Guinness Pro14 - Round 10 return of the South Africans

[ajwffc]

Round 10


Friday, January 3
Cardiff Blues v Scarlets – KO 19.35

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU, 30th Championship appearance)

AR1: Adam Jones (WRU), AR2: Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (IRFU),

TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

Live on Premier Sports 2, eir Sport, DAZN & www.pro14.tv


Ulster Rugby v Munster Rugby – KO 19.35

Kingspan Stadium, Belfast

Referee: Dan Jones (WRU, 29th Championship appearance)

AR1: Sean Gallagher (IRFU), AR2: Mike English (WRU)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

Live on Premier Sport 1, eir Sport 1, SuperSport 1, DAZN & www.pro14.tv


Saturday, January 4
Benetton Rugby v Glasgow Warriors – KO 13.00

Stadio Monigo, Treviso

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 182nd Championship appearance)

AR1: Andrea Piardi (FIR), AR2: Wayne Davies (WRU)

TMO: Jon Mason (WRU)

Live on DAZN, Premier Sports 2, eir Sport 1 & www.pro14.tv



Dragons v Ospreys – KO 15.00

Rodney Parade, Newport

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 50th Championship appearance)

AR1: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) AR2: Paul Haycock (IRFU)

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Live on Premier Sports 1, DAZN & www.pro14.tv


Zebre v Toyota Cheetahs – KO 15.00

Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma

Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU, 19th Championship appearance)

AR1: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR), AR2: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

TMO: Paul Larter (SRU)

Live on DAZN, FreeSports, SuperSport 1 & www.pro14.tv



Leinster Rugby v Connacht Rugby – KO 17.30

RDS Arena, Dublin

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 41st Championship appearance)

AR1: George Clancy (IRFU) AR2: Keith Allen (SRU)

TMO: Neil Paterson (SRU)

Live on eir Sport 1, Premier Sports 2, SuperSport 1, DAZN & www.pro14.tv



Edinburgh Rugby v Isuzu Southern Kings – KO 19.45

BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Referee: Joy Neville (IRFU, 7th Championship appearance)

AR1: Ben Blain (SRU) AR2: Johnny Erskine (IRFU)

TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

Live on Premier Sports 1, SuperSport 1, eir Sport 2, DAZN & www.pro14.tv

 

[Al Bangor]

For those of us in the USA, you can stream Pro14 matches on ESPN+ (live or replay, whichever fits your schedule). I binge watch them each weekend.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets):

15. Jordan Larmour (43)
14. Fergus McFadden (181)
13. Garry Ringrose (69)
12. Joe Tomane (18)
11. Dave Kearney (143)
10. Ciarán Frawley (19)
9. Luke McGrath (118)
1. Peter Dooley (70)
2. Seán Cronin (175)
3. Tadhg Furlong (105)
4. Ross Molony (90)
5. James Ryan (35)
6. Rhys Ruddock (166) CAPTAIN
7. Will Connors (12)
8. Max Deegan (57)

16. Bryan Byrne (46)
17. Ed Byrne (51)
18. Roman Salanoa (1)
19. Ryan Baird (3)
20. Caelan Doris (26)
21. Jamison Gibson-Park (82)
22. Harry Byrne (5)
23. Cian Kelleher (11)

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

That's a fun team.

 

[Groundhog]

There's the attacking play ye ordered anyway. Good start. Let's see if it holds. Ulster's lineout will kill them if this keeps up anyway.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

A good if scrappy win for the Scarlets. Though it would help if the Blues had a decent goalkicker.

 

[jcahill1]

There's the attacking play ye ordered anyway. Good start. Let's see if it holds. Ulster's lineout will kill them if this keeps up anyway.

Attack unfortunately didn't look great from there, it seems to me like there is a bit of an issue with deciding when to go wide. Off unstructured play, I thought Munster seemed to miss some pretty big overlaps.

Saying that obviously Ulster were excellent, particularly McCloskey, Addison, and Cooney.

 

[General Melchett]

Dan McFarland is doing a tremendous job at Ulster. I was curious to see how he'd fair as HC but he's nailing it. Cooney surely gets the nod for Ireland ahead of Murray.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Are there any Munster players who are actually the best in their position in the country at the moment, Conway is the only one with a shout I think, no one else is close.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Are there any Munster players who are actually the best in their position in the country at the moment, Conway is the only one with a shout I think, no one else is close.

Scannell as well actually. Struggling to think of a Munster player I'd have in the 23 for the Six Nations beyond those two and Kilcoyne on the bench though, which says it all.

The 'new style' is an easy target to take cheap shots at, but right now it does look like they're trying to play a wider game by simply it passing it wide with the skills to do it or bothering to lay a platform up front first.

 

[Amiga500]

You could maybe rename this thread "departure of the South African?"

How long does Van Graan have left in Limerick? After another dismal showing and more importantly with very little sign of progress, there are bound to be a few folks in the boardroom getting edgy.

 

[General Melchett]

My eyes just about popped out of my head when I saw the Benetton 19 : 38 Glasgow result. I was fearful of a pumping when I saw the starting line ups (especially the warriors' pack) but am pleasantly surprised.

 

[Leinster Fan]

This could get ugly here, Leineter are well up for it and Connacht aren't even vaguely competitive. The gap between the teams is ludicrous right now. You'd have to think Connacht will improve but keeping the score gap around here would probably be a good result for them, they look completely unable to deal with Leinster's attack.

Edit: and there's a bonus point try in less than 20 minutes.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

When the gap between the teams is so large, it's hard to gauge the benefits of that performance. A few patterns are emerging though. Garry Ringrose is being used as a passer much more often, kind of like a 2nd 5/8 but further out. Jordan Larmour making a point of getting involved closer to the action, regularly popping up off the 1st receiver. These appear to be coaching decisions and for the most part, are helping the team.

I know Rhys Ruddock was named MOTM but it really should have been Max Deegan. He was unplayable today. From @CianTracey1 on twitter, "2 tries scored, 3 try assists , 21 carries, 76 metres made, 4 defenders beaten, 3 clean breaks, 29 tackles, 0 missed". How do you fit him and Caelan Doris into the same backrow?!

Ciarán Frawley was brilliant also. Passes were on the money, goal kicking was excellent, support running got him a try and he attacked the gain line with ferocious intent.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Max Deegan was on a different level to anything that could be expected from a rugby player. Tore Connacht to shreds going forward and was Leinster's standout defender in the second half when they had to defend. All in all a brilliant even if Connacht offered literally nothing in the first half. McGrath had his best game in while as well.

James Ryan going off is a major worry though, even if the upshot is that Baird got a shot and played well. Got a big future.

 

[Al Bangor]

Glad to see the Warriors back on the winning side and still in contention for a playoff spot.

 

[Al Bangor]

What happened to the Cheetahs? They played terrible in this round.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

What happened to the Cheetahs? They played terrible in this round.

Maybe so many weeks of rest killed off their rhythm and familiarity?

 

[Al Bangor]

Maybe so many weeks of rest killed off their rhythm and familiarity?

You're probably right. I've seen that happen to teams in other sports. Too much rest can lead to malaise.

 

[Al Bangor]

Pro14 Tables/standings - https://www.pro14rugby.org/match-centre/tables/