RaboDirect Pro 12 - Leinster vs Ospreys - 23/03/2012

[TRF_Cymro]

for a strong scrummager he seems to get on the wrong side of a lot of ref's, evidenced today by giving away a few needless penalties at scum time.

What was evident Dull was Fitzgibbon was clueless at scrum time. He pinged James twice early on when he was on the front foot, it was White who did not want to scrummage after he was lifted off his feet, rarely do you see this at professional now a days. Even Shane Byrne said that James was unfairly punished by the referee. Later on in the game, Ospreys won the ball against the head thanks to a penalty. He penalised the Leinster tight head for an infringement, but it was not the right infringement. It seemed he was guessing and he was doing it all night.

 

[dullonien]

What was evident Dull was Fitzgibbon was clueless at scrum time. He pinged James twice early on when he was on the front foot, it was White who did not want to scrummage after he was lifted off his feet, rarely do you see this at professional now a days. Even Shane Byrne said that James was unfairly punished by the referee. Later on in the game, Ospreys won the ball against the head thanks to a penalty. He penalised the Leinster tight head for an infringement, but it was not the right infringement. It seemed he was guessing and he was doing it all night.

Completely agree. But it doesn't change the fact that it happens quite often. I have no idea why, but ref's often think he's doing something wrong when often it's not the case. Not directly James' fault, maybe the way he scrums. I thought Leinster were let off at a couple of other scrums. At one stage 5m from the O's line, Leinster were going back, and their tighthead and hooker stood up, and the ref just allowed it to continue, and for Ruddock to pick the ball up.

 

[big ginger 8]

Well done Ospreys.

Think it was the worst performance since the last loss. Of course players were coming back and there were injuries so maybe it should have been expected horribly disjointed I thought.

I fell sorry for McGrath he's a powerful loosehead (of course he would have struggled vs Jones) but since White and Hagan got injured he was asked to play tighthead a position he could do a competent job at if he got a bit of a run there but been expected to play there for I'm pretty sure the first time in 2 seasons against an international standard prop he didn't really have a chance.

Does anyone know if Hagan's ok btw?

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

Absolutely remarkable result. To be honest, I would've been happy if we prevented the 50-point thrashing the Blues were on the end of earlier in the season, but to win it? Amazing. Hopefully this isn't a one-off, and is a turning point similar to the Biarritz game a few seasons ago, which lead to a win in Thomand Park and then ultimately a league final victory in Dublin.

That was also a terrific finish for a fat lad, too. Take a bow, Richie Hibbs.

 

[dynamicdave]

Ecstatic about that victory.
I for one didn't see that coming.
Purpose, strength, grit and determination, all the things that were missing during the Great Scott's era. Will the Scot's still want him?

 

[lynam1104]

Am I the only one who thinks the ball wasn't grounded, not complaining we switched off didn't score a signal point when Tipuric was off which isn't good enough for a team of Leinster's caliber.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Am I the only one who thinks the ball wasn't grounded, not complaining we switched off didn't score a signal point when Tipuric was off which isn't good enough for a team of Leinster's caliber.

It seemed that the tip of the ball was grounded on the line and that's why it was awarded.

 

[TPenn]

Am I the only one who thinks the ball wasn't grounded, not complaining we switched off didn't score a signal point when Tipuric was off which isn't good enough for a team of Leinster's caliber.

Even if it was held up, the 5m scrum that would have been awarded would only have had one result at that stage.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

In the last two weeks, Leinster's 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice tightheads have been injured. Not good! I feel sorry for Jack McGrath who was asked to come on in a position he's never looked comfortable in. He has the makings of a good loosehead but I've never seen him scrummage well at tighthead, going back to underage international level.

Positives were Brian O'Driscoll, Leo Cullen and Brad Thorn shaking off some ring rust. That's about it. Rather than complain about Peter Fitzgibbon, Leinster should look at how they blew a big lead, didn't manufacture a line break, had a poor scrum and were soft in defence as reasons for losing this game. It's a much needed wake up call ahead of the Heineken Cup quarter final in a fortnight.

 

[Feicarsinn]

I'm not that fussed about the loss truth be told. I think we've been pretty poor for a number of weeks, so a kick up the arse before a trip to Thomond can only be a good thing in my opinion. Luckily, we can still afford a loss or two and finish at the top of the league.

 

[irelandfan123]

Its been a good 2 weeks for Irish scrumaging...

 

[big ginger 8]

Its been a good 2 weeks for Irish scrumaging...

Terrible way to look at it. Losing all your tightheads in your 22/3 and playing looseheads there isn't going to work. I can't think of any props apart from (the Franks brothers) off the top of my head who can play both sides to a high standard.

 

[dullonien]

Paul James and Gethin Jenkins can to a high standard. They've both been played at tighthead on the international stage and done well. But I can understand what you're saying. Leinster were always going to struggle after losing both tighteads against an Ospreys scrum that's up there with the best in Europe, especially when Adam Jones and Hibbard are playing.

 

[cyRil]

Its been a good 2 weeks for Irish scrumaging...

Ooooh, he's cheeky ineee?!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Paul James and Gethin Jenkins can to a high standard.

Eifion Lewis-Jones as well.

Apparently in Wales their props are getting so good that they're worth two props now

 

[Feicarsinn]

Eifion Lewis-Jones as well.Apparently in Wales their props are getting so good that they're worth two props now

Whereas our props appear to be devolving into some kind of subhuman mutant race:

Eugh

Eewwwww

Duuuuh

The Horror!

As potato-like a bunch of people as you'll ever see.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hey now, Buckley can play both sides of the scrum equally well

 

[Feicarsinn]

 

[lucky number 7]

Christ our front row are a handsome lot.

 

[Feicarsinn]

In fairness, I did pick out the worst pictures of them I could find. If you look up Jamie Hagan on google images you'll find that the second and fourth pics get him from a pretty good angle.