The Exiled Irish: The Exiles

London Irish was set up as a “home away from home” for the Irish in London. (c) London Irish RFC.

London Irish Rugby Football Club was founded in 1898 with the intention of providing “a welcoming home and hospitable meeting place for all Irish people” in the English capital city. Dubliner and Irish international Louis Magee was the catalyst in putting the club on the map in those early days. Over the following 115 years, the number of Irish-qualified players on the Exiles’ cards has varied, although the likes of Conor O’Shea, David Humphreys, Mark McCall and Niall Woods were part of a big group there in the first few years of professional rugby.

In 2008, Keith Wood called for London Irish to become a fifth Irish province, under the IRFU’s control. He wanted another option for players who were “unable to establish themselves in Ireland.” That kind of wholesale takeover was never realistic, but the idea wasn’t completely nonsensical. While the RFU would never  have allow one of their clubs to directly improve a rival nation, the potential increase in Premiership viewers based in Ireland was never fully considered.

The current day London Irish isn’t quite “a home away from home” for our professional rugby players, but there are signs of that changing. This season, they’ve fielded 7 Irish players in various competitions. 3 of those will still be at the club next season, while 2 more Irish have signed on. It’s positive to see, and hopefully a signal that London Irish are going back to their roots.

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Ian Humphreys

Humphreys (tackling) in action against Leicester in the LV= Cup. (c) Graham Wilson.

When Paddy Jackson was installed as first-choice outhalf for Ulster ahead of last season’s H Cup semi-final, Humphrey’s mind was made up. The 30-year-old signed for Irish in order to secure first-team rugby. Capped for Ireland at U19, U21, A and 7s levels, Humphreys never managed to earn full international honours despite his talent. This season, the outhalf has started all but 3 of London Irish’s Premiership games, as well as 3 in the Amlin CC and 2 in the LV= Cup.

Irish‘s form hasn’t been good. Despite talking about a top 6 finish at the beginning of the season, Brian Smith’s side have won only 7 games in the Premiership, leaving them 9th with 1 fixture left. They flirted with relegation for a while, before London Welsh’s 5-point punishment decided the issue. Humphreys has scored 142 points, including 1 try. Place-kicking duties have been rotated between himself, Tom Homer and Steve Shingler. The Exiles have already spoken about their ambitions for next season, and Humphreys will hope to play a central role.

Player Profile: Ian Humphreys     Twitter: @iHumph

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Tomas O’Leary

O’Leary playing against Ulster during his time with Munster. (c) Liam Coughlan.

Similarly to iHumph, O’Leary left his home province after a young pretender had usurped him. In this case, Conor Murray’s rapid rise had left O’Leary as back-up at Munster and looking for a move away. Initially, it looked as though the Corkonian would be joining Perpignan, before Irish stepped in. O’Leary had a great start at the English club, despite their poor form. The scrumhalf quickly became a key man and a leader, starting all 9 of the Exiles‘ games up until the 28th of October, when he came off injured against ‘Quins.

Life at London Irish was proving very agreeable to O’Leary and he even had hopes of an international recall. The main thing was that he was “happy to be back playing regular rugby.” His interview with Gerry Thornley in the Irish Times on the 27th of October proved to be something of a curse.
The next day, he aggravated a “pre-existing lower back injury”, and eventually had surgery in December, ending his season. It’s obviously a worrying injury, but O’Leary is expected back fully fit for next season. Still only 29, he’ll hope to pick up where he left off.

Player Profile: Tomas O’Leary     Twitter: @Tomas_OLeary

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Brian Blaney

Blaney (left) on a advert for the AIB League in 2007! (c) Terenure RFC.

Ex-Leinster hooker Blaney joined Irish in 2010, having spent 6 seasons with Leinster. Capped at Ireland Schools and A levels, he picked up a Magners League medal in ’07/08. The peak of his playing time at Leinster was the ’05/06 season, when Blaney made 15 starts, including 6 in the Heineken Cup. After leaving Leinster at the end of the ’08/09 campaign, it looked as though his career as a professional rugby player might be over. He spent the following season with Terenure RFC as player/strength & conditioning coach.

In May 2010, London Irish announced that they’d signed Blaney to provide depth in the hooker position. Unfortunately, over the past 3 seasons appearances have been rare for Blaney, totaling 23. With Scottish international Scott Lawson and England-capped David Paice also on the books at Irish, competition has been fierce. Blaney left the club last summer, before injury problems meant the Exiles asked him to return. 5 starts over the course of the year followed. Last month, player and club parted ways for good. At 31, but with little front-line rugby in the last 3 seasons, the hooker certainly has more to offer elsewhere.

Player Profile: Brian Blaney

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Conor Gaston

22-year-old wing/fullback Gaston broke through at Ulster during the 2010/11 season, making his debut against the Dragons in the Magners League. He made 3 more appearances that season, impressing with his powerful running game. The following season, his chances were limited to just one start against Leinster, and a sub appearance against the Dragons. With Bowe, Payne, Gilroy and Trimble all well ahead of him, Gaston decided to take up the offer of a place in London Irish’s Academy at the start of this season.

The 95kg outside back got off to a great start with the Exiles, starring as his new club won the JP Morgan Premiership 7s Series. His evasiveness, pace and work-rate were all evident, making a good first impression. Since then, Gaston has mainly been involved with Irish’s A team, although he made his first senior start on the wing in the LV= Cup last December. He also racked up 4 sub appearances in the Amlin CC group stages. Interestingly, Gaston looks to be on his way out of the club already, although his next destination is unclear.

Player Profile: Conor Gaston     Twitter: @ConorGaston15

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James Sandford, John Ryan, Alan Cotter,

  Eamonn Sheridan & Jamie Hagan

Ulster-bred lock Sandford is in his 2nd season with London Irish. He was featured in last year’s Exiled Irish Youth XV, so click the link to learn about his background. This season he’s had just 2 starts, both coming in the Amlin CC. He’s had a couple of injuries this season, but is contracted until 2014.

Munster prop Ryan joined Irish on a loan spell last October as injury cover, making 2 lengthy sub appearances in the Premiership. When Ryan returned to Munster, tight head Cotter went in the opposite direction, making 4 appearances off the bench over the next month or so, before a brief stint at Bath. While they were both short-term moves, it was positive to see the Exiles look to Ireland for cover, and both young props got some playing experience.

23-year-old centre Sheridan has signed for Irish ahead of next season, joining after a year with Rotherham Titans in the Championship. The Ireland U18 and U20 international had an impressive season in Rotherham, starting 19 games and scoring 6 tries. Half of those appearances came on the wing, but at 6’4″ and 108kg, his future is certainly in the centre. A great prospect, and one to follow closely.

Hagan joins next season on a 3-year deal, moving from Leinster. The 26-year-old Wolfhounds-capped tight head will relish the chance of first-team rugby after 2 frustrating years at Leinster. He’ll surely be watched closely by the likes of Joe Schmidt and the provincial coaches.

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Photos: Liam Coughlan, Graham Wilson.

Dragons Fail to Fire in Ulster Rain

Match Report

Ulster 30-12 Newport-Gwent Dragons

Friday 11th February @ Ravenhill

Ruan Pienaar scored a try as well as kicking 10 points for Ulster. (c) Ken Bohane.

Ulster kept their PRO12 play-off push on course with a bonus point win over an extremely limited Dragons side on Friday night. In what was a week of disorder at the province, with the public revelation of the long-standing decision not to renew Brian McLaughlin’s contract as coach, Ulster will be happy with the five points gained on a wet night at Ravenhill. This Dragons team was blunt in attack and has definite concentration issues. Despite prolonged spells of possession, the Welsh region never looked like manufacturing a try-scoring opportunity.

That said, the Dragons’ start to the game was lively. Ex-Wales U20 international outhalf Jason Tovey gave his side the lead with a long-range penalty after Craig Gilroy failed to release the tackled player. Ruan Pienaar had the chance to draw Ulster level with a penalty of his own soon after but was wide to the right from 40 metres out.

Tovey’s kicking from hand was poor all day, and it was from his kick directly into touch that Ulster scored the opening try. From just outside the Dragons’ 22, hooker Andy Kyriacou hit Robbie Diack coming short at the front of the lineout and after juggling the ball, the South African No.8 went through Jamie Smith’s tackle to touch down. From the right-hand touchline, Pienaar was narrowly off target to the left.

Ulster then scored almost directly from the Dragons’ restart with a try that had McLaughlin’s fingerprints all over it. McLaughlin has always encouraged his charges to play with freedom and that’s exactly what Ulster did. From inside their own half, the ball swept through ten sets of hands, starting and finishing with Ruan Pienaar. In between, Gilroy beat two mean and Willie Faloon offloaded off the deck for one of the best tries in the PRO12 so far this season. Pienaar added the gloss with the conversion from under the posts.

Ulster’s indiscipline allowed the Dragons to stay in touch through two Tovey penalties. First, Lewis Stevenson grabbed the arm of Adam Jones while in the air at a lineout. Gilroy was the culprit several minutes later as he entered a ruck from the side. Needless penalties, as the Dragons attack was completely toothless. A strong scrum from Ulster then resulted in Nathan Williams dropping his bind. From the penalty, Pienaar extended the Ulster lead back out to 15-9 before half-time.

Dan Tuohy (5) was involved in some big collisions. (c) Fabio Beretta.

With the rain starting to sheet down, the opening ten minutes of the second-half became loose and scrappy, ending with another silly penalty against Ulster. Paddy McAllister, just on the pitch, didn’t roll away after tackling, and Tovey knocked over the easy three-pointer. However, the Dragons’ lack of concentration struck again as Ulster scored immediately from their own restart.

The Welsh side failed to get under Ian Humphreys’ hanging drop-off and Ian Whitten pounced on the bouncing ball. The centre offloaded to Mike McComish and swiftly recycled ball allowed Humphreys’ skip pass to send Gilroy over in the right corner. The winger finished the move with a strong fend on Martyn Thomas. Pienaar was wide to the left again from the tee.

The Dragons were given an early opportunity to get themselves back into the game when Faloon was sent to the bin following Ulster’s repeated infringements at the breakdown. However, the Dragons’ subsequent attack was lateral and failed to take advantage of the extra man. Dan Tuohy put in some big hits as Ulster defended strongly.

Faloon’s return didn’t halt the Dragons’ favourable amount of possession, but time and again the Welsh side lost their concentration in good positions. Two promising lineouts in the Ulster 22 both brought knock-ons at the tail of the maul. A yellow card to Whitten for a stupid slap-down at ruck-time gave the Dragons yet another chance out of touch inside the Ulster 22. This time referee Carlo Damasco pinged them for obstruction.

With Ulster looking for the fourth try that would secure a crucial bonus point, a penalty on the halfway line with two minutes remaining looked like the perfect opportunity to kick to the corner. But captain John Afoa made a strange decision to go for goal, and Pienaar duly obliged, banging over the three points from 40 metres out. Ulster got their chance at the death though, and took it well.

After a knock-on by Robert Sidoli, Nevin Spence was first to the loose ball and his offload to Ali Birch on halfway looked to have sent replacement Ali Birch over. However, the substitute back-row was hauled down just 5 metres out. After a few phases close to the breakdown, the ball was sent out to Humphreys and he put Stefan Terblanche through a massive hole in the Dragons’ defence. Pienaar completed the scoring with the last kick of the game. This win means Ulster move up to 5th in the PRO12 table.

Ulster: 15. Adam D’Arcy (Danielli, 57), 14. Craig Gilroy, 13. Ian Whitten, 12. Nevin Spence, 11. Stefan Terblanche, 10. Ian Humphreys (Marshall, 64), 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Robbie Diack, 7. Willie Faloon (Birch, 64), 6. Mike McComish, 5. Dan Tuohy, 4. Lewis Stevenson (Barker, 73), 3. John Afoa (capt.), 2. Andy Kyriacou (Brady, 55), 1. Callum Black (McAllister, 48).                                        Subs: 16. Nigel Brady, 17. Paddy McAllister, 18. Adam Macklin, 19. Timothy Barker, 20. Alistair Birch, 21. Paul Marshall, 22. Mike Allen, 23. Simon Danielli.

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Photos courtesy:  Ken Bohane, Fabio Beretta.

RaboDirect Round-Up

Ulster 33-17 Munster

Friday 30th December @ Ravenhill

Tony McGahan won't have been pleased with Munster's performance. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

Ulster managed to secure a try-scoring bonus point in  their comfortable win over a disappointing Munster on Friday night. You can read a full match report here.

Stefan Terblanche, John Afoa, Ian Humphreys and Ruan Pienaar were the try-scorers for Ulster. Humphreys kicked 10 points and Pienaar added a penalty. For Munster, 21-year-old wing Luke O’Dea and Johne Murphy scored tries. Ian Keatley added two penalties and a conversion.

This loss means Munster drop to 4th in the league. Worryingly, the Cardiff Blues in 5th have a game in hand over Munster and are only 3 points behind. Tony McGahan’s  men are back in Thomond Park next Saturday where they’re up against a Treviso side who have realistic playoff hopes.

Ulster’s 5 points don’t see them rise from 8th position but it does bring them closer to the playoff places. They’re now only 7 points behind Munster and if they can get a good run together then they’ll be in the shake-up come the tail-end of the season. Next up for them is a trip to Murrayfield on Friday to take on Edinburgh, a place behind them in the league. It’s the kind of match Ulster need to be winning if they want to compete for a playoff spot.

Here’s the four Ulster tries from the match on Friday night:

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You can watch the full Ulster vs. Munster match over on the RTE Player by clicking this link.

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Connacht 13-15 Leinster

Sunday 1st January @ The Sportsground

Reynecke and O'Halloran, pictured tackling Munster's Forgarty last weekend, were the Connacht try-scorers. (c) Ivan O'Riordan.

Connacht came within inches of beating Leinster as Mia Nikora’s last-gasp drop goal dropped just under the bar. Referee John Lacey had to consult the TMO to confirm that the ball hadn’t snuck over. It was a painful end to a brave Connacht effort in which they scored two tries to Leinster’s none. Joe Schmidt’s team didn’t hit the form of previous weeks but they will be relieved to have come away with the win.

Man of the Match Isa Nacewa was key as he kicked all 15 of Leinster’s points in a flawless display off the tee. Connacht will rue the fact that they don’t have as reliable a place-kicker. Matthew Jarvis missed two first-half penalties and Nikora was off target with a conversion and the drop-goal effort. Ethienne Reynecke and Tiernan O’Halloran were the try-scorers for Connacht. Both tries came with Leinster down to 14 men following the sin-binnings of, first, Leo Cullen and then Isaac Boss.

Leinster remain in a comfortable 6 point lead at the top of the PRO12 after this win. They’re away to the Blues on Saturday in what could be a tricky fixture. As mentioned above, the Blues are breathing down Munster’s necks for a playoff berth and they will be targeting a win on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Connacht’s 12th defeat in a row means they remain rooted in the bottom three of the table. Fortunately for them, the Dragons and Aironi are in similarly poor form. The Dragons do have a game in hand over Connacht and a win would mean the Dragons drawing level on points with Eric Elwood’s team. Connacht travel to Aironi on Saturday and this has to be the game that ends their losing streak. The Italians have won only 2 of their 16 matches in all competitions this season. Admittedly, Aironi will be thinking the same thing about Connacht, who’ve won 3 in 16.

Here’s the highlights from the Connacht vs. Leinster match:

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This is how the PRO12 table shapes up after the weekend’s action:

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Photos courtesy:  Ivan O’Riordan.

Ulster Capitalise on Munster Mistakes

Match Report

Ulster 33-17 Munster

Friday 30th December @ Ravenhill

Humphreys scored 15 points for Ulster. Photo via Fabio Beretta.

Ulster secured a try-scoring bonus point as they strolled to victory over Munster in an entertaining game at Ravenhill. The nature of this defeat will rankle with the Munster players as several of the Ulster tries came from their errors. Brian McLaughlin’s decision to rest his first-choice team for the Stephen’s Day loss to Leinster was vindicated as his more settled team overcame a Munster selection which completely failed to gel. Ulster always looked the more dangerous side in attack as they cut Munster open on several occasions.

The opening quarter of the game was a scrappy affair which foretold the entertaining game that was to follow. Ulster opened the scoring through the boot of Ian Humphreys after Lifemi Mafi went offside chasing Ian Keatley’s garryowen. Munster hit back with a try from their impressive young wing Luke O’Dea. The Shannon man collected Keatley’s cross-field kick and did well to beat the tackle of Adam D’Arcy to dive over in the right-hand corner. Keatley was on target with the difficult conversion from the touchline.

An incisive passage of Ulster play led to their next score. Humphreys slipped Pedrie Wannenburg through the Munster defence with a neat inside pass. Munster came offside as they scrambled to halt Ruan Pienaar’s snipe down the blindside. To the left of the posts, Humphreys slotted the penalty. Better was to come for Ulster as they dished out maximum punishment for a Munster mistake.

Denis Hurley spilled the ball forward as he attempted to counter-attack from his own half. Humphreys sprayed a long pass out to Darren Cave on the left. The centre had enough pace to get outside the covering defence and draw the last defender to put Stefan Terblanche over in the left-hand corner. Humphreys added the extras from the touchline to put Ulster into a 13-7 lead.

Ulster try-scorer Terblanche is a recent signing from the Natal Sharks. Photo via Ryk Neethling.

In reply, Keatley drilled over a lovely penalty from out to the right after Pienaar was penalised for questioning referee Alain Rolland’s decision-making at the breakdown. After the Munster scrum had got a strong nudge on to win another penalty, Keatley had the chance to level the game. However, he missed from what seemed an easier position than his previous kick and Ulster were let off the hook.

McLaughlin’s team responded with another try which began with Terblanche bursting out of the Ulster 22 down the left. The ball was moved through five or six pairs of hands all the way out to the right, inside Munster’s half. Chris Henry then burst through only to be hauled down by Duncan Williams. The ball was recycled and moved to Terblanche in space out on the left. The South African chose to step inside and was tackled but John Afoa was on hand to go through Williams’ tackle from just metres out. Humphreys was successful with the conversion to send Ulster into half-time 20-10 to the good.

The first half had seen Munster clearly dominant in the scrum, but on resumption of play, Ulster turned the set-piece on its head. From a Munster put-in on their own 10 metre line, Ulster got a huge shove on. As Williams picked from the base of the retreating scrum, Willie Fallon’s tackle forced him into a knock-on. Humphreys hacked the bouncing ball ahead and won the race to touch down. The outhalf inexplicably missed the easy conversion but still, it was a weak 5 points to concede from Munster’s point of view.

More of the same followed 10 minutes later. Once again, Ulster shunted Munster back on their own put-in to the scrum. Williams tried to dig the ball out of the scrum as it travelled backwards. Under pressure from Henry, his attempted pass went loose and bounced up perfectly for Pienaar to run onto and stride over from inside his own half. Humphreys missed again with the conversion but Munster now had a mountain to climb after the complete turnaround of their first-half scrum dominance.

Chambers came on for the injured Gleeson and looked Munster's most dangerous player. Photo via M+MD.

Despite a period of sustained possession, Munster failed to create any semblance of a try-scoring opportunity. On the occasions they did find their way into Ulster territory, knock-ons meant they coughed up that possession. It was Ulster who continued to look the more threatening as they moved the ball wide at every opportunity. Humphreys extended their lead with a penalty from under the posts after David O’Callaghan had entered a ruck from the side.

With the clock running down, Munster did get a consolation try. Ulster looked to attack out of their 22 but Pienaar’s pass to substitute Peter Nelson was at the young fullback’s feet. The ball rebounded up for Johne Murphy to gather and stretch over. Keatley converted with the final score of the game.

In the end, a comfortable win for Ulster. Tony McGahan will be disappointed with some of the individual performances from his team. There weren’t many positives to be taken from this game, apart from the promising glimpses of talent from Luke O’Dea. McLaughlin will be delighted with the five points and relieved that his decision to rest players against Leinster was vindicated. Without the Irish internationals, this inter-provincial derby was always going to be devalued. Ulster dealt better with the losses and these five points mean they remain in the hunt for a play-off place.

ULSTER: 15 A D’Arcy (P Nelson, 71), 14 C Gilroy, 13 D Cave (C Farrell, 63), 12 I Whitten, 11 S Terblanche, 10 I Humphreys (P Marshall, 67), 9 R Pienaar, 1 P McAllister (C Black, 62), 2 A Kyriacou (N Brady, 55), 3 J Afoa (A Macklin, 71), 4 J Muller (capt.), 5 D Tuohy (L Stevenson, 62), 6  C Henry, 7 W Faloon (A Birch, 71), 8 P Wannenburg.

MUNSTER: 15 D Hurley, 14 L O’Dea, 13 T Gleeson (W Chambers, 27), 12 L Mafi (S Deasy, 63), 11 J Murphy, 10 I Keatley, 9 D Williams (T O’Leary, 62), 1 W du Preez (M Horan, 69), 2 D Varley (D Fogarty, 49), 3 S Archer, 4 I Nagle (B Holland, 73), 5 M O’Driscoll (capt.), 6 Dave O’Callaghan, 7 T O’Donnell (P Butler, 37), 8 J Coughlan.

Referee: A Rolland (IRFU).

 

Photos courtesy:  Ryk Neethling, M+MD, Fabio Beretta.

Heineken Cup Round-Up

Photo via Ben Sutherland

Ulster 31-10 Aironi

Friday 9th December @ Ravenhill

Ulster did exactly what was needed as they ran in five tries to secure five points against Aironi in Pool 4. Stephen Ferris, Adam D’Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Paul Marshall and Paddy Jackson scored the tries while Ian Humphreys added three conversions in another erratic kicking display. Ferris was Man of the Match again for Ulster. The Ireland flanker is in scintillating form at the moment with three tries in two matches.

Following this win, Ulster sit second in Pool 4. They will need another bonus point win next weekend when they travel to Italy for the return fixture with Aironi. While they did what was required at Ravenhill on Friday night, Ulster are aware that they will need to improve to get the five points at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella. Ulster are still well in contention in this pool and even if they don’t win the group they will be hopeful of going through to the quarter-finals as one of the best runners-up.

Here’s Pool 4 at the half-way stage:

Here’s footage of the Ulster tries, excluding the first from Ferris:

Connacht 10-14 Gloucester

Saturday 10th December @ The Sportsground

Connacht extended their losing streak to 9 games with this home loss to Gloucester in Pool 6. Read the full match report here. This game was certainly there for the taking for Eric Elwood’s side. Once again, errors at crucial times in the game cost Connacht as they came up short. An outstanding, inspirational display from ex-Ireland flanker John Muldoon was not matched by others.

Connacht travel to Gloucester next weekend for the return fixture and the fear now is that this run of losses will extend into double figures. It will take a mighty effort for the province to record what would be their first ever Heineken Cup win. Captain Gavin Duffy is aware of the scale of the challenge but remains hopeful that Connacht can end their losing streak.

Connacht are rock-bottom of Pool 6, and only Aironi have less points in the Heineken Cup after three matches. The potential to win games is there for Connacht. If they can start to take more of the chances they create and cut out just a portion of the errors they are making then a win will come.

Here’s a look at Pool 6 after three matches:

Scarlets 14-17 Munster

Saturday 10th December @ Parc y Scarlets

Munster secured their third win from three in Pool 1 with a hard-earned win away to the Scarlets. You can read the full match report here. This win leaves Munster sitting top of the pool and well-positioned to go on and claim a home quarter-final. The Scarlets come to Thomond Park in the return fixture next weekend.

Munster have home fixtures with the Scarlets and Castres and a visit to Northampton still to negotiate. It’s hard to see Munster losing in Thomond Park, and they are favourites to win the two home matches. The trip to Franklin Gardens will be a tough test, despite the fact that the Saints are now out of reckoning and and will presumably focus on the Aviva Premiership.

After the disappointment of failure to progress from the group stages in last year’s Heineken Cup, Munster look well-placed for a return to their traditional place in the knock-out stages of the tournament. The likes of O’Gara and O’Connell will make sure the squad take nothing for granted but will also be confident of topping the group.

Here’s how Pool 1 looks at the half-way stage:

Bath 13-18 Leinster 

Sunday 11th December @ The Rec

Jonathan Sexton’s accuracy from the tee was enough for Leinster to claim a valuable away win in Pool 3. The Irish province butchered a number of good try-scoring chances, but still came away from The Rec with a victory after Sexton kicked two late penalties to win the game. England international wing Matt Banahan scored the only try of the game for Bath. The home team enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half, but Leinster’s defence was solid.

Following yesterday’s game, Schmidt has urged his team to be more clinical in finishing the opportunities they create. Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien all made clean line breaks for Leinster but the defending champions failed to convert them into tries. Still, a win away from home in the Heineken Cup is a positive outcome, no matter how it is achieved.

Leinster are now top of the pool with two home games to come, as well as a trip to Glasgow. Joe Schmidt’s side should go on and top the group now for a home quarter-final. Glasgow look like Leinster’s biggest rivals for that top spot but the Scottish side still face trips to Montpellier and Bath. Once again, the senior members of Leinster’s squad will ensure complacency does no take root, but the Leinster squad is full of confidence and players in form.

Here’s how Pool 3 shapes up at the half-way point:

Here’s the highlights from the Leinster vs. Bath game:

Pool tables courtesy of ESPN Scrum.

Photo courtesy : Ben Sutherland