Eye spy : Wasps sting Quins

Here's the latest report from our secret agent who has been keeping tabs on upcoming opposition for both Leinster & Ireland throughout the season...

***

TARGET - Coventry Wasps (not their official name I know but what say we call them that anyway for mischief)

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They beat Harlequins 23-3 at the Stoop last Saturday, with both sides at kickoff knowing that Leinster had tonked Castres in the earlier clash.

OFFENCE -  Barely needed a strategy...built 17-0 lead in first quarter despite only having 29% possession in that time.  When Quins made mistakes, Wasps pounced.

DEFENCE - Line speed fast, 199 tackles as a team, scrambling not bad either, but I was left with the impression that an outhalf with more nous than Botica could have done a lot more damage.  By the time Evans took the field it was way too late.

SCRUMS - only lost one on own feed but for the most part Quins had the edge on the shove.

LINEOUTS - Basic rule of thumb seems to be if your name ends in "-askell" you're a lineout target!

BREAKDOWN - Quins were locked in on an offloading game so Wasps could afford to minimize numbers at the breakdown.  If they play like this v Leinster though they will be vulnerable to the pick & go.

DISCIPLINE - Danced around the line between "defensive tenacity" and "illegal at the breakdown" and possibly fortunate to have only received the one yellow card.

INDIVIDUALS  - 

Haskell - Serious captain's innings on the tackle front with a whopping 28.  He is likely to need another one on Saturday.

Hughes - If you're going to run at him, prepare to be smashed.  Involved in the majority of big hits with or without the ball.

Simpson - Always looking to snipe around the fringes...though at this level the dummy he sold for his try was made look way too easy.

Wade & Varndell - We all know what they can do with the ball in space but they weren't tested enough defensively.  When forced to turn both can be vulnerable.

VERDICT - Quins had the forwards to set up chances but not the backs to finish them.  Leinster have both and if we can get accustomed to the unfamiliar surroundings quickly and keep the error count to a minimum we can definitely get ahead of this Wasps side, though you'd have to assume they'll play more positively at their new home.

***

Eye spy will be back in February checking out Ireland's Six Nations opposition.

Eye Spy : Castres Off

Here's the latest report from our secret agent who has been keeping tabs on upcoming opposition for both Leinster & Ireland throughout the season...

***

TARGET - Castres Olympique

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They lost 13-49 to Stade Francais in the Top 14 on an emotional night in Paris last Friday.  The defeat leaves them 13th in the league, 3 points away from safety with 10 rounds to go.

OFFENCE -  Only had the ball for about 5 minutes.  OK maybe that's an exaggeration but it seemed like it.  When they got it, they kicked it, even after regular starting 10 Remi Tales took to the field in the second half.

DEFENCE - Woeful in first half but at start of second after they narrowed the margin to ten points their tackling seemed to rally up a bit before a determined Parrisse crashed over in the corner - from then on the floodgates opened.

SCRUMS - Positively munched all day including a shove from their own 22 all the way to their try line.  It was bad enough when they had 8 forwards - it became comical when they had but 6.

LINEOUTS - More productive set piece than the scrum for Castres, but that's not saying much.

BREAKDOWN - Fa'asalele was keen but there were limited opportunities to steal because of Stade's offload game.

DISCIPLINE - The yellow for skipper Ortega, when he tripped up Plisson who was following his own kick, said it all.  Poor discipline for Castres caused by frustration on being outplayed in virtually every area.

INDIVIDUALS  - 

Grosso - Opportunist try after poorly-handled garryowen.  The man they call the "White Lomu" barely had a sniff of any action the rest of the time.

Dupont - He's 18, Looks about 12, but on his few chances to show what he can do looked lively.  Clearly they'd rather have Kockott but this kid plays like he wants to prove himself and shouldn't be taken lightly.

Fa'asalele - The blindside flanker was the only Castres forward who seemed to care.  Busy at the breakdown when he had the chance. 

VERDICT - Assuming Castres play the same way in the Irish capital as they did in the French one, and given their relegation battle back home there's no reason they should really be bothered, Leinster's task is simple.  Keep the set-pieces tidy, be willing to offload and the tries will come.  

Given we have tended to prefer recycling after contact this season, that aspect would worry me, but hopefully our need for 5-pointers will lead to a change of focus.

***

NEXT WEEK - We'll look at how Wasps got on against Harlequins ahead of Leinster's visit to Coventry.

Eye Spy : Quins given a Bath

Here's the latest report from our secret agent who has been keeping tabs on upcoming opposition for both Leinster & Ireland throughout the season...

***

TARGET - Harlequins

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - Played Bath at the Rec last Friday.  They lost 6-25 without Brown, Marler, Robshaw & Yarde.  Though to be fair, Bath were missing Watson, Ford, Wilson, Attwood, Webber and of course the invaluable Gavin Henson.

OFFENCE -  Bath presented a very "Leinster-esque" style D with tight organisation + quick line speed and this effectively shut Quins down throughout; 57-43% possession, 62-38% territory shows awesome domination even for a home side at this level.

DEFENCE - Vulnerable to basic passing out wide early on...not sure if Leinster even need to catch them out with a pass inside - if anything that might suit Quins. When they had 3 in the bin it has to be said they fought bravely on their own goal-line.  Certainly can't fault their spirit.

SCRUMS - Munched by Bath pack from the off and never got better, though perhaps you'd expect Marler to shore things up a bit when he gets back to the side.

LINEOUTS - Shaky on their own throw early on but this was pretty much the only area where Quins got any traction.

BREAKDOWN - They'll need Robshaw back for sure but Wallace & Easter are probably the reason the score never reached "London Welsh" proportions with decent work at the breakdown.

DISCIPLINE - 22 total penalties, around a dozen in scrums, 3 forwards in the bin at once - nuff said.

INDIVIDUALS  - 

Ward - Decent carrier in the loose.  Sean Cronin Lite.  Didn't get much chance to run here but looked good when he did.

Sinckler - hard to give front rowers too much credit given scrum issues but this prop also looked lively in the loose.

Wallace - Led the tackle charts with 15.  Never gave up, won't against Leinster either.

Care & Evans - Quins offence is built around these two.  They never got going here, and thus the rest of the backline couldn't get a look in either.

VERDICT - Simply put, Quins are looking good for their 8th place in the Premiership.  

With Evans always able to find the territory and Care, Browne & Yarde able to feed off scraps there will always be dangers but a solid Leinster display without the ball same as last weekend should provide a path to victory.

Based on last weekend performances, Leinster would be disappointed not to come out on top over the back-to-back series.

***

NEXT WEEK - As we're playing Quins again the following weekend, we'll give our secret agent the week off!  He'll be back the following week with a look ahead to the Christmas period in the Pro12. 

Eye Spy : Ospreys A on their Irish tour

TARGET - Ospreys

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They went to Belfast without their test players (as they will against Leinster as WRU add another test outside the regular window), for a key clash in the Pro12.  They lost their 100% start to this season's campaign, 16-25.

OFFENCE -  Pick & go plus up n unders in wet conditions early on, but as the game wore on they started to get the passes going and their back three were always a danger

DEFENCE - Rush defence from the off. Not bad getting in Ulster's faces but had problems when it was put in behind them.

SCRUMS - More often than not got shoved by Ulster pack, tight head Arhip conceded a pen or two.

LINEOUTS - Conditions weren't ideal but they still struggled under basic pressure from the Ulstermen.  SEVEN lost on own throw. Certainly worth noting for Leo Cullen ahead of next Saturday.  Also on Ulster's throw the O's always crumpled under a well drilled maul.

BREAKDOWN - 13 turnovers conceded could have been worse, good at recycling their own ball

DISCIPLINE - Kept their cool pretty well.  Most pens were technical ones at set pieces.  Sloppiness from winger Natonga shipped a crossing pen which cost them losing bonus point towards the end.

INDIVIDUALS  - 

Sam Davies - Outhalf made all his placekicks on a wet & windy night in Belfast and did what he could to get his back three past the gain line

Martin Roberts - nippy scrum half kept the Ulster defence honest always looking for a gap.

James King, Sam Lewis  & Dan Baker - strong effort from the O's backrow, 35 tackles between them.

Dan Evans - Good at winning the kicking tennis battles

VERDICT - A lot of full-strength teams would have given up the ghost at halftime 15 points behind away from home in such terrible conditions.  The Ospreys however tend to do the much-maligned Welsh regional rugby system proud by giving a full 80 minutes of effort whatever the opposition, venue or even scoreline.  Leinster will have to be at their sharpest to get the win this Saturday, though they probably won't need this report to tell them that!

***

NEXT WEEK - our secret agent checks in on Harlequins as they face Bath ahead of their European double-header with Leinster

Eye Spy - Wallabies' French Failure

Here's our latest intelligence dossier compiled by our secret agent after the Wallabies' defeat in Paris last Saturday ahead of their big showdown in Dublin.

***

TARGET - Michael Cheika's Wallabies

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They lost at the Stade de France to France last weekend on their End of Year Tour.

OFFENCE -  Always able to snipe when the French made mistakes but found it tough going when it came to creating scoring opportunities.  60+% in both possession & territory but still flattered by 3pt defeat IMO. Still, forcing the French into making 167 tackles helped tire the home side out towards the end which almost pinched this scrappy test for the Wallabies.

DEFENCE - Teddy Thomas try was brilliant, few defences would have handled him but still I think Wallabies' overall D was a tad too slow to set and the French exploited this.

SCRUMS - Neither team lost a feed against the head, set piece was more or less solid.

LINEOUTS - Lost a couple on own throw but their biggest worry will be their handling of a maul in their own 22.  Very lucky not to concede try at the start of 2nd half.  Irish lineout could have more success.

BREAKDOWN - Recycled well enough throughout at rucks but overall shipped 17 turnovers mostly through losing the ball in contact.

DISCIPLINE - both teams got frustrated and hot-headed a bit too easily - perhaps referee Owens should have gone to his cards earlier to snuff it out.  Despite easily winning the territory stats though, the pens the Wallabies shipped were too often in kicking range and this cost them.

INDIVIDUALS  - 

Folau - Always a threat but despite some inaccurate French tactical kicking couldn't capitalise

Ashley-Cooper - Wallaby man-of-the-match for me though he would have been of much better use in the centre.

Slipper - Helped keep front row steady and led Aus tackling stats with 14

Hooper - Inspirational leadership especially in the Wallabies' strongest area, namely kick chasing

Foley - Steady out half display and kicked all his goals

Phipps - tagged with 4 missed tackles, not good enough

Cooper - Provided the offensive quality needed to get them over the line towards the end and made the game close.  Cheika could be tempted to start him in Dublin

VERDICT - The Wallabies will improve under Michael Cheika, but for now they seem to take too long to grow into a game, and if they continue to show this next Saturday then Joe Schmidt's men will have the visitors right where they want them.  Ireland will have to keep their error count to an absolute minimum however because Australia have plenty of threats who can capitalise.

***

NEXT WEEK - It's back to Pro12 action and we look at the table-topping Ospreys who go to Belfast this weekend ahead of visiting the RDS the following week.

Eye Spy : Taken by Tonga in Tbilisi

Here's the latest intelligence dossier from our secret agent who has been spying on future opponents for Leinster & Ireland this season...

*****

TARGET - Georgia aka The Lelos, who come to Dublin this weekend.

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They lost in front of a disappointed home crowd last Saturday, by a score of 9-23 to Tonga, whom they must face in their World Cup pool at Kingsholm next year.

OFFENCE -  Didn't get a decent attacking position until the 11th minute but looked lively enough once they did.  Went with pick & go mostly. Lacked cutting edge to get it to the try line though.

DEFENCE - Very well organised, kept out a siege on their line towards the end of the 1st quarter.  Were understandably knackered towards the end. 

SCRUMS - As strong as you'd expect from the Georgians and the reason they led 9-6 going into final quarter.  Bench wasn't strong enough to challenge Tongan put-ins late on and this allowed them to run in the decisive tries.

LINEOUTS - Sloppy on their own throw so probably worth going after.  Pinched one Tongan dart early in 2nd half but couldnt capitalise.

BREAKDOWN - Bullish but knew what they were about when it came to execution with it.  Really, really wanted that ball back every time Tonga had it.  But pretty much on the stroke of 60 minutes, their mojo started to run out against what seemed to be a stronger Tongan bench.

DEE-SEE-PLEENE - (Apologies to Monsieur Gauzère for the Inspector Clouseau humour but it is funny when he says it!) Their breakdown intensity was always going to come at the expense of penalties but despite the late yellow card (high tackle in 73rd min) this is not what cost them as there were already 2 tries in at that stage.

INDIVIDUALS -

"Gorgodzilla" - Conspicuous by his absence.  Even a 50-60m shift from him could have made a difference to the result.

Tkhilaishvili & Koleshvili -  Despite their numbers they were by no means at 6s and 7s.  Tackled their guts out and shouldn't feel responsible for the result.  Like I say, needed a pinch of Mamuka.

Kvirikashvilli - Fullback who took their placekicks.  Didn't seem too comfortable covering kicks in open play to the corners.  Might be better suited to 10 jumper, seemed to be Georgia's most adventurous back.

Nariashvili (aka "Yeti")- Loose head who plays for Clérmont, part of early scrum dominance who's jackling forced a big turnover on his own try line early on.  Could probably have done with his club-mate Davit Zirakashvili in front row with him.

Sharikadze & Kacharava - Centre pairing patrolled their channel well defensively - 24 tackles between them and Tonga had to go wide for scores.

Machkaneli - the skipper will be disappointed with his poor coverage on his wing (he wore 14 but was on the left) for the first two Tongan tries which were fairly routine moves off scrums.  He was in no man's land each time and seemed to rely on tired back rowers to make the tackles.

VERDICT - Georgia showed themselves to be well-drilled in the basics but lacking in nous and 80-minute fitness.  

If Joe Schmidt does half the homework he did before facing the Springboks he should be able to unlock the Lelos pretty handily.  

Keep an eye out for Georgia v Tonga in RWC2015, however...should be a lot closer than this.

*****

NEXT WEEK - Ahead of the big Schmidt v Cheika showdown, our spy will see how the Wallabies get on in Paris.

Eye Spy - Boks topple All Blacks

This week our "Eye Spy" secret agent went back in time to see how Heyneke Meyer's men managed to pip the mighty All Blacks by 2 points to halt their unbeaten streak.

***

TARGET - South Africa

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They beat the All Blacks 27-25 in Johannesburg in the final round of the Rugby Championship back in early October

OFFENCE -  Unrecognisable at times from standard Springbok fare...the ball was getting width, there were offloads aplenty and nowhere near as many high bombs as you'd expect from them.  Still, the power up the middle is never far away from their game and there was evidence of it here.

DEFENCE - When set, very strong.  The All Blacks being who they are will always be able to exploit even the tiniest sniff of a chance which made this game close but overall the tackling & jackling from the Boks was sound.

SCRUMS - Only 8 scrums overall in this match, 4 apiece, all went with put in tho Boks had the edge in the shoving department which has to bode well

LINEOUTS - Had twin towers in Matfield and Etzebeth but often went elsewhere like Mohoje mostly to good effect.  Three went against the darts however and they were unable to snag possession on NZ throw in 14 attempts

BREAKDOWN - It's not often the All Blacks concede 19 turnovers.  Very competitive at the breakdown and had multiple effective jacklers.

DISCIPLINE - Mostly technical penalties like "deliberate" knockons.  Must say this was one of Wayne Barnes' better outings.

INDIVIDUALS  -

Le Roux - Played a large role in the new expansive style, linking up the play nicely and finding the right lines.

De Villiers & Serfontaine - very tough centre pairing to crack, work very well together.  Not quote at Darce & Drico levels just yet but could be getting there

Mohoje - Made a right nuisance of himself at the breakdown though back row partners Coetzee & Vermeulen chippen in

Hougaard - More than adequate alternative to Pienaar, superb support play for cracking opening try and of course was called upon to get the ball quickly from rucks

Pollard - Will always be remembered for 2 fearless finishes for tries but what impressed me most was that the youngster made a couple of early errors including a simple miss from the tee and managed to put them behind him.  Made a few crucial tackles around the park.  Dare I say it, it was a very Sexton-like display.

VERDICT - Nice to see some adventure from the Boks but will they need to play this way in Dublin?  Not so sure for all kinds of reasons.  But one thing is for sure - an unchanged matchday 23 from this epic victory will ensure a kind of team effort Ireland will find very tough to match in our first outing of the season.

***

NEXT WEEK - Our agent will pull out all the stops to get to see Georgia v Tonga ahead of their visit to Dublin next week...if he can't manage it, he'll run the rule over Wales v Australia.

Eye Spy - Quins edge snoozefest

This week we sent our secret agent to Adams Park to keep an eye on Harlequins...as it turned out he struggled to keep it open but still managed to compile this dossier for us...

***

TARGET - Harlequins

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They outlasted Wasps 23-16 in Round 2 of the Rugby Champions Cup on Sunday - Leinster face them in a "back to back" series in December

OFFENCE -  A dismal 1st half of boshing came to life at the end when Quins got it wide to exploit overlap and Matthews finished.  It was more or less back to the bosh in the 2nd half and though Wasps did draw level at one point the visitors always had more points in the tank.

DEFENCE - tackling abysmal for Simpson try but good showing overall from back row who led the tackle stats

SCRUMS & LINEOUTS - Surprisingly owned both set pieces. Robson & Matthews took flawless catches and stole 3 from opposition; in scrum they won all 7 put-ins including a pen try and turned 3 over.

BREAKDOWN - Wasps back row missed Haskell and Robshaw, Wallace & Easter kept Quins on top of this area throughout

DISCIPLINE - pretty good all told - Goode had to kick two from long range to keep Wasps in with a shout

INDIVIDUALS  -

Ward - Found good lines, can struggle with darts though not on this occasion as they showed little variation in calls. Sean Cronin lite

Yarde - high on pace but low on confidence

Evans - Kicked his goals when it mattered, nothing fancy in open play but generally Mr Dependable as ever

Brown - Will always be involved when something positive happens for Quins

Care - showed his conservative side to good effect but I'd expect more urgency v Leinster  

VERDICT - Awful match entertainment-wise where Quins won by screwing up less than opposition. Should have won by much more to be honest. They will struggle against Leinster’s D but if we're still having our own issues with the ball Conor O'Shea's men will always feel they have a shout.

***

NEXT WEEK - Time to start examining Ireland's November opposition - our spy will have a look at how the Springboks overturned the All Blacks.

Eye Spy - Castres Away to Quins

Here's the latest intelligence dossier compiled by our secret agent who we send to watch upcoming opposition for Leinster & Ireland

*****

TARGET - Castres Olympique

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They played Harlequins at the Stoop last Friday in the first ever match in the new Rugby Champions Cup

OFFENCE - Stripped in contact on first attack and never really got going. Have to assume they'll be more adventurous at home.

DEFENCE - Diarra led the way with 12 tackles in just 56m but overall despite decent enough line speed Castres seemed quite porous against good offloading game down the middle. If I'm Conor O'Shea I'd be disappointed not to have crossed their line before 65th minute here.

SCRUMS - Struggled against well-timed Quins drive on their own put-in, lost 4 and many penalties came from this set piece.

LINEOUTS - Statistically one of the best in Top 14 but you wouldn't know it here - lost 5 on own throw and only pinched 2 from 17 by Quins. Seem to rely on longer throws which wont suit them against Toner.

BREAKDOWN - Diarra was making the tackles but Whetton & Bornman didn't seem to add too much to their back row. 

DISCIPLINE - 11 pens conceded, no yellows but perhaps Nigel was being generous.

INDIVIDUALS -

Kockott - Probably wont be happy with his output here and thus will want to show improvement Sunday in front of home crowd

Diarra - Easily their best player but they couldn't turn his contributions into points

Bornman - On this display a shadow of the man he replaced Claasens

Palis - see above re : Bornman only with respect to Dulin

Combezou - created a dog leg in centre of defensive line once or twice which Quins couldn't exploit

VERDICT - Should play better at home but solid D from Leinster on Sunday should be enough to come out on top.

*****

NEXT WEEK - We'll have our agent focus on Leinster's December double-header opponents Quins this time as they travel to Wasps.

Eye spy - Quins slip up at Tigers

Here's the latest intelligence dossier compiled by our secret agent after Harlequins' defeat at Welford Road last Friday evening.

*****

TARGET - Conor O'Shea's Harlequins

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - They played Leicester Tigers last Friday in the Premiership.  Leinster are set to play Quins in back-to-back ERCC Pool 2 matches in December.

OFFENCE -  In wet conditions it was mostly a territory game from both sides and Leicester were simply better at it.  Quins' pick and go game in latter stages was impressive but it was too little too late.

DEFENCE - Vulnerable to quick passing along the line; this led to the early Scully try but to be fair it was the only time the Tigers crossed.  Not surprisingly Robshaw led the tackle count with 14, lock Matthews had 13.

SCRUMS - Conceded front row pen in 1st scrum; shove got better when sub hooker was on. 

LINEOUTS - Robson best option (has lineout calls written on special armband!), got decent front foot ball off their own throw early on but lost starting hooker Gray after just 17m; sub Ward wasn't the best with the darts.

BREAKDOWN - Robshaw did his best to disrupt Tigers' front foot ball but had little support in that key area though it improved in final quarter.  12 turnovers conceded in total.

DISCIPLINE - Little niggly technical penalties kept thwarting any progress made.  Final margin should have been wider as Quins shipped 9 kickable pens but Owen Williams missed 4 of them.

INDIVIDUALS  -

Hopper - superb try-saving tackle on Goneva

Brown - Not his best night. Dropped a couple of high balls and put a kick out on the full towards the end when Quins still had a sniff

Robshaw - saw him pick up the ball and intentionally run AT Brad Thorn more than once; speaks volumes about how much he means to Quins

Evans - Technically proficient as ever

Marler - For a skipper he always strikes me as easy to wind up, but he did show some leadership esp in the loose

Wallace - got better at breakdown as match progressed

Easter - Was he even there? Teamsheet said so.

Dickson - late call up for "Daddy" Care,  showed some enterprise, got the Quins try

VERDICT - With Brown & Care on the park there will always be the chance of something being made out of nothing and Evans can kick the goals to keep ground game ticking over nicely but from what I have seen this season the best Quins can hope for from Europe is a 7th or 8th quarterfinal seed.

*****

NEXT WEEK - We'll have our spy watching the RCC Pool 2 opener Quins v Castres to check out the Top14 outfit in particular but we also had him watching Wasps play Bath last weekend and we'll include his report in our Leinster preview this Friday.

Eye spy - Wasps bitten by Sharks

Here's the latest intelligence dossier from our spies who are keeping their beady eyes on Leinster and Ireland's upcoming opponents...

TARGET - Wasps, Leinster's first Rugby Champions' Cup opponents in less than two weeks

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - they played Sale Sharks last Sunday in the Premiership

OFFENCE -  Option 1 - create space for Wade. Option 2 - create space for Wade.  They get some purchase from Leiua at 12 though he played 13 here.

DEFENCE - Only two starters had zero missed tackles and Andy Goode was only one of them because he didn't attempt any! Also they still appear to be extremely vulnerable to a ball put in behind them.

SCRUMS - Statistically best scrum in Premiership going into the match but though they won 1st put-in it was under pressure from heavier Sale pack and the front row got on wrong side of ref early.  Should improve in Europe with regular starters.

LINEOUTS - Scrappy - locks not the tallest here but will be better with Launchbury & B Davies; they often used Johnson as option.  They do set up a decent maul off them, though Sale were able to disrupt by standing off the jumper.

BREAKDOWN - clearing out very slow when in possession, didn't cause Sale many problems when they had the ball either

DISCIPLINE - silly tackle in the air by Helu saw yellow, plus many penaltiess at scrums

INDIVIDUALS  -

Nathan Hughes - wants the ball and can use it, got 1st try

C Davies - not afraid to go himself from the base but Simpson better when he came on

B Davies - Wasps were better all round with his presence

Goode - outshone by Cipriani though that wasn't saying much. An extremely vanilla outhalf

Leiua - keen to run, will prob play at 12 and pose defence some questions

Wade - had a fumble leading to try similar to Madigan's v Cardiff, but squeezed through for one himself late on.  Sums up not only his game but Wasps' in general IMO.

VERDICT - When Leinster played Wasps in Amlin QF in 2013 my verdict on them was that for every one point they gain putting in the effort to set up the likes of Wade & Varndell, they ship as many as two down the other end.  That opinion has not changed.  They did rest some key players here (I thought the Premiership clubs never did that?) but I reckon going on current form, Leinster have more to worry from themselves than they do Wasps.

NEXT WEEK - We'll be keeping tabs on Harlequins as they travel to face another big club which has struggled so far this season, Leicester.

Eye spy - Munster v Ospreys

This week we have a guest poster taking on our Eye Spy mission; and what a bang up job BigJoeShep has done!  He watched Munster take on the Ospreys last weekend to see how they look ahead of the big clash with Leinster this coming weekend.

(note - we here at HarpinOnRugby Manor can neither confirm nor deny reports of things we may or may not have said in private correspondence)

*****

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:

Leinster Rugby have a must win game against Munster Rugby at Aviva Stadium on Saturday 04 October 2014 in the Guinness Pro 12 League. What follows is key for all Leinster supporters (and some might add for Leinster players and coach Matt O’CONNOR!!)

BACKGROUND:

It was a normal average Tuesday around 1027hrs when I received the “request” to undertake this mission. It came in the usual polite manner but as ever, I knew that it was one that you didn’t refuse? Our leader at Harpin’ on Rugby (HoR) Manor has a way with his “Requests” which leaves you knowing you don’t have a choice.  Being in retirement, I don’t get tasked for these sort of missions often now but given the undercurrent on Leinster and coach Matt O’CONNOR (MOC) currently, it was felt that this was needed. Regardless of the reason, once you’re in the HoR organisation, you’re ALWAYS available…………..The “Request” went like this;

MISSION DIRECTIVE:

Good morning Mr…….(clearly I can’t ID myself on these means)

Your mission should you choose to accept it (like I have a choice??) .......is to conduct a recce on our oldest adversaries and next Pro 12 opponents Munster Rugby. It is understood that you will find them at their HQ, also known as “Fortress Thomond” Limerick this coming Saturday when a team from Wales, known as “The Ospreys” will swoop in and try to steal at least 4 points. Apparently, these “Ospreys” are currently flying high!! (Yep the Boss’ humour takes getting used to)

Anyhow, as always, should you or any of your team be caught or identified, Harpin’ On Rugby Manor will disavow any knowledge of you or your actions. This e-mail will self-destruct in five seconds. 

Report back on your findings and good luck……..

THE MISSION:

It was as described and fortunately for me, the stadium hadn’t moved and I infiltrated with ease! Thomond Park is well known for its unique atmosphere. During the match, the home fans can be heard singing songs such as "The Fields Of Athenry". Although no-one could fully explain why Munster fans would sing a Connacht / Galway song, it’s probably the same as why would England Rugby fans sing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” an African American song? Moving on…………..

MATCH OVERVIEW:

It is alleged that some 13,547 people turned out to watch the game but I suspect those numbers were exaggerated looking at the emptiness of the ground which can only hold circa 25,600+/- of their fans? The result went against Munster with the Ospreys winning 19 – 14 and well worth their win on a gloomy rainy night in Limerick and this means 2 straight home defeats for the Munstermen. Although Munster had a strong start to the early stages of the 1st half, they failed to capitalise and the 2nd half was even worse. Despite Ospreys losing 2nd Row South African Rynier Bernardo to the sin bin, Munster failed to exploit this only saw less than 5% in their opponents 22 during the 2nd half. 

MY REPORT:

The report is based upon Munster Rugby, their key players identified and any relevant Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that would cost Leinster a key home win and 5 points this Saturday. 

STRENGTHS:

Players: 

Gerhard VAN DEN HEEVER – Winger: 6’3” & 16st 7lbs, the South African has strength, speed, a brilliant side step and will take any opportunity out wide or to come inside with a jinking run. In the 1st half, Munster had 39% possession with 51 carries and 206 metres made. HEEVER accounted for over 50% of those metres. He only requires the slightest opportunity and missed tackles from Leinster will cost dearly!

Paul O’CONNELL – 2nd Row Lock: 6’6” & 17st 8lbs, the giant Irishman has been recognised by his country on 94 occasions and has played 160 times for the province and scored 90 points. He is an inspirational leader, former captain and is a threat for the full 80 minutes. He turns up everywhere, is huge when winning the ball at lineouts. If he doesn’t compete for the ball, he immediately wittles himself out of the ruck to the back of the melee and controls the ensuing maul or onward progression. His scrummaging and tackling for a 35 year old is extremely strong. He can turn a game with his drive, determination and experience. He is a LION. Ties in very closely with Connor MURRAY 

Conor MURRAY – Scrum Half: 6’2” & 14st 10lbs, MURRAY has played 28 times for his country and 61 times for Munster scoring 39 pts. He is the 9th forward! Agile, strong with determination and vision. His ability to add power to the pack at mauls and control every situation should not be underestimated. A strong working ally of O’CONNELL, he has a burst of speed over 15 – 20 metres that opens up play. From lineouts, he looks to quick effect box kicks into space when the opponents are expecting it to go across the park. Was match captain for this game. Huge threat.

Lineouts:

Munster utilised the lineout to great effect. They have a well drilled set of plays that sees them marching down the pitch. Their Hooker, CASEY drills good, straight balls to the line. Lineout, Maul, play, kick for touch, march onwards. In this game it took them only 11 minutes to successfully engage this methodology before the ball was played out wide and eventually through MURRAY, KEATLY (one of the few things he got right?) and onto an overlap where VAN DEN HEEVER went across the line for their try. (N.B. Note comments below on WEAKNESSES in this area)

Scrum:

They appear strong in the set scrum (but not always in scrummaging). Their props (BJ BOTHA, a South African World Cup Winner) and Dave KILCOYNE together with the vastly

experienced 2nd row of O’CONNELL and O’CALLAGHAN team up very well and provide a strong front 5. They won 6 from 8 of their own put in and 1 against the head. Given they had an extremely poor 2nd half, it was only once on 64th minute that they were pushed back. I wouldn’t read too much into it! If they win at set scrum, it sets them up.

Discipline:

Positives and negatives here. Munster conceded only 6 penalties and 4 were in the 2nd half. They are a reasonably well disciplined team. 2 of the penalties came from players not being back behind the kicker and they gave away needless points for infringements at the breakdown. The other area their discipline kicks in is at the end of the game. They are renowned for never giving in till the final whistle goes and again they showed it in this game coming close to the try line in the dying moments. Leinster must watch this.

WEAKNESSES:

Players:

Currently Munster are without a large number of key players; Tyler BLEYENDAAL (Centre), Cian BOHANE (Centre), Keith EARLS (Winger/Universal Back), Billy HOLLAND (Back Row/Lock), Peter O’MAHONY (Back Row & Club Captain), Mike SHERRY (Hooker), Damien VARLEY (Hooker) and Donnacha RYAN (Lock/Flanker). The loss of these is undoubtedly having an effect.

The biggest disappointment from a player perspective was Ian KEATLEY (Fly Half). His kicking was overall poor, he lacked distance, vision and tactical awareness. Perhaps it was just an off day but didn’t impress at all.

Offence / Defence / Breakdown:

They lack a strong team overall as outlined above. They are playing HURLEY & DINEEN in the central roles and whilst HURLEY has the experience and vision from his previous days as a Heineken Cup Winning Full Back, along with a poorly playing Ian KEATLEY their lack of a dynamic central capability (on a required 80 mins basis) was evident with a number of handling and positional errors. What makes Munster look good is when they do get it across the park, is that man Conor MURRAY again. He turns defence and anything at the breakdown into an attacking capability looking at every opportunity to switch play. 

That said, because they are heavily reliant on a couple of players at the breakdown, there’s potential for turnover ball should Leinster target this area. Likewise Ospreys had a player sin binned and Munster failed in any way to capitalise on this. Stifle them at source and there’s rich pickings to be had for the Boys in Blue!

OPPORTUNITIES:

It is assessed that Munster will start and finish very strong, utilise the lineout “march” downfield in the first 15 or so minutes then look to get it out to VAN DEN HEEVER and expect MURRAY to be heavily involved in everything supported by O’CONNELL and the South African No 8 CJ STANDER. (N.B. Leinster MUST be careful not to take their eye off the game in the latter stages of the 2nd half regardless of where they are at that point as they did against Cardiff last week)

Key Areas: Lineouts and push forward. Exploiting the wide channel out to VAN DEN HEEVER. 

Anything involving MURRAY.

THREATS:

The main threats both to and from Munster are covered. 

CONCLUSION:

Overall, Munster Rugby have a core set of strong players who can change the game if given the opportunity but I don’t believe it’s anywhere near enough to threaten Leinster IF the boys in blue play to their strengths. They are yet to gel as a completed outfit given the absences of many key players.

PREDICTION: Leinster Rugby by 14 points!

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@bigjoeshep is the Owner and Head of Information & Knowledge Management atDigital Knowledge Zone.   An avid Leinster & Ireland Rugby fan, he came to rugby at the late age of 24, was a tight head prop, had at least 2 good runs in every game and retired at only 36 after 3 operations on his legs and now forms the 4th "virtual" person in a front row each time his beloved teams are playing (much to the annoyance of his suffering girlfriend who has to put up with being "embraced" by the Big Fella at each scrum!!!)

Eye spy - Leinster's Pool 2 opponents square off

Eye spy is a new weekly series from HarpinOnRugby where we'll have a look at an opponent either Leinster or Ireland are due to face in a big contest later in the season, sharing with you some brief notes on general headings and individual performances.

TARGETS - Harlequins and Wasps, both in Leinster's RCC pool 2.

WHO, WHEN, WHERE - Faced each other in the Aviva Premiership last Saturday at The Stoop.  Quins won a see-saw battle 26-23.

OFFENCE -  (Q) - Acquire points through applying pressure on opposition in contrast to their opponents.  But as we saw last week v Sarries, against a decent D they'll struggle to break through.  (W) - On one hand, pretty easy to read with Daly aiming to link up between halfbacks and pacy wingers.  But on the other hand, they are good at it and hard to stop when in full flow.

DEFENCE - On the evidence of this plus both clubs' outings against Sarries this season, I'm not entirely sure either club has the full 80 minutes of D required to compete against top Euro clubs in them.

SCRUMS - All 14 scrums (10 Q 4 W) went with the put-in.

LINEOUTS - Wasps struggled on their own throw generally but did have one massive rolling maul leading to try number 3.

BREAKDOWN - Pretty much cancelled each other out in this area, though if you had to pick a winner between Robshaw and Haskell it would have to be the England skipper.

DISCIPLINE - Not bad overall but I have no idea what Wasps lock Kearnan Myall was thinking with his trip that caused Quins' penalty try. Locks Mathhews & Launchbury had a dustup early on.

INDIVIDUALS (Q) -

Robshaw - His try was opportunist to put it mildly, but still a good outing by which included a key lineout steal towards the end.

Sloan - "credited" with 5 missed tackles, a criminal amount for a 13.

Botica - Just missed the one kick; f Evans is fit he'll no doubt start in RCC but Botica will often be needed for final quarter and can do a job

Care - His tendency to do the unexpected is what could hurt Leinster the most. He even dropped a goal in this match!

INDIVIDUALS (W) -

Goode - If he lived up to his name from the kicking tee Wasps could have pinched the victory.  I think losing Ruairidh Jackson as backup could be very costly for their Euro hopes; not sure if Andy can play 80 week in week out.

Masi, Varnell, Daly, Wade - All dangerous with the ball when given space, but if supply to them can be curtailed Wasps will struggle

Simpson - the man to stop in order to cut off the supply I mention above.

VERDICT - I have a feeling these two could well do Leinster a favour by splitting their two RCC pool matches taking points away from each other.  If we have realistic ambitions of winning the tournament we should be looking for at least 13 of the 20 points on offer in our matches against the pair.

NEXT WEEK - Ahead of the big clash with Leinster at the Aviva Stadium we look at Munster's Pro12 meeting with the Ospreys.