leinster
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.
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Munster Whitewash Leinster
28/09/08 23:21 Filed in: Sport
Sky+ is feckin’ brilliant. I don’t
watch much telly at the best of times, but it
often happens that what I want to watch is shown
at times that don’t suit. Like tonight, when the
Leinster-Munster clash coincided with bath ‘n’
bedtime for the little ‘un. Where once upon a
time, we were able to dunk her in the bath, get
her into her PJs and Grobag, read the bedtime
stories and have her off to the land of nod in
under half an hour, these days it’s at least an
hour or more. Being an independent little Miss,
she insists on dressing herself. A parental
attempt to put on a vest or PJ top elicits a
sharp cry of “I self!”, followed by a ten minute
process of actually getting the garment on,
usually with parental intervention.
So it was 9.30 by the time I got to sit down and watch the match. I could think about little else today. Opening up the Turbine this morning and reading Neil Francis’s preview almost brought out the Kevin Keegan in me. I was seconds away from donning the headphones, stabbing my forefinger and declaring “I will LUV IT if we beat them” with my voice cracking and tears in my eyes.
Why, oh why, oh why, oh why do the Irish media have such a hard-on about Leinster? OK, Franno is Leinster to his bone marrow, so it is natural for him to talk them up. But tonight, watching the match on Setanta, the commentary was all about Leinster. If a Munster player broke three tackles and was hauled down by the fourth, it was all about the tackle that brought him down, not about the way he skinned the three players en route. Even Donal Lenihan, a Munsterman through and through was commentating on this game like it was Ireland (Leinster) v. Anyone Else (Munster). In case you haven’t noticed, lads, Munster are the current Heineken Cup Champions. They have won it twice in three seasons. They are a decent outfit. Give them some credit, will yiz?
But, anyway, on
to the match. Leinster should have been up 9-0 (or
maybe 9-3 if ROG’s attempted drop goal had gone
over) by the end of the first quarter. But Dr
Felipe had obviously left his kicking boots
elsewhere, as he missed three penalties on the
trot. He never got another shot at goal for the
rest of the match. Munster’s lineout was a weak
point for the whole match, and Leo Cullen in
particular made hay on Munster’s throw. But it was
Munster’s tenacity that showed through. They
defended like their lives depended on it. From the
second quarter on, they gave away no penalties
within kicking range (not that it would have made
much difference, as Contepomi couldn’t hit a pig’s
arse with a banjo tonight.) ROG nailed the two
penalties he was offered, and Munster took their
chances to score two tries.
Even though the one-eyed commentary was constantly talking up Leinster’s defence tonight (and it was good, save for the two tries they conceded), there was precious little comment for Munster’s defence. Leinster never looked like scoring tonight. Any promising-looking move was snuffed out well before the line. Munster put in some monster tackles and turned over a huge amount of ball.
This was a very satisfying win for Munster for several reasons. First up, it was a whitewash. On Leinster’s patch. For all their huffing and puffing, and their great pack and their brilliant backs, Leinster failed to score, on their own patch. It was also a big two fingers to the Irish media, who need to be reminded that Munster are still officially the best team in Europe.
So it was 9.30 by the time I got to sit down and watch the match. I could think about little else today. Opening up the Turbine this morning and reading Neil Francis’s preview almost brought out the Kevin Keegan in me. I was seconds away from donning the headphones, stabbing my forefinger and declaring “I will LUV IT if we beat them” with my voice cracking and tears in my eyes.
Why, oh why, oh why, oh why do the Irish media have such a hard-on about Leinster? OK, Franno is Leinster to his bone marrow, so it is natural for him to talk them up. But tonight, watching the match on Setanta, the commentary was all about Leinster. If a Munster player broke three tackles and was hauled down by the fourth, it was all about the tackle that brought him down, not about the way he skinned the three players en route. Even Donal Lenihan, a Munsterman through and through was commentating on this game like it was Ireland (Leinster) v. Anyone Else (Munster). In case you haven’t noticed, lads, Munster are the current Heineken Cup Champions. They have won it twice in three seasons. They are a decent outfit. Give them some credit, will yiz?
Even though the one-eyed commentary was constantly talking up Leinster’s defence tonight (and it was good, save for the two tries they conceded), there was precious little comment for Munster’s defence. Leinster never looked like scoring tonight. Any promising-looking move was snuffed out well before the line. Munster put in some monster tackles and turned over a huge amount of ball.
This was a very satisfying win for Munster for several reasons. First up, it was a whitewash. On Leinster’s patch. For all their huffing and puffing, and their great pack and their brilliant backs, Leinster failed to score, on their own patch. It was also a big two fingers to the Irish media, who need to be reminded that Munster are still officially the best team in Europe.
The Big Rivalry - Part One
27/09/08 22:21 Filed in: Sport
After
a few seasons establishing itself, the Magners
League is shaping up into a fine competition.
Tomorrow sees the first clash between the two Irish
heavyweights, defending champions Leinster versus
Heineken Cup Champions Munster.
Traditionally, this match has been seen as the clash between the brawn of the Munster pack and the flair of the Leinster backs. How that has changed. Leinster now possess a pack capable of beating up any opposition up front, while Munster’s fleet-footed backs have the capability to mix it up behind the pack.
The Irish media,
being mostly Dublin-based, is drooling over
Leinster. The arrival of prop CJ van der Linde and
flanker Rocky Elsom has only added to this. This is
something of a make or break season for Michael
Cheika. The Magners, even though its stature is
growing every season, is still very much a lesser
prize than the Heineken Cup. Bragging rights among
the Celtic nations of These Islands™ is all fine
and dandy, but coming top of the pile in a
competition that includes the best of England and
France is the gold standard for Irish rugby. Cheika
and his charges do not need reminding that their
opponents tomorrow have reached the European summit
twice in the last three years. Leinster’s best
Heineken Cup finish was in 2006, when they got to
the semi-final (beaten by guess who?), whereas
Munster have been to the final four times, winning
twice.
Both teams have had good starts to the Magners and remain unbeaten. Munster have won all three of their matches so far, picking up two bonus points. Leinster were held to a draw in their opening match against Cardiff, and won the next two, picking up a bonus point in their thumping of Edinburgh.
Tomorrow is very difficult to call, because there are too many variables in play. It’s a home game for Leinster, and a noisy, partisan crowd at the RDS will help lift the man in blue. (Not that hostile away matches faze Munster all that much.) Leinster will be keen to maintain the domestic superiority of last season, when they won home and away against Munster. The men in red will want to put that right. Munster have a new coaching line-up in Tony McGahan and Laurie Fisher, who will be eager to best their fellow Aussies Cheika and Alan Gaffney.
What I can predict with a degree of certainty is that it will be a tough match, it will be close, and that one of these two teams will be the eventual winner of the Magners League.
Traditionally, this match has been seen as the clash between the brawn of the Munster pack and the flair of the Leinster backs. How that has changed. Leinster now possess a pack capable of beating up any opposition up front, while Munster’s fleet-footed backs have the capability to mix it up behind the pack.
Both teams have had good starts to the Magners and remain unbeaten. Munster have won all three of their matches so far, picking up two bonus points. Leinster were held to a draw in their opening match against Cardiff, and won the next two, picking up a bonus point in their thumping of Edinburgh.
Tomorrow is very difficult to call, because there are too many variables in play. It’s a home game for Leinster, and a noisy, partisan crowd at the RDS will help lift the man in blue. (Not that hostile away matches faze Munster all that much.) Leinster will be keen to maintain the domestic superiority of last season, when they won home and away against Munster. The men in red will want to put that right. Munster have a new coaching line-up in Tony McGahan and Laurie Fisher, who will be eager to best their fellow Aussies Cheika and Alan Gaffney.
What I can predict with a degree of certainty is that it will be a tough match, it will be close, and that one of these two teams will be the eventual winner of the Magners League.