Irish Provinces Review After Week Nine of Guinness Pro 12
Week Nine of the Guinness Pro 12 took place last weekend and there were wins for Munster against Ulster, Leinster beat the Ospreys and Connacht the Scarlets. Here is the review for the Irish Provinces after Week Nine.
Munster & Ulster:
This derby game was a game of two halves with Ulster on top in the first half while Munster dominated the second. Ian Humphreys late conversion miss saw Munster win a game they should have put away before the final ten minutes.
Munster rode their luck to eventually win this game and Anthony Foley will takes these type of wins all day long. A win is a win, end of story. Tries from Robin Copeland and Duncan Williams helped the home side get their win. Gerhard Van Den Heever also had a superb game on the wing.
One worry for Munster ahead of their return to Champions Cup action this weekend is the form of Ian Keatley. The number 10 has had a disastrous last few games from placed kicks and this is becoming a major concern. Many of the Thomond Park faithful believe that JJ Hanrahan is a better option at this stage. Keatley however, has full backing of his head coach.
Munster welcome French superstars Clermont Auvergne to Thomond Park this weekend in what is sure to be a cracker of a contest. Foley’s men know they are going to have to play at their very best to win this game. Conor Murray, Robin Copeland, Andrew Smith and Pat Howard are all injury doubts.
From Ulster’s perspective, this result will be a bitter pill to swallow. They bossed the majority of the first half until Copeland’s try with Ian Humphreys putting in a flawless goal kicking display until his very last kick.
Humphreys’ miss was awful. A kick he would easily slot over twenty times in a row but the pressure got to him and this could be an indication as to why he never made it past the “A” level in International rugby. One major positive for Ulster was the performance of Stuart McCloskey. The inside centre is a beast with ball in hand and has a massive future for province and country.
Ulster will hope to get their first win in the Champions Cup when they welcome the Scarlets to the Kingspan stadium this weekend. It is a must win game for Neil Doak’s team who need a bonus point victory to keep their slim chances of progressing past the pool stages alive.
Leinster:
Leinster came out on top against the Ospreys on a scoreline of 18-12 in the RDS last weekend. This took their winning record to 18 matches at the RDS venue. In a tight, tense game, three penalties each from Ian Madigan and Jimmy Gopperth were enough to see off a plucky, under strength Ospreys outfit.
Madigan came off injured in the game but has been declared fit for this weekend’s Champions Cup game against Harlequins. Jack Conan was the star of the show against the Ospreys and is pushing for more of an inclusion in Leinster’s bigger game.
Leinster visit the Twickenham Stoop to take on a misfiring Quins side and know if they play to their best they have every chance of coming away with a win. Key to this will be Rob Kearney. He is in the form of his life and was superb for Ireland in the Autumn Internationals.
Connacht:
Connacht’s impressive form continued with a hard fought win over the Scarlets. Pat Lam’s side won on the back of Matt Healy’s stunning try. Young out half Jack Carty supplemented Healy’s try with nine points from placed kicks.
The win sees Connacht consolidate sixth place ahead of the Scarlets. Bundee Aki was named man of the match and this was completely justified as he put in an encapsulating performance. Aki was coveted by many teams and Connacht did very well to secure his services.
Connacht return to Challenge Cup action this weekend and welcome French side Bayonne to the Sportsground. Both sides have won one of their two games but Connacht should get the win on home soil.
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