Leinster vs Glasgow

First topic message reminder :

Kick off is 8.30pm.

LEINSTER:

15: Zane Kirchner
14: Darragh Fanning
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Noel Reid
11: Luke Fitzgerald Sam Coughlan-Murray
10: Ian Madigan
9: Eoin Reddan
1: Jack McGrath
2: Sean Cronin
3: Martin Moore
4: Leo Cullen (Captain)
5: Mike McCarthy
6: Rhys Ruddock
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jordi Murphy

REPLACEMENTS:
16: Richardt Strauss
17: Michael Bent
18: Mike Ross
19: Tom Denton
20: Dominic Ryan
21: Isaac Boss
22: Jimmy Gopperth
23: Darren Hudson

GLASGOW:

15. Peter Murchie
14. Tommy Seymour
13. Richie Vernon
12. Finn Russell
11. Niko Matawalu
10. Ruaridh Jackson
9. Chris Cusiter (Captain)

1. Gordon Reid
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Mike Cusack
4. Tim Swinson
5. Jonny Gray
6. James Eddie
7. Rob Harley
8. Josh Strauss

REPLACEMENTS

16. Fraser Brown
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Ed Kalman
19. Leone Nakarawa
20. Tyrone Holmes
21. Henry Pyrgos
22. Mark Bennett
23. Lee Jones

At RDS, Dublin, 8.30pm. Live on TG4/BBC ALBA
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 105th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Stuart Gafikin, Richard Kerr (both IRFU)
Citing Commissioner: Peter Ferguson (IRFU)
TMO: Alan Rogan (IRFU)

10 minutes. Glasgow looking dangerous. For a second I thought Nakarawa was through but it went forward- just the man Glasgow want hitting the ball at pace.

little less than 10 minutes to go.

Cheers gents...down to the wire then.

Why take the points?   

Terrible call - what are we playing for a draw?

Why did we take the points? Need a try for FES sake

Got exactly what we deserved after taking the points. Muppets

Utter Love sacks. Who made the call for the kick?

Yep, that was the losing of the game for Glasgow. You don't give a side as canny as Leinster a chance to close a game like that out and as soon as they didn't go to the corner that was always on the cards.

Glasgow were much better than I've seen them recently- if they went to the corner, catch and drive who knows what would have happened?

Who was captain for that last 5 mins?

Unfathomable decision to go for the points - Glasgow had possession - as Leinster showed after the penalty, if Leinster get possession you ain't getting it back.

Very, very strange call.

Silly silly Glasgow. Taking points at that stage.

Strauss was rather tame this evening. Ritchie Vernon showing he's coming on. Mark Bennett must be feeling under threat.

Absolutely no guarantees of anything if they went for the corner, but with a 6 point deficit, what on earth is the point of kicking points, after the three still needed a try to win.

Credit to Leinster they closed it out magnificently after the penalty kick.

Really high-quality game give the time of year.

You get the feeling that Glasgow were worth more than a point there. It is a bit of a mystery why we did not go to the corner as we had the bonus point anyway, our line out had been good all game as well. I guess they thought they would get one more attack and an unconverted try would do it. Anyway that's not why we lost, to many penalties in the first half!

Having said all that it was a great game and the best that Glasgow have played for a while, passes were sticking and we were using quick ball very well. It is never easy to get a result in Dublin, but we are getting close.

Leinster remain a hard side to beat though!

Gutted by that result.
Looking back there were a few huge turning points.
With about 5 minutes till half time Kichner punts the ball out on the full. Would have been a Glasgow lineout in Leinster's half. Only a stupid bit of play by Eddie is pointed out and seen by Owens on the big screen. Penalty awarded. They take the kick to touch, few minutes later get their 2nd try.

Next major moment. In the lead up to Leinster's 3rd and ultimately match clinching try. We went through 3 scrums on the Glasgow 5m line. On the second one Leinster went for a massive early shove. Nothing given. Should have been a penalty to Glasgow which would have allowed us to alleviate the pressure. From the 3rd scrum, Leinster eventually score.

Final moment. The decision to take the 3 points. Utterly farcical.

Taking off my Glasgow hat for a moment. What a game! Cracking tries & gladiatorial like skirmishes at the rucks.
Here's hoping that both Edinburgh and Glasgow play like they did in their first halves when it comes to the 1872 replay.

Totalflanker wrote:Absolutely no guarantees of anything if they went for the corner, but with a 6 point deficit, what on earth is the point of kicking points, after the three still needed a try to win.

Credit to Leinster they closed it out magnificently after the penalty kick.

The point was that by taking 3, you ensure that anything other than a try against ensures the losing bonus.

If we had gone for the 7, failed, and conceded a penalty, we would have lost what we had.

Away from home, against Leinster, I will take that.

The intensity of that game! It was like an interpro.

I don't know of any other fixture in the Rabo that matches the intensity of this one. I will try and see the whole game later but the long form highlights that I saw looked awesome.

Was annoyed by the utterly condescending reporting of the game in the Irish Times where whomever it was that plopped out the copy kept repeating that they were surprised with how long it took Leinster to win it, the result being a foregone conclusion to them, apparently. Graceless, brainless reporting. Provincial though it maybe, the Herald and Scotsman give credit where it's due.

Slightly worried that Cusack was yanked before the start and replaced with Kalman. Anyone know how the big feller is getting on?

Just as we need to stop making fun of Jack Cuthbert for Edinburgh, we need to stop making fun of Richie Vernon soon. What we have now is a 17 stone, 6'4" centre who loves to carry and has a massive fend. He is uncontroveribly an asset and a very different option. Peter Horne is back in light training so let's see if he makes the field before the end of the year.

Am also very interested to know how close Darragh Fanning is to an Ireland cap. I would have him there over Zebo based on that game.

They said on twitter Cusack was ill.

George Carlin wrote:
Am also very interested to know how close Darragh Fanning is to an Ireland cap. I would have him there over Zebo based on that game.

Please, please, please post that on the Ireland vs Italy thread!   

Notch wrote:

George Carlin wrote:
Am also very interested to know how close Darragh Fanning is to an Ireland cap. I would have him there over Zebo based on that game.

Please, please, please post that on the Ireland vs Italy thread!   

 

Are you talking about this piece GC? Because, I agree it's absolutely appalling. Glasgow were right in with a real chance of winning the game to the very end, the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro12/leinster-made-to-work-hard-for-their-reward-1.1709846?page=2

Notch wrote:Are you talking about this piece GC? Because, I agree it's absolutely appalling. Glasgow were right in with a real chance of winning the game to the very end, the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro12/leinster-made-to-work-hard-for-their-reward-1.1709846?page=2

Yes, sadly that's the one. I just don't understand why commentators adopt such a partisan approach. The team they were playing has already beaten them this season and came within 3 points of beating them in last year's playoffs. Granted, we have won only once in something like 15 trips to the RDS but at the same time, it was never going to be a cakewalk and I don't understand the utility in retrospectively pretending that it was. Every report I've read said that the Glasgow set piece became increasingly dominant as the second half wore on and it was street smarts that helped Leinster close the game out. Not sure why this annoys me so much.

Really top quality game,some poor defense from both sides at times but still an excellent contest.Glasgow are a tough team to beat so delighted with that result.

demosthenes wrote:

Totalflanker wrote:Absolutely no guarantees of anything if they went for the corner, but with a 6 point deficit, what on earth is the point of kicking points, after the three still needed a try to win.

Credit to Leinster they closed it out magnificently after the penalty kick.

The point was that by taking 3, you ensure that anything other than a try against ensures the losing bonus.

If we had gone for the 7, failed, and conceded a penalty, we would have lost what we had.

Away from home, against Leinster, I will take that.

So its caution and damage limitation first then - would Leinster have done the same if the roles were reversed, pretty sure not.

Glasgow needed to back themselves and go and get it.

Had Leinster been 4 or 5 points ahead at the time, then there could least have been an argument for taking the points, but not when we needed a try and taking three meant we still needed a try. Our tails were up and that is when you need to push the button.

Bet if you asked every Leinster player/supporter/team manager what the would have liked Glasgow to do at that point, they would all have said 'kick for the posts'.

Totalflanker wrote:

demosthenes wrote:

Totalflanker wrote:Absolutely no guarantees of anything if they went for the corner, but with a 6 point deficit, what on earth is the point of kicking points, after the three still needed a try to win.

Credit to Leinster they closed it out magnificently after the penalty kick.

The point was that by taking 3, you ensure that anything other than a try against ensures the losing bonus.

If we had gone for the 7, failed, and conceded a penalty, we would have lost what we had.

Away from home, against Leinster, I will take that.

So its caution and damage limitation first then - would Leinster have done the same if the roles were reversed, pretty sure not.

Glasgow needed to back themselves and go and get it.

Had Leinster been 4 or 5 points ahead at the time, then there could least have been an argument for taking the points, but not when we needed a try and taking three meant we still needed a try. Our tails were up and that is when you need to push the button.

Bet if you asked every Leinster player/supporter/team manager what the would have liked Glasgow to do at that point, they would all have said 'kick for the posts'.

Sadly, I agree completely. I actually think at the same point last season, Glasgow would have backed themselves to win it. We just don't look the same team, although it pains me to say it.

Wouldn't worry George, my wife gets very sad too when she has to agree with me.

I know what you mean about 'don't look the same team', but actually did think they looked a little closer to their form of last year than of late, last night?

Leinster are great at winning in tight spots and they proved their class once again.......just disappointed that we didn't ask a more difficult question of them at the death.

Agreed Total - Toonie was on the tweety immediately after the game saying how proud he was of his players and that this was their best performance of the season. Let's see how we go. The Ospreys are surprisingly stuttering a little too (and had the same god-awful year in European competition that we did) and it's actually potentially that which will give us a play-off spot.

A great game. It's a real advertisement for the Pro12. Even in the 6Ns with team selections seriously impacting both sides selections it was a cracker of a game. After the two fixtures this season the biggest takeaway I have for both these teams is that they need the home advantage come playoff times to get through but that it wouldn't surprise anybody if either of these teams pulled off an away win either.