Leinster in B&I Cup

[Donald]

I thought that Ruddock has been playing better of late and seems to have better hands and think he should be ahead of Ryan for a bench spot.

[jezzer]

Me too Donald. I think Ruddock has the smarts too.

Ryan is a very mobile guy and an amazing physical specimen for his age, but I don't think he's playing as well as Rhys.

[Justtoby]

Match abandoned due to floodlight failure apparently. Plymouth were leading 10-5.

[limecat]

Match abandoned due to floodlight failure apparently. Plymouth were leading 10-5.

hmm...losing at the time. No wonder the score wasn't mentioned on the official site: http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/6269.php

[fourthirtythree]

Match abandoned due to floodlight failure apparently. Plymouth were leading 10-5.

hmm...losing at the time. No wonder the score wasn't mentioned on the official site: http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/6269.php

Why? Surely they should have mentioned it. It's not like the news won't get out. Why can't they just be truthful?

[Phil06]

Leinster had a poor start, but were actually getting into the game.

Then at 23 mins this happened



The lights in the changing rooms went also...
A big enough crowd over from Plymouth Albion (friendly gang), and fair play, they took the black out in good spirit!

[jrc]

Rescheduled to 2pm today in Greystones, according to the Indo....

[Donny B.]

Limecat's Asian betting syndicate scores once again!!!!

[ronk]

Someone told me that Leinster were leading 29-5 (they thought) late in the game.

[HarpinOnRugby]

Plymouth Albion website reports Leinster won 25-16 and got bonus point, but doesnt list try scorers.

[LCD_Blue]

Plymouth Albion website reports Leinster won 25-16 and got bonus point, but doesnt list try scorers.

Great to see between the dead site and this site is nobody is left to report how are 2nd team did. Hope we have a big crowed in France tomorrow!!

[Eristic]

From our website:

Stephen Keogh kicked off the scoring for the hosts in a hard fought game, with out-half Ian McKinley adding the points.

With the Leinster pack dominant it was inevitable that the next try would come from a forward and the impressive Eoin Sheriff delivered.

Leinster were on the ascendency and Academy scrum-half John Cooney and Michael Keating each crossed, with McKinley chipping in with a penalty, as Leinster secured their second successive victory in the competition.
Albion's only try came from replacement and ex Leinster man Robin Copeland late in the game, with Mark Lee kicking 11 points.

LEINSTER:

15: Niall Morris
14: Sam Coghlan-Murray (Michael Sherlock, 78)
13: Brendan Macken (Darren Hudson, 46)
12: Noel Reid
11: Michael Keating
10: Ian McKinley
9: John Cooney (Peter du Toit, 78)

1: Jack McGrath
2: Aaron Dundon (David Doyle, 61)
3: Stewart Maguire (Ben Prescott, 58)
4: Eoin Sheriff (Mark Flanagan, 78)
5: Ed O'Donoghue
6: Rhys Ruddock
7: Jordi Murphy
8: Stephen Keogh (Ben Marshall, 78)

[Justtoby]

The Leinster team to face the Cornish Pirates in Sunday's 3rd Round British & Irish Cup clash at Mennaye Field (KO: 2pm) has been named...

Stephen Keogh leads a team which combines a blend of youth and experience as the province aim to build on their victories in the opening two rounds of this year's competition. Keogh, a try-scorer in the 25-16 victory over Plymouth Albion in Greystones RFC last weekend, forms a back-row partnership with Eoin Sheriff and Jordi Murphy.

Argentina international Mariano Galarza locks down with Ed O'Donoghue, with Stewart Maguire starting in the front row alongside Jack McGrath.

Paul O'Donohoe forms a half-back partnership with Ian Madigan with Brendan Macken linking up with Noel Reid at centre.

LEINSTER:

15: Niall Morris
14: Darren Hudson
13: Brendan Macken
12: Noel Reid
11: Andrew Conway
10: Ian Madigan
9: Paul O'Donohoe

1: Jack McGrath
2: Aaron Dundon
3: Stewart Maguire
4: Mariano Galarza
5: Ed O'Donoghue
6: Eoin Sheriff
7: Jordi Murphy
8: Stephen Keogh CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Tom Sexton
17: Simon Shawe
18: Mark Flanagan
19: Ben Marshall
20: John Cooney
21: Ian McKinley
22: Michael Keating

[Donny B.]

Good to see Conway's recovered from the neck injury.

Will be a tough match this, the Pirates should have beaten us at Donnybrook last year and they went on to win it.

Seem well up for it too.




Cornish Pirates will use memories of last year's British and Irish Cup defeat by Leinster to help spur them on when the Irishmen visit Mennaye Field in the same competition on Sunday (2pm).

The Pirates went down 12-10 at Donnybrook 13 months ago, but it was a game that was there for the taking by the Cornishmen, who went on to lift the Cup with victory over Munster in the final.

They scored the only try of the contest, through skipper Gavin Cattle, and were only denied victory by a late penalty from Leinster centre Shaun Berne.

"We owe them one," said the Pirates' forwards coach, Ian Davies. "We went over there last year and felt we should have won the game.


"They played good, honest rugby and played it really well, and we know what they are going to bring on Sunday.

"I perceive them to be slightly weaker than they were last year, based on the team list they have sent over to us, but they are top of the group at the moment, and we need a win.

"If we don't win, it makes it hard work to get into the quarter-finals."

Leinster head Pool A after victories at Newport (33-28) in October, and at home to Plymouth Albion (25-16) last weekend, when they also picked up a bonus point.

Worcester Warriors and the Pirates both got a maximum five points from their opening Cup encounters, with the Pirates beating Currie 54-31, but, with two quarter-final places up for grabs from the pool stages this campaign, as opposed to one semi-final spot in the competition's inaugural season last year, a fierce scrap lies ahead.

With the switching of the Currie game to Penzance last weekend, it means the Pirates have three home games in the pool – Currie, Leinster and Plymouth Albion – before finishing with trips to Newport, on Friday, January 21, and Worcester on February 26.

"Sunday will be massively important to the outcome of the group," added Davies. "We lost to Leinster last year, but then had the good fortune that Newport turned Leinster over, which surprised everybody.

"This year, two teams go through, but you want to make sure it is a comfortable passage, and, when we play Worcester in the last game, we want that to be a decider as to who finishes first and second.

"That will be the focus on Sunday. It won't be league points, it will just be to win the game and knock Leinster off the top of the group."

The Pirates go into the clash in cracking attacking form, with eight tries in the victory over Currie, followed by a further nine in an impressive 61-28 demolition of Birmingham & Solihull in the Championship match at Damson Park on Wednesday, which strengthened the Pirates' hold on third place in the table.

However, the Pirates have unusually shipped a total of seven tries in their last two games, having previously been so impressive in that department this campaign.

"We moved forward from last weekend in terms of our defence on Wednesday," said Davies. "At least we are now getting into the right defensive positions, but we are still not making the tackles, and that's a problem when you come up against a side who do like to play a lot of rugby, like Birmingham, and they took their chances really well.

"What we have got to make sure is that, in the perceived bigger games against your Bedfords and teams like that, we make sure our defensive line is intact."

Forwards Blair Cowan, Alan Paver and Ben Gulliver were all on the replacements' bench on Wednesday, and could all start on Sunday.

Other selection issues surround tight-head prop Carl Rimmer, who missed the Bees' game through illness, and centre Steve Winn, who came off after 25 minutes and joins centre Tom Luke (thigh) and front-row forward Tom Cowan- Dickie (shoulder) on the casualty list.

Perhaps the most familiar name in Leinster's line-up is former Munster No.8 Stephen Keogh, while replacement prop Ben Prescott has had previous spells with Rotherham and Nottingham.

However, team manager Malcolm O'Kelly and assistant coach Girvan Dempsey have 174 Ireland caps between them.

Pirates (from): Cook, Pointer, McAtee, Locke, Hopper, Davies, Bentley, Cattle (capt), Doherty, Rimmer, Brits, Currie, Andrew, Paver, Elloway, Ward, Gulliver, Nimmo, McGlone, Myerscough, Morgan, Burgess, Betty, Marriott, Cowan, Storer, Holmes, Winn, Luke.

Leinster: Morris, Coghlan-Murray, Macken, Reid, Keating, McKinley, O'Donohoe (capt), McGrath, Sexton, Maguire, Sheriff, O'Donoghue, Ruddock, Murphy, Keogh. Replacements:Prescott, Dundon, Flanagan, Marshall, Cooney, Hudson, Sherlock.

[Leinster Zulu]

Is it me or are there quite a few differences in those two Leinster teams named?

[cormac]

The one from the Pirates website is the team that was originally selected to play against Plymouth last weekend

[CiaranIrl]

How is Ruddock starting at 6 if there is doubt about Heaslip?

[limecat]

How is Ruddock starting at 6 if there is doubt about Heaslip?

The Pirates site has the wrong team. See post by Justtoby, above for the correct lineup: http://forum.leinsterfans.com/viewtopic ... 42#p395642

[CiaranIrl]

How is Ruddock starting at 6 if there is doubt about Heaslip?

The Pirates site has the wrong team. See post by Justtoby, above for the correct lineup: http://forum.leinsterfans.com/viewtopic ... 42#p395642

Ah... Cheers.

[Dotcom]

Todays Game at Pirates is live on Pirates TV

Starts about 13:15 for the 14:00 kick Off

Costs £6 sterling for 24 hrs

Full Info here http://www.cornish-pirates.com/tv_tour/index.htm

Weather fine here at the moment