Category: Match wrapup

253 : HCC final & 22/23 season wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN & MARK JACKSON

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Kevin Kelehan

The true impact of James Ryan on this team is now fully understood. Better team over 80 minutes won, without Ryan we had no answer to Skelton, ref had a good game. This was the 2011 final won for a second star by a team dead and buried after the first quarter. Jack Conan was again superb.

Andrew Bailey

Hugely disappointing. 17 points up and we stoped playing. Signs of panic Kicked so much ball away. Hard to see how this team progresses .Winning by 40 points each week is no preparation

Christy O’Connor

Sometimes teams need to win ugly and grind a result, Leinster need to learn how to do this. No point taking a big lead and not knowing how to defend it

James Griffin (Munster fan)

Hard luck Leinster folks. That was some start but LaR ground their way back in and then strangled Leinster with their power. I think they were helped in that by James Ryan’s absence (physicality and leadership), kicks out on the full, a blocked attempted clearance, some needless penalties / cards, and some wayward long kicking back to them. The slowdown in tempo from Q2 onwards helped LaR but hindered Leinster. Can’t understand why there wasn’t a drop goal attempt at the end; a try wasn’t needed at that stage.

Aidan O’Leary

We missed Sexton the leader as much as the player today.

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251 – Leinster v Munster wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN & RICH MIFSUD

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Conor Cronin

This is a game I’ll need to watch back.

In the stand, if you believe the boos, comments here, comments all over the Internet etc we can only blame one person but I blame the urc. How did they put that referee in the position that he can be blamed? It’s outrageous that he be put in that position. Any other ref could be chosen so that the “he played” nonsense wouldn’t be am issue.

Regardless, you play the decisions, and adapt.

Well done munster, good luck on the 27th.

Craig Grehan

As an out & out leinster fan. We disrespected munster in cup rugby by not selecting our best team.

A team that does that, does it at their peril. We took the gamble and lost to the MUCH better team on the day.

Andrew Potts

A disappointing day for Leinster fond the demands of a month of weekly knock out rugby a step to far today.

Could have won it but Munster could had a few tries.

Frank Murphy did nothing today but enhance his reputation as a very flawed Ref and biased against Leinster.

In the first minute a player leaves the field unconscious. The result of a high tackle.

I thought three questions had to be answered by the Ref

Was there contact with the head?

Was force applied?

Any mitigation ?

It’s a card but only what colour.

The sanctions must have changed.

The length of time Leinster were defending under advantage was ridiculous, certainly he was a factor.

John Hyland

Munster were the better side today. For right or for wrong, Leo has prioritised the fifth star. This was always going to be a tight game. Let’s hope Munster can do the biz in SA.

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MASTODON

Koochulainn  Munster were up for it… Can’t complain we weren’t clinical enough 😦

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Ireland women sevens qualify for Olympics (rte.ie) 
  2. Terenure Centre Says Provinces Should Give Young AIL Players A Chance | Balls.ie [Colman Stanley]
  3. European Professional Club Rugby | Dublin Heineken Champions Cup final confirmed as sell-out (epcrugby.com)
  4.  Premiership: George Ford boots Sale Sharks past Leicester Tigers to final : PlanetRugby 
  5. Magical Manie sends Stormers to URC final (sarugbymag.co.za)

URC SEMIFINAL WRAP

URC SEMIFINALS
STO 43-25 CON
LEI 15-16 MUN

URC FINAL
SAT MAY 27
STO V MUN

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249 : Leinster v Sharks wrap 

6 May 2023; Michael Milne of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s second try during the United Rugby Championship Quarter-Final between Leinster and Cell C Sharks at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

NEIL ‘KEEGO’ KEEGAN & CIAN ‘RUGBY KINO’ O’MUILLEOIR

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

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Christy O’Connor

Another very comfortable game, a slight scare at the start when Sharks got their try, but in the end it was too easy.

Don’t see Munster causing any trouble after watching their game against 14 man Glasgow. Still need to show Munster respect though. Don’t want to put out all the academy players again thinking we will walk it.

Andrew Byrne

Time to rethink the quarterfinals stage? That wasn’t a proper match, Sharks seemed to turn up with a one dimensional game plan, only wishing to front up at the scrum and then return home as quickly as possible. No fight in them to have a shot at Leinster with a proper game plan. Knockout rugby gives you a chance to take down the top teams, Sharks just didn’t look interested in anything other than taking scrums.

Hubert Gallagher

(Munster semifinal will be) a derby – passions will be high, physicality intense, we cannot afford to be as generous as Glasgow yesterday and spurn the chances they did. Otherwise Munster will grow into the game and it will become a dogfight and the outcome less certain!

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MASTODON

Koochulainn  I thought (the Sharks) would be more dangerous, particularly against an unorthodox centre partnership (which I thought didn’t gel early on)  I thought McGrath was and has been fantastic over the last while

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Joe Schmidt likely to be on IRFU’s radar as union target ‘world-class’ successor to David Nucifora | Independent.ie [Rúaidhrí O’Connor]
  2. Terenure earn record-breaking All-Ireland final win over Clontarf (the42.ie)  [Dave Mervyn] 
  3. Stormers stride into home semi (sarugbymag.co.za)
  4. Ulster were second best in URC Quarter-Final against hungry Connacht, admits Dan McFarland | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley]
  5. Munster grind out victory over Glasgow in bruising Scotstoun affair (irishexaminer.com) [Simon Lewis]

URC QUARTERFINAL WRAP

URC QUARTERFINALS

ULS 10-15 CON

STO 33-21 BUL

LEI 35-3 SHA

GLA 5-14 MUN

SEMIFINALS

SAT MAY 13

STO V CON 3PM

LEI V MUN 5:30PM

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247 : Leinster v Toulouse wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & TOM COLEMAN

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Mark Jackson

Too disciplined

Too ruthless

Too good …next

Andrew Bailey

Great performance undoubtedly helped by Toulouse indiscipline. Extraordinary tactical failure to have the best scrum half in world along with Ntamack playing out of position for 60 minutes

Craig Grehan

A good win. Flattered by 2 yellow cards.

But, 2nd yellow proves without the “weight” toulouse didn’t seem that strong. (Except dupont)

Gavin Hegarty

Ok so just watched it back and have had time to digest it.

4 tries while they were at 14, but the first two were forward tried and it was Ramos in the bin. Can’t help but feel they kinda imploded and suffered by their lack of back subs but we dominated and beat them at their own game.

I was worried about ngatai, just hadn’t seen enough of him, but he was fantastic.

My 6 year old has watched Conan’s second try on repeat this morning, a dummy of sheer cheeky beauty, it’ll be done many times in the garden today.

Does jack willis’ header to Sheehan count as a try assist?

Byrne was class today, faultless from the tee, this run of high pressure games and form bodes extremely well for the RWC.

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MASTODON

Higgs thought it was going to be tighter before the match then how it ended up. Ngatai  made a huge impact in the first half. Plenty of tired legs at the end of the match

JOC IMO, the really soul-crushing moment came when Ryan yoinked the lineout steal. Absolute confidence-shattering stuff.  “yay, I stole a critical Leinster lineout” “Nope” <yoink>  <Heavyweight pack shoved backwards over own line>

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. England hang on to take the win | Scrum Queens [Alison Donnelly]
  2. Ireland fade in second half and fall to first wooden spoon since 2004 (the42.ie) [Lewis Stuart]
  3. Scarlets 17-35 Glasgow: Dwayne Peel’s side run out of steam as injuries take toll in bruising Euro semi-final – Wales Online [Steffan Thomas]
  4. European Professional Club Rugby | 14-man Toulon too good for Benetton (epcrugby.com)
  5. O’Gara’s La Rochelle set up blockbuster Leinster final (rte.ie)

EPCR SEMIFINALS WRAP

CHAMPIONS CUP

SEMIFINALS

LEI 41-22 TLS

LAR 47-28 EXE

CHALLENGE CUP

SEMIFINALS

SCA 17-35 GLA

TLN 23-0 BEN

FINALS

Fri May 19 : Glasgow Warriors v Toulon

Sat May 20 : Leinster v La Rochelle

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245 : Bulls v Leinster & URC Rds 1-18 wrap

22 April 2023; Leinster players huddle during the United Rugby Championship match between Vodacom Bulls and Leinster at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & NATHAN JOHNS

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Gerald Williamson The Bulls getting the 5pts is immaterial in the last league match. What was important for Leinster was to be able to blood new young players and get the experience of playing against a fully loaded Bulls team. This will stand to the Leinster boys.

Andrew Potts My goodness it was still a masterclass of support play and off loading by Bulls. Hopefully Leinster learn from it, because sometimes you learn more from you failures than your victories

Christy O’Connor Wasn’t expecting us to win but also wasn’t expecting such a spanking. I thought Clarkson and Soroka put in a good shift. We definitely learned more in this game than the bulls did. Roll on Toulouse.

Greg Kelly Hardly good for the competition or if you are Connacht or Munster to see the Bulls get 5 points against Leinsters 4ths and leapfrog you in the playoffs when you had to play against the 1sts. I understand giving the young guns a run but there has to be integrity in both the competition and the jersey and that was lacking today.

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FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. AIL round-up: Deja vu for Clontarf and Terenure (rte.ie) 
  2. Ulster secure home advantage in URC play-offs after battling win over Edinburgh at Ravenhill | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley]
  3. Munster secure trip to Glasgow in URC quarters after dramatic Durban recovery (irishexaminer.com) [Craig Ray]
  4. Ireland show plenty of character and courage despite being outclassed by England – The Irish Times [John O’Sullivan]
  5. Connacht fail to maintain winning run · The42 [John Fallon]

URC ROUND 18 WRAP

ROUND 18

STO 38-22 BEN

ULS 28-14 EDI

LIO 50-35 ZEB

DRA 31-14 SCA

BUL 62-7 LEI

SHA 22-22 MUN

OSP 21-38 CAR

GLA 29-27 CON

QUARTERFINALS (WEEKEND MAY 5/6/7)

LEINSTER V SHARKS

ULSTER V CONNACHT

STORMERS V BULLS

GLASGOW V MUNSTER

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243 : Lions v Leinster wrap

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1HPTtRKNBNe729a2k2kyXQ?si=ljUOnBcMRLqv_WX26a_0jA

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICH MIFSUD & JOE SHEPPARD

Click here for Joe’s site Three BOD Rugby

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Greg Kelly From the first scrum the Lions looked uneasy. They looked like they expected the young guns to have a crack but to fall away. However they didn’t. Lions lived off Leinster errors and a lack of cohesion.

Up the ladders and age grades Leinster lose very few games and sometimes that shows. Players that are not used to losing generally don’t fall away.

Christy O’Connor Lot of pressure on Prendergast, I originally thought it was a mistake to start him but after a bit of a shaky first half he got more into the game and made the difference in the end.

Big statement to come from behind when down to 13 men and we were nowhere near full strength

Andrew Potts Any win in SA is to be respected, fantastic result for young players and praise also for Ruddock and Deegan for keeping the lads focused when it could have gone South

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MASTODON

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Irish rugby likened to ‘old boys club’ with sexism commonplace (telegraph.co.uk) [Fiona Thomas]
  2. Leinster Rugby | Jacques Nienaber to Join Leinster Rugby [Marcus Ó Buachalla]
  3. Ulster increase strain on Stormers by knocking down Dragons | Belfast News Letter [Ciaran Donaghy]
  4. Huge win as Munster end Stormers’ two-year home streak in Cape Town (irishexaminer.com) [Craig Ray]
  5. Connacht give departing figures the perfect home send-off with bonus-point win (the42.ie) [John Fallon]

URC ROUND 17 WRAP

ROUND 17

SHA 43-33 BEN

GLA 12-9 SCA

ULS 40-19 DRA

BUL 78-12 ZEB

LIO 36-39 LEI

STO 24-26 MUN

EDI 45-21 OSP

CON 38-19 CAR

ROUND 18

FRI APR 21

STO V BEN

ULS V EDI

SAT SPR 22

LIO V ZEB

DRA V SCA

BUL V LEI

SHA V MUN

OSP V CAR

GLA V CON

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241 : Leinster v Leicester Tigers wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

MARK JACKSON & TOM COLEMAN

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Andrew Potts Leicester had a very limited game plan and the missed time pass often undid them .They also looked flat footed at times with so many runners going at defenders.

Nice to put 50 on them but some serious teams ahead.

Kevin Kelehan Ruthless demolition job from the point they were down to 14. Watch out Toulouse!

From Leicester Tigers page… 

Gaz Coley Great effort.  Irish Rugby has ticked all the boxes and are seeing the rewards. We gave a brave spiritated effort but the floors are deeper than today’s result.  English Rugby have got it so very wrong 

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MASTODON

Zohar Lee the amount of yards JOB made, he was quicksilver

Higgs Leinster hit their groove in the third quarter and stretched the lead to 31 points despite being down a man for 10 minutes

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Munster, Ulster and Connacht must pick themselves up quickly after European exits (the42.ie) [Ciarán Kennedy]
  2. Inside the boot room: How Leinster Rugby builds the next generation – The Currency :The Currency [Brett Igoe]
  3. Sharks torn apart in Toulouse (sarugbymag.co.za) 
  4. Exeter dominate Stormers to reach Champions Cup semi-finals | Champions Cup | The Guardian [Robert Kitson]
  5. Stade Rochelais too strong for Sarries | Rugby365

HCC QUARTERFINAL WRAP

QUARTERFINALS

LEIN 55-24 LEIC

TLS 54-20 SHA

EXE 42-17 STO

LAR 24-10 SAR

SEMIFINALS

LEIN V TLS – Aviva Stadium Sat Apr 29

LAR V EXE – Bordeaux Sun Apr 30

CHALLENGE CUP SEMIS

TLN V BEN

SCA V GLA

Weekend of Apr 29/30

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239 : Leinster v Ulster wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & MARK JACKSON

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Paul Smith A game for the forwards and the Leinster pack delivered in spades. It was never going to be a day for free flowing rugby and their dominance in both attack and defence was the winning of the match this evening. Ryan, Baird, and Conan were outstanding and also a mention for Ross Byrne who played some smart rugby and took his points well. Have to be happy to take the win in a game that always had the potential to be a banana skin.

Andrew Potts A wet game but not inspiring. They were good enough for Ulster but it was very low key result.

South Wales Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Leinster deserved the win on the day, but Ulster Rugby didn’t make it easy. Without doubt, Stockdale’s huge kick, chase, collect to Burns & cross field kick for Hume’s try, was the best passage of play, in the whole game 🏉

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FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Antoine Dupont named Six Nations Player of the Championship (rugbyworld.com) [Josh Graham] 
  2. London Irish insist all staff will be paid this month amid concern over finances | London Irish | The Guardian [via PA Media]
  3. Nichola Fryday Gives Emotional Interview After Heavy Loss To France | Balls.ie [Colman Stanley]
  4. Injuries and tries galore as Bok-laden Sharks thump Munster | Rugby365 
  5. Connacht bow out of Challenge Cup with comprehensive defeat to impressive Benetton – Independent.ie [John Fallon]

HCC ROUND OF 16 WRAP

ROUND OF 16 

LEI 16-6 EDI

SHA 50-35 MUN

STO 32-28 HAR

LEI 30-15 ULS

LAR 29-26 GLO

EXE* 33-33 MON [aet]

TLS 33-9 BUL

SAR 35-20 OSP

QUARTERFINALS

FRI MAR 7

LEIN V LEIC

SAT MAR 8

TLS V SHA

EXE V STO

LAR V SAR

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237 : Leinster v Stormers wrap

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN & CIARÁN DUFFY*

click here to support Ciarán’s autism fundraiser

* = also helped with production

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Conor Cronin We’re still undefeated, but I feel we could’ve won that.

It’s easy to blame certain factors, the weather being one, but you have to play what’s out there. We tried an offloading game in the first half that wasn’t suitable to those conditions. That’s inexperience.

The other major inexperienced person it they’re was the ref imo. He needs to trócaire his interpretation of the ruck, in from the side and the offside line. I would also argue that leinster avoiding s try before half time wasn’t a reason nor to yellow the cynical behaviour within 5m leading up to that try.

We take 3 points from that game to their 2, and are guaranteed to spot in the league. We were given a challenge greater than any we’ve faced so far this season. We were pushed in a way that forced the players out there to show more and dig deep. It might be a draw on the score board but its a win for me.

Greg Kelly Winning is a habit but so is not losing. To be fair though we left that game out there. Byrnes missed kicks were the difference. 3rd string team against a much more experienced Stormers outfit and we draw with a 3-2 match point win. Perhaps an indication that the SA teams are not as strong relatively speaking as the competition needs them to be. 

Alan Murphy Physical game. The wind and the rain probably balanced each half. 17-5 to each team in each half. A bonus point draw for us is probably more than we expected before the game against a fully loaded Stormers team. Well done Leinster. 

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Rich Mifsud Given the respective lineups, getting 3 match points from this match is nothing short of awesome. Well played both teams in seriously rubbish conditions. Haven’t been this happy about drawing at home..ever 🤣. Credit to our @leinsterrugby boys especially the young guns for that comeback against a very strong @thestormers team. Great match and a credit to the @urcofficial 

Dominic Doyle really good game. Stormers will fancy coming back to RDS again in better weather later in the season and will have no fear. Shame our first team don’t get this test. Much needed for the serious battles ahead.

Brian Nisbet Spent the match surrounded by a very jolly French barristers rugby team. They were very much up for Leinster and we were all rewarded by a great match. The Stormers came to win and they went away with a 22-22 draw and lacked the try BP that Leinster got. Result. 

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. ‘Ireland is the new New Zealand’: Top dogs and proud of it, the emerald isle is locked in passionate embrace of rugby (theroar.com.au) [Harry Jones]
  2. Welsh first half sets up bonus point win | Scrum Queens [John Birch – via Irish Rugby]
  3. Hat-trick hero Blade inspires Connacht to bonus-point win over Edinburgh (the42.ie) [John Fallon]
  4. Too little, too late as Munster fightback falls short against dominant Glasgow (irishexaminer.com) [Simon Lewis]
  5. Ulster storm back to down Bulls in second half | SuperSport [Brendan Nel]

URC ROUND 16 WRAP

ROUND 16 (UNITY ROUND)

ZEB 30-34 CAR

LEI 22-22 STO

BEN 28-32 LIO

OSP 37-18 DRA

CON 41-26 EDI

SCA 32-20 SHA

MUN 26-38 GLA

ULS 32-23 BUL

ROUND 17

FRI APR 14

SHA V BEN

GLA V SCA

ULS V DRA

SAT APR 15

LIO V LEI

BUL V ZEB

STO V MUN

CON V CAR

EDI V OSP

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235 : IRELAND V ENGLAND WRAP aka “Gran’s Lamb”

ⓒ INPHO/Billy Strickland

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

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Mark Jackson

Ryan Baird immense ..kudos must go to all coaches n staff and squad

10 tries conceeded in 2 6 Nations campaigns combined telling stat..hats off to Simon Easterby for defensive work especially

James Griffin

England brought physicality but not a lot of game nous. Ireland, while not always as precise as in previous games, matched their physicality but in addition, had good game management and made good decisions at crucial times. Delighted for the entire squad; a fully deserved slam.

Gavin Hegarty

Not a good Irish performance but always great to get a slam.

Up for discussion is where rugby is going. A red card should be for a malicious act, not for what steward did. His offence was a yellow at most.

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Tim Stickland  Congratulations Ireland. Great shift from Johnny Sexton. RWC looks fantastic with the French in great form too.

RichardMifsud It seems I’m required to force myself to have a celebratory #whiskey

FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Nine tries, 66 points and a frantic finish – Gonzaga claim first Senior Cup after famous win over Blackrock – Independent.ie [Des Berry]
  2. RTÉ and Virgin Media secure Rugby World Cup 2023 rights | World Rugby
  3. Six Nations: Scotland survive incredibly nervy finish as Blair Kinghorn scores hat-trick of tries against Italy | The Scotsman [Graham Bean]
  4. Wales end Six Nations campaign on losing note against France – The Irish Times 
  5. Six-try Ireland U20s make history with back-to-back Grand Slam titles (the42.ie) [Sinead Farrell]

SIX NATIONS WRAP

ROUND 5

SCO 26-14 ITA

FRA 41-28 WAL

IRE 29-16 ENG

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