Match Thread: Zebre vs Leinster Rugby, Sunday 21st April 15:00, RTE2

molloyjh

Bananas Everywhere

It's the second last week of the regular league season and the race for the home semi-finals is far from over. Even at this late stage of the season there is nothing set in stone. Any of the top 5 teams could, mathematically, still top the table and any of them could fall out of the top 4. In truth Ulster most likely have top spot sown up and there looks to be a two-horse race for second between Leinster and Glasgow. The final play-off place will probably be a straight shoot-out between Scarlets and Ospreys. This weekend could make or break the chances of any of those sides. Ulster are away to Connacht, a game they should win but as it's Connachts last home game of the season and last home game under Eric Elwood it's sure to be a passionate affair. Leinster take on Zebre in Italy, a side that have come very close numerous times and should not be written off. Glasgow play top 4 contenders Ospreys in Scotstoun, both of whom need the win and both of whom are very capable of getting it. Scarlets are at home to the Cardiff Blues, another game that on the surface looks like a home win but like a lot of derby games can't be taken for granted. The top 4 could still be all up in the air coming into the final week, such is the lack of competition in the Pro12. :pac:

Leinster have chosen to rest a number of their first string players in advance of the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final against Biarritz next week. The 6 day turnaround combined with the fact that many have played a lot of rugby over the past number of weeks and could be facing into 5 straight weeks of knock-out rugby (should they get the results) have probably somewhat forced the coaches hand. There is a pretty good mix of youth and experience through-out the 23 players.

Jack McGrath gets 6th start of the season after impressing over the last couple of weeks. He has been likened by many to a young Cian Healy, but having literally bumped into him in the RDS a while back I'd liken him more to a solid concrete wall. He's partnered in the front-row by Strauss and Michael Bent. In the second row we see the return of Tom Denton to the side for his first senior appearance after his suspension. There are question marks over his ability to perform at this level so it will be interesting to see how he goes. Devin Toner will pack down next to him. Neither offer a particularly physical presence on the field or behind the front-row so this could be an area of concern for Leinster. Kevin McLaughlin, Dominic Ryan and Rhys Ruddock make up the back-row. With SOB having so little game time since the 6 Nations it's a surprise not to see him included, at least on the bench.

In the backs only Brian O'Driscoll picks up where he left off against Munster, only this time with the captains armband. Isa Nacewa moves to full-back with both Fergus McFadden and Jonathan Sexton coming back into the side. Cooney comes in at scrum-half giving Isaac Boss a break while Goodman replaces D'Arcy and Carr is on the wing. There are number of things to be happy about here from a Leinster perspective; Isa back in his favoured position with Sexton running the shots and O'Driscoll and McFadden looking to hit form coming into the semi-final next week. Fionn Carr should be well able to showcase his ability against Zebre and John Cooney, although not great when he came on against Ulster, has looked immeasurably better than he was 18 months ago. There is real potential in that back line.

The forecast is for a wet day and with most of the concerns being in the pack this is a game I'm actually somewhat nervous about. Zebre are no mugs. Yes they've lost every game so far this season but they've picked up 8 losing bonus points and 1 try bonus point. When they showed up in the RDS they came to play and despite running out comfortable winners in the end I was impressed by what I saw from them. It's only a matter of time before they claim a scalp so this is a very serious banana skin we're looking at here. Leinsters bench options don't look like they are game changers with the possible exceptions of Quinn Roux (for sheer bulk and power) and Isaac Boss. We're also sacrificing some continuity in this fixture as well at a time when we haven't been playing our best. How good an idea that is ahead of a semi-final against Biarritz, well we'll just have to wait and see. Despite the nerves and the concerns over the selection though I'm going to go with Leinster by 8.

|

15; Isa Nacewa|15: Ruggero Trevisan
14: Fergus McFadden|14: Leonardo Sarto
13: Brian O'Driscoll CAPTAIN|13: Giovanbattista Venditti
12: Andrew Goodman|12: Matteo Pratichetti
11: Fionn Carr|11: Sinoti Sinoti
10: Jonathan Sexton|10: Daniel Halangahu
9: John Cooney|9: Alberto Chillon
|
1: Jack McGrath|1: Matias Aguero
2: Richardt Strauss|2: Andrea Manici
3: Michael Bent|3: Luciano Leibson
4: Tom Denton|4: Michael Van Vuren
5: Devin Toner|5: Marco Bortolami CAPTAIN
6: Kevin McLaughlin|6: Filippo Ferrarini
7: Dominic Ryan|7: Mauro Bergamasco
8: Rhys Ruddock|8: Josh Sole
|
16: Aaron Dundon|16: Carlo Festuccia
17: Jack O'Connell|17: Andrea De March
18: Jamie Hagan|18: Salvatore Perugini
19: Quinn Roux|19: Emiliano Caffini
20: Leo Auva'a|20: Filippo Cristiano
21: Isaac Boss|21: Tito Tebaldi
22: Cathal Marsh|22: Luciano Orquera
23: Andrew Conway|23: David Odiete

.ak

Thanks, needed my table fix....

ssaye

Score like this please

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/team/results/8664.php#.UXFApUpvCFg

Ferg to have a stormer

Defo banana skin if the forwards struggle which is a possibility

McGrath to have another huge game though.

.ak

Great write up. Really hope the rain doesn't stop it being a decent match. Bergamasco and Bortolami could make it a bit of a dog eat dog day at the office.

.ak

ssaye wrote: »

Score like this please

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/team/results/8664.php#.UXFApUpvCFg

Ferg to have a stormer

Defo banana skin if the forwards struggle which is a possibility

McGrath to have another huge game though.

Heh, funny, Ferg was probably the in-form winger in the country at that time. What a difference a few months can make. Hope he has a stormer too...

P_1

Well earned rest for Madigan, slightly concerned in case Sexton goes down injured though

sydthebeat

So is noel reid injured? or is marsh now considered ahead of him?

molloyjh

.ak wrote: »

Great write up. Really hope the rain doesn't stop it being a decent match. Bergamasco and Bortolami could make it a bit of a dog eat dog day at the office.

Ruddocks breakdown work of late has been pretty good, so that combined with Locky should hopefully help us in that department. In fact Ruddocks general physicality seems a lot better than it was even earlier in the season.

.ak

sydthebeat wrote: »

So is noel reid injured? or is marsh now considered ahead of him?

I think Marsh is ahead of him. I think we'll see far more of Reid at centre for the A's as well.

little173

Excellent write up- could the Leinster regulars comment on Dominic Ryan. I have only seen him a few times but has always impressed, is he / can he be International standard?

pc7

Looking forward to see how Johnny plays hope the injury has healed well, I'd still like to see Madigan start on the 27th though. I just can't see Johnny being 100% sharp and feel Madigan has earned it.

ssaye

little173 wrote: »

Excellent write up- could the Leinster regulars comment on Dominic Ryan. I have only seen him a few times but has always impressed, is he / can he be International standard?

Very competitive in the backrow 7(SOB, Jennings, Henry, TOD etc) have really stepped up recently but he has age on his side (23)and you never know.

Quite injury prone so far in his career but very physical.

.ak

little173 wrote: »

Excellent write up- could the Leinster regulars comment on Dominic Ryan. I have only seen him a few times but has always impressed, is he / can he be International standard?

He has the skillset to be a proper ground hog, and his running/linking is top notch. But I think he'd need to seriously bulk up to be considered a proper international 7... I also think he's a tad too high. I like my 7s to be shorter with a lower centre of gravity, i.e SOB/Pocock.

molloyjh

little173 wrote: »

could the Leinster regulars comment on Dominic Ryan. I have only seen him a few times but has always impressed, is he / can he be International standard?

He's a quality player. Made a huge impression in his debut season in 10/11 but was very unlucky with injury last season and a lot of this. He hasn't gotten back to his best but he's a powerful and skilful guy who has all the attributes needed. He just needs an injury free run.

I'd agree with ak though, he might be a bit tall for an open-side. Would like to see him tried a bit more at 8.

ssaye

http://www.leinsterfans.com/news/rabodirect-pro12/a,4,483.html

This game has been moved to the Stadio Citta del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia to raise funds for victims of the earthquake that hit the region last year and the locals seem to have responded with 20,000 tickets sold. A big crowd will probably inspire the home team so Leinster need to get out of the gates early to deny them any momentum and get the win to keep their season on track.

Some numbers

.ak

20K? That's fantastic. Could be a cracker.

molloyjh

.ak wrote: »

20K? That's fantastic. Could be a cracker.

They'll be up for this all the more so. That hasn't helped my nerves!

Great to see that turn-out though for a good cause. Hopefully both teams can make it an entertaining game.

.ak

Yeah, may be a great way to reach out to new fans too.

awec

Good to see the Sexton back.

Should be a good game, never know what could happen.

.ak

awec wrote: »

Good to see the Sexton back.

Should be a good game, never know what could happen.

G'way outta that you, take your voodoo magic elsewhere.

CIARAN_BOYLE

.ak wrote: »

20K? That's fantastic. Could be a cracker.

Be great for Zebre to draw that many people. If some of them come back in the future it would be great for them.

Coburger

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Be great for Zebre to draw that many people. If some of them come back in the future it would be great for them.

20k is a pretty good number. I wonder how attendances in Italy compare with Scotland and Wales.

totallegend

20,000 people at a Zebre game? That would be a titanic achievement.

In fact, it would be more than their combined attendances for the rest of the season.

Is that figure reliable?

durkadurka

Bump.

Feeling optimistic about this, although I feel me might do something stupid chasing a bp.

P_1

Just turned on RTE2 there. they're showing a documentary featuring a lion devouring a zebra. Good omen right there

CIARAN_BOYLE

totallegend wrote: »

20,000 people at a Zebre game? That would be a titanic achievement.

In fact, it would be more than their combined attendances for the rest of the season.

Is that figure reliable?

dunno, there is a rumour on another forum that there was a mistranslation 20K is the capacity not the tickets sold.

We will have to wait and see.

andrewdcs

We kind really need the BP tho no?
Could be very tough to get.


Hopefully as the game receipts are going towards a charity it'll bring people out, just pray they wont see a huge Zebre revival!

opinionatedfan

At least Lenihan isn't hiding his bias with the tie

molloyjh

Well there certainly 20k there. Still nervous though. Paterson as ref doesn't help the nerves at all.

Taco Corp

molloyjh wrote: »

Well there certainly 20k there. Still nervous though. Paterson as ref doesn't help the nerves at all.

you accidentally a word

wowy

Captain_Hindsight wrote: »

you accidentally a word

Easy to say with Hindsight.

ANXIOUS

Very disappointing crowd.

opinionatedfan

Ryan is a beast

jimjamcos

Leinster are so much better with Nacewa at fullback! Looking forward to him running amok on this hard ground.

ongarite

Cooney's ruck speed is excellent, really helps Leinster's game stlye.

opinionatedfan

Tom Denton?

also cooney impressing so far

Pudsy33

Jesus Christ Denton!

molloyjh

DDDDEEEEENNNNNNTTTTOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!

Great break from Goodman for that.

ongarite

Goodman made that try with the line-break and offload.

jamiedav2011

Great break there from Goodman.

As I've said before, he's great at this level. Keep it going lads.

Superbus

Shame on all who doubted Denton. He will take revenge.

molloyjh

Nice conversion from Sexton.

3-10

opinionatedfan

best thing Denton has ever done in a leinster jersey

jamiedav2011

Superbus wrote: »

Shame on all who doubted Denton.

Oh yes, a run in try from 5 metres against Zebre has superseded all his done before!

Are you serious?!

armchaircoach

I can only assume that that's what Penney has been trying to do all season

Superbus

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Oh yes, a run in try from 5 metres against Zebre has superseded all his done before!

Are you serious?!

No. I am not serious.

opinionatedfan

lovely work BOD

molloyjh

Hard luck there Isa. Over fan it a small bit. Had he held onto that he was away. Positive so far.

Great steal from Drico. Pity we couldn't hold onto it. Drico looking to make a point today?

ongarite

This is pretty good from Leinster. Cooney & Sexton combo is superb

opinionatedfan

ohhh JOHNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

molloyjh

Sexton was excellent there. Poor defense though. We need to keep this up. Can't ease off at all.

3-17