POC is out, leaving a second-row gap and a captaincy gap. (c) Art Widak.

The disappointment of Paris will linger ahead of this weekend and that is where the motivation will come from. Sunday afternoon saw a refreshing aggression, particularly in the first-half. That edge was notably missing against Wales and Italy. As with all of Ireland’s big performances in recent times (think Oz at RWC2011 and England 6Nations 2011), aggression is the key. The challenge now for Kidney is to ensure that his team take to the Aviva pitch on Saturday similarly motivated.

Team selection is an issue again this week. The loss of Conor Murray and Paul O’Connell is obviously a big blow. The scrumhalf was close to his physical best against France before suffering that horrendous-looking knee injury. O’Connell was again magnificent, somehow disguising a pretty bad knee injury from everyone. His level of consistency is remarkable. Reddan in for Murray is a switch that many had called for in the build-up to Paris, and now we will see if his uncomplicated delivery does actually put Johnny Sexton on the front foot.

The selection of Tomas O’Leary as cover at scrumhalf is a baffling one. Surely this was a chance for Kidney to have a look at Ulster’s Paul Marshall, a man whose form has pushed Ruan Pienaar to outhalf. Kidney’s loyalty is hugely frustrating at times and this is one of them. O’Leary has been far from his best this season and hardly deserving of an international call-up. Isaac Boss was the other natural choice, but the word is that the Leinster scrumhalf is back in New Zealand this week and so, unavailable.

Kidney has some big decisions to make this week. (c) Art Widak.

Connacht’s Mike McCarthy has been given the call to cover in the second-row. Dan Tuohy of Ulster had a good chance too, but McCarthy is the more recently capped of the pair and has been more heavily involved in Irish squad training this season. The obvious change to the first 15 would see Donnacha Ryan slot into O’Connell’s vacant position. However, there is a case for McCarthy’s inclusion from the start. He is a natural number 4 jumper and calls the lineout shots for Connacht. Both Ryan and O’Callaghan jump at 2, and neither calls lineouts at Munster. In Declan Kidney’s risk-free mind, McCarthy may look like the safe choice.

Elsewhere, the back-row has once again come under scrutiny. Sean O’Brien and Stephen Ferris both had big, physical games, particularly in defense with some trademark choke tackles as well as a couple of big hits. O’Brien was crucial to Tommy Bowe’s second try with his intelligent screen pass to Johnny Sexton. Intelligence is probably not associated with O’Brien’s play too often but he deserves more credit in that department. Jamie Heaslip was the quietest of the back-row trio and if Kidney decides to unleash Peter O’Mahony from the off, the Leinster No.8 may be the one to miss out, with SOB moving to the base of the scrum.

The centre partnership put in a good display on Sunday, one mistake each aside. They were very solid in defense, with the one exception being Fofana’s try, when Earls’ wild hack at the ball on the ground was the wrong decision. However, the Munster man did very well for the second Bowe try, straightening the line intelligently after Ferris had eaten up a lot of space with his lateral run. Earls looked comfortable in the 13 jersey. D’Arcy had that one bad knock-on in the French 22 when his intended pass hit his own hip. He worked very hard in defence though, especially at the breakdown.

Is there a captain amongst these men? (c) Art Widak.

It’s hard to see changes anywhere else on the team. Andrew Trimble didn’t enjoy the best of games and there might be a case for Fergus McFadden being included. That’s unlikely though as Kidney will look to build on the impressive first-half showing from his team. The truth is that France had a lot more possession but when we did have the ball we looked to have a bit more attacking shape and confidence. That all stemmed from the early aggression, leading to some big hits and choke tackle turnovers.

The confidence built from those plays was infectious. Seeing Bowe back himself so assertively was exhilarating and exactly what you want from your wide men. Once again, Rob Kearney was the best player on the pitch. The uplifting effect of the kind of fielding game he offers is easy to see. As those who have played the game will know, a big catch in opposition territory is inspirational. Kearney’s confidence, built on the back of a brilliant season for Leinster is becoming so important to this team.

The final issue is the captaincy. Rory Best has been in great form up front, and has experience of captaining Ulster. Jamie Heaslip has captained Leinster, and was once seen as a possible Irish captain in waiting. Stephen Ferris’ form might make him a candidate. And then there’s Rob Kearney. The thought of the fullback captaining Ireland hadn’t really occurred to me until pointed out by a knowledgable friend. But the idea has grown, and his inspirational play and respect within the squad might make him the compelling choice.

Who would your choice of captain be? Who will Kidney go for in your opinion? Would you make any changes to the starting team/squad beyond the two obvious ones for Murray and O’Connell? Comment below with any and all of your opinions/rants/praise for the Irish team ahead of Saturday’s clash with Scotland…

SdF - not as good as it looks?

Ireland’s draw in Paris was underwhelming after leading by 11 points at half time but the Six Nations has a distorting effect and the result seems better the day after.

While Ireland used be almost guaranteed to win in Cardiff when all else was losses, and beating England has recently become a spring ritual as welcome as the first daffodils poking their heads above the soil, Ireland don’t win in Paris. That has become a truism and changing it will be the job of Irish rugby coaches over the next two decades. Ireland displayed a purpose and a stickiness about their task that was well approved around at Mole Towers. Beating France on a regular basis would catapult Ireland into a different league because it would change the nation’s rugby Mental. Not losing is a good interim step.

Viewed over a longer time frame, the tide has risen for Irish rugby. A draw in Paris without O’Driscoll inspired heroics is a notable improvement on what went before. The great man is missed but others are stepping up to try and fill the void. The most obvious of these is O’Connell. It is possible that the Lions will have more Welshmen than any other nation next season and that Warburton will be the seen as the natural appointment as captain but it seems to me that Paul O’Connell has never played better. His Munster performances this season have been the finest of his career while his last two Irish matches have been superb. He looks fresh after missing most of last season and Brad Thorn’s arrival is a reminder that second rows have long shelf lives.

How many other players can join him at such exalted heights remains to be seen. Rory Best was highly conspicuous around the park yesterday but Ireland coughed up lineouts at vital times. Admittedly, there’s a lot going on in lineouts but these both looked Best’s doing. Rob Kearney was generally outstanding on Sunday but opened up the park for France with his loose kick in the lead up to Fofana’s try. Sean O’Brien looked pissed off to have been substituted by O’Mahony and had impressed in his 7 duties.

Ireland lacked a bit in midfield. D’Arcy isn’t the force of old while Earls hasn’t been afforded many opportunities to get on the shoulder of a half break. There doesn’t seem to be many alternatives. McFadden for D’Arcy is a possibility at 12 but wouldn’t seem to change that much. Darren Cave’s injury is unfortunately timed, while O’Driscoll’s return would be greatly welcomed.

Scotland will present a tough challenge for Ireland and Kidney needs his team to produce the same level of hunger. Given Kidney’s consistency of selection, consistency of performance is a quality that has eluded his teams and seems an irritating contradiction. Ireland gave it a lash against France and reproducing that purpose will give a well lubricated springtime crowd something to shout about.

The Leinster outfit that he took over in 05-06 were a try-happy, score-for-fun bunch who loaded up on the five-pointers on the way to eight four-try bonus point performances from twenty-two games in the Magners League.¹ By the time he left the club at the end of the 09-10 season, they had finished top of the league² but were a miserablist, shoe-gazing lot who could only manage one four-try bonus point game from eighteen efforts, and only averaged a try-and-a-half per game. Bo knows sports, Cheika knows pragmatism.

Leinster's performances in the Magners League under Michael Cheika, 2005-10. Laws changed, defences improved, players became more well-known and thus more markable, and of course age and form swings made a huge difference. The biggest difference though was that Cheika turned the 'galactic' into a pragmatic, gritty outfit. Because whatever about his volatile temperament, he's a pragmatic, gritty coach.

¹ That’s a 36% rate of four-try bonus point performances in 2005-06, and a 5.5% rate of four-try bonus point performances in 09-10 … and Leinster still finished top of the league!

² But would lose the first Magner’s League Grand Final at home to the Ospreys.

Mate, yer playin' for the jumpah – alright, maybe not this particular jumpah ...

Now in his second season coaching Stade Français, Cheika has recently appeared on BBC broadcasts as an English-speaking man on the ground in the chilly environs of Stade de France, and gives his old mate Dexy’s an informed opinion on the French team and the prospects for a good game on Sunday in today’s Irish Times.

The first thing to mention is that he doesn’t have a horse in the race: he’s an Australian of Lebanese extraction who played in France [for Castres], then played and coached in Italy before coming to Ireland to coach Leinster for a good few years, and is now back in France and coaching a Top14 outfit in the capital. He’s got a good knowledge of all the players involved, either from having trained them personally or having prepared his teams to play against them. It’s a good move from Dexy’s to seek his opinion out, and he’s got some interesting thoughts on how Ireland should play.

“… you need to keep the ball. You cannot give it to them too much. You gotta play a lot with it. If you’re going to give them the ball, you’ve got to give it to them from set piece. You cannot give it to them on reckless kicking or turnover, that’s where they can do some damage to you.”

Bonnaire – right up there with Harinordoquy as one of the greatest lineout forwards in the modern game. Teak-tough, intelligent, skillful ... I'd imagine that this guy is going to make a hell of a coach when he finally retires.

By bringing the spring-heeled Julien Bonnaire back into the fold, France have significantly improved their lineout with minimal damage done to their scrum; selecting Julien Pierre in the second row would have had a similar effect on the lineout, but would likely have damaged the scrum, for example. They’ve probably improved their kick-off reception too, because Bonnaire is so mobile and easily lifted. So with one change in personnel, the Mole would argue that PSA has improved two of France’s forward set-pieces.

With Harinordoquy and Bonnaire in tow, their lineout will once again be a potent force on both their own ball and on opposition ball. The Mole would be surprised if Ireland can put them under any pressure on French throw-ins, regardless of how deep we are in their territory. Pape is a very able front jumper, and the aforementioned backrows are simply two of the greatest airmen of the professional era.

Cheika feels that France are less dangerous off first-phase ball than when the game breaks open. He’s probably right [Irish fans have seen France tear us open umpteen times over the last couple of decades], but first-phase ball provides for a significant amount of one-on-ones, especially with such slick handlers as the French backline.

Aurelien Rougerie speed-bumped Gordon D’Arcy in the decisive moment of the last Six Nations encounter between the teams, and there is no doubt in my mind that PSA will look to run Rougerie and Malzieu down Earls’ defensive channel off first phase ball early in the match. Earls has a reputation – whether deserved or not – as a defensive weakness in the centre, and Rougerie asks a lot more questions of tacklers than the two Italian boys [Sgarbi and Benvenuti] did last week.

“I would like to see them cut loose. I think they need to play with quicker ball and just let it flow. Like, their game is good, I just think they need to cut loose a little bit more and play on the front foot a lot more.”

It’s incredible how quickly the optimism of going into the tournament with three teams in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals has been lost. Coming off the back of a reasonable World Cup [statistically Ireland’s most successful ever, if in the end a little disappointing] and with all the provinces pouring it on and producing big last-day performances in the premier competition in European club rugby, Ireland went into the Six Nations with a home grudge match to kick it off … and promptly lost.

And it seems that they’ve lost a good degree of confidence as well. Conor Murray in particular looks hesitant, and Jonny Sexton’s Man of the Match award against Italy shouldn’t obscure the fact that he had a hell of an ordinary first half. Keith Earls’ self-confidence has long been an issue – probably not helped by being moved around so often – and he’s now expected to fulfill Brian O’Driscoll’s duties in the No13 jersey: that’s like taking over the All Black No10 shirt from Dan Carter. It’s a credit to him that he hasn’t gone down with a psychosomatic neck injury in the mould of replacement kiwi first five-eighth Colin Slade.

Rob Kearney – the most confident of theIrish back. Who's the 'bluffer' now, Slatts?

The principle reason that Robert Kearney has been so notable in his performances to date is that he’s playing with buckets of confidence, in contrast to the rest of the three quarters [even Tommy Bowe, while playing some good stuff, isn't playing with the confidence or the smile on his face that we saw in 2009 and 2010]. Kearney looks like he expects to claim every high ball and burst every first tackle. Whatever it is that Kearney’s on, Kidney needs to bottle it.

“I just think they need to believe in their attacking game more and go after it.”

In what is on the face of it a pretty bland statement, Cheika has hit upon a key point. To The Mole, it seems from

• i] the way he plays the game;
• ii] his body language; and
• iii] Kidney’s post-match musings about ‘where to play’

that Sexton doesn’t really believe in [or ‘buy into’ to use the shorthand] the attacking game he’s been instructed to play.

What defines whether you’re the attacking team? Is it whether you have the ball or where you are on the pitch? From an outside perspective, that seems to be a key point of contention between coach and outhalf: it would appear that the coach thinks that you’re on the defensive if you’ve got the ball between your own 10m line and your 22 [the ‘don’t play too much rugby in your own half’ mantra], whereas in the same situation the outhalf thinks that you’ve got the ball, therefore you’re on the attack.

Cheika is a neutral, pragmatic coach who has won trophies and is familiar with the players and personalities involved in the game: his opinions are more valid than most.

The Ireland squad shows no changes from the Italy game. (c) Ken Bohane.

Declan Kidney has selected the exact same match day 22  as that chosen for last weekend’s 42-10 win over Italy. Despite some impressive cameos off the bench, particularly from Leinster’s Eoin Reddan, the Irish management team have kept faith with the likes of Conor Murray and Donncha O’Callaghan ahead of Sunday’s clash with France in Paris, with no changes to the starting 15.

Kidney’s team selection for this rescheduled fixture will almost certainly be greeted with accusations of conservatism and over-loyalty by many fans. Do you think Kidney should have made changes? If so, in what positions? Do you think Reddan and Donnacha Ryan deserved to be starting? Would you have made more than just two changes? Comment below with your opinion on Kidney’s decisions.

Ireland team to face France:

1. Cian Healy (Leinster)

2. Rory Best (Ulster)

3. Mike Ross (Leinster)

4. Donnacha O’Callaghan (Munster)

5. Paul O’Connell (Munster, capt.)

6. Stephen Ferris (Ulster)

7. Sean O’Brien (Leinster)

8. Jamie Heaslip (Leinster)

9. Conor Murray (Munster)

10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster)

11. Andrew Trimble (Ulster)

12. Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster)

13. Keith Earls (Munster)

14. Tommy Bowe (Ospreys)

15. Rob Kearney (Leinster)

Subs:

16. Sean Cronin (Leinster), 17. Tom Court (Ulster), 18. Donnacha Ryan (Munster), 19. Peter O’Mahony (Munster), 20. Eoin Reddan (Leinster),21. Ronan O’Gara (Munster), 22. Fergus McFadden (Leinster).

——————–

Photo courtesy: Ken Bohane.

First up are ITALY who take the Oh God, The Cliches Will Be Horrendous Award for Causing the Most Obvious Game of Two Halves (although weirdly the BBC half-time analysis during the other two games described both first halves as ‘a half of two halves). The first half of their match with Ireland was a great contest, with the Italian underdogs matching the Irishmen point for point (despite their traditional kicking issues) to go in at the break 10-10, courtesy of a lovely try from Sergio Parisse.
Then came the second half, during which the intriguing contest of the first appeared to go straight out of the window the moment Wayne Barnes blue his whistle. Italy secured little possession, and their forwards were powerless to stop the Irish backs trampling all over their Italian counterparts, making break after break and running in four tries, including two in the last two minutes as Italy appeared to just roll over and give up. Considering how well they have done in the last two weeks, and indeed in last year’s championship (including a very tense, narrow loss to the Irish), this was a reminder that they still have a way to go.

IRELAND themselves picked up a more individual award, namely the Sorry, Were We Watching The Same Game? Award for Most Baffling Man of the Match. Ireland had many standout players in their rout of the Italians- Tommy Bowe scored a brace on the wing, Keith Earls was running well in the centre and scored a try of his own, and Paul O’Connell was seemingly omnipresent in the lineout and breakdown. Two of my tips for MOTM were Stephen Ferris, who made at least two clean breaks and was tackling like the immovable object he usually is, and Rob Kearney, whose aggression whilst running would have made the bravest defender start to whimper. And Man of the Match went to… Jonny Sexton, the Irish flyhalf.
Now, Sexton is a good player, and the typical media view of him appears to be somewhere between Dan Carter and God, but he was not MOTM. From my point of view, he was playing quite well, but certainly nothing like his best and wasn’t even inspiring his attacking line like he had been in previous weeks. Man of the Match? Not a chance.

Onto the next game, in which ENGLAND picked up the consolation Are You Blind, Sir? Award for Unluckiest Refereeing Errors. Any rugby player will tell you that no referee, no matter how good and no matter what the match, can see everything, and there will be always things that they miss. To his credit, referee Steve Walsh (who himself won the Hugh Jackman Lookalike Award) did spot most things and overall refereed well, but several of those that he did miss or got wrong went severely against England. One example that sticks in mind occurred midway through the second half- with the English back line under pressure, flyhalf Owen Farrell (who had an absolute stormer) tried to simultaneously flick the ball onwards while avoiding the unwelcome attentions of Welsh centre Jonathan Davies. As he did so, Davies tackled him and knocked the ball on, sending it flying upfield. This should have been an English scrum, but with Walsh on the wrong side he allowed play to go on, from which Wales made 30 metres, won a penalty and got a lucky 3 points.
More controversial, however, and something that will prove a source of bitterness for years to come methinks, occurred right at the end. With England needing a converted try to draw level, they launched one last desperate attack, including one attempted crossfield kick that was inches away from a score. Finally, wing David Strettle launched himself at the line and, although swamped by three Welsh defenders, appeared at first glance to have touched it down over his head. Multiple video replays appeared to show the same thing, but the TMO was unsure as to whether Strettle had exerted sufficient ‘downward pressure’ and, as it says in the laws “if there is any doubt as to whether a try has been scored, a scrum must be awarded”. With time over, Walsh called no try, blew his whistle, and Wales were victorious. Was it a try? I think it was (as do all my English friends), but hey- it’s happened now. But Wales- you got lucky. Very lucky. (Although I must say, Strettle did himself no favours in the post-match press conference by making at least 2 laws mistakes that didn’t exactly help his case)

As for WALES, they can thank their win due to a mixture of a rather fluky try from Scott Williams (how he got the ball of the strongest man on the pitch I will never know), and their work in gaining the Leonidas, Eat Your Heart Out Award for Best Defence. Despite Manu Tuilagi sitting Rhys Priestland on his arse at every possible opportunity, and England’s defence being solid as a rock too, the Welsh defence was awesome. MOTM and Welsh captain Sam Warburton saved a sure-fire try with a one-leg tackle on Tuilagi, the most powerful runner out there, that stopped him dead in his tracks, and it was that desperation and urgency with their backs to the wall that kept the English away from a try, and prevented Strettle’s try from being in any doubt. Added to that was George North’s beautiful hit on Owen Farrell, just after Farrell’s equally beautiful chip through, and just after his impressive placement of the ball, considering he’d just been hit by a train of a tackle. You can see it in appalling quality here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edFYLea7n2Y, or with sound on the highlights video- gotta be one of the best of the tournament so far.

Finally we come to Sunday and SCOTLAND‘s clash with France, in which the Scots picked up the Oh Shit, You Are Actually Quite Good Progress Prize. Every rugby man worth his salt knows what Scotland’s problems have been in recent years- tries, or more importantly, a lack of them. In players Sean Lamont, Max Evans, Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair Scotland have always had some undoubtedly potent backs, but they never seem to be able to finish anything, or to provide that moment of magic that leads to a welcome 5-point boost. However, within 10 minutes of the starting whistle on Sunday, first starter Stuart Hogg changed that when, in tandem with some great vision by Greig Laidlaw, he scooted over in the corner to open the scoring for Scotland. From that moment on, Scotland were a changed team from the one we have seen in recent months- fast, open, free-flowing and exciting to watch. Hogg was constantly threatening from full-back (once running straight through what looked like a solid wall of French defenders), Laidlaw kept up the good work from fly-half, and the back row were their usual brilliant selves. When Lee Jones got try no. 2 (courtesy of what I’m sure was a bit of outrageous cheating from John Barclay), the result seemed immaterial, for Scotland were playing well at last. Although, to be honest, the win would have been nice.

And so we come to that game’s victors, FRANCE, winners of the Sporting Underdog Films Are Never Going to Happen In Real Life Award for Mercilessly Grinding Out wins. France were not overwhelming in their victory- they were not spectacular and, for a French side, surprisingly lacking in flair. While the Scots surprised and encouraged everyone watching, getting the Murrayfield crowd behind them and setting themselves up for what would have been a historic win, the French were comparatively calm and collected in their manner. While their rather shoddy defence let them down on occasions, in attack they were clinical finishers, getting one try courtesy of a killer line from Wesley Fofana, and another from a simple 2-on-1 from a clean line break. Lionel Beauxis’ drop goal to finish it off at the end epitomised their performance- nothing flashy, no tension, no dramatic try attempts as they struggled to break the Scottish line- just calm, efficient finishing and just performance ability. Some would say Scotland were the moral victors- but the French made sure that was not about to happen.

Final Scores:
Ireland 42-10 Italy
Wales 19-12 England
France 23-17 Scotland

 1: Box Clever

France will have noted how little protection Conor Murray received when he was box kicking against Wales, and they will look to exploit this. I’m not sure if Saracens were the first out of the traps on this front but they effectively use an extra body on the back of the ruck/maul to put a crucial two more metres between box kicker and blocker. The Saxons operated it against Ireland in Exeter two weeks ago and gave added protection to debutant Ben Spencer – a Saracen, as it happens. An early block-down in Paris and you can write the rest of the script yourself.

 2: Choose When and Where to Choke

The choke tackle has received so much airplay since its introduction in the 2009 Grand Slam season that it’s up there with Riverdance now as quintessentially Irish. Even if it was introduced by Australian Les Kiss. Like the clack attack that is the chorus of the stage show, however, you can see this one coming, and may feel like moving on. It still has a place in the Irish repertoire but it needs to be much further down the billing.

Instead there is almost a frantic vibe to it. Donncha O’Callaghan springs to mind as a man who has the periscope up, looking for people to strangle, wherever he is on the pitch. If it goes wrong – and the victim gets to ground for a quick recycle – then the chokers have not only lost ground but are numbers-down on the next phase as well.

You need heavy traffic to choke with safety. So maybe 10 metres either side of the breakdown is fertile territory. The further wide you go the riskier it becomes. You don’t get the impression that Ireland have bought into this, but they need to, and soon.  

 3: Get after Parra

Of the many unsettling things about Ireland’s set-up against Wales was the freedom afforded Mike Phillips. It was as if suddenly they had come up against this scrumhalf they knew nothing about. And by half time they still hadn’t worked him out. When you have a big, physical scrumhalf with a short fuse your starting point has to be confrontation, and irritation. And when you have a smaller scrumhalf who is the fulcrum of the team, with an excellent running game, then equally you need to close him down and beat him up if possible.

So as soon as the nine picks and looks to run off the ruck, the second defender off the breakdown must have licence to break the line and attack into the space where the scrumhalf is headed, preferably making contact. So the pillar stays put, and everyone else shifts inward to fill the gap vacated by the defender who has attacked the scrumhalf.  If Ireland aren’t aggressive here they’re doomed.

 4: Figure a Way Out

Teams who are not in control whack the ball out of their 22 with no idea how or when it might come straight back at them. You need an exit strategy. For example, twice against Wales Jonny Sexton had to bang it downfield when he didn’t want to. Why? The first was in the opening half after Gordon D’Arcy, just after a Wales restart, got the ball in his 22 and then worked his way about three metres outside it – whereupon the ball had to be taken back in to be cleared, and couldn’t be cleared direct to touch. So Sexton, under pressure and looking plainly pissed off, whacked it downfield. And Wales attacked.

The second, after the break, saw Rob Kearney field a Garryowen just insideIreland’s 22, from James Hook. He could have marked it, but instead looked to counter. That counter took him a few metres…….outside the 22 again, and again the pass-back law forced Sexton to whack it. Wales lost four of their 10 lineouts, so putting the ball out of play seemed a reasonable method of putting them under pressure. So why not do it? If they scramble the ball out of their 22 against France they’ll be in the same trouble all over again.

 end

Leigh Halfpenny ignored the tough reception of the home crowd to slot his second penalty of the game to secure victory for Wales and spark wild celebrations.

Leigh Halfpenny coolly slotted the "hardest kick of his life".

The visitors took the lead inside the first quarter of an hour as a moment of brilliance from Wales out-half, Rhys Priestland, released Jonathan Davies down the touchline to score in the corner.

Wales’ lead lasted right up until half time until Tommy Bowe’s break lead to hooker Rory Best a run in, unopposed, and give Ireland a 10-5 lead at the break.

The second half began in the worst possible way for the Welsh after captain, Sam Warburton, was taken off with a suspected dead leg. Jonathan Sexton added his second penalty to extend the lead to 8 points to compound the pain.

This sparked the revival of the Welsh side as Halfpenny slotted his first penalty to reduce the difference to 5 points after Sean O’Brien had been penalised for an infringement at a ruck.

This revival continued as George North made a powerful break in midfield and released a beautifully timed back-of-the-hand offload to the ever present Jonathan Davies who ran in for his second try of the game. Leigh Halfpenny added the further points to put Wales back into the lead at 15-13.

This wasn’t to prove the end of the exchanges of lead as Ireland attacked Wales with a few powerful drives outside the Welsh 22 leading to an offside in the defence and Sexton had no problem slotting the 3 points.

With 15 minutes to go, Bradley Davies was sin-binned for an off-the-ball altercation with Donnacha Ryan which lead to Davies tip-tackling Ryan and dropping him, bringing back many unwanted memories for Welsh supporters of Sam Warburton’s tackle from the World Cup.

This sparked inspiration from the Irish camp to further punish Wales. Tommy Bowe crossed over in the corner to extend Ireland’s lead out to 6 points after Jonny Sexton’s missed conversion.

Four minutes from the final whistle and Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies combined to send over the excellent George North in the corner to cut the lead to 1 point with the conversion to come from Halfpenny.

However, Halfpenny pushed his conversion across the face of the posts.

But moments later and Stephen Ferris received the second yellow card of the game for an alleged tip-tackle on Wales lock, Ian Evans. Leigh Halfpenny gained his composure to slot the kick from the 22 metre line to send Welsh players and supporters into ecstasy.

Wales will host Scotland at the Millenium Stadium next weekend, whereas, Ireland face a very tough journey to France.

Ireland: R Kearney, Bowe, McFadden, D’arcy, Trimble, Sexton, Murray, Healy, Best, Ross, O’Callaghan, O’Connell (captain), Ferris, O’Brien, Heaslip.

Replacements: O’Gara for Sexton (74 minutes), Reddan for Murray (77), Ryan for O’Callaghan (63).

Not used: Cronin, Court, O’Mahony, D Kearney.

Sin bin: Ferris (79)

Wales: Halfpenny, Cuthbert, J Davies, Roberts, North, Priestland, Phillips, Gill, Bennett, A Jones, B Davies, Evans, R Jones, Warburton (captain), Faletau.

Replacements: Tipuric for Warburton (41), Hook for Cuthbert (41), James for A Jones (70).

Not used: Owen, Powell, L Williams, S Williams.

Sin bin: B Davies (65)

——————–

Leinster

Leinster have only lost two games this season thanks to a dominant pack and and exciting backs. (c) Art Widak.

Top of the PRO12 by 9 points and a home quarter-final secured as second seeds after dominating Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup, Leinster are in great shape. Joe Schmidt’s squad have only twice all season and both of those losses came back in September with the international players away on World Cup duty. Since the 19-23 loss to Glasgow at the RDS on the 17th of September, Leinster have gone unbeaten in 16 games, 15 of those wins.

In the PRO12, the only other loss was to the Ospreys on the opening day of the season when Leinster fielded a fairly inexperienced team. Since September though, Schmidt’s men have been unstoppable. They are the top try-scorers in the league with 29 while their points difference is streets ahead of anyone at +128. The closest side to that are the Ospreys who stand on +65. Leinster have the 5th strongest defence in terms of points conceded, 218. Their biggest win of the PRO12 season so far is the 52-9 trashing of a heavily weakened Cardiff team at the start of December.

In the Heineken Cup, the reigning champions had no trouble negotiating Pool 3, winning 5 and drawing 1 of the 6 fixtures against Bath, Glasgow Warriors and Montpellier. The three home fixtures showed exactly what Leinster are capable of, particularly the spectacular 52-27 dismantling of Bath at the Aviva in December. Leinster, with 18, are second only to Clermont in the try-scoring stakes in the tournament so far. Clermont have scored 26 so far, thanks to their 12-try, 82-0 humbling of Aironi. The French side obviously lead in terms of points difference too, on +146, but Leinster’s +84 is well ahead of the next best, Munster and Toulouse on +45.

The 52-27 win over Bath at the Aviva in December is one of the season's highlights so far. (c) Art Widak.

The two-time Heineken Cup victors have 4 wins from the 4 inter-provincial games they’ve played so far in this campaign. They dispatched Connacht 30-20 at the RDS in October, then just about survived to win 13-15 at the Sportsground this month. Johnny Sexton’s kicking ensured a 24-19 win over Munster at the Aviva in November while a weak Ulster team was dispatched 42-13 on Stephen’s Day.

In terms of player performances, the size and strength in depth of the Leinster squad is what has kept them at the forefront of both competitions. Jonathan Sexton is the top points scorer in the squad with 121 so far. Isa Nacewa stands at 87, but Fergus McFadden’s prolific recent kicking form means he’s gaining fast on 71. Surprisingly, Ian Madigan is the squad’s top try-scorer with 6. Rob Kearney’s 4 in the last 4 games leaves him just one behind on 5, while Luke Fitz has crossed the whitewash 4 times.

Leinster now have a quarter-final final with the Cardiff Blues at the Aviva on Saturday the 7th of April to look forward to. A win in that game would mean an away semi to the winner of the Saracens vs. Clermont quarter. It does look like a tough route to the final, but nothing is beyond this Leinster squad. As with every side involved in the HC quarter-finals, Schmidt will be keeping his fingers crossed that key players like Sexton and Sean O’Brien can avoid injury in the 6 Nations.

Jonathan Sexton is Leinster's top points scorer at this stage. (c) Martin Dobey.

With that healthy 9 point lead in the PRO12, and only 10 games left before the play-offs, Leinster should be ok for a home semi-final there. The two toughest fixtures in those 10 will probably be the away clashes with Munster in March and Ulster in April. However, we should see Leinster challenging for honours on both fronts come the end of the season.

Leinster’s stats so far this season:

Games played: 19     Won: 16     Drawn: 1     Lost: 2

Points scored: 518     Tries scored: 47     Try-scoring bonus points: 5

Points conceded: 306     Tries conceded: 26     Losing bonus points: 1

Top points scorer: Jonathan Sexton (121)      Top try scorer: Ian Madigan (6)

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Photos courtesy:  Art Widak, Martin Dobey.

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Here’s a look at perhaps Leinster’s most impressive performance of the season, the 52-27 demolition of Bath at the Aviva in December:

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Finally, highlights of the 24-19 win over Munster in the PRO12 back in November:

Simon Zebo was the hattrick hero as Munster destroyed the Saints on Saturday. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

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  Connacht 9-8 Harlequins

Friday 20th January @ The Sportsground

A determined, ferocious effort from Connacht earned them their first ever Heineken Cup win at a wet and windy Sportsground on Friday night. Man of the match John Muldoon said afterwards that he and his teammates felt like they had  just won the tournament. While Munster’s huge win against Northampton on Saturday showed us one side of what makes rugby so special, Connacht showed a totally different side with their undying spirit and determination.

So, the awful run of losses is finally over. Connacht’s first win in fifteen games came thanks to what Muldoon called “a lot of ticker”. This heart was expressed through Connacht’s powerful, aggressive defence. ‘Quins failed to adapt to the conditions and the scrappy nature of the game suited Eric Elwood’s men. Niall O’Connor landed the crucial points with three penalties. Sam Smith touched down for Harlequins in the first-half but Nick Evans was off target with the conversion as well as a more straightforward second-half penalty.

Here’s the final table from Pool 6. Toulouse are the only team to advance to the quarter-finals:

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Leinster 25-3 Montpellier

Saturday 21st January @ The RDS

Leinster completed their dominance of Pool 3 with a muscular win at home to Montpellier. Sean O’Brien, Rob Kearney and Cian Healy scored the tries while Fergus McFadden kicked ten points. Leinster did miss out on the try-scoring bonus point to leave Munster as top seeds after the pool stages. However, Joe Schmidt will be unconcerned following a good display from his team. Leinster will now host the Cardiff Blues, most probably at the Aviva, in April’s quarter-final.

Montpellier gave Leinster’s defence a severe testing for a 25 minute spell either side of half-time but the current Heineken Cup champions held firm. Schmidt will be hugely pleased to have only conceded three points, showing that Leinster can defend just as well as they cut teams open in attack. Some strong individual performances from the likes of Rob Kearney, Cian Healy and Gordon D’Arcy will have pleased Ireland coach Declan Kidney.

Here’s how Pool 3 finished up. Leinster are the only team to move on to the knock-out stages:

And here’s the highlights from the Leinster vs. Montpellier game:

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Clermont 19-15 Ulster

Saturday 21st January @ Stade Marcel Michelin

Connacht’s win on Friday night meant that Ulster were already guaranteed a quarter-final spot coming into this game. After the narrow loss to Clermont, Brian McLaughlin stated that he was pleased his side had also secured that qualification on their own merits with a losing bonus point. However, he expressed his dissapointment at their failure to win and ensure a home draw. The Ulster performance was once again top class. This side, after a shaky and inconsistent first third of the season, has morphed into genuine Heineken Cup contenders.

The nature of this defeat will frustrate Ulster. Clermont scored the only try of the game through replacement hooker Ti’i Paulo. While the French side had been battering Ulster’s line at the time, the touchdown came only after an American football-style block by Nathan Hines. The fact that Hines was lucky to still be on the pitch after some highly cynical holding of Pedrie Wannenburg and Stephen Ferris only minutes before exacerbated the sense of frustration. The fact that dan Tuohy had been binned early in the game for a less serious offence topped off a one-sided display from referee Dave Pearson.

Still, Ulster will move on and now have a quarter-final with Munster to look forward to. That will be a momentous occasion in Thomond Park.

Here’s how Pool 4 finished up. Both Clermont and Ulster move on to the quarter-finals:

Here’s the highlights from the game:

And a closer look at the two incidents involving Nathan Hines. The Clermont try is first, followed by the Scottish second-row’s cynical holding:

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Northampton 36-51 Munster

Saturday 21st January @ stadium:mk

Munster saved the best for last as they made it six wins from six to qualify as the top seeds for the quarter-finals. This scintillating performance was a stunning surprise from a Munster side who have, by their own admission, been winning without playing brilliantly up until now. Paul O’Connell had emphasised in recent weeks that his side needed to start converting more of the try-scoring chances they were creating. That finally happened to great effect at stadium:mk as Munster swept the Saints aside in the second-half.

Five tries from Johne Murphy, BJ Botha and Simon Zebo (3) ensured a try-scoring bonus point while Ronan O’Gara kicked 24 points. Munster had a sloppy opening quarter to the game, allowing Northampton pull into a 13-3 lead. At that stage, things weren’t looking good for Tony McGahan’s men, but they pulled back to 19-19 at half-time. After the interval, Munster were unstoppable as they repeatedly cut the Saints apart, despite the English side’s awesome dominance of the scrum. From being written off as a side in transition for most of the season,  Munster have marked themselves out as one of the teams to beat in this competition. The inter-pro quarter-final with Ulster will be fascinating.

Here’s a look at how Pool 1 finished. Munster are the only team into the quarters:

Here’s all five of the Munster tries. Enjoy!

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Photos courtesy:  Ivan O’Riordan.

Munster secured a quarter-final by beating Castres on Saturday. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

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Ulster 41-7 Leicester

Friday 13th January @ Ravenhill

Ulster were irrepressible as they ripped the Tigers to shreds in front of an overjoyed crowd at Ravenhill. Tries from Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble (2) and Paul Marshall as well as 21 points from the boot of Ruan Pienaar did the damage for Brian McLaughlin’s team. Ulster completely dominated the Tigers, who had hopes of a push for the quarter-finals coming into this game. Ulster remain top of Pool 4 but now have the unenviable task of a trip to Clermont on Saturday.

Clermont showed good form themselves over the weekend as they humiliated Aironi. However, if Ulster can repeat Friday night’s performance then they have a real chance of winning in France. If they do lose, they can still top the group if – 1) they deny Clermont a try-scoring bonus point, 2) get a losing bonus point themselves and 3) either score more tries than Clermont in the game or lose by less than five points. Lots of permutations for what should be another thrilling Heineken Cup game.

Here’s Pool 4 heading into the final round of games next weekend:

Here’s the four Ulster tries from Friday night:

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Munster 26-10 Castres

Saturday 14th January @ Thomond Park

Munster became the first side to secure a quarter-final berth in this season’s Heineken Cup as they overcame Castres at a packed Thomond Park on Saturday. Despite a promising opening ten minutes, which saw Johne Murphy cross for a well-worked try, Munster got dragged into a real battle with Castres’ second-string. Wian du Preez’s try with twelve minutes to go confirmed the win. Ronan O’Gara was as reliable as ever from the tee, converting both tries and adding four penalties.

Speaking after the game, Paul O’Connell admitted that Munster were”frustrated” with their performance. For the second week in a row, plenty of chances were created but there was a lack of accuracy in finishing them. Looking at the positives, Munster are in a much better position than this time last year and go to Northampton knowing that a win would guarantee a home quarter-final. The Saints will be out for revenge in a big way.

Pool 1 looks like this after Round 5:

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Toulouse 24-3 Connacht

Saturday 14th January @ Stade Ernst Wallon

Connacht came away from Toulouse with a certain amount of pride after showing up well. Despite four tries for the home side, Connacht were much improved on last week’s loss to Aironi and were unlucky not to get a couple of tries themselves.  The travelling Connacht fans were rewarded for their loyalty and Eric Elwood will certainly find positives ahead of the final pool match against Harlequins on Friday night at the Sportsground.

Niall O’Connor opened the scoring after 14 minutes but Toulouse gradually got on top. The prolific wing Timoci Matanavou scored two tries with Maxime Medard and Louis Picamoles also crossing the whitewash. Lionel Beauxis was on target with two conversions. Connacht will look to finish off their maiden Heineken Cup campaign on a high against Harlequins. Conor O’Shea’s side can still qualify so a first win for Connacht would be a huge shock.

Here’s Pool 6 after the weekend’s action:

Here’s the highlights from the Toulouse game:

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Glasgow 16-23 Leinster

Sunday 15th January @ Firhill

Joe Schmidt’s Leinster weren’t at their best in Glasgow but still managed a win that sees them secure a quarter-final with a game to spare. As predicted, Glasgow worked hard as they fought for their Heineken Cup lives. They will be dissapointed with the soft try they conceded to Rob Kearney. If truth be told though, the Warriors never had enough quality to come out on top.

Johnny Sexton kicked one penalty for Leinster but when he picked up a calf strain, Fergus McFadden took over the kicking duties. The centre slotted two conversions and two penalties to top off a fantastic all-round performance. Isaac Boss was the other Leinster try-scorer. Leinster host Montpellier at the RDS on Saturday and a win would be enough to ensure a crucial home quarter-final. That win should be well within Leinster’s capabilities.

Here’s Pool 3 after the fifth round of matches:

Here’s the highlights from the Warriors vs. Leinster game:

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Photo courtesy:  Ivan O’Riordan.

Photo via Jukka Zitting.

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James Coughlan

Coughlan goes over for his try against Treviso. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

After a relatively quiet first half in Munster’s 29-11 win over Treviso on Saturday, Coughlan came out and lead his team to a bonus-point win in the second-half. With a slim 10-6 lead at the break, Munster needed players to step up and Coughlan did so in typical fashion. The Cork man scored a try off the base of a scrum as well as being massively important in the build up to Simon Zebo’s score. His work rate was as high as always.

Coughlan, the current Munster Player of the Year, put in a serious shift as he made 14 carries as well as 9 tackles. Only the Dragons’ Toby Faletau had more carries than Coughlan over the course of the PRO12 weekend. Of course, it is quality rather than quantity that a player’s ball-carrying should be judged on and Coughlan was not found wanting in that regard. His try from a scrum five metres out showed the No.8′s strength. His support line to take Ian Keatley’s offload in the build up to Zebo’s try showed his intelligence.

At 31, Coughlan is uncapped for Ireland and likely to remain so. He has been involved with the Ireland Sevens set-up, playing in the 2009 Sevens World Cup. His late start to professional rugby means he has never been seriously considered for a senior cap. His importance to Munster is indicated by the fact that he has been involved in all but 2 matches this season. Coughlan’s man of the match performance against Treviso showed exactly why he will continue to be so important.

Coughlan’s key stats vs. Treviso:

Kick/run/pass: 0/3/14     Metres gained on ball: 64     Clean line-breaks: 2       Defenders beaten: 3     Tackles made/missed: 9/1

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Paul Marshall

As highlighted before here in Four on Form, Marshall has been one of Ulster’s best players this season. The return of Ruan Pienaar has meant that the diminutive scrumhalf has been relegated to a back-up role in recent weeks. Coming off the bench to replace the injured Ian Humphreys after twenty minutes of Ulster’s 42-20 win over Edinburgh on Friday night, Marshall showed exactly why he deserves inclusion in the starting fifteen.

The 26-year-old was centrally involved in all four of Ulster’s tries. For the first, his crisp, clean service allowed Pienaar to release Darren Cave, who offloaded to Rory Best for the score. The second try all began with Marshall’s perfect, hanging box kick. The height on the kick allowed Andrew Trimble to chase and reclaim the ball. From there, Stephen Ferris provided the scoring-pass for Tuohy.

Marshall showed his ability to snipe as he set up the third try for Trimble. From an Ulster maul, the scrumhalf somehow managed to slip down the blindside, showing his pace before releasing Trimble to burn past Tim Visser. Marshall’s pace was again on display for the fourth try. He recovered an Edinburgh knock on just outside Ulster’s 22 and raced past several defenders before intelligently interchanging passes with Trimble and putting Cave through to touch down.

Although Humphreys has been named in Ulster’s provisional squad for this Friday’s vital Heineken Cup showdown with Leicester Tigers, surely the form of Marshall can no longer be ignored by coach Brian McLaughlin. As suggested here before, Pienaar can play at outhalf, accommodating the irrepressible Marshall.

Marshall’s key stats vs. Edinburgh:

Kick/pass/run: 3/43/4     Metres gained on ball: 54     Clean line-breaks: 3     Defenders beaten: 3     Tackles made/missed: 2/0

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Rob Kearney

Kearney in action against the All Blacks in 2008. (c) Martin Dobey.

Kearney put in yet another top-class 80 minutes for Leinster as they hung on to beat Cardiff Blues 23-19 on Saturday. The 25-year-old has rewarded Joe Schmidt’s decision to install Kearney as first-choice fullback by putting in some of the finest performances of his career. The Louth native is back to somewhere close to his best, having clearly adapted to the role of a modern fullback. Missing most of last season with a serious knee injury, Kearney had to watch on as Isa Nacewa made the number 15 jersey his own. The battle between the two for the fullback jersey that many expected hasn’t really developed. Kearney’s form has made him undroppable.

Kearney’s try against Cardiff was an example of what he has been doing all season. As Eoin Reddan went on a dummy-loop around Cronin, Kearney took a brilliant line inside the hooker to exploit the hole created by Reddan’s loop. His acceleration through the gap was as impressive as his step around Leigh Halfpenny to touch down.

The rest of Kearney’s game was just as excellent. His positioning was supreme, as he collected many of the Cardiff kicks into Leinster territory. He made several intelligent decisions to step up into the Leinster defence to cut off Cardiff attacks. the His left boot is a cannon, as he showed in the last ten minutes. Once, Kearney managed to clear to the halfway line from underneath the Leinster uprights. Kearney’s form means he will be the undisputed first-choice fullback for Ireland in this year’s SIx Nations.

Kearney’s key stats vs. Cardiff:

Kick/pass/run: 8/5/6     Metres gained on ball: 48     Clean line-breaks: 1      Defenders beaten: 3     Tackles made/missed: 4/0

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Jamie Heaslip

Heaslip captained Leinster to a win over the Blues. (c) Martin Dobey.

Heaslip took over the captaincy for Leinster and he made some big plays to vindicate Schmidt’s decision. The No.8′s performance was far from perfect, but he came up with important contributions when his team needed them the most. The first of these was his break and offload for Sean O’Brien’s early try. This was Heaslip at his best, breaking through defences and bringing others into the game.

In the second half, Heaslip made a similarly powerful break and we can only hope there is more of this to come from the 28-year-old. Heaslip put in a strong defensive effort too. He successfully completed all of his ten tackle efforts. A negative side to his game were the two penalties he conceded at ruck-time. However, the flip side to this was that his willingness to compete at the breakdown resulted in the crucial turnover penalty as Cardiff attacked the Leinster line in the closing seconds.

Heaslip has certainly been in great form this season. The Irish management will expect the No.8 to bring this into the Six Nations, and perhaps hope that the bigger stage can draw further improvement from him. More of what we saw against Cardiff would be greatly welcome.

Heaslip’s key stats vs. Cardiff:

Kick/pass/run: 0/4/8     Metres gained on ball: 52     Clean line-breaks: 2      Defenders beaten: 3     Offloads: 2     Turnovers: 2     Penalties: 2

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Photos courtesy:  Jukka Zitting, Ivan O’Riordan, Martin Dobey.

Simon Zebo on the way to scoring in Munster's 29-11 win over Treviso. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

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Edinburgh 20-42 Ulster 

Friday 6th January @ Murrayfield

Ulster secured a bonus-point win for the second week in a row with a convincing victory over Edinburgh. Rory Best, Andrew Trimble, Dan Tuohy and Darren Cave scored the tries. Ian Humphreys kicked two penalties before going off injured in the 20th minute. Ruan Pienaar took over the kicking duties from there, knocking over 2 conversions and 4 penalties.

Edinburgh managed to reply with two tries of their own through Nick de Luca and Alun Walker. Scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw converted both tries and added two penalties. But Ulster were fully deserving of their win and Brian McLaughlin was understandably pleased with the performance. This win moves Ulster up to 6th in the table, only 4 points off Glasgow in 4th. Two five-pointers in a row give McLaughlin’s side great momentum ahead of their crucial Heineken Cup clash with Leicester Tigers in Ravenhill on Friday.

Here’s extended highlights from the Edinburgh vs. Ulster game:

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Aironi 20-6 Connacht

Saturday 7th January @ Stadio Zaffanella

A shocking performance from Connacht condemned them to their 13th consecutive defeat in all competitions. With the Newport Gwent Dragons winning against the Ospreys on Friday, Connacht have dropped to 11th in the table. Only three points separate them from bottom side Aironi now. While the majority of Connacht’s losses in this current sequence have been by narrow margins, or often undeserving, this defeat in Italy was fully deserved. The sheer amount of unforced errors and bad decisions the players made meant losing was the only possibility.

Samoan winger Sinoti Sinoti scored the only try of the game for the Italians while outhalf Luciano Orquera added five penalties. The only response Connacht could muster was a penalty apiece from Matthew Jarvis and his replacement Niall O’Connor. Connacht were clearly second best throughout and this long run of fixtures has left their squad severely depleted. There is little respite in the next two weeks though, with Heineken Cup fixtures against Toulouse and Harlequins to negotiate before there is finally an extended break with the start of the Six Nations.

You can watch the Connacht vs. Aironi match on the TG4 Player, but to be honest there’s definitely better things you could do with your time! Awful match…

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Cardiff 19-23 Leinster

Saturday 7th January @ Cardiff City Stadium

Leinster extended their lead at the top of the PRO12 to nine points with a hard-fought win in Cardiff. This match lived up to the expectations created by both squads naming strong starting fifteens. Unfortunately for Cardiff, Gavin Henson cried off before kick-off due to a calf strain. Still, there were more than enough good players on the pitch to make this a rare top-quality PRO12 game.

Leinster had a fantastic start as Sean O’Brien and Rob Kearney crossed for tries inside the first ten minutes. Jonathan Sexton converted both scores to give Leinster a crucial 14-0 lead. Sexton added two penalties and Fergus McFadden kicked a late three-pointer of his own. For Cardiff, Leigh Halfpenny kicked three penalties as well as converting Gethin Jenkins’s try. Dan Parks added a drop-goal. Leinster are now undefeated in 14 games and will look to extend that run away to Glasgow in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

Here’s the highlights from the Cardiff vs. Leinster game:

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Munster 29-11 Treviso

Saturday 7th January @ Thomond Park

Munster got back to winning ways with a bonus-point victory over Treviso on Saturday evening. While never scintillating, Munster did enough to secure the important extra point by scoring four tries. This win moves Munster back up to 3rd in the league and leaves them only a single point behind the Ospreys in 2nd. Munster can now look push on and get into that 2nd position in order to secure a home play-off.

The try scorers for Munster were Niall Ronan, Man of the Match James Coughlan, Keith Earls and Simon Zebo. Ronan O’Gara tacked on three conversions and a penalty. Manoa Vosawai scored a consolation try for Treviso while Kris Burton landed two penalties. Worryingly for Tony McGahan, Ronan managed to injury himself while touching down for his score. Ronan says he is hopeful of being fit in time for Saturday’s Heineken Cup clash with Castres. With Denis ruled out for up to four months and Tommy O’Donnell out for six weeks, McGahan will share Ronan’s hopes.

Here’s the highlights of the win over Treviso (no sound):

You can watch the full Munster vs. Treviso game on the RTE Player.

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Here’s how the PRO12 table looks after the weekend’s action:

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Photo courtesy:  Ivan O’Riordan.

Leinster 52-27 Bath

17th December @ Aviva Stadium

Leinster were far too strong for Bath at the Aviva. Photo via M+MD.

Leinster blew Bath away with a scintillating 60 minute performance in front of a 46,365 crowd at the Aviva. This performance clearly marks Leinster out as one of the favourites for the tournament. While the last 20 minutes of the game saw Leinster thoughts turn to their Christmas party, the display up until that point was as complete as it possibly could have been. Dominant set-piece, crisp handling, exhilarating pace and aggressive defence were all part of the package. With so many of the Leinster players in top form, Bath never had a hope.

The match was over as a contest within 30 minutes, as Leinster blitzed Bath early on. Rob Kearney gave the home side the lead after just 3 minutes. Jonathan Sexton’s penalty effort came off the post and Devin Toner was quickest to react, using his height to claim the bouncing ball. Leinster recycled and Eoin Reddan’s clever flick pass caught Bath unaware and allowed Kearney to dive over. Sexton added the conversion for a promising start.

Ex-England centre Olly Barkley got Bath back into the game with two penalties, but in between Sexton came up with a fantastic drop goal to keep the scoreboard ticking over for Leinster. Bath fullback Sam Vesty’s clearance kick was straight down Sexton’s throat and he had more than enough time on the ball to smack home the drop goal from 45 metres out.

Leo Cullen was sent to the sin-bin for a punch but that didn’t effect Leinster in the slightest. Their next try came from an unexpected source. 6′ 10″ second-row Toner dummied and then made a lovely one-handed offload to Kearney, who drew the last defender and put Luke Fitzgerald over for the try. It was a subtle, surprising piece of play from Toner, part of a strong display by the 25-year-old. Sexton was on target with the conversion to give Leinster a 17-6 lead.

Next to cross the tryline was Sexton himself after another passage of sumptuous Leinster play. Sexton used the Leinster trademark loop off Jennings to give McFadden the space to send Fitzgerald speeding down the left-hand touchline. He drew in the covering defender and Sexton was on his inside to take the scoring pass and stride over. Sexton converted his own try as Cullen returned to the pitch. Leinster has scored 14 unanswered points while their captain took a breather.

Sexton scored Leinster's 3rd try as well as kicking 16 points. Photo via M+MD.

Following half-time, Leinster picked up immediately from where they had left off. Directly from the kick-off, they shifted the ball from right to left, through the hands. A beautiful skip pass from McFadden allowed Kearney to use his footwork, fix the outside defender and hit Fitzgerald, just outside Leinster’s own 22. Fitzgerald did the rest as he beat two defenders and showed a tremendous burst of pace to go the length of the field. Once again, Sexton knocked over the conversion.

Scrumhalf Reddan got a deserved try ten minutes later as he sniped over from close range following strong carries from Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy. Sexton added the extras. Any hope of a Bath revival was extinguished as first Vesty and then Chris Billar were yellow-carded. Replacement back-row Rhys Ruddock got Leinster’s 6th try when he went through a weak tackle after Kearney had made the initial break. Sexton was on target with his conversion.

With a whole raft of changes to the Leinster team, their focus started to slip in the last quarter as Bath tried to restore some pride. All Blacks World Cup winner Stephen Donald went through Eoin O’Malley’s tackle to get Bath’s first score of the second half. Barkley nailed the conversion from out to the right. Bath second-row Dave Attwood crossed next for Bath, with Barkley again successful with the conversion.

Leinster briefly awoke as O’Malley cleverly took a quick lineout in the Bath 22, and Jamie Heaslip surged up the middle. Isaac Boss then hit fellow replacement Ian Madigan, who stepped inside a tackle to dot down. Isa Nacewa took over the kicking duties and duly slotted the easy conversion. The game ended with another try for Bath as they won the restart and eventually substitute Ben Williams went through some uninterested tackles to touch down. Barkley knocked over the conversion with the last act of the game.

The true measure of this Leinster side lies in the fact that they will be frustrated with their performance in the last quarter of this clash. If they can consistently match the levels they hit in the first 60 minutes at the Aviva then most teams will find it extremely difficult to stay with them. Leinster now have a comfortable 6 point lead at the top of Pool 3. If they maintain this form, you would have to fancy them to wrap things up when they travel to Glasgow on the second weekend of January.

Leinster: R Kearney; I Nacewa, E O’Malley, F McFadden (G D’Arcy, 53), L Fitzgerald; J Sexton (I Madigan, 59), E Reddan; H Van Der Merwe (C Healy, H-T), R Strauss (S Cronin, 53), M Ross (N White, 65), L Cullen (capt, K McLaughlin, 59), D Toner, S O’Brien (R Ruddock, 53), J Heaslip, S Jennings (I Boss, 78).

Bath: S Vesty; J Cuthbert (B Williams, 56), M Banahan, O Barkley, N Abendanon; S Donald (T Heathcote, 68), M Claassens (C Cook, 56); D Flatman, C Biller (R Batty, 67), D Wilson, D Attwood, R Caldwell, F Louw (capt), S Taylor (A Beattie, 53) G Mercer.

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Photos courtesy:  M+MD

In Division Three it was a bad day for the top three, as they all lost, as a result, having dropped from first to fourth last week, Helions Bumpstead did the reverse this week after ending Braintree Reserves unbeaten run on the field of play. Rayne and Shalford Reserves were also defeated, and Witham Reserves came from well behind to defeat Boreham, and they have now moved into the promotion battle which now has the top five separated by only nine points. Witham Reserves got the day at Notley underway, but their chances looked slim at one stage. Boreham had closed with 96-5, as 51 not out from Narayan Koimuttam, saw them recover from 56-5. After eight overs of their reply Witham Reserves were 48-3, but then in the words of their skipper they “imploded”, and Witham Reserves moved through to 98-3 with four balls to spare. Michael Glynn hitting 29 not out, Richard Howes, 25 not out, and young Michael Godwin, son of Witham veteran of the early years of the League, Nick, scoring 22 not out on his debut. Rayne then became the first of the top three to fall base over apex against West Bergholt. West Bergholt had been reduced to 26-4 with Russell Barnard claiming three wickets in his first seven deliveries, but 52 not out from Andy Buckley took them from 54-5 to close on 100-5. Rayne made a very good start, reaching 41-0 from four overs, but then it all unraveled for them and they were dismissed for 83 at the start of the final over. Buckley capping a good day with 2-13. Shalford Reserves were next in the firing line, and they really did put the gun to their own heads. Having dismissed Kelvedon & Feering Reserves for just 70, Jeremy King, 22, top scoring, and with Rob Kearney and Harry Green, each taking two wicket, they then proceeded to make a total horlicks of their reply. Ben Green being dismissed off the first ball set the tone as they subsided to just 33 all out, with three run outs contributing to their downfall. Two wickets for Jeremy King. Third placed Braintree Reserves then met fourth placed Helions Bumpstead with the winner knowing their would go top. Braintree Reserves started brightly, but then did a “Shalford” and shot themselves in the foot. 29-1 inside four overs becoming 52 all out in the ninth over. Steve Isaac top scoring with only 10 before he was run out, backing up too far. Helions Bumpstead lost wickets at 19 and 20, to give Braintree Reserves a sniff of a chance, but 24 not out from Adam Suckling, and 15 not out from Tom Page saw them to 53-2 in the tenth over, and back to the top of the table.

Rayne Reserves made it seven wins from seven matches to move 22 points clear at the top of Division Four. They defeated Coggeshall A in the final game of the day at Notley, but credit is due to Coggeshall A’s young team for making such a worthy and determined effort to upset the applecart. I don’t know what the average age of their team is, but it cannot be more than 16, and if they continue to play in the manner they did, and they continue to play together, then watch out the top divisions, they will surely be moving in that direction over the coming years. It took 32 not out from Marc Phillips and 27 from Gary Hughes for them to close with 118-5. Coggeshall A did suffer the early loss of a wicket, but 29 from Josh Norman, and 24 not out from Charlie Gibson, saw them close their reply with 93-5, Rayne Reserves benefiting from some fortuitous run outs when the ball just bounced in their favour when often it falls in nomansland. Earls Colne are in second place after defeating Sampfords Reserves by 44 runs. Joe Smith,. 45 not out, Steve Willsher, 25, taking them to 99-5. Ollie Bocking then took 2-8 as Sampfords Reserves just managed to steal one point with their reply of 55-4. Woodham Mortimer Reserves are also in the promotion race after defeating Halstead by 26 runs. 35 not out from Damian Fannon, and 28 not out from Trevor Mason saw them reach 89-4. Halstead were then handicapped by losing a wicket in the opening over, and never really got back into contention, being dismissed for 63 in the eleventh over. High Garrett defeated Margaretting in the opening match in this division, by 68 runs. Christian O’Mahoney, 27, Howard Pettit, 30 not out, and 28 not out from Martin Brown saw High Garrett close with an impressive 126-4. Margaretting were dismissed for 58 in reply.

Gosfield continue to march remorselessly towards the Division Five title, even though they did not extend their lead at the top despite gaining all fifteen points for a 86 run demolition of Ashdon. Gary Dicker, 60 not out, and Andy Rose, 53 not out, took them from 85-4 to 140-4. Ashdon were then blown away for just 54 in 7.1 overs, with their number six, Mark Collins, top scoring with 19. Boreham Reserves kept pace with them as they crushed Boreham III’s by 99 runs. Not many Boreham Reserves’ batsmen missed out on runs as they reached 140-3 from eleven overs. Tanner Bailey, 2-7, including one remarkable caught and bowled, and 2-15 from Trevor Money then helped dismiss Boreham III’s for 41. Terling Reserves against Woodham Mortimer III’s was a five-a-side match, just to even the playing field. Ian Ball, 35 not out, and Mark Beames, 29 not out, saw Woodham Mortimer III’s close with 120-2. Terling Reserves came firing back with all barrels blazing and raced to 121-2 off the first ball of the eleventh over. Alex Taylor top scoring with 30 not out, but with Richard Spencer, Liam Humphries and Adam Wilding also adding decent scores. Finally, for this week, Kelvedon & Feering III’s kept themselves in the promotion hunt with a four wicket victory over Braintree College Reserves. Muhammed Usman top scored for the Collegians with 29 not out as they posted a total of 104-3, but then 30 not out from James Read, and 25 not out from Gary Bellamy saw Kelvedon III’s through to 105-2 with four balls to spare. A bit of a gap now separates the top three from the rest of the division.

Quite an eventful day in Division One, who played at Notley, but nothing more so than the final match of the day played between Coggeshall and Witham. The match ended with the contest being tied, as Paul Bellehewe, having leveled the scores by hitting the wall off the final delivery, was also then run out by Ben Stephens direct hit. So for the second time this season Coggeshall have tied a match, having done so against Coggeshall Hamlet before, it was also the second time they have been involved in a tied contest with Witham. That having also been the result when they met in December 1999. Shaun Bragg had top scored for Coggeshall as they closed on 88-4, but then some decent Coggeshall bowling saw Witham slip behind the run rate despite 25 not out from Kaan Hawes. When the final over began, Witham needed 17 to win, but three consecutive two’s then required a boundary to be hit. Eleven runs off three balls become eight off two with Greg Taylor hitting a three, but then Paul Bellehewe made every result possible by hitting Carl Bragg for six. Then came the dramatic conclusion. The result could only benefit Braintree Youth, as earlier in the day Coggeshall Hamlet had slipped to defeat to Kelvedon & Feering, and they themselves had gained maximum points for defeating Bocking by six wickets. Bocking being kept down to 67-5 made it a relative stroll in the park for the Youth to reach 68 without loss. Coggeshall Hamlet’s defeat to Kelvedon & Feering may have appeared to be a surprise, but not when you look at the history between them, as this was Kelvedon’s sixth consecutive victory in contests with the Hamlet. Chris Girling top scored for the Hamlet with 41 not out, aided but 27 not out from Tom Pickles and 25 from Matthew Hart. Kelvedon got home to 125-4, with four balls to spare, with James Baker ending on 39 not out, and Matt Bridger on 31 not out. The bottom two teams also met, and it saw Braintree end their longest ever losing sequence by defeating Sampfords by 26 runs. Chris Leech’s 27 not out, and the Ruan Holt’s two wickets doing most to enable the victory to occur.

As mentioned earlier, Helions Bumpstead saw their unbeaten start to the season in Division Three come to an ignominious end as they were thrashed by Shalford Reserves by 68 runs Haris Mahmood hit 54 not out, Rob Kearney, 31 not out, and Paul Allen, 27 not out, as they rattled up 147-3. Helions Bumpstead could not match that fire power and ended their reply on 79-5, with Rob Kearney taking 3-21. Rayne moved to the top of the table after defeating Boreham by three wickets. Iestyn Powell hit 46 not out as Boreham closed on 115-5, and then having been reduced to 75-3 from eight overs, Richard Whiteside, 38 not out, assisted by Russell Barnard, saw Rayne through to 116-3 with three balls to spare. Braintree Reserves moved up to third just a few points behind as they maintained their unbeaten record on the field of play this season, their only defeat being the concession to Rayne, when they were unable to field a team. Rob Jones, 37, James Murphy, 35, and Steve Isaac, 27, helped them hit an imposing 130. Aside from 46 from Stuart Bonvini, Kelvedon Reserves were never in the hunt, but Stuart did enable them to steal one point in the final over as they were dismissed for 86. Witham Reserves sprang to life as they crushed West Bergholt by 90 runs. Michael Glynn, 44 not out, and 36 not out from Jack Sambrook helped Witham Reserves post 153-4. West Bergholt then lost Keiran Savill to the first ball of their reply, bowled by Will Bendall, who ended with 3-28 as West Bergholt subsided to 63 all out in the seventh over.

The season of woe goes on for Margaretting, as they achieved a new Division Four record low score, 21, for a match at Notley, and also fell victim to a hat-trick for the second time this season. Trevor Mason performing the feat for Woodham Mortimer Reserves. More remarkably this was the second hat-trick achieved against Margaretting this season. Woodham Mortimer Reserves should have lost a wicket before they had scored a run when Geoff Reddin was dropped behind the stumps. Woodham Mortimer Reserves then cruised through to 22-0, the entire match lasting just 11.2 overs. Rayne Reserves still lead the way and are now the only team in the League with an unblemished record but Sampfords Reserves made them work to retain that record. Richard Banks hitting 50 not out as Rayne Reserves closed with 116-3. Sampfords Reserves did not look well placed when they were 59-4 in seven overs, but 55 from Colin Caister and 31 from Brian Poulson saw them eventually get to 108 before they were dismissed with the fifth ball of the final over. Earls Colne had little trouble in defeating Coggeshall A by 83 runs. Ollie Bocking, 45, Steve Willsher, 49 not out, saw Earls Colne hit 147-5, before Coggeshall A were contained to just 64-4. Nilijan Chatterjee had an eventful bowling spell for High Garrett in their contest with Halstead. He began the match with a double wicket maiden. but then could not complete his second over because of injury. Halstead did not fare any better as they could only muster 55-5, of which George Pritchard scored 27. Christian O’Mahoney then guided High Garrett to 56-1 with 27 not out.

Gosfield are now looking well on course for promotion from Division Five as they brushed aside Woodham Mortimer III’s. Justin Rose, Gary Dicker, and Andy Rose all retiring as they amassed 139-2, Justin top scoring with 39 not out. Woodham Mortimer III’s gave it a crack to challenge that score, but maybe they still have much to learn from the game. I shall explain, as even though they did reach 103-2 in reply, this reply consisted of six sixes, four fours, 28 in extras, and not a single three was scored, maybe there was the odd four coming from overthrows though. Maybe, a little less trying to whack it, and a little more trying to place it,. may have got them closer to their target. Braintree College Reserves won at the Leisure Centre for the first time as they defeated Boreham III’s by just nine runs. The Collegians scoring 124-1 with the top three all retiring, but Boreham III’s were dependent on Alfie Ward’s 62 for their reply of 115. He was finally run out off the fourth ball of the final over. Terling Reserves defeated Ashdon by four wickets. Mark Collins his 48 not out in Ashdon’s 108-5, but Terling Reserves then replied with 109-2, Alex Taylor, Richard Spencer and Adam Wilding all scoring 27 not out or better. Finally, Boreham Reserves maintained their promotion challenge by defeating Kelvedon & Feering III’s by two wickets.

Let me begin this round-up of Sunday’s action at the Leisure Centre, with the matches in Division Three, which had, topping the bill, the contest between, two previously unbeaten teams, Rayne and Helions Bumpstead. At the end of the match they had switched places in the top two with Helions Bumpstead retaining their 100% start with a three wicket victory. Richard Whiteside, 42 not out, and Marc Phillips, 30 not out, helped Rayne close their innings with 132-4, but Helions Bumpstead were able to exploit a Rayne attack with had some inexperienced bowlers, and Adam Suckling, 26 not out, and, Tom Page, 25 not out, were able to lead Helions Bumpstead’s charge to the top of the table, taking them to 133-3 with more than an over to spare. On the actual field of battle, Braintree Reserves are also still unbeaten, but that concession blots their record, but they got back on track with a high scoring victory over West Bergholt. Daniel, Broyd hitting 68 not out, as Braintree Reserves piled up 151-4, after some erratic bowling meant they got off to a flying start. Darren Davies did reach 51 not out for West Bergholt, but 25 of that score came in the final over when the match was lost, but it did rescue some bonus points for them. Shalford Reserves are in third place after defeating Boreham by four wickets in the opening game of the day. Tim Pulham, 32, and Kunja Jasoni, 38 not out, helped them to 101-5, but that was not enough to prevent Shalford Reserves easing their way to 103-2. Rob Kearney top scoring for them with 29 not out. At the other end of the table. Witham Reserves got their first victory of the season, and they change places with Kelvedon & Feering Reserves. Michael Glynn, 43, and Richard Howes, 40 not out, helped Witham Reserves close with 118-4. Kelvedon & Feering Reserves struggled to make any headway and were kept down to 64-5 in this eleven over contest.

At the top of Division Four, Rayne Reserves have made it five wins from five matches, but they did drop points for the first time, as High Garret snatched two of them in a 39 run defeat. Gareth Fisher hitting 53 not out as Rayne Reserves closed with 131-4. High Garrett were then bowled out for 92 with Michael Porter, 29, and John Phillips, 25, scoring most the runs. Earls Colne stay second, despite actually losing a match for the first time on the field of play this season. Woodham Mortimer Reserves making light work of them. They dismissed Earls Colne for just 51, and breezed through to 55-1 to move within one point of Earls Colne. Sampfords Reserves are similarly placed, as they defeated Halstead by six wickets, also without having to work too hard to obtain the victory. George Pritchard hit 42 as Sampfords Reserves dismissed Halstead for 96. James Poulson and Steve Thrower both retired before James Smith and Brian Poulson wrapped up the win with four overs in hand. Coggeshall A made some useful headway up the table as they defeated Margaretting by two wickets. Tim Norman, 34 not out, and Peter Scales, 31 not out, took Margaretting to a decent 123-4. However, they struggled to defend it and 36 not out from Paul Brown helped Coggeshall A reach 124-4 with nine balls to spare.

Gosfield are the new leaders in Division Five, but I guess Boreham III’s should take the spotlight for recording their first ever victory, even though they remain on the foot of the table. They bowled Ashdon out for 59, and then had to suffer some nerve wracking moments, before Ken Greenaway’s 24 not out, finally got them to 64-5. Yes, he won the match in the grand style, with a six. Back to the top end of the table and Gosfield ended Boreham Reserves unbeaten start despite only having five men. Kenny Moulton-Day took 3-25 as Boreham Reserves were dismissed for 52. A score that proved to be way short of requirement, but Gosfield did lose two wickets in reaching 53. Kelvedon & Feering III’s are in third place after defeating Woodham Mortimer III’s by 24 runs. Kelvedon III’s were dismissed for just 77, but Woodham III’s could only reach 53-5 in reply. Finally, Terling Reserves defeated Braintree College Reserves by two wickets. Adam Twin’s 33 not out, helping them secure the victory.

I wanna be a superstar

Tommy Bowe: Could have put a nail in Australia’s coffin with a flourish if he hadn’t missed the summer through injury as he looked to tie up in the last few yards. Or he could have put in a cross kick. Bowe caused the Welsh a bit of trouble and was denied two tries against the Italians by dodgy refereeing decisions.

Must Do Better: Stay fit and get the ball as often as possible. Bowe is trouble for the opposition and a fine footballer. Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Keith Earls: Wanna be a superstar, dreaming of a final. Earls’ confidence careens around the place. By the end of the tournament he looked super sharp and finished really well against Wales. Earls has a nose for the try line and looks best suited to left wing. Probably should have done better to stop JJV Davies against Wales.

Must Do Better: If Earls is going to make a go of it on the wing, he needs to come off it more. That seems contradictory but Ireland need their fast men to be able to step into traffic, evade and distribute if the Sean O’Brien plan A route of attack is foiled.

Andrew Trimble: The unluckiest player to make the trip. Trimble looked good in each warm up game he played and offers Ireland a robust physicality. His pass for Earls’ last try against Italy was timed perfectly. Should have been used against Wales once Earls had his clocked cleaned when crashing into Jamie Roberts.

Must Do Better: Trimble has never seemed a central part of Kidney’s plans. It’s possible that a new backs coach will get the best from him. Seems mentally strong and very competitive, a few more deft touches would complement his physicality very well.

Rob Kearney: Came back to form as he got more game time. Fielded well and looked fit. Like many of Ireland’s backs, there’s not much to report. Ireland struggled without a first choice full back in the Six Nations so it was great to see Kearney back.

Must Do Better: Pass. Pass more, but just pass. Isa Nacewa established himself as Leinster’s full back in Kearney’s absence and has a more rounded game.

Geordan Murphy: Wasn’t involved all that much. Ireland suffered in the Six Nations with Fitzgerald at full back. There’s a question that Kidney was fighting his last battles rather than his next ones by bringing two specialist full backs without much game time but the uncertainty over Kearney and Felix Jones’ unfortunate injury probably necessitated it. Unfortunately, once the selection was made, it never looked like Ireland would try and use Murphy’s wide range of skills in innovative ways.

Must Do Better: Halfway to his 34^th birthday, it’s very unlikely that Murphy will be involved in any more Irish squads.

Keith Earls bagged two tries as Ireland ran riot over Russia, bagging ten tries in a resounding 62-12 win at the Rugby World Cup.

DeclanKidney chose to field a largely second string team with only five players surviving from the titanic win over Australia last week yet nobody looked out of place and some have now given the Ireland manager a selection headache for the final group game against Italy.

 Ireland secured a bonus point with three tries in three minutes at the end of the second half against a Russian team playing its third game in 11 days.

Munster man Earls crossed for his second try eight minutes into the second half to help ensure Ireland would go into their final Pool C game against Italy next weekend with three wins from three games.

Russia, who have now lost all three matches on their World Cup debut, battled manfully to stem the green tide and got reward for their efforts with second-half tries from full-back Vasily Artemyev and winger Denis Simplikevich.

Man-of-the-match Ronan O’Gara kicked a penalty and six conversions to finish with 15 points, missing just one shot at goal, and made good use of the space given to him by Russia. His performance has again outlined his importance to the Irish cause.

Sean O’Brien made an early impression with robust carries while Donnacha Ryan hit the line at pace, but the good work was undone when Buckley spilt the ball close to the line.

Russia had strayed offside, resulting in three points for O’Gara, and their situation deteriorated further when fly-half Konstantin Rachkov was sin-binned for slapping the ball forward.

The first try arrived in the 10th minute with Fergus McFadden touching down, a sign of what was to come from the boys in green.

It was already looking grim for Russia, who conceded again just three minutes later when a series of carries ended with O’Brien intervening and taking a try for himself.

Russia burst into life in the 22nd minute, winning a turnover and then moving into Ireland’s 22 through runs by centre Andrey Kuzin and number eight Victor Gresev.

Ireland’s early assault had ground to a halt thanks to a mixture of Russian doggedness and their own lack of accuracy, exemplified by McFadden slinging a pass into touch.

But as the half neared its conclusion, they found another gear, scoring three tries in four minutes.

Scrum-half Boss and Earls went over to restore parity.

With the try-scoring bonus point already secure, Ireland ran in a fifth for good measure with Trimble forging ahead and diving on the ball.

Just six minutes of the second half had elapsed when Ireland scored their sixth try, Earls easily breaking through a tackle by Artem Fatakhov to gallop over.

It was not all one-way traffic, however, with alert scrum-half Alexander Yanyushkin causing confusion in the Irish defence until Artemyev arrived to take the ball and score under the posts with Rachkov converting.

The Russians still looked dangerous when they had the ball in hand, a fact highlighted when Simplikevich rode two tackles to touch down in the corner.

Some loose passing – most notably from O’Gara – saw play switch from end to end until quick hands from Jamie Heaslip sent Kearney over.

Heaslip was becoming increasingly influential, but it was substitute Jennings who scored next when he sauntered through the heart of the Russian backline over from close range.

Ireland struck one final blow when Buckley forced his way onto the scoresheet.

Scorers:

Ireland – Tries: Fergus McFadden, Sean O’Brien, Isaac Boss, Keith Earls (2), Andrew Trimble, Rob Kearney, Shane Jennings, Tony Buckley. Penalty: Ronan O’Gara. Conversions: O’Gara (6), Jonathan Sexton.

Russia – Tries: Vasily Artemyev, Denis Simplikevich. Conversion: Konstantin Rachkov.

Ireland VS Russia   K.O   06:00 (GMT)

Patrick Ward

A foregone conclusion perhaps? Or maybe another close call like the U.S.A game? Either way, on Sunday morning all the Irish need is a win and that’s what the vast majority of the rugby world has predicted. With the boys in green in a commanding position in Pool C, there is no need for a bonus point, but, Declan Kidney will be sending his side out to try and rack up a big score against a struggling Russian side.

Both sides have only met once in the history of the sport, back in 2002, when Ireland ran out convincing winners by a score line of 35-3 in a Rugby World Cup Qualifying match. Both sides have progressed a lot since then, but the lack of competitive rugby for the Russians has told so far in this campaign. Although they competed well against the U.S.A, they were put to the sword by an improving Italian side in their second World Cup match. Russia come into this game on the back of six straight defeats, but will be looking to hold their own against a much changed Irish side.

Only five players have retained their starting jersey from the historic win over Australia, and Kidney’s selection choices make sense. Cian Healy and Rob Kearney keep their places due to a lack of playing time over the past few weeks, so Kidney will be eager to have both of them at their best for the final pool match against Italy. Donnacha O Callaghan has been kept in the team to lead the pack, whilst Sean O Brien will again play openside flanker. O Brien has had to adapt to the position since David Wallace’s injury against England, so Sunday will be another chance for the Leinster man to adjust to his new position. Keith Earls will also be given another chance to show his potential on the centre as he gets the nod there for the first time in the tournament.

Fergus Mc Fadden and Leo Cullen, who captains the side, will make their World Cup debuts and will be looking to force their way into Declan Kidneys plans for the Italian game.

Russia will present a big physical challenge, but are very slow in their build up, and at the break down. They are not a try scoring side and will look to dig the heels in and wear their opponents down from the word go. But they will also seek to stop Ireland from using fast ball and spreading the play to either wing.

Not many people will have ever heard of any Russian players as the majority of their squad is compiled of players who ply their trade in the Russian domestic league. But two of their players have made the breakthrough to Western European sides, Vasily Artimiev became the first player to ever join an English Premiership side when he signed for Northampton Saints earlier this year, and was followed by Andrey Ostrikov who went to Sale Sharks in the summer. They also have Australian Adam Byrnes in their ranks, who plays for Melbourne Rebels and qualifies for Russia through his mother.

A win is a must, and most people will want a big one at that. A very good performance may be on the horizon as every player who takes to the field on Sunday will be looking to impress and nail down a place in Kidneys side. But as proven in the last world cup in the laboured win over Georgia, nothing can be taken for granted and Kidney will have that drilled into his player’s minds.

IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster); Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Sean Cronin (Leinster), Tony Buckley (Sale), Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster) (capt), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster).

Replacements: Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), Shane Jennings (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester Tigers).

RUSSIA: Vasily Artemyev (Northampton Saints, England); Denis Simplikevich (Enisey-STM, Krasnoyarsk), Andrey Kuzin (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Sergey Trishin (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Vladimir Ostroushko (Enisey-STM, Krasnoyarsk); Konstantin Rachkov (Stade Phoceen, France), Alexander Yanyushkin (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino) (capt); Sergey Popov (Slava-ShVSM, Moscow), Valery Tsnobiladze (Novokuznetsk, Novokuznetsk), Alexander Khrokin (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Denis Antonov (Slava-ShVSM, Moscow), Adam Byrnes (Melbourne Rebels, Australia), Artem Fatakhov (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Andrey Garbuzov (Krasniy Yar, Krasnoyarsk), Victor Gresev (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino).

Replacements: Evgeny Matveev (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Ivan Prishchepenko (Krasniy Yar, Krasnoyarsk), Alexey Travkin (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Alexander Voytov (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino), Andrey Bykanov (Slava-ShVSM, Moscow), Mikhail Sidorov (Slava-ShVSM, Moscow), Mikhail Babaev (VVA-Podmoskovye, Monino).

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Dave Pearson (England), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television Match Official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)

When Tommy Bowe got over in the last play of the first half I braced myself to wave goodbye to the few bob. Then himself and Rory Best touched down again in the space of three minutes in the third quarter, and we reckoned they would gallop away beyond the 30 point gap.

If they had either form or fitness they would have, but Ireland haven’t had form since the Grand Slam season in 2009. Form means stringing good games together.Ireland have played 10 Tests this year, and played well in one of them – againstEngland in March.

As for fitness, the irony in putting so much effort into micro managing the players all season only to see them drop like flies at the key moment, is rich. Jamie Heaslip was saying afterwards that he felt much better for the experience, and that with only a game and a half under his belt coming into this Test, he’ll be all the better for it on Saturday.

 I hope so, because currently he is well removed from the go-to character who stormed onto the international stage two years ago. We’ve gone from having a clatter of top quality back rowers to having ones who are either unfit or out of form. And if we were going to start turning that form around then unloading on the Yanks was the least of it.

The demeanour of Declan Kidney and Brian O’Driscoll at the press conference was ominous. So was the words they were using. Stuff about lapses in concentration. Players not being clinical when they need to be. Lacking patience and accuracy. Knowing what needs to be fixed and being able to fix it…..

 You could take these comments and match them up with the stuff coming out after any of the Six Nations games, bar the England win. There are changes that will help: Kearney (for Murphy), Trimble (for Earls) and McFadden (for D’Arcy) behind the scrum; O’Gara for Sexton; O’Brien and Healy (if they are fit) and Flannery back into the pack. You could easily justify all of these calls but I don’t believe that even the best selection from this group will be able to make up all the ground that has been lost since Ireland last had form.

It will be good to get on the road to Auckland tomorrow and leave behind the woeful weather of New Plymouth. Maybe the change will have a dramatic and positive effect.

end

Four years ago in the World Cup Eoin Reddan jumped from third choice to first as Eddie O’Sullivan tried to plug holes in his sinking ship. It was hard on Isaac Boss, who had been in second place, but it was a fitting reward for Reddan who had stayed positive in trying circumstances. He’ll need some that resolve again down here in NZ. When on Thursday the team run was taking shape with Conor Murray in the starting role, Reddan realised the danger of what was unfolding: if the Garryowen man continues his scarcely credible run since he took over as first choice in Munster in the last third of the season, then it will extend to starting against Australia in Auckland next weekend. And if Reddan can read the signs then so can Boss, who is looking at his second tournament as an extra.

That all constitutes good news in so far as it involves three fit men fighting over the right to start. The situation at full back and open side is less positive.

 Declan Kidney said at the press briefing here this morning that Rob Kearney may well be ok for the Aussies.

“The nature of Rob’s injury sees him up and doing training, but I want him to get up to full speed,” he said. “He has shown he can just come in, like starting against Scotland (in August) after being out for months. The fact he is not named here doesn’t rule him out for next week by any means.”

  If Kearney was fit he’d be starting. He isn’t. In fact it’s four weeks now since he made his comeback, against France, and that in turn was his comeback since the previous November. Kidney had told Geordan Murphy that he wasn’t making the cut when the coach was picking his 30 man squad in the first place. It’s a fair distance from that point to having to start him now.

Similarly he had delivered bad news to Shane Jennings only to have to revise it when David Wallace wrecked his knee. Does Kidney want to pick Jennings? No. And if Sean O’Brien was fit then he’d be starting at seven, even though it’s the back row position in which he is least effective.

So Conor Murray is a good news story and it’s what your daily papers will lead with this morning. This squad, who are upbeat and very positive after the preparation down in Queenstown, need good news stories almost as much as they need good luck. And it’s not against Eddie’s Eagles they need it, rather against the Wallabies who have been trading in an altogether tougher market lately, and making a profit.    

Off we go then.

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As expected David Wallace will have to withdraw from the Ireland team to play France tomorrow, because of a tight hamstring. Good news for Shane Jennings, even if his first start since breaking his arm last May will now be a bit more onerous than planned (he was supposed to run around against Connacht last night). And not so hot for Declan Kidney.

The coach is looking at eight players –Kearney, Bowe, O’Driscoll, D’Arcy, Flannery, Ferris, Wallace and Jennings– who are all either certainties or very close to the plane, who are well short of a gallop for the World Cup where our pivotal pool game, against Australia, is second up.

I’ll pick my top 30 in the Sunday Independent after the France game tomorrow. After which we’ll see if any more have been added to the list of wounded, or just slow to walk.

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On the surface, it all looks rosy for Donncha Ryan, who, having played in the second row last week,  is now given a chance at 6, and so can prove his versatility and bag himself a spot on the plane.  But think forward to next week, and the backrow could be something like Locky-Wallace-Heaslip, and the complexion would look somewhat different.  Would you rather play at home to France with Jamie and Wally beside you and Paul O’Connell in the second row, or go to Bordeaux with no O’Connell and Leamy at 8?

The same applies, to a lesser extent, to McFadden, who didn’t play well last week and finds himself out of the team – but next week in all likelihood BOD will be back.  If he was to play 12 inside BOD it would be seen as an endorsement of his chances. So it’s not all over quite yet for Ferg, though he looks odds-against at the moment.

Following the team announcement and last Saturday’s game we can infer a little about who’s looking good and who isn’t.

Practicing ordering fush’n'chups: All the back three. Rob Kearney came through 80 minutes and looked sharp.  He gets another start on Saturday.  Already a Kidney favourite, he can start laying a claim on the 15 shirt for the Australia game.  Luke Fitz looked a lot more confident, and though he kicked the ball away a little too often, he wasn’t exactly blessed with options by the time the painfully slow ball he was supplied with. Andy Trimble played with great intensity, as usual. All three look to be heading southwards next month.

Still hanging on the telephone: Donncha Ryan did reasonably well on saturday, but he will have a tough job on Saturday convincing that he’s an international 6. He’s up against Thierry Dusatoir dans la sud de France, so no pressure.  Jerry Flannery’s return was positive, but all he did was miss one throw. We need to see some of the old Jirry mongrel before declaring him back for good.

Buying their Electric Picnic tickets: It looks like Peter Stringer’s terrific international career may finally be up.  Sent to La Rochelle to play with Munster, he is the only scrum half yet to see action for Ireland.  Unless he starts at home to France next week, which he won’t, then the game will be up.  Shane Jennings always needed to make a big impression to win Kidney over, and injury looks to have robbed him of that chance. We are presuming Wally will get a start next week in the 7 shirt, with Jenno togging out against Connacht.  A pity.

As for the game itself, it could be a long night for Ireland.  It’s not the most defensively robust 9-10-12-13 Ireland have ever put out and Mermoz and Marty will most likely look to run at the goalposts and hope for some change.  Keep an eye out for the French debutant, Biarritz No. 8, Raphael Lakafia.  We haven’t seen too much of him, but he’s regarded as a huge prospect and someone who could star at the World Cup.

Finally, Meejawatch.  It was interesting that Brendan Fanning and not Gerry Thornley had the inside track on the team this week.  Could Kidney be playing them against each other?  Gerry will have to up his uncritical fawning over the regime and justification of tactics and selection, no matter how bogus, to get back into Teacher’s good books.