Heineken Cup 2013

[JSRF10]

Doug Howlett is a class act one of the all time greats, father time has just caught up on him. I'll remember how himself, Tipoki and Mafi played some great stuff for Munster in the 2008/09 season. I hope he gets involved with coaching the outside backs in Ireland, every single winger we have could learn a lot of Dougie.

 

[Craig Riddington]

Tell your mate to thank his lucky stars that he wasn't born here.

He could jump on the Train and travel for 5 days to get to Perth from Sydney via the Indian Pacific to watch the Tahs play the Force in what was promoted as a local derby.

I admire his dedication.

5 days on a train is nothing to spending four hours and 28 minutes in Holyhead. Poor, poor bastard.

 

[KevinO]

Ok, the Final is this week and no one cares because it's to French sides. I am predicting ASM Clermont to come away with this one, think it will be a tight battle though. Hope the retirement 15 don't get over the line.

Debut Dublin delight - and despair
There will be debut Dublin delight and debut Dublin despair in around equal measure when the final whistle goes at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening to bring the curtain down on the prestigious 18th tournament final

First time finalists ASM Clermont Auvergne and Toulon are both entering uncharted territory when they clash in an all-French affair that will see one of them join Toulouse and Brive in becoming only the third French winners of European club rugby's most coveted silverware.
And what is a stone-cold certainty is that there will be a new name etched onto the famous trophy.
The winners will be the 10th club to lift the trophy following Toulouse with four triumphs, Leinster on three, Leicester Tigers, Munster and London Wasps on two each and Brive, Bath Rugby, Ulster Rugby and Northampton Saints on one apiece.
Clermont have swept all before them en route to the final and if Vern Cotter's team do walk off the winners they will have created a slice of tournament history in the process as no club has won all nine matches in a season.
They finished their Pool 5 schedule with doubles over defending champions Leinster, Exeter Chiefs and the Scarlets with a mighty impressive 23-3 try count in their favour.
They stayed on French soil for both their knock-out contests, beating Montpellier 36-14 in the quarter-finals and then traveling to Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier for their semi-final showdown with former double champions Munster.
They had to survive a late charge by Paul O'Connell's team before booking their place in Dublin, Fijian wing Napolioni Nalaga scoring an eighth minute try and then the trusty boot of Morgan Parra doing the rest in a nervy finish.
The path to the final for Bernard Laporte's Toulon included doubles over Cardiff Blues and Sale Sharks but they went down 23-3 at an emotionally charged Montpellier in their final Pool 6 outing.
The spotlight has been firmly focused on the goal kicking of Jonny Wilkinson in the knock-out stages, the former England and British & Irish Lions outside half contributing all their points.

They had to pull out all the stops before emerging 21-15 quarter-final victors over former champions Leicester Tigers in a tremendous contest and then there was more of the same Wilkinson magic - and back-to-back Heineken Man of the Match awards for good measure - in a 24-12 last four victory over Saracens at Twickenham Stadium.
Now the stage is set for either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Toulon to put their name up in European lights.
Match Notes

• The 2013 all-French final will be the fourth in the history of the tournament: 2003 - Toulouse 22 Perpignan 17 (Lansdowne Road); 2005 - Toulouse 18 Stade Francais Paris 12 (aet, Murrayfield); 2010 - Toulouse 21 Biarritz Olympique 19 (Stade de France).​
• With ASM Clermont Auvergne and Toulon appearing in their first tournament final, a new name will be added to the list of champions on 18 May.​
• Clermont are bidding to become the first club in history to win all nine matches in the same season on their way to lifting the trophy.​
• Either Clermont or Toulon will become the third French winner of the Heineken Cup after Brive (1997) and Toulouse (1996, 2003, 2005, 2010).​
• With two clubs in the final, France are guaranteed seven places in the 2013/14 Heineken Cup.​
• After the contest, 16 clubs will have contested a Heineken Cup final. The other finalists are: Toulouse (6), Leicester Tigers (5), Munster Rugby (4), Leinster Rugby (3), London Wasps, Stade Francais Paris, Brive, Biarritz Olympique Northampton Saints, Ulster Rugby (2), Cardiff, Bath, Colomiers, Perpignan, Clermont, Toulon (1 each).​
• The most points scored by an individual in a final is the 30 scored by Diego​
• Dominguez (nine penalties and a drop goal) of Stade Francais Paris in the 2001 defeat by Leicester Tigers.​
• The final will be third to be staged in Dublin and the first at the 51,783-capacity Aviva Stadium. The previous two matches in 1999 and 2003 were played at the old Lansdowne Road.​

 

[JSRF10]

Both sides have bought their way to the top, nothing wrong with that in fairness, but I'd have to back Clermont. Ever since I attended the quarter final in the RDS in 2010 I've held a lot of respect for their supporters and I hope they can bring it home this time. Funny that most people I know with tickets are trying to off load them!

Hopefully Leinster can win tonight, BOD is out along with Healy and Cullen on the bench. Hoping Rhys Ruddock has a big game, always been a fan of his and I think in the next few years we'll see him making the 6 jumper his own in blue and hopefully he can add to his one Ireland cap. Hard to believe he is still 21! Its isn't on Aussie TV unfortunately so hopefully someone sticks the game on youtube ASAP!

 

[KevinO]

O'Gara? One more year as well?

For the amount of respect I have for what this guy has done on the field I would not mind him playing one more season, he did play well in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup and would prefer to see him play his final game in Limerick where he deserves to finish a great career.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/sport/...540?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

 

[KevinO]

Brian O'Driscoll has signed for another year, I think if his body holds up he will attempt another World Cup.

True Legend that he is.

 

[JSRF10]

Hopefully Schmidt manages BOD better than Kidney did, he should play only 2 of the November tests, 3 of the 6 nations games and he shouldn't be taken to SA next winter. Should give another player a chance to have a go in the 13 jersey, maybe Luke Fitz if he can stay fit, but in all honesty there isn't a no 1 candidate right now.

Depends which ROG Munster are signing. For his performances against Quins and Clermont, there some shockers Scotland and Cardiff were in the latter he repeatedly kicked away turnover ball and seemed to be sending a message to Penny. I think Penny would secretly like to see him move on, ROGs game just isn't suited to the way he wants to play the game. Although Munster probably would have to look abroad for a short term solution I wouldn't mind seeing JJ given a run in the 10 slot.

 

[the plastic paddy]

I don't think it is fair to lay all the blame at Kidney's door for player management. The IRFU instigated central contracts with the express intention of having the players at the peak of their powers for Irish duty. This is why the players have their gametime managed by the regional coaches as much as St Joe etc being sensitive to their requirements; the other side of this coin is that if the blazers are paying for the players they want to see them playing.

It is the weakness of the central contract system which tends to promote conservative selection as a short term measure to secure short term success at the expense of squad deepening. The rumour is that St Joe will be allowed to experiment although this decision on BOD hardly inspires confidence in that regard. Personally, I think it is a backward step for Ireland, no disrespect to the great man, because everything from now on should be about the next world cup (the Lions Farce notwithstanding). With the best will in the world, BOD is not going to be about for the next RWC so I really don't see that much purpose will be served having him block the opportunities of Cave, Earls and Fitzgerald (if the latter two can ever stay fecking fit for more than two games). Maybe if we secure the holy grail of a win against NZ it will be worthwhile.

Anyway, not strictly on topic as it is the Amlin final!?! Here are the (very interesting) squads for tonights final,

LEINSTER:

15: Rob Kearney
14: Andrew Conway
13: Fergus McFadden
12: Ian Madigan
11: Isa Nacewa
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Isaac Boss

1: Jack McGrath
2: Sean Cronin
3: Mike Ross
4: Quinn Roux
5: Devin Toner
6: Rhys Ruddock
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Richardt Strauss
17: Cian Healy
18: Jamie Hagan
19: Leo Cullen
20: Shane Jennings
21: John Cooney
22: Andrew Goodman
23: Dave Kearney
STADE FRANCAIS: Jérôme Porical; Jeremy Sinzelle, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Paul Williams, Hugo Bonneval; Jules Plisson, Julien Dupuy; Aled De Malmanche, Laurent Sempere, Rabah Slimani, Scott Lavalla, Gerhard Mostert, David Lyons, Pierre Rabadan, Sergio Parisse CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS: Remy Bonfils, Stanley Wright, Jeremy Becasseau, Anton van Zyl, Lei Tomiki, Waisea Nayacalevu, Julien Arias, Paul Warwick

REFEREE: Nigel Owens (WRU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Leighton Hodges (WRU), Ian Davies (WRU), 4th OFFICIAL: Neil Paterson (SRU), 5th OFFICIAL: Andrew McMenemy (SRU), TMO: Gareth Simmonds (WRU)

Looks like the priority is the Rabo final although I think this is quite a shrewd selection by St Joe as French teams tend to fade in the last twenty when that very strong bench can be best utilised. Anyway, best of luck to Leinster, for themselves and for Connacht who it would be great to see getting another year of HEC rugby!!

 

[Bardon]

It's great that BOD is going for one more year. The way Kidney was picking his teams none of the new generation of centres got to have any extended time learning from BOD. Hopefully Schmidt will rotate better and give some of the young talent a chance to claim a regular starting spot for next year's 6Ns. Unfortunately there are more players ready to play than there are jumpers available. I really wish the tour to NA was a little longer, especially if the squad is going to be largely a developmental one.

On the 13 Jersey apart from BOD maybe Tommy Bowe would be the best bet. There's lots of young players coming through on the wings and it would give time for the younger guys to gain more experience. I always thought that Fitzgerald was sort of the opposite of BOD in that BOD plays like a much bigger player physically while Fitzy plays like a smaller player. He's got immense talent and great gas and he's been messed about by the IRFU in the past.

But like Earls & Trimble he's got plenty of things to like about his game but he's never really consistently performed at international level. Like those other 2 there have been some amazing performance indicating that he's capable of so much more. Injury and Kidney's selection policy hasn't done any of them any favours and I hope Schmidt can get them performing confidently when they pull on the green. I really am hoping for genuine competition for places under Schmidt and if that happens it will help everyone's game.

As to ROG he owes nothing to Ireland or Munster, he's put in a fine shift. I think his time has passed for Ireland simply because there are so many young 10s coming through. But he can still do a job for Munster. I'd still like to see Keatley take more of a prominent role at Munster, especially for the big games. Plus I'd like to see Hanranhan getting some Pro12 exposure.

Rhys Ruddock is an amazing prospect and I think next season he'll have a big year with Heaslip and O'Brien probably getting extended rest after the Lions tour. It won't be long before he, O'Mahony and Henderson are battling it out for the Irish 6. We're never really lacking for backrow talent, which is lucky given how injury prone a lot of them are.

 

[boyo]

I wonder what the reception will be like for Stan Wright by the Leinster fans.

 

[Bardon]

Stan will get a good reception when he comes on, how big the cheer is might depend on what the score is at the time. He was with us a long time, performed consistently well and was popular with the crowd. The fact he was injured most of his final season and also that the news of him leaving broke just after Mike Ross signed a new deal softened the blow.

Also he left to follow Cheika which was understandable. He's still a popular figure among Leinster fans and if Leinster are winning comfortably when he comes on he could get one of the biggest cheers of the night. If Leinster are losing or it's a tense close game the cheer may be a little more muted.

 

[Bardon]

Leinster won the Challenge Cup final 34-13 against Stade Francais. Stade had the majority of possession but Leinster backed their defence and forced error after error from Stade. Stade had been in the Leinster 22 nine times for no reward before they finally got their 1st and what turned out to be only try of the game. On the flip side Leinster were ruthless every time they got a chance.

Half time score was 21-6 thanks to tries from Madigan, Cronin and Kearney. Kearney almost got the 4th try in the 2nd half when he showed excellent acceleration and went over in the corner but a good covering tackle resulted in his foot going into touch a split second before he grounded the ball. Excellent call from the touch judge on that one who got it spot on with no need to go to the TMO.

Sinzelle scored Stade's try when they finally created some space out wide and he dived past the challenge of Conway to score in the corner. Fergus McFadden was injured in a challenge in the lead up and had to be stretchered off. That gave Stade a bit of hope needing 2 converted tries in the final 15 minutes to level the game up. But Leinster held firm and Healy went over for Leinster's 4th try to seal the win.

Leinster's Lions all played really well. Kearney scored a try, almost got a 2nd and looked dangerous anytime he got the ball. He was also his usual solid self under the high ball. I had a little moment of worry when he came down awkwardly after claiming a restart that didn't quite go the full 10, but he was fine thankfully. Heaslip and O'Brien both had good games in the back row and Ruddock didn't look out of place in their company. Heaslip managed to over shadow his opposite number Parisse and really has hit form at the right time of the season.

Healy got his try and he also turned the scrum around for Leinster when he came on, reversing one of the few positive for Stade. Sexton ran the show really well including an excellent pinpoint kick for Nacewa who offloaded to Kearney for his try. Sexton deservedly won the man of the match award and if he continues to play like that it's be a very exciting Lions tour.

I thought it was a nice touch that Leinster allowed Sexton and Nacewa to go up to lift the trophy. Both have been excellent for us over many years. Sexton of course is off to Racing and Nacewa is heading back to New Zealand having called it a day.

 

[Bardon]

Also it looks like Ronan O'Gara might be joining Sexton at Racing as he's been linked with a coaching position with them.

 

[Bardon]

Heaslip is among the 5 nominations for ERC player of the year along with Wilkinson of Toulon and Bonnaire, Fofana & Sivivatu of Clermont. Heaslip's emmense performance in the semi final plus his shift tonight were good enough for him to win it. But realistically as his performances came in the Challenge Cup rather than the HEC it would have to be a dour HEC final with those other 4 guys all having stinkers for him to win it.

The winner will come from the team who lift the HEC tomorrow. Whoever does win will be a worthy choice as all those players have been outstanding this season.

 

[JSRF10]

Good win for Leinster, such a shame that they were drawn in the same group as Clermont, would have loved to have seen the Heino Cup final between them. Haven't seen the game but hoping to get a download later.

I'm not sure if it was Kidney or the IRFU but playing his first choice XV in every game didn't make sense. He flogged Ferris, he flogged SOB, he flogged Hayes. All this lack of rotation in live games came back when the injuries hit and he had to throw in untested youngsters. I hope Schmidt is more flexible than Kidney in his succession planning as well. Kidney anointed Jackson as ROGs successor, when the time came it was clear that Madigan was in better form and also was place kicking to a decent standard.

Not sure what kind of coach ROG would be, but apparently him and Sexton get along well so I'm sure they'll both settle in easier with each other there. Fair play to ROG going abroad to learn his trade, I'd love to see more Irish coaches go to France or go down under to expand their horizons. I can almost picture it now, ROG as kicking coach, BOD as attack coach, POC as forwards coach and Mike Ross as scrum coach winning Ireland the World Cup in 2027!

 

[the plastic paddy]

Stunning performance from Leinster, to win a European final and make a Stade Francais team containing Sergio Parisse (possibly the best in the world) look like also rans; to do it with Strauss, Healy, Plug and Jennings on the bench is different class.

I think ROG will make a great coach because he is ruthlessly honest which is why I think he and the Sextoid have developed such a healthy mutual respect. Sexton, Madigan and the (as usual) excellent Boss ran the show last night and they did not do it with smashed up front foot ball. I am so excited about the future of Irish rugby, St Joe is the best coach in the world and to have snared him as our national coach is some coup. Right across the field we have strength in depth.

Anyway congratulations to the boys in blue although I hope the Nordies beat ye out the gate next weekend. It has been an extraordinary rugby season but, sadly, it will always be remembered by me for the terrible tragedy that befell the Spence family at its start.

 

[the plastic paddy]

Really feel a bit of the game died today. Toulon, a 'French' team started the Heineken cup final with 4, yes FOUR, French players in their starting line up. The game is being bought by arse holes like Boudjellal. I hope the likes of Sheridan, Hayman, Botha, Giteau, Wilkinson etc will be utterly ashamed of themselves when they look back on what they have done in Toulon. I fear for the game we all love.

 

[USARugger]

11 French players total between both teams. The way the Top 14 has been headed for the past half-decade this isn't even a surprise though. Top 14 has clearly taken Les Bleus by the balls and thrown them into a lake. PSA made some ridiculous selections but it's starting to show if there 6 Nations campaign was any indicator.

the plastic paddy

Ugh why did you have to bring up the Spence incident. It's always tragic to see a career cut short but what happened to him is just unimaginable. Gonna need a beer or two to brighten up the day after that one.

 

[JSRF10]

Just saw this from Delon the Felon, what a absolute wanker!

http://balls.ie/rugby/four-professi...twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

 

[Bardon]

Missed this years final for the first time in a long time. Had to get up early to collect someone from Tokyo airport so couldn't stay up to watch it. Doesn't sound like I missed too much based on match reports I've read. But it at least seemed to have an exciting finish.