Seconds out, round 2!

 

Seconds out, round 2!

Leinster get things going for Ireland when they welcome Castre to the RDS. No BOD, no Cullen, maybe no Ross – but Macken and Moore will no doubt step up to the plate. Anytime I’ve seen Castres play, BIG has been the impression I’ve had.  Away from home, the intent of most of the French clubs gets sorely tested – a good finish in the T14 seems to be their main focus. Leinster know how to do this HC thing now, and as long as they don’t offer too many 3 point opportunities to Rory Kockott, they should get home.

Connacht get a shot at an away win at Zebre, and if they play like they did against Saracens, I can’t see any problems for them.

Montpellier V Ulster is a mouth watering prospect, think BIG  V BiG! Ulster’s title credentials are going to be given a stern examination, by high flying Monpellier. Leinster got a draw there last year, a touch lucky maybe, but it can be done. Ulster will have to pull their socks up from last week, and in reality will probably aim to get a losing bonus point.

Finally, Munster get a n opportunity to right the wrongs of last week when Gloucester come to town. At home they are different animal from the near sighted mole that crawled out of the ground in Edinburgh, and they’ll do the business no doubt.

Finally, the Wallabies get another crack at the All Blacks on Saturday – think high scoring match with the AB’s on the right side of that.
Heineken Cup

Friday , October 18
Saracens vs Toulouse 
Leicester vs Benetton Treviso 
Saturday , October 19
Leinster vs Castres 15:40
Cardiff Blues vs Toulon 13:35
Zebre vs Connacht 13:35
Scarlets vs Racing Metro 92 18:00
Montpellier vs Ulster 15:40
Munster vs Gloucester 18:00
Sunday , October 20
Northampton vs Ospreys 12:45
Glasgow vs Exeter 14:00
Clermont Auvergne vs Harlequins 15:00
Perpignan vs Edinburgh 12:45

Leinster get back on the horse, Munster fall off, Ulster are firing again and Connacht were superb

 

Is that an alice band I spy?  (picture http://bit.ly/15zGa2a)

That was a 50:50 weekend for Ireland inc. On Friday, Ulster started to show a bit of their form from the last few years with a hard fought win over the Tigers. Not the pyrotechnics of a few years ago, but it was one they weren’t going to let go. They have several players roaring back into form, Bowe, Touhy, Wilson, Jackson, and Tom Court, with a bit of advice on his technique at half time, got some sweet revenge against Mr Scrumbender himself, Dan Cole.  These guys are only going to get better – with players like Diack, Olding and Henderson on the bench they have real depth these days, not to mention Afoa and Ferris still injured. Are the Tigers feeling O’Connors loss? They have injuries, but they seem to have lost some of their physicality.

Connacht in Galway were typically superb – you only had to see Saracens celebrating at the end to know what a battle they were in. They are making the Sportsground their fortress in this competition.

Munster were up next for Ireland, but arrived with their B game, looking as if they thought the match started at 3 instead of 1.30. They played some decent rugby in patches, and in fairness Edinburgh played well. It doesn’t mean Munster won’t go on to top the group, but it’s one they should have won. To me they need to concentrate on a back to basics forwards based game, sort out their pretty awful line out, keep it tight and only let it out when at all necessary. Well, they can only get better you hope.

Leinster turned it around at the liberty stadium, putting last weekend behind them and getting back on the horse, with a tough away victory. It wasn’t a characteristic running game from Leinster, but based on defense, and powerful running the ball up from Healsip and O’Brien. And McLaughlin, Ruddock and Cronin. Their scrum stood up well too, even without Ross. The Ospreys couldn’t break through, and just moved the ball from side to side. Finally, one for the Ospreys fans – Richard Hibbard is a superb player, a mighty Lion and all – but is there any chance you could all chip in for an alice band to keep his hair back?

I also saw a fair bit of the Scarlets Quins match – mighty performance from the Scarlets, where Scott Williams and Aaron Shingler starred, and Rhodri  Williams has future international stamped all over him.

Heineken Cup
Friday , October 11
Ulster 22 - 16 Leicester 
Connacht 17 - 23 Saracens 
Toulouse 38 - 5 Zebre 
Saturday , October 12
Benetton Treviso 10 - 27 Montpellier 
Edinburgh 29 - 23 Munster 
Castres 19 - 13 Northampton 
Gloucester 27 - 22 Perpignan 
Ospreys 9 - 19 Leinster 
Harlequins 26 - 33 Scarlets 
Sunday , October 13
Exeter 44 - 29 Cardiff Blues 
Toulon 51 - 28 Glasgow 

This Heineken Cup season has a limited edition, final tour feel to it...

 

The HC is back, and this season has a limited edition, final tour feel to it. Catch it before they sell out and break up!As is my habit now, I go through the pools and make risible guesses on the eventual 8 that make it out of this stage.

Group 1 has Castres  Leinster,  Northampton and the Ospreys. Castres are near the bottom of the T14, while Saints are no 2 in the premiership. It’s not a bad group for Leinster – no easy games for them, but it could be a lot worse! I’m going to be completely biased and say Leinster will top the group – and start off with an away win at the Ospreys. With all their internationals back, both sides have handy squads, but I’m going with Leinster’s experience. Hope BOD makes his recovery in time.

Group 2 has the Cardiff Blues, Exeter , Glasgow Warriors and Toulon. In this pool I’m going with mmm, Car…Toulon of course, and I think Glasgow will come good and get a runners up spot here.

Group 3 is Connacht , Saracens,  Toulouse and Zebre. Saracens top the AP, while Toulouse are 3rd in the T14, but tied first on points. I’m going with Toulouse because of their squad size. Connacht have Saracens this weekend, who will be totally underestimating them, so I’m going with a close win for Saracens.

Group 4 is Clermont Auvergne, Harlequins, Racing Metro Paris, and Scarlets. Clermont are 5th RM are 8th, it was Clermont’s season last year…until they blew it, but I’m sure Cotter wants to notch this up on his CV so Clermont it is., with RM getting a runners up spot.

Group 5 is Treviso,  Leicester Tigers, Montpellier,  and Ulster.  Tigers are 3rd in the AP and Montpellier 2nd in the T14. Likely to be between Ulster and Tigers as Montpellier have always been fecking terrible in Europe. And I think of all the Irish teams this is Ulster’s year,  with Pienaar back they should do the business against the Tigers this weekend, and end top of the group.

Group 6 is Edinburg, Gloucester, Munster and Perpignan. Gloucester are 10th in the AP, and Perpignan 6th. Really, if Munster don’t top this they are going to have to play really badly indeed! They should get things with a comfortable win against Edinburgh.

Heineken Cup
Friday , October 11
Toulouse vs Zebre 
Connacht vs Saracens 
Ulster vs Leicester 
Saturday , October 12
Castres vs Northampton 15:40
Ospreys vs Leinster 18:00
Harlequins vs Scarlets 15:40
Benetton Treviso vs Montpellier 13:35
Edinburgh vs Munster 13:35
Gloucester vs Perpignan 18:00
Sunday , October 13
Exeter vs Cardiff Blues 12:45
Toulon vs Glasgow 15:00
Racing Metro 92 vs Clermont Auvergne 20:00

The Springboks and All Blacks dish up one for the ages, while Munster Ulster and the Wallabies come good

 

 (picture http://bit.ly/1b0kYmy)

I’m fairly square eyed after this weekend. Starting off with Ulster V Ospreys, where the Ulstermen showed a lot of character to dog out this win. I’m not one to talk about refs, but Peter Fitzgibbon was certainly even handed, with both sets of fans raging about him!

Munster got one over Leinster at Musgrave Park in a messy match. The ball didn’t move much more than a metre at a time in open play, apart from the usual kick fest. Paulie is like another loose forward, and Donnacha Ryan adds a lot to the team. Leinster just couldn’t impose themselves on the game – Lote Tuquiri played well, and SOB is very welcome back. Leinster aren’t quite the same without Sexton, and BOD in this match, but they’re getting there

The Springboks/All Blacks match was one for the ages. As a Springbok fan, when you saw how well the All Blacks were playing, to me anyway iit was obvious it was going to be an AB day. But that didn’t spoil my enjoyment – far from it, I couldn’t have been prouder of the Boks, or more impressed by New Zealand. What wasn’t there to enjoy, tries, pace,  skill, unmatched ferocity…that’s going to stay on the hard drive for a long time. New Zealand are the best team in the world, by a long way right now.

The Wallabies got back on the horse late on Saturday night, with a storming multi try performance. If they carry on playing like that, it’s going to be a proper 3 way tussle again for the Rugby Championship next year. In stark contrast, Argentina seem to be going backwards again after a good showing in the middle of the tournament

RaboDirect PRO12
Ospreys 12 - 18 Ulster
Newport Gwent D'gons  30 - 7  Zebre    
Benetton Treviso  23 - 3  Connacht 
Scarlets 12 - 17 Glasgow 
Munster 19 - 15 Leinster 
Cardiff Blues 29 - 12 Edinburgh
Rugby Championship
South Africa 27 - 38 New Zealand 
Argentina 17 - 54 Australia 

Leinster, Ulster, the Springboks and the Pumas - bring it on!

 

 Howya, Ronan. (picturehttp://bit.ly/15KTVxn)

The big match this weekend in the PRO12 is the all Irish clash between Leinster and Munster. It’s third plays fourth, and continues a long rivalry, it the one match that both sides want to win, and nearly more importantly that neither side want to lose. It was the scene in 2009 for the picture above, with Jonny Sexton politely enquiring if Ronan O’Gara is OK. Or something. It’s also the last warm up match before the HC kicks off, so time to bring out the big guns and get things settled for the week after. For Munster, that means Paulie starting and the return of Connor Murray. Meanwhile, Leinster should feature SOB and probably Lote Tuquiri pulling on the blue jersey in the pinnacle of his career.  Having watched only bits and pieces of Munster in the last couple of weeks,  they are starting to improve, but even away from home I think Leinster have a stronger team, so I’m going with Leinster.

Ulster have Andrew Trimble back to face Ospreys, and apart from Afoa and Pienaar, that looks like their strongest 15. Going to be a great match – and I’m going with Ulster.

On the other side of the world, the All Blacks will be in Johannesburg to take on the Springboks. There’s massive history from the first match, where a red card spoiled the match, and arguably gave NZ an extra bonus point they might not have got. They just need a point to retain the Rugby Championship. They showed last week against Argentina they can take some pressure, and then take the points after that. I can’t see them getting any less than 80 minutes of scary pressure from the Boks though. I think the All Blacks have a better drilled side, not better players than the Boks, and their scrum is just not as good. All in all, I’m going with a win for the Boks but no bonus point.

The last match of the Championship sees the Wallabies drag their sorry arses into Argentina. One win so far, and that was paper thin. It’s been a horrible year for them and likely to get worse, I mean, are the Argentineans going to be up for this or what? The best thing for Australia is just to take their medicine, write this year off, slink back home and come back better and stronger next year.

RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , October 4
Ospreys vs Ulster 19:05
Newport Gwent D'gons vs Zebre 19:15
Benetton Treviso vs Connacht 19:30
Saturday , October 5
Scarlets vs Glasgow 18:30
Munster vs Leinster 18:45
Sunday , October 6
Cardiff Blues vs Edinburgh 14:05
Rugby Championship
Saturday , October 5
South Africa vs New Zealand 16:00
Argentina vs Australia 23:40

Leinster Ulster and New Zealand get the BP's

 

Good to have you back (http://bit.ly/16W4EQv)

 

Leinster looked a lot sharper as they rolled over the Cardiff Blues at home. They have a bit of work still to do – Cuthbert, class as he is, got in way too easily for his try, and they lose their shape and their way a bit too regularly. BOD just adds class to the backline, everyone feeds off his confidence, Heaslip has added grunt and leadership to the scrum, while Healy is such is a big part of the team. They are starting to motor again, and with some tweaks on defense, they are shaping up well for the season. Madigan’s try for the bonus point was the highlight of the match. For the Blues, there is so much talent there, but it doesn’t come together, Halfpenny and Cuthbert must wonder sometimes why they stick it out.

Ulster got a good bonus point victory out of Treviso, and Munster got the job done against the Dragons. The men in red still look like a team in transition, but it’s starting to come together. While I like some of the things they are trying with the backline, I think they should play to their traditional strengths and concentrate on a forwards based game. How profound is that!

In Cape Town, it looked like South Africa were going to tear Australia limb from limb at one stage, when they got two quick tries in the first half…but they kind of last their way after that. A couple of yellow cards, and a lack of concentration let the Wallabies back into the game, and the bonus point eluded them, which probably means this Championship is gone. They have all the talent out there, they use their bench well, but it’s still not quite happening in the top two inches. Australia are struggling – a horrible trip to Argentina to try and avoid the wooden spoon is all that left for them now.

The All Blacks had to be a bit patient, but once the Argentinean adrenaline ran out in the second half, New Zealand eased through the gears and ran out convincing winners with the bonus point to boot. Argentina didn’t do themselves justice – the intensity and vigor of their defense is second to none, but their handling was nearly comical sometimes. This tournament would be a hard ask for any team in the world to join, it’s going to take time, but I think in a few years you’ll be going to Argentina expecting to lose.

RaboDirect PRO12
Zebre 17 - 24 Glasgow 
Ulster 32 - 13 Benetton Treviso 
Leinster 34 - 20 Cardiff Blues 
Edinburgh 9 - 22 Scarlets 
Connacht 26 - 43 Ospreys 
Munster 23 - 9 Newport Gwent D'gons
Rugby Championship
South Africa 28 - 8 Australia 
Argentina 15 - 33 New Zealand 

BOD is back, and I'm tipping the Springboks and the Pumas this weekend!

 

 (picture http://bit.ly/1dNIyEQ)

Friday night is opportunity for Leinster to restore their battered pride, against a Cardiff side who lost to the mighty Zebre last weekend. More class and talent is pumped into the side with the inclusion of BOD and Heaslip for the first time, and a start for Healy. We need our physicality back big time, and Quinn Roux will help that too. And hopefully BOD can direct the defense, lead by example as he always does, and not get injured! I think we’ll do it at the RDS.

Munster welcome a resurgent Dragons side to Musgrave Park. They have more firepower on their bench with the inclusion of Paul O’Connell. It’s a difficult time of year for any Irish provincial coach – your team changes every week as more players become available. I don’t think it’s a very fearsome looking side, but POC is worth 10-15 points on his own with his presence and leadership, which is something Munster really need these days.

Ulster have named  a strong team for the increasingly impressive Treviso. They have a lot of talent at their disposal, and their home ground needs to spur them on to start getting the wins. Rory Best is a great leader, and Tommy Bowe always adds class. It think they turned the corner last week, and if they give Treviso the respect they deserve they should get this no problem.

Australia have arrived in Australia with a fairly cobbled together team – through injury, loss of form and exclusion for drunkenness, it been tough to consistently pick  a team. They have James Horwill back at least. But the Brumbies players in the team will still be coming to terms with Jake White’s pretty disgraceful departure during the week. They get to face a fairly well first choice Springbok side, with Fourie du Preez starting. The Springboks are going to have to give the talent of the Australian team its due respect, but there is an air of inevitability about this match.

Later on Saturday the Pumas will be entertaining the All Blacks, who to me look a bit undercooked. They haven’t looked flash in their last few matches (apart from putting away a 14 man Springbok team, and there’s no Carter, McCaw, probably Read, and Cruden is not 100%. The All Black scrum will be under pressure, and if the Springboks only scraped out of Argentina with a win… I think the AB’s are going to go one worse and ship a loss!

RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , September 27
Zebre vs Glasgow 
Ulster vs Benetton Treviso 
Leinster vs Cardiff Blues 
Edinburgh vs Scarlets 
Saturday , September 28
Connacht vs Ospreys 17:00
Munster vs Newport Gwent D'gons
Rugby Championship
Saturday , September 28
South Africa vs Australia 16:00
Argentina vs New Zealand 23:40