Connacht
In Friday's preview to the Saracens game, I wrote about the difficult times facing Connacht, on and off the pitch. The battling performance has put some of that to bed for now, though. We expected a hammering, and instead saw Connacht's battling qualities at their best, and at a time when it was badly needed.
Things haven't been going too well for Connacht in the past while. A new coaching regime has gotten off to a stuttering start with what is now five losses in six games, there have been reports of a budgetary overspend and our CEO left his post suddenly. As if all of this wasn't enough, Connacht are almost certain to be among the biggest losers of the fraught negotiations surrounding the future of European rugby, be it the Heineken Cup or its replacement, it is unlikely that Ireland's fourth province - ourselves, or whoever we eventually overtake - will be admitted.
In facing adversity, though, Connacht have never shied from a challenge. That was the spirit proudly embodied and instilled by Eric Elwood, and for the first time since he ended his time as Head Coach, we saw it once more. That "I want to f*cking win" spirit was in the air, even after we quickly fell 14-3 behind. There was some luck involved in the comeback - the first try in particular - but for most of the first half the best team in England who have been head and shoulders above everyone else all year, had it put up 'em and didn't like it.
It was a moral victory - one day those will have to become more than that, but that is the journey Connacht are on. The positive signs for this season came courtesy of the pack who more than stood up to a loaded Saracens front 8, particularly in loose play. Rodney Ah You, of all people, scrummaged brilliantly and played over 70 minutes of a grueling game. The backs still look like they lack a spark, though I feel Dan Parks had his best game of the season, and if his warm-up is anything to go by then James So’oialo (or Seamus as he was quickly, and inevitably dubbed in my section of the stand) will provide a YouTube gem or two in time for Christmas. The hope is that these bits of flash will become somewhat more substantial, beginning in Italy this weekend.
Leinster
One province won by putting in a controlled, forward dominated performance backed up by steely defense and a kicking 10 in top form.
The other lost in a deserted Murrayfield to a game, but limited Edinburgh side, in a showing pockmarked with knock ons, a lack of precision and a hint of over confidence.
5 long years ago any Irish rugby fan would have easily matched Leinster and Munster to these familiar stories, but how times have changed. Coming off a loss in Thomond, Leinster were up against it before a ball was kicked in this season’s Heineken Cup, but Matt O’Connor’s men pulled out a measured, mature display to beat their bogeymen in Swansea.
Much media consternation focused on the perceived ‘dropping’ of Ian Madigan beforehand, but the selection of Boss, and in particular Gopperth, proved an inspired choice.
Leinster’s tactics were, for once, defensive. The plan was to attack the ruck, strangle the Ospreys in defense, and strike with venom in attack, and it worked.
To continue the serpent analogy, Leinster were boa constrictor like for the majority of the evening.
The turning point came after the early shock of losing Mike Ross. Leinster were subjected to a rampaging Ospreys scrum 5 metres out, yet impressive young replacement Martin Moore stood firm, with a little help from his second row, and this was to prove the turning point. (As an aside, isn’t it great to have some great propping potential in Irish rugby at the moment? Names like Archer, Cronin, Kilcoyne, Buckley, McGrath, Moore and Furlong will be key to our future success.)
From that point on, Leinster played it safe, kicking with aplomb and controlling the breakdown. Lions Justin Tipuric, a constant thorn in Leinster sides, had one of his quieter nights, while Heaslip, McLaughlin and in particular O’Brien had stormers.
Sean Cronin and Devin Toner (both dark horses for Autumn International selection) stood up in an almost flawless lineout display, while D’arcy had another solid game, though his passing and handling were slightly wayward on a wet Welsh night.
Overall, this was an immensely pleasing performance from a Leinster point of view, up there with the greatest of European days. The denial of even a bonus point to the home team was another coup.
French champions Castres visit the RDS this weekend with form European 9 Rory Kockott in tow, but the return of O’Driscoll should give Leinster confidence. Two wins from two would be most welcome.
Munster
Post-mortem (after death) may be too strong a term but losing to Edinburgh, anytime, certainly feels like a severe blow to Munster. On the back of beating Leinster, Munster should have had the confidence and momentum to dispatch the lowly Edinburgh. But a sloppy lineout and poor game management let a winnable game slip away. Leinster's über-professional performance in Swansea was a salutary lesson in playing away in Europe.
Echoes of last seasons opening round defeat in Paris were present. A sub-standard performance where Munster had still managed to edge themselves in front only to fail to close the game out and give up a soft score. For Connor Murray's failure to clear his line in Paris, see JJ Hanrahan's ill-advised chip in his own territory leading to Tim Visser's try. The young flyhalf is undoubtedly talented but it was his inexperience that came to fore unfortunately.
But the game wasn't lost on one individual error. Munster started slowly and despite getting ahead on several occasions they never managed to move up a gear and pull away from Edinburgh. The lineout malfunctioned as much as it has in the rest of this season combined. What will sting most will be the inability to close out a winning position. With 15 minutes to go Ian Keatley kicked Munster 4 points clear. The Munster bench was having an impact and they looked as though they were finally getting a strangle hold on the match. But instead it was Edinburgh who dominated the closing stages and scoring 10 unanswered points.
Credit must go to the Scots too. They worked harder and played better than they have all season and Greg Laidlaw was in great form. The little scrumhalf is maturing really nicely and turning into a dominant halfback. His goal kicking was impeccable and he moved his team around the pitch brilliantly.
At times it feels like Munster build mountains for themselves to scale. And already, after only eighty minutes, Munster are staring down the barrel of a must-win game. Stung by their own failures, against English opposition, and evening kick off in Thomond. If they can't get themselves right for next Saturday, disaster looms.
Ulster
Your honour, may I present exhibit A for the defence? A weekend of high intensity rugby union played across Europe, from Galway to Treviso and watched by millions of rugby fans. The rugby season has burst into life, yet we must all face the prospect of our sport’s crown jewels being cashed in. I understand the arguments for ‘fairness’ being espoused by BT’s tame journos (Moore, Dawson et al) but the impact of their ‘equality’ would be the banishment of Connacht and more worryingly, Edinburgh and the Italian franchises. The impact of the latter 2 could be terminal for the 6 Nations.
Anyhow, the rugby provided the finest possible riposte as summed up in this outstanding tweet.
A fabulous performance by Connacht and a real kick in the unmentionables for the odious Nigel Wray, but my faith in the almighty was further rocked by Saracens’ victory, despite my frenetic praying throughout the second half. Anyhow, the Westerners earned a losing bonus point whilst denying the might Saffas Sarries a try BP.
Another side that those arguing for a ‘meritocracy’ would see banished to Romania and beyond is Edinburgh. Until now a one-team argument in support of the McCafferty case, they finally remembered how to play as Munster, too proud to accept the bye into the quarters that the draw had offered them, threw the match with an inept performance that resurrected the ‘T’ word that the Red Army thought had been consigned to the bin last week. A shocking performance no doubt, but it shouldn’t be terminal given Glaws’ frailties and USAP’s uncanny ability to lose games that they really ought to win.
The performance of the weekend for the Irish provinces had to be from Leinster. Away to their bogie team, who they were playing in the Heineken Cup for the first time since the Osprey’s franchise was created, they looked like they may have found their mojo. This was in no small part due to the magnificent Sean O’Brien hitting his straps and producing one of those performances that has us all drooling. The Tullow Tank matched the British Isle’s finest ground-hog at the break down and surpassed Tipuric and everyone else on the pitch with his barnstorming ball carrying. Let’s hope that the IRFU can retain Carlow’s finest and that we won’t have to watch ‘le Cuirass de Tullow’ on BT next season.
Elsewhere for Leinster, Gopperth had another fine match, which is worrying for those, such as me, who would like Madigan to make the step up to become a real contender for the Irish 10 jersey. Remarkably, in just 2 short weeks, Madigan has gone from nailed on understudy to J10 to Leinster’s utility replacement. Meanwhile, Paddy Jackson has started to justify the faith placed in him by Anscombe and the Irish set up with a couple of really excellent performances.
Which brings me neatly onto what, for me, was the weekend’s main course, the tournament’s curtain raiser at Ravenhill. For significant periods of the game, Ulster were really poor, none more so than Andrew Trimble who, much as it pains me to single out my favourite player, has surely never had a worse outing in the white shirt. At times it looked like he was trying to catch a bar of soap with hands covered in grease. Monday morning’s video analysis will not be fun for the Ballymena flyer.
The Ulster scrum creaked badly at times in the first half although I remain bemused by Poite’s accusation that Deccie Fitz was ‘not in a pushing position’ when his back looked pretty flat to me. Indeed the Frenchman was at his random worst overlooking obvious penalties to pick up one side or the other for some obscure or indeed made-up indiscretion that had everyone scratching their heads. Never was this more in evidence than when he called back Paddy Jackson’s length of the field intercept try, awarding Leicester a simple penalty which resulted in a 10-point swing. To me, PJ looked like he had just got himself onside and it certainly merited a look upstairs but Poite had already whistled.
In addition to his impressive show of speed, Jackson had another fine night, particularly with his kicking from hand (only bettered in that regard by the stunningly good Jared Payne). The ginger wonder’s kicking from the tee, apart from one duck-hook, was once again impressive and he is really starting to look the real deal. One slight concern remains the influence of Pienaar who, after a very shaky start, was excellent on his return to Ravenhill, although Paul Marshall’s performance had also been very good before he was taken off. The South African maestro immediately assumed the touch-kicking responsibilities and was palpably not as good in this regard as Jackson. I know it’s a difficult balance to strike for Anscombe, but both Ulster and Ireland need Jackson to be assuming more responsibility if he is to develop into a general of Sexton’s quality.
It was really encouraging that the Ulster pack, after the early scrum concerns, more than matched a very physical Leicester pack, especially at the breakdown, where Chris Henry and the man-of-the match (and for me man of the season so far) Roger Wilson were outstanding. Rory Best, despite a few wobbles at the lineout, out-played Youngs who had been preferred to him in Australia, and looks to be getting back to his top form. We also had our first sighting of Nuck the Bruck’s famous chicken neck, and he was awesome for 60 minutes before the equally good Henderson replaced him. Indeed the Ulster bench was very impressive with Diack and Olding also looking sharp. If Ulster can shore up their scrum (how close is Afoa to match fitness) then the signs are pretty good for their trip to Montpellier.
Finally, what more can one say about Tommy Bowe? Apart from his slightly inaccurate miss pass at the start of the match, for which he was harshly criticised by the Sky commentary team, he was back to his best. The try was straight out of the Bowe playbook as he out-jumped Niall Morris (who I thought had a disappointing fame) to dot down from PJ’s accurate cross-field kick. The Monaghan man just oozes class and it is a real pleasure to watch him.
So for Ulster, it was an excellent win, and whilst I can understand the criticism for letting the Tigers leave with a losing bonus point, I think that this is more a measure of how highly Ulster are regarded than anything to worry about. Leicester are a top team and to get the win is plenty good enough. It remains a really tough assignment for Ulster to get out of this pool, but they will definitely take this for a start.
Overall it was a fabulous weekend of rugby that got the juices flowing once again and I certainly can’t wait until next weekend. Bring it on!
