Leinster v Glasgow Warriors Friday 28th February 2020

Leinster v Glasgow Warriors
RDS
Dublin

Friday February 28th 2020
KO 19.35

Live on Premier Sport


Well Glasgow head off to Dublin this Friday to see if they can be the first team to beat them this season.

It's an international window so both teams will be short of front line players, not that that has held Leinster back so far, in what has been a remarkable season for them.

Glasgow though, after a very poor start to the season, which included a thrashing by Leinster at home, do seem to have rediscovered their mojo somewhat having taken 15 points from their last three league games and have put themselves back into play off contention in the process. They have been playing some pretty good stuff in the process, having remembered how to hold onto the ball and to score tries!

Glasgow are maybe not quite as intimidated by the RDS as some teams clearly are as well, having won there at the end of last season, in a game they needed to win, to cement their place at the top of their conference. The noises coming out of the camp this week are bullish and they clearly intend to give this match a good crack.

Leinster, for their part, have not really been tested so much this season, beating most teams without getting out of the low gears. They may find that a fired up and confident Glasgow team will give them a very good game on Friday night.

I am hoping for a Glasgow team something like this, with the big injury question around Nakarawa:


1. Seuili
2. Turner
3. Keeble
4. Harley
5. Nakarawa (if fit, Swinson if not)
6. Wilson
7. Gibbins
8. Fagerson M
9. Horne G
10. Horne P
11. Tagive
12. Grigg
13. Jones
14. Seymour
15. Bryce

Subs:

Allen
Stewart/Delekoto (no preference)
Nicol/Nuke/McQuillan (depending on who is fit)
Swinson/Davidson (depending if Naks is fit)
Gordon
Dobie
Jackson
Steyn

Well, Leinster might finally have reached a point in the season where the drive is harder to replicate.  They looked vulnerable against Ospreys.  So yep, Glasgow have the chance to kill Leinster's run.

And I'm not sure it would be a bad thing for Leinster either.  The longer a winning run lasts the more pressure there is subconsciously on players chosen to keep such a run going.  They don't want to be the selection that let it go.  So that extra tension (self inflicted by the drive to keep exacting standards) can actually drain away confidence levels too.  Little errors become big errors in the mind of a player who doesn't want to be the cause of a loss.  That needless nervousness can affect overall team confidence and belief.
I saw a little of that in the Ospreys game.
Leinster can actually afford a loss and it might release some of that needless anxiety creeping into their patterns, allowing them to reset the goals for the final run in to the end of the season.

Should be a good test for Glasgow's season that started so poorly. Leinster have more or less guaranteed a bye to a home semi-final in the league and the main challenge for them now is the QF with Sarries. This game should mean much more to us and hopefully we can have G Horne, M Fagerson, Gordon and Steyn back.

Would one of the Leinster fans have a go at what Leinster are likely to have available?

Hazel Sapling wrote:Would one of the Leinster fans have a go at what Leinster are likely to have available?

With 7 senior props 3 of whom are injured and 2 with Ireland we will see a few Academy lads in the front row.

Dave Kearney, Luke McGrath, Max Deegan and Will Connors have been released by Ireland so you would imagine they will start.

The only place we have a real surplus is in the back 3 where I have not named Fergus McFadden Cian Kelleher Hugo Keenan Adam Byrne or the fit again Barry Daly. Some, all or none of those could feature.

Peter Dooley
Sean Cronin
Michael Bent
Ross Molony
Scott Fardy
Rhys Ruddock
Will Connors
Max Deegan

Luke McGrath
Harry Byrne
James Lowe
Joe Tomane
Jimmy O’Brien
Dave Kearney
Rob Kearney

James Tracy
Michael Milne
Roman Salanoa/Jack Aungier
Ryan Baird
Scott Penny
Jamie Gibson-Park
Ciaran  Frawley
Tommy O'Brien

St John The Enforcer wrote:
Dave Kearney, Luke McGrath, Max Deegan and Will Connors have been released by Ireland so you would imagine they will start.

Isn't it marvellous.  Perhaps four players enough to have changed a loss into a win over in England but considered surplus to requirements in Sexton, Murray, and co Ireland International.
Dave Kearney, when entering Ireland camp, was one of The form backs.  What role had he with Ireland?
Running down to the shops to buy sweets for Stockdale?

Oh, ouch!  Bitchy much, Fly!

Now that the Italian game is called off, could that mean more players released back to Leinster to keep game time minutes up?

Glasgow Warriors team to play Leinster in the Guinness PRO14, Friday 28 February, kick-off 7.35pm, live on Premier Sports 2. You can follow the action in the Live Match Centre on glasgowwarriors.org. Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets.

1. Aki Seiuli (10)
2. George Turner (46)
3. D’arcy Rae (69)
4. Rob Harley (229)
5. Tim Swinson (135)
6. Ryan Wilson (c) (167)
7. Tom Gordon (16)
8. Matt Fagerson (60)

9. George Horne (54)
10. Pete Horne (167)
11. Kyle Steyn (25)
12. Nick Grigg (68)
13. Huw Jones (34)
14. Tommy Seymour (142)
15. Glenn Bryce (29)

Replacements

16. Mesu Dolokoto (2)
17. Alex Allan (102)
18. Ewan McQuillin (1)
19. Andrew Davidson (7)
20. Callum Gibbins (46)
21. Jamie Dobie (7)
22. Ruaridh Jackson (162)
23. Niko Matawalu (126)

Unavailable due to injury: Adam Ashe, Bruce Flockhart, Jonny Gray, Siua Halanukonuka, Oli Kebble, Kiran McDonald, Stafford McDowall, Robbie Nairn, Leone Nakarawa, Adam Nicol, Grant Stewart, Jale Vakaloloma, DTH van der Merwe.

International: Fraser Brown, Scott Cummings, Zander Fagerson, Adam Hastings, Sam Johnson, Ali Price, Ratu Tagive (all Scotland)

As suspected no Nakarawa nor Keeble for this one, both injured last weekend.

Still a pretty strong team though and hopefully will give Leinster a decent game.

Good to get Rae back in, bad that our emergency TH got injured. 20 players injured or international.

I am surprised that Tagive is being held back by Scotland. If Maitland is injured, surely McGuigan is the next cab off the rank for the France game based on what we have seen?

Good game for G Horne and H Jones to stake a claim for France. Don't think Turner is going to overhaul Brown and McInally unfortunately, though if he can maintain his form maybe next year he will be able to push one of them aside. M Fagerson got shown up in the Italian game and really needs a performance to keep out Haining.

Seriously why is Tagive being held back with Scotland all these weeks given he's not playing?

I wouldn't have him over Steyn or Seymour for Glasgow, but just weird that he's not playing for either club or country just now.

RDW wrote:Seriously why is Tagive being held back with Scotland all these weeks given he's not playing?

I wouldn't have him over Steyn or Seymour for Glasgow, but just weird that he's not playing for either club or country just now.

He played against Dragons last weekend, probably felt he wasn't good enough to play against Leinster

May just be they felt Steyn needed the game more as he had last weekend off and Tagive played.

They will need some bodies for the Scotland training camp.

Leinster team to play Glasgow:

B: Hugo Keenan; Dave Kearney, Jimmy O’Brien, Joe Tomane, James Lowe; Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath;

F: Peter Dooley, Seán Cronin, Michael Bent, Ryan Baird, Scott Fardy (capt), Josh Murphy, Will Connors, Max Deegan.

R: James Tracy, Michael Milne, Jack Aungier, Jack Dunne, Rhys Ruddock, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ciarán Frawley, Fergus McFadden.

Pretty much a full deck.   Healy, Furlong, Ryan, Toner, Sexton, vd Flier, Doris, Byrne, Henshaw, Larmour all dropped for losing shamefully to England.  Leavy, Conan and Ringrose out through injury.

Leinster withstand Glasgow’s opening flurry of attempts to get out of their 22 from the kick-off.  Eventually, Glasgow cough up the ball, and Leinster attack in waves with Baird getting over after 6 mins.  Harry Byrne converts. 7-0.

Warriors frustrate Leinster lineout but Cronin regathers and makes a burst. Forwards carry and make metres. Glasgow give up a no arms tackle. Leinster 1m out under posts. Advantage being played. Suddenly McGrath moves right and long pass to Dave Kearney who goes over in corner. Harry Byrne lines up the kick from the sideline but it’s well wide.
12-0 on 12 minutes.

Leinster backline moving smoothly. Good defence from Glasgow eventually wins them a penalty on halfway. Horne kicks to Leinster 22 and the throw. Well taken and Glasgow move forward through Swinson. Ball dropped forward as they go wide. Looked promising.

Crowd very quiet. Lots of rucks, tackles and dropped balls by both sides not impressing them much.

Leinster concede another penalty. But Glasgow mess up their attack again and knock on.

Lucky escape for Leinster as they go backward on their own put in. Glasgow should make more of that dominance.

Leinster caught cold as Seymour cuts inside against the grain and touched down under the posts.

12-7. 26 mins.

Steyn and Horne Jr are having great games

Glasgow willing to run anything and everything - even caught behind their own posts.  Excellent exit run and kick for halfway touch.

Leinster get smarter and go across the backline from the lineout. One maul and Fardy there to collect, male metres, draw the defence and a pass to Lowe who has an open run to the line. Well orchestrated.
Harry Byrne kicks from left touchline and nails it.
19-7 on 32 mins

Glasgow make good metres with their forwards from a lineout maul.  Unfortunately it gets bogged down. Leinster scrum inside their 22. Can Glasgow put them under pressure? No - Leinster clear.

All Leinster now, getting out muscled and out smarted. Some daft mistakes from Glasgow

Leinster get penalty just as clock turns red. Fardy eventually over for the TBP. Byrne misses.

24-7 at HT.

Looks comfortable for the boys in blue but Leinster still look vulnerable up front. Expect more Glasgow scores in second half.

And they do. Great play by Glasgow and a pass to release Steyn to run 40m and score. Horne misses.

24-12. 43 mins

These Ladyboys are some team. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it in this hemisphere.

Connors and especially second-rower Ryan Baird looking very promising for the future.

Another try for Leinster with Lowe getting a second after a burst up the wing and holding off Horne to touch down in left corner. Byrne misses.

29-12. 54 mins.

What a try!   Ryan Baird takes a pass like a midfielder, dinks, weaves and then speeds to the line from 45 metres.  

36-12.  56 mins.

Off goes Byrne, on comes Frawley to steer the ship

And Ryan Baird takes the scoring pass after another wave of Leinster attacks.  A hat-trick for the young lock.   Maybe Ryan and Baird in the Ireland second row soon?

41-12 after 65 mins.

Glasgow not giving up. Matawalu makes metres with his strong running and quick hands and support sees them over under the posts.
Easy kick and it’s 41-19 with 8 mins to go.

The score...

Calamity on catastrophe for Glasgow.  They try to pass out of their goal line and Kearney pounces for his hat-trick of the night.

55-19 on full-time.   19 wins on the bounce this season - 22 since last season.  

Ryan Baird deservedly gets Motm.

Commiserations Glasgow.

There were murmurs that Glasgow might stand a chance here. What happened??

It’s a pumping by anyone’s standard.

Glasgow could have done with the TBP

Blimey, watched that when I got home from work and it was embarrassing.

I actually thought we might have had a shout tonight, but leinster on a different level, you could even say they were playing a different game!

Well done Leinster, that was some impressive performance.

Glasgow need to go away and have a long hard think about things. Whatever we were trying to do, it was just not working!

Can’t believe how badly that ended for warriors. To be honest, I think Rennie has them playing too loose a game for the Pro14. Glasgow under Rennie have become a mistake ridden but fast tempo’d side. When the players pull it off it’s glorious but it’s too much to ask of them and especially against clinical sides like Leinster. I often think if Warriors just had a couple more Big forwards, and a few players with better a skillset for expansive rugby, they’d be beating Leinster and Munster etc more often.

Why are Leinster so good?

Are they getting all the good Irish players? Is the IRFU over funding them? Have they got some miracle working youth program? Is Leo Cullen a coaching genius?

They are just unstoppable

Leinster are on a different planet to everyone else. That was
Basically the Leinster schoolboys with a couple of senior players against a strong Glasgow team

Glasgow lost that game very early on, with some crazy play in the first 15 mins trying to be clever in their own 22 when they should have hoofed it down the field.

It was very naive from Glasgow and just played into Leinsters plan and to their hands and strengths.

We saw again that Pete Horne has limitations at FH and just csnnot unlock a really tight defence.

We would likely have lost anyway but it might have been a more respectable scoreline had we tried to plsy a decent tsctical game!

Just watched the first hour. Did not bother once it got to 36 - 12.

Leinster being allowed a 12 point advantage because P Horne on our own 22 decides on first phase for two kicks to the wing (one on, one not on) at the RDS allowed Leinster to take risks but even then, they waited for Glasgow to make mistakes and attacked off turnover ball. Glasgow played like headless chickens with the few turnovers they won.

P Horne had an awful first 25 minutes. I wanted him to be taken off or moved over to 12 cause Grigg was not doing much of anything either. The Hornes were guilty of massively overplaying throughout the hour with Glasgow being forced to kick as opposed to kicking when the opportunity was there. G Horne has played himself out of my starting team against France. Really poor control of his forwards. What summed it up was P Horne putting a great kick into the corner from the halfway....a phase after being given a penalty advantage  

I am not sure I can blame the coaches. We picked a lightweight and supposedly hard working back-row. They were completely outworked and consistently slow setting up for the next play allowing Leinster to pack the line. No go forward ball that exacerbated the worst qualities of the Hornes. Wilson and Gordon might as well have stayed home, M Fagerson was the only one who seemed interested. Harley and Swinson are ineffective in combination. Increasingly I think Swinson is at the end of his time as an undersized, underpowered second row, even at club level, yet he will get picked over Davidson who has shown at Newcastle to be good enough now.

Hard to read much into what teams will look like in playoffs and Leinster are the top team in Europe since Sarries opened the purse strings too much. They were excellent, picked their spots effectively and continue to have a conveyor belt of young talent they trust to deliver.

tigertattie wrote:Why are Leinster so good?

Are they getting all the good Irish players? Is the IRFU over funding them? Have they got some miracle working youth program? Is Leo Cullen a coaching genius?

They are just unstoppable

They have the population of Wales.
They have a lot of rugby, fee paying schools who hire top coaches to train the kids.
They are also bringing in players from more rural clubs. Furlong being an example.

Leinster's main hub is Dublin which I assume is very rich. That also helps. Leinster have been good for a while but in the last 3 years or so we've seen their 2nd team come on leaps and bounds. They're definitely doing something right. In fact they produce so many good players that they get sent to other provinces...

profitius wrote:

tigertattie wrote:Why are Leinster so good?

Are they getting all the good Irish players? Is the IRFU over funding them? Have they got some miracle working youth program? Is Leo Cullen a coaching genius?

They are just unstoppable

They have the population of Wales.
They have a lot of rugby, fee paying schools who hire top coaches to train the kids.
They are also bringing in players from more rural clubs. Furlong being an example.

Not to be picky but Leinster has around 1 million less people than Wales. Leinster is slightly smaller than Wales per sq mile, whilst Munster is slightly bigger. I'm willing to bet each have better transport links than Wales too...

Leinsters transport links are pretty good if you want to get to Dublin and don't mind traffic. Getting anywhere else is a different story,if Dublin isn't your starting point or destination you need a car.

It is the Leinster Branch that ensures the proper spadework is being done around the 9 counties. Dublin is undoubtedly the hub, but they are developing some strong spokes into Wicklow, Kildare, Carlow, Wexford, Louth and Meath.

At a quick count, 23 of the squad/academy are not traditional. Here’s the split of the squad who played in Schools Cup - 3 schools dominate.

St Michaels 17
Blackrock 9
Castleknock 1
Newbridge 2
Belvedere 3
Clongowes 8
Andrews 2
Gerards 1
Gonzaga 1
Wesley 1
St Mary’s 1

Pot Hale wrote:It is the Leinster Branch that ensures the proper spadework is being done around the 9 counties.  Dublin is undoubtedly the hub, but they are developing some strong spokes into Wicklow, Kildare, Carlow, Wexford, Louth and Meath.  

At a quick count, 23 of the squad/academy are not traditional.  Here’s the split of the squad who played in Schools Cup - 3 schools dominate.  

St Michaels 17
Blackrock 9
Castleknock 1
Newbridge 2
Belvedere 3
Clongowes 8
Andrews 2
Gerards 1
Gonzaga 1
Wesley 1
St Mary’s 1

Leinster have done a fantastic job of breaking away from the Dublin club image it had in the early 2000's which led to rugby supporters from the likes of Wexford, Meath etc actually supporting Munster instead. The fact that Leinster is actually well supported here in Meath is a huge shock. That's like Pontypridd fans supporting Cardiff!