London Irish v Edinburgh, 5th April 2015 Match Thread

[Scottish White Line Fever]

        
London Irish v Edinburgh

European Challenge Cup, Quarter Final

Madejski Stadium, Reading
Sunday 5th April 2015
KO: 17:45

Live on BT Sport 1

Referee Pascal Gauzere (France)
Touch Judge 1 Laurent Cardona (France)
Touch Judge 2 Tual Trainini (France)
Fourth Official Eric Gonthier (France)
TMO Eric Gonthier (France)

Citing Commissioner Eddie Walsh (Ireland)

Teams:

London Irish
15 Andrew Fenby
14 Topsy Ojo
13 Eoin Griffin
12 Eamonn Sheridan
11 Alex Lewington
10 Shane Geraghty
9 Scott Steele

1 Tom Court
2 David Paice
3 Halani Aulika
4 George Skivington (capt)
5 Nic Rouse
6 Conor Gilsenan
7 Blair Cowan
8 Tom Guest

16 Jimmy Stevens
17 Matt Parr
18 Leo Halavatau
19 Jebb Sinclair
20 Luke Narraway
21 Darren Allinson
22 Chris Noakes
23 Tom Fowlie

Edinburgh
15 Jack Cuthbert
14 Dougie Fife
13 Phil Burleigh
12 Andries Strauss
11 Tim Visser
10 Greig Tonks
9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne

1 Alasdair Dickinson
2 Ross Ford (capt)
3 WP Nel
4 Anton Bresler
5 Ben Toolis
6 Roddy Grant
7 Hamish Watson
8 David Denton

16 Stuart McInally
17 Rory Sutherland
18 John Andress
19 Fraser McKenzie
20 Tomas Leonardi
21 Nathan Fowles
22 Tom Heathcote
23 Sam Beard

Form (last six matches):

London Irish 22-21 Newcastle
Harlequins 26-20 London Irish
London Welsh 12-50 London Irish
London Irish 6-12 Leicester
Northampton 15-9 London Irish
London Irish 13-31 Newcastle (LV)

Edinburgh 26-15 Scarlets
Treviso 8-29 Edinburgh
Cardiff 21-15 Edinburgh
Edinburgh 17-20 Ulster
Edinburgh 24-16 Ospreys
Edinburgh 38-20 Bordeaux-Begles


I expect Dickinson and Ford may return this weekend, along with Fife and Scott depending on their fitness. Edinburgh are coming off the back of a very good win against Scarlets. An interesting sub-plot for the weekend could be SHC v Scott Steele at 9. I'm told Scott Steele kept SHC out of the 9 shirt at school and Scotland age group level, which lead to SHC playing at 15, but undeniably SHC is now the form 9 available to Scotland and is having an outstanding season. I've not seen as much of Scott Steele, but from what I saw of the highlights at the weekend, he looks slightly shorter and stockier and will, no doubt, be looking to push his name into the Scotland reckoning.

[funnyExiledScot]

Another interesting sub-plot will be Blair Cowan vs Hamish Watson - two Scotland rivals in direct competition.

I'd be tempted to stick with McInally and Sutherland if I'm being honest, and have Ford and Dickinson on the bench. The only change I'd go for is to start Matt Scott at 12 in place of Strauss, otherwise I'd reward the side that beat the Scarlets with another start.

[Scottish White Line Fever]

Another interesting sub-plot will be Blair Cowan vs Hamish Watson - two Scotland rivals in direct competition.

I'd be tempted to stick with McInally and Sutherland if I'm being honest, and have Ford and Dickinson on the bench. The only change I'd go for is to start Matt Scott at 12 in place of Strauss, otherwise I'd reward the side that beat the Scarlets with another start.

I'd completely forgotten about Cowan v Watson! That'll be a very intriguing match up, and I think Watson could well be trying to prove a point to put pressure on Cowan for the Scotland 7 shirt. I'd also be tempted to stick with McInally and Sutherland, but I expect Solly will revert to Dickinson and Ford. I'd keep Tom Brown ahead of Fife, because he had a pretty solid match against the Scarlets and was, as always, fully committed to the team (that collision with Tagicakibau was pretty brutal).

[RDW]

Massive opportunity for Edinburgh this - win it and they'll probably be favourites to make the final.

Any idea if it's on tv?

[Scottish White Line Fever]

Massive opportunity for Edinburgh this - win it and they'll probably be favourites to make the final.

Any idea if it's on tv?

It's on BT Sports 1 RDW. If we win, it's a home draw against Gloucester or Connacht I think.

[RDW]

The semi will be a home game against dragons or blues I'm fairly sure?

[Scottish White Line Fever]

The semi will be a home game against dragons or blues I'm fairly sure?

My mistake, you're right ! Well we know we're capable of beating Dragons or Cardiff at Murrayfield.

[SirBurger]

I'm really worried about this match. Treviranus is a big loss for us - although one of the big bonuses from the weekend is that Aulika's carrying threat seems to have returned. We need Geraghty to control the game as well as he can do. We also need to make sure that the midfield selection is right - having Mulchrone back would be a big bonus in that regard.

Ps. Steele is a great player. Tenacious and brilliant at the basics.

[Imperialbigdave]

It wasnt so much that Steele kept SHC out of the 9 shirt, SHC was a 10 at the time. The two of them were the halfback partners when our u18's beat England on their own turf. He only converted to 9 when he was with the u20's.

[Scottish White Line Fever]

It wasnt so much that Steele kept SHC out of the 9 shirt, SHC was a 10 at the time. The two of them were the halfback partners when our u18's beat England on their own turf. He only converted to 9 when he was with the u20's.

Ah right, fair enough. Bet he's glad with the decision to convert to 9!

[RDW]

Just watched the Scarlets game - I thought it was an excellent Edinburgh performance. Our forwards were dominant, our defence strong and our tackling aggressive. We created a lot of quick ball and played at pace (what a change from the start of the season!).

Main concerns were restarts ( ) and the number of penalties at rucks when we didn't clear them out quickly enough - Cowan will certainly be targeting that.

Sammy, Denton and Watson got the main plaudits (I loved Watson's kick-chase around 56 minutes when he clobbered the guy having made up a lot of ground) but I thought bresler and Burleigh were excellent. What a decent signing both have turned out to be. Hell, even Strauss had a good game!

Also pleasing to see that when the subs came on we seemed to up the tempo - McKenzie played like he had a point to prove, and Andress and Shiells maintained the scrum dominance.

If we play like that again on Sunday I think we'll win this.

[justified sinner]

Let's not forget Dickinson v Cross on the sub-plot theme. Could be interesting at scrum time.

[Ozzy3213]

Don't be surprised if Geoff Cross doesn't make our 23. At best I think he'll be on the bench.

[Scottish White Line Fever]

Let's not forget Dickinson v Cross on the sub-plot theme. Could be interesting at scrum time.

Hell, let's throw Sean Cox into the mix as well...

[funnyExiledScot]

Bresler vs Cox. Tricky one as to who will be off the field first!

[SirBurger]

Doubtful Cox will be in the 23 either.

[Ozzy3213]

I'll be amazed if Cox is in the 23.

[Nematode]

Will be really interested to see Watson/Grant vs Cowan, no doubt VC will be too.

No doubt Watson will be relishing these matches, playing against the competition in the form of Barclay and Cowan.

It will be interesting to see how Chris Fusaro does too.

Btw, anyone know what Ross Rennie is up to atm? I know he isn't playing sadly, but is he coaching?

[TJ]

Watson had a cracker against Scarlets

[bedfordwelsh]

As a Dragons fan not sure who I want to win this one. Have the venues for respective semis been announced as no matter who we play in the semi (we will beat Blues) we will be the away team.

[Ozzy3213]

What's the likely line up for Edinburgh for this one?

For Irish I think with current form and injury to Treviranus the pack essentially picks itself and will be;-

1. Tom Court
2. David Paice
3. Halani Aulika
4. George Skivington
5. Nic Rouse (Jebb Sinclair could get the nod, but I suspect will more likely be on the bench)
6. Conor Gilsenan (Luke Narraway could play 6, I hope not though as he's not been at his best and should be on the bench)
7. Blair Cowan
8. Tom Guest

The back line is not quite as straightforward, as if fit Fergus Mulchrone has to be at 13, but he's been injured and nobody knows if he'll play at all.  If he's fit, my back division would be;-

15. Andrew Fenby
14. Topsy Ojo
13. Fergus Mulchrone
12. Eamonn Sheridan/Eoin Griffin (I prefer Griffin, but Sheridan played well at the weekend at 12)
11. Alex Lewington
10. Shane Geraghty
9. Scott Steele

The main issue is getting young Tom Fowlie into the 23, which the management seem very keen to do.  I rate him highly, but for this one would have him in the 23 jersey, as I think experience will be needed out there.

If we play the whole game like we did the first half against Falcons at the weekend, this will be a cracking game, and I fancy us to win it.  If we play as we did in the second half, then you boys can look forward to a semi final up at Marrayfield in a couple of weeks time.

[RDW]

Probably something like


1 Dickinson
2 Ford
2 Nel
4 bresler
5 toolis
6 Coman
7 Watson
8 Denton

9 Hidalgo-Clyne
10 Tonks
11 Visser
12 Burleigh
13 Scott
14 Fife
15 Cuthbert

[Ozzy3213]

What's Tonks like at 10? I've only ever seen him play at full back.

Dangerous back three you guys have got there, we'll have to be looking to shut that down early I reckon. I can see it being similar to the weekend with us having to make a lot of tackles (214 I believe), which we did comfortably until the last 10 minutes when we fell off a couple and conceded 2 late tries to make the game a lot closer than it should have been.

[RDW]

Tonks has done well at 10. He had a good run there last season but injured himself at the start of this season.  When he came back he was put back to 15 and occasionally at 10 but he didn't play overly well.

The last few months though he's being playing consistently at 10 and is doing well - huge left boot, strong in defence and good running game.  Still needs to learn how to control a game properly but he's a good solid 10. He also works well with Hidalgo-Clyne (who has the makings of a real superstar for Scotland).

To be honest, our pack is where our strength lies just now (who would have thought it?!).

We've pretty much been dominant in the scrum in every game since November and run a good lineout.  As I said in a previous thread - we win plenty ball, our failings in the past have been not doing very much with it!

[Ozzy3213]

Should be a fascinating battle up front then. We've had one real pumping in the scrum all season, against Leicester, where Geoff Cross had a nightmare. Other than that we've been ok, and in our last 2 outings have most definitely been the dominant scrum. If it's a battle there I'm looking forward to seeing it, as long as it doesn't descend into a penalty fest.

Lineout we've been hit and miss (more miss if the truth be told), but we look better in that regard when Rouse is in the second row, which I expect him to be for this one. I reckon it's two pretty evenly matched up teams to be honest, and should be a really competitive game. Our main issue will be missing Treviranus, who is a huge ball carrier for us. Gilsenan, who will most likely replace him, brings a lot of great qualities, but they are mainly defensive ones presently, so someone else is going to have to take up the baton and run at you guys with the ball.

[RDW]

That's where I thought the Scarlets were lacking last week - with Barclay at 8 they were really lacking big ball carriers. Our tackling technique is to double team going high, and it is effective at winning turnovers and driving players back. It isn't so good if you have a big bastard running at you though because they get over the gainline easier and if you don't commit to the tackle fully they can shrug you off.

We also defend very narrow in the backs - it hasn't been such an issue lately because our line speed has been much better, but at the start of the season teams were making 30m from first phase because we were sitting off them and just shuffling sideways in defence.

[Ozzy3213]

If our coaching set up have identified that you're vulnerable to a big barsteward running straight at you, we might see Jebb Sinclair start at 6 over Conor Gilsenan, as he is a unit and without Big Trev carrying is definitely an issue for us. I also suspect that it will mean we see Sheridan retained at 12, as he's 6'4" and 17 stone and capable of making ground.

Can't wait for the weekend now. Are you likely to have many fans travelling down?

[Margin_Walker]

Think a slight caveat is required for LIs recent scrum performance. Newcastle and Quins are probably the weakest scrummaging teams in the league. Think I'm right in saying that Aulika at tight head has given away more penalties than anyone else in the AP (mostly for scrum offences). While things do seem to have improved lately, I still worry about coming up against a decent set piece.

Trev is definitely a big miss, barring a couple of runs from both tightheads, our pack really didn't make any ground with ball in hand on Saturday.

[RDW]

I wouldn't say we were vulnerable to it, it just might be something they will look at and try to exploit

Not sure on the number of fans - London is a very reasonable trip but the Sunday evening kick off might have put a lot of people off. Any idea why LI were wanting the Sunday evening?

My brother lives in London and is hoping to go!

[Ozzy3213]

Think a slight caveat is required for LIs recent scrum performance. Newcastle and Quins are probably the weakest scrummaging teams in the league. Think I'm right in saying that Aulika at tight head has given away more penalties than anyone else in the AP (mostly for scrum offences). While things do seem to have improved lately, I still worry about coming up against a decent set piece.

Trev is definitely a big miss, barring a couple of runs from both tightheads,  our pack really didn't make any ground with ball in hand on Saturday.

Whilst Aulika has given away a huge amount of penalties, I think you'll find that over 50% of them are actually at the breakdown, and the majority were early season. He's looked far sharper the last couple of months, and now appears finally back to full fitness after the achilles injury that kept him out for a year. I'm not concerned about our scrum to be honest, I'm more worried about our lineout, which at times has been shambolic!

[Ozzy3213]

I wouldn't say we were vulnerable to it, it just might be something they will look at and try to exploit

Not sure on the number of fans - London is a very reasonable trip but the Sunday evening kick off might have put a lot of people off. Any idea why LI were wanting the Sunday evening?

My brother lives in London and is hoping to go!

Reading are playing on Saturday, and we can't play for 36 hours prior to them kicking off, so that left Thursday evening or Sunday as the only options. Irish fans haven't tended to turn out in numbers for Thursday evening games in the past, which left Sunday as the only real option.

[Ozzy3213]

Think a slight caveat is required for LIs recent scrum performance. Newcastle and Quins are probably the weakest scrummaging teams in the league. Think I'm right in saying that Aulika at tight head has given away more penalties than anyone else in the AP (mostly for scrum offences). While things do seem to have improved lately, I still worry about coming up against a decent set piece.

Trev is definitely a big miss, barring a couple of runs from both tightheads,  our pack really didn't make any ground with ball in hand on Saturday.

Whilst Aulika has given away a huge amount of penalties, I think you'll find that over 50% of them are actually at the breakdown, and the majority were early season.  He's looked far sharper the last couple of months, and now appears finally back to full fitness after the achilles injury that kept him out for a year.  I'm not concerned about our scrum to be honest, I'm more worried about our lineout, which at times has been shambolic!

Our scrum also went well up at Franklins Gardens and Saints are most definitely not one of the weaker scrummaging teams in the league.

[Margin_Walker]

Well hoping it does go well and it was great to see Halani with a smile on his face at the weekend. Would be very surprised if over 50% of his pens were in the loose though although I don't have the stats to hand.

Agree that having Mulchrone back would be a real bonus. Has been very important for us this year.

[Ozzy3213]

Maybe not 50% but a good proportion. He got pinged loads at the breakdown up at Welford Road earlier in the season. At least 3 for not rolling away. I don't think he was fully fit, and it showed. He ooks way sharper recently, and on Sunday he is going to have to be, as his carrying could be a massive factor in the game.

[SirBurger]

There's a huge correlation between his carrying game functioning and his scrummaging going well. A bit of a confidence player in that regard I think.

[funnyExiledScot]

I'd echo what RDW says, Edinburgh strength at the moment is the set piece and physicality of the forwards. Bresler is a brute, and we are now much improved carrying the ball with Nel, McInally/Ford, Bresler, Toolis, Coman and Denton all capable with ball in hand, not to mention Hamish Watson who despite his size gets over the advantage line more often than not. Pretty much the whole pack can play a bit.

Where we struggle, as RDW says, is against teams going wide quickly. It's why Shane Geraghty concerns me, as he has the skills to beat our midfield rush defence. Because Solomons has encouraged the team to be more physical in defence, we also have a tendency to concede silly penalties. We gave the Scarlets 5 kickable penalties in the first half alone at the weekend, and several were silly things like not rolling away. That comes with trying to make each an every ruck competitive, and I don't want us to sacrifice our new found relish to compete, but the likes of Bresler and Coman have been caught out a fair bit and we need to cut that down and trust the defence a bit more.

I think this will be close, but ultimately I'm backing us to get over the line.

[Imperialbigdave]

The script with Edinburgh this season has been that if the pack allow Hidalgo-Clyne to dictate the game and Burleigh gets good ball, we win. Our problem is that they dont always do that.

[cp10]

If Edinburgh get the win and a home semi when will it be played? It's Cup finals day at Murrayfield on the weekend set out for European rugby.

[RDW]

If Edinburgh get the win and a home semi when will it be played? It's Cup finals day at Murrayfield on the weekend set out for European rugby.

Edinburgh like a Friday night kick off so it might be the night before the finals day.

[funnyExiledScot]

Presume the teams will be out tomorrow?

[funnyExiledScot]

Edinburgh Rugby team to play London Irish, Sunday 5 April, Madejski Stadium, kick-off 5.45pm

15 Jack CUTHBERT
14 Dougie FIFE
13 Phil BURLEIGH
12 Andries STRAUSS
11 Tim VISSER
10 Greig TONKS
9 Sam HIDALGO-CLYNE


1 Alasdair DICKINSON
2 Ross FORD
3 WP NEL
4 Anton BRESLER
5 Ben TOOLIS
6 Roddy GRANT
7 Hamish WATSON
8 David DENTON

Substitutes

16 Stuart McINALLY
17 Rory SUTHERLAND
18 John ANDRESS
19 Fraser MCKENZIE
20 Tomas LEONARDI
21 Nathan FOWLES
22 Tom HEATHCOTE
23 Sam BEARD

Damien Hoyland and Chris Dean are currently with Scotland 7s

Hugh Blake is with Glasgow Warriors until the end of the season

Injury update

Mike Coman (head), Allan Dell (ankle), Cornell Du Preez (foot), Grant Gilchrist (arm), Sean Kennedy (shoulder), Nick McLennan (groin), Matt Scott (shoulder)

[funnyExiledScot]

Very much as expected from Solomons. Shame Matt Scott is out yet again, and didn't know about Coman, but Roddy Grant will do a good job.

Plenty coming off the bench for Edinburgh. Sutherland and McInally are unlucky to miss out in my view, and Beard is a clever player.

[RDW]

Edinburgh team:

1 Dickinson
2 Ford
3 Nel
4 Bresler
5 Toolis
6 Grant
7 Watson
8 Denton

9 Hidalgo-Clyne
10 Tonks
11 Visser
12 Strauss
13 Burleigh
14 Fife
15 Cuthbert


Subs - McInally, Sutherland, Andress, McKenzie, Leonardi, Fowles, Heathcoat, Beard


Worrying to see Matt Scott still injured. Coman has a head knock and so Grant is in - will certainly help combat Cowan at the breakdown.

Strong team!

[RDW]

London Irish team vs. Edinburgh

15. Andrew Fenby; 14. Topsy Ojo*; 13. Eoin Griffin; 12. Eamonn
Sheridan; 11. Alex Lewington; 10. Shane Geraghty*; 9. Scott Steele; 1. Tom Court*; 2. David Paice*; 3. Halani Aulika*; 4. George Skivington (Captain); 5. Nic Rouse; 6. Conor Gilsenan; 7. Blair Cowan*; 8. Tom Guest

Replacements: 16. Jimmy Stevens; 17. Matt Parr; 18. Leo Halavatau; 19. Jebb Sinclair*; 20. Luke Narraway*; 21. Darren Allinson; 22. Chris Noakes; 23. Tom Fowlie

[funnyExiledScot]

Not a bad Irish team - I rate Sheridan and Lewington in the backs, and Court, Paice, Cowan and Guest are no mugs.

Should be a good game, provided the conditions allow it to be.

[BigGee]

No Geoff Cross, which I guess makes him 3rd choice at LI and does not fill you with confidence about his propping ability. LI are not exactly seen as a massive scrummaging side. He has still got some work to do to make the WC squad once Nel qualifies.

[funnyExiledScot]

He certainly does, particularly with Moray Low getting game time at Exeter. You'd assume that Nel and Murray go, and Welsh could be 3rd choice covering both sides potentially, with two from Dickinson, Reid and Grant also going.

[BigGee]

He certainly does, particularly with Moray Low getting game time at Exeter. You'd assume that Nel and Murray go, and Welsh could be 3rd choice covering both sides potentially, with two from Dickinson, Reid and Grant also going.

I am not sure Moray Low is going to feature unless we have injuries but Jon Welsh is likely to if he gets back on the pitch soon, he is a better prop than GC and does not give away to much in the loose, he would have a lot more caps by now had it not been for unfortunate injuries. As you say, versatility is in his favour as well, only taking 5 props may be an option.

[funnyExiledScot]

Agreed - 5 props allows us to take another loose forward, and puts someone like Hamish Watson into the mix, which could ultimately provide a greater impact.

Cross is an odd player, because at times he looks so strong in the scrum and in fact rescued us a couple of seasons back when Euan Murray was all over the place, but he's been destroyed a fair few times this season. Perhaps it's the beard, and he'll be better now.

[funnyExiledScot]

You mentioned it on the other thread, but worth mentioning Cusack in this thread as well. He'd be a complete wrecking ball against the Japanese front row.

[Sponsored content]