MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Leinster had 12 full Ireland internationals in their starting team this weekend. The others were two Ireland U20 caps and one ozzie - Scott Fardy.
Another 4 full Ireland Internationals on the bench, three U20 internationals and a kiwi.
A lot written about the Irish central contracts but the biggest point of difference is the Leinster Academy bringing through crops of players every year that are good enough to play their share of matches.
That , and having a coaching set up thats prioritising the younger players getting gametime at a high level. They're good enough and need to play.
Leinster had 12 full Ireland internationals in their starting team this weekend. The others were two Ireland U20 caps and one ozzie – Scott Fardy.
Another 4 full Ireland Internationals on the bench, three U20 internationals and a kiwi.
32-18
🙂
Indeed, Leinster’s record can in no way compare to the list of trophies in the Ospreys’ cabinet.
Oh hang on, you just went a bit #WelshRugbyTwitter there didn’t you? 😀
those ruddy welshies and their selective use of stats. 😉 Not something I would ever do 😉
That , and having a coaching set up thats prioritising the younger players getting gametime at a high level. They’re good enough and need to play.
There is still an awful lot of conservative picks in the AP - very few of the guys who did will in the U20 WC are getting picked regularly, it's normally only when the other options are broken. Guys like Smith have looked good this season despite being very young. I'd bet that he wouldn't have had a shot if the established players weren't injured.
The game time is more managed though via the central contract system - compared the minutes plated between Farrell and Sexton. It is a much better environment for players especially given the numbers of games that modern players are expected to play.
Regarding Leinster's record vs Ospreys. 4 Pro 14 league championships each. That's a decent achievement for the Ospreys when you consider how many years of the Pro 14 they've been dire! (I'm ignoring the worthless Euro cup wins that Leinster have. Who's interested in beating a bunch of garlic munchers?)
The Ospreys looked good this weekend, like they'd got a decent coach or something.
The Ospreys looked good this weekend, like they’d got a decent coach or something.
Just got rid of the shit coach
Regarding Leinster’s record vs Ospreys. 4 Pro 14 league championships each.
Thats fantastic. I didn’t think Leinster were that good.
As for England, what’s changed in systems since their GS in 2016 and 6N championship win in 2017?
32-18
Important match next week.
You can compare the sexton Farrell minutes and talk about resting but that's not the whole story with Leinster.
It's as much about player development for the likes of Joey carberry and Ross Byrne, getting first team game time so they're good enough 10s that Leinster can still be competing without sexton playing every week.
Likewise players like leavy, Van Der flier, and Conan coming through to take gametime off the likes of heaslip, sob, ruddock
Admittedly, Leinster ( and Munster) did used to take the Mick in the pro 12 when Heineken cup seeding came from Heineken cup previous results. Could send the under 18s over for the Friday night in Wales one man and a dog games. Only needed to be top six to get in. Come to think of it, that might help explain some of those 4 ospreys titles after all.
But is changed a bit now. Pro12 more competitive since seedings started to come from league position. It's made for a better competition
Not sold on this two conference set up yet.
Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding have been cleared of rape today.
The RFU have undertaken a report / study which has found that 36% of injuries are a result of / happen at England training camps and have increased from last year. I'm sure the clubs will be very happy hearing that. It's starting to seem that the shine of Jones is starting to wane a bit.
RE Jackson and Olding - where dies that leave them with Ulster? Will Ulster automatically have to take them back?
Strongly suspect that that's linked to Jones saying the England team weren't fit enough - now they are lean mean broken machines!
Also, tackling should aim for the waist to chest. How do you tackle someone who's ducked / driving forward I wonder?
Legally yes, there's no way that Ulster can't take Jackson and Olding back as I'm lead to believe.... actually though, I'd imagine that they'll be playing in France next year. Certainly what the rumour mill is suggesting.
West is finally leaving Northampton - surprised he lasted after Mallinder went. They seem to be loosing a fair few players too.
Still can't believe that Exeter have signed Cuthbert.
Just seen on my FaceBook newsfeed that Sam Jones who was injured at one of the Engladn training camps has been forced to retire at 26.
Sounds like the injury was pretty bad - ankle dislocation including a fracture of the fibular, damage to the ligaments joing the main ankle bones and a rupture of the medial ligmanet and lots of cartilafe damage. He's had a series of ops and had to abort his comeback attempts.
That's a pretty short sports career.
I believe it was during a Judo bout with Itoje. Sounds nice and safe!
Solomona continues to make himself really hard to like.
Solomona continues to make himself really hard to like.
He comes across as a bit of a dick doesn't he? Good player but undoes a lot of that by being a tit.
Did he not get sent home from the training camp as well?
Did he not get sent home from the training camp as well?
Yup; him and Manu went out on the piss and came back late. Jones said whilst there was no official curfew, it's pretty obvious that going out and getting smashed until the early hours of the morning on a training camp is not vert sensible or grown up.
Back to ERC action this weekend.
Scarlets v La Rochelle, Friday, 1730.
Munster v Toulon, Saturday 1515.
Clermont Auvergne v Racing 92, Sunday, 1300.
Leinster v Saracens, Sunday, 1530.
Odds generally going with home victories - Leinster will have most of their internationals back after having a week off and I think they’ll have too much for Saracens. Munster are beset by injuries but Thomond Park advantage should be enough - although it’s the QF most likely to be won by the away team. The Scarlets La Rochelle game should be a cracker and will probably be the most entertaining. La Rochelle did well in their pool but lost two of their away games and Scarlets should come out of the predicted try-fest. Clermont v Tacing 92 - I haven’t a clue really.
Now for the rules on semi-finals. Frustratingly, despite Munster going into the QFs as the third best team from pool performances, there is no scenario in which they would have home advantage for the SFs. Eg as Racing are ranked 7, their away win would be given more weight than Munster’s home win. Can’t quite figure it all out.
EDIT: Or as Paul O’Connell wrote, always an away semi-final in France. 🙄
The format for the semi-final matches in the Champions Cup recognises performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of clubs winning quarter-final matches away from home.
The winner of QF1 will play the winner of QF2 in one semi-final, and the winner of QF3 will play the winner of QF4 in the other semi-final as follows:
Semi-final 1: Leinster Rugby or Saracens v Scarlets or La Rochelle
Semi-final 2: Munster Rugby or RC Toulon v ASM Clermont Auvergne or Racing 92The semi-final matches will be played at venues designated by EPCR, but the following clubs will have home country advantage in their respective semi-final matches:
(a) For Semi-final 1
If Leinster Rugby (ranked 1) and Scarlets (ranked 4) win their QFs, Leinster will have home country advantage
If Leinster Rugby (ranked 1) and La Rochelle (ranked 5) win their QFs, La Rochelle will have home country advantage
If Saracens (ranked 8) and Scarlets (ranked 4) win their QFs, Saracens will have home country advantage
If Saracens (ranked 8) and La Rochelle (ranked 5) win their QFs, La Rochelle will have home country advantage
(b) For Semi-final 2
If Munster Rugby (ranked 3) and ASM Clermont Auvergne (ranked 2) win their QFs, Clermont will have home country advantage
If Munster Rugby (ranked 3) and Racing 92 (ranked 7) win their QFs, Racing 92 will have home country advantage
If RC Toulon (ranked 6) and ASM Clermont Auvergne (ranked 2) win their QFs, RC Toulon will have home country advantage
If RC Toulon (ranked 6) and Racing 92 (ranked 7) win their QFs, RC Toulon will have home country advantage
Interesting article on the beeb about reffing and high tackles in the ap the gist is that ap refs are not strict enough on high tackles
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/43590257
Looking forward to the Scarlets game - could be a cracker
Re cuthbert and chiefs. It follows their current ball carrying backs who never pass ethos.
Dolman must have thw stickiest hand in Rugby he's so unable to pass.
Re cuthbert and chiefs. It follows their current ball carrying backs who never pass ethos.
Cuthberts problem is not passing, its catching it first..
Actually he's been pretty solid for Blues this season. Picks good lines in the 22. If Brew can make a living playing for Bath Cuthbert can do well for Exeter. He has essentially given up on Wales so could be a decent buy. Wingers are not picked for their passing so who cares about that.
Lets us not forget when given the ball in space he is very good. Just dont expect him to be great in defence.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TwVmkSlrLHQ
Try scoring test Lion. Many would love to be as shit as him!
Too youmg to remember all this
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12023491
That a good story, I remember googling it and somebody managed to get a couple of minutes with him on film. Lives quietly with only the odd dead burglar breaking him desire for obscurity.
Sad news about the Ozzie 7s captain -suckerpunched by some English scumbag. Apparently, he’s recovering but will be out of the Commonwealth Games
Scarlets / La roichelle all a bit frantic. Plenty of excitement but not a lot of quality. all to play for in the second half
Tidy
good win but hardly a game of free flowing skill. As a neutral a bit disappointed in the spectacle.
As a neutral a bit disappointed in the spectacle
I can live with that 😁
Sad news about the Ozzie 7s captain -suckerpunched by some English scumbag. Apparently, he’s recovering but will be out of the Commonwealth Games
Doesnt specify he was English in the article. The dick who did it was described as British. Last time I checked Great Britain included Wales, Scotland and Nothern Ireland. Just saying...
Exeter won the pointless cup. Good win for Newcastle yesterday too.
Jaysus. Crazy game of rugby in Limerick. Munster win it 20-19 after Conway’s counter attacking try on 75 minutes. Another semi-final in France awaits. And breathe.
Munster’s home advantage wins them another game. Best ref in the world or biggest bottler in Ireland?
Good win for Munster but christ they were lucky.
Oh hello IJ.
To cheer you up even more, the man of the match was Peter O’Mahony.
I think given injury list going into the game and losing Zebo so early, that’s a very good win. Always thought they might lose this one. Showtime definitely helped them today. Anyway, on we go to another heartbreaking loss in a semi-final in France. 😀
DD - I’m absolutely impartial about this game because I despise both teams in equal measure. The only way I could dislike the participants even more would be if it was a weird three-way game with Saracens involved. 😛
The man of the match should have been awarded to the crowd. Or Nige ‘best ref in the world’.
I think given injury list going into the game and losing Zebo so early, that’s a very good win.
For sure, any win is a good win in a quarter final despite what Glasgow and TJ may say!!
because I despise both teams in equal measure.
That's really sad dude. You need to fill your life with love instead. 🙂
Mindmap You're right about the identity of the alleged attacker.
You're wrong about Great Britain though. Northern Ireland is part of the UK but not part of Great Britain.
https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-great-britain-and-the-united-kingdom
I realise some of you might not enjoy this, but this on 75 mins is superb.
https://twitter.com/KeejayOV2/status/980116120857399297
Might just watch this on repeat for the rest of the night. 😀
That’s really sad dude. You need to fill your life with love instead. 🙂
I save all my love for you, Darcy you hunk. I’ve seen you in the film, walking out of the pond with your sexy wet shirt....
#strangest
Edinburgh v Blues is best game of weekend so far.
No its not! Ednburgh are pure mince. Munster / toulon was a much better game
WTF was Fowles doing for that first try? 2 defensive errors leading to two tries.
Good tactics from the blues tho - the chips and grubbers are really working well
I suspect Cockerill will have a few things to say at halftime
Edinburgh need a scrum-half who can pass to a player’s hands, not two feet above the head or along the floor.
Navidi.
Excellent performance there.
Yup - Navidi was good but what a load of rubbish from Edinburgh - at least we don't have the distraction of the diddies cup any more so can concentrate on our last 3 league games.
Blues well deserved winners but hardly looked great either. two gifted tries is all they got
what a load of rubbish from Edinburgh
Good play from the Blues made them look poor 😆
Need a gif of the ball bouncing off that fella's head and landing in Jenkins arms for the try!!
Good play from the Blues made them look poor 😆
Although to give TJ his dues, the two tries were from appalling Edinburgh play.
the two tries were from appalling Edinburgh play.
They were out under too much pressure!!!
Need a gif of the ball bouncing off that fella’s head and landing in Jenkins arms for the try!!
That's giving me flashbacks to the ball bouncing off Kieran Read's head for Moala to gather and score.
Yup - I candistinguish a large steaming pile of mince from a rugby team.
The second try was poor but the first was simply awful play. Yes the chips ad grubbers had Edinburgh in trouble but for both tries there was a player there to clean up and neither did so. Mind you Edinburgh hardly tested the blues defense either. Blues by farthe better team on the night
Enjoyed the Munster Toulon game. I thought Toulon had done enough to win it but Trinh-Duc made sure it was undone with the missed kick to touch which lead to the winning try.
Edinburgh Cardiff was a bit rubbish though. Doubt Cockers will be too happy tonight. Navidi looked good though.
Enjoyed the Munster Toulon game. I thought Toulon had done enough to win it but Trinh-Duc made sure it was undone with the missed kick to touch which lead to the winning try.
i could see what Trinh-Duc was trying to do - touch and put Munster close to the 10m line so that they’d have to build phases - on the day, Toulon were winning the battle generally on long phase build up - they had too much power up front - Ireland of the 6N, Munster certainly are not, and even less so with the injury list before today’s game.
Most players in Conway’s position under that kick would have caught with a foot in touch, perhaps taken a quick line-out which may well have been defended. Instead he kept his left foot in play, fielded the ball high, and took off, beating a few surprised players on the wing, before turning inside, beating another (gotta love a diving defender missing his man) to score an easily converted try.
It’s always interesting to wonder whether a player has lost it for his team or another has won it for his. For me, Trinh-Duc makes an error but it’s Conway that wins the game, not Trinh-Duc that loses it. But I’d say that anyway. 🙂
DD, whats your thoughts on the two boys getting investigated by the IRFU? I recognise that they were found not guilty and they are young and daft and probably didn't do anything worse than lots of guys their ages who aren't public figures get up to. I think they are pretty odious based on the whats app messages, and wouldn't want either; but the Irish fans on forums seem split on a second chance. I suspect there is a financial decision rather than a moral one being made.
I recognise that they were found not guilty and they are young and daft and probably didn’t do anything worse than lots of guys their ages who aren’t public figures get up to.
I was young and stupid once and never treated anyone with such utter contempt. Horrible, odieus specimens. I think Ulster will struggle to justify keeping them on.
I’d rather talk about what a fantastic season it’s been for Irish rugby duckers. If you guys want to talk about the rape trial, for whatever reasons, fire away. I won’t be joining in.
FWIW, this is the story of the trial from start to finish as reported by The Irish Times. Probably worth a read if you’re interested.
I'd say it merits a separate thread.
I'd say ignoring it on a rugby thread is not the way to go.
That’s an interesting article, DD. I hadn’t followed the trial at all.
Paddy Jackson said his hobbies are drawing superheroes and miming to rap songs. For some reason I find that disturbing. My six year old would perhaps say something similar.
Big result in Clermont. I think Munster will give Racing a good go in the SFs. Reasonably record against them but it’ll still be a very tough game and Racing will and should start as favourites. Must check who’s Munster might have back from the clinic.
https://twitter.com/racing92/status/980444921936138240?s=21
right, now to settle down for the Leinster Saracens game
Enjoying the Leinster Sarries game. Sarries being far more competitive than I thought. Sexton on the receiving end of a few marginally latesand has given a couple of silly penalties away. Sarries don’t seem to have much pace or true cutting edge. Maitland and Wray are having good games though.
Ultimately I think Leinster will have too much quality to get beaten by Saracens at home.
Great win for Leinster. Saracens gave it a fair go, but that period between 40 and 60 was when the game was won.
So its Leicester v Scarlets in Dublin....cant see Scarlets winning but then I never thought they'd get this far!!
I don't know, I reckon Scarlets could beat Leicester in Dublin.
Anyway, what a cracking game that was. Ryan and Leavy both had fantastic outings. Saracens' execution let them down, especially in the last 15-20 when they looked to be coming back into it. A real positive for Leinster given that they didn't play their best today - they'll be strong favourites for the game in Dublin against Scarlets for sure.
FFS...digusting if true and hope they get action from the law and lifetime bans from the ground 😝
Anyway, what a cracking game that was.
I’m not agreeing with you. But yeah!
FFS…digusting if true and hope they get action from the law and lifetime bans from the ground 😝
Llanelli is an odd place, with odd people. There isn’t a zoo for miles, and the chimp sanctuary is in the Swansea valley so no self respecting Llanelli native would venture there. I suspect that many of the home crowd have never seen a monkey and rarely seen a person who wasn’t white. A little like those people in Hartlepool (was it?) who hung the monkey thinking it was a French spy. Or was it vice versa? Mind you, they did beat the All Blacks. Never forget that.
Mind you, they did beat the All Blacks. Never forget that.
Maybe they were just reminding the French of that!!
Unfortunately I didn't see the game ;-( sounds like there was deliberate targeting of Sexton with late hits. Pretty disgraceful if so. thoughts?
TJ - most looked like the tackler was committed and couldn’t stop after the bell had gone. The Wigglesworth block / no arm tackle was the worst. I think there was a definite strategy to put him under pressure which did get in his head a few times in the first half given his petulance. BOD actually said the attention was a badge of honour. He was targeted but I don’t think the late hits were premeditated.
Leinster definitely won that in the third quarter. Sarries really came back into it in the second quarter but didn’t appear to come out after the break whereas Leinster came out firing on all cylinders. Leavy was brilliant; that eye is honing to be sore this morning.
Sarries seemed to lack pace and cutting edge out wide. Maitland had a good game, but there was no real pace or clever running lines to worry the defence. They could have done with Ashton to track the breaks they made (he had an annoyingly good game for Toulon). It’s hard to see past Leinster winning it now.
Sarries seemed to lack pace and cutting edge out wide.
Liam Willuams certainly seems to have had a talentectomy since he went to that London. Similar happened with North when he went to Northampton, hopefully Pivac can sprinkle some magic Llanelli fairy dust back on him if he comes home. Its slowly working on 1/2p.
TJ – most looked like the tackler was committed and couldn’t stop after the bell had gone. The Wigglesworth block / no arm tackle was the worst. I think there was a definite strategy to put him under pressure which did get in his head a few times in the first half given his petulance. BOD actually said the attention was a badge of honour. He was targeted but I don’t think the late hits were premeditated.
The hits were pre-meditated, but when a team sets out to “target” a player, which Saracens did, then late hits will happen - whether intentional or not. To be fair, I think they were penalised when necessary and it wasn’t as blatant as when France tried it. I don’t think it was that big a deal so sorry teeJ, if you want to pick a fight with the AP today, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Overall, a physical game which Saracens dominated (and dominated in the air too) but lacked the finishing that Leinster had They were beaten by a team not operating at 100%.
I suppose I can see why Saracens tried targeting Sexton. Clearly it’s a tactic that’s been working really well against Leinster and Ireland this season. 🙂
Three Pro14 teams in the semis of the ERC.
I suppose I can see why Saracens tried targeting Sexton.
Every team targets the opposition 10.