Surely three-in-a-row is out of the question?
Munster’s forthcoming tie against Llanelli is an intriguing match-up, in that it looks to test the old adage “forwards decide who wins the game, backs decide by how much”. Continue reading
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
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
John Smit's savoir faire ruffled for the first and only time in his career
On what promises to be a fairly grisly evening weather-wise, much has been made of the fact that the Cardiff Blues team visiting the RDS tonight is denuded of eight Welsh internationals. Wales, you see, are playing the Australians in a coffer-filling exercise tomorrow. Fortunately for them, the base avarice of the WRU has been allowed skulk through the mists of sentimentality that have followed Shane Williams’ announcement of his retirement from international rugby. This match isn’t actually a testimonial to the former IRB International Player of the Year, as much as he deserves one, and as much as it is being portrayed as such by the Welsh media. No, this is just the WRU in full money-grabbing mode, flogging its players in a bid to capitalise on their reasonably successful RWC11 efforts. Continue reading
And then you chop-block the defensive end, Moose
Munster and Leinster have named ‘experimental’ teams for their upcoming fixtures in the Pro 12. Joe Schmidt has gone for a 5-5-5 formation, picking two scrum-halves and three out halves in midfield to try and control possession in a move that owes much to the influence of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Tony McGahan has named only 11 players in his starting line-up, and will spring the remaining four one-by-one at five minute intervals from the fifteenth minute onwards. Continue reading
Recent years have seen at least three episodes of this game a season. The home leg for either team and the playoff game in the Magners/Rabo. The games provide a snapshot of Irish rugby and a way of connecting the seasons together. Continue reading
A seven or a six and a half?
The RaboDirect Pro12 is six matches in but has been under the radar so far because of the World Cup. Tonight sees the return of a number of internationals a few weeks before the Heineken Cup starts. Continue reading
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
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
Dropping off record pace, still way out in front
The Liginds couldn’t quite keep up the three-yellow-card-a-game precedent set in their season opener, but they gave it a good lash. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 