Congratulations to Keego for being the first HoR2 contributor to earn his 50th cap!
Keego made his debut for us on June 29, 2012 and since has been sharing his Leinster & Ireland musings every Thursday, and now has a site of his own known as The Daily Clothesline. His most popular piece for HoR2 was an account of his experience after the Leinster v Munster clash last October.
If you’d like to tog out for HoR2 (doesn’t matter what the topic so long as it has something to do with rugby!) just click here to find out how. Who knows…one day you could be joining Keego on our Wall of Liginds!
And here ….we…..go!
The season is a week old and the excitement is mounting for the first home game of the season. This Saturday we welcome the Ospreys to the D4Tress. I HATE the Ospreys. The amount of nights out that has been ruined by that team. Twice we had the rabo magners super pro 12 won and they stole it. We have won 12 and lost 10 of the 23 games we have played against them. For some reason they appear to be the one team in the league that can get on top of Leinster, that includes the red team from the country (I await abuse as they got broadband in cork a week ago).
But after last week I welcome the Ospreys. I hope they bring their ‘a’ game. Because Coach Matt is showing that he is leaving no stone unturned. Coming from behind to win last week against the Scarletts and win well was a great sign. Jimmy G and his mad kicking style ran the show. He looks like he is trying to kick the ball as hard as he can every time, so that can lead to erratic (I said ERRATIC) kicking stats. It all worked last weekend. Missing 2 kicks, but scoring 22 points was a great return. The only issue I took note of was that we had 3 yellow cards in the game. We cannot afford any indiscipline this season. We can’t afford to be a man down for 30 minutes of the game against a top team. That aside, strong outings from the promoted academy players along with the boot of Jimmy G showed that our second string team is very strong.
Ulster had a shaky start last weekend against the Dragons, losing 15-8. With all the hoopla about their academy system and while playing a team close to their starting 15 they still looked tired and uninterested. Munster had a good win against Edinburgh, but lets no forget where they where last season. Connacht had a good win against Zebre; the much improved Italian side will cause problems for all teams if they are taken lightly. I love watching Connacht; I think they will finish in the top 5 or 6 this year.
So what do we expect from this weekend? If we can keep the Ospreys quiet for 10 to 15 minutes then we can start putting the hammer down. I don’t want to be coming from behind all season (what did I just say?), so putting the points up and getting some of the first teamers in for a few minutes would be great. I wonder what hairstyle Ian Madigan will be bringing to the first home game, the rugby equivalent of ‘the Rachel’ will be sweeping through Leinster this season.
If you are too young to understand that reference then I may have to abuse you over twitter.
Another Leinster win beckons. Tough games for all Irish provinces this weekend will make for patchy results. Leinster will be tested; hopeful the 4Tress is in full voice.
I will be in the north stand for the game, I look forward to seeing the blue army again and hearing us out scream the opposition in the stands. If we do our bit then the team will be egged on to do their bit.
In other news, England and France are whining again and Leinster make an intriguing signing from the southern hemisphere.
Lote Tuquiri has been signed on a 3 month deal, which may be extended after his being released by his rugby league team West Tigers. There are people who are welcoming of the singing, and some not so. I think it’s great to have this experience in the team. He is mainly brought in as back up to Kirschner who is off on international duty. He is a legend and legends are always welcome. He is another leader and would be very useful to the team when the first teamers are not in the side. I wonder will he get a crack at the Ospreys?
England and France are crying again. This time they think they should be getting more money. The real reason is different for each country. We can say with certainty that if the English clubs where winning, or even competing for honours in the Heineken cup they would not be going anywhere. The standard in the Aviva premiership is awful! As long as it remains awful, they won’t get a sniff of winning.
France on the other hand knows where their bread is buttered. Their league competition pays the bills, it is also ruining their international team but that’s another story. They want to insulate themselves; they want to keep everything in France. If the ERC says no to France and England’s demands, one country may just retract into their own league situation, whereas England will decide, after much huffing and puffing to stay in the competition.
As usual, feel free to debate / abuse me on twitter @nkeegan and for more of the same roll on over to www.thedailyclothesline.com
So that’s it for another week. This is my 50th cap for HoR2 and I hope to see you all in the north stand of the D4Tress on Saturday to celebrate, if not I’ll see you in the laighan out after.
Mine is a Guinness if you’re at the bar.
Cheers
Until next week…
Keego (@nkeegan): Blogger, former professional wrestler, sometime attempted rugby player (@TheThirsty3rds), professional procrastinator and attempted musician with a fondness for long walks on the bar, tea and the couch. Opinionated Leinster fan and constant gardener.
