Connacht v Leinster.

danthefan

Leinster should have enough imo.

CONNACHT: T Nathan; L Bibo, N Ta'auso, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; R Loughney, S Cronin, R Morris; M McCarthy, B Upton, J Muldoon CAPTAIN, R Ofisa, G Naoupu

REPLACEMENTS: A Flavin, J Hagan, M Swift, A Browne, C O'Loughlin, M Nikora, A Wynne

LEINSTER:

15: Girvan Dempsey
14: Shane Horgan
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Isa Nacewa
10: Shaun Berne
9: Eoin Reddan

1: Stan Wright
2: Bernard Jackman
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Trevor Hogan
6: Nathan Hines
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Stephen Keogh

REPLACEMENTS FROM: 16: Richardt Strauss, 17: Ronan McCormack, 18: Devin Toner, 19: Kevin McLaughlin, 20: Paul Ryan, 21: Paul O'Donohoe, 22: Simon Keogh, 23: David Kearney

thomond2006

How Naoupu starts again is beyond me. He was shocking against Munster. :rolleyes:

Leinster should win this, strong team out.

Big chance for Mike Ross imo.

Hines at 6 and Keogh at 8 look dodgy selections.

Who is Paul Ryan?

chupacabra

thomond2006 wrote: »

How Naoupu starts again is beyond me. He was shocking against Munster. :rolleyes:

Leinster should win this, strong team out.

Big chance for Mike Ross imo.

Hines at 6 and Keogh at 8 look dodgy selections.

Who is Paul Ryan?

Best openside in the Leinster academy imo. Better than the much hyped Dominic Ryan. A serious prospect he is dogged on the ground and in the last game i saw dominated the breakdown winning turn over after turn over.

danthefan

Stephen Keogh is an 8 so I don't have an issue there, Hines at 6 is odd though. I would guess McLaughlin might be looking at a late fitness test or something with himself or Ryan going to drop out.

Hype710

Would have preferred to have seen Toner instead of Hogan. Toner's really struggled for game time since Hines has come in. Leinster should win this one.

leeroybrown

thomond2006 wrote: »

How Naoupu starts again is beyond me. He was shocking against Munster. :rolleyes:

There are only three dedicated back-rows in the 22 so I'm not sure if there was much choice. Neither Johnny O'Connor nor Mike McComish are available so all the back-row cover is by locks who can play there. Moving McCarthy to six (he's started there a lot in the past), Muldoon to 8 and bringing in Browne/Swift at lock would have been the only other realistic starting option.

Naoupu (along with quite a few Connacht players) were awful against Munster but he was actually very good in the two previous games against Worcester. He broke the line very well and added a physical element to our play that none of the other back-rows really offers to the same degree. Last week was very worrying though.

The Connacht scrum will be a bit of a worry with Wilkinson out and we'll really miss Duffy's quality at full back. I'd also be slightly concerned at only having one genuine 7 available given that this is likely to be an intense game. The lack of acceptable cover at out-half is constant issue not just one for this game.

crisco10

Any chance of this being frozen off?

Be doing a day trip from Dublin so be nice to know before I leave the game is defo on!

leeroybrown

It should go ahead. Galway City thawed out Wednesday afternoon so it's just lightly iced and frosted in most places now. Very little of yesterday's snow stuck. The forecast is for a temperature rise tomorrow. The branch have also had the pitch fully covered since yesterday afternoon so it should be clear at kickoff.

Diabhal Beag

I predict a bonus point defeat for Connacht. I'm certain the match will go ahead. They have covers for the pitch on the Sportsground apparently

Is it through injury JOC and McComish are unavailable? News from the Connacht setup about injuries is usually non-existent. Also are Wilko and Duffy being rested for the Ireland player management thing or are they genuinely injured?

leeroybrown

Wilkinson (hand) and Duffy (jaw) are both still carrying injuries that they picked up against Munster. I haven't heard anything about JOC and McComish. They were both named in the 25 man squad.

fifth

blamsterini wrote: »

I like Connact

Nice.

Leinster should do it, -12pts or so.

leeroybrown

The official Connacht Rugby Facebook page was updated about half a hour ago to say that the game is going ahead as scheduled.

PhatPiggins

funkyflea wrote: »

Nice.

Leinster should do it, -12pts or so.

If that Leinster team beat Connacht by 12 then Connacht should stop playing in the ML.

thomond2006

Connacht never give Munster or Leinster (not Ulster strangely) easy games in Galway and will be up for this one.

Emmet Byrne on put it nicely on Setanta, saying that Connacht's strength is their ability to make it difficult for opposition to play. That's why the Sportsground suits them.

PhatPiggins, Leinster could easily win by more than 12. Berne controls the game well and Fergus McFadden takes over where he is weak, goal kicking. (I presume McFadden will take the kicks). Very good backline too.

chupacabra

thomond2006 wrote: »

Connacht never give Munster or Leinster (not Ulster strangely) easy games in Galway and will be up for this one.

Emmet Byrne on put it nicely on Setanta, saying that Connacht's strength is their ability to make it difficult for opposition to play. That's why the Sportsground suits them.

PhatPiggins, Leinster could easily win by more than 12. Berne controls the game well and Fergus McFadden takes over where he is weak, goal kicking. (I presume McFadden will take the kicks). Very good backline too.

Connacht seem to do better away from home tho.

Trojan

I'll be there as a Leinster supporter & former Connacht underage player. I hope it's a good game of rugby and that despite the conditions both teams play well.

JW91

chupacabra wrote: »

Connacht seem to do better away from home tho.

Are you actually serious? Have you ever watched a game of rugby in your life?

Connacht are shocking away from home, especially in the magners league. I think I'm right in saying that it's nearly 2 years since Connacht last won an away game in the Magners league.

Pitch inspection at 12 keep an eye on the Connacht site for updates.

wixfjord

chupacabra wrote: »

Connacht seem to do better away from home tho.

Thats a bit of a strange comment?
I would be of the opnion that its firmly the other way around, unless Im missing sarcasm of something :pac:

Amazotheamazing

Hype710 wrote: »

Would have preferred to have seen Toner instead of Hogan. Toner's really struggled for game time since Hines has come in. Leinster should win this one.

Yeah, it's a pity. Toner and McFadden really haven't had much of a chance this season, especially after their Churchill Cups. I don't really think Toner will ever be a top level player but neither will Hogan.

Malice

Borders no.2 wrote: »

Pitch inspection at 12 keep an eye on the Connacht site for updates.

News updates are listed here.

siltirocker

PhatPiggins wrote: »

If that Leinster team beat Connacht by 12 then Connacht should stop playing in the ML.

I think your being a bit silly there. Besides Cronin & Keatley, that Leinster team is stronger than Connacht in every position.

siltirocker

It's official GAME ON.

leeroybrown

There's some nice afternoon here at my house and any frost/ice that isn't sheltered is melting away. It should be similar at the Sportsground. If it continues all afternoon it should make for excellent (if a little cold) conditions for rugby.

chupacabra wrote: »

Connacht seem to do better away from home tho.

We do have a decent away record in the European Challenge Cup (apart from the hammering by London Irish) but in the league it's abysmal. Our last away points in the league were at the end of the 07/08 season when we picked up a losing bonus point against Ulster then beat the Dragons at Rodney Parade the following week.

leeroybrown

Are many you you Leinster supporters able to travel for this? It sounds like half of Dublin is too badly frozen to safely get out.

leeroybrown

Arse. The game was called off five minutes ago.

From the Connacht Facebook:

Referee along with Michael Bradley and Michael Cheika have decided the the pitch is unplayable. This has literally happened two minutes ago. We are sorry for any inconvenience but it is totally out of our hands. Your ticket will apply for the the re-scheduled game!

Hyperbullet

Will they have tickets for sale at the gate I wonder....

Hyperbullet

leeroybrown wrote: »

Arse. The game was called off five minutes ago.

From the Connacht Facebook:

Still nothing on the main site though?

dave13

In a pub in galway. Just told the game was called off by the ref. Any confirmation of this?

leeroybrown

Hyperbullet wrote: »

Still nothing on the main site though?

It's always slow to be updated.

Ares wrote: »

In a pub in galway. Just told the game was called off by the ref. Any confirmation of this?

It's up on the official Connacht Facebook page but not on the site yet.

leeroybrown

On the site now.

Hyperbullet

http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2010010282075/match-called-off

Called off.:(

siltirocker

Confirmed off.

How do you pass a pitch inspection at 12 and then 2 hours later when the temperatures have risen (?) it's called off. A plethora of Leinster fans who on route, possible in the car, without internet will turn up in Galway for no reason. Horse**** again from the Connacht branch.

leeroybrown

Indeed. Real horse****. The main stand at the Sportsground must be blocking the sunlight from the pitch. Any ground near me that isn't shaded by houses or trees has thawed out. It still begs the question though as to how it was passed at 12:00 when the weather conditions have been improving since.

Hyperbullet

siltirocker wrote: »

Confirmed off.

How do you pass a pitch inspection at 12 and then 2 hours later when the temperatures have risen (?) it's called off. A plethora of Leinster fans who on route, possible in the car, without internet will turn up in Galway for no reason. Horse**** again from the Connacht branch.

According to the site it was a decision made by the two coaches and the referee, not the branch.

gavkm27

siltirocker wrote: »

Confirmed off.

How do you pass a pitch inspection at 12 and then 2 hours later when the temperatures have risen (?) it's called off. A plethora of Leinster fans who on route, possible in the car, without internet will turn up in Galway for no reason. Horse**** again from the Connacht branch.

From Connacht Rugby on Facebook-

''Referee along with Michael Bradley and Michael Cheika have decided the the pitch is unplayable. This has literally happened two minutes ago. We are sorry for any inconvenience but it is totally out of our hands. Your ticket will apply for the the re-scheduled game!''

siltirocker

Hyperbullet wrote: »

According to the site it was a decision made by the two coaches and the referee, not the branch.

The horse**** i was referring to was Connacht Rugby's decision to confirm a match without ref approval, with full knowledge that the gent, would have to inspect himself at one point, they should have waited and used their heads.

OldJay

leeroybrown wrote: »

It still begs the question though as to how it was passed at 12:00 when the weather conditions have been improving since.

If it was passed at 12pm, it was passed pending review at a later time. This is to see if it improves during this timeframe. Obviously it didn't improve so the official in consultation with the teams, called it off.

leeroybrown

Justind wrote: »

If it was passed at 12pm, it was passed pending review at a later time. This is to see if it improves during this timeframe. Obviously it didn't improve so the official in consultation with the teams, called it off.

I understand that the coaches and referee would do this as it makes perfect sense. I'm not questioning the decision. The problem is that the what was actually passed on to supporters was incorrect. Where did the official Connacht media say 'pending to additional inspection'? Either the information circulated was wrong or the decision was wrong.

siltirocker

Justind wrote: »

If it was passed at 12pm, it was passed pending review at a later time. This is to see if it improves during this timeframe. Obviously it didn't improve so the official in consultation with the teams, called it off.

This wasn't announced or written anywhere Justind. So i very much doubt they would announce "LEINSTER GAME ON!" *cough* if ground improves rapidly in an hour and a half. *cough*

TitoPuente

Damn. Is the Munster match still going ahead?

leeroybrown

I suppose that depends on the Ulster Rugby website definition of 'GAME ON!'.

OldJay

siltirocker wrote: »

This wasn't announced or written anywhere Justind. So i very much doubt they would announce "LEINSTER GAME ON!" *cough* if ground improves rapidly in an hour and a half. *cough*

I just saw the headline you referred to so apols.

Barname

Game is OFF

Will it be played Sunday?

leeroybrown

No. The Leinster team have already gone home. The league will re-fix it for some date in the future to suit fixture, TV and refereeing schedules. The last postponed game I can think of was Ulster v. Munster this time two years ago. It was after the 6N in mid-April before it was replayed.

leeroybrown

You'll love this. Some good o'l Galway rain blew over about 15 minutes ago and has melted all the frost and ice near my house. The Sportsground probably isn't all that dissimilar.

chupacabra

leeroybrown wrote: »

You'll love this. Some good o'l Galway rain blew over about 15 minutes ago and has melted all the frost and ice near my house. The Sportsground probably isn't all that dissimilar.

I doubt its the frost, they probably covered the pitch. Its to do with the ground freezing solid. It can be so bad its like playing on concrete sometimes.

leeroybrown

If the pitch was borderline though a bit of rain earlier in the afternoon might have been just what was needed to soften it a bit before kickoff.

The weekend of the 29th of January would be a possibility.It would be pretty much a Leinster A/Academy selection if that was the date though.

leeroybrown

Looking at the way the temperature dropped this evening it probably wouldn't have helped much. The main thing is that no injuries have been risked anyway.