Preview: Magners League, Round 5
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:04
This weekend sees the balance of round five Magners League fixtures, before the Celtic sides turn their attention towards the respective starts of the EDF Energy, Heineken and European Challenge Cups.
This final round before the dispersal however holds a lot at stake for various sides, namely Munster - who have an opportunity to top the League table - as well as fellow Irish side Ulster, who will revel in home ground advantage in an attempt to step out of the tournament basement.
The latter of the two will open this weekend's fixtures, as Ulster (3 log points) host Scottish counterparts Edinburgh (7 points) at Ravenhill on Friday.
On Saturday, Munster (18 points) take one the Glasgow Warriors (11 points) at Thomond Park, while Sunday's action sees the defending champions Leinster (11 points) travel to the Sportsground to face an embattled Connacht.
10th-placed Ulster's poor form continues, with a fourth straight (0-43) defeat at the hands of the Ospreys last Friday. The Ulstermen's last home victory was against Munster on 30 April, although the men from Northern Ireland have lost their last four games against Scottish teams since their 16-10 victory over the selfsame Edinburgh at Ravenhill on May 11 last year.
Ulster coach Matt Williams has duly rung the changes this week, which sees Tom Court, Ed O'Donoghue, Stephen Ferris and Paul Steinmetz promoted from the bench, while captain Rory Best and strong back row forward David Pollock both return from injury.
Darren Cave and Cillian Willis were also given the nod ahead of Rob Dewey and Paul Marshall, who have both been dropped from the squad.
"The changes I have made are all based on performance, apart from Kieron Dawson," said Williams.
"Kieron was exceptional last week and has been our best player lately, he is on the bench only because we are giving him a rest from the starting line-up this week."
The Ulster boss has been keeping a close eye on his Scottish adversaries, and following on from some stern words with his squad on Monday, Williams is realistic about his side's performance.
"Edinburgh are a very good side, Andy Robinson is a world class coach and their defence has improved enormously under his direction," he said.
"They had a great win over the Scarlets a few weeks ago and played some high quality rugby against the Dragons at the weekend. They know our form has been poor of late, and will be coming over here looking for a win.
"The team [Ulster] are all really looking forward to the game tomorrow night; we want to make amends for what happened in Swansea. We all know our performance was below standard and are looking forward to putting things right."
Other than Edinburgh's emphatic 32-12 Scarlets victory last month, Robinson's men are also looking precarious on the bottom rungs of the League table after three defeats in four outings.
Putting last season's league double feat over Ulster aside, Edinburgh have recorded just one win in their last nine visits to Ireland in all competitions, following their 20-14 victory in this equivalent fixture at Ravenhill last season - a record that certainly needs some tinkering.
Edinburgh's kicking maestro Chris Paterson was unfortunately ruled out of this fixture due to injury, although the void will be filled with a hot young prospect in Jim Thomson - the grandson of legendary Scottish commentator Bill McLaren.
Thompson will be joined in the back three by former Heriot's teammate John Houston, after successfully recovering from a long-term pelvic injury.
Houston, last season's Newcomer of the Year, endorsed Thompson's promotion into the No.15 jersey and hopes they will rekindle their on-field understanding.
"It is good to see Jim get a start because he is a really gifted player," said Houston.
"I've enjoyed playing alongside him every time we've played together, so I'm looking forward to linking up with him again."
Moving onto Saturday's fixture is another Irish-Scottish contest, as second-placed Munster will look to pip the Ospreys on the League table when they host the sixth-placed Glasgow Warriors.
Munster are the only unbeaten team in the Magners League this season, and return to the
impressive newly revamped Thomond Park Stadium for the first time in the League since December 2006.
Munster's only home defeat in their last eight encounters in all competitions was 18-21 to the selfsame Warriors, in Cork on May 10.
The home team's strong predicament has afforded coach Tony McGahan to bring in a host of changes for Saturday's fixture to test the playing fields. Glasgow on the other hand will be coming off the back of a convincing 34-20 win at home over the Scarlets last Friday, and certainly won't be an easy points target.
The Warriors have also won three of their last four away matches, as well as recording two away wins against Munster last season - increasing the competitive edge of this fixture.
Although Munster look the stronger side at present, their only win in their last six matches against Glasgow was in May last year (38-20 in Cork), so the Scots will certainly have a significant psychological advantage going into this match.
The last League fixture of the weekend takes the form of an Irish derby in Galway, as ninth-placed Connacht host the struggling reigning champions, Leinster.
Coming off a heavy defeat to the Cardiff Blues last weekend, the hosts have been revived with the return of some key players from injury, although it might take a little more than lightened spirits to overcome a wounded champion side - who were 'nilled' for the first time in League history last Sunday by Munster - intent on restoring pride.
A look at recent history books will also highlight the true underdog in this fixture, as Connacht have lost their last 13 encounters against fellow Irish provinces, since their 22-12 win against Ulster in Galway on New Year's Eve in 2005.
To add to the stakes, Connacht have lost their last eight games against Leinster, since their 35-24 victory at the Sportsground in November 2004.
Nonetheless, Leinster coach Michael Chieka is taking nothing for granted, and will use this match as a building platform for Leinster's upcoming Euro fixtures.
"The conditions were difficult last year and I think over the last three years we have gotten better against them down there," Chieka said of the trip to Galway.
"The Sportsground is a tough place to play no matter what the weather is like.
"We will take nothing for granted. We will tackle each game on its own merits and make sure that we play a good, structured, smart game against Connacht," he added.
Let's have a look at the weekend's fixtures and match predictions in closer
detail...
Friday, October 3
Ulster v Edinburgh
Ravenhill, Belfast, 19.30 (18.30 GMT)
rugby 365.com prediction: A tough one to call. Edinburgh are missing the trusty boot of Chris Paterson, and face a revived home side with a returned captain, intent on leading his men to their first season victory. Ulster to win by five or more points.
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Bryn Cunningham, 14 Clinton Schifcofske, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paul Steinmetz, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Niall O'Connor, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 David Pollock, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Justin Fitzpatrick, 18 Carlo Del Fava, 19 Kieron Dawson/Matt McCullough, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Ian Humphreys, 22 Timoci
Nagusa.
Edinburgh: 15 Jim Thompson, 14 John Houston, 13 Hugo Southwell, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Mark Robertson, 10 David Blair, 9 Mike Blair (captain), 8 Scott Newlands, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Matt Mustchin, 5 Ben Gissing, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Gavin Kerr, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Craig Hamilton, 19 Chris Fusaro, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Calum MacRae.
Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Touch judges: John Carvill (Ireland), Trevor Collins (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Saturday, October 4
Munster v Glasgow Warriors
Thomond Park, Limerick, 19.00 (18.00 GMT)
rugby365.com prediction: The Warriors may have a psychological advantage, but the hosts have had a flawless season with an eye on moving into pole position on the standings - capped by a gleaming list of internationals. Munster to win by 15 points or more.
Teams:
Munster: 15 Keith Earls, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Barry Murphy, 12 Rua Tipoki, 11 Anthony Horgan, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 David Wallace, 7 Justin Melck, 6 Alan Quinlan, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 5 Donnacha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Denis Fogarty, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Niall Ronan, 20 Mike Prendergast, 21 Paul Warwick, 22 Kieran Lewis.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lome Fa'atau, 13 Max Evans, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Thom Evans, 10 Colin Gregor, 9 Mark McMillan, 8 John Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock (captain), 4 Opeta Palepoi, 3 Moray Low, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Justin Va'a.
Replacements: 17 Ed Kalman, 16 Kevin Tkachuk, 18 Tim Barker, 19
Stevie Swindall, 20 Ruaridh Jackson, 21 Graeme Morrison, 22 Hefin O'Hare.
Referee: Andrew Small (England)
Touch judges: David Keane (Ireland), Richard Kerr (Ireland)
TMO: Brian Fitzgerald (Ireland)
Sunday, October 5
Connacht v Leinster
Sportsground, Galway, 18.00 (17.00 GMT)
rugby365.com prediction: A rampant performance is due from the defending champions. Leinster to win by 25 points.
Teams:
Connacht: 15 Fionn Carr, 14 Liam Bibo, 13 Gavin Duffy, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Michael Roberts, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 Colm Rigney, 7 Jonny O'Connor, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Adrian Farley, 4 Michael McCarthy, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Conor Muldoon, 17 Robbie Morris, 18 Andrew Browne, 19
Michael Swift, 20 Kieran Campbell, 21 Troy Nathan, 22 John Hearty.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Simon Keogh, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Chris Keane, 8 Stephen Keogh, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 CJ Van Der Linde, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Stan Wright.
Replacements: 16 Cian Healy, 17 Brian Blaney, 18 Trevor Hogan, 19 Cameron Jowitt, 20 Chris Whitaker, 21 Fergus McFadden, 22 Gary Brown.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), John Lacey (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
By Nick Pawson
