Pro 14 Final vs Munster, March 27th. 5pm. @ The RDS.

[bluemagic]

For those commenting on Josh Murphy he, like Penny, is injured, Leinster just haven’t announced it yet

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Just a thought, I wonder who Nick McCarthy is supporting?

Munster will really put a lot of pressure on our halfbacks. If we're not on the front foot then Luke's passing and Ross' tendency to stay deep could be problematic. Beirne will put a lot of pressure on Luke's kicking too, hopefully Luke will show people why he should have been in the Ireland squad rather than illustrate why he wasn't. Two incredible subs for us to bring on anyway.

[riocard911]

F*ck that.

Talk about being taken out of context! "Drat! And double drat!!!"

Even if it had been one sentence in an epic the length of War and Peace I would have pulled you up on that.

LOL!!! I stand corrected! Jawohl! (klicks his heels together).

Seriously though, I'd hate our rivalry with the Southern cousins to descend into Old Firm b*%&!x! I love us putting one over on Munster, but I like beating the likes of Saracens, Toulouse, Toulon, Clermont even more. Whenever Leinster get knocked out of the Heino I want one of the provinces to win it, - bragging rights or not.

The one and only time I was down in Thomond Park a teenage Munster fan sitting beside me in the stand at half time shared some of his toffees with me. I have a look in to the Red Army forum occasionally and most of the references to Leinster and our players are balanced. Sure they're envious, but they're able to acknowledge what our lot have gotten right and look to emulate it.

I don't find it easy to be cheering the likes of Earlsy, Murray etc. for Ireland one week and be supposed to "hate" them the next. I don't want to hate any of them, if the truth be told, even if some of them can be a tad annoying - particularly Conway, Mr. Angry Face, James Cronin and the prodigal son, Zeebs.

I had an interesting moment, after we lost the Magner's to Munster down there in 2011. I was watching the post-match on de telly, feeling more than a little deflated. The Munster lads were getting ready for the trophy presentation when RO'G - who at the time I couldn't stand cos of the whole number 10 mess at Ireland with Kidney - ran over to the side of the pitch and then returned pushing a wheelchair with one of the Munster coaching staff, who had some debilitating disease and would die shortly afterwards, in it. Watching O'Gara and the trouble he went to make his unfortunate friend feel an integral part of the whole celebration, putting him in the front row and carefully position his wheelchair for the group photo, all I could feel was admiration.

For sure I want the BIB to absolutely smadder the turnips tomorrow. I'm confident, that we have enough fire power to overcome whatever they throw at us. If they get the luck of the green however and manage to win, I won't be tearing my hair out. In contrast however, should we lose to Toulon, Exeter or any other team in the course of this season's "drive for five" I will be!!!!

[Twist]

Plenty of things to be concerned about here.

Firstly, I'm disappointed for Bent to miss out after all his work recently. Also for Penny. I'm sure its injury in his case which is not good news for the Toulon game either.

I share the concerns about our second row lacking dynamism. Jean Kleyn has been in quietly excellent form of late, and obviously so has Tadhg Beirne. I don't think we've anything like the jackal threat they do. Unlike most of the internationals, POM will be nicely rested after his Spring Break.

Ordinarily I'd have Lowe ahead of Larmour, so I wonder if JL hasn't shown up well in training since his Ireland experience. Expect Conor Murray to pepper Larmour with high balls. Leinster's Joey Carbery has had more time to work with his backline than Leinster's Ross Byrne, so they have an advantage there too.

I think ultimately we might pay the price for having so many internationals away with Ireland up until this week.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Plenty of things to be concerned about here.

Firstly, I'm disappointed for Bent to miss out after all his work recently. Also for Penny. I'm sure its injury in his case which is not good news for the Toulon game either.

I share the concerns about our second row lacking dynamism. Jean Kleyn has been in quietly excellent form of late, and obviously so has Tadhg Beirne. I don't think we've anything like the jackal threat they do. Unlike most of the internationals, POM will be nicely rested after his Spring Break.

Ordinarily I'd have Lowe ahead of Larmour, so I wonder if JL hasn't shown up well in training since his Ireland experience. Expect Conor Murray to pepper Larmour with high balls. Leinster's Joey Carbery has had more time to work with his backline than Leinster's Ross Byrne, so they have an advantage there too.

I think ultimately we might pay the price for having so many internationals away with Ireland up until this week.

Agree on Kleyn. He hasn't been amazing but his nuts and bolts have been solid and he cut out the handling errors and improved his discipline. I've seen him be very lucky with some dodgy clearouts but you could say that about loads of players. There's a lot of solid beef in that pack that'll be hard to shift.

[mildlyinterested]

For those commenting on Josh Murphy he, like Penny, is injured, Leinster just haven’t announced it yet

broken nose, I heard.

[leinsterforever]

I'd prefer it if the game was in Lansdowne Rd. I think Munster are scared of the big open spaces. They'll try to keep it low-scoring by turning it into a physical arm wrestle. In addition to kicking all his goals they'll be hoping Carbery can come up with a bit of magic to create the only try of the game if their maul and tryline pick and go game doesn't yield results.

I think scrum and maul could be very important. They'll be looking to keep it in and win penalties in every scrum. With Rowntree there the third Lions test in 2013 will probably be their blueprint. It's critically important that Leinster's scrum holds rock solid. I think a powerful maul was conspicuously lacking from Leinster's arsenal in the game down in Thomond in January. Having that up their sleeve would have made things a lot easier. Maul defence will obviously be vital too.

It's interesting to think how Munster lost heavily in the finals of 2015 and 2017 to teams playing glorious running rugby. I'm not sure Leinster are in a place to replicate that at the moment. The attack hasn't really been firing all that well. It's more likely to be about beating Munster at their own game of maul and tryline sieges, or at leart matching them physically and coming up with a few moments of class to get away on the scoreboard.

Could be a nervy game. Munster have to win a ko game against Leinster sometime. This is Munster's golden opportunity, tbh - no semi-finals to negotiate and a Leinster team having to re-integrate a greater number of internationals and without a home crowd. It's only going to get harder for Munster to win trophies after this with the SA teams joining the league. I'd be delighted and relieved if they're seen off. I just hope there are no red cards (for Leinster at any rate). And hopefully there won't be any wacky interventions from Neville. She's a bit unpredictable.

What one is the pitch dimensions between Lansdowne and RDS ? Is there a significant difference ?

Can't find RDS dimensions. It's probably more mental than anything. Large stands and more grass space around the playing area makes it seem bigger and help create a state of mind that it's possible to play more expansively. Aussie league players are used to being able to jump over the sidelines to bat balls back in and stuff. But there were some cases of injuries when players tried the same thing in more enclosed English grounds.

[leinster23]

Was a bit wrong about the team but happy enough to be. That's a strong side that should have enough about to hopefully see off Munster.

[mildlyinterested]

BOD

"Leinster will fight to the end, irrespective of what you might look on paper to be a slightly superior Munster team..."

[outcast eddie]

Munster: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Keith Earls; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; James Cronin, Niall Scannell, John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Gavin Coombes, Peter O’Mahony (C), CJ Stander.

Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Jack O’Donoghue, Craig Casey, JJ Hanrahan, Rory Scannell.

I'm surprised to see Kilcoyne there. Didn't think it would be permissible, to be honest.

Not just on the teamsheet but benching, which suggests he isn't in tip top shape and perhaps feeling the effects.

[Keith]

Talk about being taken out of context! "Drat! And double drat!!!"

Even if it had been one sentence in an epic the length of War and Peace I would have pulled you up on that.

LOL!!! I stand corrected! Jawohl! (klicks his heels together).

Seriously though, I'd hate our rivalry with the Southern cousins to descend into Old Firm b*%&!x! I love us putting one over on Munster, but I like beating the likes of Saracens, Toulouse, Toulon, Clermont even more. Whenever Leinster get knocked out of the Heino I want one of the provinces to win it, - bragging rights or not.

The one and only time I was down in Thomond Park a teenage Munster fan sitting beside me in the stand at half time shared some of his toffees with me. I have a look in to the Red Army forum occasionally and most of the references to Leinster and our players are balanced. Sure they're envious, but they're able to acknowledge what our lot have gotten right and look to emulate it.

I don't find it easy to be cheering the likes of Earlsy, Murray etc. for Ireland one week and be supposed to "hate" them the next. I don't want to hate any of them, if the truth be told, even if some of them can be a tad annoying - particularly Conway, Mr. Angry Face, James Cronin and the prodigal son, Zeebs.

I had an interesting moment, after we lost the Magner's to Munster down there in 2011. I was watching the post-match on de telly, feeling more than a little deflated. The Munster lads were getting ready for the trophy presentation when RO'G - who at the time I couldn't stand cos of the whole number 10 mess at Ireland with Kidney - ran over to the side of the pitch and then returned pushing a wheelchair with one of the Munster coaching staff, who had some debilitating disease and would die shortly afterwards, in it. Watching O'Gara and the trouble he went to make his unfortunate friend feel an integral part of the whole celebration, putting him in the front row and carefully position his wheelchair for the group photo, all I could feel was admiration.

For sure I want the BIB to absolutely smadder the turnips tomorrow. I'm confident, that we have enough fire power to overcome whatever they throw at us. If they get the luck of the green however and manage to win, I won't be tearing my hair out. In contrast however, should we lose to Toulon, Exeter or any other team in the course of this season's "drive for five" I will be!!!!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a healthy rivalry, like this one. In fact it's a good thing as it adds to the value of the fixture leading to more people watching. I would hate to see the rivalry diluted further (it was more intense in the early 00s imo) and become like the super rugby derbies. Its why I get worked up when players are "encouraged" to move to the other provinces by the IRFU.

FWIW I couldn't give a damn how Munster do in the league, if anything I'll root for whoever they're playing, but I'll cheer them on in Europe.

[Keith]

BOD

"Leinster will fight to the end, irrespective of what you might look on paper to be a slightly superior Munster team..."

I perusme he said this before the teams were announced?

[mildlyinterested]

BOD

"Leinster will fight to the end, irrespective of what you might look on paper to be a slightly superior Munster team..."

I perusme he said this before the teams were announced?

No

[CiaranIrl]

A lot of doubt followed Toner & Fardy being named to start away against Ulster a few weeks ago, and they each had super games. They might not be as consistent in their performances week in, week out, but they can absolutely rise to the occasion of big games like this. Right call in my opinion.

[mildlyinterested]

A lot of doubt followed Toner & Fardy being named to start away against Ulster a few weeks ago, and they each had super games. They might not be as consistent in their performances week in, week out, but they can absolutely rise to the occasion of big games like this. Right call in my opinion.

if they struggle we can replace them with Molony/Baird.

In fact i'd aim to keep the backrow on for 80 regardless.

[Keith]

BOD

"Leinster will fight to the end, irrespective of what you might look on paper to be a slightly superior Munster team..."

I perusme he said this before the teams were announced?

No

Strange comment so. He must be watching too much premiership rugby.

[mildlyinterested]

I perusme he said this before the teams were announced?

No

Strange comment so. He must be watching too much premiership rugby.

he really doesn't rate ross byrne so.

[wixfjord]

I really want to see Ross M in early. He always plays well against Munster and is having a cracking year.

[wixfjord]

It's often such a f%~king stupid, meaningless cliche, but the first 20 minutes of this game are ABSOLUTELY vital.

Munster will be absolutely pumped, our guys will take a bit longer to get into their patterns, and Munster will want to be ahead by the time our bench arrives.

If we limit errors and Luke/Ross can manage that and bring us into the game, it'll go a long way to winning this imo.

[Twist]

Munster: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Keith Earls; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; James Cronin, Niall Scannell, John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne; Gavin Coombes, Peter O’Mahony (C), CJ Stander.

Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, Dave Kilcoyne, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Jack O’Donoghue, Craig Casey, JJ Hanrahan, Rory Scannell.

I'm surprised to see Kilcoyne there. Didn't think it would be permissible, to be honest.

Not just on the teamsheet but benching, which suggests he isn't in tip top shape and perhaps feeling the effects.

Yeah, it's the worst of both worlds.