Montpellier v Leinster Friday 17th 8pm

[wixfjord]

Toughest game of the pool stage by a distance. This should give us a good indication of where we're at this season.

Side I'd go for injury pending:

Porter, Kelleher, Tadhg, Moloney, Ryan, Ruddock, VDF, Doris, JGP, Sexton, Lowe, Henshaw, Ringer, Larmour, Keenan
Sheehan, Healy, Mike, Baird, Conan, McGrath, Ross, TOB

Ryan and Sexton back for this would be vital, particularly Ryan imo. If he doesn't make it, I'd nearly start Dev as the game will likely be slow and we may need the guaranteed lineout and scrum ballast.

If Sexton is out Ross starts.

Hopefully Robbie is available also.

A bit of a left field selection would be to go with Luke for this. He hasn't been playing well at all and on form doesn't deserve it, but the style of game we might want to play may warrant his selection (with a kick in the arse).

[Ruckedtobits]

Montpellier won't look anything like the outfit that represented them in Sandy Park yesterday and they certainly won't play anything like they did against Exeter.

Certainly this is not the Montpellier of the past five seasons dominated by a significant South African presence and very familiar to Leinster. Over the summer, they unloaded players like the Du Plessis brothers, Goosen, Immelmann, Picamoles, Guillemot and Chilachava but they imported a replacement troop that have served them well thus far in climbing to third in the Top14.

Young Italian out-half Paulo Garbisi, La Rochelle's Geoffrey Doumayrou, the Bath pair Zack Mercer and Henry Thomas, Aussie hooker Paenga-Amosa, not to mention Karl Martin a Leinster sub-Academy Centre developed in Boyne, join a cast that DoR Phillippe Saint-Andre believes can claim the Brennus at season's end. Alongside Saint-Andre in the coaching group are forwards coach Olivier Azam, backs coach Bruce Reihana and breakdown expert Alex Ruiz.

They oversee a very experienced Squad including former French captain Guirado, props Hamadache, Lamositele and Nariashvili, second-rows Paul Willemse and Chalareau and, above all other forwards, back-rows Yacoube Camara and Ouedrago who utterly dominate their pack performances. Reihana has such players available as half-backs Reinach & Pollard alongside Garbisi and centres like Serfontaine, Vincent and Doumayrou with wingers Rattez and Dakuwaqa alongside full-back Anthony Bouthier.

The GGL Stadium is such a feared venue that few Top14 teams select a full-strength team when they visit, considering it a week to rotate their Squad rather than putting them through the grinder with little prospect of extracting a win. Regardless of their defeat in Exeter, Montpellier will field a strong tough team to defend their home reputation next Friday night and Leinster can expect a very extreme examination, particularly up-front. A display of fast ball from every breakdown coupled with precision in passing and support will be essential if Leinster are to return with a full hand of points.

[riocard911]

Montpellier won't look anything like the outfit that represented them in Sandy Park yesterday and they certainly won't play anything like they did against Exeter.

Certainly this is not the Montpellier of the past five seasons dominated by a significant South African presence and very familiar to Leinster. Over the summer, they unloaded players like the Du Plessis brothers, Goosen, Immelmann, Picamoles, Guillemot and Chilachava but they imported a replacement troop that have served them well thus far in climbing to third in the Top14.

Young Italian out-half Paulo Garbisi, La Rochelle's Geoffrey Doumayrou, the Bath pair Zack Mercer and Henry Thomas, Aussie hooker Paenga-Amosa, not to mention Karl Martin a Leinster sub-Academy Centre developed in Boyne, join a cast that DoR Phillippe Saint-Andre believes can claim the Brennus at season's end. Alongside Saint-Andre in the coaching group are forwards coach Olivier Azam, backs coach Bruce Reihana and breakdown expert Alex Ruiz.

They oversee a very experienced Squad including former French captain Guirado, props Hamadache, Lamositele and Nariashvili, second-rows Paul Willemse and Chalareau and, above all other forwards, back-rows Yacoube Camara and Ouedrago who utterly dominate their pack performances. Reihana has such players available as half-backs Reinach & Pollard alongside Garbisi and centres like Serfontaine, Vincent and Doumayrou with wingers Rattez and Dakuwaqa alongside full-back Anthony Bouthier.

The GGL Stadium is such a feared venue that few Top14 teams select a full-strength team when they visit, considering it a week to rotate their Squad rather than putting them through the grinder with little prospect of extracting a win. Regardless of their defeat in Exeter, Montpellier will field a strong tough team to defend their home reputation next Friday night and Leinster can expect a very extreme examination, particularly up-front. A display of fast ball from every breakdown coupled with precision in passing and support will be essential if Leinster are to return with a full hand of points.

Great post. Thx for all the info!

[hugonaut]

Toughest game of the pool stage by a distance. This should give us a good indication of where we're at this season.

Side I'd go for injury pending:

Porter, Kelleher, Tadhg, Moloney, Ryan, Ruddock, VDF, Doris, JGP, Sexton, Lowe, Henshaw, Ringer, Larmour, Keenan
Sheehan, Healy, Mike, Baird, Conan, McGrath, Ross, TOB

Ryan and Sexton back for this would be vital, particularly Ryan imo. If he doesn't make it, I'd nearly start SPICER as the game will likely be slow and we may need the guaranteed lineout and scrum ballast.

If Sexton is out Ross starts.

Hopefully Robbie is available also.

A bit of a left field selection would be to go with Luke for this. He hasn't been playing well at all and on form doesn't deserve it, but the style of game we might want to play may warrant his selection (with a kick in the arse).

Fixed that for you Wixfjord.

And no, the joke isn't getting old ... not for me!

[riocard911]

Where is Jack Dunne in the second row debate? I remember him having nearly a MOTM performance in the Leinster defeat at home to Glasgow at the end of the regular Pro 14 season in April 2019. Since then the most memorable thing he's done is getting decked by Stan Wright at the ten year 2009 reunion/celebratory bash. What the **** is going on?

[Blue Man]

I really hope Montpellier take this match seriously and we see a good, competitive rugby match. It’ll be interesting to see if Leinster can up their performance, cut out the errors and really go hard for 80 minutes.
I like Wixfjord’s team although Conan may come in and I’d have Frawley on the bench. Can’t wait until Friday

[curates_egg]

Ruddock hobbled off, so I wonder if he’s available.

Not sure what the logic of selecting Luke would be, even if this year’s Montpellier is more mobile than in the past.

It’s definitely a tough place to go.
It’s ten years since our epic draw in our first visit there.
I was fortunate enough to be in the stadium and I will never forget the atmosphere. It’s always good in the south of France but there was a real edge there, and the stadium itself is intimidating.

[Degz]

Ruddock hobbled off, so I wonder if it he’s available.

Not sure what the logic of selecting Luke would be, even if this year’s Montpellier is more mobile than in the past.

It’s definitely a tough place to go.
It’s ten years since our epic draw in our first visit there.
I was fortunate enough to be in the stadium and I will never forget the atmosphere. It’s always good in the south of France but there was a real edge there, and the stadium itself is intimidating.

That was a great atmosphere, Johnny had balls of steel to kick the penalty to nick the draw in the last minute.

Only time I've felt properly intimidated in a ground, not the faux intimidation served up in Rodney Parade, real actual spite.

[Oldschool]

Ruddock hobbled off, so I wonder if it he’s available.

Not sure what the logic of selecting Luke would be, even if this year’s Montpellier is more mobile than in the past.

It’s definitely a tough place to go.
It’s ten years since our epic draw in our first visit there.
I was fortunate enough to be in the stadium and I will never forget the atmosphere. It’s always good in the south of France but there was a real edge there, and the stadium itself is intimidating.

That was a great atmosphere, Johnny had balls of steel to kick the penalty to nick the draw in the last minute.

Only time I've felt properly intimidated in a ground, not the faux intimidation served up in Rodney Parade, real actual spite.

Not to mention the high vis black mariahs outside the stadium. That really set the tone.
When Sexton kicked the equaliser my son gave the french (who deserved it) crowd the two fingers.
Jaysus but I was glad we were segregated.

[Degz]

Yeah I remember we were all up in the heavens and there was a metro down through a fairly insalubrious part of town to the ground. Then there were some throat slitting gestures from down below after the equalizer.

Good crack in Fitzpatrick's that night after though.

[LeinsterLeader]

This doesn't sound good. Hope I'm just being a nervous Nelly

Given the positive Covid-19 cases in Leinster Rugby ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup game against Bath Rugby, Leinster Rugby will undergo another full round of antigen and PCR testing at its UCD base today.

As a further precaution, until all results are confirmed, today’s training in UCD has been postponed until tomorrow.

The IRFU and EPCR have been consulted in advance of this decision which has been taken in the best interests of Leinster Rugby players and staff.

[riocard911]

This doesn't sound good. Hope I'm just being a nervous Nelly

Given the positive Covid-19 cases in Leinster Rugby ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup game against Bath Rugby, Leinster Rugby will undergo another full round of antigen and PCR testing at its UCD base today.

As a further precaution, until all results are confirmed, today’s training in UCD has been postponed until tomorrow.

The IRFU and EPCR have been consulted in advance of this decision which has been taken in the best interests of Leinster Rugby players and staff.

When Leinster rugby reported "three senior players" had been tested positive, the first thing that popped into my head was the Instagram photos from Rob Kearney's wedding bash in Doonbeg. That thought occur to anyone else?

[JohnB]

Yeah I remember we were all up in the heavens and there was a metro down through a fairly insalubrious part of town to the ground. Then there were some throat slitting gestures from down below after the equalizer.

Good crack in Fitzpatrick's that night after though.

We had fun in The H Bar after the match chatting with François Trinh-Duc and a few of their other players. They were a pleasant bunch though I can't say the same for their supporters. I recall at the final whistle two old geezers turned around to me and a friend and started screaming, 'Voleur' and 'Batards' at us. It was very strange!

[Dave Cahill]

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ ... 45368.html

Meanwhile, Montpellier have also been rocked by a Covid outbreak, as four members of their wider squad have tested positive.

Two staff members tested positive last Friday ahead of the French side's defeat to Exeter, while since returning from England, a further two players have also tested positive.

Like Leinster, today's training session was postponed, with everyone tested before being sent home to isolate. Montpellier are due to return to training tomorrow, subject to negative test results.

In order not to compromise the preparation for the trip to Biarritz on December 27, the players who did not make the trip to Exeter will train separately.

It remains to be seen what impact both sides' disruptions will have on Friday night's clash, with any cancellation resulting in a 28-0 win for the team deemed not responsible for the outbreak.

[Serb]

What happens if both teams independently have an outbreak? Feels like we would win the game of chicken since we probably have a deeper squad and can claim we can field a team.

[LeinsterLeader]

https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ ... 45368.html

Meanwhile, Montpellier have also been rocked by a Covid outbreak, as four members of their wider squad have tested positive.

Two staff members tested positive last Friday ahead of the French side's defeat to Exeter, while since returning from England, a further two players have also tested positive.

Like Leinster, today's training session was postponed, with everyone tested before being sent home to isolate. Montpellier are due to return to training tomorrow, subject to negative test results.

In order not to compromise the preparation for the trip to Biarritz on December 27, the players who did not make the trip to Exeter will train separately.

It remains to be seen what impact both sides' disruptions will have on Friday night's clash, with any cancellation resulting in a 28-0 win for the team deemed not responsible for the outbreak.

I think COVID will be the new Favorites to win the whole thing

[LeinsterLeader]

What happens if both teams independently have an outbreak? Feels like we would win the game of chicken since we probably have a deeper squad and can claim we can field a team.

Maybe it'll be a countback on COVID Cases

( I know we really shouldn't be laughing about it, but if you don't laugh, and all that.......)

[curates_egg]

What happens if both teams independently have an outbreak? Feels like we would win the game of chicken since we probably have a deeper squad and can claim we can field a team.

Maybe it'll be a countback on COVID Cases

( I know we really shouldn't be laughing about it, but if you don't laugh, and all that.......)

3 points for each asymptotic case, 1 for symptomatic.

[riocard911]

Hopefully it's omicron, as according to reports from RSA it's way milder than the previous variants, Delta in particular.

[brotheroffrank]

What happens if both teams independently have an outbreak? Feels like we would win the game of chicken since we probably have a deeper squad and can claim we can field a team.

If the EPRC extend the time for Clubs to register new players before Friday expect some big name signings by Altrad Montpellier Hérault - then tie in the facts that Montpellier didn't send all their 1st Team to Exeter and have already established separate training bubbles; and the depth of our squad will be really tested...