Guinness Pro 12 2016/17: Round 2

[MojoPin]

Hehe Cardiff beating us. Classic.

It was, wasn't it? Wish you well for the drive home ;-)

God, it was close though...

 

[Bluemoon]

Hehe Cardiff beating us. Classic. Expect to put the away comfortably and wish them well for the flight home.
Probably agree with you elsewhere but Leinster Ospreys is 50:50 for me. If the Welsh sides ever backed up their early season they would win the thing every year.

Lol!

In all seriousness, it'd be great if all the Irish sides had that attitude towards us. I think Munster had a good period of dominance when a couple of key turnovers were won by Warbs or Navidi and that changed that game.

Stander is a hell of a player, made big difference when he came on.

Pleased with that. Top 6 is in reach if we can win a few against the Irish!

 

[Thingimubob]

Cracking win for the Blues! 3 bloody lovely tries to be fair as well!

Had the Edinburgh vs Scarlets game on my laptop at the same time - my god the Scarlets are bad... The conditions weren't great and all, but their handling was atrocious with so many passes going behind the man, stopping any momentum they'd have in attack. Did not expect that at all considering how much talent they have in their back line.

Ref hasn't helped things for either team, too eager to blow a penalty for the defensive team (incorrectly usually) killing any rhythm to the game.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Aka We still have a pretty good back line.

Yeah that's ridiculous depth out there, that and your backrow is a testament to the great work being done by David Nucifora...


15. Rob Kearney (177)
14. Fergus McFadden (143)
13. Garry Ringrose (23)
12. Noel Reid (60)
11. Dave Kearney (103)
10. Joey Carbery (2)
9. Luke McGrath CAPTAIN (51)
1. Cian Healy (154)
2. James Tracy (17)
3. Michael Bent (64)
4. Mike McCarthy(64)
5. Ross Molony (24)
6. Dan Leavy (14)
7. Josh van der Flier (25)
8. Jordi Murphy (81)

16. Bryan Byrne (13)
17. Peter Dooley (22)
18. Tadhg Furlong (51)
19. Mick Kearney (9)
20. Dominic Ryan (105)
21. Jamison Gibson Park (1)
22. Cathal Marsh (14)
23. Zane Kirchner (66)

Outside the front five we're strong, I don't see that team winning in Scotstoun though.

 

[munstermuffin]

In fairness Cardiff shaded it but we were poor at times and showed our depth especially at 9 is an issue. For first 2 tries it was poor box kicks and bad defense that caused tries.
In fairness though I hadn't realised how well Blues recruited in Summer and have built nice squad.

For us it's all part of learning curve and there was positives. CJ again was immense upon arrival. Cronin and Killer combination is working and our younger guys are getting better.

 

[Rich Taff]

Blues have probably spent the entire off-season (about 5 days in a non-Lions year) working on defence. Our attack has never been a problem.
The final passage of play, with the repeated 'short pass, head down, hit the dirt' (also known as 'Doing a Paul O'Connell' ), was probably the most organised sustained passage of play I've seen by us for a long time.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Had the Blues game on the red button and recorded Edinburgh on Alba, nice way to spend an evening with two matches but wish they wouldn't give score updates for other games! Echo above comments on Scarlets. Can't believe how disjointed they are in the backs and I'd have concerns over the quality of their coaching. They basically gave Edinburgh 14 points with mistakes; so I'm not treating that as a sign of an Edinburgh Renaissance.

In contrast both Munster and Blues looked well drilled to me and looked like they knew exactly what to do in every situation on the field. I thought the Blues were deserved winners though. But for TMO and a lack of execution when clean through they could have had this done and dusted by halftime. Great adjustments by Munster after the break though.

Zebre did better than I thought given their horror show in week 1, so I'll settle for the defensive bonus.

 

[Bluemoon]

In contrast both Munster and Blues looked well drilled to me and looked like they knew exactly what to do in every situation on the field. I thought the Blues were deserved winners though. But for TMO and a lack of execution when clean through they could have had this done and dusted by halftime. Great adjustments by Munster after the break though.

I'm not so sure about it being done by halftime, even if Jenkins score counted. I was disappointed with Munster's first try as the confusion in defence is something I hoped Cardiff had moved on from. In saying that, Munster dominated possession in the 3rd quarter and what was pleasing is the Cardiff defence held strong, and the breakdown was fierce. I thought some of defensive positioning was excellent in the second half and I am sure Steadman will be happy with the showing. Glasgow will offer a massive threat with their backline next week and if it's dry, it could be a very fast game.

What's going on at the Scarlets! Still can't get used to seeing Patch in a Scarlets jersey...

 

[Rich Taff]

What's going on at the Scarlets! Still can't get used to seeing Patch in a Scarlets jersey...

Don't worry, he'll probably be injured by this time next month

 

[MojoPin]

What's going on at the Scarlets! Still can't get used to seeing Patch in a Scarlets jersey...

Yeah, can't believe how badly they're misfiring. Haven't watched either of their games yet so hard to pass judgment but it sounds like they're struggling a bit up front?

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

They have faced Edinburgh and Munster who are good up front but it is more than just struggling with their forwards. They had loads of decent ball against Edinburgh but the backs just weren't taking the ball in stride and it all fizzled out. Can't blame conditions as Blues ripped up Edinburghs defence in poor conditions just last week.

 

[Bluemoon]

There's a lot of expectation on that backline just to gel and start firing. I have a little doubt about Parkes on the wing. The few times if seen him play live he's looked most like a ball carrying 12 than a wing.

Maybe they need a little time to gel, because even when your forwards are under the cosh you get some ball. The Scarlets pack is hardly weak either.

Patchell is also a nervous/erratic player, but looking at the highlights he didn't seem to be the problem as his distribution was good? (All bar the mistake for the try!)

Haha, Rich Taff my money was on an injury against Japan. I'm quite happy with Shingler and Anscombe - they are both looking very good.

 

[17-03-90]

Good performance again today.
Gotta love Tommy

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Inexperience showed, those 5league points are an absolute gift... Missed the 1st half so I can't even comment on the positives.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Inexperience showed, those 5league points are an absolute gift... Missed the 1st half so I can't even comment on the positives.

I think the plus point is your lad Carbery. I hate when a club that already has a good 10 unearths another while I have to cheer on the likes of Duncan Weir and Tomasso Allan (who just missed a sitter of a penalty). Some very... interesting hairstyles and colouring in the Leinster team. Have the 1980s just hit Dublin?

Love that I've found out how to trick my iplayer on my TV into thinking I am from Wales or NI. Three FTA games a weekend, here we come!

 

[CaledonCol]

Warriors looking good !

Good performance again today.
Gotta love Tommy

Good game and two well balanced sides . Glasgow had more flair in attack and Seymour had a cracker with 4 tries . Hogg was quieter than normal and missed a half way penalty he would normally have goaled .Reid Swinson and Harley looked good in the pack the bench allows a late surge if required.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Treviso towards the upper end of my hopes. Some decent running rugby like they showed against Grenoble. Seem to have a nosebleed when they get near the try line though which is understandable when you've spent half your career losing all the time. Young wing Buondonno looks like a prospect.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Nice cross kick try from McKinley to end the game but too little too late. Surprised at impact of Crowley after presiding over a difficult time as Canada coach. Edinburgh should be looking over their shoulder on this evidence, Treviso look a 6-7 wins team.

 

[CaledonCol]

Top Fpur

Early days but reckon top four will be Glasgow- Leinster- Cardiff and Ulster !

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Early days but reckon top four will be Glasgow- Leinster- Cardiff and Ulster !

It's shaping up nicely given the Welsh sides are showing the ability to cross the Irish Sea and pull out wins. Any one of eight teams could win this although Scarlets and Connacht need to wake up before it's already over for them. I got five out of my six predictions right but was happy to be wrong about Edinburgh.