Glasgow Warriors v Leinster Rugby, 20 September

Glasgow Warriors v Leinster Rugby
 
Friday 20th September 2013, KO 19:35
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
 
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU, 48th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Neil Paterson, Adrian Graves (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Paul Minto (SRU)
TMO: Iain Ramage (SRU)
 
LIVE on BBC ALBA and TG4
 
A. Teams:
 
1. Glasgow    
15. Stuart Hogg
14. Sean Lamont
13. Mark Bennett
12. Alex Dunbar
11. DTH van der Merwe
10. Ruaridh Jackson
9. Chris Cusiter (Captain)
 
1. Ryan Grant  
2. Pat MacArthur
3. Jon Welsh
4. Jonny Gray
5. Tim Swinson
6. Rob Harley
7. Chris Fusaro
8. Richie Vernon
 
16. Dougie Hall
17. Jerry Yanuyanutawa
18. Ed Kalman
19. James Eddie
20. Josh Strauss
21. Henry Pyrgos
22. Scott Wight
23. Byron McGuigan
 
2. Leinster    
15: Ian Madigan
14: Dave Kearney
13: Brendan Macken
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Darragh Fanning
10: Jimmy Gopperth
9: Isaac Boss
 
1: Jack McGrath
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Mike McCarthy
5: Tom Denton
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Shane Jennings CAPTAIN
8: Jordi Murphy
 
REPLACEMENTS:
 
16: Aaron Dundon
17: Cian Healy
18: Martin Moore
19: Devin Toner
20: Dominic Ryan
21: Eoin Reddan
22: Noel Reid
23: Rob Kearney
 
B. Form - head to head:
 
32 Played 32
8 Wins 23
23 Losses 8
1 Draws 1
60 Tries 88
39 Conversions 61
62 Penalties 86
3 Drop Goals 1
573 Points 823
25 Avg. Age 26
 
C. Form - last season:
 
Friday 23 November 2012, 19:35: Scotstoun
Glasgow Warriors 0 - 6 Leinster Rugby
 
Saturday 23 March 2013, 19:45: Royal Dublin Society
Leinster Rugby 22 - 17 Glasgow Warriors
 
Play Offs
Saturday 11 May 2013, 19:35: Royal Dublin Society
Leinster Rugby 17 - 15 Glasgow Warriors
 
D. Glasgow fans lexicon:
 
Time on these boards has demonstrated that Glasgow fans use an uncommonly broad selection of nicknames and slang to describe the various members of their team.
 
For those unfamiliar with this gibberish:
 
Alphabetty Spaghetti - D.T.H. van der Merwe, wing
Angel - Gabriel Ascarate, centre
Angela - Jon Welsh, prop
Barry - Byron McGuigan, wing
Big Boab - (see Ginger Tackle Monster, the)
Big Mike - (see Coo, the)
Big Naka - Leone Nakarawa, lock/loosie
Bluto - Josh Strauss, loosie/no.8
Centre, the - (see Lesser Messiah, the)
Coo, the - Michael Cusack, prop
Cooseetah - (see Cus)
Cus - Chris Cusiter, scrum half
DTH - (see Alphabetty Spaghetti)
Flippy - (see Toonie)
Fozzy - Christopher Fusaro, loosie
Furra Lineeeee - Peter Horne, centre
Ginger Tackle Monster, the - Rob Harley, loosie
Guns - Tim Swinson, lock
Henners - Henry Pyrgos, scrum half
Hoggy - Stuart Hogg, full back/wing/centre
Ickle Jon - Jonny Gray, lock
Jedi - James Eddie, loosie
Lesser Messiah, the - Richie Vernon, loosie/no.8
Mark of Nazareth - (see Messiah, the)
Meatball, the - Duncan Weir, fly half
Messiah, the/  - Mark Bennett, centre
Niko - Nikola Matawalu, scrum half
Niko's Mate - Jerry Yanuyanutawa, prop
No Maits - Sean Maitland, wing
Rhubarb - Ruaridh Jackson, fly half
Ruck Inspector, the - Alastair Kellock, lock
Schlong - Sean Lamont, centre/wing
Sherlock - Tyrone Holmes, loosie
Shrek - Gordon Reid, prop
Toonie - Gregor Peter John Townsend MBE, head coach
Wee P - Pat MacArthur, hooker
Weegie from Fiji, the - (see Niko)

Glasgow by 30

So, the Weedge have had two wins from two. Performance was poor in both games, relative to the form showed last year, and were rescued by a few minutes of excellent play in each.

The best performers so far have been Jackson, J. Gray, Harley, S. Lamont, Swinson and Bennett. Cusiter has looked good, and showed be playing from the start. I've no idea if Dunbar is fit, but I'll assume he is. If not, happy to revert to the centre partnership that took to the field versus Ulster.

Reid
MacArthur
Kalman
Gray
Swinson
Harley
Fusaro
Strauss
Cusiter
Jackson
DTH
Dunbar
Bennett
S Lamont
Hogg

Subs - Grant/Welsh, Hall, Low, Eddie, Vernon, Cusiter, Russell, Maitland.

Well it's my birthday this Friday, so a Glasgow win would be a lovely way to mark it!  

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:Glasgow by 30

 I cannot shake the suspicion that Mick, Gibson and Jenifer will be along shortly with a different contention.
 
We have won two out of two with only half the team really turning up. If we can all actually play well, then it should be dambusters time. Hogg cannot possibly play as badly again and I noted in his recent interview with gw.org that he made a point of saying his fitness was not 100%. No sh!t, Hoggy my boy.
 
The good thing about recent performances are that (a) our defence is back to being the kevlar thing of beauty that we know and love, (b) the players really showing up are the younger players (Gray, Bennett), the traditional squad players (Eddie) and the new kids on the block (Holmes, Niko's Mate).

Looking forward to this game. Ashamed to say, that even though I am a warrior fan, this will be my first trip to Scotstoun

Ooft - didn't realise you had Leinster next. Glasgow definitely need to up their game with this one, as Leinster are likely to be close to full strength barring injuries.

Win this and Glasgow will be on a massive high ready to dominate the league, lose and questions will be asked of whether Glasgow can ever beat Leinster!

Interesting point RDW. The last 3 games have all been within 7 points or less.
 
If both sides were at regular full strength and fitness, I would give the advantage to us - we are at home, Leinster have a new coach, they have lost some of their most influential players in Sexton, Nacewa and van der Merwe and our aggregate squad is stronger than last season.
 
But both sides are not at full strength and the obvious point is that Leinster have looked twenty times sharper in pre-season that we have and that pesky kid Madigan is playing well. We are still missing some vital players in the Ruck Inspector, Ryder, Niko, the Coo, Maitland, Horne and Wilson. Very, very difficult to call.

You are going down faster than a cheap mexican hooer on Brad Pitt.

However I also predict that this game will be tighter than a nuns knickers on an elephant.

Square these 2 statements in whatever way you wish.

George Carlin wrote:Interesting point RDW. The last 3 games have all been within 7 points or less.
 
If both sides were at regular full strength and fitness, I would give the advantage to us - we are at home, Leinster have a new coach, they have lost some of their most influential players in Sexton, Nacewa and van der Merwe and our aggregate squad is stronger than last season.
 
But both sides are not at full strength and the obvious point is that Leinster have looked twenty times sharper in pre-season that we have and that pesky kid Madigan is playing well. We are still missing some vital players in the Ruck Inspector, Ryder, Niko, the Coo, Maitland, Horne and Wilson. Very, very difficult to call.

van der who? He played feck all games for us after the 6n.

The other two....... We'll see.

Tuqiri is to make his debut this week i believe......

Some bloke told me there's a lot of Tuqiri.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:You are going down faster than a cheap mexican hooer on Brad Pitt.

However I also predict that this game will be tighter than a nuns knickers on an elephant.

Square these 2 statements in whatever way you wish.

OK, I've got Brad Pitt in a nun's knickers chasing a cheap Mexican hoo-er riding an elephant

I'd say there's a lot of mixed metaphors in your fantasies ok asbo

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:You are going down faster than a cheap mexican hooer on Brad Pitt.

However I also predict that this game will be tighter than a nuns knickers on an elephant.

Square these 2 statements in whatever way you wish.

OK, I've got Brad Pitt in a nun's knickers chasing a cheap Mexican hoo-er riding an elephant

Jenifer - have you noticed that your hypothetical hooers are always Mexican?

On my canoeing trip down the Zambesi Mrs Shiz tuned into long wave and told me the last 2 Warrior,s results. I have interrupted my rugby missionary work to proceed home post haste for Friday,s game v Leinster. Currently in the eye of a storm in the Bay of Biscay and jeez it is rough - traded in canoe for large ferry but is is still standing on end. Anyhoo will be back with the North Stand Massif on Friday night - WARRIORS

He's back!! Great to hear from you Schitz!

In your absence we've been doing out best to keep up our reputation. I refer you to the Ulster v Glasgow thread.

'Tis true, c21st, GC, Bru and the Pip-meister have been excelling themselves, taking Scottish club threads down to a new level, a depth previously unplummed!  Long live the Weege!

We did find out quite a lot of IanBru’s history and success with the ladies…..!

Who would have thought that Finn Russell was IanBru’s best friend’s sister??

Schiz - there has been a Begbie-shaped hole on these boards without you. Just to surmise the past two games in case you completely missed them:
 
1. The pack
 
Kellock picked up a bad knock at the start of the season - however, to our delight young Jonny Gray has been playing like the animal he was born to be and Swinson is maintaining his reputation as the best lock in Scotland. The front row has been slightly 'meh' in the absence of Cusack with Grant only having returned to action in the last game. Fozzy has blown hot and cold - great preseason, has gone missing a few times in the first two games. Bluto has been Bluto, thankfully but even he has looked slightly rusty by his massive standards. Harley and Holmes are each monstrous defensive brick walls and have been one of the reasons why we've managed to win the first two games.
 
2. The backs
 
The Messiah has looked very good indeed, much to the annoyance of Certain People On These Boards. Hogg played like a drunken geriatric in the last game which should have given him the cold bucket of water in the face he needs to realise that this isn't Kansas/the Lions tour any more. DTH is continuing to be a game saver/changer. Schlong is hungry as ever. He and Seymour will score a lot of tries this season because they each force the opposition to pony up and stop them, which has proven to be difficult. Glory be, Cusiter is back and is playing well. No word on when our pocket sized Fijian genius will return from his cracked little toe, the least masculine injury in the game. Hogg has shown he is happy to kick for goal and his strike rate has been good.

George Carlin wrote:
Jenifer - have you noticed that your hypothetical hooers are always Mexican?

It's a hangover from my days as the team mascot of the Swedish womens beach volleyball team.

My beach volleyball teams are always Sweeeeeedish too.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:

George Carlin wrote:
Jenifer - have you noticed that your hypothetical hooers are always Mexican?

It's a hangover from my days as the team mascot of the Swedish womens beach volleyball team.

My beach volleyball teams are always Sweeeeeedish too.

I always had you down as being a bit Urdy Gurdy.

Great summary George Carlin . As it happens, bumped into the little Fijian on Saturday
night , tho I had a few on board pretty sure he mentioned two weeks more till his return.
Hope that we also might see Maitland get a run out soon.

Schiz, welcome home. Your good lady continues to impress; conveying the results halfway up the Zambezi! When she gets bored with your inane drivel and wants some genuine drivel, well you know the rest.
GC's summary is accurate as ever, but I feel he has missed the main point: to whit last season we didn't start playing until well after the nights had drawn in. This season we haven't really played yet but have got two wins. I think the 4% Muppetman is getting better.
I'm finding typing difficult as the knuckles on my right are somewhat swollen and tender. What right do these London Lithuanians have to put out 15 big men with not one ounce of body fat between them at our old man/fantasising teenagers level?

One other brief update on a news item that you'll have missed, c21st - the MFLs secured their first win at a game of rugby since 1923. It was a hard fought game but eventually they managed to overcome the Dragons u12s girls team

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:One other brief update on a news item that you'll have missed, c21st - the MFLs secured their first win at a game of rugby since 1923.  It was a hard fought game but eventually they managed to overcome the Dragons u12s girls team

Although for balance that was because two of the Dragons side left for their afternoon nap and another three decided they wanted to watch Dora the Explorer instead at the 60 minute mark.

George Carlin wrote:

Dorothy_Mantooth wrote:Glasgow by 30

 I cannot shake the suspicion that Mick, Gibson and Jenifer will be along shortly with a different contention.
 
We have won two out of two with only half the team really turning up. If we can all actually play well, then it should be dambusters time. Hogg cannot possibly play as badly again and I noted in his recent interview with gw.org that he made a point of saying his fitness was not 100%. No sh!t, Hoggy my boy.
 
The good thing about recent performances are that (a) our defence is back to being the kevlar thing of beauty that we know and love, (b) the players really showing up are the younger players (Gray, Bennett), the traditional squad players (Eddie) and the new kids on the block (Holmes, Niko's Mate).

Nah, he's spot on.

We're a team in decline... We're going down...

what's this "we" sh1t paleface? we are the goingdownee not the goingdownor.

Apparently Nick Hornby has written a book about the Ladyboys' prospects for this match.
It's called 'A Long Way Down'.

Ah mes amies - great to be back and quinine free too! Slept through a king size severe 9 storm due to 4 pints of Bass and a cheeky wee bottle of red biddy last night.  Mrs Schiz none too pleased as I went off scale on the snorometer.
Anyhoo back to rugger what !  Great to hear the news from Rabo land and 2 wins from 2.   Where is Alex Dunbar btw.   You chaps have not mentioned him.   Do we need The Wee Weegie from Fiji back for some mid match madness and chaos ?   How long is Big Al out for.  Any sign of Sean Maitland coming back ?   And how on earth did the MFLs beat the Dragons u12 girls team     Was De Luca carded for a cynical one on their dangerous 10 year old 4 ft 10 inch SH ?

Looks like its going to be another packed crowd at Scotstoun. Only 100 tickets left for seats.  

God I wish I was able to be in Scotstoun on Friday.
Usually by now I'm trying to predict a XV but so far this season it's been impossible to predict who'll turn up and who won't. Seymour has been superb. Jedi ran an unbelievable line to score last week. Wee Jonnie has been a revelation ( but no messiah) and   is proving to be quite something. But we still haven't clicked as an attacking side.
Fat Boys: has anyone stood out? If we're honest not really. Possibly Shrek. Moray Low's sin binning could put him on De Luca's Christmas card list.
Grafters Swinson and Gray. Obviously, compare and contrast with above.
Psychos living offside Defending Harley,Bluto, Sherlock. Attacking Bluto, Vernon, Fozzie. Jedi to bench.
Yappy little geezer Cooseater/Henry
Not Dan Parks Ruaridh, had a good 'un against the Red Hand Bandits. Are we due a shocker?
Messiah and.. Schlong
Not Visser- we tackle DTH and Seymour
Hoggy's position Murchie or No Maits unless Hoggy has extracted the digit in training.
Doesn't exactly pick itself does it? As Jimmy Durante once said. 
After the play offs we have a score to settle with the Ladyboys. In a generous mood I would say they were more professional than us that night, other days I would say the All Blacks would remark, " Feck me but those boys know how to get away with it."
If it all clicks for us then Glasgow by 20.

Leinster are still only bringing back in the players that were off with Ireland over the summer.  The Lion contingent won't be on show so really this is a fairly weak Leinster team that will head over there.
Front row - will struggle in the set piece
Second row - will lack power in close quarter battles
Back row - will be abrasive and compete but not quite at the level of Warriors
Pack overall - Advantage Glasgow

Half backs - Probably Boss and Madigan. Which means boss concentrates on getting his back row into the game and Madigan has less ball to use than he would like.
Centres - Warriors centres have looked good at times this year. Darcy might need a rest, so we could be weak here.
Back 3 - We are drawing on the likes of Fanning to step up again, can't see them being at the level to compete with Glasgow this weekend. Lote if he plays, will be seriously rusty and probably a bit of a knock on machine and defensive liability in his first game.
Backs overall - Advantage Glasgow

The pack advantage means glasgow win the game.  The backs advantage means that they get a TBP in the fixture.  I can't see Leinster getting a LBP.  So I reckon Glasgow by at least +12.  If it is closer than that then I'll be putting some serious question marks on Glasgows squad for this season.

Not so sure about that. Glasgow's pack haven't quite met the standards set last season. The absence of John Barclay being a significant difference. Injuries to Wilson, Cusack and Kellock don't help either.

The real advantage Glasgow have is that they are playing at home. Hopefully, losing out to leinster in the semi's will spur them on too.

We really need to get our lions players back playing. Not long till the HC.

Not as affirmative as you guys about Swinson at lock, i actually prefer Ryder than him, looks more an enforcer to me. Also Gray jr needs to be managed carefully, he is only 19.

Any chance we see the return of big Mike Cusack?

According to his rabo profile he is even bigger than before   :
http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/teams/glasgow/squad.php?player=4926&includeref=dynamic

LeinsterFan4life wrote:We really need to get our lions players back playing. Not long till the HC.

I read that whilst Fitzy will be back, the Leinster Lions contingent will still be a few weeks yet?

Also just read that we haven't beaten Leinster once in our past seven attempts.

George Carlin wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:We really need to get our lions players back playing. Not long till the HC.

I read that whilst Fitzy will be back, the Leinster Lions contingent will still be a few weeks yet?

Wishful thinking George. I think you will see 2of Heaslip,Kearney and O'Brien. with the other 3 the following week. Possibly another week for Healy.

That's just a guess though.

George Carlin wrote:Also just read that we haven't beaten Leinster once in our past seven attempts.

really? You were one of only 2 teams to beat us in all comps 2 seasons ago. In the rds too.

I suppose we had 4 games that season. and 2 x semifinals in the rabo. must be 7 games in between so.

Interesting that we have an Irish ref for this one. Surely he will get angry emails afterwards, having played a part in Leinster's DownGoing?

Perhaps he's a bit kinky that way. who is it?

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:Perhaps he's a bit kinky that way. who is it?

Tis in the OP, which I do occasionally update.
 
As long as it's not Clownshoes Clancy who hates (a) Glasgow, (b) freedom, (c) the advantage rule, (d) reasonableness, (e) consulting his fellow match officials, (f) anyone from Glasgow talking to him and (g) keeping his fecking eyes open throughout the whole 80 minutes, then I don't really mind.

Aaaaaaaaghhhhhh! Noooooooo! It's fitzmonkey. we're shafted.

Makes clancy look like the rolls royce of refs.

thebandwagonsociety wrote:Leinster are still only bringing back in the players that were off with Ireland over the summer.  The Lion contingent won't be on show so really this is a fairly weak Leinster team that will head over there.
Front row - will struggle in the set piece
Second row - will lack power in close quarter battles
Back row - will be abrasive and compete but not quite at the level of Warriors
Pack overall - Advantage Glasgow

Half backs - Probably Boss and Madigan. Which means boss concentrates on getting his back row into the game and Madigan has less ball to use than he would like.
Centres - Warriors centres have looked good at times this year. Darcy might need a rest, so we could be weak here.
Back 3 - We are drawing on the likes of Fanning to step up again, can't see them being at the level to compete with Glasgow this weekend. Lote if he plays, will be seriously rusty and probably a bit of a knock on machine and defensive liability in his first game.
Backs overall - Advantage Glasgow

The pack advantage means glasgow win the game.  The backs advantage means that they get a TBP in the fixture.  I can't see Leinster getting a LBP.  So I reckon Glasgow by at least +12.  If it is closer than that then I'll be putting some serious question marks on Glasgows squad for this season.

Cmon, society, we all know that there is no such thing! It's like the Loch Ness Monster - doesnae exist (except for daft tourists frae England)

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:Aaaaaaaaghhhhhh! Noooooooo! It's fitzmonkey. we're shafted.

The Gibbon? Jeebus, worse than Clownshoes, now the Weege are shafted

Oh yeah, I remember him. Isn't he a man of Munster?
 
We should be grand then, in that case...

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

thebandwagonsociety wrote:Leinster are still only bringing back in the players that were off with Ireland over the summer.  The Lion contingent won't be on show so really this is a fairly weak Leinster team that will head over there.
Front row - will struggle in the set piece
Second row - will lack power in close quarter battles
Back row - will be abrasive and compete but not quite at the level of Warriors
Pack overall - Advantage Glasgow

Half backs - Probably Boss and Madigan. Which means boss concentrates on getting his back row into the game and Madigan has less ball to use than he would like.
Centres - Warriors centres have looked good at times this year. Darcy might need a rest, so we could be weak here.
Back 3 - We are drawing on the likes of Fanning to step up again, can't see them being at the level to compete with Glasgow this weekend. Lote if he plays, will be seriously rusty and probably a bit of a knock on machine and defensive liability in his first game.
Backs overall - Advantage Glasgow

The pack advantage means glasgow win the game.  The backs advantage means that they get a TBP in the fixture.  I can't see Leinster getting a LBP.  So I reckon Glasgow by at least +12.  If it is closer than that then I'll be putting some serious question marks on Glasgows squad for this season.

Cmon, society, we all know that there is no such thing!  It's like the Loch Ness Monster - doesnae exist (except for daft tourists frae England)

Ok, I'll hold judgement until the teams are announced but we could be talking about a team with Jack McGrath, Moore, Denton, Murphy, Macken, D Kearney and Fanning. None of those would have been first team choices this time last year and that hits most sections of the team. Most of these won't be first choice this season either unless there are injuries. Plus new coach, only his second away game (and hit first tricky away fixture as Scarlets shot themselves in the foot really in that first match). Take out the experience and control that comes from Cullen, BOD, Sexton, Nacewa, R Kearney and Heaslip (though I've a sneaky suspicion he might make the squad) and you can't say this isn't going to be a weak Leinster team.

Congrats to all Scots posters - just a year from today we'll be independent