HEC: Racing Métro 92 vs Munster, Stade de France, Sat 13 October 1:35pm (Irish time)

thomond2006

Racing Métro 92 (from):
Forwards: Battut, Ben Arous, Bianchin, Cronje, Ducalcon, Gérondeau, Ghezal, Le Roux, Lo Cicero, Matadigo, Metz, Qovu, Sa, Szarzewski, Van der Merwe.
Backs: Barkley, Bergamasco, Descons, Estebanez, Fall, Imhoff, Jané, Machenaud, Saubade, Vakatawa.

Munster:
Ian Keatley; Doug Howlett capt, Casey Laulala, James Downey, Simon Zebo; Ronan O'Gara, Conor Murray;
Dave Kilcoyne, Damien Varley, BJ Botha; Billy Holland, Paul O'Connell; Donncha Ryan, Sean Dougall, Peter O'Mahony.

Replacements: Mick Sherry, Marcus Horan, Stephen Archer, Dave O'Callaghan, Paddy Butler, Peter Stringer, Danny Barnes, Denis Hurley.

For many, this is the weekend the rugby season truly begins and permeates the mind of the ordinary sports supporter. The Heineken Cup remains (and hopefully will remain long into the future) a competition that has captured the imagination of rugby lovers across the world. Year on year competitive pool stages and nail biting knockout matches have made this tournament a precious commodity that dare not be extinguished. The first block of RaboDirect Pro12 matches is over and now the real stuff begins. Rob Penney's Munster have been rather fortunate with its pool selection, unlike its blue neighbours. Edinburgh, Saracens and Racing Métro, three teams that are not in the bracket of top class heavyweights like Clermont, Toulouse or Leinster.

Indeed this group could be classed as the group of underachievers: Munster's underachievements or decline have been well documented. Saracens have been a ever present in Aviva Premiership playoffs over the last number of years, however their lack of progress in a European context has been disappointing. Racing Métro have a extremely wealthy benefactor in Jacky Lorenzetti (step aside Mourad Boudjellal in terms of bank account size) but despite signifcant investment in the squad haven't achieved anything since their re-entry into the top flight, much like Toulon. Another coaching upheaval (after the departure of Pierre Berbizier) will see current head coach Gonzalo Quesada (Irish fans, think Lens 1999 if you don't recall the name) depart at the end of the current season.

Asides from being underachievers, Racing's current form leaves a lot to be desired. They have shipped two poor defeats away to Grenoble and at home to Montpellier, two fixtures where you would expect Racing victories. Along with the unavailability of their current Argentinian internationals, a growing injury list hasn't helped matters (12 squad members injured). At the same time, Munster's away form has been a cause for concern, when Munster have faced significant opposition away from home i.e. Ulster, Ospreys & Leinster, Munster have not earned a victory. This is a must win game for Racing while Munster will need some return so this could be described as a game between two sides that aren't at their best right now.

Selections

Paul O'Connell returns for Munster while Englishman Olly Barkley is likely to make his first start for Racing Métro.

For Munster, the impact of Paul O'Connell's return cannot be restated. It is not his ability (great as it is) that is his great asset, but how his leadership affects the team. The mostly young Munster pack will look to their talisman and general to guide them on the field. Despite many calls for change, Ronan O'Gara has been retained at flyhalf, however Ian Keatley does earn a start at fullback ahead of Denis Hurley. James Downey comes in at centre for the injured Keith Earls. In all, four Munster players will make their first Heineken Cup starts: Kilcoyne, Holland, Dougall and Keatley.

At the time of writing, Racing had not announced their starting lineup, but a squad of 25 players. The mercurial Juan Martin Hernandez has not been included after a grueling Rugby Championship season but electric winger Juan Imhoff, who was used sparingly by Los Pumas, is in contention. Olly Barkley is set to play at flyhalf after being registered in the squad. Former Munster prop Julien Brugnaut will not face his former club due to injury.

What threats can Racing pose Munster?

Racing's forward pack is simply enormous and this may explain the decision to move Donnacha Ryan into the backrow. Their forward power is emphasised by South African Jacques Cronjé (left) who is a big unit. Munster's pack isn't particularly large but may have the edge in terms of fitness, a dogfight among the forwards is not what Munster should seek.

Racing will have a potent back three, potentially including French international Benjamin Fall (centre) and Juan Imhoff (right). These are two players with great counterattacking ability, Imhoff was one of the stars of last season and his rare gametime during The Rugby Championship was a suprise to many.

Prediction:
This is set to be a tight contest, with poor weather conditions predicted. It is Munster who will need to play heads up rugby as they may be bullied up front. The loss of Earls and du Preez is tempered by the return of O'Connell, but Munster's scrum will is worse off without the South African loosehead. Earls' absence means the partnership of Downey and Laulala returns, a duo that played well during the early Rabo rounds. Racing Métro are crippled by injury and may be missing too many to ground out Munster. Some recent Munster results cause concern for the Irish province but there have been enough positive signs to suggest results can improve. Munster by a whisker.

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Heineken Cup image from www.ercrugby.com, team logos from www.therugbyforum.com

Team lineups taken from respective team websites. Player images from Sky Sports or Planet Rugby website.

Everything else is my own work.

CoDy1

Nice one Thomond!

durkadurka

Top quality as ever thomond

totallegend

Dylan Hartley

Nice one Thomond.

Keep an eye on this Vakatawa guy, if he gets any sort of ball in open country he'll do serious damage.

Racing's Achilles here will be their complete lack of depth at out-half; if Barkley gets injured or isn't up to the pace, they have no recognised out-half cover. Likewise at centre; Estebanez is the only out and out centre in that squad afaik, probably see Bergamasco or Saubade slot in.

thomond2006

Dylan Hartley

totallegend wrote: »

Nice one Thomond.

Keep an eye on this Vakatawa guy, if he gets any sort of ball in open country he'll do serious damage.

Racing's Achilles here will be their complete lack of depth at out-half; if Barkley gets injured or isn't up to the pace, they have no recognised out-half cover. Likewise at centre; Estebanez is the only out and out centre in that squad afaik, probably see Bergamasco or Saubade slot in.

Forgot Vakatawa, yeah he is serious. Typical big fijian winger with lots of strength and pace.

Podge_irl

I'm worried that POC is going to be way off match fitness for this game. I've a feeling it will mostly be fought up front.

Keatley at 15 instead of 10 is obviously an issue. However, if they use him properly coming in as first receiver a lot then it could work. I thought Leinster worked it quite well in the derby and Madigan was a real threat there. I would have Keatley as less of a threat in attack, but quite possibly better at the fullback basics such as fielding the ball. Its far from their best combo imo, but could definitely pay off. They've also stumbled on their best centres. If they can get some parity up front, and most importantly not completely collapse on scrums, then they are in with a serious shot. Bad luck getting Racing first up in France.

Edit: Only just having read the teamsheets properly, there is definitely a potential concern at second row (oddly enough). POC is not match fit and Billy Holland is pretty much a slightly worse version of MOD. I think putting Ryan into the backrow shows that they're going to try and play a game of blasting out the rucks and getting quick ball to the wings. Should be interesting.

duckysauce

Cracking review, looking forward to this great POC is back .

Clareman

Podge_irl wrote: »

Keatley at 15 instead of 10 is obviously an issue. However, if they use him properly coming in as first receiver a lot then it could work. I thought Leinster worked it quite well in the derby and Madigan was a real threat there. I would have Keatley as less of a threat in attack, but quite possibly better at the fullback basics such as fielding the ball.

I noticed that when Keatley & Rog are on the pitch they tend to split the attack across the pitch, have RoG on 1 side and Keatley on the other, makes the defence stretch out a lot more, I'd be thinking they'll be doing this a lot on Saturday.

durkadurka

This is Keatley being eased into the heineken team. Another game or two and he'll be playing at 10.

duckysauce

totallegend wrote: »

Nice one Thomond.

Keep an eye on this Vakatawa guy, if he gets any sort of ball in open country he'll do serious damage.

Racing's Achilles here will be their complete lack of depth at out-half; if Barkley gets injured or isn't up to the pace, they have no recognised out-half cover. Likewise at centre; Estebanez is the only out and out centre in that squad afaik, probably see Bergamasco or Saubade slot in.

Yep Munster will hunt down Barkley all day , and he will crack

Benny Cake

Dylan Hartley

Podge_irl wrote: »

Billy Holland is pretty much a slightly worse version of MOD.

12 months ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly, however, Holland has been excellent this season so far and deserves his shot...

Podge_irl

Benny Cake wrote: »

12 months ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly, however, Holland has been excellent this season so far and deserves his shot...

Fair enough, I haven't seen a massive amount of Munster this season yet so I'll take your word for it. I don't think he is a bad player or anything, just not quite to the standard of second rows Munster have been putting out the last 10 years.

ray jay

durkadurka wrote: »

This is Keatley being eased into the heineken team. Another game or two and he'll be playing at 10.

Hopefully so, Munster's back line work so much better with him at 10.

irishbucsfan

Podge_irl wrote: »

Benny Cake wrote: »

12 months ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly, however, Holland has been excellent this season so far and deserves his shot...

Fair enough, I haven't seen a massive amount of Munster this season yet so I'll take your word for it. I don't think he is a bad player or anything, just not quite to the standard of second rows Munster have been putting out the last 10 years.

I agree with you.

He has looked good in the lesser games this season. If he performs like that in the H Cup then I'll start to put him on MOD s level. I think he might need to leave Munster to develop that far though.

Fireball07

Dylan Hartley

A slightly worse MOD could still be a good player. MOD was a very good player, never let Munster down at HC level. If it POC and DOC didn't happen to be arguably the best lock pairing in the tournament's history, MOD would have got a lot more gametime.

Holland's looked good so far this season...unlikely he's ever going to reach POC-levels but Ryan was older before he really made his breakthrough.

durkadurka

There won't be another POC for a long time. He's a one off.
It's like Leinster fans looking for a 13 to fill bod's shoes. Not gonna happen.

Fireball07

Dylan Hartley

durkadurka wrote: »

There won't be another POC for a long time. He's a one off.
It's like Leinster fans looking for a 13 to fill bod's shoes. Not gonna happen.

I know he's not from Munster but Henderson, if he plays lock, could, potentially, be on a similar level.

thomond2006

Dylan Hartley

durkadurka wrote: »

This is Keatley being eased into the heineken team. Another game or two and he'll be playing at 10.

Hopefully you're right.

Anyway I'm off to Paris now!!!

Rebel_Kn1ght

Munster

Great preview! Unfortunately I see a loss for Munster in this one

totallegend

Dylan Hartley

http://www.racing-metro92.com/RM_92_vs_MUNSTER___La_compo-Actualite-49-1024.html

15. Fall
14. Jané
13. Bergamasco
12. Estebanez
11. Saubade
10. Barkley
9. Machenaud
1. Lo Cicero
2. Szarzewski
3. Ducalcon
4. Ghezal
5. Van der Merwe
6. Battut
7. Cronje (CAPT)
8. Matadigo

16. Bianchin 17. Ben Arous 18. Sa 19. Metz 20. Le Roux 21. Gerondeau 22. Descons 23. Vakatawa

Couple of talking points there alright;
- A 6-2 split on the bench; Le Roux and Gerondeau are both back-rowers meaning only Descons (a scrum-half) and Vakatawa (back three) covering the backs.
- As flagged previously, no out-half cover; Estebanez has played there before but only very limited experience at 10.
- The bench is very thin on experience; Ben Arous, Metz and Vakatawa are all 20/21.
- A very powerful front-row and a fricking enormous second-row, expect Racing to target Munster in the tight.
- Imhoff was named in the initial squad but drops out. I can see the timing of the Four Nations creating major headaches for the French teams in future.

irishbucsfan

Wow Barkley starting?

Otacon

Dylan Hartley

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Wow Barkley starting?

No other realistic choice available to them.

Volvic12

Barkley's form was outstanding for Bath in the early part of the season. He is a player I always though had serious talent. His problem was, he was v.injury prone in the past.
If he is settled in to the club and knows his backline then I would be worried as he has has a great boot and is playing behind a huge pack (always good for an out-half).

What do people make of Paul O Connell getting the start. Huge gamble. Hasn't played a competitive match in 6 months. 1st game against a big pack like Racing Metro is tough.

Also disapointed that Keatley isn't playing 10. Granted, O Gara has huge experience and is a big game player BUT Keatley is the form 10. Not picking form players sends the wrong message throughout the camp.

Fireball07

Dylan Hartley

Barkley is talented but he's still a potential weak link in a key position. Obviously ROG is nowhere near what he was but tbh I'd still say he's more likely to produce in a big game than Barkley.

Downey at 12 should help ROG though...as for defensively, I wonder if there's a chance of Keatley defending at 10?

The scrum is a big worry, set us back a lot against Leinster. They got about 13 points directly from the scrum iirc. And people are right when they say Dougall has to produce, was good early in but was quiet in the bigger games.


Our backs can do lots of damage if they get good ball, that's what I'm hoping for.

Tomtom364

Dylan Hartley

Fireball07 wrote: »

Downey at 12 should help ROG though...as for defensively, I wonder if there's a chance of Keatley defending at 10?

Oh god I hope not, that would put ROG to defend the wing or FB where there is no help for him. ROG's best place to defend is 10 in open play and 10 or 12 off scrums and such because that way Downey and the Back Row, Dougall in particular, are there to help him out.

Fireball07

Dylan Hartley

Tomtom364 wrote: »

Oh god I hope not, that would put ROG to defend the wing or FB where there is no help for him. ROG's best place to defend is 10 in open play and 10 or 12 off scrums and such because that way Downey and the Back Row, Dougall in particular, are there to help him out.

There wasn't much help for him against Leinster! Didn't all 3 tries arise in some way from him missing a tackle? When we had Wally around, he used to help ROG a lot, I'm not sure this current back row do as much.

bleg

Rag tag Racing team (due to injury) with a poor record this season.

Munster to get bonus point.

totallegend

Dylan Hartley

Bernard Jackman, currently Grenoble defence coach, is tipping Munster for the win (on Hook's radio show); reckons Racing will run out of steam after 60 minutes. His Grenoble team beat them a couple of weeks ago.

desertcircus

Dylan Hartley

Something to bear in mind is that Racing are absolutely atrocious in HC rugby. They won two games in 10/11 and one in 11/12, and they've never really convinced at this level; they tend to start indifferently then get progressively worse as their ability to pretend they give a toss anymore rapidly disappears. If Munster go for the jugular and win tomorrow, it puts a massive dent in Racing's chances and means the last game of the group stage is in Thomond against a second-or-third-string side who are there purely to make up the numbers. Munster know this, and I'd say the screw will really get turned around the hour mark - shift Keatley to ten, step up the tempo and pull their pack all over the park.

Tomtom364

Dylan Hartley

Fireball07 wrote: »

There wasn't much help for him against Leinster! Didn't all 3 tries arise in some way from him missing a tackle? When we had Wally around, he used to help ROG a lot, I'm not sure this current back row do as much.

He didn't have Downey outside him against Leinster though.
I'm not defending ROGs defence in any way, but Id much rather have him defending in the middle of the park where a missed tackle can get caught by someone else, ROG defending at FB or Wing would be a disaster.

phog

Len Dineen from Limerick Live95fm said in his report from Paris that thunder and lightning is promised for later, hope it doesn't hamper the game.

Also I saw on Twitter that Paul Warwick is joining the Red Army in supporting Munster today.

rockbeast

Good luck Munster. It's going to be a dogfight today. You've been there before, RM haven't. Munster by 8 points at least. My guys for today are POM and The Z - if they stand up, you'll win and have a solid foundation for the future.

PS POC is the man so I would really love a picture of lightning behind him as he calls a 5m scrum...Zeus ain't got nothin' on Paulie..!

jamiedav2011

Hernandez starts at 12 for Racing according to Sky. Bergamasco to 13. That's a boost for them.

Deano7788

Hernandez is in in place of Estabanez

Taco Corp

Rain in Paris. Estebanez out according to Sky. Hernandez in

god I love Rugby.

Keatley with a great start

Anatidaephobia

Good start from Munster, pack is doing surprisingly well.

Munster scrum very close to winning a penalty try there!

Clareman

How was that not a penalty try? They were straight over, cmon lads

Clareman

Knock on at the base, the pack are really up for this

Anatidaephobia

Holy balls, Racing scrum just got pulverized.

duckysauce

Clareman wrote: »

How was that not a penalty try? They were straight over, cmon lads

knock on

irishbucsfan

How on EARTH is that not a penalty try!?

Scrum penalty #2. Another big scrum would be a serious mark of intent

duckysauce

pitch is slippy as fck

corny

Ducalcon is being brutalised by Kilcoyne!!!

irishbucsfan

How on EARTH is that not a penalty try!?

Edit: I said it twice to emphasise

Clareman

Scrum was almost too good there and PoM got separated from the front. Racing are giving away alot of penalties here.

budhabob

Some scrummaging by Munster.

Fishooks12

Dylan Hartley

Hon Kilcoyne!

Racing 0 - 3 Munster

O'Gara taps over an easy 3.

9mins gone