Babbling 'brook

And so, for the one or more expectant fathers, or mothers, patrolling the pages of Babbling, whilst trying to think of a name for their soon-to-arrive new offspring, here's the full list of different names from all corners of the Province, that were bestowed on newly-born males , approximately 17 ye...

The Bank of Ireland Tom D’Arcy (U18 1/2) Cup Semi-Finals were played on Saturday. BOYNE 29 ATHY 27 SCORERS: Boyne: L Harris 3 tries; S Gough, B Carolan try each; C McGinty 2 cons. Athy: H Casey-Gray, J Dooley, D Henry try each; D Farrell 2 pens, 3 cons. BOYNE: Mahon Hall; Lochlainn Harris, Byron Ca...

It has to be said that it's a great body of research and presentation by Murray. In the overall context of Irish rugby, it's an unusual way to outline a major policy position. Perhaps it is the sort of article that Edmond Von Esbeck wrote at the beginning of the professional era when the Union had n...

Reviewing LAR selections this season in games against high profile French opponents, it becomes clear that, with no disrespect to their highest profile players, flanker Cancourlet is the key cog in their back row. Botia & Aldritt probably are the other two players most often selected for the big...

I think we might see something like: Keenan, Larmour, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, Ross, JGP, Doris, VdF, Baird, JJ, Joe Mc, Furlong, Sheehan, Porter Milne, Kelleher, Mike, Molony, Conan, Luke, Frawley, Connors Big test for Osborne, front five need to be massively physical and we need to use the bench e...

Only saw the second half but Irish Women did very well against England during that 45 mins. A couple of real goal chances and England had to work hard. But we're gaining confidence in our ability and the energy in the team is huge.

Well done and keep at it.

by Flash Gordon The global tournament is a revenue play clearly and the south probably needs it now the saffers have thrown in their lot with us. From a fan appeal point of view it's hard to see how supporters will get more excited about us playing the Melbourne Rebels (who most Irish fans will nev...

Thats a pretty incendiary appointment considering that Dickson was one of the officials abused by Jonny after a match between these teams last year. Not only was JS banned but Leinster were fined €7,500 over the affair. This appointment puts Dickson in a pretty invidious position and piles totally ...

Looking at the outcomes and body language on Saturday evening and reviewing both since, that performance had all the hallmarks of a week of low, or no, emotional preparation what so ever. That may have been a gamble, but with the second-half against Bulls in the recent memory bank, they would have ...

ronk wrote: ↑April 7th, 2024, 1:48 pm Friday night would have been good.

Agreed, but doesn't suit country cousins with kids, due to drive time to / from AVIVA.

On Friday week last, we scored 45 points against the Bulls and conceded 14. Last Saturday, the Bulls scored 59 against Lyon, conceding 19. On 17th February 2024, Lyon beat LAR by 28-18, conceding no points in the second half, having been behind by 10-18 at half time. Part of the story as how the Boo...

I know people said it last year too, but this year the support has to be as loud as we can make it. There won't be the same sort of sh!t that comes with a European Final, every Leinster fan who wants to be there will be there. That's how you turn home advantage into something tangible - make noise....

Praying we get Luke pearse to ref this one +1 Other than the Georgian, he looks the most likely to take no s$it from LAR players at every breakdown. LAR threw a high percentage on Dillane on Saturday and almost all the others to their No 6 / 20. Aldritt got only two 8n the game. Would Leo keep Molo...

Bigdickenergy wrote: ↑April 7th, 2024, 8:21 pm Paddy power have Leinster 3/1 odds on. That’s madness.

Not really, if you carefully analyse their performance for 65 minutes of Saturday's game against Stormers.

Looking at the outcomes and body language on Saturday evening and reviewing both since, that performance had all the hallmarks of a week of low, or no, emotional preparation what so ever. That may have been a gamble, but with the second-half against Bulls in the recent memory bank, they would have h...

We need a massive improvement to have any real chance. In a weird way, it's the opposite of the last three years, when Leinster came in as strong favourites vs. La Rochelle, looked imperious for months, and then got sucker-punched. Obviously it doesn't work like this, but you'd hope the lack of 100...

Superb second-half by Connacht and excellent timing of substitutions by Wilkins. Hanrahan was excellent from his arrival and Blade showed his skills and overall management. Bundee scored his try very well but they should have gone wider earlier. Tough opponents and an excellent win on a Sunday after...

Penalty to Leinster late in the game and Harry tries a banana kick because he is on the right hand sideline. Surely Osbourne or Lowe would be a better kicker in that situation with their left foot? I didn't think either Byrne played great,Harry may well get the nod next week. Sent from my CPH2145 u...

The schedule for this competition is absolutely bonkers, not only do we have less than a week to sell tickets, La Rochelle have to travel back from SA to Dublin to play the QF. They really need to find a way to get these last 16 games done before the 6 nations. Just drop them. They are an amoral in...

I suspect that a lot of Leinster players will, tomorrow morning, relish the opportunity of facing them again in Aviva. But for now, they've got a job to do to give themselves that opportunity.