PRO12 Previews

Blues vs. Ulster @ Cardiff Arms Park

Friday 17th February, 19.05 (BBC NI)

Henson returns from international duty to start for the Blues. (c) Mauro Quercia.

Ulster go to Cardiff looking to continue their push for a play-off spot. Sitting 5th in the table, Ulster are just a point ahead of the Blues. The Welsh side do have a game in hand over Ulster, so a win for the Irish province becomes even more important. Brian McLaughlin welcomes back three Irish internationals this weekend, as Paddy Wallace, Chris Henry and Tom Court have all been released from the Irish camp for this fixture.

In total there are four personnel changes to the side that earned a bonus point win over the Dragons last time out. Wallace replaces Adam D’Arcy, Henry is in for Mike McComish, Court starts ahead of Callum Black and Nigel Brady is preferred to Andy Kyriacou at hooker. Johann Muller is sidelined with a calf injury, so Henry takes the captaincy. Elsewhere, Ian Whitten moves from the centre out to the wing, with Stefan Terblanche shifting to fullback.

Cardiff welcome back three international players of their own. Scrumhalf Lloyd Williams, centre Gavin Henson and prop Scott Andrews have all been released from Welsh duty. Dan Parks starts at outhalf following his international retirement. Recently announced Munster signing Casey Laulala is out with hamstring trouble. This is not the most formidable Blues team, and Ulster come into the fixture with confidence and momentum. They are the more settled side. Verdict: Ulster by 5-7 points.

Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Tom James, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 Paul Tito (capt.), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Ryan Tyrell, 1 John Yapp.
Subs: 16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Maama Molitika, 20 Martyn Williams, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Chris Czekaj.

Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Nevin Spence, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Ian Whitten, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Chris Henry (capt.), 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Tom Court.
Subs: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Tim Barker, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Simon Danielli, 23 Adam D’Arcy.

Referee: George Clancy

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Leinster vs. Scarlets @ The RDS

Friday 17th February, 19.35 (TG4)

Isa Nacewa and Fergus McFadden (kicking) are both in the Leinster team. (c) Ken Bohane.

Joe Schmidt’s team includes four players who were involved in Ireland’s loss to Wales in the opening round of the Six Nations. Sean Cronin, Eoin Reddan, Fergus McFadden and Dave Kearney all return to the Leinster starting fifteen. Jack McGrath gets his second start of the season at loosehead, while Rhys Ruddock comes in at No.8. In the backline, Eoin O’Malley joins McFadden in the centre.

Scarlets’ coach Nigel Davies also received the boost of returning international players. Veteran outhalf Stephen Jones and wing Liam Williams are joined in the backline by centre Scott Williams, who made a brief appearance against Scotland last weekend. Up front, prop Rhodri Jones has been released from the Welsh camp to start at loosehead. England international Ben Morgan will surely be sprung from the Scarlets’ bench at some stage.

Leinster come into this weekend 10 points clear of the 2nd-placed Ospreys. With the Welsh region at home to Aironi tonight, they will expect a bonus point win and hope to close that gap. However, Leinster are on an 11 game winning-streak and have named a strong side for this clash with the Scarlets. They should maintain their dominance of the PRO12 with another win. Verdict: Leinster bonus point win.

Leinster: 15 Isa Nacewa, 14 David Kearney, 13 Eoin O’Malley, 12 Fergus McFadden, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Rhys Ruddock, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Kevin McLaughlin (capt.), 5 Devin Toner, 4 Damian Browne, 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Subs: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Nathan White, 19 Leo Auva’a, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Brendan Macken.

Scarlets: 15 Dan Newton, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Gareth Maule (capt.), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Stephen Jones, 1 Rhodri Jones, 2 Emyr Phillips, 3 Deacon Manu, 4 Sione Timani, 5 Dominic Day, 6 Josh Turnbull, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 8 Kieran Murphy.
Subs: 16 Craig Hawkins, 17 Phil John, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Adam Warren, 23 Viliame Iongi.

Referee: Nigel Owens

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Treviso vs. Munster @ Stadio di Monigo

Saturday 18th February, 15.15 (RTE2)

Munster's last game was the 51-36 win over the Saints. Botha, O'Mahony and Horan all return for this one. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

Munster’s match with Aironi last weekend was called off due to the snowy conditions in Italy, but this one will be completely unaffected. Without a game, Munster dropped to 4th in the league. Still, they are only one point behind the Warriors in 3rd and have a game in hand. Munster will be hoping for a favour from Connacht in their clash with the Warriors. Tony McGahan will be eager to keep the pressure on the Ospreys, sitting in 2nd. A home semi-final in the play-offs is a realistic expectation for Munster.

McGahan has included returning Ireland squad members Ronan O’Gara, Donnacha Ryan and Peter O’Mahony in his side for this tie with Treviso. The other big news is that Felix Jones is named in the match day squad for the first time this season. He’s joined there by Tommy O’Donnell, also just back from injury. Mick O’Driscoll captains the side from second-row while Ian Keatley’s ankle injury means he is ruled out.

Treviso have made wholesale changes to the side beaten by Leinster last weekend. Fabio Semenzato and Willem de Waal form a new half-back partnership, while Tommaso Iannone comes in on the wing. There’s a new second-row of Corniel Van Zyl and Antonio Pavanello, while Paul Derbyshire is chosen at blindside. Munster lost 19-8 here last year so will certainly not be complacent. Having not played in just under a month, expect some rustiness from Munster. Verdict: Munster win by 10 points.

Benetton Treviso: 15 Ludovico Nitoglia, 14 Tommaso Iannone, 13 Ezio Galon, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Brendan Williams, 10 Willem De Waal, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Marco Filippucci, 7 Benjamin Vermaak, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Corniel Van Zyl, 4 Antonio Pavanello (cap.), 3 Pedro Di Santo, 2 Franco Sbaraglini, 1 Matteo Muccignat.
Subs: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Augusto Allori, 18 Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Gonzalo Padrò, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Edoardo Gori, 23 Alberto Di Bernardo.

Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Johne Murphy, 13 Danny Barnes, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Tomas O’Leary, 1 Wian du Preez, 2 Damien Varley, 3 BJ Botha, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Mick O’Driscoll (capt.), 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 8 James Coughlan.                                                                                                            Subs: 16 Denis Fogarty, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Felix Jones.

Referee: Neil Hennessey

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Connacht vs. Warriors @ The Sportsground

Saturday 18th February, 17.30 (TG4)

Niall O'Connor continues at outhalf. (c) Sum_of_Marc.

Connacht’s losing bonus point against the Blues last weekend lifted them to 10th in the table, just a single point ahead of 11th-placed Newport-Gwent Dragons. As mentioned above, the Warriors come into this game looking to consolidate 3rd position, as well as hoping to close the gap on the Ospreys. Eric Elwood’s side haven’t won in the PRO12 since the 23rd of September, but with confidence boosted by the recent win over Harlequins, Connacht believe they can beat a weakened Warriors side.

Elwood makes just two changes to the team from last weekend’s defeat. Ray Ofisa is out with a knee injury so Eoghan Grace comes in at openside. Since joining from Exeter last summer, Grace has had limited opportunities, missing plenty of the season through injury. He will be out to prove himself capable at this level. The other change sees Henry Fa’afili come into the centre in place of Dave McSharry, with Eoin Griffin back on the bench.

Glasgow haven’t won in Connacht since 2007. Looking to reverse that trend, coach Sean Lineen has made just one change to the team that beat the Scarlets 19-9 last weekend, Pat MacArthur replacing Dougie Hall at hooker. Duncan Weir is on the bench after being an unused substitute in Scotland’s loss to Wales last Sunday. Scotland international Graeme Morrison captains the side from midfield. Glasgow will consider this a good chance to shake off their Galway hoodoo, but similarly, Connacht will see it as another chance to pick off a team missing their international players. Verdict: Connacht by 1-3 points.

Connacht:15 Gavin Duffy (capt.), 14 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 13 Kyle Tonetti, 12 Henry Fa’afili, 11 Tiernan O’Halloran, 10 Niall O’Connor, 9 Paul O’Donohoe, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Eoghan Grace, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Subs: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Stewart Maguire, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Mick Kearney, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Eoin Griffin.

Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Troy Nathan, 12 Graeme Morrison (capt.), 11 David Lemi, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Rob Verbakel, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.
Subs: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 George Hunter, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 Duncan Weir, 21 Alex Dunbar, 22 Colin Shaw, 23 Calum Forrester.

Referee: Peter Allan

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Photos courtesy:  Ken Bohane, Mauro Quercia, Ivan O’Riordan, Sum_of_Marc.

Final Ireland Training Squad Announced

Ireland take on Wales at the Aviva on Sunday. (c) Ross Wynne.

Declan Kidney and his management team today announced a 32-man squad for the final week of training before Sunday’s Six Nations opener with Wales at the Aviva. Kidney will pick his match day 22 for Sunday from this extended training squad. 23 of last week’s 24-man senior training squad have been retained, with only James Coughlan dropping out.

Dan Tuohy, Simon Zebo, David Kearney, Eoin O’Malley, Brett Wilkinson, Chris Henry, Denis Hurley and Rhys Ruddock have all been promoted from the Wolfhounds squad. Munster’s Peter O’Mahony is the only of last week’s ‘additional players’ included this week.

Here’s a look at the latest squad:

Ireland Training Squad

Forwards (17): Rory Best, Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Mike Ross, Tom Court, Brett Wilkinson, Paul O’Connell (capt.), Donncha O’Callaghan, Donnacha Ryan, Dan Tuohy, Stephen Ferris, Peter O’Mahony, Shane Jennings, Sean O’Brien, Chris Henry, Jamie Heaslip, Rhys Ruddock.

Backs (15): Conor Murray, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Ronan O’Gara, Gordon D’Arcy, Paddy Wallace, Fergus McFadden, Eoin O’Malley, Keith Earls, Tommy Bowe, Andrew Trimble, David Kearney, Simon Zebo, Rob Kearney, Denis Hurley.

Kidney will hope Sean O'Brien is at his destructive best this weekend. (c) Ross Wynne.

After the initial burst of criticism aimed at Kidney’s conservatism, this squad actually has a relatively fresh look to it. While it would still be a surprise to see someone like Zebo or O’Mahony actually make the match day squad, it’s encouraging that Kidney has followed through on his assertion that any players who performed well for the Wolfhounds would be considered for the senior side.

If Kidney had originally named this selection as his Six Nations squad, there would have most likely been a positive reaction. That said, there are certainly still areas of the squad that some will disagree with. The inclusion of Donncha O’Callaghan over Mike McCarthy would appear not to be based on form. James Coughlan’s absence might also provoke some dissent.

However, the time for discussions on who should have been included in the squad is now over. This is the pool of players from which Kidney will (or most likely already has) select his match day 22 for Sunday. That announcement will come at lunchtime on Wednesday. Whatever way Kidney goes, it’s going to be a fascinating match with Wales. The anticipation is rapidly building.

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Photos courtesy:  Ross Wynne.

Four on Form

PRO12 Round 12 Matches

Photo via Jukka Zitting.

As always, Four on Form looks at four Irish-eligible players who hit top form in their province’s fixtures over the weekend.

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Mike McCarthy

McCarthy was one of the stand-out players for Connacht as they came up inches short against Leinster on New Year’s Day. The second-row was clearly desperate to help Connacht end their long run of defeats. He carried and defended ferociously for the full 80 minutes. McCarthy was also crucial to the lineout as Connacht always looked to find him from touch.

30-year-old McCarthy won his first cap for Ireland last August in the World Cup warm-up game against Scotland. Declan Kidney selected McCarthy at blindside flanker in that match but McCarthy eventually missed out on selection for the subsequent tournament. The London-born man’s ability to play in the back-row means that his strong ball-carrying and high work-rate come as no surprise.

McCarthy claims lineout ball against Gloucester in the Heineken Cup. (c) Eoin Gardiner.

McCarthy began his career with Wasps in London before joining Connacht for one season in 2003/04. He left to spend three years at Newcastle until he re-joined Connacht in 2007. Since then, McCarthy has passed the 100 cap mark for the province and become a key part of their forward pack. McCarthy showed exactly why with his performance against Leinster.

Of the 10 lineouts Connacht threw, McCarthy claimed 6, as well as pinching one of Leinster’s. McCarthy made 8 carries throughout, getting over the gainline nearly every time. His defensive game was equally important as he successfully made all 8 of his attempted tackles, most of them dominant hits. McCarthy’s importance to Connacht was particularly obvious in the build-up to their two tries. Both scores began with lineouts and it was McCarthy who secured possession both times.

International rugby is possibly beyond McCarthy now but displays like this one will certainly make the Irish management take notice. McCarthy’s versatility is useful in any squad. With no obvious first-choice lock to partner captain Paul O’Connell, McCarthy will recognise that continuation of this kind of form will put him in contention.

McCarthy’s key stats vs. Leinster:

Kick/Pass/Run: 0/5/8     Metres gained on ball: 26     Defenders Beaten: 1      Tackles made/missed: 8/0     Lineouts won on own throw/stolen: 6/1

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Luke O’Dea

O'Dea (15) in action for Shannon against Young Munster. (c) Liam Coughlan.

While Munster looked fairly toothless against Ulster in a 33-17 loss, winger O’Dea was lively every time he was involved in the action. The Munster Academy player only made his debut for Munster in November, scoring a try against Edinburgh in an impressive performance. He followed that up with a strong showing against Connacht, setting up a try for Sean Scanlon. The 21-year-old continued this form with another promising display against Ulster, one of the few positives on a disappointing evening for Munster.

O’Dea earned his chance with the senior Munster team through his fantastic performances with Shannon in the Ulster Bank League in recent seasons. He has also come through the Munster ‘A’ set-up, like many of the young players in this Munster squad. O’Dea’s natural position is at full-back and we may see him there eventually but he is doing an accomplished job on the wing at the moment.

O’Dea is exciting on the ball, as he showed against Ulster. He has the ability to always beat at least one man. This was exemplified by how he took his try. From Keatley’s cross-field kick, with Adam D’Arcy in front of him, the Ennis-born back-three player had the confidence to take him on in very little space. The safer option, and the one which D’Arcy seemed to anticipate, would have been to look for Will Chambers inside. O’ea backed himself and made no mistake.

It’s refreshing to see Munster wide men backing themselves in this manner. While Denis Hurley and Johne Murphy are solid professionals and haven’t let Munster down, they’re not the type of players who beat defenders too often. O’Dea looks to be a natural broken-field runner and he showed that soon after his try against Ulster. Receiving the ball in very little space down the right-hand touchline, O’Dea burned past Pedrie Wannenburg and almost stepped around D’Arcy. The move came to nothing but displayed O’Dea’s ability to beat defenders.

Despite only getting on the ball six times on Friday night, O’Dea made two clean line-breaks and beat two defenders. The prospect of O’Dea having with a little more attacking space from full-back is an exciting one. Judging on his first three Munster caps, we will be seeing a lot more of O’Dea in the future.

O’Dea’s key stats vs. Ulster:

Kick/Pass/Run: 1/0/5     Clean line-breaks: 2     Defenders beaten: 2               Metres gained on ball: 48     Tackles made/missed: 3/2

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Chris Henry

Ulster enjoyed a dominant display over Munster with a 33-17 win at Ravenhill on Friday night. Henry was one of the reasons that Ulster were on top as he got through a mountain of work. Henry was always earmarked as a future Irish international from his time with the Ireland U21 squad. Now at 27, the back-row has just one cap to his name, having played against Australia on the tour down under in 2010. This season, the spectacular performances of Stephen Ferris have meant Henry’s good form has been somewhat masked.

Against Munster, Henry was clearly to the fore. He was unmissable as his huge appetite for hard work shone through. The 107kg back-row lined out at blindside for this match, showing his versatility within the back-row. He can play all three back-row positions and this has perhaps held him back a little throughout his career. His natural position is at No.8 but the South Africa Pedrie Wannenburg occupies that role for Ulster.

Henry in his natural position of No.8 against Munster in 2009. (c) Liam Coughlan.

Henry was Ulster’s top ball-carrier against Munster with 12 carries for a total gain of 50 metres. His tackle count of 14 was second only to captain Johann Muller’s 16. While Henry did concede 2 penalties, that merely highlights how much spoiling of the Munster ball he did. For Ruan Pienaar’s bonus-point try, it was Henry who tackled Duncan Williams at the back of the Munster scrum, forcing the ball loose and allowing Pienaar to pick up and finish.

Henry was also crucial to Ulster’s second try, eventually scored by John Afoa. Henry beat off a tackle to cut through the Munster defence after they had seemingly recovered following Ulster’s initial break-out from their own half. Henry showed his power as he went through du Preez’s tackle to put Ulster back on the front foot.

With Ferris out, Henry assumed to role of primary ball-carrier to great effect. His work-rate in defence was equally accomplished. As has been mentioned here before, Ireland’s strength in the back-row means it will be hard for players to break into the international squad in that area. All Henry can do is consistently put in mammoth displays like this one and hope that a chance presents itself. At 27, he still has time on his side.

Henry’s key stats vs. Munster:

Kick/Pass/Run: 0/5/12     Defenders beaten: 1     Metres gained on ball: 50  Tackles made/missed: 14/0     Turnovers: 1     Clean line-breaks: 1

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Paddy McAllister

In the first half of Ulster’s match against Munster, it looked like McAllister could have been included in a hypothetical Four Off Form. Munster’s tighthead, Stephen Archer, seemed to be winning the scrum battle against McAllister, lining out at loosehead for Ulster. Munster won three penalties as they dominated the scrum in that first half and McAllister looked to be beaten. However, he is included in this week’s Four on Form for the manner in which he helped turn the scrum around for Ulster in the first 20 minutes of the second-half.

The 22-year-old’s battle with Archer, only 23 himself, was always going to be interesting. Archer was the clear victor in the first-half. The half-time interval was McAllister’s saviour as he came out a different player after the break. Obviously the Ulster scrum is a unit, not just McAllister acting on his own, but he played a major role in the two huge shunts at scrum-time that led to two Ulster tries. The tries were scored by Ian Humphreys and Ruan Pienaar (see them over in the RaboDirect Round-Up), but they belonged to the Ulster pack who sent the Munster scrum back-peddling on their own put-in.

Their will always be suggestions from the scrum which is going backwards of illegal scrummaging on the dominant packs’s part but whatever way McAllister did manage to get on top of Archer he must be applauded for it. Both these young props showed serious potential at different times of the match and that can only be a good thing for Irish rugby. While McAllister didn’t have a chance to showcase it against Munster, he is also a strong ball-carrier and has the mobility to contribute well around the pitch. The McAllister vs. Archer battle is one we could be seeing regularly in a few years time.

McAllister’s key stats vs. Munster:

Kick/Pass/Run: 0/1/6     Turnovers: 1     Tackles made/missed: 5/0                  Ulster scrum on own feed win/lost: 6/0

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Photos courtesy:  Eoin Gardiner, Liam Coughlan, Jukka Zitting.