Guinness Pro14 - Round 3

[ajwffc]

Friday, October 11


Toyota Cheetahs v Munster Rugby – KO 17.15 (UK) / 18:15 (SA)

Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 27th Championship appearance)

AR1: Griffin Colby (SARU), AR2: Paul Mente (SARU)

TMO: Lourens Van Der Merve (SARU)

Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, DAZN, SuperSport 6



Dragons v Connacht Rugby – KO 19.35

Rodney Parade, Newport

Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 91st Championship appearance)

AR1: Dan Jones (WRU), AR2: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

TMO: Charles Samson (SRU)

Live on TG4 (exclusive), Premier Sports 2, S4C, DAZN



Leinster Rugby v Edinburgh Rugby – KO 19.35

RDS Arena, Dublin

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 60th Championship appearance)

AR1: George Clancy (IRFU), AR2: Wayne Davies (WRU)

TMO: Sen Brickell (WRU)

Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 1, DAZN, SuperSport 6

Saturday, October 12


Scarlets v Zebre Rugby Club – KO 15.00 / 16:00 (ITA)

Parc y Scarlets, Llananelli

Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (SARU. 2nd Championship appearance)

AR1: Dan Jones (WRU), AR2: Justin Williams (WRU)

TMO: Charles Samson (SRU)

Live on eir Sport 2, FreeSports, DAZN


Isuzu Southern Kings v Ulster Rugby – KO 15.00 (UK) / 16:00 (SA)

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU, 6th Championship appearance)

AR1: Ian Davies (WRU), AR2: Ben Crouse (SARU)

TMO: Johan Greeff (SARU)

Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 2, DAZN, SuperSport 2



Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues – KO 19.35

Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow

Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU, 16th Championship appearance)

AR1: Ben Blain (SRU) AR2: Johnny Erskine (IRFU)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Live on eir Sport 2, Premier Sports 1, DAZN, SuperSport 2

Deferred – S4C Sunday 14:25


Ospreys v Benetton Rugby – KO 19.35 / 20:35 (ITA)

Liberty Stadium, Plasmart

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 26th Championship appearance)

AR1: Gwyn Morris (WRU) AR2: Simon Rees (WRU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 2, S4C, DAZN

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

First Ster game of the season... Imma get hammered.

 

[Amiga500]

Following on from me erm... bleeding the bookmakers dry last weekend... here's how to bankrupt yerself this weekend:

Cheetahs vs. Munster -- Def home win, with 4 tries and beyond 7. I reckon the fake cats* are looking good to go through the season with a 100% home record.
Dragons vs. Connacht -- The dragons will still be pished after celebrating a win on the road. Connacht to make the hangover hurt a bit. Away win.
Leinster vs. Edinburgh -- No contest, home win. Poor wee Richard will have to try extra hard to blame the referee for that crucial 7th try having a flat pass that looked forward to wee Richard.
Scarlets vs. Zebre -- Zebre got beat by the Dragons at home last weekend. Best chance of them getting a result out of the Parc y Empty this weekend is that Typhoon diverting from the Tokyo region to the West-Wales region.
Kings vs. Ulster -- Kings looked good enough to cause trouble last weekend. All they need is a flakey team that are defensively loose and can lose direction. Cue us. Perfect. Home win.
Glasgow vs. Cardiff -- Can Glasgow lose their first 3? Unlikely. Cardiff minus big Nick should be doable for them.
Ospreys vs. Treviso -- Treviso looked good week 1, not so week 2. Ospreys looked crap both weeks. On that basis away win.



*The real cats are Kilkenny. Everyone knows this.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets):

15. Hugo Keenan (7)
14. Dave Kearney (137)
13. Rory O'Loughlin (63)
12. Joe Tomane (15)
11. James Lowe (31)
10. Ross Byrne (73)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (72)
1. Peter Dooley (63)
2. Rónan Kelleher (4)
3. Michael Bent (126)
4. Devin Toner (233)
5. Scott Fardy (45) CAPTAIN
6. Max Deegan (48)
7. Scott Penny (6)
8. Caelan Doris (18)

16. James Tracy (94)
17. Michael Milne (2)
18. Vakh Abdaladze (9)
19. Ross Molony (84)
20. Josh Murphy (23)
21. Rowan Osborne (1)
22. Harry Byrne (2)
23. Jimmy O'Brien (8)


Can't wait to be knee deep in Guinness watching these men and Hugo Keenan.

 

[munstermuffin]

15. Mike Haley
14. Darren Sweetnam
13. Dan Goggin
12. Rory Scannell
11. Shane Daly
10. Tyler Bleyendaal
9. Nick McCarthy

1. Jeremy Loughman
2. Rhys Marshall
3. Stephen Archer
4. Fineen Wycherley
5. Billy Holland (captain)
6. Jack O'Donoghue
7. Tommy O'Donnell
8. Arno Botha

Replacements:

16. Kevin O'Byrne
17. James Cronin
18. Keynan Knox
19. Darren O'Shea
20. Gavin Coombes
21. Alby Mathewson
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Calvin Nash

We go in to a battle tomorrow.

 

[Leinster Fan]

15. Mike Haley
14. Darren Sweetnam
13. Dan Goggin
12. Rory Scannell
11. Shane Daly
10. Tyler Bleyendaal
9. Nick McCarthy

1. Jeremy Loughman
2. Rhys Marshall
3. Stephen Archer
4. Fineen Wycherley
5. Billy Holland (captain)
6. Jack O'Donoghue
7. Tommy O'Donnell
8. Arno Botha

Replacements:

16. Kevin O'Byrne
17. James Cronin
18. Keynan Knox
19. Darren O'Shea
20. Gavin Coombes
21. Alby Mathewson
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Calvin Nash

We go in to a battle tomorrow.

Is Craig Casey injured or not being picked?

 

[munstermuffin]

Is Craig Casey injured or not being picked?

Injured his wrist and rehabbing it. Never travelled to South Africa.
And to be fair squad rotating well but Nick MCCarthy playing very well last few weeks as has Alby.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

In the initial 3 game block when Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony and CJ Stander are at the World Cup, Jack O'Sullivan will have seen a total of 23 minutes gametime for Munster. To be fair, Bloemfontein is a very tough place to play so it's no surprise that he won't feature this weekend but there are few easier fixtures than Dragons and Southern Kings. It's disappointing that he hasn't featured more.

How has Nick McCarthy looked?

Three selections into the season ,it appears that Rowan Osborne is being pushed as the 3rd string scrumhalf and Rónan Kelleher may have moved ahead of James Tracy. Happy to see Scott Penny get his first start of the season. Slightly disappointed that Ryan Baird hasn't featured in this run of games but it's understandable given the Celtic Cup final is this weekend and the availability of Dev Toner, Scott Fardy and Ross Molony. His time will come before long.

 

[profitius]

In the initial 3 game block when Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony and CJ Stander are at the World Cup, Jack O'Sullivan will have seen a total of 23 minutes gametime for Munster. To be fair, Bloemfontein is a very tough place to play so it's no surprise that he won't feature this weekend but there are few easier fixtures than Dragons and Southern Kings. It's disappointing that he hasn't featured more.

How has Nick McCarthy looked?

Three selections into the season ,it appears that Rowan Osborne is being pushed as the 3rd string scrumhalf and Rónan Kelleher may have moved ahead of James Tracy. Happy to see Scott Penny get his first start of the season. Slightly disappointed that Ryan Baird hasn't featured in this run of games but it's understandable given the Celtic Cup final is this weekend and the availability of Dev Toner, Scott Fardy and Ross Molony. His time will come before long.

McCarthy looks an upgrade on Williams and Hart. Not sure he'll ever be first choice (Casey most likely after Murray) but he'll be kept busy and as I said, is an improvement.
Osbourne was great for ye. Looks an interesting player. His passing was an upgrade on JGP's.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

The competition could really do with an Edinburgh win, to hint at another viable contendor. Cant believe someone else a Kings win before my hopeless and unfounded optimism kicked in.

Despite their win, my hope for the year of the Dragon are over, I didn't know Amos had left them. I am really baffled by the movement of players between Welsh regions. I know Cardiff are privately owned, so that explains moves to and from them. But the other three are owned by the union aren't they? Just seems like robbing Peter to pay Paul sometimes, whereas movement of players between Irish and even Scottish clubs makes some kind of sense.

 

[Crags]

Following on from me erm... bleeding the bookmakers dry last weekend... here's how to bankrupt yerself this weekend:

Cheetahs vs. Munster -- Def home win, with 4 tries and beyond 7. I reckon the fake cats* are looking good to go through the season with a 100% home record.
Dragons vs. Connacht -- The dragons will still be pished after celebrating a win on the road. Connacht to make the hangover hurt a bit. Away win.
Leinster vs. Edinburgh -- No contest, home win. Poor wee Richard will have to try extra hard to blame the referee for that crucial 7th try having a flat pass that looked forward to wee Richard.
Scarlets vs. Zebre -- Zebre got beat by the Dragons at home last weekend. Best chance of them getting a result out of the Parc y Empty this weekend is that Typhoon diverting from the Tokyo region to the West-Wales region.
Kings vs. Ulster -- Kings looked good enough to cause trouble last weekend. All they need is a flakey team that are defensively loose and can lose direction. Cue us. Perfect. Home win.
Glasgow vs. Cardiff -- Can Glasgow lose their first 3? Unlikely. Cardiff minus big Nick should be doable for them.
Ospreys vs. Treviso -- Treviso looked good week 1, not so week 2. Ospreys looked crap both weeks. On that basis away win.



*The real cats are Kilkenny. Everyone knows this.

Cheetahs
Dragons
Leinster
Scarlets
Ulster
Cardiff
Treviso
all winners this week.

 

[Leinster Fan]

McCarthy looks an upgrade on Williams and Hart. Not sure he'll ever be first choice (Casey most likely after Murray) but he'll be kept busy and as I said, is an improvement.
Osbourne was great for ye. Looks an interesting player. His passing was an upgrade on JGP's.

You've got a quality player in Nick, he's not perfect but his passing in particular is quality. Sad to lose him but can't blame him for going from a team where he was never going to overtake the two guys ahead of to a team where he has a decent chance of making the best 23.

Osborne's passing was great but obviously there'll be tougher challenges than a poor Opreys team off the bench. Pretty clear that Leo/Lancaster aren't happy with O'Sullivan+Patterson as 3rd/4th choice, makes sense that they're trying to find other options.

 

[munstermuffin]

In the initial 3 game block when Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony and CJ Stander are at the World Cup, Jack O'Sullivan will have seen a total of 23 minutes gametime for Munster. To be fair, Bloemfontein is a very tough place to play so it's no surprise that he won't feature this weekend but there are few easier fixtures than Dragons and Southern Kings. It's disappointing that he hasn't featured more.

How has Nick McCarthy looked?

Three selections into the season ,it appears that Rowan Osborne is being pushed as the 3rd string scrumhalf and Rónan Kelleher may have moved ahead of James Tracy. Happy to see Scott Penny get his first start of the season. Slightly disappointed that Ryan Baird hasn't featured in this run of games but it's understandable given the Celtic Cup final is this weekend and the availability of Dev Toner, Scott Fardy and Ross Molony. His time will come before long.

Jack simply didn't play against the Kings as he was not in the original touring party to South Africa. And is being monitored on his return from the injury last year. But will see time this year.

 

[sugary tae]

Thought McCarthy looked very tidy v the dragons. Real control. We often gain forward dominance in pro 14 so he could be a very good back up. I'd agree he's probably not top level but players surprise you. Ross l Reddan cronin beirne etc etc etc. Irish rugby is littered with guys who've made hay in a second chance.

Question munster muffin what position
do you see jack o Sullivan ending up. Is he mostly an 8?

Actually excited to see how we do v cheetahs. Probably good for the league to have a seriously competitive saffer team

 

[munstermuffin]

Thought McCarthy looked very tidy v the dragons. Real control. We often gain forward dominance in pro 14 so he could be a very good back up. I'd agree he's probably not top level but players surprise you. Ross l Reddan cronin beirne etc etc etc. Irish rugby is littered with guys who've made hay in a second chance.

Question munster muffin what position
do you see jack o Sullivan ending up. Is he mostly an 8?

Actually excited to see how we do v cheetahs. Probably good for the league to have a seriously competitive saffer team

Personally. I'm not sure. He is young and it all depends on what way the backrow form as a unit. (The younger guys). I think I like him better at 6 but he's a superb 8 and I believe that is probably where the majority see him best.

Agreed on Nick McCarthy. I really think my estimations of him from seeing him day in day out have doubled from what I had seen before. A superb little general who I think will challenge Murray and I'm calling it here. I think Casey and himself will fight to be our main 2 in the next 3 years.

 

[munstermuffin]

That was some experience vs Cheetahs. Ref was terrible but result was fair reflection. Great experience for some guys of altitude and pressure

 

[Leinster Fan]

Obviously not delighted about Tomane going off but happy to see that being clamped down on.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Yuuuuupster

 

[Crags]

Dragons started off well. Then the usual happened. Lineout was woeful. Do not know what happened with the clock. Mexican wave in the Cheetahs match. Does not work when the empty seats do not join in.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Showed a lot of character to get in at half time ahead and then cut loose in the second half, really happy with that.

Lots of players really taking their chance right now, and Tomane has completely turned it around.