Pro 14 Round 9

[Leonormous Boozer]

 

[Groundhog]

Kilcoyne is back (training) baby! Leinster missing a rake of top players. Doubt we'll go full strength either though. Can't see our internationals playing. De Allende may also be due a rest. Hanrahan also came off injured, so Crowley, who appears to be the next man up, could start.

I'd predict something like

1. O'Connor
2. O'Byrne
3. Ryan
4.Wycherley
5. Beirne
6. O'Donoghue,
7. Cloete
8. Coombes
9. Casey
10. Hanrahan/Crowley
11. Daly
12. Scannell
13. Goggin
14. Sweetnam
15. Haley

16. Scannell 17. Loughman 18. Knox 19. Holland/Ahern 20. O'Sullivan 21. McCarthy 22. Crowley/French 23. L. Coombes

 

[munstermuffin]

Alot of guys in red and blueon 2 week break. Will be friendly and tame

 

[Leinster Fan]

To be fair in the last few years we've seen first choice teams from both sides once and it wasn't a great game. 2017(?) I think was probably the best.. Either way, Leinster have a better record with a second string than first choice in Munster the last few years so that's reason for optimism.

Imagine we'll see a team fairly similar to the one against Montpeilliers, most of whom are pushing for starting spots anyway.

Something like

1. Dooley
2. Tracy
3. Bent
4. Fardy/Baird
5. Toner/Fardy
6. Leavy
7. Connors
8. Ruddock/Conan depending on who's fit. If neither might have to play Leavy here, hopefully avoided.
9. McGrath
10. Harry Byrne will hopefully be fit
11. The better looking Kearney
12. Frawley
13. O'Loughlin
14. Cian Kelleher
15. JOB again hopefully fit

Should be a good game even without internationals. Both teams have unbeaten records they'll want to keep and both teams will mostly be made up of the players who earned the unbeaten records. I think we'll win but who knows. Young teams winning (and losing) in Thomand Park has done Leinster a lot of good in the past (moreso against first choice opposition which there won't be this year to be fair). At the end of the day we all need something to do on Stephen's day so it may as well be this.

There will also be the inevitable idiotic media narrative arising from both the team selections and the results. Don't know what they'll go for this year but I'll spend too much of the week between Christmas and New Years than is healthy getting annoyed about it.

 

[big ginger 8]

Leinster v Munster is postponed due to positive tests in the senior Leinster squad.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Smart play just when Munster are looking stronger. Rate it.

 

[Groundhog]

Apparently Luke McGrath was spotted in Dublin airport arrivals open mouth kissing sickly looking people who's just got off UK flights.

 

[munstermuffin]

Smart play just when Munster are looking stronger. Rate it.

Interesting if we are awarded a 28.0 win it will mean Ulster have great chance to keep ye out of final. Rumours game will be played on same day as 6 Nations game if at all

 

[Groundhog]

Interesting if we are awarded a 28.0 win it will mean Ulster have great chance to keep ye out of final. Rumours game will be played on same day as 6 Nations game if at all

Well the wording is postponed so I doubt there will be any forfeit

 

[Leinster Fan]

Interesting if we are awarded a 28.0 win it will mean Ulster have great chance to keep ye out of final. Rumours game will be played on same day as 6 Nations game if at all

To be fair hasn't every other Pro14 game been postponed rather than cancelled?

 

[munstermuffin]

To be fair hasn't every other Pro14 game been postponed rather than cancelled?

Yes only postponed. As I said looks like it will be played on same qeekend as 6Nations game.
Being honest they seem to think this is an inconvenience no the tournament organisers

 

[munstermuffin]

Well the wording is postponed so I doubt there will be any forfeit

Yeah no forfeit was only saying as a laugh. They want a Munster Leinster final week after 6Nations ends and home advantage will be irrelevant as it will be in Aviva regardless

 

[big ginger 8]

"Following this morning’s confirmation that the Round 9 Guinness PRO14 fixture between Munster Rugby and Leinster Rugby has been postponed, Leinster Rugby can confirm that all outstanding Covid-19 PCR Testing results have now been returned and all players and staff have tested negative.

Leinster Rugby would like to thank the PRO14 Rugby Medical Advisory Group and Munster Rugby for their help and understanding and we look forward to the rescheduled game early in the new year."

 

[Seeker]

No Glasgow game this weekend. I feel cheated. And no Monday Night Rugby either. I really enjoyed it while it was around.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Dragons-Blues game was very low quality. Dragons lost 12-13, although they were in the lead until around 70 mins when their scrum severely worsened. The Ospreys-Scarlets match, on TV now, is already looking better.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Very good try by Reuben Morgan-Williams.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

And much later on, Angus O'Brien scored an almost-as-good try for the Scarlets. In the end, the Scarlets held on to win 16-14 after going ahead for the first time with ten minutes to go, ironically echoing the previous Welsh derby today.

 

[big ginger 8]

Not good look for Hume being run over by Daly for the try.

 

[Seeker]

 

[Seeker]