Front Five - 30.10.14

Start your day with five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere.

Later today here on HarpinOnRugby...
Big Joe Shep looks beyond the Matt O'Connor era

The point is not that Leinster won ugly but that they are choosing not to win pretty anymore.

Scrum will be what drags Leinster down

Neil Francis - Irish Independent

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"I thought it was a very very smart performance (from Munster)" - Keith Wood

Munster still need to find another gear

Off The Ball - Newstalk

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If...(Leinster) grind their way to another Pro12 final and get beaten by Glasgow...then has (O'Connor) met the criteria required of him? 

Over The Top 

Digging Like A Demented Mole

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"so far I've been impressed with the level of consistency they've brought to their work." - Michael Cheika

Cheika names Genia, Cooper as starting halves

ESPN Scrum.com

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"By changing the mindset of the players...I think we've got a scrum in the top 5 in the world"

Eddie Jones credits 'crazy coach' Marc dal Maso for Japan's huge scrummaging improvment

Rugby Onslaught

 

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Feel free to share any interesting links you spot yourself about t’internet by email, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, blog comment or carrier pigeon – whatever works for you. JLP

Note - views expressed in "Front Five" links do not necessarily reflect those of HarpinOnRugby

B&I Cup preview

Heading to Donnybrook this afternoon for Leinster A’s clash with Jersey, where the home side definitely need all five points to set up a pool decider with Pontypridd in January.  Head on down if you can, it’s free in for Leinster season ticket holders, kickoff 2:30pm.

Congrats to Connacht Eagles who scored their first-ever competitive win triumphing 31-16 over last season’s finalists Cross Keys.  Pity the Welsh side’s tweeter wasn’t a better sport about the result.

The Ulster Ravens scored an easy victory in Cardiff, setting up a clash with Bristol in January that is virtually winner-take-all.

Finally the weekend began for the provincial A sides with Munster being held 9-9 by the Rotherham Titans (who much like the trucking company of the same name are "really going places" now), a result that keeps the pool alive with both the Titans and their fellow Championship side Plymouth Albion only four points behind the cup holders with two to play.

POOL ONE – ULSTER RAVENS

14 December     Bristol 41-3 Bridgend

15 December  Cardiff 7-34 Ulster Ravens

11 January   Ulster Ravens v Bristol  19:30

POOL FOUR – CONNACHT EAGLES

15 December    Connacht v Cross Keys

16 December    Newport v Newcastle 15:00

12 January  Newcastle v Connacht Eagles 15:00

POOL FIVE – LEINSTER “A”

15 December  Pontypridd v Leeds Carnegie, 14:30

16 December  Leinster A v Jersey, 14:30

15: Cathal Marsh  14: Adam Byrne  13: Eoin O'Malley  12: Brendan Macken  11: Fionn Carr  10: Noel Reid  9: John Cooney

1: Jack McGrath CAPTAIN  2: Aaron Dundon  3: Jamie Hagan  4: Ben Marshal  5: Tom Denton  6: Rhys Ruddock  7: Dominic Ryan  8: Leo Auva'a

REPLACEMENTS:  16: Thomas Sexton  17: Jack O'Connell  18: Tadhg Beirne  19: Conor Gilsenan  20: Luke McGrath  21: Jordan Coghlan  22: Steve Crosbie

POOL SEVEN – MUNSTER “A”

14 December   Munster 9-9 Rotherham Titans  Plymouth Albion 59-0 Aberavon

Click here for report from Munster A v Rotherham

12 January  Aberavon v Munster A 14:30

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...

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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.

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