While last weekends Heineken Cup action wasn’t as exciting as the previous, Munster once again stole a game at the death through another brilliant Ronan O' Gara drop goal to get 4 vital points from their trip to the south of France. With Northampton having suffered a surprise defeat to the Scarlet’s at Franklins Gardens, the winner of this group will be determined by the home and away legs between Munster and the Welsh side in December. Castre made the strange decision to move the Munster game from their home stadium to Toulouse’s, which can hold a larger crowd. They were obviously hoping to cash in on the famous Munster travelling support with Toulouse an easier place to fly in and out of. However while there was a decent travelling support given the current economic climate and the proximity of Christmas there was only a crowd of 11,000 and the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as hostile as it would have been in Castre. Castre also made some strange selections and its questionable whether it was their first choice side out.
Munster are a team in transition and its interesting to note that of the team that started the Heineken Cup final in 2008 that Munster won only 5 started against Castre. However they are now two from two and if they can get out of their group no team will want to get them in the draw for the quarter finals. They made plenty of mistakes on Saturday but the pride passion and honesty of effort was there for all to see. They have two World Class players in Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara and the process of rebuilding the team has begun with Conor Murray, Peter O Mahoney and Danny Barnes injecting youth. Niall Ronan had his best game ever in the Heineken Cup and their summer signings BJ Botha and Will Chambers have strengthened them. Chambers was only signed on a short-term deal but he looks to be very creative and could be a coup.
Leinster were very impressive at the RDS against Glasgow and had the bonus point in the bag by half time. Eoin O’ Malley showed his talent by scoring two tries and the strength in depth that Leinster have in the center position is frightening. While Glasgow took a 3 point lead with an early penalty Leinster got the first try after only 3 minutes when Isa Nacewa fielded a brilliant cross field kick from Johnny Sexton and just before he was tackled into touch he threw a
Wonderful one handed offload into Rob Kearney who touched down. While Glasgow battled hard in the second half Leinster never looked like they would be caught and they finished the game with a fifth try when replacement Isaac Boss scored at the death. The biggest positive for Leinster apart from the 5 points was the performances of official man of the match Jamie Heaslip and Luke Fitzgerald who were both superb. Leinster are now in control of the group and have a double header with Aviva Premiership side Bath to look forward to in December.
Both Connacht and Ulster failed to get anything from their matches at the weekend and I think that Ulster coach Brian McLoughlin will have more regrets than Eric Elwood. It was a special night to be in the Sportsground on Saturday where over 9000 people attended. That was a record crowd for a rugby match in the west of Ireland and they did everything in their power to lift their side. Toulouse showed Connacht real respect by selecting the side that they did and also the way they approached the game. They were so clinical and took the points that were on offer at all times whether that was through a penalty or drop goal. If Connacht were to have caused an upset they really would have needed to get a lead early and rattle Toulouse but it wasn’t to be. Entry to the Heineken Cup is brilliant for Connacht but they will need to learn fast if they are going to get some points on board.The focus returns to the Rabo Direct Pro 12 league for all 4 Irish Provinces this weekend, which will give some fringe players a chance to stake a claim. The Irish Management will be keen to look at all the options likely to be available to them when the first National squad is announced in the New Year. I expect Glasgow to really come out full of fire against Ulster following their tepid performance against Leinster and with Ulster being forced to rest Stephen Ferris, Rory Best and Paddy Wallace the Scottish side should prevail. The Scarlets will beat the Dragons at home. Connacht will now focus on the Rabo Direct after 2 exciting weeks in Europe. Its important for them to get points at home in the Rabo Direct if they are to qualify for the Heineken Cup next year. The Ospreys are a good side and it will be difficult for Eric Elwoods team to get the win. Leinster travel to Treviso and they should have too much talent for the Italians who are always tough at Home. I expect Munster to beat Edinburgh at Thomondpark although Michael Bradleys side will be confident after their great comeback against Racing Metro last weekend
