Heineken Cup Final: Northampton Saints - Leinster

[coonor]

Fairplay to Fitzgerald.

Ye I actually thing he did all the basics well in that game. In the fist half he out in a great tackle on Lawes to stop a definite try. Although he didn't have a flash game, he didn't mess anything up to badly and most players made more mistakes than him.

Apparently he is a real nice guy and he puts alot of work into training.

 

[lucky number 7]

Bit of a ride too

 

[Feicarsinn]

Chick Magnet.

 

[lucky number 7]

 

[Logorrhea]

Logorrhea, tell me the scrum before Saints got tired wasn't an embarrassment, or was it Poite's fault again?

Got tired? After 40 or 55 minutes?

Tongiweeahh and Hartley destroyed Ross and Strauss by driving across them. Tong was boring in and all the pressure was coming across the front row. That by its very definition is illegal scrummaging. Incidently Dickson also got away with two delayed feeds when Leinster got the hit. Allowing for two resets when it should have been a free kick to Leinster.

Thats what happened. Doesnt bother me in the slightest though. Fair play to the Saints front row. They played Poite extremely well.

Fair play to the Leinster front row though. They took a look at it with Feek, and completely turned it around in the second half.

 

[Teh Mite]

Of course it was Saints' scrum cheating. Healey wasn't diving face first into the floor at every possible opportunity either.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I love how there is literally no good scrums in the world - if one scrum is better then they're obviously cheating

(apart from Leinster, they're just amazing )

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Oh dear ... scrums I'm not going into the debate but all I can add is that Log can say all that about the Saints scrum if he wanted to, and Bullitt can mention the the face-planting of Healy. I can add that Strauss was standing up at every opportunity and Leinsters binding was illegal. In reality it was half of dozen of one thing and half a dozen of another. The second half scrums were managed poorly by Poite, but there we are.

 

[profitius]

Saints won a scrum penalty too in the 74th minute so I don't know how much tiredness comes into it.

 

[Logorrhea]

Of course it was Saints' scrum cheating. Healey wasn't diving face first into the floor at every possible opportunity either.

I didnt want to start a debate on it, but I was asked a question. I'm honestly not winding anyone up Chris but if you fancy and arguement, you know I'm game.

I just pointed out what your front row was doing. Not a complaint at all, just pointing it out. As I said, Leinster sorted it out themselves in the second half which I found both surprising and impressive.

As for Healy collapsing, he probably didnt collapse often enough in the first half but lets also acknowledge that Saints were clever in collapsing when Leinster got the hit and they needed to.

I love how there is literally no good scrums in the world - if one scrum is better then they're obviously cheating

I dont get this kind of response, aside from the usual arguement for the sake of arguing. Look at the footage, its clear as day. I understand you have your mates here but look at the footage.

I didnt say Saints scrum wasnt seriously impressive and I think Tongiweeahh (no insult intended I just havent a clue how to spell it) is probably the best scrummaging loose head on the planet at the moment. I'm just pointing out how he and Hartley did it is all.

The second half scrums were managed poorly by Poite, but there we are.

First half was fine, second half was poor? How so?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

What a first half from the Saints. They destroyed Leinster at scrumtime and blew them out of the water at the breakdown. James Downey and Roger Wilson laid down a marker to Declan Kidney while Sione Tonga'huia, Brian Mujati, Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes, Phil Dowson, Stephen Myler, Jon Clarke and Ben Foden totally outplayed their opposite number. There would have been no complaints had Northampton gone on and won that game based on the best 40 minutes of rugby a European side has played all season.........

.......until Leinster's second half. What a comeback. I thought they were dead and buried, as did 99% of people in the stadium. I was hoping they'd be within 7 points after 70 minutes and have a fighting chance at winning but in my wildest dreams, couldn't have expected an 11 point lead by that stage. Brilliant, it was a privelege to be there.

Jonny Sexton was magnificent but my man of the match was Ben Foden.

 

[Aout]

Awesome Hcup season for Leinster : Saracens, Racing Metro 92, Clermont, Leicester & Toulouse, on the other hand Northampton defeated : Ulster, Perpignan (a very poor perpignan squad), Castres Edimbourg and Cardiff.

Incredible performance from Leinster.

 

[Papachinzo]

First of all I'd like to point out that O'Driscoll was SHITE!

and secondly, that Tonga'uiha was cheating during scrum time,
if you want video evidence, watch the match... 2 examples, not arsed doing more.

Scrum for first try at 6 minutes: Tonga'uiha pops up and use's his binding arm to push Ross up and into the scrum.
Scrum at 19 minute: Tonga'uiha drops his shoulder, pushes Ross up, then use's his binding arm to pull Ross's leg(so he was unable to get balance) and drove him back.
I also noticed him rapidly dropping the shoulder on the sly as soon as they engaged, on quite a few occasions.


Also, A team doesn't just get "tired" after a 10 minute break. Leinster have played as many games as Northampton have, and you'd also have to take into account that half of their squad we're involved with Ireland, and also in the 'British and Irish Cup'...
In terms of money, although they do have more. Leinster spend as much as the English clubs do, and their only aloud to have 4 foreign Internationals on the roster!

 

[Feicarsinn]

I love how there is literally no good scrums in the world - if one scrum is better then they're obviously cheating

(apart from Leinster, they're just amazing )

At least someone is starting to get it.

 

[munstermuffin]

Thats our problem here in Munster - People think we bad at scrum time but we just honest and don't cheat and it effects us

 

[Groundhog]

its hilarious how the sky sports commentators say poite has built his reputation on his reffing of the scrum.And part of having a good scrum is cheating well

 

[Feicarsinn]

I don't know enough about the scrum to really comment on it. We were getting minced in that department in the first half, as have most teams that have come up against Saints this season, but managed to turn it around in the second. Fatigue was undoubtedly a factor, but it was a far stronger scrummaging performance by Leinster in the second half regardless.

I'm kinda sick of talking about this match. All that's to be done now is to squabble over minor details. Saints were excellent in the first half, as were Leinster in the second. Two very good sides. Leave it there.

 

[coonor]

The scrum is now such a battle that it is has become almost impossible to referee. I thought Poite was very good. He allowed the dominant scrum to dominate and he was consistent. In the first half Leinster had their tactics all wrong at the pure power of the Saints just made the whole Leinster front row buckle. Clearly Feek talked about the scrum in depth at half time and told Ross and Healy how to combat it and to be fair to them they did that very well. Still think the Saints scrum is the best in Europe.

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Because of the drama of the final they should make a big Hollywood block buster about this year's Heineken Cup. Leinster will be the protagonists with particular attention on Johnny Sexton, Joe Schmidt and Brian O'Driscoll.
They can make the Saints really antagonistic as well. Mallinder should be made out to be a real villain. Make it seem like they gained that 16 point half time lead in the final through corrupt means!


I'm gonna start writing a script!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Don't forget to add in a Leinster Haka - that's how Americans will know it's a rugby film (and the Americans will love it - it's got an Irish team in it after all, and everyone knows that all Americans are patriotic Irishmen)