Wales 67 - 14 Italy

by Emma McGarry

Wales’ biggest margin against an Italian side in 6 Nations history.

Wales started as they meant to go on in this match with the first of their 9 tries coming just 5 minutes in. I felt at times the Welsh played too elaborately which left them vulnerable to the possibility of the Italians scoring a soft try but time and time again Italy failed to capitalise on a number of Welsh handling errors, dropped passes and loose ball.

Wales were winning the aerial battle pretty consistently throughout this match but again elaborate passing was completely wasting any space being created. The simple things done well always trump the complex executed poorly. The Welsh frequently used the outside channels but their inaccuracy killed their attack on more than one occasion. However, none of this mattered against such a poor Italian side.

Italy continued where they left off after being humiliated by Ireland last weekend Wales hardly needed to organise their defence against Italy’s attack. Italy were stubborn but had little possession and asked few questions apart from the tries, which were isolated incidences in the otherwise suffocating Welsh defence.

Italian frustration

Watching Italy play can be both heartening and disheartening but it is always frustrating. No one enjoys watching a match with zero competition between a giant such as Wales and an underdeveloped side like Italy, yet 2 second half tries from Italy shifted the dynamic if only for a short period of time. They counted for nothing except perhaps Italy’s pride.

I’ll use a word constantly over used in rugby - physicality (shudder) because that’s one of the only positive things I can say for Italy at the moment, they hit hard and not much else. Parisse does his best for them but the quality is not there for him to work with.

As Shane Horgan said “it’s a defence that don’t know what they’re doing against an attack that does.” Italy are a disjointed mess with little to no depth to their squad - a strong statement but the truth. Coming into this championship with a coach that’s as good as gone and a group of players ravaged by injuries that are undoubtedly sick of being hammered by the rest of us, Italy need a hero to sort this out from grassroots level and up.

Wales displayed where their strength lies

I was not as impressed by Wales as I had hoped I would be after the World Cup, had they played better against Ireland and England they could have been strongest in contention for this championship. Dan Biggar is without a doubt my first choice for the Lions 10 shirt as I’m sure he is for many people. He had a really good game scoring a sizeable chunk of Wales’ 67 points today. Biggar is currently the best Northern Hemisphere outhalf, you can’t deny he’s in better form than Sexton at the moment. Together with an excellent shift from Jamie Roberts they made sure Wales’ backs had plenty of confidence.

Roberts made his own contribution to the final score, thundering into the Italian defence to cross the white wash. Of course George North was his usual electric self, deservedly awarded Man of the Match for his efforts.

Ross Moriarty was brought on for Tipuric after his fall from a height during a lineout left him injured. I thought Moriarty covered fantastically, even bagging himself 2 tries in the process. One of which came in the 64th minute as a result of a well drilled lineout maul shifting the power down the narrow side.

To add insult to injury with the clock in the red and Italy exhausted, Wales went for a 9th try gathering Italy’s loose ball for Gareth Davies to bring this long, and at times tedious, match to a close.

Wales finished their 6 Nations on a high and Italy on yet another disheartening low. Plenty of Welsh players putting their hands up for a Lions shirt this year while Italy must again return to the drawing board to break this cycle of disappointment. New coach new team, right? We’ll see.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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ENG 25-21 WAL (8-0-review)

by Emma McGarry

England controlled this match for 70 mins giving Wales no space to breathe let alone A. MOTM Itoje was very impressive along with the English backline. However if there was ever a lesson in not writing off a team…Biggar got lucky to score a try after blocking down a kick, followed by 2 last minute tries from North and Faletau to bring the FT score to 25-21. Way too close for comfort for England whose discipline let them down again.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

Match played at Twickenham on Saturday, March 12, 2016

***

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Zebre-10 Leinster-27

by Emma McGarry

So there wasn’t 8 tries scored like the recent demolition of Zebre at home in the RDS, but a bonus point win leaves Leinster just one point behind Connacht the Pro12. Happy out, right?

Leinster took to the field looking fresh, well rested and somewhat similar to a ‘Daz’ advert. However, the white jerseys quickly became unrecognisable. Such muddy conditions were horrendous to play in and made it difficult to play expansive rugby.

Tries

Each try Leinster scored was impressive and well worked (seriously, watch the highlights).

Luke McGrath got the mud clad Leinster XV off to a good start with a Conor Murray style try, ferreting over the line past a dozing Zebre defence (5mins). This guy continues to grow in confidence and skill, keeping the tempo high throughout this match.

Shortly after the first came Leinster’s second excellently constructed try of the afternoon. With 3 options for McGrath, he sent Dooley through a gap all whilst Zebre had eyes on 2 dummy runners. Peter Dooley ran a great line, passing to Dominic Ryan who dotted the ball down under the posts 17 minutes into the 1st half. Isa Nacewa added the extras leaving the HT score ZEB 3 - 12 LEIN.

Young winger Adam Byrne demonstrated fantastic control steering the ball to keep it in play and create a try in the 2nd half, a brilliant individual effort from the 22 year old.

Finally, having won a number of penalties in the Zebre 22, a 78th minute drive splintered the Zebre pack allowing Dan Leavy to bag his first senior try and there it was. Bonus point secured in the nick of time.

Overall

Sure, there were lulls in Leinster’s attack and some decent passages of play from Zebre in the 2nd half but overall the Italians lacked intensity and were very disjointed. Out of fairness, the fact that club players had to be drafted in to replace Zebre’s absent internationals and injured squad members must be mentioned. Yet Zebre desperately lack the squad depth Leinster are fortunate to possess, even when their 8 internationals line out.

Leinster’s defence was, again, immense. Hats off to Kurt McQuilkin who since his return to the province has completely revitalised Leinster’s defence. With just 15 tries conceded thus far in the league versus Zebre’s 57(one of the worst concessions in the league), it is a wonder how McQuilkin has organised his defence in such an strong and aggressive manner. Leinster lost their shape a little at the beginning of the 2nd half but Zebre managed to break down the defence just once with flanker Federico Ruzza scoring a try for the Italians 72 minutes in.

Positive

Leo Cullen: "We probably lost our way a little bit after that coming into halftime. We settled back down again in the second half. It was just difficult to play. We're happy to have ground out a win and get the bonus point right at the very end as well, so quite a pleasing day."

Leinster have done the hard work and this bonus point could be crucial in later stages. A home semi final is the goal now and with a really tough run of matches coming up for the boys in blue, this was an encouraging match to watch.

P.S. It was heartening to witness Ian McKinley take to the field against the team he once played with. An inspirational character.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

 

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Preview : Zebre v Leinster

by Emma McGarry

No home comforts for Leinster this weekend, as they travel to take on Zebre in Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi looking for a 3rd consecutive victory to put them at the top of the Pro12 table ahead of current leaders Connacht.

Amidst the excitement of renewed contracts and the new signings of Robbie Henshaw and former Munster lock Ian Nagle, Leinster have kept their heads down and worked hard to find some improvement in their table position. While they lack accuracy and discipline at times, 2nd place on the Guinness Pro12 table with a little over 3 months until the final really isn’t bad going. 

Zebre’s most recent match against Leinster in the RDS was a pretty dismal affair for the Italian team, finishing 52 - 0 to the home side. The match was effectively over by halftime. 8 tries and 0 points conceded is ideal for the boys in blue, but against a struggling, under developed team it can only be so impressive. Leo Cullen will be looking for Leinster to pull away as early in the match as possible and continue on some newly found form. Leinster are not pretty or incredibly entertaining at the moment but another win should inject a bit more confidence into what will be a largely inexperienced starting XV.

Young academy talents Adam Byrne, Cathal Marsh and Cian Kelleher continue to shine, undoubtedly benefiting from the presence of senior players who are adopting mentoring roles within the squad. Isa Nacewa being but one of them. Each has proved that inexperience at senior level does not necessarily hinder their game. In fact it gives them certain advantages; high fitness levels, pace and a new vision for Leinster Rugby. These always combine to make 6 Nations time an exciting one for the province and it’s younger players breaking through during the absence of the internationals.

Leinster are not far off where they want to be, it is obviously a slow process but Cullen has fared well thus far in his role as Head Coach. (Better than Matt O’Connor anyway…)

Kurt McQuilkin confirmed on Wednesday that Dave Kearney (shoulder) and Sean O'Brien (hamstring) are undergoing rehab on their injuries with Leinster but that there is no return date for either player as of yet. There was some good news however with 18 contract renewals and 2 new signings for the province.

McQuilkin: "Leo Cullen and Guy Easterby will still be looking around to see who's out there, but we're happy with what we've got too. It's good to get a few signatures down on paper. Henshaw in particular, a great player coming to the province. It's good to see."

It certainly is.

ZEBRE : 15 Mils Muliaina 14 Giulio Toniolatti 13 Tommaso Boni* 12 Matteo Pratichetti 11 Kayle Van Zyl 10 IAN McKINLEY 9 Fabio Semenzato

1 Bruno Postiglioni 2 Oliviero Fabiani 3 Guillermo Roan 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 5 Marco Bortolami (cap) 6 Jacopo Sarto 7 Federico Ruzza* 8 Johan Meyer

BENCH : 16 Gabriele Morelli 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Gideon Koegelenberg 20 Emiliano Caffini 21 Luke Burgess 22 Maicol Azzolini 23 Ulrich Beyers

Guinness Pro 12 2015/16 Round 16

At Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 4pm local time, (3pm Ireland & UK). 

Live on Sky Sports and RAI Sport 

Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU, 55th competition game)

Assistant Referees: Matteo Liperini, Ricardo Angelucci (both FIR)

Citing Commissioner: Francesco Grillo (FIR)

TMO: Stefano Penne (FIR)

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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ITA 9-40 ENG (8-0-review)

by Emma McGarry

War of attrition. Ultimately tired legs, burning lungs and fitness levels in the final quarter undid this Italian side. After a promising start, the Italians weren’t overwhelmed by England, they managed to exert their own pressure and force soft penalties. In the first half, both ball retention and accuracy were poor. However, England pulled away in the final 20 to bring the FT score to 9 - 40 with Jonathan Joseph (hat trick) and Anthony Watson shining bright in the backline.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

Match played at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, February 14, 2016

***

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FRA 23-21 ITA (8-0 Review)

A nail biting, unpredictable and exciting beginning to 6Nations 2016. In their desperation, 2 late penalties from the boot of Plisson gave France (2.0) a 23-21 win over Italy. Italy fought hard and passionately to take the lead in 2nd half, Parisse rallying his team and leading by example (even having a go at a drop goal). France’s defence was substandard, sluggish line speed. Kicking was dire from both team’s flyhalves. Whilst clinically poor, this match was intensely entertaining.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

Match played at the Stade de France on Saturday, February 6, 2016

***

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Where are we now? Post Europe/Pre 6 Nations

by Emma McGarry

I may have to evaluate Leinster v Dragons at a later point as this piece was nearly finished before we kicked off. *Sigh* (Bravo Jeff for being able to keep up with Leinster’s antics every week.)

Stung

We’ve established how totally unacceptable the result v Wasps was for a team with quite the CV when it comes to Europe. It left Leinster supporters reasonably ticked off that “our boys” seemed to give up in the second half. Perhaps their minds had already turned to the Pro12 before we had even kicked off. Even so, this standard will not be tolerated no matter what the circumstances, we're better than that. There is never nothing to play for. We have more pride than that and I thought that was evident against Bath the weekend previous. However, the difference between the two fixtures? The starting XV. Leo struck the right blend of youth and experience against Bath. Garry Ringrose, Ross Molony and MOTM Josh van der Flier have well and truly made themselves known to the supporters (and have caught the eye of Schmidt while doing so). Yet still Cullen returned to a team of “off-form OAPs” to face Wasps. Little explanation was offered as to why so we may wonder all we like.

The departure of Johnny Sexton less than 10 minutes in was incredibly concerning given his history of head injuries. After passing his HIAs, Sexton has been declared fit in for Ireland’s opener against Wales on 7th February but again questions have arose around the issue of concussion. There has been heightened awareness of this issue after the early retirement of Kevin McLaughlin in September of last year. George Hook commented during the week that Sexton should consider early retirement, an accomplished young man with a young family, has it gotten to the point where perhaps it would be best? How would Ireland fare without him? I think we’d survive, Paddy Jackson has come on leaps and bounds since his last injury and is the only decent out half available to us as things stand. While it would be sad to see him go, you have to wonder is anything worth the long term effects of head injuries? Schmidt seems to think little of it...

Martin Moore confirmed this week that he will in fact leave Leinster at the end of this season and Wasps are welcome to him. Unfortunately for him, a tear in his hamstring has ruled him out of the 6 Nations. Doubts surrounding Mike Ross’ ability in his “old age” have cropped up again. I think he's a great mentor for the young lads like Tadhg Furlong (who is much less injury prone than Moore) and our talented academy players.

6 Nations

Joe Schmidt is looking down the barrel of the most difficult 6 Nations campaign thus far in his career. Although you could argue if we’ve learned anything from the World Cup, it's that big names do not equal big results. I reckon it's time we brought it back to basics. 2014 tournament, Schmidt called a number of baby faces into his squad and brought us success that same year. Iain Henderson turned out to be a brilliant discovery.

Supporters have been calling for Garry Ringrose to be given a chance at international level this year, myself and BOD included, but Schmidt has taken a cautious approach  saying he’s too young and it could knock his confidence. I see his point but I stand by what I’ve been saying. Even having Ringrose in camp around higher calibre players would benefit the 21-year-old immensely. He’s fresh, he’s exciting, he’s exactly what we need.

Many of our internationals will be (and should be) constantly looking over their shoulders during this tournament. The tiresome Stander v Heaslip debate comes to mind, and another somewhat popular opinion? Jared Payne should given the opportunity to play at fullback. We’ve seen his natural aptitude for this position so why not let him at it? He’s been miles ahead of Rob Kearney for the past two seasons. Plenty of the “elder lemons” could do with the pressure for jerseys, underperforming cannot be tolerated if we want continued success and development.

It has been announced Ulster’s Rory Best will captain Ireland, a good choice. He’s by no means one of my favourites but I can see the appeal, he demands respect and has the ability to rally his team. Sure what more could you ask?

The latest

Schmidt has named 5 uncapped players in his squad. The squad’s newcomers:

Versatile, 24 year old Connacht prop Finlay Bealham has been called up to replace the injured Moore.

CJ Stander (Munster),

Stuart McCloskey (Ulster),

Ultan Dillane (Ulster),

Josh van der Flier (Leinster).

Second hat tip of the day goes to CJ Stander who has enlisted the help of teammate Donnacha Ryan to learn Amhrán na bhFiann since being called into Ireland camp. Could he be any more likeable?

Robbie Henshaw suffered no ill-effects from his return for Connacht and has been released from Ireland camp to play for the province against Scarlets.

(P.S. Please excuse the extended absences, balancing exams and writing has become a fine art.)

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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Patience lads! Leinster will get there.

So I’m a bit hoarse.

Aside from the FT score, I think we need to look at this match as more than its result. 45,000 blues packed the Aviva Stadium yesterday evening. 45,000 supporters who still love Leinster enough to shell out for a European Cup match. Not bad going given our current form, which brings me on to my next point…

I love the term “fair weather fan”. It fits the Golden Era bandwagoners beautifully, they are a faint memory at the moment. These “fans” have been filling our newsfeeds with blatant insults towards the players as individuals, an atmosphere of negativity and a lack of confidence in our team and its management. And I won’t give them the time of day. Munster have been suffering the same problem recently with a small minority of “supporters” targeting players on their performances. It’s not on.

As I write I’m reminiscent of a blog I wrote last season “Playing for Pride”. It was again relevant to Leinster’s meeting with Toulon last night, however this time I think we have more to be proud of this time. Leinster played with the desire and intent that I’ve missed this year so far. I left my voice in my seat, and probably still ringing in the ears of the 3 French gentlemen sitting in front of me. The lads gave us something to shout about, they gave us hope, albeit it only lasted for the 1st half. Still, you can’t say it was awful, because it wasn’t.

Without picking on individuals, we can’t dispute the fact that some of our old brigade are in a slump. I’m not an expert nor do I claim to be, I’m just not able to put my finger on why their form has slipped so much in such a short space of time. 

Sexton looks tired. He’s such an intense player I actually think it’s having the opposite effect he’d like on his game. As BOD said, he could do with a break, I think it would do him the world of good to take some time out to rest and get his head together. His frustration is evident in each match and it seems to be one step forward, two steps back with him at the moment. 

Isa Nacewa did pretty well I thought, not as vocal a captain as Heaslip was but still his presence was felt. He still has a fine pair of legs on him and between himself and Fitzgerald the backs made a mockery of Toulon on more than one occasion in the 1st half. Luke Fitzgerald stepped Ma’a Nonu for the second time in 2 weeks. That brought a smile to my face. For a player who has unluckily been plagued with injury throughout his career, could this be a glimpse into the next few years with Fitz as a centre? 

Unfortunately we saw Mike Ross leave the pitch injured, a hamstring strain/tear was Cullen’s best guess in his post match interview. His 6 Nations is in serious question along with an ever growing list of doubtfuls I’m sure Schmidt must be worried about. 

The scrum collapsed in the 2nd half (pun intended). Toulon’s muscle proved too much for the blues in the end but again we saw a try. Leinster made a solid start to the 1st half, just 18 mins in good quick ball stretched the Toulon defence, and they eventually crumbled under pressure. Leinster’s maul charged over the line, Van der Flier dotted down, but Wayne Barnes had already awarded a penalty try for the maul being illegally pulled down. Their intensity and focus was evident and Toulon were there for the taking however this French team are not the champions of Europe for no reason. As we’ve seen time and time again, Toulon clawed their way back into this match and kept Leinster from scoring for the entirety of the 2nd half.

As things stand, I don’t care much about the table or points etc. I wanted to go to support the boys in blue, to roar myself hoarse and sit on the edge of my seat for 80 minutes. I’ll do the same again on 1st of January in the RDS against Connacht. If Leinster lose that one too, so be it. We have a steady slope to climb back up and I have no doubt it will be difficult and will take some time but we’ll get there. Patience lads. Patience.

#COYBIB

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

Leinster's “must win” match was not won

by Emma McGarry

The “must win” match was not won. A nightmare pool for any team but Leinster just weren’t up for it. Toulon nearer to Christmas will be a bleak affair (but I’m going anyway).

What happened today?

Scrum

Sean Cronin made a brilliant break in the first half, full bulldozing mode was engaged and it led to a sequence of play that almost earned Leinster a try. As always I was in awe of how fast and agile he is on his feet for a hooker. Gave Dave Kearney a run for his money. Cian Healy was not on top of his game, he hasn’t really been since his hamstring injury before the World Cup. Definitely frustrated with himself, but he’s extremely dedicated and motivated so I’d be certain he’s doing everything he can to up his performance. Mike Ross, too much is being expected of him, nearing the end of his career you can’t blame a decline in performance, it’s just natural progression.

Jamie Heaslip was quiet as were the second rows, Hayden Triggs had a pretty okay game until he left the pitch with an ankle injury. I think he could have a good impact on Leinster even if it’s only short term.

Backs

Isa Nacewa led very well after returning from injury, a calm and cool captain throughout which Leinster so desperately need.

Johnny Sexton was again fairly quiet but kept the scoreboard ticking over and drew his side level twice with Bath. I questioned the decision in the second half to take the three points after Bath conceded a penalty very deep into their own half. Going for the corner would have paid off as Leinster were looking their most dangerous at that point.

Dave Kearney clearly wanted to wipe the slate clean after that slip (the one we do not speak of) against Wasps last weekend. He made good ground and his intent and desire was evident. It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t break Bath’s defence to capitalise.

Budding talent

The bench’s effect on a game is always important. I can’t help but wonder should Leo Cullen have named a more mixed starting XV age wise.

The blues only try came from Josh van der Flier with just 10 minutes to go after replacing Jordi Murphy at the 65 minute mark. A move started by newcomer Tracy carrying powerfully into the Bath 22. The score came with Luke McGrath’s excellently timed pass to van der Flier from the right-hand side of a ruck. The in-form openside bulldozed his way through two tackles after a wonderful break and crossed the white wash.

Luke McGrath immediately had a positive impact off the bench lifting the tempo but his development at Leinster will be hindered by lack of game time. A young player but he has more to offer than Isaac Boss and Eoin Reddan. Opportunity is what’s needed for our baby blues.

We missed Madigan, Ringrose and Reid’s liveliness however the return of Ben Te’o brought some excitement and hope into this game. He had a great game, didn’t look like a player who was injured last week. Read Bath very well and managed to slow down their backs time and time again which in the end was vital.

Martin Moore and James Tracy came on and we saw a slight improvement in the scrum but Bath were too strong for us around the breakdown.

A gutting defeat leaving Leinster with only the Pro12 to play for. They are, for the time being, no longer contesting the top teams in Europe. Granted you can’t always be the best but we know what this group of players are capable of which makes it all the more disappointing.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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Leinster slippy, scrappy, stranded

by Emma McGarry

Leinster v Wasps was one of the rare fixtures I didn’t get to attend in the RDS. I’m (almost) glad I didn’t. It’s a while since I’ve seen Leinster fall apart like they did last Sunday, it was especially disappointing considering the fuss made over the internationals returning and supposedly bringing the squad back to full strength. We were well and truly stung by Wasps.

The blues never looked like winning, brief flashes of excitement from Madigan, Reid (who is in flying form) and of course 20-year-old Ringrose who, to an extent, has been the light at the end of the tunnel for Leinster’s season so far this year.

Leinster at the moment have an abundance of big names who aren’t performing at the level they should be. Every player is responsible for the embarrassing defeat to Wasps and every player needs to step up to the plate against Bath. The older brigade are, in my opinion, holding us back at the moment, I don’t think they are adapting to this newer style of European rugby at all. You can’t blame Leo Cullen for this, yes he needs to look at selection and reinvent the game plans but what more can he do if his players aren’t performing? There’s a very visible gap between the rugby the lively academy grads are playing and the rugby our pros are playing. A gap that needs to be closed.

Sexton is clearly frustrated that he hasn’t slotted perfectly back into place at Leinster but surely we all knew not to expect that. Uncharacteristically poor at the moment, somewhat over eager to perform and it’s proving to be his downfall so far.

If there’s any positive to be taken from last weekend it’s the promising talent of the young blood like Garry Ringrose and Noel Reid, who have both been left out of this week’s selection. Mistake? Could very well be. Scrum half Eoin Reddan is also replaced by Isaac Boss with Luke McGrath on the bench.

Richardt Strauss and Sean O’Brien are not fit while Jack Conan will be unavailable for up to 10 weeks due to a foot fracture. I’m not sure how the already struggling pack will fair without them. I’m a lot more concerned with the forwards than I am with the backs. It begins and ends up front with the forwards for Leinster this week.

A few players returning from injury such as Ben Te’o, Luke Fitzgerald, Rhys Ruddock and Isa Nacewa as captain may strengthen the side. On paper a very solid lineup but we’ve learned the hard way, it’s those 80 minutes and the 15 players on the pitch that matter.

Leinster v Bath: Isa Nacewa CAPTAIN, Fergus McFadden, Ben Te’o, Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney, Johnny Sexton, Isaac Boss, Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Hayden Triggs, Rhys Ruddock, Jordi Murphy, Jamie Heaslip.

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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New Zealand-62 France-13

by Emma McGarry

THE ALL BLACKS ARE BACK

Stats:

New Zealand France

62 points 13 points

9 tries 1 try

746 metres made 388 metres made
14 clean breaks 7 clean breaks
74 carries over gainline 47 carries over gainline
11 offloads 10 offloads
105 tackles 96 tackles
9 turnovers 6 turnovers

The stats tell the story, New Zealand have found their form after a lacking pool stage. The All Blacks upped it a gear for this quarter-final. No nonsense at this stage of the tournament. It’s do or die for every team. We saw Welsh hearts break earlier in their quarter-final against South Africa. It was not happening to the All Blacks, not a chance.

France looked promising for the first quarter of the match, keeping on New Zealand’s tails from the boot of Michalak who unfortunately hobbled off the pitch with what appeared to be a serious hamstring injury not even 15 minutes into the match. New Zealand took a while to settle into play but once they found their feet they were unstoppable. The All Blacks ran in a fantastic 9 tries against France's wavering defence.

We saw a beautiful try from Milner-Skudder as he waltzed through the French defence after good ball from Ma’a Nonu but Julian Savea was the real star of the match. Likened to the legend Jonah Lomu, he showed incredible power and pace to brush off defenders and score 3 tries, each as brilliant as the next. Some of the big lads made it over the line too, a flash of brilliance from Brodie Retallick saw him block down a french kick and dive over for a try just 10 minutes in.

New Zealand’s scrummaging was again nothing short of perfect, they have the most efficient, solid scrum of the tournament. They haven’t given ball away once at their own put in. Their forwards can pat themselves on the back.

There were a few instances of ill-discipline I felt Nigel Owens dealt with very well. Louis Picamoles received the only yellow card for unnecessary contact with McCaw’s face using his fist (wasn’t actually a punch) . But Owens was quick to note McCaw had been treading a fine line throughout the match, in other words sticking to his trademark offside position and also not releasing the ball. Picamoles’ yellow definitely disrupted play for France, he had been carrying strongly and a well taken, loose ball from terrible pass to Le Roux sent him over the line just before half time. The halftime score was 29 - 13. The All Blacks had pulled away and were out of sight by the 1 hour mark.

Full time score was 62 - 13.

New Zealand go on to face South Africa next weekend. Both teams were treated to a rendition of the Fields of Athenry during the match from Irish supporters. 

As McCaw said in his post-match interview, “We’re happy but all we’ve done is earned another week. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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Preview : New Zealand v France

by Emma McGarry

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Saturday, October 17, Kick off - 20:00

New Zealand are averaging 6 tries per match, the stats speak for themselves. They are however entering this quarter final with no real, valuable game time. Argentina gave them a good run around but Tonga, Georgia and Namibia were, although entertaining, not challenging enough. The Kiwis rarely looked comfortable on the pitch during the pool stage, and were somewhat indisciplined earning 3 yellows. I reckon New Zealand may be anxious ahead of facing France, given the history between the sides of quarter finals. We know that France know how to cause an upset.

The All Blacks have named an incredibly experienced side to face France. McCaw returns as captain, while Savea is on the left wing again in place of Naholo. Milner-Skudder and fullback Ben Smith complete what is an exceptionally dangerous back three.

After losing to Ireland last weekend, France have the unenviable task of facing the All Blacks in their quarter final.  If they couldn't score one try against an Ireland missing some hugely influential players (Paul O’Connell,  Peter O’Mahony and Johnny Sexton) then what chance have Les Bleus got against the All Blacks' star studded team. The fact is to beat New Zealand you have to score tries.

France have made 3 changes to the side that faced Ireland last weekend, Parra named at scrum-half while centre Bastareaud has been dropped from the starting lineup in favour of Dumoulin and flanker Le Roux replaces Damien Chouly.

As this World Cup has already shown us, anything can happen. Just cast your mind back to South Africa and Japan. However, the likelihood of France beating New Zealand to make it to the semis is very low as it stands. Reports of mutiny from the French camp are arising, whether this will have any effect on their performance remains to be seen.

Prediction? I hope the French players like airplane food...

Teams:

FRANCE 15 Scott Spedding 14 Noa Nakaitaci 13 Alexandre Dumoulin 12 Wesley Fofana 11 Brice Dulin 10 Frédéric Michalak 9 Morgan Parra

1 Eddy Ben Arous 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Pascal Papé 5 Yoann Maestri 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain) 7 Bernard Le Roux 8 Louis Picamoles

REPLACEMENTS 16 Dimitri Szarzewski 17 Vincent Debaty 18 Nicolas Mas 19 Damien Chouly 20 Yannick Nyanga 21 Rory Kockott 22 Rémi Tales 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

NEW ZEALAND

15 Ben Smith 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder 13 Conrad Smith 12 Ma'a Nonu 11 Julian Savea 10 Daniel Carter 9 Aaron Smith

1 Wyatt Crockett 2 Dane Coles 3 Owen Franks 4 Brodie Retallick 5 Sam Whitelock 6 Jerome Kaino 7 Richie McCaw (captain) 8 Kieran Read

REPLACEMENTS 16 Keven Mealamu 17 Joe Moody 18 Charlie Faumuina 19 Victor Vito 20 Sam Cane 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow 22 Beauden Barrett 23 Sonny Bill Williams

Emma McGarry (@EmmaKMcGarry) - Hugely interested in all aspects of rugby. Supporter of Irish and Leinster Rugby. "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad" - Brian O'Driscoll

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