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
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
Gamblor seals the deal!
Northampton must be wondering just what they have to do to beat Munster in Thomond Park. The Liginds took everything they had, and after a marathon 41-phase endgame crawled out of the coffin and grabbed the win with a monster Gamblor dropgoal. RADGE! Continue reading
Repeat to Fade
Pool 1 – Castres, Munster, Northampton, Scarlets
For over a decade, this line up produced one outcome and how that inevitability was arrived at decided the drama. 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
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
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 