Match Thread: Leinster v Connacht Fri 19 Dec 1935 RDS, live on TG4

Zzippy

| | |

It's been a topsy turvy season so far, with Connacht enjoying their best run of form in, well, ever, and Leinster stuttering by their lofty standards, to say the least. The teams met in September at the Sportsground, with Connacht coming out the right side of a 10-9 nailbiter. They rode their luck at times in that game, and were a forward pass away from going in 16-3 down at the break, which would have been hard to come back from. But this Connacht team is different from other years and have developed a ruthless streak, coming out on top in tight games more often than not, including late wins over Edinburgh away, Leinster, and Bayonne at the weekend with the B-team obviously keen to share in the winning habit.

Leinster, on the other hand, have not been their usual self-assured selves, their stuttering form highlighed by the draw with bottom team Treviso and unconvincing form in the Champions Cup. Whereas in most years there would be clear daylight between these teams already at this stage of the season, the sides are separated by a single point this year, with Connacht incredibly recording more wins so far.

The new signings for Connacht have started to bed in well, Mils Muliaina bringing a level of class not seen before in Galway, and Bundee Aki showing his speed and aggression very well, including scoring his first try for the province last week against Bayonne. Denis Buckley is having a storming season at loosehead and will relish scrumming against Mike Ross (if selected), while Rodney Ah You has improved his scrummaging no end, and the Connacht scrum has become an attacking weapon. Lineout has been less successful with injuries to hookers JHW and Sean Henry, and this is an area Leinster will target. Backrow will be a battle, Connacht are really missing the injured Jake Heenan at 7, but Muldoon, Faloon and Naoupu are a balanced unit and will be up for the challenge. The loss of Ruddock will hit Leinster hard, but the indestructible Heaslip will probably have a big influence if he is not rested.

The backlines of previous years would have been at different levels, but no more. Kieran Marmion has blossomed into a fine scrumhalf, full of threat around the fringes, and outplayed his opposite number Reddan in September. Connacht will surely have the edge at centre, with Robbie Henshaw set to partner Bundee Aki, while the back 3 of Poolman, Healy and Muliaina are strong in attack and defence. Madigan will probably start at 10 for Leinster, where he will have an edge on Jack Carty, but inside and outside him may be less confident of getting the upper hand.

Last year's encounter at the RDS was a tight affair, with Leinster only prevailing late on with a (generous?) penalty try, and many of their supporters leaving the ground very relieved. For the first time in many years, Connacht fans are approaching this one with a modicum of confidence. Leinster had a tough game on Saturday, while Connacht rested virtually all of their team, clearly targeting a win on Friday. Form points to Connacht showing up on the night, but Leinster will be smarting from the criticism of their latest performance, most of it from their own fans, and won't want to be beaten on their own patch. This has the makings of a cracking game, and hopefully we get a crisp dry night (and no rain in the North Stand), where your author will be along with many of the travelling Connacht fans. Pints in Slattery's beforehand with the Connacht Clan if anyone wants to join in

Heart says Connacht, head says a tight game which could go either way. But I'll go for a first away win in many years for the men from the West. Connachtr Abu!

Probable Connacht team:
Muliaina, Poolman, Henshaw, Aki, Healy, Carty, Marmion
Buckley, McCartney, Ah You, Muldowney, Roux, Muldoon, Faloon, Naoupu

No idea of a probably Leinster XV - will they rest a lot for Munster the following week, or stick with the side that eventually got past Wasps?

vienne86

Nice write up Zzippy. Match thread for a Pro12 match on a Monday....must be a record. But yes, this is huge for both teams, and we will need the rest of the week to discuss it.

I am a very nervous Leinster supporter. This is always a close affair, but the way that Leinster have played lately, against some mediocre opposition, does not fill me with confidence. But it's in the RDS, so I will say Leinster, by a whisker.

CatFromHue

Leinster by a million

Awooga!!

I think Leinster will win this.

I don't really know what to expect to be honest.

If Leinster lose though, the drama will be unbelievable and Connacht may not be my second favorite team anymore.

gally74

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I think Leinster will win this.

I don't really know what to expect to be honest.

If Leinster lose though, the drama will be unbelievable and Connacht may not be my second favorite team anymore.

Connacht abu

CatFromHue

It's interesting looking at the table as

Connacht have won 6 games compared to Leinster's 5
Leinster have 4 try bonus points and 2 losing bps compared to Connachts 1 try bonus
Leinster have scored more tries, 25 tries in the Pro12 the highest of any team compared to 17, more points, 226 which is only behind the Ospreys compared to Connacht's 162, and have a better points difference, 78 compared to 23.

Connacht have played 6 games against teams in the bottom 6 of the table compared to Leinster's 5
Connacht's away wins have been close games against Edinburgh (by 1) and Treviso (by 3)

I think the stats and results so far favour Leinster this weekend.

its_phil

CatFromHue wrote: »

It's interesting looking at the table as

Connacht have won 6 games compared to Leinster's 5
Leinster have 4 try bonus points and 2 losing bps compared to Connachts 1 try bonus
Leinster have scored more tries, 25 tries in the Pro12 the highest of any team compared to 17, more points, 226 which is only behind the Ospreys compared to Connacht's 162, and have a better points difference, 78 compared to 23.

Connacht have played 6 games against teams in the bottom 6 of the table compared to Leinster's 5
Connacht's away wins have been close games against Edinburgh (by 1) and Treviso (by 3)

I think the stats and results so far favour Leinster this weekend.

I think your missing the most important statistic from a Connacht point of view. Points conceded (4th) and tries against (5th). That's why Connacht are winning games because the defence keeps them in the game that long that we can capatilise when we get the few oppurtunites we have.

Also our other two away games this year were Ospreys and Glasgow, not exactly easy to pick up points at either of those places no matter who you are. i bet Leinster would have take a 3 point win at Treviso as well

Putinovsky

I'm going with Connacht for this one. Leinster are well behind the curve.

CatFromHue

Leinster are just behind Connacht on both those metrics. Fifth on points conceded, 9 more than Connacht, and joint 6th on tries conceded, 3 more than Connacht.

Nah it's good for the league for Leinster to have drawn in Treviso

molloyjh

Jaysus someone is excited about Friday, eh Zzippy. Sure it's only the league anyway. :pac:

Zzippy

molloyjh wrote: »

Jaysus someone is excited about Friday, eh Zzippy. Sure it's only the league anyway. :pac:

I hope you're saying that on Friday night about 9.30pm!

And yep, I can't feckin' wait

Fireball07

Connacht have been targeting this for a while, they were able to rest players at the weekend... this is a massive game for them and they've been a lot better this season.

On the other hand, Leinster are not playing great, maybe slightly low on confidence and just have had a tough double header. The loss of Ruddock, McGrath seemingly struggling... a creaking set-piece last week too.

One thing though is that they are still somehow grinding out results... I mean they did beat Quins last week, who are a better team than Connacht. Leinster were not good at all last weekend but got a win. I remember last season... Connacht were definitely the better team, but had a mini-collapse, went down to 13 men and Leinster sneaked it.


I wouldn't know who to predict... I'd say Connacht but Leinster are still getting those results despite playing badly.

its_phil

CatFromHue wrote: »

Leinster are just behind Connacht on both those metrics. Fifth on points conceded, 9 more than Connacht, and joint 6th on tries conceded, 3 more than Connacht.

Nah it's good for the league for Leinster to have drawn in Treviso

Exactly so our defence is why games are close because it is just as good as Leinster's right now. We aren't easy to break down and keep games close which is why I think we'll keep Leinster close. Whether we win or not I don't know, but Connacht won't make it easy for Leinster to do so as likely as that is in the RDS.

If Leinster control Connacht line out (very likely) and scrum (less likely) they will win by 10+. Connacht first-choice front row have pummelled everyone in the leagues scrum this year bar Leinster in the Sportsground. We've generated a lot of penalties from that set piece. But if they don't control our set piece it'll be a squeaky bum game.

matthew8

If Leinster treat this one like a big game, and with all that's gone on they probably will, they should win with a little bit to spare.

duckysauce

vienne86 wrote: »

Nice write up Zzippy. Match thread for a Pro12 match on a Monday....must be a record. But yes, this is huge for both teams, and we will need the rest of the week to discuss it.

I am a very nervous Leinster supporter. This is always a close affair, but the way that Leinster have played lately, against some mediocre opposition, does not fill me with confidence. But it's in the RDS, so I will say Leinster, by a whisker.

I don't think Connacht will be mediocre

CatFromHue

its_phil wrote: »

Whether we win or not I don't know, but Connacht won't make it easy for Leinster to do so

No arguments here on that, it should be a good game on Friday

Swiwi.

Deleted User wrote: »

If Leinster lose though, the drama will be unbelievable and Connacht may not be my second favorite team anymore.

The Munster v Leinster threads become the place for light banter and gentle ribbing...

...while Leinster v Connacht threads become the place of cards galore, Indian-sounding usernames, and a place where no sane man or woman dare venture.

Please no!

stephen_n

Nice write up, for some reason I can picture you typing and deleting sentences, as you try to tone down your justified confidence, the Irish underdog approach. Everything about this game would suggest Connacht as slight favourites, form, injuries, 6 day turn around and quite simply hunger. It will be tight I'd imagine but I could easily see Connacht winning this game.

vienne86

duckysauce wrote: »

I don't think Connacht will be mediocre

Neither to I, which is why I'm nervous.

Swiwi.

Swiwi. wrote: »

The Munster v Leinster threads become the place for light banter and gentle ribbing...

...while Leinster v Connacht threads become the place of cards galore, Indian-sounding usernames, and a place where no sane man or woman dare venture.

Please no!

Reddan is more physical than Marmion

Tox56

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Reddan is more physical than Marmion

I'm going to say it now, Joe isn't picking Matt Healy because his defence just isn't good enough

wp_rathead

I'm excited. How can you not be as Connacht fan, iv never experienced a season like this. Talk of us as favourites is a tad eyebrow raising mind, don't get me wrong we have cracking chance. But no. We are not favourites away in the RDS for feck sake - ye Leinster fans being tad melodramatic with that line I believe ha
Hope it is dry Friday, as I'd love our backline be able have a run at ye. Leinster will target our lineout I say, but we may have advantage at scrum time
Agh I can tell this gonna be slow week a work - My advent calendar is a countdown to this match

vienne86

wprathead wrote: »

I'm excited. How can you not be as Connacht fan, iv never experienced a season like this. Talk of us as favourites is a tad eyebrow raising mind, don't get me wrong we have cracking chance. But no. We are not favourites away in the RDS for feck sake - ye Leinster fans being tad melodramatic with that line I believe ha
Hope it is dry Friday, as I'd love our backline be able have a run at ye. Leinster will target our lineout I say, but we may have advantage at scrum time
Agh I can tell this gonna be slow week a work - My advent calendar is a countdown to this match

Leinster line out and scrum were problems last weekend. I wonder will we have Strauss? That would lift my spirits.

Bridge93

Sell out expected?

justsomebloke

Bridge93 wrote: »

Sell out expected?

yes, if Leinster lose, may fans are expected to sell out. the new leinsternachts fans will be seen driving west every weekend going forward

dregin

Bridge93 wrote: »

Sell out expected?

Very few tickets left. 70 euro to sit on .ak's knee in Blocks C or D of the Anglesea is, while very tempting, still a bit mental.

b.gud

Highlights from the last game

.ak

I'll let you hold my Moet.

thomond2006

The Anglesea Terrace will all want to become Munster season ticket holders next year.

Everything is going to plan.

b.gud

Deleted User wrote: »

If Leinster lose though, the drama will be unbelievable and Connacht may not be my second favorite team anymore.

I look forward to the day when Connacht stop becoming everyones 2nd favourite team because it means that we are really going places and are now a serious threat to the other 3 provinces.

Though while we are getting there it is great to have support from the other provinces while we get there. Roux and Cooney, Roux in particular, being on loan from Leinster this year have been of great benefit to us.

b.gud

b.gud wrote: »

Highlights from the last game

That step from Marmion. Had almost forgotten. Cricky.




....Obviously one of the many things he learned from Reddan in Ireland camp.

b.gud

Deleted User wrote: »

That step from Marmion. Had almost forgotten. Cricky.




....Obviously one of the many things he learned from Reddan in Ireland camp.

Sure he's been showing that step to Leinster for a good while now :P

Robbo

Tox56 wrote: »

I'm going to say it now, Joe isn't picking Matt Healy because his defence just isn't good enough

Does Joe have a daughter? It could be time to update the classic Fionn Carr/Uncle Deccie yarn...

As I've seen elsewhere, Connacht need to be aiming precisely for a 62 point margin of victory. It'll have us top of the table till Saturday afternoon at least. It's Smooth Jimmy Apollo's Lock of the Week. Seriously, this run of form is giving me the vapours.

leakyboots

Very curious about this match, will tell a lot about where both teams are at. Feckin' work night out so will have to follow on the phone

Zzippy

Robbo wrote: »

Does Joe have a daughter? It could be time to update the classic Fionn Carr/Uncle Deccie yarn...

As I've seen elsewhere, Connacht need to be aiming precisely for a 62 point margin of victory. It'll have us top of the table till Saturday afternoon at least. It's Smooth Jimmy Apollo's Lock of the Week. Seriously, this run of form is giving me the vapours.

Don't worry, I'll give you a slap before KO on Friday, you'll be happy to settle for a 25-point win after that.

S12b

Henshaw trained fully today so he looks to be over the hip injury which has kept him out since the Australia game

vienne86

b.gud wrote: »

Though while we are getting there it is great to have support from the other provinces while we get there. Roux and Cooney, Roux in particular, being on loan from Leinster this year have been of great benefit to us.

Is Roux only on loan to Connacht?

b.gud

vienne86 wrote: »

Is Roux only on loan to Connacht?

Ya he's on loan until the end of this year. We haven't heard anything recently about wether or not that will get extended.

Cooney is on loan for the whole of the season

EDIT: Source http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/provincial/2014/0611/623036-connacht/

Zzippy

vienne86 wrote: »

Is Roux only on loan to Connacht?

Yep, til January but hoping he might stay on, he's been very good the last few weeks and second row is a position we need some depth in.

Larbre34

I said it when the fixtures came out, having this game on the biggest party night of the year is very thick.

That said, my work night out starts at 1 pm so Ill be leaving to go to the game, might be no harm to have a skinful on board in anticipation of a poor home performance. I hope Im wrong, but I expect the well rested and humming Connacht to come and take the scalp they have been close to for the last few years.

Leinster 13-20 Connacht.

Funk It

I don't want to get too carried away just yet, but really looking forward to these interpros.

But Connacht still have a lot of work to do, and Leinster are one of the best sides at punishing teams and look to score tries nearly at will when at full flight.

This is a massive game, but the main thing asides a win (maybe even 2 if I let the mind run wild) over the Christmas break from a Connacht point of view is to keep the injuries down to a minimum. Although we finally have strength in depth, some areas (or certain players) I am concerned about.

Mark McHughs winning drop goal was a thing of beauty thinking back on it though. Believe.

vienne86

Zzippy wrote: »

Yep, til January but hoping he might stay on, he's been very good the last few weeks and second row is a position we need some depth in.

He's going very well for you, better than he went in Leinster. He did get a shoulder injury in Leinster which floored him for a spell, and I think it can be hard for a lock to recover their nerve after a such an injury. He disappointed in Leinster, but I'm delighted for the guy that he seems to have found form recently. Just hope his form is not THAT good this weekend.

S12b

What are Leinster fans expecting international player wise, especially in the pack???

Heaslip will likely play as he's captain and if anyone is able for a lot of minutes it's him. Cronin probably has to play if Strauss is still out. Toner might start????

But I'd be amazed if both McGrath and Ross start. McGrath did 74 and 80 mins against SA and Oz respectively and 80/77 against Quins. Ross had an even heavier workload going the guts of 80 against SA and OZ and 50 mins against Georgia and 76/80 against Quins.

vienne86

S12b wrote: »

What are Leinster fans expecting international player wise, especially in the pack???

Heaslip will likely play as he's captain and if anyone is able for a lot of minutes it's him. Cronin probably has to play if Strauss is still out. Toner might start????

But I'd be amazed if both McGrath and Ross start. McGrath did 74 and 80 mins against SA and Oz respectively and 80/77 against Quins. Ross had an even heavier workload going the guts of 80 against SA and OZ and 50 mins against Georgia and 76/80 against Quins.

I think both McGrath and Ross are in need of a rest. Jamie seems indistructible. We could do with Toner, though McCarthy and Douglas would do a good job.

errlloyd

Heaslip, Conan, Murphy. A whole backrow and not a flanker in sight.

Gits_bone

Any chance tickets are left for this one?

vienne86

Gits_bone wrote: »

Any chance tickets are left for this one?

Leinster web site says 15K sold, so there must be tickets left.

Gits_bone

vienne86 wrote: »

Leinster web site says 15K sold, so there must be tickets left.

Would love to go to this, wouldn't mind being in the away end either as I'll be hoping for a green win!

vienne86

Gits_bone wrote: »

Would love to go to this, wouldn't mind being in the away end either as I'll be hoping for a green win!

Should be good atmosphere all right. Pity it's Friday night - difficulty for away fans.

Tox56

I would expect

Bent Strauss Furlong
Toner McCarthy
Conan Heaslip Ryan

Boss Gopperth/Madigan
Darce Fitzgerald
Dave K Rob K Kirchner

To say Connacht have a chance is an understatement. I will actually be interested to see how they perform when they have a level of genuine expectation ahead of the game away to a big team, something they've very rarely had

Gits_bone

If I get the train into connolly how do I get to the RDS?

Or if there's parking close by that would do too.