28 January 2023; A general view of a scrum during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Cardiff at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
We beat a Cardiff team with our thirds. We had the bp quick enough and took the foot off the gas in the second half to allow them two tries back.
Delight to have chopper Connors back and to see him doing what he does best.
Great to see the debutants, Leinster are going to be a force for years to come.
Brian Corr
Feel Cardiff came thinking they were going to have an easy game with so many Leinster players on Ireland duty, they realised their mistake too late.
It’s great to see Deegan playing so well and even better to see Connors back.
It’s a great testament to Cullen and his coaches that they have the back up squad so tuned in and able to step up when needed, even if Cardiff were not really at the races.
Tector getting his first points, Turner with another great try.
Great outcome for Leinster, especially racking up the points for home games in the knockouts.
Karen Brennan
Well done to new young players getting their first cap,a great occasion for them,especially Balbriggan rugby clubs Aitzol King👍🏻
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Old adage of Leinster not being tested, for once I'll begrudgingly agree. Cardiff have been awful. #LEIvCAR
Very pleasant piece of humble pie being consumed about now #LEIvCAR
— Rhys Ruddock All Stars Fan (@GifsRugbyNStuff) January 28, 2023
Over in Ireland to see my girlfriend for the first time in a month, lasted about 7 seconds during sex and still wasn't the worst performing Welshman in Ireland tonight #LEIvCAR
RichardMifsud I always love watching @leinsterrugby play but I particularly love it when the young guns get a run out. TBH I was expecting a tougher game but Cardiff disappointed Deegs very worthy POTM Good outings from Milne Brownlee Turner as well as our starting back row and halfbacks Disappointing 10 minutes in the final quarter but that’s great learning for the kids
Andrew Byrne Harry Byrne’s kicking out of hand was very good, amazing the difference a bit of game time makes. We got a bit sloppy in the final quarter but to be expected with so many changes. Cardiff’s coaches must be pulling their hair out, their team was outclassed by an inexperienced Leinster team.
7 January 2023; Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship between Ospreys and Leinster at the Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Conor Cronin A few key things from this game that concern me.
The pack were bullied in the first half, and let themselves be.
Harry Byrne struggled behind the pack, but they’re not entirely to blame for his struggles. He needs a lot more time and needs to build confidence behind a dominant pack.
The scrum was awful. We have suffered as a province since Fogarty went to the Ireland set up, that needs to be dealt with.
Grinding out the win is great, and you learn much more from a game like that. But we need to learn fast, especially if the injury Ross Byrne picked up last night is bad.
Paul Smith Probably the poorest we’ve played in a good while, but the sign of a good team is to still manage to win while playing poorly so we’ll the gladly take the points and move on.
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Shows how good we are atm. Not played well, great effort by Ospreys and still win. Bench won us the game, Ross Byrne is a seriously good player. Amount of times we’ve won through his calmness. Farrell has to seriously consider him. He can step in and more than do a job #OSPvLEI
Leinster were very very lucky to win that tonight. The bench made the difference for Leinster tonight. Leinster going to need a huge turnaround for next weeks game. Ospreys played such a good game tonight so unlucky. #OSPvLEI#URC
Disappointing for Ospreys to be on the losing side tonight, but it was a cracking game. Recent performances have been a marked improvement on the past couple of seasons and they’re going in the right direction Doesn’t feel like they are far away from clicking. #OSPvLEI#BKTURC
Brian Nisbet @natural20 19-24 in Swansea. Come back was quite late, but a win is a win and well done to the lads for doing what needed to be done.
Jay Long @Jay_Long_626 Seriously good win on the road and Ospreys were proper up for it. Turned it on when it counted, I think Nick McCarthy won us that game imo. Just slipped us into a flow. Never in doubt
1 January 2023; Ryan Baird of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s sixth try during the United Rugby Championship between Leinster and Connacht at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Gavin Hegarty Boring. It’s tiresome how even after they get ahead we don’t fear the result. Yes I know it’s a good position to be in but we’ve suffered as a result before, Saracens, la Rochelle etc. We need to be challenged more.
Chris McDonnell Another shocking day at the lineout. Its been a while since we had one if them but that was not acceptable. Kelleher will not get his starting jersey back from sheahan until he learns how to throw the ball
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Well that's that Leinster 41 Connacht 12 Never expected to come up & get a win especially with the disruption with illness during the week Some elements were good lineout the star both side of the ball Looked to be attacking better but the ruck protection is off#LEIvCON#URC
Hard to know how to feel after that. Connacht played better than the score line would suggest. Was always going to be tough to live with Leinsters depth and pressure.
Scrum, line out and maul were great and attack looked sharper. Just beaten by a far better team. #LEIvCON
rhubarbsticks Ryan Baird in full flight is a sight to behold. A scrappy enough performance but plenty of positives to go forward with.
RugbyKino A tale of 3 parts to that match. A tight, well-matched fast-paced game gave way to more of a broken-up tussle in midfield in the second half. But come the final quarter Leinster flexed their handling muscle and put Connacht to the sword.
A shame Connacht don’t come away with something as the scoreline doesn’t do them justice.
However, Johnny coming off with a big dent in his face is a worry, possibly for the next 2-6 weeks.
RichardMifsud Really entertaining match at the RDS Connacht competitive deep into it but a couple of late tries put a gloss on the score line Good performance from the much changed side with a fair crop of youngsters Lineout issues need to be resolved but that apart a good enough performance Top of the pile in January 2023 let’s see how it pans out 🤷🏻♂️ Good performances from JL and Ryan B Deeny looked good and the Foley cameo was exciting
james @gortoshay putting 40 pts on Connacht while still having plenty of work ons is a nice place to be. Leinster being made to work for their victories this season. I’m hoping it stands to them at the business end. Sexton definitely a worry.
26 December 2022; Leinster players celebrate with teammate Dan Sheehan, hidden, after he scored their side’s second try during the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Leinster at Thomond Park in Limerick. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Conor Cronin On the road, taking a win home with us without a lot of players who might have wanted the opportunity to play and might sometimes be considered higher up the pecking order, and having missed out on the chance to get a BP, there’s a lot to be positive about here.
Yes there were some things that we’ll use the video for to tidy up, and yes the referee was not at the top of his game, but you play the ref, you play what’s in front of you, and you take your chances.
I’m happy with that, munster threw their best available team at us, it wasn’t enough tonight
Andrew Potts A collection of random penalties until 50, then a game broke out
Martin Loughrey Scrappy to say the least. Great to get the win and our response to Deegan’s yellow was incredible, but the game didn’t really kick into gear until the 2nd half. I felt Munster had a slight edge on us for long periods but couldn’t capitalise. And of course Busby was poor. It seemed like he heeded the crowd’s reaction after Deegan flipped POM over, and made some strange calls after that. Very quick to ping Leinster after that, and of course there was his own obstruction of Leinster at the ruck that lead to a penalty for Munster. Still though, a win in Thomond is always great to get, so happy to take it!
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That’s how you close out a game, keep the ball and don’t give the opposition a sniff of getting it back. That’s a top second half for me away at what Thomond should be, a bloody hard away game that should be tough to get a win from and gutting if you loose #MUNvLEI
Really top class game. Score fair for me. Leinster just upped it when they needed to. Munster will feel they should have done better in the first half when they bossed the game. #URCBestLeague
A win away at Thomond with a rotated side and not playing particularly well is not to be sniffed at. Great runouts from Dan (again) and Big Joe Mac. Luke McG and Ross M made a big impact from the bench. Happy with that and isn’t it brilliant to see a return of the St Stephen’s Day fixture? #MUNvLEI
Bernard McKeever @dregin
#MUNvLEI Would not want to be on the receiving end of Graham Rowntree’s anger after conceding those tries with us a man down.
Leinster : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Garry Ringrose > CAPTAIN 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Nick McCarthy
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Cian Healy 4. Ryan Baird 5. Joe McCarthy 6. Rhys Ruddock 7. Scott Penny 8. Max Deegan
16. John McKee 17. Michael Milne 18. Vakhtang Abdaladze 19. Ross Molony 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Harry Byrne 23. Liam Turner.
Munster: 15 S Daly 14 C Nash 13 A Frisch 12 J Crowley 11 K Earls 10 J Carbery 9 C Murray 1 D Kilcoyne 2 N Scannell 3 J Ryan 4 J Kleyn 5 T Beirne 6 J O’Donoghue 7 P O’Mahony (C) 8 G Coombes 16 D Barron 17 J Wycherley 18 R Salanoa 19 K McDonald 20 A Kendellen 21 C Casey 22 R Scannell 23 P Campbell.
BKT United Rugby Championship 22/23 Round 10 Mon Dec 26 KO 7:35pm Thomond Park
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU) AR 1: Joy Neville (IRFU) AR 2: Peter Martin (IRFU) TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Live on: TG4, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv
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