Heineken Cup
HC QF & SF Draw
24/01/10 22:06 Filed in: Sport
Munster’s reward for
topping the seedings after the Pool stages of the
Heineken Cup is to be drawn against the last team
they played against in the competition -
Northampton. This had become evident by Saturday
afternoon as the action around the grounds
unfolded. If memory serves me correctly, this is
the first time this has happened for Munster.
Northampton are the only Guinness Premiership team left in the competition, and you can be sure that Sky Sports will be bigging them up come quarter-final day. Sky always try to put forward the impression that they are impartial, but whenever a Premiership team is in the hunt, particularly one with a smattering of young English internationals, the mask slips. Barnes and Harrison were painful to listen to on Friday night. In their eyes, Shane Geraghty was running the show, when in fact he was having a mare.
I think it’s good to have tough opposition in the quarters, because if Munster can get past a difficult opponent at that point, they get momentum for the next two games. Last year, they slaughtered a poor Ospreys at Thomond in the quarter finals, and then got done over by Leinster in the semis - a team they had beaten twice in the Magners League earlier in the season.
If we get past Northampton, then an away semi final awaits, against either Biarritz or the Ospreys.
Leinster will entertain Clermont Auvergne at home in the quarters and if they get through that, they will be on the road to France for the semi against either Toulouse or Stade. Which opens up the possibility of an All-Ireland Final in Paris, the first one to be played offshore since Cavan bate Kerry in New York in ’47.
Northampton are the only Guinness Premiership team left in the competition, and you can be sure that Sky Sports will be bigging them up come quarter-final day. Sky always try to put forward the impression that they are impartial, but whenever a Premiership team is in the hunt, particularly one with a smattering of young English internationals, the mask slips. Barnes and Harrison were painful to listen to on Friday night. In their eyes, Shane Geraghty was running the show, when in fact he was having a mare.
I think it’s good to have tough opposition in the quarters, because if Munster can get past a difficult opponent at that point, they get momentum for the next two games. Last year, they slaughtered a poor Ospreys at Thomond in the quarter finals, and then got done over by Leinster in the semis - a team they had beaten twice in the Magners League earlier in the season.
If we get past Northampton, then an away semi final awaits, against either Biarritz or the Ospreys.
Leinster will entertain Clermont Auvergne at home in the quarters and if they get through that, they will be on the road to France for the semi against either Toulouse or Stade. Which opens up the possibility of an All-Ireland Final in Paris, the first one to be played offshore since Cavan bate Kerry in New York in ’47.
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Munster Prevail In Nerve Shredding Encounter
22/01/10 23:10 Filed in: Sport
Despite the best
efforts of the referee Romain Poite, Munster
managed to keep their noses ahead of Northampton in
tonight’s Heineken Cup sixth round pool match at
Thomond Park.
I always think that it’s a poor show when the ref ends up as the most influential man on the pitch, and so it was tonight. There was hardly a single decent scrum in the whole match, with the front rows unable to engage properly. Any other top level referee would have stopped the rot early on, hauling the two front rows out and explaining that they had to come in straight. Instead he let them infringe at will. When Paul O’Connell tried to draw his attention to it, he was accused of trying to interfere.
In case anyone needs reminding, this little bollix was the very same ref who tried to ruin the Munster - All Blacks match in November 2008.
But still we won. It wasn’t pretty, but then Northampton came here looking for a win in order to ensure qualification. The bonus point they picked up means that they probably still will get through, and might even end up back at Thomond for the quarter final.
Moment of the match was when Northampton has a succession of five-metre scrums on the Munster line. At the time they were getting all the scrummaging decisions going their way. Munster held them out and looked like they had turned them over, but Monsieur Poite decided that Paul O’Connell had handled in the ruck and binned him. Then the seven men of the Munster pack managed to get one against the head of the dominant Northampton eight-man unit. In an intensely ugly match, it was a rare moment of beauty.
This was Munster’s toughest match to date. There will be sore bodies tomorrow morning, but at least the pain will not have been borne in vain. Munster are three matches away from regaining the Heineken Cup. They must show the same level of doggedness and tenacity in the knockout stages, whoever they meet. Improvement is needed too in certain areas, especially the scrum.
The elite players go off now to International duty. When they come back (hopefully with the Six Nations Trophy safely back in the IRFU cabinet), they will have to be prepared for even more of the same.
I always think that it’s a poor show when the ref ends up as the most influential man on the pitch, and so it was tonight. There was hardly a single decent scrum in the whole match, with the front rows unable to engage properly. Any other top level referee would have stopped the rot early on, hauling the two front rows out and explaining that they had to come in straight. Instead he let them infringe at will. When Paul O’Connell tried to draw his attention to it, he was accused of trying to interfere.
In case anyone needs reminding, this little bollix was the very same ref who tried to ruin the Munster - All Blacks match in November 2008.
But still we won. It wasn’t pretty, but then Northampton came here looking for a win in order to ensure qualification. The bonus point they picked up means that they probably still will get through, and might even end up back at Thomond for the quarter final.
Moment of the match was when Northampton has a succession of five-metre scrums on the Munster line. At the time they were getting all the scrummaging decisions going their way. Munster held them out and looked like they had turned them over, but Monsieur Poite decided that Paul O’Connell had handled in the ruck and binned him. Then the seven men of the Munster pack managed to get one against the head of the dominant Northampton eight-man unit. In an intensely ugly match, it was a rare moment of beauty.
This was Munster’s toughest match to date. There will be sore bodies tomorrow morning, but at least the pain will not have been borne in vain. Munster are three matches away from regaining the Heineken Cup. They must show the same level of doggedness and tenacity in the knockout stages, whoever they meet. Improvement is needed too in certain areas, especially the scrum.
The elite players go off now to International duty. When they come back (hopefully with the Six Nations Trophy safely back in the IRFU cabinet), they will have to be prepared for even more of the same.
When The Saints Come Marching In
21/01/10 21:39 Filed in: Sport
How many times have
we been here before? Last round of the pool stages
of the Heineken Cup, and Munster welcome a
high-flying English team to Thomond Park for a
winner-takes-all do-or-die encounter. Gloucester
have been here, as have Sale and Wasps. The only
team ever to have spoiled the party for Munster was
Leicester back in 2007, but we were qualified by
then anyway.
Northampton Saints are the latest to make the trek to Limerick in order to try to upset the Munster applecart. To many of the players, this will be seen as
just another
match. But how that perception will change when
they run out onto the pitch and see the sea of red
and hear the deafening roar. Thomond is as
intimidating a place to come to for an opposing
player as you can imagine. (But in a nice sort of
way, you understand. Munster rugby people are very
welcoming folk in every other way.
Just don’t get
cocky,
or presume that you might win.)
This should be a Munster win. Not necessarily a comfortable one, and a bonus point will not be considered before the game kicks off. Munster need to win in order to get a home quarter final, and they have been in this type of situation before.
“But Munster have never beaten Northampton in the Heineken Cup, and the Saints have a better scrum, and they’re third in the Guinness Premiership, and, and, and…”
And bollocks. Northampton have never faced Munster in Thomond Park on the last weekend of the pool stage before.
Northampton Saints are the latest to make the trek to Limerick in order to try to upset the Munster applecart. To many of the players, this will be seen as
This should be a Munster win. Not necessarily a comfortable one, and a bonus point will not be considered before the game kicks off. Munster need to win in order to get a home quarter final, and they have been in this type of situation before.
“But Munster have never beaten Northampton in the Heineken Cup, and the Saints have a better scrum, and they’re third in the Guinness Premiership, and, and, and…”
And bollocks. Northampton have never faced Munster in Thomond Park on the last weekend of the pool stage before.
The Munster Way
21/12/09 22:04 Filed in: Sport
There is a thing
about Munster and respect (as Bock
noted yesterday.) Famously, whenever a kicker
- home or away team - is addressing the placed
ball at Thomond Park, the crowd fall silent to
allow the kicker to concentrate. You never see a
Munster player showboat when scoring a try. He
may celebrate, of course, but he will do so
respectfully. Munster have only lost one
Heineken Cup match there in the entire history
of the competition, but it remains the top
ground for rugby fans all over Europe to come
to. Your team may take one hell of a beating,
but at least they and the supporters will be
treated with respect. (The only visiting team to
depart from that script was Leicester, when they
beat Munster at Thomond in 2007. But there is
huge mutual respect between Munster and
Leicester, so we have no issue with that fact.)
What you should never do when you come to Thomond is abuse that respect afforded to you. In the home fixture last Saturday night week, Phillip Burger of Perpignan scored a peach of a try. Most Munster folk, rugby people to their fingertips, would have applauded the score had it not been for what Burger did once he’d touched down. The cheeky pup cupped his ear as if to say “We don’t hear you signing any more.” Bad mistake.
The great thing about Munster is that most of the players are actually from the province. We have a few high-profile imports, who by and large, a bit like the Anglo-Normans who came to Ireland in the 12th century, have become as much Munster as the natives. Given that such a big percentage of the players are of the province itself, it follows that their supporters should be made up of many of their family members, friends and neighbours.
Burger’s gesture was fundamentally disrespectful to the Munster fans, and by extension, the team. And when you do that to Munster, they will punish you. Just as Munster did to Perpignan yesterday.
Before the match, I wasn’t too hopeful that Munster would get much out of their visit to Stade Aime Girail. A losing bonus point would have been a decent day’s work, I reckoned. Munster hadn’t put in a truly convincing Heineken Cup performance since they dismembered the Ospreys in last year’s quarter final, and their away form this season was dismal. Things just weren’t clicking. The scrum was not performing as it should, the backs weren’t making their presence felt and ROG seemed to be trudging across the Valley of Lost Confidence.
Now, of course the reason behind Munster’s incredible performance yesterday may have had nothing at all to do with Burger’s little sideshow. It may have been Vivalda’s comment that he felt he was playing the Munster Academy in Thomond (mind you, the Academy provided a good few player to the team that only narrowly lost to the All Blacks last November twelve months.) Or maybe it was the players collectively deciding that they simply were not going to allow themselves to come out second best any more. Whatever it was, it worked.
As well as watching the match live (a big thank you to Aoife for taking her nap while the match was on), we Sky+’d it too and I watched it again last night. When you’re not concentrating on how the match might end up, it’s easier to be more analytical and appreciate the individual performances of the players. There were huge performances from all areas of the park. The dominance of the breakdown was a pleasure to behold. O’Connell at the lineout and the restarts. Leamy, Wallace and Quinlan hitting the rucks. Earls taking the ball at speed. ROG’s kicking. O’Leary’s breaks. Wallace’s defence. Warwick’s presence at the back. Quinny’s garryowens (his what??)
As the press said today, this was up there with the best of Munster’s previous smash and grab forays in the south of France. But, going back to my original point, did you see any Munster player disrespect the home crowd or their team?
No. Because it’s not the Munster way.
What you should never do when you come to Thomond is abuse that respect afforded to you. In the home fixture last Saturday night week, Phillip Burger of Perpignan scored a peach of a try. Most Munster folk, rugby people to their fingertips, would have applauded the score had it not been for what Burger did once he’d touched down. The cheeky pup cupped his ear as if to say “We don’t hear you signing any more.” Bad mistake.
The great thing about Munster is that most of the players are actually from the province. We have a few high-profile imports, who by and large, a bit like the Anglo-Normans who came to Ireland in the 12th century, have become as much Munster as the natives. Given that such a big percentage of the players are of the province itself, it follows that their supporters should be made up of many of their family members, friends and neighbours.
Burger’s gesture was fundamentally disrespectful to the Munster fans, and by extension, the team. And when you do that to Munster, they will punish you. Just as Munster did to Perpignan yesterday.
Before the match, I wasn’t too hopeful that Munster would get much out of their visit to Stade Aime Girail. A losing bonus point would have been a decent day’s work, I reckoned. Munster hadn’t put in a truly convincing Heineken Cup performance since they dismembered the Ospreys in last year’s quarter final, and their away form this season was dismal. Things just weren’t clicking. The scrum was not performing as it should, the backs weren’t making their presence felt and ROG seemed to be trudging across the Valley of Lost Confidence.
Now, of course the reason behind Munster’s incredible performance yesterday may have had nothing at all to do with Burger’s little sideshow. It may have been Vivalda’s comment that he felt he was playing the Munster Academy in Thomond (mind you, the Academy provided a good few player to the team that only narrowly lost to the All Blacks last November twelve months.) Or maybe it was the players collectively deciding that they simply were not going to allow themselves to come out second best any more. Whatever it was, it worked.
As well as watching the match live (a big thank you to Aoife for taking her nap while the match was on), we Sky+’d it too and I watched it again last night. When you’re not concentrating on how the match might end up, it’s easier to be more analytical and appreciate the individual performances of the players. There were huge performances from all areas of the park. The dominance of the breakdown was a pleasure to behold. O’Connell at the lineout and the restarts. Leamy, Wallace and Quinlan hitting the rucks. Earls taking the ball at speed. ROG’s kicking. O’Leary’s breaks. Wallace’s defence. Warwick’s presence at the back. Quinny’s garryowens (his what??)
As the press said today, this was up there with the best of Munster’s previous smash and grab forays in the south of France. But, going back to my original point, did you see any Munster player disrespect the home crowd or their team?
No. Because it’s not the Munster way.
Munster v Treviso
18/10/09 22:22 Filed in: Sport
So, I got my ticket
for the Treviso match through the Supporters' Club
lottery (tho' in fairness, I don't think it was all
that much of a lottery. If you applied for one, you
got one.) We went to Cork for the weekend, so I
scabbed a lift to Limerick from Mr & Mrs
Munstermad.
To say that the first thirty minutes or so were worrying would be understating things a tad. I had to rub my eyes a couple of times whenever I looked at the scoreboard and saw Munster 0, Treviso 10. But, in truth, the scoreboard told no lie. Munster were second best in the opening quarter if the game. The scrum was a shambles, and there was little or no shape to the team overall. ROG's crisis of confidence when addressing the dead ball clearly hadn't been resolved.
Munster started the match with only one of the regulars in the front row. John Hayes was out due to suspension and Jerry Flannery was lost to injury. Marcus Horan went off midway through the first half, so we had our second choice front row in its entirety. They did manage to steady the ship, but I never felt confident at scrum time, especially on Treviso's put in.
Thankfully, things turned around as the first half drew to a close. First, Paul Warwick got over after a sustained period of pressure in Treviso 22. This was followed on the stroke of half-time by a wonderful cross-field kick from Keith Earls down the gullet of Ian Dowling (on for Doug Howlett, who had pulled a hamstring). The video ref had to take several looks before he decided that Dowling had not lost control of the ball before grounding it, but in the end awarded the five-pointer.
The second half was all Munster. Denis Leamy was in shortly after the match resumed, and another four were to follow, scored by Denis Fogarty, David Wallace, Ian Dowling (his second of the afternoon), and late on Jean de Villiers opened his account.
That's it now for the Heneken Cup till December, when we welcome USA Perpignan to Thomond. The Catalans are a tough bunch, and although they were beaten by Treviso in the first round, they came back to see off Northampton at the weekend.
To say that the first thirty minutes or so were worrying would be understating things a tad. I had to rub my eyes a couple of times whenever I looked at the scoreboard and saw Munster 0, Treviso 10. But, in truth, the scoreboard told no lie. Munster were second best in the opening quarter if the game. The scrum was a shambles, and there was little or no shape to the team overall. ROG's crisis of confidence when addressing the dead ball clearly hadn't been resolved.
Munster started the match with only one of the regulars in the front row. John Hayes was out due to suspension and Jerry Flannery was lost to injury. Marcus Horan went off midway through the first half, so we had our second choice front row in its entirety. They did manage to steady the ship, but I never felt confident at scrum time, especially on Treviso's put in.
Thankfully, things turned around as the first half drew to a close. First, Paul Warwick got over after a sustained period of pressure in Treviso 22. This was followed on the stroke of half-time by a wonderful cross-field kick from Keith Earls down the gullet of Ian Dowling (on for Doug Howlett, who had pulled a hamstring). The video ref had to take several looks before he decided that Dowling had not lost control of the ball before grounding it, but in the end awarded the five-pointer.
The second half was all Munster. Denis Leamy was in shortly after the match resumed, and another four were to follow, scored by Denis Fogarty, David Wallace, Ian Dowling (his second of the afternoon), and late on Jean de Villiers opened his account.
That's it now for the Heneken Cup till December, when we welcome USA Perpignan to Thomond. The Catalans are a tough bunch, and although they were beaten by Treviso in the first round, they came back to see off Northampton at the weekend.
The Weekend In Sport
11/10/09 21:56 Filed in: Sport
So it was an eventful
weekend of sport. Well, from a rugby and football
point of view at least.
It all started off with Leinster falling to a shock home defeat to London Irish on Friday night. I didn't see all of the match, but it appears that the Exiles just didn't allow Leinster any space, and also dominated the line-out. Maybe Leinster, having scalped Munster the seekend before, thought they were invincible, and then got taken down by a sucker punch. In the pool stage of the Heineken Cup, the minimum required to advance is to win your home games, and then see what else you can pick up. These can be four-try bonus points at home, losing bonus points away, or better still an away win. Losing your home games makes it all the more difficult to keep your qualification destiny within your own hands.
Saturday evening saw Munster away to Northampton. Again, I didn't see this match (for reasons that will become clear sson), but we have it in the Sky+ can, so I'll have a look at it during the week. At one point, it looked like Munster were dead and buried, but they fought back to stay within seven at the end, and came away with a losing bonus point. They could have taken four points away at the end, but just couldn't make nearly five minutes of sustained pressure on the Northampton line count at the end of the match. They welcome Treviso to Thomond Park next Saturday, and I will be there.
The reason I didn't see the Munster match was because I was on my way to Croke Park to see Ireland take on Italy in the World Cup qualifier. This is the first soccer international I have been to in ages. Herself and I used to go to nearly every home game in years gone by, but the move to Port and the arrival of the wee 'un put a stop to that. But my father in law was going and he had a spare ticket, so I went with him.
What a match! On paper, Ireland should have been hosed by the World Champions, but they came out with the intention to win. Eight minutes in and they were one up. The Italians finally woke up and started to take control of the game. The way the Italians moved the ball around just showed the gulf in class between the two sides. But what Ireland lacked in class, they made up for in spirit and intent. Italy got one back in the twenty-somethingth minute, and it looked at that point that Ireland were going to be taken apart. But they held on, and in the 86th minute, pulled ahead once again. All of us there were on our feet, hoping, praying that they would be able to hold on for the greatest win in Irish football history since… well, since the last one. But it was not to be. In what was almost the last kick of the game, the Italians equalised for the second time, sealed their place at the World Cup in South Africa, and broke Irish hearts. Still, if we were offered a 2-2 draw before the game, most would have taken it. But, what could have been?
Here's my video of Glenn Whelan's goal:
It all started off with Leinster falling to a shock home defeat to London Irish on Friday night. I didn't see all of the match, but it appears that the Exiles just didn't allow Leinster any space, and also dominated the line-out. Maybe Leinster, having scalped Munster the seekend before, thought they were invincible, and then got taken down by a sucker punch. In the pool stage of the Heineken Cup, the minimum required to advance is to win your home games, and then see what else you can pick up. These can be four-try bonus points at home, losing bonus points away, or better still an away win. Losing your home games makes it all the more difficult to keep your qualification destiny within your own hands.
Saturday evening saw Munster away to Northampton. Again, I didn't see this match (for reasons that will become clear sson), but we have it in the Sky+ can, so I'll have a look at it during the week. At one point, it looked like Munster were dead and buried, but they fought back to stay within seven at the end, and came away with a losing bonus point. They could have taken four points away at the end, but just couldn't make nearly five minutes of sustained pressure on the Northampton line count at the end of the match. They welcome Treviso to Thomond Park next Saturday, and I will be there.
The reason I didn't see the Munster match was because I was on my way to Croke Park to see Ireland take on Italy in the World Cup qualifier. This is the first soccer international I have been to in ages. Herself and I used to go to nearly every home game in years gone by, but the move to Port and the arrival of the wee 'un put a stop to that. But my father in law was going and he had a spare ticket, so I went with him.
What a match! On paper, Ireland should have been hosed by the World Champions, but they came out with the intention to win. Eight minutes in and they were one up. The Italians finally woke up and started to take control of the game. The way the Italians moved the ball around just showed the gulf in class between the two sides. But what Ireland lacked in class, they made up for in spirit and intent. Italy got one back in the twenty-somethingth minute, and it looked at that point that Ireland were going to be taken apart. But they held on, and in the 86th minute, pulled ahead once again. All of us there were on our feet, hoping, praying that they would be able to hold on for the greatest win in Irish football history since… well, since the last one. But it was not to be. In what was almost the last kick of the game, the Italians equalised for the second time, sealed their place at the World Cup in South Africa, and broke Irish hearts. Still, if we were offered a 2-2 draw before the game, most would have taken it. But, what could have been?
Here's my video of Glenn Whelan's goal:
Heineken Cup Draw & Other Stuff
09/06/09 20:58 Filed in: Sport
Despite the presence of an Italian team in Munster’s pool, this will once again be a tough assignment for the two-time Heineken Cup Champions and current Magners League champions. Perpignan are the current Top 14 champions, and Northampton won the Challenge Cup this season. However, in comparison to recent seasons, it is somewhat more favourable.
Meanwhile in South Africa, Ireland lost another Lion. Stephen Ferris has been ruled out of the rest of the tour after suffering a knee injury, and his place has been taken by Welsh captain Ryan Jones. Ferris joins a growing list of Irishmen who have been forced out of the tour, either through injury or suspension. So far, along with Ferris we have lost three Munstermen - Tomás O’Leary, Jerry Flannery and Alan Quinlan, and with Gordon D’Arcy joining the squad, the Irish contingent has gone down from 14 to 11.
Heart Trumps Head
23/05/09 20:25 Filed in: Sport
In my last post, I
did something of a George Hook on it in my
prediction for the Heineken Cup Final, in that I
went for the team I did not want to win. I hoped
that I would be proven wrong, and I am very glad to
say that I was. Leinster played a magnificent game
to win by three points, 19-16.
After Leicester had gone seven points ahead, I was afraid that that would have been curtains for Leinster. Had they gone any further ahead, it would have been a huge ask. But they got back in it, with a superb try by Jamie Heaslip. Dogged defence and intelligent counter attacking left Leicester chasing shadows for most of the second half, and Leinster’s reward came about ten minutes before time, when young Johnny Sexton put the men in blue back in front. They held on under immense pressure from the English champions, to at last join fellow provinces Ulster and Munster in the Heineken Cup roll of honour.
Present in the crowd today were several Munster supporters, who had pre-emptively bought weekend packages to Edinburgh in the expectation of a Munster appearance in the final. Even though there would have been a small minority supporting Leicester, I’d reckon the vast majority were there to cheer on their fellow countrymen. After all, once Munster’s interest in the competition ended, any fan of Irish rugby should surely lend their support to another Irish team.
I am delighted
for the stalwarts of this Leinster team, who have
had precious little to show for their efforts both
at provincial and national level until this season.
Brian O’Driscoll must be a very satisfied man
tonight. Going into this season, many (me included)
thought his best days were behind him. It would
have been a terrible shame had he ended his career
without a winner’s medal in any major championship.
But he proved us all wrong, and put in a
magnificent season for both province and country.
The Irish captain was the best Irish player this
season with several lengths to spare. His Six
Nations and Heineken Cup medals are due reward for
a superb career.
I think it is also fitting that Leinster should have claimed the trophy in Edinburgh, so often the graveyard of their European ambitions.
Ronan O’Gara had better watch out, as next season there will at last be a young pretender vying for his green No 10 jersey. Johnny Sexton has the potential to develop into a fine international outside half. Now that Felipe Contepomi is on his way to Toulon, Sexton has the opportunity to make the Leinster out-half position his own, and from there plan his assault on the Munsterman’s citadel.
So there we have it - an Irish clean sweep of trophies. What an achievement. Onward and upward!
After Leicester had gone seven points ahead, I was afraid that that would have been curtains for Leinster. Had they gone any further ahead, it would have been a huge ask. But they got back in it, with a superb try by Jamie Heaslip. Dogged defence and intelligent counter attacking left Leicester chasing shadows for most of the second half, and Leinster’s reward came about ten minutes before time, when young Johnny Sexton put the men in blue back in front. They held on under immense pressure from the English champions, to at last join fellow provinces Ulster and Munster in the Heineken Cup roll of honour.
Present in the crowd today were several Munster supporters, who had pre-emptively bought weekend packages to Edinburgh in the expectation of a Munster appearance in the final. Even though there would have been a small minority supporting Leicester, I’d reckon the vast majority were there to cheer on their fellow countrymen. After all, once Munster’s interest in the competition ended, any fan of Irish rugby should surely lend their support to another Irish team.
I think it is also fitting that Leinster should have claimed the trophy in Edinburgh, so often the graveyard of their European ambitions.
Ronan O’Gara had better watch out, as next season there will at last be a young pretender vying for his green No 10 jersey. Johnny Sexton has the potential to develop into a fine international outside half. Now that Felipe Contepomi is on his way to Toulon, Sexton has the opportunity to make the Leinster out-half position his own, and from there plan his assault on the Munsterman’s citadel.
So there we have it - an Irish clean sweep of trophies. What an achievement. Onward and upward!
Head or Heart?
22/05/09 21:16 Filed in: Sport
Heineken Cup final
tomorrow, and while I won’t have as deep an
emotional interest in it as I have had in previous
years, I still know who I’m supporting. Let’s say
that the first three letters of their name are
“Lei” and the last four are “ster”.
I’m kidding of course. There can only be one destination for my support tomorrow, and it is the men in blue. As a Munster fan, naturally I have a great respect for Leicester, who probably come closest to us in terms of club and supporters. If it was any other non-Irish team in the final, I would support Leicester without a second thought. But I am an Irishman first and foremost, therefore my support is for my fellow countrymen. A win for Leinster tomorrow would complete a perfect season for Irish rugby, with the Heineken Cup, the Magners League trophy and the RBS Six Nations trophy all residing in Irish cabinets till next year at least. It would be a fitting end to the regular season for Brian O’Driscoll, a man who has had a phenomenal season.
But, will they do it? Do Leinster have the wit, guile and above all the cojones to come away with the Heineken Cup? If Cardiff had won that ridiculous place-kick shoot-out three weeks ago, I would say “Yes, absolutely.” But this is Leicester. If there is one thing Leicester know about it is winning finals. They know how to play the referee, how to play just on the right side of wrong, and how to make superior opponents doubt themselves. I have two concerns about Leinster tomorrow - the half-backs and the line-out. If Whitaker and Sexton can play like they did against Munster, that will go quite some way in deciding the game in their favour. If, however, they play like they have done for most of the season, then the momentum will be back with Leicester. If Leinster ship as much ball from their own line-out to Leicester as they did to Munster in the semi-final, they are in trouble.
So, to call it - my heart says Leinster, but my head says Leicester. They have been in this sort of situation many times before and more often than not have closed it out. This is Leinster’s first time in a major final.
I hope to God that I’m wrong, but I think head is going to over-rule heart. Leicester by a whisker.
I’m kidding of course. There can only be one destination for my support tomorrow, and it is the men in blue. As a Munster fan, naturally I have a great respect for Leicester, who probably come closest to us in terms of club and supporters. If it was any other non-Irish team in the final, I would support Leicester without a second thought. But I am an Irishman first and foremost, therefore my support is for my fellow countrymen. A win for Leinster tomorrow would complete a perfect season for Irish rugby, with the Heineken Cup, the Magners League trophy and the RBS Six Nations trophy all residing in Irish cabinets till next year at least. It would be a fitting end to the regular season for Brian O’Driscoll, a man who has had a phenomenal season.
But, will they do it? Do Leinster have the wit, guile and above all the cojones to come away with the Heineken Cup? If Cardiff had won that ridiculous place-kick shoot-out three weeks ago, I would say “Yes, absolutely.” But this is Leicester. If there is one thing Leicester know about it is winning finals. They know how to play the referee, how to play just on the right side of wrong, and how to make superior opponents doubt themselves. I have two concerns about Leinster tomorrow - the half-backs and the line-out. If Whitaker and Sexton can play like they did against Munster, that will go quite some way in deciding the game in their favour. If, however, they play like they have done for most of the season, then the momentum will be back with Leicester. If Leinster ship as much ball from their own line-out to Leicester as they did to Munster in the semi-final, they are in trouble.
So, to call it - my heart says Leinster, but my head says Leicester. They have been in this sort of situation many times before and more often than not have closed it out. This is Leinster’s first time in a major final.
I hope to God that I’m wrong, but I think head is going to over-rule heart. Leicester by a whisker.
You Can't Win 'Em All
02/05/09 22:08 Filed in: Sport
A couple of weeks
ago, I was on the phone to my brother, talking
about his eldest daughter’s upcoming First
Communion. It’s on the weekend of the 16th, and the
following weekend, my sister’s youngest daughter
will have hers. I mentioned that this was the
weekend of the Heineken Cup Final, and we discussed
the possibility of a clash with the ceremony and
the match.
“But they might lose to Leinster in the semi”, he said, knowing what my reaction would be. And predictably, I replied “They will in their holes lose to Leinster.”
During the week, I warned about the dangers of presumption, but of course I was as guilty of it as anyone else. Given the form of these two teams going into the match, I honestly didn’t believe that Leinster would pose a credible threat to the might of Munster. Where heretofore Leinster had struggled, Munster had been invincible. Munster walked all over Leinster home and away in the Magners League this season.
As a Munster fan, my natural instinct is to ask just what went wrong today. A Leinster fan would just be happy that it all went right. The simple fact is that Munster were beaten by a better team on the day. I read somewhere during the week that for Leinster to have a chance, they would have to be at their absolute best and hope that Munster would have an off-day. And that is what happened. Leinster dominated all over the park, and with the exception of the lineout, had the measure of Munster in every department. The Munster team and the fans can have no complaint. Leinster fully deserve their victory.
Munster sometimes suffer inexplicable losses like today. Back at Christmas-time, we were hockeyed 37-11 in Thomond by Ulster. It is disappointing when it happens, but we just have to put it behind us and look forward.
As I said in my preview post, whoever wins this match deserves the support of the losing team’s supporters in the final. Back in 06, I knew of several Leinster fans who were in Cardiff to cheer on Munster in the final. OK, their fans may be hard to take at times and their captain may look like Miley from Glenroe, but Leinster are an Irish team, and I for one would much prefer to see Miley hoisting the Cup rather than Paul Tito of Cardiff, or Geordan Murphy (or whoever it is captains Leicester these days.)
As the title of this post suggests, you can’t expect your team to win everything. If you do, you’re probably a Manchester United supporter. Following a team brings good days and bad, and you have to be able to take both with good grace. Sometimes you may think that your team will never win the big prize, and if they do, you must savour that win, because you don’t know when that time will come again. Us Munster fans have been fortunate enough to witness our team win two Heineken Cups, but by God, we know how long we were knocking on the door before it finally opened. This will be Leinster’s first crack at a Heineken Cup Final, and I hope for their sakes that today’s win wasn’t the performance reserved for the final.
“But they might lose to Leinster in the semi”, he said, knowing what my reaction would be. And predictably, I replied “They will in their holes lose to Leinster.”
During the week, I warned about the dangers of presumption, but of course I was as guilty of it as anyone else. Given the form of these two teams going into the match, I honestly didn’t believe that Leinster would pose a credible threat to the might of Munster. Where heretofore Leinster had struggled, Munster had been invincible. Munster walked all over Leinster home and away in the Magners League this season.
As a Munster fan, my natural instinct is to ask just what went wrong today. A Leinster fan would just be happy that it all went right. The simple fact is that Munster were beaten by a better team on the day. I read somewhere during the week that for Leinster to have a chance, they would have to be at their absolute best and hope that Munster would have an off-day. And that is what happened. Leinster dominated all over the park, and with the exception of the lineout, had the measure of Munster in every department. The Munster team and the fans can have no complaint. Leinster fully deserve their victory.
Munster sometimes suffer inexplicable losses like today. Back at Christmas-time, we were hockeyed 37-11 in Thomond by Ulster. It is disappointing when it happens, but we just have to put it behind us and look forward.
As I said in my preview post, whoever wins this match deserves the support of the losing team’s supporters in the final. Back in 06, I knew of several Leinster fans who were in Cardiff to cheer on Munster in the final. OK, their fans may be hard to take at times and their captain may look like Miley from Glenroe, but Leinster are an Irish team, and I for one would much prefer to see Miley hoisting the Cup rather than Paul Tito of Cardiff, or Geordan Murphy (or whoever it is captains Leicester these days.)
As the title of this post suggests, you can’t expect your team to win everything. If you do, you’re probably a Manchester United supporter. Following a team brings good days and bad, and you have to be able to take both with good grace. Sometimes you may think that your team will never win the big prize, and if they do, you must savour that win, because you don’t know when that time will come again. Us Munster fans have been fortunate enough to witness our team win two Heineken Cups, but by God, we know how long we were knocking on the door before it finally opened. This will be Leinster’s first crack at a Heineken Cup Final, and I hope for their sakes that today’s win wasn’t the performance reserved for the final.
Munster v. Leinster Preview
30/04/09 22:13 Filed in: Sport
This weekend will
make Irish and world rugby history. The 82,500
people who flock to Croke Park on Saturday evening
will constitute the biggest ever crowd at a club
rugby match. In this amazing season for Irish
rugby, it’s great to see that the teams to take the
pitch will be Ireland’s top two, Munster and
Leinster. The current Heineken Cup champions
versus the current last season’s Magners League
champions. The two teams that will most likely
finish first and second in this season’s Magners
League. (Edit
01/05/09: Munster have already fulfilled
their part of the bargain) The bulk suppliers to
the Irish national team. The two provinces that
have among their ranks twelve of the fourteen Irish
Lions. The current Lions captain and the previous
Lions captain.
The pairing of the sides at this stage in the competition guarantees Irish representation at the Heineken Cup final in Edinburgh on the 23 May, the sixth time an Irish team will have contested the final since 1999 (three of those resulted in wins.)
Given Munster’s awe-inspiring form of late, it is easy to succumb to the temptation of complacency. In the quarter finals, Munster crushed the Ospreys 43-9. Leinster, on the other hand, had to work hard and defend with their lives to edge Harlequins out by six points to five. In the Magners League, Munster have already done the double on Leinster this season. Over the two matches, Leinster only managed to register a single score on Munster. Of the 26 matches Munster have played this season, they have won 22.
But we cannot be complacent. Cast your mind back to Friday, 10 October 2008. In the first Heineken Cup match of the season, Munster hosted a second string Montauban side at Thomond Park. The consensus was that all Munster had to do was show up and a handsome victory would be in the bag. In the pre-match analysis on Today FM’s The Last Word, one of the analysts suggested that Montauban be sanctioned for sending an under-strength team. The match ended 19-17, and Munster needed a last gasp penalty from ROG to win it. Not only did Munster not get the expected bonus point, but they actually coughed one up. A hard lesson was learned that night - never take a win for granted.
Not that I believe for a minute that the Munster team believe that Saturday’s result is a foregone conclusion. Munster may have done the double on Leinster this season already, but they did the double on us last year. The last time Munster beat Leinster three times on the trot was over the course of the latter part of the 04/05 season and the beginning of the 05/06. Just looking back over the results on the Munster rugby site, I cannot see any instance of where Munster beat Leinster three times in the same season.
Back in 06,
what should have been a home match for Leinster in
Lansdowne Road ended up with an overwhelming
majority of Munster support. See this little movie
I shot on the day from behind the south goal line -
the place was almost entirely red, with a few
isolated pockets of blue. That won’t happen again.
Although I believe that Munster supporters will
significantly outnumber Leinster supporters again,
it will not be on the same scale as three years
ago.
In the Magners League match of a few weeks ago, the Leinster pack were dominant in the first half, and it took some time for Munster to get into their stride. We can expect much of the same again, with a big performance from their front row, while Leo Cullen will do his best to disrupt the Munster throw. Rocky Elsom and Jamie Heaslip will be a threat in the back row. In Thomond Park, there was no Brian O’Driscoll, but he will be present on Saturday. Given he is playing possibly the best rugby of his career right now, he will be a serious threat.
However, all that said, overall I think Munster have enough in the tank to prevail. This is a very settled team, made up of players who know that there are other eager squad members who are pushing them for their jerseys. Look how Keith Earls has developed this year. His centre partner, Lifeimi Mafi is playing awesome rugby at the moment, tackling like a demon, breaking lines and getting passes away. Paul Warwick is creating havoc for opposing teams.
This promises to be a magnificent occasion and a great celebration of how much Irish rugby has progressed in recent years. In 2006 I suggested that whoever won the semi-final deserves the support of the losing team’s supporters for the final. Again I believe that this should be the case. Munster won the Magners League this evening, even though they weren’t even playing. That’s two out of the three titles up for grabs for Irish teams so far. We should all get behind the winner of Saturday’s match to make it a really Grand, Grand Slam season for Irish rugby.
The pairing of the sides at this stage in the competition guarantees Irish representation at the Heineken Cup final in Edinburgh on the 23 May, the sixth time an Irish team will have contested the final since 1999 (three of those resulted in wins.)
Given Munster’s awe-inspiring form of late, it is easy to succumb to the temptation of complacency. In the quarter finals, Munster crushed the Ospreys 43-9. Leinster, on the other hand, had to work hard and defend with their lives to edge Harlequins out by six points to five. In the Magners League, Munster have already done the double on Leinster this season. Over the two matches, Leinster only managed to register a single score on Munster. Of the 26 matches Munster have played this season, they have won 22.
But we cannot be complacent. Cast your mind back to Friday, 10 October 2008. In the first Heineken Cup match of the season, Munster hosted a second string Montauban side at Thomond Park. The consensus was that all Munster had to do was show up and a handsome victory would be in the bag. In the pre-match analysis on Today FM’s The Last Word, one of the analysts suggested that Montauban be sanctioned for sending an under-strength team. The match ended 19-17, and Munster needed a last gasp penalty from ROG to win it. Not only did Munster not get the expected bonus point, but they actually coughed one up. A hard lesson was learned that night - never take a win for granted.
Not that I believe for a minute that the Munster team believe that Saturday’s result is a foregone conclusion. Munster may have done the double on Leinster this season already, but they did the double on us last year. The last time Munster beat Leinster three times on the trot was over the course of the latter part of the 04/05 season and the beginning of the 05/06. Just looking back over the results on the Munster rugby site, I cannot see any instance of where Munster beat Leinster three times in the same season.
In the Magners League match of a few weeks ago, the Leinster pack were dominant in the first half, and it took some time for Munster to get into their stride. We can expect much of the same again, with a big performance from their front row, while Leo Cullen will do his best to disrupt the Munster throw. Rocky Elsom and Jamie Heaslip will be a threat in the back row. In Thomond Park, there was no Brian O’Driscoll, but he will be present on Saturday. Given he is playing possibly the best rugby of his career right now, he will be a serious threat.
However, all that said, overall I think Munster have enough in the tank to prevail. This is a very settled team, made up of players who know that there are other eager squad members who are pushing them for their jerseys. Look how Keith Earls has developed this year. His centre partner, Lifeimi Mafi is playing awesome rugby at the moment, tackling like a demon, breaking lines and getting passes away. Paul Warwick is creating havoc for opposing teams.
This promises to be a magnificent occasion and a great celebration of how much Irish rugby has progressed in recent years. In 2006 I suggested that whoever won the semi-final deserves the support of the losing team’s supporters for the final. Again I believe that this should be the case. Munster won the Magners League this evening, even though they weren’t even playing. That’s two out of the three titles up for grabs for Irish teams so far. We should all get behind the winner of Saturday’s match to make it a really Grand, Grand Slam season for Irish rugby.
Heineken Cup QF Round Up
13/04/09 21:41 Filed in: Sport
Irish rugby continued
on its winning odyssey this weekend, with Munster
and Leinster booking their places in the Heineken
Cup semi-final. Sadly, it’s the same semi-final
that they are destined to be in, which means that a
rugby All-Ireland Final will not happen. However we
will get an All-Ireland semi-final, and what better
venue could we have for such an encounter than
Croke Park? Even at 83,000 capacity, tickets will
be scarce.
I saw three of the four matches over the weekend. The opener, Cardiff v Toulouse, was a dour encounter. As the game wore on, I remarked to Munstermad (as we were all in Cork for the weekend) that we were not watching the eventual winners of the Heineken Cup. Cardiff prevailed 9-6, and thus French interest in the Cup ended at this stage for the first time since God knows when. Leicester v Bath was up next, and I missed this one. Leicester came through 20-15.
What can I say about this Munster team that hasn’t been said already? Their 43-9 dispatch of Ospreys was possibly their most complete performance ever. Back in the 1970s, Ajax of Amsterdam were developing a system of playing that became known as “Total Football”. Yesterday, we saw something similar, as Munster played something that could be called Total Rugby. Even though there were brilliant individual performances, such as those from Paul Warwick, Lefeimi Mafi and Paul O’Connell, it was the unstoppable momentum that built up as the match progressed that showed that this was an exceptional performance by a team, not just a collection of individuals who happens to be wearing the same colour jersey.
One aspect
about the modern game that I abhor is the tendency
to name rugby teams after predatory animals. Look,
if you want to go see lions, tigers, etc., just go
to a fucking zoo. Thankfully, Munster have eschewed
this nonsense (the stag motif on the badge
notwithstanding), but ironically yesterday, they
displayed the temperament of a big cat in the wild.
Lure the prey to your territory, toy with it for a
while, allowing it to think that it can get away
unharmed. And then, go in for an efficient,
clinical kill. Coming out after half time, the
Ospreys were still, just about, in the game.
Fifteen minutes later, they were roadkill. The
other three teams in the competition will have
looked at that Munster performance and thought
“Shit! That’s what we have to beat.”
Leinster’s match away to Harlequins was a complete contrast. It finished 5-6, and Leinster were forced to defend with their entire will for the whole match. They almost got a try when Brian O’Driscoll let fly a lovely chip and chase, but he was hauled down just before the line. Similarly in the second half, Luke FitzGerald had to get in to make a last gasp effort to stop a Quins player scoring.
If Munster and Cardiff get through to the final, it will be their second meeting in the space of a fortnight. They are due to play a Magners League match in Cardiff on the second weekend in May.
If it’s Munster v Leicester, it will be the first meeting of the two sides since The Fall of Thomond. We didn’t like that. One little bit.
I saw three of the four matches over the weekend. The opener, Cardiff v Toulouse, was a dour encounter. As the game wore on, I remarked to Munstermad (as we were all in Cork for the weekend) that we were not watching the eventual winners of the Heineken Cup. Cardiff prevailed 9-6, and thus French interest in the Cup ended at this stage for the first time since God knows when. Leicester v Bath was up next, and I missed this one. Leicester came through 20-15.
What can I say about this Munster team that hasn’t been said already? Their 43-9 dispatch of Ospreys was possibly their most complete performance ever. Back in the 1970s, Ajax of Amsterdam were developing a system of playing that became known as “Total Football”. Yesterday, we saw something similar, as Munster played something that could be called Total Rugby. Even though there were brilliant individual performances, such as those from Paul Warwick, Lefeimi Mafi and Paul O’Connell, it was the unstoppable momentum that built up as the match progressed that showed that this was an exceptional performance by a team, not just a collection of individuals who happens to be wearing the same colour jersey.
Leinster’s match away to Harlequins was a complete contrast. It finished 5-6, and Leinster were forced to defend with their entire will for the whole match. They almost got a try when Brian O’Driscoll let fly a lovely chip and chase, but he was hauled down just before the line. Similarly in the second half, Luke FitzGerald had to get in to make a last gasp effort to stop a Quins player scoring.
If Munster and Cardiff get through to the final, it will be their second meeting in the space of a fortnight. They are due to play a Magners League match in Cardiff on the second weekend in May.
If it’s Munster v Leicester, it will be the first meeting of the two sides since The Fall of Thomond. We didn’t like that. One little bit.
Munster v. Ospreys - The Story So Far
08/04/09 22:23 Filed in: Sport
The Heineken Cup
returns this weekend after the break for the Six
Nations. We’re at the quarter-final stage, and of
the eight teams still in the hunt, four ply their
day-to-day trade in the Magners League, three in
the Guinness Premiership, and only one in the
French Top 14. If that doesn’t prove that drink is
good for you, I don’t know what will!
Munster face the Ospreys on Sunday in Thomond Park, and the conventional wisdom would suggest that this should be an easy win for Munster. But we write them off at our peril. The Ospreys are the form Welsh team, and it is from their ranks that the majority of the Welsh national side is drawn. A side, lest we forget, that has won two Grand Slams this decade.
Taking a leaf from the book of my good friend Willie Joe, I think it would be instructive to cast a more analytical eye over the history books, and see exactly how Munster’s record stacks up when it comes to meetings with the Ospreys.
The Ospreys were formed in 2003, with the coming together of Neath and Swansea to form a provincial side for participation in the then Celtic League and the ERC competitions. To date, Munster and the Ospreys have played thirteen competitive fixtures against one another, and Munster just about have the upper hand, winning seven of those encounters. However, the Ospreys have scored more points on aggregate over the thirteen matches - 244 to Munster’s 232 (average of 18.77 to 17.85 per game). Eleven matches were in the Celtic/Magners League and two were in the Pool stages of the Heineken Cup in the 04/05 season.
The good news is that Munster have only lost once at home to the Ospreys, back in February 2004 at Musgrave Park. In our previous Heineken Cup encounters, we beat them home and away. At home, our aggregate score is 119 over six matches (19.83 points per match), while we have conceded 75 points (12.5 per match). Munster also hold the record for biggest winning margin, when they had 27 points to spare at the final whistle on 10 September 2005.
The whole record is as follows:
These stats make Munster favourites on Sunday. The other stats to take into account are that Munster have never lost a home quarter-final, and have only been beaten once in Thomond Park in the Heineken Cup.
I expect those records to remain intact on Sunday.
Munster face the Ospreys on Sunday in Thomond Park, and the conventional wisdom would suggest that this should be an easy win for Munster. But we write them off at our peril. The Ospreys are the form Welsh team, and it is from their ranks that the majority of the Welsh national side is drawn. A side, lest we forget, that has won two Grand Slams this decade.
Taking a leaf from the book of my good friend Willie Joe, I think it would be instructive to cast a more analytical eye over the history books, and see exactly how Munster’s record stacks up when it comes to meetings with the Ospreys.
The Ospreys were formed in 2003, with the coming together of Neath and Swansea to form a provincial side for participation in the then Celtic League and the ERC competitions. To date, Munster and the Ospreys have played thirteen competitive fixtures against one another, and Munster just about have the upper hand, winning seven of those encounters. However, the Ospreys have scored more points on aggregate over the thirteen matches - 244 to Munster’s 232 (average of 18.77 to 17.85 per game). Eleven matches were in the Celtic/Magners League and two were in the Pool stages of the Heineken Cup in the 04/05 season.
The good news is that Munster have only lost once at home to the Ospreys, back in February 2004 at Musgrave Park. In our previous Heineken Cup encounters, we beat them home and away. At home, our aggregate score is 119 over six matches (19.83 points per match), while we have conceded 75 points (12.5 per match). Munster also hold the record for biggest winning margin, when they had 27 points to spare at the final whistle on 10 September 2005.
The whole record is as follows:
These stats make Munster favourites on Sunday. The other stats to take into account are that Munster have never lost a home quarter-final, and have only been beaten once in Thomond Park in the Heineken Cup.
I expect those records to remain intact on Sunday.
The Lengths Some Will Go…
03/03/09 22:03 Filed in: Sport
Munster supporters
are renowned for their ability to source tickets
for Heineken Cup matches, and the stories of how
far they will go to do so are legion. So when I
heard about this via a comment
on Slugger, I have to admit I wasn’t really
surprised.
The money quote:
...as it would appear a number of Munster (or at least Irish) Rugby supporters are purchasing memberships [of the Ospreys Supporters Club] as a means to secure tickets from our allocation, we are NOT accepting any membership applications from Irish addresses.
The money quote:
...as it would appear a number of Munster (or at least Irish) Rugby supporters are purchasing memberships [of the Ospreys Supporters Club] as a means to secure tickets from our allocation, we are NOT accepting any membership applications from Irish addresses.
Rugby Roundup
27/01/09 20:55 Filed in: Sport
Is it really that
long since I last
wrote about rugby?
Since then, Munster lost away to Connacht and got whipped at home by Ulster
in the Magners.
Following these setbacks, they won away to Ospreys
(Magners again); romped into the quarter finals of
the Heineken Cup, having dished out a six-try
spanking to Sale at Thomond; and last weekend
thrashed Montauban five tries to one to set up a
home quarter final against Ospreys. (Whipping?
Romping? Spanking? Thrashing? This post is
beginning to resemble something you might read in
the memoirs of a British cabinet minister of the
Thatcher era.)
Not wanting to tempt fate or anything, but we should be able to get past the Ospreys at Thomond on Easter Sunday. In some ways I would have preferred if we had drawn Toulouse at this point, just so that we could have a better chance to neutralise them on our patch, rather than have to face them later on. As it happens, if we get to the semi, we will face either Harlequins or The Goys. This will be a home match for Munster, even though it can’t be played in Thomond. That raises a problem - where could this match take place?
Lansdowne Road
won’t be available and none of the other provincial
grounds is big enough. There is Croke Park, of
course, but given that the agreement between the
IRFU and the GAA is for international matches only,
that might not be an option. The GAA work to their
own agenda and don’t like being pressured into
anything. However, a Munster-Leinster semi-final
would guarantee a full house at GAA HQ, and the
prospect of all that lovely lolly flowing into
cash-strapped GAA coffers might help sway things.
Also the fact that the fanbases of Munster rugby
and the various Munster counties’ GAA teams overlap
so much could influence a decision in favour of
opening the ground up. We’ll wait and see.
Sad news today from the Munster camp, in that Paul Warwick is
to decamp to
London Irish at the end of the season. Since
arriving from Connacht two seasons ago, he has
added a valuable extra dimension to Munster’s
backs. We saw that on Sunday against Montauban,
where he and ROG were able to mix things up very
effectively between one another. Also, we will
never forget his superb display against the All
Blacks back in November.
In the Irish camp, Brian O’Driscoll has been retained as captain of the national squad. I would like to have seen Paul O’Connell take on the captain’s armband this season, but by all accounts Declan Kidney made his decision having consulted with the senior members of the squad, who strongly favoured retaining BOD in the role. So that’s that then.
I’ll get around to a Six Nations preview before too long.
Since then, Munster lost away to Connacht and got whipped at home by Ulster
Not wanting to tempt fate or anything, but we should be able to get past the Ospreys at Thomond on Easter Sunday. In some ways I would have preferred if we had drawn Toulouse at this point, just so that we could have a better chance to neutralise them on our patch, rather than have to face them later on. As it happens, if we get to the semi, we will face either Harlequins or The Goys. This will be a home match for Munster, even though it can’t be played in Thomond. That raises a problem - where could this match take place?
Sad news today from the Munster camp, in that Paul Warwick is
In the Irish camp, Brian O’Driscoll has been retained as captain of the national squad. I would like to have seen Paul O’Connell take on the captain’s armband this season, but by all accounts Declan Kidney made his decision having consulted with the senior members of the squad, who strongly favoured retaining BOD in the role. So that’s that then.
I’ll get around to a Six Nations preview before too long.
Heineken Cup 2008/09
09/10/08 21:11 Filed in: Sport
Tomorrow night sees
the return of European Rugby’s premier
club/province tournament - the Heineken Cup. Now in its fourteenth
season, it has had its ups and downs. I was at
the 2003 final between Toulouse and Perpignan in
a half-empty Lansdowne Road. At the end of the
2007 season, the French and English clubs were
threatening to pull out of the competition
altogether, which would have doomed it.
But the downs are nothing compared to the ups. The quality of the rugby on display is awesome. The rivalries are intense. This is a very competitive tournament, and of all the teams taking part at least half of them could be touted as potential winners. All-Ireland Hurling Championship it ain’t. And of course, Munster are the current champions, and have won it twice.
From this Munster fan’s point of view, the Heineken Cup is very special. Only in the Heineken Cup has a team I actively support actually won something meaningful.
Apart from the
wins in 2006 and 2008, who can forget that amazing
match against Gloucester in 2003? Or the semi-final
against Leinster in 2006? Or Rob Henderson of
Munster running through Austin Healy of Leicester
in 2003? On the flip side, there was the agony of
losing to Wasps in the semi of 2004, a game cited
by many as one of the finest games of rugby ever
played. The Back-Hander that robbed us in the final
of 2002. John O’Neill’s perfectly good try being
disallowed in the semi against Stade in 2001 (the
day after my wedding.)
Having won the tournament twice, Munster are now one of the most feared sides in Europe. Since 1995, they have been beaten only once at Thomond Park. They have qualified for the quarter-final stage for ten seasons on the trot, contesting four finals (winning twice) and seven semis along the way. This year they have a new head coach and have had a good start to the Magners League with five wins from five. Alongside their many veterans, they have some really exciting talent coming through the ranks, most notably Keith Earls. In addition, there appears to be genuine strength in depth in key positions.
As champions, Munster are also the team that everyone will want to beat, so you can be sure that every match will be high-octane stuff. Munster didn’t like very much losing their 100% record at Thomond Park to Leicester in 2007, and will be keen to re-establish their newly-revamped home as the impregnable fortress it once was. Like last season, Munster are again in a tough group. Last season, they won all their home matches, picking up a bonus point against Clermont, and denying all three visitors the opportunity to pick up losing bonus points. On the road, they beat the Scarlets, and picked up losing bonus points at Clermont and Wasps. They will need to emulate that performance if they hope to get to their eleventh successive quarter-final.
Their pool opponents this season are Clermont, Sale and debutants Montauban. Tomorrow’s match is against the newbies at home. It should be a comfortable win, hopefully with a bonus point for good measure, but to borrow a cliché from the round-ball game, it is a potential banana skin. Montauban are an unknown quantity and have nothing to lose coming to Thomond. An even mildly complacent Munster could have difficulty putting them to the sword, but I don’t believe that this will happen. Munster don’t do complacency, and the team selection for tomorrow night shows that Tony McGahan is taking the opposition seriously.
Elsewhere, Leinster find themselves with their perennial nemesis, Edinburgh, as well as Wasps and Castres. If they can get over their Murrayfield hoodoo this weekend, then they will have a good chance of qualifying from the group. If they don’t (and remember that they are coming off the back of two Magners League defeats to Munster and Connacht), they are sunk.
In Pool Four, Ulster are in with Stade, the Scarlets and Harlequins. The group page on the Heineken Cup website lists the four clubs alphabetically in the table with no games played. By virtue of the initial letter in their name, Ulster are bottom of the table. Expect them to stay there. They shouldn’t even be in the competition and have their place by virtue of being only marginally less useless than Connacht were last season.
I will know in the morning if I am going to be making the journey down the N7 tomorrow afternoon. Me old mucker Munstermad (who used to be one of the contributors at The Fear of God) texted me this evening to tell me that he might be able to get his hands on a spare ticket.
Here’s hoping.
But the downs are nothing compared to the ups. The quality of the rugby on display is awesome. The rivalries are intense. This is a very competitive tournament, and of all the teams taking part at least half of them could be touted as potential winners. All-Ireland Hurling Championship it ain’t. And of course, Munster are the current champions, and have won it twice.
From this Munster fan’s point of view, the Heineken Cup is very special. Only in the Heineken Cup has a team I actively support actually won something meaningful.
Having won the tournament twice, Munster are now one of the most feared sides in Europe. Since 1995, they have been beaten only once at Thomond Park. They have qualified for the quarter-final stage for ten seasons on the trot, contesting four finals (winning twice) and seven semis along the way. This year they have a new head coach and have had a good start to the Magners League with five wins from five. Alongside their many veterans, they have some really exciting talent coming through the ranks, most notably Keith Earls. In addition, there appears to be genuine strength in depth in key positions.
As champions, Munster are also the team that everyone will want to beat, so you can be sure that every match will be high-octane stuff. Munster didn’t like very much losing their 100% record at Thomond Park to Leicester in 2007, and will be keen to re-establish their newly-revamped home as the impregnable fortress it once was. Like last season, Munster are again in a tough group. Last season, they won all their home matches, picking up a bonus point against Clermont, and denying all three visitors the opportunity to pick up losing bonus points. On the road, they beat the Scarlets, and picked up losing bonus points at Clermont and Wasps. They will need to emulate that performance if they hope to get to their eleventh successive quarter-final.
Their pool opponents this season are Clermont, Sale and debutants Montauban. Tomorrow’s match is against the newbies at home. It should be a comfortable win, hopefully with a bonus point for good measure, but to borrow a cliché from the round-ball game, it is a potential banana skin. Montauban are an unknown quantity and have nothing to lose coming to Thomond. An even mildly complacent Munster could have difficulty putting them to the sword, but I don’t believe that this will happen. Munster don’t do complacency, and the team selection for tomorrow night shows that Tony McGahan is taking the opposition seriously.
Elsewhere, Leinster find themselves with their perennial nemesis, Edinburgh, as well as Wasps and Castres. If they can get over their Murrayfield hoodoo this weekend, then they will have a good chance of qualifying from the group. If they don’t (and remember that they are coming off the back of two Magners League defeats to Munster and Connacht), they are sunk.
In Pool Four, Ulster are in with Stade, the Scarlets and Harlequins. The group page on the Heineken Cup website lists the four clubs alphabetically in the table with no games played. By virtue of the initial letter in their name, Ulster are bottom of the table. Expect them to stay there. They shouldn’t even be in the competition and have their place by virtue of being only marginally less useless than Connacht were last season.
I will know in the morning if I am going to be making the journey down the N7 tomorrow afternoon. Me old mucker Munstermad (who used to be one of the contributors at The Fear of God) texted me this evening to tell me that he might be able to get his hands on a spare ticket.
Here’s hoping.