Munster v Leinster

Here we go again.

Travelling in hope but not expectation. Would be great to win this one, but I would settle for a LBP and no (more) injuries.

Apparently there is hope on Mike Ross and Jamie Hagan. No word on White. They usually release an injury update on Mondays at lunchtime.

Don't fancy facing DuPreeyahhh and Botha with Jack McGrath at th. It was a credit to him as a first year LOOSE head prop that he did not get injured in those scrums against some serious experience and power

Injuries permitting I'd like to see our strongest team out:

Healy – Cronin – Ross (hopefully!)
Cullen – Thorn
O’Brien – Heaslip – Jennings
Reddan – Sexton
Fitzgerald – McFadden – BOD – Nacewa
R.Kearney

Strauss – VDM – White (hopefully) – Toner – McLaughlin – Boss – Madigan – D.Kearney

So you are a member of the Darcy out brigade?

I'd start him with Bod and put McF on the bench. I would even take a risk and put O'Malley in instead of Madigan. Giving us cover for both centres if needed and Ferg can cover the back 3.

Hard choice on D Kearney or Luke though. I would probably give Luke a run just to see if he can settle.

Huge game for Munster in particular, but a win for Leinster would all but guarantee them finishing in top spot so I expect both sides to really go for this one.

Munster, like Leinster, have injury concerns so could be without Murray, POC and Ryan. Having said that, Murray appears to be on track for a return. With that in mind:

Munster
1. Du Preez
2. Varley
3. BJ Botha
4. DOC
5. MOD (c)
6. DOC2
7. POM (if Wallace is fit, POM to 6)
8. Coughlan
9. TOL
10. ROG
11. Zebo
12. Mafi (if not suspended)
13. Earls
14. Hurley
15. Jones

Sherry - Horan - Archer - Nagle - TOD - Murray - Keatley - Murphy

I’m not a member of any brigade. Darcy either starts or he’s not playing, there are too many more versatile players who we could bench. As far as I’m concerned it’s between him and McFadden for the starting 12 jersey and Fergus is ahead right now.

Hammer and tongs please - wear those Munster boys down before the main event the following week

leinster are optimistic about white, recovering from a bruised cheekbone. can't beat the post 6 nations derbies, gunna be a cracker

geoff998rugby wrote:Hammer and tongs please - wear those Munster boys down before the main event the following week

Geoff, Munster seem to react well to a big tough encounter before Europe. Ulster would be better off if it was Munster v Aironi.

red_stag wrote:

geoff998rugby wrote:Hammer and tongs please - wear those Munster boys down before the main event the following week

Geoff, Munster seem to react well to a big tough encounter before Europe. Ulster would be better off if it was Munster v Aironi.

What, you mean if Munster lost?

<pulls pin>

mick, exactly, if this was Aironi and we lost, I wouldn't want to be Ulster the week after, or in the dressing room with Axel post match.....*shudders*

Debaters I'd say the opposite.

It would be a lose-lose situation playing Aironi as opposed to Leinster.

We beat Aironi we're expected to. We lose and its a confidence shaker.

We beat Leinster and we have momentum ahead of the HEC. We lose and its considered character building and motivating.

Ah I don't know, we have a history of shocking matches prior to a big HC game.

We shall see anyway, hopefully we can win, stemgthen our Home Semi position and then go forward to the Ulster game with as few injuries as possible!

*fingers crossed on the latter especially*

Haha love the <pull pin>!

I'd definitely be of the McFadden over Darcy preference. I though McFadden played really well on Friday night, some good carries, big defence, and good kicking (in general).

Good news to hear that White is ok. If Ross and White are ok to go I think I'd start VDM as Healy was knackered during the 6N and he seems to take a lot of hits.

Remember also that Schmidt likes to play the home-away team thing so we could expect to see Boss, McLaughlin, VDM and Strauss ahead of Reddan, jenno, Healy, Cronin.

Huge game for Munster and a very big one for Leinster too. If Munster can take 4 points and deny Leinster 1 then the chase is on.

Munster back 5 looks really exciting. Zebo is an absolute try machine at the moment. Hurley having a really good season. Jones getting back on form.

Would love to see back row of POM, Wally and Coughlan (my player of the season so far).

Really looking forward to having a go at the run away league leaders to see exactly where we are at.

Any news on Murray, POC, Mafi, Ryan?

Murray seems to be fine. He was walking around with no crutch or casts at the weekend. That might mean nothing but he looked grand.

I doubt O'Connell will feature in the HEC match. Mafi I reckon will get no ban. Didnt know there were concerns over Ryans fitness.

Can't wait for this.

This game - every year, before a HC QF, really serves Munster & Leinster well. There is NO better prep for the step-up in level required.

I dont care who wins it (we will). As long as we come out of it unscathed, less rusty and geed-up for the Heino. We should still get top-spot either way, sooo.

I hope Schmidt does not play an out of form Darcy. McFadden is taking that 12 spot by right. Id leave Darcy out of the 22. And have O Malley on the bench.

Mickado wrote:Injuries permitting I'd like to see our strongest team out:

Healy – Cronin – Ross (hopefully!)
Cullen – Thorn
O’Brien – Heaslip – Jennings
Reddan – Sexton
Fitzgerald – McFadden – BOD – Nacewa
R.Kearney

Strauss – VDM – White (hopefully) – Toner – McLaughlin – Boss – Madigan – D.Kearney

Same as Mick. Except O Malley for Kearney.

You dont need Darcy.

Sexton, Fitzgerald, O'Driscoll and McFadden can all play 12.

Sexton 10 & 12
Fitzgerald 11,12,13,14 (15 at a push)
McFadden 11,12,13,14 (10 at a push)
Nacewa 10,11,14,15
BOD 12,13

It remains to be seen, but I dont think BOD is a top-level 80-min player any longer. Not at 13 anyway. Need O Malley in the 23 from here on in, IMO.

Edit: 23 Gibbo 23!

I wish International rugby would follow suit.

I'd agree with that team but due to how Schmidt has always selected Leinster teams for away fixtures I can see him picking

VDM-Strauss-Ross
Cullen-Thorn
McLaughlin-Heaslip-SOB
Boss-Sexton
McFadden-BOD
Fitz-Kearney-Nacewa

Healy-White-Cronin-Toner-Jennings-Reddan-Madigan-Kearney Jr.

His defensive, hard hitting team. that would be my prediction

Why might mafi be banned?

Yeah I was trying to work that out too Golden.

POC is a big loss though. Would feel much less confident about this game if Murray is starting too.

Yeah Pete. He probably will pick that 23 for Munster. I had moved on to the HC. Woops.

Golden wrote:Why might mafi be banned?

He conceded a penalty against Connacht for tackling without the arms. Officials saw it and deemed no card was needed just a penalty. I would be amazed if he was banned. I felt it was actually a good tackle.

We can play those “home” and “away” lineups when the squad is settled in. with so many players coming back from injury/ international duty we might not have time for that and our hand could be forced into playing the same 23 for two weeks in a row.

Do you mean with the guys like BOD, Cullen, Thorn etc?

The most pressing thing I'm concerned with is our TH situation would like Ross and White available for this one. Think if we can solidify our scrum we have got a much better chance in this one.

Secondly really hope McFadden is starting and Darcy isn't in the 23 I'm actually going to pray for that.

Think ferg deserves his start alright. in fairness though he's currently not a great 12 either! Bit sporadic on the ball sometimes, people outside him sometimes seem taken off guard. Playing alongside bod is the perfect way for him to polish his skill set though. similar to earls before the six nations, he just a decent run of games in the 1 position.

why are u travellin in hope rather than expectation? one bad result against the ospreys and already people are doubting leinster's ability.we are more than capable of goin down there and gettin a win.im not sayin it will be easy but have faith.

I'm not sure Hugo, I agree with you in one respect his short passing game isn't great at times but when he has space he can throw some really
Beautiful long ones see the home game against Cardiff for example he threw some delisxous passes that game.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:why are u travellin in hope rather than expectation? one bad result against the ospreys and already people are doubting leinster's ability.we are more than capable of goin down there and gettin a win.im not sayin it will be easy but have faith.

I would have been travelling in even less expectation if we had won on Friday. The win would have been less important and we would be on a 21 game unbeaten run.

Of course we can win. But will we? Will we want it more than Munster?

Who knows? Not you or I until Saturday.

It's a dance of Tarantulas. Who wants it? Who wants to risk injury? Who is looking ahead to other fights? Who wants to up the tempo? Who wants to contain the tempo?

These games are hard to call given the multitude of circumstances that influence performance in the build up to the end of season - and two titles on the table for each side. A fine balancing act. This part of the season really gets entertaining as you can almost hear opposing coaches think.

Realistically man for man , Leinster have a far superior team.
Predicted starting line ups:
1.Healy- Du Preez.Healy has far better all around game.
2.Strauss-Varley.No questions, Strauss wins.
3.Ross-Botha.Depends on Ross's fitness(maybe equal).
4.Cullen-Ryan.Ryan, better all round the park(maybe not for the restarts).
5.Thorn-MOC.I shouldn't bother.
6.Hopefully O'Brien-Hopefully POM.O'Brien, enough said.
7.Jennings-Wallace.Wallace however Jennings works well with the Leinster back row.
8.Heaslip-Coughlan.I'd nearly give it to Coughlan right now however you never know what game Heaslip could produce.(after all he has stopped tweeting).Coughlan I think for now.
9.Reddan-Murray.Murray easily.I am a huge fan of Murray and I don't think the criticism he gets is fair.Can play a fast game like Reddan, if told to!
10.Sexton-Rog.Sexton, better all rounder.
11.Fitz-Zebo.Fitz by a scrape.He is the more talented player by a mile and proved against Bath that he can score tries too.
12.Mcfadden-Mafi.Mafi is superior.I don't think Mcfadden is a 12, not a great reader of the game.
13.Bod-Earls.Earls this year looks a bit like the young Bod(2000) however Bod has a far superior skill set.Bod
14.Nacewa-Hurley.Nacewa, though Hurley is having a good season, he does not nearly have the pace to play internationally and for that reason should not be picked.
15.Kearney-Jones.Kearney on form, however Jones has huge potential.
Leinster-9
Munster-5
Equal-1

Has Heaslip stopped tweeting???????????

Why didn't someone tell me about this development? Why wasn't it on the news? Why didn't the EU leaders discuss it at the Hague?

He stopped? That's the biggest real news I've heard in a week - and I'm not joking.

SecretFly wrote:Has Heaslip stopped tweeting???????????

Why didn't someone tell me about this development? Why wasn't it on the news? Why didn't the EU leaders discuss it at the Hague?

He stopped? That's the biggest real news I've heard in a week - and I'm not joking.

Yea ever since the England game.I think the Leinster management must have told him off.

Well thank God for that. A real sign that it was an issue, if it's now come to an end, and it might also be a tiny hint that he's about to knuckle down to some serious work again.... ie, do his talking on the field.

I am not a fan of D'Arcy at 12 for Ireland but i always worry about him when he plays for Leinster. He can still do a very good job at provincial level.

It would be nice to see him get a run and get the 200th game for Leinster. He has been an excellent servent for them

Hugo, i think Botha has the edge on Ross, particularly with Ross's fitness in question.

hugo124 wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Has Heaslip stopped tweeting???????????

Why didn't someone tell me about this development? Why wasn't it on the news? Why didn't the EU leaders discuss it at the Hague?

He stopped? That's the biggest real news I've heard in a week - and I'm not joking.

Yea ever since the England game.I think the Leinster management must have told him off.

Good stuff. Jamie got the Fitzy bug. Too much medya self-hype and lost focus. Here's to Heaslip back showing us what we all know he has. Fitz seems to have learned his lesson, re-focused and had turned the corner. But the bu88er may leave us soon. Watch SOB and Heaslip run riot again with Jenno at 7. Just sayin. Unless Schmidt has been advised to play SOB at 7. Joe may use Ruddock (groan) or McLaughlin (grand) at 6. With Jenno on the bench. Bad move imo. Although thank Allah, Warburton is out next week for the HC QF.
Tell Deccie to feic off Joe.

And Wally me orse. Jenno has completely outplayed him in 5 out of their last 6 meetings.

Dying to see Jones v Kearney. Have to say, I personally love Felix. Brilliant player with a fantastic attitude.

Hoping to see BOD step up his onfield rehab and to put himself about more. And Leo and Brad to start clicking, down in Limerick.

Ratch it tup... Love these games.

Where's SIN and DOD? We need some unbalanced balance here.

Leinster by 10.

Let’s just hope Marcus Horan plays. I’m sure BOD would like to thank him for putting him out for 7 months!

Slightly different view Hugo have taken the same teams

.Healy- Du Preez. - Healy but when Healy gets it wrong it goes badly wrong
2.Strauss-Varley.No questions, Strauss wins - Agree
3.Ross-Botha - BJ for me on this one -BJ is one of the best scrummagers around.
4.Cullen-Ryan.Ryan, better all round the park(maybe not for the restarts) agreed - DR is very aggressive
5.Thorn-MOC. Thorn - Agree
6.Hopefully O'Brien-Hopefully POM. - POM has been outstanding this season whereas SOB has been average
7.Jennings-Wallace.Wallace however Jennings works well with the Leinster back row - Agree
8.Heaslip-Coughlan. -Definitely Coughlan has been outstansing all season in HC and Pro 12. Heaslip well theres been enough said about him
9.Reddan-Murray.Murray easily.I am a huge fan of Murray and I don't think the criticism he gets is fair.Can play a fast game like Reddan, if told to - nice to see somebody actually back Murray. I agree with this
10.Sexton-Rog.Sexton, better all rounder (I wont even bother lol)
11.Fitz-Zebo. ZEBO has been running in tries for fun in the last 5 months so on form Im going with ZEEEEEBBBBOOOOOOOOOO
12.Mcfadden-Mafi.Mafi is superior.I don't think Mcfadden is a 12, not a great reader of the game - Id actually go for McFadden here. Maifi drives me mad at times
13.Bod-Earls.Earls this year looks a bit like the young Bod(2000) however Bod has a far superior skill set.Bod - Relunctantly agreee
14.Nacewa-Hurley.Nacewa, though Hurley is having a good season, he does not nearly have the pace to play internationally and for that reason should not be picked - Agree
15.Kearney-Jones - Definitely Kearney as Jones is just back from long injury. This is going to be a great battle though with two brilliantly talented FBs

So that makes in 8 7 to Leinster. Oh dont forget the 16th man - thats a draw. Going to be a cracking game

hugo124 wrote:Realistically man for man , Leinster have a far superior team.

Thats always been the case. In fact we have played a lot of teams over the years with weaker teams man for man. We had a HEC winning backline of Ian Dowling, Trevor Halstead, John Kelly, Anthony Horgan and Shaun Payne.

Class means nothing if it isnt part of a team game. Leinster at the minute have both a talented squad and a settled team game. However they may still be finding their feet with returning players from 6 Nations and injury.

Its no foregone conclusiuon.

hugo124 wrote:Realistically man for man , Leinster have a far superior team.

As they did against the Ospreys

Munster by 5

Nice one Blue. Yeah, the 16th man. Thomond is a Rugby Cathedral. Love the place. You goin down to it man? Saw 5 out of the last 6. Love to be there.
Anyone (outsiders) who thinks Munster & Leinster are going to hold back for fear of injury, before the HC QF's, has no idea. Its a mental & physical impossibility.
7 bells of shoite coming right up.

I think BJ and Du Preez will give us an awful time of it. Hope Feek has resettled us after the English Nightmare.

Could this be a dress-rehearsal for Twickers?

eirebilly wrote:

hugo124 wrote:Realistically man for man , Leinster have a far superior team.

As they did against the Ospreys

Munster by 5

We have a few better players in most positions. But as a team?

The only thing which gives us an edge in this one, is POC missing. And possibly Murray.

Cant call it tbh.

OK Leinster by 11.

Oooh, i knew you would bite Gibbo

Not biting Billser. Just chewin de provincial cud, ya know bud?

I love this. We'd be lost without each other and that's a fact. Best derby in the NH - by a mile.

I know mate, i love these matches, i really do. I am kind of upset that Leinster lost to be honest because that was the kick in the rear that they needed. They will probably come out firing now

I think we'll use the new double skip, reverse cross-over, triple-loop bypass... with 10 degrees of spin added for extra fuel consumption - on Munster.

This is the one, this the one they've been working on for a month. This is our HC winner but Schmidt knows it'll need some fine tuning so Munster will be privileged to see it first - or not see it, as the the move itself requires stealth and blur speed for perfect execution!