After the heights the Irish provinces hit a week ago, this weekend's Heineken Cup was a bitter comedown. The Rugby nerds come through in both good times and bad and here is their analysis of the weekend that was.
Ulster nerd Paddy Logan comes to grips with an unusual occurrence- Ulster defeat.
All good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t stop it hurting. It was a bad night at the office for Ulster on Saturday night and a poor weekend for all four provinces to bring us back down to earth with a real bump. At times like this the coaches look for positives, so what were they?
For Connacht, the major positive was that nobody drowned. How the authorities thought that the pitch was playable is beyond me. Biarritz played some excellent rugby, which was very impressive given the monsoon in which they were required to play. It was very difficult to learn anything from that game, not least because I hadn’t a scooby who was who. It was massively disappointing because I don’t get to watch Connacht much and was really looking forward to seeing their exciting youngsters, especially Marmion, McSharry and Henshaw.
Ulster will rightly be very disappointed. Bizarrely, the stats this week were much more in their favour but they made far too many errors and the lineout was below par again. We also suffered from having no cover for the mighty John Afoa (Lutton has less than 10 mins senior rugby and, never mind what Belfast Harelquins say, I’m not convinced he’s a tighthead). Predictably, he ran out of steam towards the end after a marathon shift and we suffered. Northampton showed massive character in fronting up after what must have been a tough week and were deserved winners – fair play to them and their outstanding fans.
But is there an Ulster fan who, when they saw the draw, wouldn’t have bitten your arm off if offered 6-4 out of the back-to-backs? Ulster is still in pole position and the unbeaten monkey is off their back. Let’s not forget that no team has won the Heineken Cup unbeaten. Other pluses:, the defence held firm again (other than Trimble succumbing to a ‘head-butt’-off fron van Velze); Iain Henderson provided further evidence that he is international class.; and the bench made an impact. Gilroy was outstanding in his 24 minutes on the pitch, beating 3 defenders and carrying for 66m. He really is special. Paul Marshall was excellent again. His pace is stunning and as we have seen time and again, capable of opening up defences.
Of course, the really bad news is that Tommy Bowe, who was excellent again, will require surgery to repair lateral ligament damage in his right knee and will be out for some time. He’s a top bloke and a top player and I hope his convalescence is swift and successful.
Leinster had a poor day at the Aviva. Clermont are good, but that was a game Leinster should have won. They seemed to employ that soft drift defence, which Ireland used against Wales last year, and conceded ground far too easily. They were second best in the scrum where Ross was struggling for some time before Joe sent Bent on. Even then, it seemed this was only to avoid the yellow card which was going to come the next time the Cork man took a knee. I have no idea what’s going on there, but it looks to me like the Taranaki tight-head has yet to win the trust of Schmidt and his coaching team.
Adding to Leinster’s woes, Strauss hobbled off the pitch after having his knee bent at an unnatural angle in a tackle and could be out for a while. It also looks like they will be without the services of the Tullow Tank over Christmas after he did an ‘Andrew Hore’ on Sivivatu. I think that there was less intent than with the All Black hooker, but it was ugly nonetheless, and he’ll have to be practising his contrite face for the next few days to keep his break to no more than 2 weeks.
On the plus side, Sexton was outstanding and set up the losing bonus-point try with a text-book draw and give to put Ferg away in the corner. As a result, they are (mathematically) still in the mix, but will need to be at their very best against Scarlets and the Chiefs in January if they are to keep their hopes of a three-peat alive.
At Vicarage Road, ROG served notice on his doubters that he still has it by totally outplaying the IRB player of the year nominee, Owen Farrell, for the second week in a row. Despite that, and a superb performance from Simon Zebo, Munster were just edged out by Saracens . The contest was lost in the scrum, and on the gainline, where Saracens got much more penetration. Munster no doubt missed Kilcoyne, who had dropped out through illness. Du Preez was fine in the tight, but displayed none of Kilcoyne’s dynamism and his lack of game time led to his being replaced by Horan. The former Irish stalwart then shipped a couple of penalties to Matt Stevens (ffs!) which is God’s way of telling you it’s time to consider alternative employment.
Elsewhere in the front row, Mike Sherry had a fine game. His darts were good and he was his usual lively and abrasive self. He looks a tidy replacement if Strauss isn’t fit for the 6N.
Overall, it was a hugely disappointing weekend for Irish rugby fans but the high expectations are a result of how good we’ve had it for so long. Ulster and Munster ought to qualify and Leinster could if they play out of their skins next month, so it’s not all doom and gloom. In the meantime, it’s back to RDP action and a raft of festive Inter-Pros. If Ulster can beat Leinster at Ravenhill and get something from their trip to Limerick, it will have been an excellent December.
Here's 5 things Ronan Murphy took from the weekend
Sport, eh? Following the euphoria of beating two English giants, a big French side and almost getting the biggest away win of them all, a first ever whitewash of Heineken Cup defeats for Irish sides brought everything crashing back to earth. Irish rugby didn't so much get a wake up call, as it was tipped backwards into one of those ice-water baths players use post-match. Here are some things we've learned.
1. There's Life in the Old Dog Yet.
Saracens are a pretty dogged team and they play to fairly specific, limited gameplan. They don't score a lot of tries and they don't lose a lot of matches. After 160 mins of rugby against Munster the score stood at 28-28, 1 try each and 5 points each on the board. It wasn't pretty but for a young team coming to terms with a lot of change it's not a bad return. Munster will be disappointed with their attacking (especially when Sarries were down to 14) but they still hold their fate in their hands in January with a really good chance of a runners-up quarter final spot.
2. Stay Calm and SUFTUM.
At half-time Ulster were 4 points down, no need to panic. In the end they were just a long-delayed penalty from the win. What will sting most is losing out at home having won so comprehensively away in a game they should be good enough to win. The loss gives Ulster the ideal opportunity to re-focus (on an equally stung Leinster coming up next). They're still in control of the group and can still manage a home quarter final. No need to panic.
3. Staying at the Top is Very, Very Difficult.
Winning the HCup requires a lot of brilliance and a lot of luck. Over the last two seasons Leinster have been brilliant and they've been lucky-getting key players back for the knockouts, not picking up too many injuries in the Six Nations, getting Brad Thorn. Injuries have devastated Leinster this season and while they stood up admirably in France, back-to-back games against Clermont proved too much. The mixing and matching they've had to do combined with frailties at lock have scuppered their tilt at 3 in a row. Progression seems very unlikely now.
4. The Match In Biarritz Shouldn't Have Gone Ahead.
The waterlogged in the South of France was unplayable-so much so that the referee had stop play when rucks formed in particular areas (for fear of players drowning presumably). It was a ridiculous, dangerous decision to play the game, likely driven by TV Companies. Connacht will be disappointed to have been nil-ed but Biarritz rallied well from their defeat out west.
5. Clermont Want the Heineken Cup and They Want It Bad.
They look like the best team in Europe right now and they're clearly hungry for it. French teams have a well earned reputation for not travelling well, but Clermont have put 50+ points on Exeter in England and now taken down the reigning champions at home. They're in it to win it.
Gavin Grace combs through the mud for lessons from the Biarritz-Connacht rainfest
The tale of Ebenezer Scrooge may be what is most associated with Charles Dickens at this time of the year, but it's the opening statement from his A Tale of Two Cities which perhaps best sums up these past two weeks - it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Speaking solely from a Connacht perspective, it's a measure of how far we've come that defeat in France leaves us disappointed, but a lot about Friday's match leaves a bitter taste.
This website has posted some of the more comical photos from Parc des Sports Aguiléra, and that there is so much in the way of ridiculous material speaks volumes. I don't know why the decision was taken to allow the match to go ahead, and photos from the area next morning, when the rescheduled fixture would have been played show the lack of wisdom in this. In the way that the wins over Leinster and Biarritz in Galway show how Connacht play at their best in fine conditions, Friday's loss in a quagmire did the same. Yet the rain is no excuse - the best team, by far, ran out winners.
Strength was the big factor, both physical and in-depth. Biarritz's pack by and large out-muscled their counterparts. There was little difference in the scrum, but in open play a mixture of poise and force meant Connacht never looked like gaining an advantage. The visitors also had a relative lack of options on the bench. Buckley, White and Naoupu are all fine players to introduce, and all did well, but you never felt like there was a super-sub waiting in the wings to change things in what was always a close game on the scoreboard. A prolonged injury list doesn't help that situation, but against Europe's biggest sides this is a predicament that Connacht will always face.
Looking at lessons which can be learnt, Connacht's game plan needs to focus more on ball retention. Too often on Friday, Dan Parks kicked a high up-and-under only for it to be dealt with under little pressure by (an admittedly impressive) Biarritz back three. The same problems were evident in the win seven days previously, but were glossed over by the result. There is a place for such a strategy, but not as the default option which it appears to have almost become. More use needs to be made of the exciting backline outside of the number 10.
It's time now to regroup, quickly, and focus on the upcoming interpros. Dreams of a Heineken Cup Quarter Final are no more, and likely an Amlin Challenge Cup run too, but Harleqiuns and Zebre will be dealt with in January. A likely three wins marks a step forward, and that's to be welcome, but unfortunately the woes of Ireland's other provinces mean a third successive season at the top table is increasingly unlikely. That's a thought for another day, however. Saturday sees Munster travel to Galway, and a potential home clean sweep over Irish sides in 2012 - enough to focus even the weariest minds, and the wettest souls.
