Leinster v Cardiff; RDS; Saturday 11th Septemeber

stejkenny

LEINSTER team to play Cardiff Blues at the RDS on Saturday, 11 September:

15: Luke Fitzgerald
14: Shane Horgan
13: Brian O'Driscoll
12: Fergus McFadden
11: Isa Nacewa
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss

1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Nathan Hines
5: Ed O'Donoghue
6: Sean O'Brien
7: Shane Jennings CAPTAIN
8: Jamie Heaslip

REPLACEMENTS:

16: John Fogarty
17: Cian Healy
18: Simon Shawe
19: Mariano Galarza
20: Dominic Ryan
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Ian Madigan
23: Eoin O'Malley

Nice team; Dai Young aint so tough now!

scifi77

LOOKIN FORWARD TO THE GAME ALREADY.

Thanos

Very strong team. Amazed that some of the big guns are back so early but I guess they will be on and off this season with the world cup limiting the numbers of games the IRFU will allow them to play.

wonton

I really wish isa and luke would switch places.

stejkenny

nah i respect the coach for giving Luke more time to get his act together; he needs some encouragement under the high ball; thats it

stejkenny

More importantly Mike Ross; can he take up where Stan fell off

Beanmachine

You should have put the channels that the match is being shown on in your thread title or post. RTE/S4C

thomond2006

Wow, strong side out.

Parks vs Sexton will be interesting, we all remember who won that battle the last time they met.

Cardiff will be a tricky proposition. If Laulala plays it will be an intriguing contest between himself and BOD. IMO he invigorated Cardiff's season last year when he got going, a quality player.

From an Irish perspective, Mike Ross is under the spotlight now. Big chance for him.

Even if Cardiff go full strength, I expect a Leinster victory by 5-10 points.

wonton

quite few individual battles that will be interesting i think, but heaslip vs rush is what i'm most lookng forward to..

cardiff dont look as rusty as the other teams do either so im not sure about this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQLo0TTQ6Qg

Judgement Day

They don't look at all rusty, in fact they look very dangerous indeed - some great handling and tries there. Thanks for posting.

profitius

I'm looking forward to this game. No doubt Cardiff are a good team but I don't know if they've strengthened their squad much.

PhatPiggins

profitius wrote: »

I'm looking forward to this game. No doubt Cardiff are a good team but I don't know if they've strengthened their squad much.

They didn't need to. They just needed the full squad fit, which it almost is, and to bring in an international 10,which they did.

I really fancy them to win something again this season.

sock puppet

profitius wrote: »

I'm looking forward to this game. No doubt Cardiff are a good team but I don't know if they've strengthened their squad much.

Parks and Patterson are the big names. Not sure who else they've signed.

almighty1

Why the mad head OP?

Looking forward to this one, I think the CB will be in with a shout this year. Lots in internationals in their squad. Ross will be interesting, havent seen a whole lot of him in a Leinster jersey.

Third_Echelon

Nice bit of skill from Rush there..... Blues look dangerous. It'll be a close match. Leinster are stuttering at the moment, but hopefully the return of the big game players will steady the ship a bit. Tough game to call..

outwest

shocked to see luke at fullback, parks will be sending balls down on him all day.

didnt expect to see so many big names back.
the bench looks weak tho, if its a tight game id fancy blues, time will tell.

PhatPiggins

outwest wrote: »

shocked to see luke at fullback, parks will be sending balls down on him all day.

didnt expect to see so many big names back.
the bench looks weak tho, if its a tight game id fancy blues, time will tell.

Bit of an over reaction to one bad game don't you think?

I hope Parks does try an aerial bombardment, Fitzgerald will either have a mare or thrive on the possession and space.

[Jackass]

Now is the first game that we'll see how the new management want to approach the game plan.

Very strong side out and a lot of ability to execute. Rustiness will surely be a factor, but hopefully now the side can hit the ground running. These early season battles may have major bearings towards the end of the season. Giving up a win to Glasgow (or throwing it away rather - with all due respect to the comeback) and Cardiff, another potential play-off contendor (if they apply themselves in the league), could be an important match.

Delighted to see Sexton back. Looking forward to seeing Boss / Sexton combo. I think it's the most complimentary combination and whilst Boss isn't as effective at running a backline as Reddan is, arguably, he has a whole other aspect to his game that may facilitate more breaks form Sexton, as Boss will be marked by the ruck, and hopefully this can facilitate more offloads and line breaks from the backline as a whole.

A little disapointed, but not surprised, to see Healy on the bench. Glad Strauss is getting game time to have a crack at nailing down the 2 jersey. Ross in there is great too. Also happy that Dominic Ryan stays in the match squad, he's been massively impressive, and glad O'Brien is at 6.

Really think Isa should be at 15 and Fitz at 11.

Delighted McFadden is getting a run at 12 too. I think his future lies there and with Sexton inside him and O'Driscoll outside him, this is the first time he'll be surrounded by such quality and hopefully he will excell.

Excited for this game.

ALH-06

[Jackass] wrote: »

Delighted McFadden is getting a run at 12 too. I think his future lies there and with Sexton inside him and O'Driscoll outside him, this is the first time he'll be surrounded by such quality and hopefully he will excell.

Is Darcy injured?

I haven't been able to watch recent matches and missed the end of last season but currently how far off is McFadden to replacing Darcy in the starting 15, would people say?

danthefan

D'Arcy is not injured.

Stev_o

ALH-06 wrote: »

Is Darcy injured?

I haven't been able to watch recent matches and missed the end of last season but currently how far off is McFadden to replacing Darcy in the starting 15, would people say?

Never.

McFadden is not and will never be a 12. His game looks unimpressive from the 12 slot where his talent is completely wasted. BOD should (but never will be) play at 12 with McFadden outside him far much more attacking promise and threat in that combo.

stejkenny

Stev_o wrote: »

Never.

McFadden is not and will never be a 12. His game looks unimpressive from the 12 slot where his talent is completely wasted. BOD should (but never will be) play at 12 with McFadden outside him far much more attacking promise and threat in that combo.

Not at all; i think you will see BOD and mcFadden working together to make space for Luke running deep diagonal lines straight at the turnstyle that is Dan Parks tackling.

Mark my words the team is going to centre on Parks channel and keep running into it. Simple and effective. Heaslip especially will be looking to use him as some mobile shoe shine much the same way as he did ROG last year.:eek:

Stev_o

stejkenny wrote: »

Not at all; i think you will see BOD and mcFadden working together to make space for Luke running deep diagonal lines straight at the turnstyle that is Dan Parks tackling.

Mark my words the team is going to centre on Parks channel and keep running into it. Simple and effective. Heaslip especially will be looking to use him as some mobile shoe shine much the same way as he did ROG last year.:eek:

Meh would prefer the try attack out wide more often running into the Cardiff back row beside parks won't achieve much and will spell defeat. Hit up on the outside of Parks and then pass wide with Fitz coming into the line at speed.

stejkenny

Stev_o wrote: »

Meh would prefer the try attack out wide more often running into the Cardiff back row beside parks won't achieve much and will spell defeat. Hit up on the outside of Parks and then pass wide with Fitz coming into the line at speed.

Exactly running down his channel doesnt mean your not gonna pass; suck in the back row and give the off load; thats why BOD is at 13 and not 12; hes wasted at 12; everyone knows he can pass; at least at 13 he can release the rest of the team

thomond2006

Young names side to face Leinster

New recruit Michael Paterson is set to start for Blues against Leinster this Saturday, 6.30pm kick off.

The big Kiwi back row forward made his debut for the Blues against Exeter in a pre season friendly, but the match against the former Heineken Cup champions will be his competitive debut having sat out last Saturday's win over Edinburgh.
The Blues will look to build on the victory when they travel to the Irish capital but know it will be a big ask with their only previous victory in Dublin in the Magners League was 22-18 against Leinster at Donnybrook in March 2004

There are three other changes in the pack to the starting XV that defeated Edinburgh with Tom Davies, Deiniol Jones and Sam Warburton all starting having been on the bench last weekend.

The only change in the backs sees Dafydd Hewitt coming in for Tom Shanklin at centre.

15 Chris Czekaj 14 Richard Mustoe 13 Casey Laulala 12 Dafydd Hewitt 11 Tom James 10 Dan Parks 9 Richie Rees
8 Xavier Rush (c) 7 Sam Warburton 6 Michael Paterson 5 Deiniol Jones 4 Bradley Davies 3 Scott Andrews 2 T Rhys Thomas 1 Tom Davies

16 Rhys Williams 17 John Yapp 19 Fa'ao Filise 20 James Down 21 Ben White 22 Lloyd Williams 23 Ceri Sweeney 24 Gavin Evans

http://www.cardiffblues.com/5278.php

Ben Blair and Leigh Halfpenny are both missing.

Anyone know much about Michael Paterson?

Stev_o

thomond2006 wrote: »

Ben Blair and Leigh Halfpenny are both missing.

Anyone know much about Michael Paterson?

Coming from the S14 Hurricanes or Highlanders think it's the Canes. Average player really surprised Cardiff don't have a better home grown player at 6. Cardiff Leinster matches tend to be a bit dull so hoping sides play some positive rugby. Advantage would go to the Blues for consistency think Leinster will suffer from some rustyness .

stejkenny

Played with the crusaders and highlanders; in wales on a 3 year deal so can become wales qualified if he so wants. Was being heavily considered as a possible all black to play the likes of Wales, Ireland etc so possibly was a bit surplus to requirements over there. Thats all i was able to find out.

anonymous_joe

Stev_o wrote: »

Coming from the S14 Hurricanes or Highlanders think it's the Canes. Average player really surprised Cardiff don't have a better home grown player at 6. Cardiff Leinster matches tend to be a bit dull so hoping sides play some positive rugby. Advantage would go to the Blues for consistency think Leinster will suffer from some rustyness .

Thought he was meant to be good?

Stev_o

Whats RTE's man love for Hans Zimmer? Intro music their was one of his scores for Call of Duty!

thomond2006

Just seen on RTE that Sexton is getting treatment during the warm-up. May not play.

Stev_o

thomond2006 wrote: »

Just seen on RTE that Sexton is getting treatment during the warm-up. May not play.

IRFU suits will probably pull him.

laugh

Cantwell, I dislike you immensely.

thomond2006

Delighted that O'Brien is first choice presenter. I detest McGuuuuurk.

Amazotheamazing

laugh wrote: »

Cantwell, I dislike you immensely.

Leave her alone, she's a pixie.

thomond2006

Sexton out.

Madigan in at 10.

ffs

thomond2006

Hugh Cahill and Ralph Keyes.

/facepalm

Kid Nothing

Any reason for sexton being out?

thomond2006

Isaac Boss does what he does best. Great break and finds Jennings for the try.

Sexton pulled his groin I think.

Nacewa kicks instead of McFadden? Interesting.

7 - 0.

thomond2006

Try number 2, Nacewa scores.

Nacewa dotting down as close as possible under the posts to make sure of the conversion :pac:

thomond2006

Aironi vs Ulster latest:

Aironi 6 - 6 Ulster

Spoilers just in case anyone wants to watch it on Setanta in full tonight.

3 points chance for Parks here.

Gets it, 14-3 after 13 minutes.

thomond2006

Cardiff scrum getting mullered.

johnnysmack

Is it just my connection or is the RTE stream really crap. Keeps freezing every minute or so. Same happened last week for glasgow match

duckysauce

pity hook didnt go off on that cruise:cool:

frankie2shoes

he really gets on my wick does hooky. RTE not doing a bad job with the coverage though..........

chris85

Good to see Fitzgerald having a good first half. Hope it continues. Also good strong scrum from the front eight.

I would like to see some more kicks past the first line of the Cardiff defence as big gaps behind the first line as they are trying to come up fast on the attack to stop Leinster getting momentum.

We need quicker recycling though at the breakdown. Also lineout has not been good.

thomond2006

Crazy passage of play there. Ross knock on nearly cost Leinster dearly. They really should have got a try.

Dave Kearney in for Horgan.

thomond2006

Bradley Davies in for the try.

Converted, 20 - 13.

irishbucsfan

Isaac Boss is SUCH an improvement at SH. Really impressed. Also surely Mike Ross will challenge for a green jersey if he can play like this all season.

Fitzgerald is excellent in attack and defense but I'd be worried about his kicking if he was to start at 15 against better opposition or for Ireland.

So far I don't think there's much more Leinster could expect out of this game. Shame that we didn't get to see Sexton stretch his legs.

irishbucsfan

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Fitzgerald is excellent in attack and defense but I'd be worried about his kicking if he was to start at 15 against better opposition or for Ireland.

That kick out on the full was perfectly timed!