Guinness Pro 12 2016/17: Round 3

[Rich Taff]

the unwritten law of rugby states that good things can only be happening to two Welsh regions at a time

Favourite quote of the season so far, and it's going to have to be beaten by one heck of a humdinger. (Yes, I used the word 'humdinger', therefore adding extra 'oomph' to the quote)

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Very, very patchy Leinster performance. They looked fantastic from about the 5th minute until half time and are clearly trying to play a more expansive game plan than last year. The second half was all Edinburgh. Leinster's pack is very strong and with both Jonathan Sexton and Robbie Henshaw to come in, they have the makings of a strong backline.

Much has been made of the progress of Joey Carbery. He wasn't as good today as he was in his last two outings but really is one to look out for in future. Amidst all the talk of Leinster's new 10, the performances of Dan Leavy have been overlooked. He's been every bit as impressive as Josh van der Flier was in his breakthrough season last year.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Favourite quote of the season so far, and it's going to have to be beaten by one heck of a humdinger. (Yes, I used the word 'humdinger', therefore adding extra 'oomph' to the quote)

Haha, I hope I haven't set the bar too high for future threads!

I'm proud of how well my stupid ramblings predicted tonight's games! I could have made a few quid off that treble if I had the confidence to place it!

 

[Groundhog]

Niall Morris has been forced to retire due to injury. Real shame he never had the chance to play his pro rugby at home.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Oh FFS really sad news, a fan favourite at Tigers during his time here.

Speaking of irish Tigers
Ben Betts has been on loan to Loughbrough students in the Nat one league (So one below championship level) starting for them, and was on the bench for the A league game on Monday.
McGrath trial contract has ended at Tigers.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

****ing hell. Poor guy, don't be an outside back in Leinster if you want to play past 30.

 

[Thingimubob]

Still annoyed there wasn't any coverage of the Blues game, especially after the sh*tshow the Scarlets put on. Definitely had room to cover both if BBC NI took over coverage for the Scarlets game. Have a feeling it was due to the Blues being covered by BBC Wales last week, and S4C the week before.

Really happy with the result anyway, great start for the Blues, and nice to see them playing like a proper team for the first time in 6 or 7 years!

Still being a bit cautious and only focusing on Champions Cup qualification for now, but definitely a good shout to aim for a top 4 finish after beating two of the better teams in the league already.

 

[Amiga500]

Much has been made of the progress of Joey Carbery. He wasn't as good today as he was in his last two outings but really is one to look out for in future

He's much too young to be expected to be anything but inconsistent.

Only at the tail end of last season was I starting to think Paddy Jackson's territorial game had approached the level it needs to be to considered a top-class 10.

We seen more development of that on tour and again last night. He'd never have controlled territory like that even 12 months ago. Ian Madigan never learned it and Joey Carbery can't be expected to do it yet - meaning at times the team will struggle - unless you had a Ruan Pienaar inside.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Seeing Jackson last night (and to a lesser extent on the tour down in SA) the thought did cross my mind "what have they done with Paddy Jackson? I thought he was a no hoper". Now he's better than anything Scotland can put on the park (possibly barring Finn Russell, but he's just a young inconsistent lad too). I love seeing guys who don't fnd the game easy knuckling down and managing to improve.

 

[Peat]

Seeing Jackson last night (and to a lesser extent on the tour down in SA) the thought did cross my mind "what have they done with Paddy Jackson? I thought he was a no hoper". Now he's better than anything Scotland can put on the park (possibly barring Finn Russell, but he's just a young inconsistent lad too). I love seeing guys who don't fnd the game easy knuckling down and managing to improve.

Wee bit harsh of a thing to say of a very talented player whose development arc was going more or less just as planned.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Hah. It was meant as a compliment really. I think I must have misjudged him badly whenever I saw him in an Ireland top. I've just checked and when I first watched him he must have been just 21! I had no idea he was that young and show me a fly half who aces the game at that age. So yes, sorry Paddy, may you prove me wrong for years to come.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Some interesting live scores at the moment. The mighty Zebre 12 points up on the champs and 10-10 Dragons vs Munster.

 

[Peat]

Hah. It was meant as a compliment really. I think I must have misjudged him badly whenever I saw him in an Ireland top. I've just checked and when I first watched him he must have been just 21! I had no idea he was that young and show me a fly half who aces the game at that age. So yes, sorry Paddy, may you prove me wrong for years to come.

Yeah, hope that didn't come across as jumping down your throat, just seemed a bit misphrased. His first international games definitely did come too early in his development, no question there. Likewise, no question that he has kicked on hugely over the last season or so.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

No worries. Its easy to miscommunicate on the internet and I hold my hands up to that one. I'm more concerned why Zebre were leading 22-10 with 15mins to go, then Flashscores says match postponed! Its hard enough supporting Italy without this sort of nonsense!

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Aaaaaaaargh! Confirmed as match abandoned at half time due to rain, so it didn't run to 65mins, so the result doesn't count (needs to get to 60mins). Zebre beating the defending champs at near full strength would have been probably their biggest result ever and this happens! There must be positives in that scoreline but its hard to think of them just now. Jonathan Davies will probably now insist Italian teams are removed from the competition because they don't have the lovely Welsh weather over there.

 

[profitius]

Thats a sickener for Zebre.

 

[munstermuffin]

Good win for us considering we were missing a lot of experience. We are learning and staying competitive. Was more special as we were blinded for 2nd half by sun.

On Connacht I've said this since the start. They'll struggle this year massively. A few factors are a tougher European schedule, having a bullseye more so now and they're more known and analysed after winning Pro12

 

[dullonien]

Ospreys are looking pretty tasty atm. They're racking up some serious scores.

Tougher contests to come, but judging by the way they're playing, the skills on show, the intensity they're playing with, I'd back them to continue their unbeaten start next week v Leinster.

Good to see some of the lesser known players really performing, giving them some real depth. The likes of Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Dimitri Arhip, Thorntun, Lloyd Ashley, Ardron up front have been great, and really showing that they've been working hard on skills. Habberfield, Sam Davies, Ben John, Giles & Howells in the backs.

A bit more on Sam Davies. I hope the Ospreys don't automatically replace him with Biggar. Davies has been superb, with the variety he brings to the game far better than Biggar. His place kicking has been top notch as well. He deserves to keep hold of the shirt imo, and I think we'll see him do just that, starting with next week v Leinster. He must be a serious challenger at international level too?

Nice to see Keelan Giles get a run out too. Boy is he an exciting prospect. Great step and gas on him.

 

[MojoPin]

Brilliant result for the Blues - figured it was going to be a 50/50 shot of winning but really proud of the effort thy're putting in at the moment. Ospreys looking very strong too - Sam Davies must surely be on the radar for a senior Wales debut now? Great tactical kicker but so much more of a running and passing threat than Biggar at the moment. And Keelan Giles is just an amazing young player - I'm not going to make the obvious comparisons, but he's a very exciting prospect. Hope he doesn't rush into international rugby too fast, but I'm really looking forward to when he does!

 

[Peat]

Bloody hell. Ospreys site says he isn't even 10 stone. Wow.