Weekend Rugby and a bit of humble pie as Munster triumph

Get well soon Pauley http://bbc.in/hU0l0s

Mmmm, nothing like cold humble pie, eaten the day after! Leinster travelled across to Limerick, looking to extend their 5 match unbeaten run against their old nemesis, Munster. It goes without saying that the atmosphere was electric, a sell out crowd, flags, banners, a sea of red broken by three thousand brave blue patches who made the trip to support Leinster. And it was a classic of it’s kind, hard and uncompromising with the intensity of an international. The only blight on the match was Paul O’Connells injury.The teams matched each other penalty for penalty at the start of the first half, and Leinster were in the ascendancy by the end of the first half, with a good set move try and a Munster man in the bin.

I don’t know what was said in the changing room at half time, but safe to say the only blue thing in the Munster changing room was the air, and several passing sailors were seen blushing. The Munstermen girded their loins, dug deep, and came roaring back in the second half, blowing Leinster away in a stunning come back. Does this mean that after 5 attempts the Munstermen can finally claim the ladyboy title from Leinster?

For Leinster, Nacewa was in irrepressible form, Strauss was never found wanting, Ross was solid as a rock, Sexton coolly kicked his kicks, and Hines was everywhere. For Munster, their loose trio looked livelier than Leinster’s, it was a victory born and made up front, sealed by the boot of Ronan O’Gara.

What does this mean for the provinces? Leinster need to remember they have to do the hard work first before they can play their razzmatazz rugby, and there’s a time and a place for that as well. There’s also a time to pin the other team back in the corner when you’re trying to defend a slender lead. For Munster, their heart is never in doubt, they need to deliver their second half intensity for the whole match, and somewhere along the way they need to sign some centres who can create the gaps to score some tries.


At Ravenhill, Ian Humphries scored two good tries for Ulster, as the Ulstermen further extended their winning streak. They are still playing loose and fancy free though, and I don’t think that Northampton will be losing any sleep over anything they’ve seen in the last few weeks. Connacht scored a four point bonus win over Edinburgh in their fetching grey strip (not), bringing them up to a very respectable 7th in the table.Exiles


Exiles

Oh yeah! Exiles continue their winning streak with a 25 – 12 win over Wasps. It was the Tom Homer show as he kicked 5 penalties to see Irish home. That takes them up to 5th and keeps them in with a shout of the play offs.

Shark Bite

The force has deserted the Sharks for the moment as they were battered by the Stormers at home this week. That’s three losses on the trot now, and a lot of the early season optimism is beginning to fade. They really need to get Lambie back, he seems to be their talisman. In Springbok terms, at least the Bulls have woken up, and the Stormers are the top team.

Magners League
 Sunday April 3

Dragons 33 – Treviso 10

Saturday , April 2

Aironi Rugby 16 - 17 Glasgow

Ospreys 21 - 21 Cardiff Blues

Munster 24 - 23 Leinster

Friday , April 1

Ulster 20 - 18 Scarlets

Connacht 27 - 23 Edinburgh

Aviva Premiership

Sunday , April 3

London Wasps 12 - London Irish 25

Leeds Carnegie 27 - 22 Exeter

Saracens 20 - 9 Bath

Saturday , April 2

Northampton 53 - 24 Sale

Gloucester 34 - 9 Newcastle

Harlequins 13 - 17 Leicester Super Rugby

Saturday , April 2

Blues 29 - 22 Cheetahs

Hurricanes 14 - 26 Bulls

Western Force 25 - 26 Melbourne Rebels

Sharks 6 - 16 Stormers

Lions 25 - 30 Reds

Friday , April 1

Highlanders 26 - 20 Brumbies

Waratahs 23 - 16 Chiefs