Heineken Cup Quarter Finals

daveirl

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PowerHouseDan

when will we no about home or away for the munster game

KevIRL

powerhousedan wrote:

when will we no about home or away for the munster game

Munster are away.

KevIRL

Brive beat Saracens after extra time today in the Challange cup. So the line up for the (2 legged) semi finals is

Connacht V Sale Sharks
Pau V Brive

Amz

I'm not sure I fancy Leinster's chances in the quarter final.

Maybe I'm just overly pessimistic.

KevIRL

Amz wrote:

I'm not sure I fancy Leinster's chances in the quarter final.

Maybe I'm just overly pessimistic.

Early days Amz. The Quarter finals arent till the first weekend in April. Lets see how the 6 nations pans out (especially for injuries) before making predictions.

Nukem

*-/@ */"£ ^%$£ Words cant explain how annoyed i am. Stupid bloody Stade Francais - stupid Munster with no Bonus points "$£%$ ^^%$

Leinster - Leicester could be the game of the Tournament.
Never thought i would be roaring for Wasps and Glouscester.Off for a shower i feel dirty.

[Jackass]

That is a horrible draw in my opinion considering what they could/should have got...Leinster 100% record, played some amzing rugby surely warrents a easy enough route to the random draw of the semies, but not the (all be it at home) favourites Leicster!! couldnt agree more about waiting on injuries etc. but tbh leinsters position can only get worse...if they beat Lecister and dont have any significant injuriesi will put my house on them winning the competition (i'll have to ask my folks first ), i've a feeling munster will win in France in a upset, but will go no further.....

What are connachts chances against Sale? i'd imagine if they beat sale they'll beat whoever they get in the final and thus (deservedly so) play Heiniken rugby next year....don't know much about those teams though...what do other people reckon?

daveirl

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Trojan

Munster don't deserve to go any further on the basis of their performance so far.

Leinster, if they can keep in touch with the Leicester forwards, should have the beating of them with the backline.

Connacht are probably the favourite Irish province to get silverware this year.

daveirl

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Sherifu

I dont fancy Munster or Leinsters chances.
Tough game for Leinster.
Will they collapse again.

On the other hand I was at the Connaught game on Saturday.
They look like champions already and hopefully the automatic Heineken
cup place that goes with it. When Elwood had to go off 8 minutes in
Connaught looked more determined and cruised home. Theyre tackling
is what makes them so hard to beat. First class tackling.
Roll on Sale sharks in April.

daveirl

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Trojan

Apologies Dave, you're right. In the spirit of the teams of the Celtic League, I neglected it completely

Don't ask me what happens if they get an automatic HC spot.

Things get real interesting

Nukem

Ya Munster will win the CL alright. Dont think they will beat Biarritz but stranger things have happened and Leinster at home to Leicester.Not counting them out just yet.Convinced Contepomi will make all the difference if he is on.

Would love to see Connacht win the Parker Pen. Its about time they got what they deserve. HC qualification yes/no (not sure how this works - all four provinces in the HC)

On another note - mood in work over Munster is mute.Lot of blaming be laid at the feet of Gaffney - any views.

daveirl

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Jilm

daveirl wrote:

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Difficult one to call. It certainly is a 2 horse race between the Ospreys and Munster.

Of the 7 remaining rounds, Ospreys have 4 home games (as well as Leinster & Connacht away) while Munster have 4 away including a couple of tough ones in Wales. It'll come down to how well the teams play while their first choice players are on 6N duty.

Connacht did roll the Os at the Gnoll, so maybe our squad will hold up better ..who knows.

tHE vAGGABOND

Ospreys and Quins were harder to play than Borgoin and Treviso

Quinns are adrift at the bottom of the Zurich league over here tho - they have a big name but are playing really badly, and did not have much to shout about in the tournament so far, so munster should have blown them away, but if route one did not work they litterally had no other ideas hence why a lot of people are not happy...

I was sitting within sight of the munster bench on saturday, and it looked like they had lost at the end, there were a lot of dejected faces, they knew what a mess they had made of it. An away trip to one of france's form teams is not a nice thing to look forward to!

I would actually fancy leinsters chances against Leicester. Leicester are not the team they were 3 or 4 years ago, and not only have leinster played them a few times in the last few years, but if leinster can get anywhere close to 50/50 with their pack leinster have a far far better set of backs (and you know murphy will get injured between now and then!)

Nukem

Sorry wrote a long reply and it crashed in work

2 Dave: You are completely right but we got a mark as being good and know we cant live with it-life is tough live with it and stop making excuses. We are poor this season besides the Castres matches (even they were only ok).
Munster need to stand up and be counted as winners and stop just performing on tough days. We have the guile to tear teams apart and we never do it(rare anyways). We under achive in the poor matches and it is costing us. We need a killer edge - we could have torn NSO apart and put NEC in their graves but we didnt. And stringer is getting worse which is terrible news. He will be out done by Easterby unless he turns his season around. Gaffney needs a new approach and quickly.

2 Jilm: Munster second team will be fine. They are all fighting for places we should win it as long as we dont get visions of granduer.

2 thevaggabond: Could see it on all the faces after the match. Buddy rang me from over there and he said the fans were very quiet afterwards.They knew they threw away a chance of a home draw.

daveirl

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spanner

worst possible draw for leinsiter at current form leciseter will pulverise them in the forwards, was at the game during the weekend and even though it was a good win they still dont seem to have a strong lineout and the defence doesnt look very good ethier.
hoping that the internationals will get the boys fired up and hopfully playing againist big packs will help them

Trojan

daveirl wrote:

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I agree, and was going to say that it's always problem for the Irish teams. On reflection, Leinster seem to be fighting it, they've put up some cricket scores against the likes of Bourgoin and Treviso. Hopefully they can bring that to the national team.

Jilm

daveirl wrote:

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The Ospreys have already played & won at Ravenhill earlier in the season. Ulster are playing Ospreys at St Helens this Friday and Ulster wouldn't be favourites for that one.

daveirl wrote:

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Hopefully the Ospreys won't be 6 or more points ahead of us at that stage

At the moment I still think the Ospreys are slight favourites for the CL title.

daveirl

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RuggieBear

i still reckon Munster should win the celtic league but i'm hoping that leinster win the celtic cup (mainly so we can lose it again!!:))

Nukem

Just picked up a rugby book been meaning to read for ages "odd shaped balls" its called.

First page & the first 2 lines

Q. Why do they call it 'rugby'?
A. Because 'Assault and battery' was already taken.

Shaping up to be a good book already!!!!!!

evilhomer

leicester have a brilliant pack and a lot of the pack will not be playing 6 nations this year (Back and Johnson the most noteable) we will really struggle against them.

the problem of course comes back to Ireland's serious lack of heavy hitters in the front row and perhaps at number 8 also.

if we get a really dry day in april good for expansive rugby we can win it, but other than that, the forwards will need to be in sensational form to beat leicester.

you can never discount the likes of O 'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Hickie, Howell they can break from anywhere and change a game in a matter of seconds.

Munster have a huge task away in France. Biarritz have such strength-in-depth. The Battle of the packs will be immense and will be the decider on the day IMO.

Hairy Homer

evilhomer wrote:

leicester have a brilliant pack and a lot of the pack will not be playing 6 nations this year (Back and Johnson the most noteable) we will really struggle against them.

True. Then again, you have to remember that the last time Martin Johnston played at Lansdowne Road he engaged in a boorish piece of petulance by not standing his team in the appropriate place for the pre-match rituals and thereby caused Her Maryness to step off the red carpet and get her shoes muddy.

God will punish him for that one.


I reckon Leinster should take it upon themselves to score as many tries as possible to force the old curmudgeon to stand behind the goal line a few times. And of course the crowd should be suitably tooled up with banners exhorting Mr Johnston to 'Stand where you're bloody well told' to be waved at the appropriate moments.

Looking forward to it already. :-)

Nukem

Leinster Vs Leicster

Kidney should realise straight off that Leicester have the edge on the fowarsd and Leinster on the backs. With Jennings and Miller able to nearly keep pace with the backs and the speed of them too the breakl down i would run Leicester all over the pitch with the backs and then try batter holes with Costello and MOK and the likes on crash balls every few phases.

Its energy sapping moving 16-17stone around a park, but Leinster could do it faster i reckon. Holwell will out strip Goode id say. He is on form and shows no sign of stopping.

Munster Vs Biarritz

Gaffney needs to do some homework and fast.Munster were slow to the break downs last week and looking at what Biarritz did to Wasps they cant afford to do that at all.Gaffney needs to drill into the players "support support support".
All well in good having abreak away but when your outnumbered 2 to 1 in a tackle there is only one winner. Strings jumps to mind when he legged it straight into the NEC pack ono a tap penalty with no support - turn over ball NEC.Munster play it tight and let ROG kick postion and wear down Biarritz they have a chance.

Sherifu

daveirl wrote:

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I dont mind how theyd get there but id like to see them get a reward
for their hard work. A bit of experience against Europes finest.

tHE vAGGABOND

Back and Johnson the most noteable

They are both about 43 tho They have been preforming below their legendary standard, and been getting very clearly knackered at the end of games. 2 or 3 years ago you would not have seen that from those two blokes.

First, at their age it takes forever to get back from an injury, and even with no internationals, they have a league or cup game every single weekend between now and then. Just say an extra hail mary at mass next sunday that they pick up a knock or two

Second, the talk over here is both hanging up their boots at the end of the year, and you have to wonder if they will run that extra lap in training or stay an extra hour in the gym like they used to with that in mind.

Be confident ffs lads. Leinster won their group unbeaten, Leicester only just got in, and most of you are acting like Leinster are the team that scraped on with a bunch of results going their way on the last afternoon!

Trojan

Fair enough Vaggabond, but we need to take into account the quality of opposition Leinster have had recently, and the same for Leicester (leading a very tough ZP at the moment).

KevIRL

Nukem wrote:

Leinster Vs Leinster

I'd definitely fancy Leinster for that one Nukem!

Nukem

KevIRL wrote:

I'd definitely fancy Leinster for that one Nukem!

So would i. Wonder what the odds would be - Davs a betting man il ask.
Chuckle Chuckle

Fixed

daveirl

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[Jackass]

Heineken Cup Semi-Finals:

* Leinster/Leicester (Home) Vs Toulouse/Northampton (Away)

* Stade Francais/Newcastle (Home) Vs Biarittz/Munster (Away)

Leinster v Munster final? I seriously doubt it, but what a game that would be, ha?
Leinster are at home for both games as would Stade if they win.....More bad news for Munster, but good for Leinster

It's got to be Leinster V Stade Final! If you ask me, the biggest game of the season is Leinster/Leicester...winner of that game will win the HC!!!
:eek::eek::eek:...cant bloody wait for 6 nations then HC!!!!!

Nukem

Dont forget the Lions tour and the rest of the CL after that.So much rugby

BolBill

Forget about Munster for the Heineken Cup now. (Think Princess Leia) Help us Leinster you're our only hope........

daveirl

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Nukem

daveirl wrote:

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Dont you rate Toulose? Granted they can come to pieces as shown by Llianeli.
Biarritz looked OK against Wasps but brilliant againt Leicester away.
Would agree on them though if beat Munster. 30,000 seater(i hope) and i have heard loads are travelling. Buddy offered me a bed just outside Biarritz so just depends on how college is motoring.

daveirl

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Nukem

daveirl wrote:

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Horse before the cart Dave - they have to roll over Leinster first. If they win Leinster will at least bloody their nose enough to show kinks in thier armour. Has to be the pick of the Quarter Finals.

EDIT: YEAH MY 1,000 post

MarVeL

I'm a Leinster fan and believe Leinster have a good chance of beating Leicester but I'd have to say that they're hardly a team to "bloody the nose" of another side. If they are going to win they have to try to minimise the trench warfare and stay out of the rough/slow stuff as much as possible (particularily against such past master as Johnson and co.)

Nukem

You miss understood my meaning. I mean Leinster can metaphoriaclly speaking can bloody their nose by showing frailties in there side. Kidney will do a lot of research on them and i imagine the backs will show up the Leicester backs.

[Jackass]

i cant belive everyone is writing leinster off so much!!!!
Surely a club side with (un-questionably) the best back line in the world, 4 - 5 major nation internationals in the forwards must have a excellent chance of winning the competition outright...never mind 1 home game (all be it against the strongest forward side in the competition)!! Dont be so pessamistic people, Leinster, with a home quater and home semi, will be everybodys favourite to win it when the time comes around.*

*assuming there are no major injuries.

daveirl

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Nukem

DubGuy22 wrote:

i cant belive everyone is writing leinster off so much!!!!

Write Leinster off at your peril!!!!!
I will be screming for Leinster and look where i live. Cork f*ckers like me hold a grudge (Neill Back mmmmff £%^$ (&^%$ %%&&*%TR* )

By the way 32-17 against Quins Goode was the difference so imagine what ye could do. Quins were ahead by 9 at HT but went to sleep in the second half.