United Rugby Championship Round 10

Kicking up a storm…

A round of United Rugby Championship matches a week before the start of the 6 Nations with most of the current test squads away in training camps doesn’t seem like the most enticing prospect to the casual fan. For rugby nerds it is a chance to see up and coming rugby stars and squad players get a rare opportunity to show what they can do. The points on offer are just the same as in any other match, and just as vital to moving up (or down) the table to qualify for the play-offs and next year’s Champions Cup.

Ulster (10^th.), Munster (12^th.) and Connacht (14^th.) are all in the bottom half of the table and could badly do with a win to move up the table. In stark contrast to recent years, Wales now have three teams in the top half of the table: Cardiff (3^rd.), Scarlets (6.th) and Ospreys (8^th.) but bonus point wins for the Irish provinces could move all or any of them into the top half.

I will update this post with match summaries after each match is completed.

Leinster 36  Stormers 12

Leinster minus about 22 international squad players are up against a Stormers side stacked with Springboks at Lansdowne Road. They have never beaten the Stormers before, so this would be a very good (and difficult) time to start and maintain their unbeaten run this season. Leinster field academy players Henry McErlean and Andrew Osborne at full back and wing, respectively, so we can expect the Stormers to test them early with some high balls in what are expected to be cold and wet conditions. Rory McGuire, Diarmuid Mangan, and Charlie Tector are three further academy players on the bench.

But Leinster can also boast some test class talent with James Lowe and Dan Sheehan just back from medium/long term injury, and Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani aren’t bad either! Other former internationals include Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath, and Max Deegan. The real concern must be for the uncapped loosehead Jack Boyle (released from the Ireland squad for this match) who is up against a test class tighthead in Fouché and possibly the best tighthead in the world in Frans Malherbe coming off the bench. His back-up is Paddy McCarthy, an academy tighthead switching to loosehead and so he may have to put in a long stint perhaps against a Frans Malherbe fresh off the bench in the closing minutes.

The Stormers also boast Springboks in Warrick Gelant and Manie Libbok and a back row of Dion Fourie, BJ Dixon and Evan Roos, so should have the edge towards the end of the match. They lost 22-32 to Racing 92 in Paris last week-end but have clearly targeted this match by bringing back all their front liners. They should win unless the Leinster tyros do something extraordinary to maintain their unbeaten record this season.

Leinster managed to attract over 40,000 to Lansdowne rd. for the Champions Cup against Bath last week-end. Doing something similar against the Stormers in the URC with 22 international players not available will be quite a challenge.

—oo0oo—

Leinster start well with the rookies McErlean punting a 50 22 and Osborne scoring a good try. Jack Boyle holds up well in the scrum but the line-out is a bit of a lottery with both sides making mistakes. Rabah Slimani is hammered in the scrum and McErlean is caught ball watching and Stormers score out wide – Libbok converting. 10-7

Turner, who was a doubt before the match, has to go off which means Leinster’s 6:2 bench split will be tested. Tector, normally a 10, comes on. Leinster mess up two scoring opportunities with knock-ons and crossing. You don’t get the sense they have the same confidence in what they are doing as their senior brethren, but the wet conditions aren’t helping. Jack Boyle, Soroka, Sheehan, Snyman and Barrett are prominence in the loose. McGrath gets a serious head knock and has to be stretchered off. He has been very effective for Leinster, especially in defence.

For the Stormers, Libbok is prominent with his stepping and 40 metre passes, but unfortunately has to go off injured. Their line-out is improving but they keep being penalised for stepping across in the scrum. Sheehan scores on the wing following a flowing Leinster attack, a great way to end the half.  15-7.

Some nice touches by Tector catching a Ross Byrne bomb and Osborne keeping a touch kick infield by jumping and landing infield. But Leinster are turned over after a 5 Metre attack and Sheehan throws crooked after another 5 metre line-out. Jack Boyle concedes his first penalty and the ongoing conversation by the referee with all and sundry continues. Leinster butcher another scoring chance with a knock on, but at least they are playing close to the Stormers line.

Ross Byrne is starting to control the game with some good kicking. The Stormers are under siege and Barrett final crosses the line after a good flat pass by Foley. 22-7. Stormers have conceded an incredible number of penalties, but I don’t think you can blame the Irish referee. They have been sailing close to a yellow card without getting one.

James Lowe has had a relatively quiet game but chips in with a wonderful cross kick for Sheehan to score his second and Leinster’s bonus point try. He then almost scores a fifth which is disallowed for a marginal knock-on in the tackle by Deegan. Leinster win a penalty with McCarthy at loosehead, but McKee’s throw first throw is not straight. Slimani wins another scrum penalty and then throws a pass which is intercepted by Stormers who then throw another intercept to concede a second try to Osborne. He looks the real deal. An intelligent footballer rather than extraordinarily fast or strong. 36-7

Both sides start playing some champagne rugby which is remarkable given the conditions. Stormers finally get their reward off a maul. 36-12. Farrell will be happy with the performances of man of the match Sheehan, Boyle and Lowe. RG Snyman, Barrett and Slimani made major contributions, as did Deegan, Soroka and Byrne. Cullen will also be very happy with the contribution of his academy players, all of whom look well on the way to senior contracts. The relatively small crowd will have enjoyed the spectacle, but the Stormers must be wondering why they couldn’t have exploited Leinster’s young guns more effectively.

Final Score Leinster 36 Stormers 12.

LEINSTER: H McErlean; A Osborne, L Turner, J Barrett, J Lowe; R Byrne, L McGrath; J Boyle, D Sheehan (capt), R Slimani; RG Snyman, B Deeny; A Soroka, S Penny, M Deegan. Replacements: J McKee, P McCarthy, R McGuire, D Mangan, J Culhane, W Connors, C Foley, C Tector.

STORMERS: W Gelant; B Loader, R Nel, J Roche, L Zas; M Libbok, P de Wet; A Vermaak, J Dweba, N Fouche; JD Schickerling, R van Heerden; D Fourie, B-J Dixon, E Roos. Replacements: A-H Venter, B Harris, F Malherbe, S Moerat, M Theunissen, P de Villiers, H Jantjies, W Simelane.

Dragons 19 Munster 38

Dragons are rock bottom of the table but have lost only three players to the Welsh squad whereas Munster have lost Tadgh Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash and also have a lengthy injury list of test class players including Jeremy Loughman, Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Jean Kleyn, Craig Casey, Alex Nankivell, Thaakir Abrahams and Mike Haley. Last year’s Irish U20’s star Ben O’Connor starts at full back and other academy players Kieran Ryan, Evan O’Connell, and Danny Sheahan (on debut) get their chance to impress.

Dragons can be tough and physical opponents, especially at home, while Munster are coming off a good performance against Northampton but have been inconsistent. However, I would expect Munster to still have too much quality for the Dragons and eventually force a win.

—oo0oo—

Kilgallen scores an early try for Munster after some good passing movements. It’s all Munster with some brave defending by Dragons who suffer a couple of early injuries to Basham and Martinez. More great running lines, off-loads, and big carries gives Munster their second try through Kendellen. Straight from the restart Munster go end-to-end and created a maiden try for O’Connor. 0-19.  Again, straight from the restart a try is only prevented by a high tackle, so it’s a yellow card and penalty try. 0-26 on 20 minutes!

Dragon’s first real attack ends in a knock on. Tony Butler comes on for a hobbling Farrell. Morgan Lloyd has been kicking well for Dragons. Kilgallen has been on fire for Munster, who have dominance in every area now except the maul, where they have lost their second maul in a row. Coombes has been doing a good impression of a poor man’s RJ Snyman, running through brick walls, throwing offloads, and creating a try for Dion Bleuler. 0-31. H/t

Lloyd Evans creates a try for the Dragons straight from the re-start beating Scannell on the outside. 5-31. Munster lose a scrum penalty, and then another maul. Munster’s last back sub, Patterson, comes on for Daly on the wing – off for a HIA. Hodnett finally scores off a maul and Butler nails the difficult conversion. 5-38. A back row forward, Gleeson, replaces Burns, as errors proliferate, and the match loses its momentum. Danny Sheehan comes on for his debut as an openside rather than hooker, as Coughlan comes off and Munster run out of fit backs.  Wilson scores from close in as Munster become a tad disorganised. 12-38

Dragons then score a brilliant try by Blacker after a line break by Wilson. 19-38. Having been destroyed in the first half, the Dragons win the second half 19 – 7. The Munster coaches won’t be happy, but it was basically job done by halftime, and the second half was mainly about playing players out of position and giving the academy players some game time. You have to feel for the Dragons players, coaches and fans losing their 9^th. game in a row. Irish rugby has problems, but nothing on this scale.

Dragons: H Anderson; R Dyer, A Owen, H Ackerman, J Rosser; L Evans, M Lloyd; R Martinez, B Coghlan, C Coleman; J Davies, R Woodman; S Lewis-Hughes, D Lydiate, T Basham. Replacements: J Benjamin, D Kelleher-Griffiths, P Latu, B Langton-Cryer, G Young, D Blacker, W Reed, H Wilson.

Munster: B O’Connor; D Kilgallen, T Farrell, R Scannell, S Daly; B Burns, E Coughlan; D Bleuler, D Barron, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Ahern; J O’Donoghue (capt), A Kendellen, G Coombes. Replacements: D Sheahan, K Ryan, J Ryan, E O’Connell, B Gleeson, P Patterson, T Butler, J Hodnett.

Glasgow 22 Connacht 19

Connacht have a terrible away record in Scotland, having never beaten Glasgow away, and Edinburgh only once. However, there is no better time to meet the Champions, Glasgow, than when they are missing 12 players to the Scotland squad. Connacht are also missing Final Bealham, Cian Prendergast, Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki, Cathal Forde and Ben Murphy with the Ireland squad, and are down to bare bones in some positions with Irish u.20 Finn Treacy making his debut off the bench.

However, I have a suspicion that Connacht could sneak this one if they can maintain the form they have shown in the Challenge Cup. Missing both Aki and Forde from the 12 position puts a lot of pressure on David Hawkshaw who is a good, but different, type of player. A lot depends on how good the Glasgow back-up squad are and whether Connacht can improve their away form.

—oo0oo—

Connacht start the match playing into a strong wind and are soon behind to Duncan Weir penalty.  But they get into the match and lay seige on the Glasgow line without eber looking like making a breakthrough. There is a lack of invention, and JJ Hanrahan is  lying too deep to provide it.

Eventually Hawkshaw, who has been having a good game blocks a kick and wins the race to touch down. 3-5. But Connacht are caught in defence with Cancelliere burning Ralston on the outside and scoring a good try. Then a Glasgow prop burns his counterpart and Afshar, Glasgow’s best player has the pass to get in and Weir again adds the extras. A further Glasgow try (and probable yellow card for repeat offences) is stopped by a Murphy steal at the lineout, and Connacht are fortunate to get to half time just 5-17 down.

The wind should be worth about 10 points, so Connacht are still well in this.

Hawkshaw scores his second shortly after half time. He has been, by some distance, the best Connacht player, and as I write this, he knocks on the restart! 12-17 . JJ Hanrahan misses a relatively easy penalty as the rain belts down. Connacht then kick the ball dead while having a scrum advantage… and Glasgow then buy a penalty for a lazy runner. Cancelliere gets in after a series of dodgy passes. 22-12

The subs come on. Which bench will make the greater impact? Connacht knock on after a maul with the line at their mercy. Will they get a break soon? Mathew Devine makes an immediate impact with a great break and 50 20. He seems by far the fastest player on the Connacht team and I thought it was a toss up between him and Ben Murphy for the Ireland squad.

Connacht knock on at another maul. Just too many mistakes, although admittedly the conditions are awful. Finally Piers O’Connor sneaks through a gap. 22-19. Glasgow mount one final attack to get their  bonus point, but eventually just give up. I wasn’t impressed by the performance of the match officials, but this was a match Connacht could and perhaps should have won.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay, S Cancelliere, O Smith, D Munn, F Cordero, D Weir (C), B Afshar, P Schickerling, J Matthews, F Richardson, E Ferrie, A Samuel, A Miller, H Venter, Jack Mann. Replacements: G Stewart, N McBeth, S Talakai, M Duncan, J Roberts, A Fraser, S Kennedy, K Johnston.

Connacht: S Cordero, C Mullins, P O’Conor, D Hawkshaw, B Ralston, JJ Hanrahan, C Blade, P Dooley, D Heffernan, J Aungier, D O’Connor, J Joyce (C), J Murphy, S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen. Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, J Duggan, S Illo, O Dowling, P Boyle, M Devine, J Carty, F Treacy.

Ulster 14 Zebre 15

Playing Zebre at home must be about as easy as it gets in the URC with Ulster only missing Rob Herring, Iain Henderson, Tom O’Toole, Cormac Izuchukwu and James MacNabney and Zebre also missing three players to the Italy squad. However Zebre have shown signs of life this season, beating Munster and Ospreys at home, and should not be taken too lightly.

Ulster have had to bring Rob Lyttle back from professional retirement because of all their injuries in the backs (and lack of confidence in their academy players? – some of whom starred for the Ireland u.20s last season?) Ulster are coming off good wins against Connacht and Exeter and should register a bonus point win if they can maintain that sort of form.

It is expected to be cold and wet in Ravenhill on Sunday evening, so it will be interesting to see what sort of crowd Ulster can attract to one of their least attractive fixtures of the season.

—oo0oo—

Zebre are on the attack early in the driving rain, but Ulster turn over a line-out and then Cooney gets great distance off a kick after a scrum Ulster were losing. Murphy kicks a penalty dead and then Ulster are hammered at the scrum. Ulster hammer the Zebre line but knock on and Zebre counterattack. Murphy rescues them and Zac Ward breaks but Zebre regain possession and spot a huge gap on Ulster’s left gaining 50 metres. A Zebre maul gains huge ground and wins a penalty but Da Re also kicks it dead. Another Zebre attack is halted by a blatant forward pass. So far, it’s hard to tell which is the worst team in the league.

Zebre destroy another Ulster scrum and Montemauri makes it 0-3 after 29 minutes. Stavile is yellow carded for a tackle off the ball and Ulster win the line-out, but Stewart runs into touch when Zebre only have 7 defending the maul… Ulster’s maul defence is then destroyed with Krunov breaking through the middle and Zebre nearly score. This has been a very loose game in gradually improving conditions, but Ulster’s set pieces have been in trouble, and Zebre are setting the tempo of the match. 0-3 h/t.

Ulster are lying too deep to cause any problems with ball in hand and Gesi runs through a few would be tacklers and almost creates a score. Ulster are disorganised in defence and  Stavile scores in the corner 0-8. Then Da Re breaks through like a hot knife through butter off a simple inside shoulder line on phase 1. 0-15.

Corrie Barrett finally scores from close in after concerted Ulster pressure. 7-15. Flannery comes on and stands closer to the gain line which means Ulster have started to become more difficult to defend. Montemauri misses a relatively easy penalty, but Doak kicks out on the full. It becomes a real dog fight up front, but an Italian off-load goes into touch with the line in sight.

Doak goes for a difficult penalty and misses it badly. Ulster start running with real purpose making the gain-line each time and Corrie Barrett scores his second try. 14-15. Doak knocks on a bomb and time runs out for Ulster. Zebre win on the road for the first time in 36 matches and it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t well deserved.

Ulster: S Moore; M Lowry, B Carson, J Postlethwaite, Z Ward; J Murphy, J Cooney; E O’Sullivan, T Stewart, S Wilson, H Sheridan, K Treadwell, L McLoughlin, N Timoney (c), D McCann. Replacements: J Andrew, C Reid, C Barrett, A O’Connor, Matty Rea, N Doak, J Flannery, R Lyttle.

Zebre: G Da Re; A Gesi, F Paea, D Mazza, S Gregory; G Montemauri, G Garcia; P Buonfiglio, L Bigi, M Hasa, M Canali, L Krunov, R Nasove, B Stavile Bravin, G Licata. Replacements: G Quattrini, L Franceschetto, J Pitinari, G Ferrari, L Andreani, T Dominguez, L Morisi, S Brisighella.

—oo0oo—

Two wins out of four is a disappointing return for the week-end, especially when all four were winnable. I had thought that Leinster were the most likely to lose. Elsewhere the depth just doesn’t seem to be there.

Elsewhere the news that Furlong will miss the England match is also extremely bad news for Ireland. Bealham isn’t in the same class, and O’Toole is currently banned. I doubt Clarkson is a test class scrummager., and Oli Jager has had a mixed season. We simply don’t have the strength in depth at Prop if our front-liners are unavailable.  I had had Ireland as favourites against England. The odds just got a lot closer.

Frank Schnittger is the author of Sovereignty 2040, a future history of how Irish re-unification might work out. He has worked in business in Dublin and London and, on a voluntary basis, for charities in community development, education, restorative justice and addiction services.