Cardiff v Leinster, Sunday, 4pm.

durkadurka

Leinster squad to face the Cardiff Blues...

BACKS: Shaun Berne,
Andrew Conway,
Girvan Dempsey,
David Kearney,
Simon Keogh, Ian Madigan,
Fergus McFadden,
Isa Nacewa,
Paul O'Donohoe,
Eoin O'Malley,
Eoin Reddan

FORWARDS: Trevor Hogan,
Bernard Jackman,
Shane Jennings,
Stephen Keogh,
Ronan McCormack,
Kevin McLaughlin,
Malcolm O'Kelly,
Mike Ross,
Rhys Ruddock,
Paul Ryan,
Richardt Strauss,
Devin Toner,
CJ van der Linde,
Stan Wright

2 words. No shaggy!!

wixfjord

durkadurka wrote: »

Leinster squad to face the Cardiff Blues...

BACKS: Shaun Berne,
Andrew Conway,
Girvan Dempsey,
David Kearney,
Simon Keogh, Ian Madigan,
Fergus McFadden,
Isa Nacewa,
Paul O'Donohoe,
Eoin O'Malley,
Eoin Reddan

FORWARDS: Trevor Hogan,
Bernard Jackman,
Shane Jennings,
Stephen Keogh,
Ronan McCormack,
Kevin McLaughlin,
Malcolm O'Kelly,
Mike Ross,
Rhys Ruddock,
Paul Ryan,
Richardt Strauss,
Devin Toner,
CJ van der Linde,
Stan Wright

2 words. No shaggy!!

Bit strange alright, was at a Guinness Area 22 thing with him there last Sat and he had no injury anyway. Maybe he overdid it on the old Guinness?!

Would love to see Conway and Strauss getting starts.
No Fogs either.

durkadurka

wixfjord wrote: »

Bit strange alright, was at a Guinness Area 22 thing with him there last Sat and he had no injury anyway. Maybe he overdid it on the old Guinness?!

Would love to see Conway and Strauss getting starts.
No Fogs either.

What's going one with Fogarty? Jackman all the way since the last Heino game against London Irish.

Yep Conway was great last week in his 5 minute cameo. Deserves another go.

Co45

durkadurka wrote: »

Leinster squad to face the Cardiff Blues...

BACKS: Shaun Berne,
Andrew Conway,
Girvan Dempsey,
David Kearney,
Simon Keogh, Ian Madigan,
Fergus McFadden,
Isa Nacewa,
Paul O'Donohoe,
Eoin O'Malley,
Eoin Reddan

FORWARDS: Trevor Hogan,
Bernard Jackman,
Shane Jennings,
Stephen Keogh,
Ronan McCormack,
Kevin McLaughlin,
Malcolm O'Kelly,
Mike Ross,
Rhys Ruddock,
Paul Ryan,
Richardt Strauss,
Devin Toner,
CJ van der Linde,
Stan Wright

2 words. No shaggy!!

1.CJ
2.Strauss
3.Wright
4.O'Kelly
5.Toner
6.McLaughlin
7.Jennings
8.Ruddock
9.Reddan
10.Berne
11.Conway
12.McFadden
13.Nacewa
14.D.Kearney
15.Dempsey

Would be very interested to see that!!!,

thomond2006

Horgan must be injured. Even if Kidney was going to pick him against Wales (which would be a shock), he would still have given him the gametime with Leinster. McFadden and O'Malley are the only centres so I presume they'll both start with Berne at 10.

I think we'll see:

Wright
Jackman
Van Der Linde
MOK
Toner
McLaughlin
Jennings
Keogh
Reddan
Berne
Nacewa
McFadden
O'Malley
Kearney
Dempsey

Strauss
Ross
Hogan
Ruddock / Ryan
POD
Madigan
Conway

durkadurka

Back line is a tad weak.

wixfjord

Was Ste Keogh not injured in a recent B an I cup game or something??

durkadurka

Would like to see ross get a game. ireland totally needs a new tighthead and it would be good too see him get a run.

thomond2006

durkadurka wrote: »

Would like to see ross get a game. ireland totally needs a new tighthead and it would be good too see him get a run.

It won't happen unfortunately.

wixfjord

thomond2006 wrote: »

It won't happen unfortunately.

In fairness though play your best team, and Van der linde is a better tighthead than Ross, and imo Wright is a better loose. Would love to see a Van Der Linde Jackman and Ross front row though.

Podge_irl

Would dearly love to see Ross get a decent amount of game time. He actually got a fair bit at the start of the season, but it's been tailing off now that CJ and Wright are back. He doesn't even seem to get off the bench much.

thomond2006

wixfjord wrote: »

In fairness though play your best team, and Van der linde is a better tighthead than Ross, and imo Wright is a better loose. Would love to see a Van Der Linde Jackman and Ross front row though.

Oh I agree, it's still a shame though.

Unless CJ leaves, Ross has no business staying at Leinster. Won't do anything for his career.

Podge_irl

thomond2006 wrote: »

Oh I agree, it's still a shame though.

Unless CJ leaves, Ross has no business staying at Leinster. Won't do anything for his career.

I think everyone thought that with Ross arriving, Wright would be on the way out. His contract was up and didn't look like it was going to be renewed. It'd be hard to turn your back on a player like Wright though and he appears to be a great guy as well. CJ, Wright, Healy and Ross must be one of the strongest propping contingents in Europe...just a damn shame two of em aren't Irish.

durkadurka

Podge_irl wrote: »

I think everyone thought that with Ross arriving, Wright would be on the way out. His contract was up and didn't look like it was going to be renewed. It'd be hard to turn your back on a player like Wright though and he appears to be a great guy as well. CJ, Wright, Healy and Ross must be one of the strongest propping contingents in Europe...just a damn shame two of em aren't Irish.

Thing is, and I don't know much about propping, if Ross was good enough, wouldn't he be on the team?

Podge_irl

durkadurka wrote: »

Thing is, and I don't know much about propping, if Ross was good enough, wouldn't he be on the team?

Well.....CJ is better. That's not really a massive criticism of a prop considering how good CJ is. Ross is also not as good around the park as he could be. Mind you, Wright was a disaster when he first arrived at Leinster. He was unfit and couldn't even scrum to make up for it and look at him now. I trust Cheika to do a job with Ross - I expect him to be a much better player next season.

PhatPiggins

Co45 wrote: »

1.CJ
2.Strauss
3.Wright
4.O'Kelly
5.Toner
6.McLaughlin
7.Jennings
8.Ruddock
9.Reddan
10.Berne
11.Conway
12.McFadden
13.Nacewa
14.D.Kearney
15.Dempsey

Would be very interested to see that!!!,

That pretty much the most non-tackling backline Leinster could field. Would fancy them to score a few points though.

WeeBushy

According to the Irish Times today Horgan is nursing a minor knock so is being rested, same with Fogarty.

Spud83

WeeBushy wrote: »

According to the Irish Times today Horgan is nursing a minor knock so is being rested, same with Fogarty.

The only thing that can make sense really.

chupacabra

Andrew Conway to start on the wing. This is looking like a pretty meteoric rise for the younglad. straight out of school and into the Leinster first team.

durkadurka

chupacabra wrote: »

Andrew Conway to start on the wing. This is looking like a pretty meteoric rise for the younglad. straight out of school and into the Leinster first team.

Luke fitz did it too i think.was playing for ireland in 6 months

Podge_irl

chupacabra wrote: »

Andrew Conway to start on the wing. This is looking like a pretty meteoric rise for the younglad. straight out of school and into the Leinster first team.

No different from Fitz, in fact it's slower than Fitz's rise! Says something about Cheika's willingness to throw young lads in though. It's good to see.

I have a feeling Leinster won't quite manage to pull this off, should be good to watch though.

durkadurka

I don't have high hopes either. The Pack is solid enough but I fear the backs have not enough experience. Hope Cconway does well.

Will McFadden do the place kicking? Berne's place kicking was brutal last time I saw him against the Scarlets in the Heineken. Just as well we scored 7 tries.....

thomond2006

CARDIFF BLUES:
15 Ben Blair 14 Tom James 13 Casey Laulala 12 Tom Shanklin 11 Chris Czekaj 10 Ceri Sweeney 9 Gareth Cooper
8 Xavier Rush 7 Sam Warburton 6 Maama Molitika 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Scott Morgan 3 Gary Powell 2 T Rhys Thomas 1 Taufa'ao Filise

Replacements: 16 Huw Dowden 17 Scott Andrews 18 Andries Pretorius 19 Andy Powell 20 Lloyd Williams 21 Sam Norton-Knight 22 Dafydd Hewitt

Very strong Cardiff lineup. Dangerous backline particularly at centre. McFadden and O'Malley will have a hard time keeping Shanklin and Laulala quiet.

Ceri Sweeney ahead of Sam Norton Kinght is bad news for Leinster: Sweeney is a capable fly-half who can put his backs into space, Norton-Knight was signed to play 10 and cannot run a backline to save his life. He's set to leave Cardiff one year into a two-year deal at the end of this season.

Excellent backrow too. Molitika and Rush are two powerful ball carriers while Sam Warburton is set to be Martyn William's successor at openside for club and country. Really talented player.

This will be a very difficult task for Leinster. I think Cardiff's more experienced centre partnership could be Leinster's undoing.

I fancy Cardiff by 7.

irishbucsfan

thomond2006 wrote: »

McFadden and O'Malley will have a hard time keeping Shanklin and Laulala quiet.

Especially considering their disgraceful defensive performance against the Dragons earlier on this year.

Very concerned about the backs, but the forwards are better than the Cardiff pack. Would be more confident if we had more of a conventional 10, who could control the game and make the most of our slight advantage in the forwards. If the game is close I'm not confident that we can beat them with placekicking either.

Im not very confident at all. I'd love a win, but a losing bonus point might a little more realistic.

funky penguin

In fairness, while Berne has...questionable skills when it comes to place kicking, he does have a knack for releasing the backs, and his kicking from hand isn't too shabby at all.

McFadden is consistent enough at place kicking, so I do hope he is taking on this duty come Sunday.

Its going to be a tough ask, but this is nowhere near the team we fielded against the Dragons in December. I'm being optomistic, but I don't think its unfair to be, its well within their power to win this.

irishbucsfan

funky penguin wrote: »

In fairness, while Berne has...questionable skills when it comes to place kicking, he does have a knack for releasing the backs, and his kicking from hand isn't too shabby at all.

That's true, but we should really look to keep the game away from the backs, considering the difference in ability between ours and theirs.

Podge_irl

McFadden is an excellent goal-kicker. If it came down to a kicking duel I would have no qualms about him.

thomond2006

Edinburgh have just sealed a BP against Ospreys with a half an hour to go, Tim Visser has got a hattrick.

Edit: They are running riot. 5th try. 33 - 0 now.

Edinburgh are playing some superb rugby. They will be top of the league if Leinster fail to win later.

This must be the closest table for a few seasons. The run-in should be very exciting.

wixfjord

Very big game for Leinster imo. As Cheks has said and as a few players mentioned in the HC book, these games during the 6N were crucial last season. Good win away in Wales with a second side would be a big boost and go a long way towards securing a top two finish. Expecting a Cardiff win though tbh.

thomond2006

wixfjord wrote: »

Very big game for Leinster imo. As Cheks has said and as a few players mentioned in the HC book, these games during the 6N were crucial last season. Good win away in Wales with a second side would be a big boost and go a long way towards securing a top two finish. Expecting a Cardiff win though tbh.

Very true, the main reason Munster won the league last year was when the internationals were rested, the second string side managed to get wins. This hasn't happened this term. Case in point was last night and Glasgow away at the start of the season.

Cardiff have been shocking in the league this season, considering the talent they have and their success last year.

The pressure is on them to win this though (with the Dragons and Scarlets winning this weekend), they have to get Heineken cup qualification. With the new stadium just built, losing out on the HEC would be a disaster.

irishbucsfan

thomond2006 wrote: »

Edinburgh have just sealed a BP against Ospreys with a half an hour to go, Tim Visser has got a hattrick.

Edit: They are running riot. 5th try. 33 - 0 now.

Edinburgh are playing some superb rugby. They will be top of the league if Leinster fail to win later.

This must be the closest table for a few seasons. The run-in should be very exciting.

This pushes Munster down to 5th as well doesn't it? Might be mistaken, not sure how much of the table I'm looking at has been updated.

Its a very close run-in. Have to believe Munster and Leinster will make it into the playoffs, which means the other two places will be filled by two of Ospreys, Glasgow, Edinburgh and maybe even the Dragons... very interesting.

durkadurka

With 2 home games to come and that game in hand away to connacht, a result today would put leinster in driving position in the league.

thomond2006

Ospreys have scored two tries but it's too little too late.

As bucsfan said, it will be a very close run-in. As well as that, you have the Welsh race for HEC spots.

The updated ML table can be found here: http://www.magnersleague.com/live

In theory, you could only rule Connacht out a top 4 place. IMO Scarlets aren't good enough either. Cardiff are down the table right now but if they get it together, they could make a late push.

It would be amazing if the Dragons got there, considering the resources they have compared to the other regions.

By the end of the Six Nations, I think all the teams will have played at least 12 games. We'll have a better picture of how things stand then. Hard to read the league atm with all the postponed games yet to be played.

Edit: Ospreys just got another try. Conversion was missed. 33 - 17 FT.

Sangre

This on TV?

thomond2006

Sangre wrote: »

This on TV?

BBC2 Wales and Setanta Ireland.

fifth

Is it KO at 4? Setanta still showing the Tipp and Kilkenny game.

LeeroyJones

perhaps it was just me who didnt realise but if there are others unaware you can still watch the match on BBC even if you only have BBC NI. Press the red button and scroll down to the Sport Multiscreen option!

ktulu123

Yeah, what are setanta doing? Have they stopped doing studio analysis? There was none for the munster game last night!

thomond2006

Pen for Cardiff.

Poor kick, still scoreless.

Laulala showing some nice touches for Cardiff so far.

fifth

Finally match begins on setanta. Bloody annoying

sock puppet

Well worked try for McFadden.

fifth

Bing..nice start

thomond2006

Try Leinster, McFadden under the posts.

Conversion over.

7 - 0 to Leinster.

ongarite

Conway should have scored there, great break by McFadden.

thomond2006

Leinster may get a penalty try here.

Edit: They opted for 3 points, McFadden puts it over.

10 - 0 Leinster, what a start by them.

lol spoke too soon, try Cardiff.

Podge_irl

Odd call by Leinster.

McFadden is far too good to spend any longer not getting into HEC squads.

chupacabra

Pass way way forward for that try.

thomond2006

Podge_irl wrote: »

Odd call by Leinster.

McFadden is far too good to spend any longer not getting into HEC squads.

Agree on both counts, a penalty try looked on.

Yeah, it's a shame about McFadden. If you have Berne on the bench, then you can't have McFadden on it too I suppose.

Blues 5
Leinster 10

23 mins gone.

Ciaran-Irl

Can't work out why they didn't reset that Scrum. Jackman was holding his shoulder. I wonder if that was it?

Reddan hasn't started as well as he would have hoped to.

crisco10

Cardiff are making a lot of soft yards down through our centres...

thomond2006

Leinster are destroying the Cardiff scrum.

Again they take 3 points, McFadden scores.

Cardiff 5
Leinster 13