RaboDirect Pro12 Round 4

[Draggs]

We kick off Round 4 with another Welsh derby; the winless Ospreys travel to Parc y Scarlets to play the undefeated Scarlets. Zebre v Ulster has been postponed following the tragic death of young centre Nevin Spence. Connacht travel to Scotland to face Glasgow, while Leinster host third-placed Edinburgh. The Cardiff Blues welcome Benetton Treviso to the Arms Park, while this weekends action ends in Limerick and Munster host the Newport Gwent Dragons.

Friday 21st September:

Postponed Friday 21st September:
(Rest in peace Nevin, Noel, and Graham Spence)

Friday 21st September:

Saturday 22nd September:

Saturday 22nd September:

Saturday 22nd September:

​

 

[Draggs]

Dragons squad for Munster:

Backs
Daniel Evans, Tom Prydie, Pat Leach, Will Harries, Ashley Smith, Adam Hughes, Andy Tuilagi, Lewis Robling, Steffan Jones, Jonathan Evans, Liam Davies (Bedwas)

Forwards
Jevon Groves, Dan Lydiate, Tom Brown, Toby Faletau, Lewis Evans, Hywel Stoddart, Nick Cudd, Ian Nimmo, Adam Jones, Dan Way, Tim Ryan, Aaron Coundley, Phil Price, Steve Jones, Sam Parry.


Players not selected through injury;
Joe Bedford (Shoulder), Tonderai Chavhanga (Knee), Jamie Smith (Ankle), Dan Watchurst (Leg break), Darren Waters (Knee), Rob Sidoli (Calf), Andrew Coombes (Knee), Mike Poole (Knee), Wayne Evans (Back), Hugh Gustafson (Foot), Nathan Buck (Neck)

I don't expect many changes to the 23 we have seen over the past few weeks. Adam Hughes has bound to start a match soon, likewise Lewis Robling.

 

[psychic duck]

I saw Jonathan Evans for the first time last week and thought he looked decent, and has a nice pass - much better than Rhys Webb's. Shame for Evans that he will never be able to play to his best unless he moves clubs and plays in front of a half decent tight five. The Dragons should keep picking him and not bring back Joe Bedford who is poor.

By the way has Jamie Smith ever been fit for the Dragons?

Seems to have been crocked ever since he arrived.

 

[Draggs]

I saw Jonathan Evans for the first time last week and thought he looked decent, and has a nice pass - much better than Rhys Webb's. Shame for Evans that he will never be able to play to his best unless he moves clubs and plays in front of a half decent tight five. The Dragons should keep picking him and not bring back Joe Bedford who is poor.

By the way has Jamie Smith ever been fit for the Dragons?

Seems to have been crocked ever since he arrived.

So... T14/S15?
Townie ********, destroying young players.

Webb must be one of the most idiotic players I've ever seen. The fact that he or Knoyle are going to be in the Welsh squad for quite a few years says plenty about our depth.

No, Smith has never been consistently fit. Daniel Evans has been in good form anyway.

 

[dudeabides]

GLASGOW WARRIORS TEAM TO PLAY CONNACHT IN THE RABODIRECT PRO12 AT SCOTSTOUN STADIUM ON FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER (KICK-OFF 7.35pm)

15 Peter Murchie

14 Sean Lamont
13 Alex Dunbar
12 Peter Horne
11 DTH van der Merwe

10 Duncan Weir
9 Henry Pyrgos

1 Ryan Grant
2 Dougie Hall
3 Moray Low
4 Tom Ryder
5 Al Kellock (CAPTAIN)
6 James Eddie
7 John Barclay
8 Ryan Wilson

SUBSTITUTES

16 Finlay Gillies
17 Mike Cusack
18 Gordon Reid
19 Tim Swinson
20 Angus Macdonald
21 Sean Kennedy
22 Scott Wight
23 Troy Nathan

Not considered for selection due to injury: Chris Cusiter (scrum-half), Rob Harley (knee), Stuart Hogg (ankle), Ed Kalman (back), Rory Lamont (leg), Pat MacArthur (foot), Graeme Morrison (knee), Jon Welsh (shoulder)

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has made four changes to the side which defeated Ospreys.
Henry Pyrgos comes in for the injured Chris Cusiter at scrum-half and winger Sean Lamont replaces Tommy Seymour.
Continue reading the main story
“
We are really energised by the opportunity to give our supporters a first win at Scotstoun, but are fully aware of what it will take to bring about a positive result
â€
Gregor Townsend
Glasgow Warriors coach
Prop Moray Low has recovered from injury and will start with Ryan Wilson returning at number eight.
"The pack performed well last week, and we'll be looking to them to bring the same to the set-piece and contact area," said head coach Gregor Townsend.
"This is another strong team we're sending out.
"We're clearly disappointed to lose a scrum-half of the calibre of Chris Cusiter for what looks likely to be a significant period of time, but Henry Pyrgos is a player who works very hard on his game, and we'll also be welcoming [Fiji international] Niko Matawalu to the fold in the next few days."
Townsend's side are looking for their first win at Scotstoun, but the coach warned that Connacht will be a tough proposition.
"Connacht are a battle-hardened, very proud unit whose defeat to tournament leaders Scarlets last weekend didn't reflect how well they performed in the game.
"Our recent record against them underlines just how disciplined, aggressive and accurate a performance will be required to follow up our excellent win over Ospreys with another victory this weekend.
"As a group, we are really energised by the opportunity to give our supporters a first win at Scotstoun, but are fully aware of what it will take to bring about a positive result."
Tim Swinson, signed from Newcastle Falcons in the summer, could make his competitive debut from the bench after recovering frmo a faicla injury suffered in the pre-season match with Sale.
"It's great for us that Tim Swinson has recovered from his injury. He's a quality second row with considerable experience and nous, and we're looking forward to seeing him at work," said Townsend.
Stand-off Scott Wight and centre Troy Nathan are both included in the replacements as they look to see their first action of the campaign

http://www.glasgowwarriors.org/news/5108-first-scotstoun-win-is-glasgows-goal

 

[psychic duck]

So... T14/S15?
Townie ********, destroying young players.

Webb must be one of the most idiotic players I've ever seen. The fact that he or Knoyle are going to be in the Welsh squad for quite a few years says plenty about our depth.

No, Smith has never been consistently fit. Daniel Evans has been in good form anyway.

I bet if Rhys Webb didn't have an armchair ride behind the Ospreys pack last season nobody would have ever suggested he should be in the Wales squad. He's shown what his true ability is this season when the pack isn't so dominant. If he played for the Dragons he would never ever be selected for Wales.

I agree regarding Daniel Evans by the way, another back three player Ospreys could do with, we must have the worst back three of all the Welsh teams at the moment now Fussell's form has gone wayward.

 

[Draggs]

Richie Rees was out of favour for one reason or another, Knoyle injured, but we really should have better depth than Rhys Webb.
All Welsh regions have a pretty good back three except for the Ospreys. They have played two scrum halves and a centre on the wing, and a wing at fullback this season.

 

[TPenn]

Richie Rees was out of favour for one reason or another, Knoyle injured, but we really should have better depth than Rhys Webb.
All Welsh regions have a pretty good back three except for the Ospreys. They have played two scrum halves and a centre on the wing, and a wing at fullback this season.

I think our back three would be much stronger if we just took the plunge and played 15 Ross Jones 14 Dirksen 11 Fussell. I know Jones is young, but he's actually a full back, and Fussell is a more than capable winger who will score tries at Pro12 level.

 

[dudeabides]

Dragons squad for Munster:


Backs
Daniel Evans, Tom Prydie, Pat Leach, Will Harries, Ashley Smith, Adam Hughes, Andy Tuilagi, Lewis Robling, Steffan Jones, Jonathan Evans, Liam Davies (Bedwas)

Forwards
Jevon Groves, Dan Lydiate, Tom Brown, Toby Faletau, Lewis Evans, Hywel Stoddart, Nick Cudd, Ian Nimmo, Adam Jones, Dan Way, Tim Ryan, Aaron Coundley, Phil Price, Steve Jones, Sam Parry.

Should be interesting, Munster are going with:

15 FB
Ian Keatley
14 W
Doug Howlett
13 C
Keith Earls
12 C
James Downey
11 W
Simon Zebo
10 FH
Ronan O'Gara
9 SH
Peter Stringer
1 P
Marcus Horan
2 H
Mike Sherry
3 P
BJ Botha
4 L
Donncha O'Callaghan
5 L
Billy Holland
6 F
David O'Callaghan
7 F
Niall Ronan
8 N8
Patrick Butler
Replacements
16
Damien Varley
17
Wian du Preez
18
Stephen Archer
19
Dave Foley
20
Tommy O'Donnell
21
Conor Murray
22
Danny Barnes
23
JJ Hanrahan

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

Ospreys without Ash & Adam. I really do wonder what the point of playing the match is. Give the Scarlets the 5 points on the table and save us the pain.

As for the scrum-halves, I think Webb is an excellent player when behind a good pack. However, he's prone to off days, but so is Mike Phillips. And I love Tavis, and he's been on good form so far this season, so leave him alone.

Jamie Smith played two games off the bench for the Dragons in the second half of last season, if I remember correctly.

 

[welshglory]

It is quite possibly the worst Ospreys back line i've ever seen

 

[psychic duck]

It is quite possibly the worst Ospreys back line i've ever seen

Agreed.

 

[Draggs]

Every scrumhalf should look good behind a strong pack.
Rhys Webb is an idiot, that try scored by Glasgow sums it up.
Can I actually say I prefer our backline?

Dan Evans, Will Harries , Adam Hughes, Ashley Smith, Tom Prydie, Lewis Robling, Jonathan Evans; Phil Price, Steve Jones (c), Dan Way, Ian Nimmo, Adam Jones, Dan Lydiate, Jevon Groves, Tom Brown

Replacements
Sam Parry, Aaron Coundley, Tim Ryan, Toby Faletau Lewis Evans, Liam Davies, Andy Tuilagi. Pat Leach,

 

[Draggs]

vBookie

vBookie added for Scarlets v Ospreys, a bit late, my apologies.

For the upcoming rounds, let me know if their is a particular match you would like to see a vBookie for and we'll go with the popular option (or Dragons).

 

[Feicarsinn]

Leinster and Edinburgh teams named for the week:

Edinburgh:
15 Greig Tonks
14 Lee Jones
13 Nick De Luca
12 Matt Scott
11 Tom Brown

10 Greig Laidlaw CAPTAIN
9 Richie Rees

1 John Yapp
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Grant Gilchrist
5 Sean Cox
6 Stuart McInally
7 Roddy Grant
8 Netani Talei

Substitutes
16 Andy ***terrell
17 Robin Hislop
18 Willem Nel
19 Robert McAlpine
20 Dimitri Basilaia
21 Chris Leck
22 Harry Leonard
23 Dougie Fife

Leinster:

15: Isa Nacewa
14: Andrew Conway
13: Brian O'Driscoll
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Fionn Carr
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Eoin Reddan

1: Cian Healy
2: Sean Cronin
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Tom Denton
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jamie Heaslip

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Tom Sexton
17: Heinke van der Merwe
18: Jamie Hagan
19: Devin Toner
20: Jordi Murphy
21: John Cooney
22: Ian Madigan
23: Brendan Macken

Strong Leinster team, should be looking to rack up a decent score. With the resurrected SuperJesus Kearney still not back and Ferg being rested, this is an ideal opportunity for Conway to solidify his place in the HC 23. He's been very impressive in ther first few games of this year, so I'm hoping that he can kick on from there. In himself and Dave Kearney we have a nice set of young wingers biding their time, while the likes of Rob (only 26) still has plenty of time left.

Big game for Fionn Carr too. He's been as poor as Conway has been impressive. I fancy that we wont be keeping him on at the end of the year unless he can find some serious form. Off to the AP me thinks.

No Visser, Denton and Rennie would indicate that Edinburgh aren't looking to get much out of this one. Accordingly, I'd be disappointed with anything less than a bonus point win.

 

[Draggs]

Good crowd at PyS, I hope the match lives up to the hype.
Knowing Pro12, not a chance. 12-9 final, eh?

Moment of silence well respected, good to see.

 

[welshglory]

Ospreys pack has manned up and played with intensity, wasn't expecting that.

Ospreys backs butchering tries and knocking on plenty of easy passes, i was sure of this.

 

[Draggs]

Ospreys pack has manned up and played with intensity, wasn't expecting that.

Ospreys backs butchering tries and knocking on plenty of easy passes, i was sure of this.

Ospreys are looking poor, but have all position and possession.
Scott Williams butchered the Scarlets' best chance. Plenty of pace but opted to go it alone instead of using the two outside of him.

 

[BZHopenside]

STOP LETTING PRIESTLAND TAKE KICKS FROM THE TOUCH LINE! This is getting ridiculous.

 

[Draggs]

Priestland owes me vDosh.
Who says Hook lacks game management??