TABLE TOPPERS MUNSTER have made a host of changes for their Guinness Pro12 inter-provincial meeting with Connacht at the Sportsground tomorrow evening [KO 5.30pm, TG4].
Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has made 11 changes in total from the side that earned a bonus-point win over Leinster on St Stephen’s Day, with Francis Saili making his first start of the season.
The Kiwi will be joined in the centre by academy player Dan Goggin, who makes his fourth start of the season, with Duncan Williams and Ian Keatley the half-back pairing.
The southern province’s leading try scorer this season, Ronan O’Mahony, is one of only four players retained by Munster, along with James Cronin, Jean Kleyn and Tommy O’Donnell. Keith Earls returns on the opposite flank.
Andrew Conway’s elbow injury is not as bad as first feared and he takes his place at full-back.
Click Here: melbourne storm shirt
Rhys Marshall and Stephen Archer join Cronin in the front row, while captain for the day Billy Holland and Jack O’Donoghue start alongside O’Donnell in the back-row, with Dave Foley also earning a start place.
On the bench, Kevin O’Byrne is in line to make his first appearance since picking up an injury against Scarlets on the opening day of the season.
Munster:
15. Andrew Conway
14. Keith Earls
13. Francis Saili
12. Dan Goggin
11. Ronan O’Mahony
10. Ian Keatley
9. Duncan Williams
1. James Cronin
2. Rhys Marshall
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Dave Foley
6. Billy Holland (captain)
7. Tommy O’Donnell
8. Jack O’Donoghue
Replacements:
16. Kevin O’Byrne
17. Dave Kilcoyne
18. Thomas Du Toit
19. Robin Copeland
20. Conor Oliver
21. Te Aihe Toma
22. Rory Scannell
23. Jaco Taute
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Munster refute claims they are receiving special treatment over Jaco Taute’s contractConan vows to come back stronger after injury setbacks
Ospreys 29
Connacht 7
CONNACHT’S INJURY PROBLEMS got worse as Jack Carty and Jake Heenan were forced off in the first-half of their 29 – 7 loss to the Ospreys.
Carty limped off after 30 minutes with his team 14-0 down and, in his absence, Connacht were brushed aside as the home team sealed a bonus-point win.
The defending Pro12 champions had a nightmare start as the Ospreys scored two early tries.
Dan Baker crossed for the first following a scintillating break from Olly Cracknell. The impressive flanker then added his side’s second and with Sam Davies converting both scores, Pat Lam’s men were quickly 14-0 down.
Eoin McKeon replaced Heenan for his 100th Connacht appearance and scrum-half Caolin Blade stepped in for Carty as their team’s deficit remained at just two converted tries at the interval.
Steve Tandy’s Ospreys had looked the more dangerous of the two sides throughout the first half, and Davies kicked a penalty at the start of the second to extend their lead.
Then just before the hour mark, Nicky Smith added the home team’s third try, benefitting from more good work from the excellent Justin Tipuric.
Without Carty to guide their ship, Connacht were rudderless in attack but they did show admirable resilience with things going against them.
Sean O’Brien finally got Lam’s men on the scoreboard with their only try of the day. John Cooney nailed the touchline conversion but the Ospreys had the last laugh, Ashley Beck sealing a bonus-point win with the last play of the game.
Scorers
Ospreys
Tries – Baker 12, Cracknell 14, Smith 57, Beck 79
Cons – Davies 13, 15, 58;
Pens – Davies 45
Connacht
Tries – O’Brien 76
Con – Cooney 76
Ospreys: Evans; Howells (Biggar 72), Beck, Matavesi (Fonatia 66), Dirksen; Davies, Habberfield (Leonard 65); Smith (Thomas 65) Parry (Otten 66), Fia (Jones 57), Ashley (Beard 73), Jones (capt), Cracknell (Underhill 65), Tipuric, Baker.
Connacht: O’Halloran; Adeolokun, Parata, Robb (Poolman 41), Healy (Gaffney 78); Carty (Blade 31), Cooney; Buckley (Cooney 66), McCartney (Heffernan 55), Bealham (Andress 66), Roux (Stevenson 66), Cannon, O’Brien, Heenan (McKeon 12), Dawai
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Rugby’s new tackle laws proved costly for Ulster in last night’s narrow defeat
Click Here: Palestine soccer tracksuit
ISA NACEWA ISN’T quite ready for war just yet.
With well over 24 hours to go before the Champions Cup pool meeting with Montpellier, his shoulders are hiked well up towards his ears as he walks past the south stand and in to a bitterly cold RDS.
Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO
Tomorrow will be a different story for the Leinster captain. For today, it’s jeans and the mandatory media duty.
“Johnny’s back,” comes the self-explanatory response when the Aucklander is asked if his team-mates might chip in with a few scores — as opposed to Nacewa providing all 16 in the reverse fixture in October. The out-half will take the kicking tee again this week.
A separate mention of Sexton draws a smile from Nacewa as his head coach Leo Cullen briefly considered venturing into technical running terms in reference to whether Sexton’s Santry experience has noticeably changed his movement. But the captain’s shudder is a reminder of his past as a sturdy second row.
“I don’t have any expertise in terms of movement mechanics,” Cullen explains with a grin.
“But I’m being told (Sexton) is making great strides. He’s looked sharp training-wise, he’s trained the last couple of weeks, so he’s been fully involved in the running of the team.
Source: Donall Farmer/INPHO
“It was good to get that bit of game-time under his belt last week. Came through with no ill effects and he’s in a good place, would have (taken) plenty of confidence from last week.”
A confidence boost is just about all that could have been yielded from the 70 – 6 drubbing of Zebre. The test facing Leinster tomorrow will be incomparably more difficult as Jake White’s side come with lingering hope of making the knock-out stages and a sizeable set of men to help them there.
Few are bigger, certainly nobody in a back three, than Nemani Nadolo. The Fijian powerhouse caused Leinster endless problems in October’s 22 – 16 defeat and he will have robust help inside in the shape of out-half Frans Steyn and centre Joe Tomane. At some point Adam Byrne will be called upon to stop the ex-Crusader, but limiting his opportunity will be a collective effort.
“Not let them get the ball into his hands where he’s got a lot of space,” offers Cullen as an explanation of how to stop the wing. “That’s probably one of the big things we’ve worked on.”
The prize on the line for Leinster is a quarter-final, and ultimately home advantage to go with it. The most recent Champions Cup quarter-final day in Dublin came in Nacewa’s absence. The one-time Fiji international has not performed on that stage since he scored in the Aviva Stadium win over Cardiff in 2012.
Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO
With rounds five and six still to be played though, it’s too soon for Nacewa to think about the bridging of that five-year gap. The intense heat of battle on home turf is the only thing in his focus.
“Being back at the RDS is a big enough motivation for us. We have looked at what happened last time in the Montpellier game and how we got ourselves into the (losing) situation.
“Over the last few weeks we have just worked on ourselves. They are a world-class team with world-class players so we have to expect it to be a Test match mentality. We will focus on ourselves and hope things go right.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Leinster expect O’Brien back next weekend, but planning without CroninSexton and Heaslip included to face Montpellier but O’Brien absent for Leinster
Click Here: Cardiff Blues Store
LEINSTER SECOND ROW Hayden Triggs has been cited for alleged contact with the eye area of an opponent during Friday night’s win over Montpellier.
Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
The New Zealander has been picked out by citing commissioner Stefano Marrama (Italy) under Law 10.4 (m) for the alleged contact with scrum-half Nic White in the 44th minute of the 57 – 3 Champions Cup win.
A 12-week ban is the low end entry point for players found guilty of making contact with the eye area, rising to the mid-range of 18 weeks and 24 weeks to four years for the most serious offenders.
Triggs’ hearing will be chaired by England’s Antony Davies in Paris tomorrow with Julien Berenger (France) and Pamela Woodman also on the disciplinary committee.
The same trio will preside over a hearing for Montpellier’s Frans Steyn after he was red carded for a high tackle on Jonathan Sexton in the first half of the same fixture.
Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
World Rugby sanctions for Law 10.4 (e) offenders have a low-end entry point of two weeks, six weeks for the mid-range with a high-end of six to 52 weeks.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
POM undergoing return-to-play protocols, with TOD back in Munster trainingEx-Connacht captain Clarke forced at gunpoint to aid getaway
Click Here: cheap puma women shoes
THERE ARE FRESH concerns over the fitness of Johnny Sexton ahead of the Six Nations after the out-half hobbled off during the first half of Leinster’s game in Castres tonight.
Sexton has only just returned after an extended period on the sidelines with hamstring problems and he lasted just 22 minutes this evening before being withdrawn with a tight calf.
With the Six Nations starting two weeks tomorrow, the sight of Sexton making his way down the tunnel will leave Joe Schmidt fretting over the availability of his talisman for the opening game against Scotland on 4 February.
Click Here: lions rugby jersey
Sexton’s last involvement was during the build-up to Castres’ first try, with the Ireland international racing off the line to make a defensive hit. Ross Byrne came on in his place.
The game ended in a 24-24 draw.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
LIVE: Castres v Leinster, Champions Cup
WHILE IT’S ENGLAND who bring a winning streak of 14 games into the Six Nations, Joe Schmidt’s Ireland seemed to be talk of the town at the 2017 tournament launch in London yesterday.
Beating the All Blacks counts for an awful lot in this part of the world.
Joe Schmidt and Rory Best at yesterday’s Six Nations launch. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
Eddie Jones said Ireland have “set world rugby upside down” with their achievements in November, while Scotland boss Vern Cotter said “Joe is leading the way with Ireland” in terms of the rise of Northern Hemisphere rugby.
Cotter, whose side host Ireland in Murrayfield on the first weekend of the championship, went on to state his belief that 2017 could see his old mate from Clermont guide Ireland to their third title in four years.
“I’m sure VC said that,” said Schmidt with a laugh when informed. “A little more expectation on my shoulders and a little off his shoulders maybe. He has got bigger shoulders than I have!”
Schmidt has always been keen to manage expectations in Ireland and he has largely set realistic Six Nations targets for his team.
In 2014, the head coach spoke of a top-two finish and Ireland won the Six Nations. The same occurred in 2015. Last year, Schmidt said a top-three finish would be acceptable and Ireland duly came in third.
So what of 2017?
“The last three years I kind of had to put the pin in the wall and make a marker and I think I said in the first two years that a top-two finish would be something I would be really happy with.
“Last year, just on the back of losing so much experience and so much ability through injury, it was a bit of a rebuilding time for us. I think we built not too badly.
“I think it is going to be more competitive than ever [this year], but again it would be great if we could get a top-two finish.”
The Six Nations captains at yesterday’s launch. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
Schmidt follows up by stressing the quality of the opposition in this year’s competition. He mentions the “incredibly tough” England, speaks of Guy Novès’ conviction that France are rising, and says Wales are a “sleeping giant”.
Scotland now have crucial strength in depth, according to Schmidt, while he points to Italy’s win over South Africa in November as proof of their growth under Irishman Conor O’Shea.
Ireland are available at 9/4 to win the Six Nations with many bookmakers, England remaining the favourites, but Schmidt points out that the shortening of his team’s odds this season doesn’t necessarily mean much.
“The bookies had us 13/1 against the All Blacks, so I am not saying they get it wrong all the time, but that’s a long way wrong,” said Schmidt.
“I am sure our odds would have shortened as compared to last year because I think there has been some visible growth in the team and we have tried to expand the depth.
“You know, nothing protects you from injuries to key players. That could still happen and derail you a bit, but hopefully we will be as well prepared as we can be.”
With key players in mind, the latest issue with Johnny Sexton’s fitness must have been particularly unwelcome for Schmidt.
The Leinster out-half limped off in the first half of Leinster’s draw in Castres last weekend and again approaches a Test window with doubts surrounding him.
Back in November it was a hamstring problem, and Sexton ended the series with an injury in his other hamstring issue. Last summer, he missed the tour to South Africa due to the need for shoulder surgery. Now, it’s said to be a tight calf.
Sexton is on the way back from a calf issue. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
Schmidt stated his confidence that Sexton will be ready for Murrayfield, and said the out-half may duck into the Santry Sports Clinic for a top-up of his rehab in between Ireland training this week.
Sexton had only played twice after recovering from his hamstring injury, before the calf issue struck, meaning he does not have a huge amount of rugby under his belt ahead of the Six Nations.
“He tends to be a player who plays quite well fresh,” said Schmidt in that regard. “There are some players that need to get a real rhythm but I’ve been working with Johnny for almost seven years and in that time I’ve found him really quick to be match-ready.”
While the hope is that Sexton is fit to play next week, Schmidt did point out that Ireland have a capable replacement in the event that the Leinster man is not.
“At the same time, Paddy Jackson has become a key player for us,” said Schmidt. “He has played a lot more Test rugby than Johnny at number 10 in the last seven Test matches, so with Paddy there he slots in.
“Paddy is very calm, he does his homework, he’s always well prepared, so we feel that the bases are reasonably well recovered. If Johnny comes in and trains next week it’s almost an advantage for Paddy that he gets in the saddle this week and can run the show.”
Jackson’s increased experience is in part down to the injury problems Sexton has suffered in recent seasons, but Schmidt also believes that players like the Ulsterman represent the regeneration of this Ireland squad.
The 2016 Six Nations was seen as a transitional one for Ireland in many quarters, and while Schmidt doesn’t agree with that tag – “I think you are always in transition” – he does stress agree this squad has undergone some change in the 18 months or so.
“When you don’t have your talisman Paul O’Connell, when Peter O’Mahony’s out, when you don’t have Mike Ross – as important as he was to us then…
Schmidt is looking for a third Six Nations title in four years. Source: Colm O’Neill/INPHO
“People have said, ‘Ah, Tadhg Furlong, he’s developed overnight into this great player.’
“Tadhg Furlong was at the World Cup with us. Tadhg has been learning his craft right through that. He was in South Africa in the second Test and had a fantastic day in the scrum.
“The next Test he came off the bench and was under massive pressure. You don’t suddenly learn and then tick a box and say, ‘That’s done forever’. It’s like any skill; if you leave it alone for a little while, you’ve got to pick it up and get it back into the rhythm again.
“For us, with our transition, there’s a number of players – half of this squad of 40 players [for the 2017 Six Nations] – have got less than 10 caps.
“So, we still don’t have a massive amount of experience but I think we’re growing and I suppose we’ll measure the growth a little bit at the end of the Six Nations and beyond that because we know that you’ve got to keep going in a really positive direction.
“Because everyone’s trying to build a stronger, deeper, more competitive group.”
– An earlier version of this piece incorrectly referred to Scotland coach Joe Cotter; the Scotland coach is Vern Cotter.
Conor O’Shea urges Italy to end debate over Six Nations relegation and promotionEngland captain Hartley working on tackle technique after hit on O’Brien
Click Here: kilkenny gaa jerseys
LET’S ENJOY THIS Six Nations Championship. After all, it may be the last.
At the time of writing Donald Trump has already squared up to China, Iran and, weirdly, Australia. Vladimir Putin is daring anyone to come and have a go if they think they’re hard enough. Europe, meanwhile, is in the grip of a far right power shift.
As a result, the Doomsday Clock has ticked on to two and a half minutes to midnight and no greater authority than Mikhail Gorbachev reckons the world is preparing for war.
But yeah! Six Nations, eh? Woop!
In the event of cataclysmic global conflict, even Rugby’s Greatest Championship™ might struggle to find a space in the calendar.
At any rate, our brave boys would be expected to do their bit in World War III, though quite what side Ireland would be on is unclear. On one hand we want to be sophisticated European types who believe in free movement, human rights and excellent pesto, while on the other still keeping in with our friends in the incipient North Atlantic Reich. Come nuclear Armageddon, the only survivor will be Enda Kenny, poised with a bowl of shamrock for the new mutant cockroach overlords.
There appears to be no such identity crisis afflicting the Six Nations on the eve of what, even putting aside the upcoming apocalypse, is a more highly-anticipated tournament than usual. The grand old competition is striding forth with confidence, laden down with commercial riches and never more popular.
And tournament top brass are not ones to shine their lights under a bushel, especially in the face of external threats.
“In reality, the Six Nations is the last place people should be looking to change,” the tournament’s chief executive John Feehan told Newstalk on Thursday when asked about calls from the English Premiership to cram the championship into five weekends.
“When you look at the importance of the Six Nations, you have to be careful when tinkering with it.”
Six Nations CEO John Feehan. Source: PA Archive/PA Images
But tinker with it they have, making the decision to trial bonus points this year all the more intriguing. “We are conscious that we must reward try scoring and an attacking style of play that will deliver more tries and greater rewards for fans and players alike,” said Feehan when the move was announced last November.
The introduction of bonus points can be seen as a Putin-style land grab on the southern hemisphere’s reputation for being the place to see the world’s best rugby. Like most of us, it’s not enough for the Six Nations to be loved; it also wants to be respected.
The statistics explain their thinking. Taking the last five seasons into account, the Six Nations has averaged just under 3.7 tries per game, while the Rugby Championship delivered 4.9. Try average has been climbing since 2013′s nadir of 2.47 to last season’s orgiastic 4.73, but our friends in the south are only getting more explosive, with last year’s Rugby Championship averaging 5.83 tries per game.
The hope is clearly that bonus points will deliver a tournament as renowned for the quality of its rugby as its raucously boozy city breaks. Time to take the South on at its own game.
Not everyone is happy. Stephen Jones, the Sunday Times resident rugby curmudgeon, described bonus points as a “bogus concept” that doesn’t actually work and also demeans the competition. “(The Six Nations) should be the most sacred of all,” he wrote last Sunday. “Victories can be won by brilliant attack or brilliant defence, in scrums, mauls or through luck…Tries? So what?”
Joe Schmidt isn’t sure either. “There was none on offer when we went to Chicago and played the All Blacks, but there were nine tries in a game played in fine weather. You play in a manner to suit the conditions.”
Renewed confidence in the North is in sharp contrast to the mood of despondency twelve months ago. The humiliation of the 2015 World Cup was fresh in the memory and the Six Nations was roundly dismissed as a oafish backwater. Then we had England’s revival, Ireland’s ‘grand slam’ of the South’s big three, and hell, Italy even beat South Africa.
And yet the southern hemisphere always seems to get it right when it matters. England in 2003 remains the only World Cup winner from these parts, and the South has never had fewer than two semi-finalists. The effectiveness of bonus points may be up for debate, but the Six Nations powers would be well advised to copy the skills, decision-making and craft that the best teams from the southern hemisphere always have.
It’s not quite an identity crisis, but no longer content with being the ‘greatest’, the Six Nations now wants to be the best as well. Ultimately this is one battle for global supremacy that will only be settled in 2019 when Japan welcomes the world.
That’s if there still is a world by then…
Subscribe to The42 Rugby Show podcast here:
‘The ROG drop-kick… That was ’09, so I would’ve been in second year of school’Finally, Lions selection debates become very real as Six Nations arrives
Click Here: cheap converse women high top shoes
THE ALL BLACKS expressed surprise today after a trusted security consultant was charged with bugging their hotel before a Bledisloe Cup match against Australia in Sydney, calling the accusation “bizarre”.
The world champions’ coach Steve Hansen said he found it difficult to understand after the 51-year-old man was charged with public mischief and ordered to appear in a Sydney court on March 21.
The device, planted inside a chair, was found during a routine team security sweep of a meeting room used by the New Zealanders before the opening Rugby Championship Test in August.
The incident raised tensions between the teams and dominated headlines on the day of the game, which the All Blacks won 42-8.
“Frankly, the charge seems bizarre and unbelievable. It’s very hard to understand,” Hansen said in a statement.
“The charged man has worked for the All Blacks, and many other organisations, for a long time and is someone who is trusted and well respected by us.
“However, as with all cases before the courts, there has to be a due process that takes place and it is not right or proper for us to make any further comment as this could jeopardise the outcome of the case.”
A New South Wales police statement earlier said: “A man has been charged after a listening device was located in a room at a hotel in Sydney’s east last year.”
Police at the time could not determine the range of the device — described as similar to that used by law enforcement and spying agencies — or how long it had been in place.
– ‘Bitter taste’ –
Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver has vigorously denied any involvement by his organisation. He said the revelation of the device on the day of the Test had left a “bitter taste”. According to reports, the bug had been detected five days earlier.
“The aspect that still leaves a bitter taste out of this whole affair is that the discovery of the device was reported publicly on game day, when it is understood that the alleged discovery of the device occurred much earlier in the week leading up to the Test match,” he said.
“Clearly the media attention which resulted from it was a distraction that neither team needed on the morning of a very important Test match.”
Pulver added: “The ARU and the Wallabies were never accused of any wrongdoing, however it was still important that this matter reached a conclusion to provide complete reassurance to all fans that the organisation and the team had no part in any of this.
“There may be some questions that remain but certainly today’s news is welcome news that an individual has been called to account over this incident.”
Australian media have accused the All Blacks of paranoia for routinely sweeping for bugs, an accusation the team rejected.
Source: The42 Rugby Show/SoundCloud
Subscribe to The42 Rugby Show podcast here:
Click Here: rapid prototyping
Munster and Top14-linked Ben Smith commits to HighlandersThe42 Rugby Show: how Ireland can get their campaign back on track after Murrayfield defeat