Jonathan Sexton put in a performance that had rugby purists weak at the knees, and an über-confident Leinster fed Bath a fifty-burger on Saturday night in the Aviva Stadium. Continue reading
Match Reaction: Leinster 52 – 27 Bath
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Category Archives: Match Reaction
Reaction: Llanelli 14 – 17 Munster
Munster didn’t require any last minute heroics from Ronan O’Gara to seal a vital away win at Parc y Scarlets, but the Heineken Cup centurion controlled the shape of the game and won his personal duel with Welsh out-half Rhys Priestland. Continue reading
Reaction: Harlequins 10 – 21 Toulouse
The Iceberg does some damage
In a very timely show of strength, Toulouse put the brakes on the Harlequins bandwagon with a 21-10 win at The Stoop. Quins have been rightly lauded for their very strong start to the season, but all too often the English rugby media can cheerlead without putting results in context. Continue reading
Match Report: Bath 13 – 18 Leinster
Ryan Caldwell tries to find the 'Off' button on Jonny Sexton
Over the last three seasons since Leinster have established themselves as European big hitters, their trips to England have always been tight games. There was the 25-23 victory over Saracens in Wembley last year, the 11-11 draw with London Irish in Twickenham at the end of January 2010, the 6-5 win over Harlequins [the infamous ‘Bloodgate’ game] in the 2008-09 quarter final in The Stoop, and a 12-19 loss to London Wasps in January 2009 in Twickenham. Games against English teams have long been tight affairs, and Sunday’s 18-13 win over Bath continued the trend. Continue reading
Ospreys vs Munster: Defensive Line Speed And How To Check It
Andrew Bishop - the key to the Ospreys' line-speed and defense against Munster
The Ospreys’ quick line-speed in defense severely hampered Munster’s attack for the greater part of the match. Sean Holley and Scott Johnson have done an extremely good job with the region over the last six months; they’ve shed some seriously talented but somewhat egotistical players in Mike Phillips, James Hook and Lee Byrne, and in the recent past have been operating with a number of important players unavailable due to injury. Continue reading
Match Report: Ospreys 19 – 13 Munster
Back on the bottom of the SpecSavers Fair Play League to boot
Munster’s preparations for their key back-to-back matches with the Llanelli Scarlets in the Heineken Cup were staggered by an unexpected loss to the Ospreys.
The thing about the record books is that they don’t draw a picture – they just record the score. In that light, a bonus-point loss to the second-placed team in the league away from home isn’t a bad result. In any other light, it was a terrible result. Continue reading
Match Reaction: Leinster 30 – 20 Connacht
Leinster must have taken a half-time bollocking from the Milky Bar Kid, because they came out in the second half and scored 22 unanswered points against a gamey Connacht side. Continue reading
Rabo Pro 12: Leinster 15 – 10 Llanelli
You wouldn't force your worst enemy to watch this game twice
Every sports league in the world provides a few games that fans would pay to miss. Llanelli entertained hosted Leinster on Saturday for their 5,000 game and it’s probable that few have been worse. Continue reading
Match Report: Ospreys 27 – 3 Leinster
All genuine quotes from the Sunday Independent, 03 October 2010
Leinster showed up in Liberty Stadium with a relatively untried team and took a first-half pasting from a fired-up and fluent young Ospreys side. Continue reading
Match Report: Munster 20 – 12 Dragons
Pacemakers in the SpecSavers Fair Play League
Munster repulsed a spirited comeback from the Dragons at Musgrave Park and pulled a losing bonus point away from the reach of their visitors with a late Ian Keatley penalty kick. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 