This Saturday is the date of the biggest championship game in European rugby. Despite being crowned English champions, Leicester captain Geordan Murphy said that not winning the Heineken Cup as well would be a disappointment. Leicester has always been a team to post lofty goals. Two years ago, they almost pulled off a "Triple Crown," but lost to the Wasps in the Heineken Cup Final after winning the EDF Energy Cup and the Guinness Premiership.
Leinster, on the other hand, holds no trophies this year. Their Irish internationals do, but Leinster players do not, at least not this year. The 2008 Magner's League champs do have one thing working for them: they beat Munster badly in the Heineken Cup. They also did it without Felipe Contepomi, who almost always seems to be the deciding factor. When he misses kicks or plays badly, Leinster struggles. But, Jonathan Sexton came into the lineup and played a fantastic game, outplaying Ronan O'Gara.
Both teams have injuries or unavailable players. Leicester still lacks their two big Islanders and now Toby Flood is gone as well. Leinster is missing their main kicker and playmaker Felipe Contepomi and South African prop CJ van der Linde. The good news for Leinster is that Rob Kearney is back, and their entire backline is healthy.
Leicester will be riding the high from last weekend when they won the Guinness Premiership while Leinster have no high to ride. Last week they lost to the Dragons, which should not count for anything since the entire team will be changed up for the Final, but they don't have a high to ride. Leinster has never been to a Heineken Cup final, while Leicester has a few times, and won.
Overall, the game will come down to a few things. Sam Vesty is the stand-in fly half for Leicester and while he played well enough to help them win the Guinness Premiership, he is still in uncharted water. Geordan Murphy has been the key man for Leicester as both captain and with his skills at fullback, but I am not so sure his scoring ability will be on showcase against Leinster's defense, which has been spectacular as of late. Leinster's pack is superior, although they will be given a huge test against the likes of Italian Castrogiovanni and Argentinian Ayerza. Rocky Elsom and Shane Jennings should be able to control the breakdown area, as they have been doing very well lately. The backs for Leicester are a bit unpredictable, in my opinion. Without the bruising Islanders of Rabeni and Tuilagi, I think they have seemed reliant on Murphy's ability to come into the line as well as the boot of their French scrum half, Dupuy. Leinster has a strong backline that has worked both on club level and international level.
This will be a tough, gritty contest to the final whistle. I see the final tally being within a score.
Leinster 21-16 Leicester
If Leinster can keep their discipline, as they have been doing, they may be able to take advantage of Leicester's tendency to be undisciplined. Sexton can kick the penalties, as he proved in the Semi Finals.
~Tyler
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The 2009 Guinness Premiership Final
After a long season, there are only two English teams left in the running:
London Irish
and
Leicester Tigers
Both teams have been exceptional, but the final comes down to who can grind it out the longest. Finals rarely turn out like this season's EDF Energy Cup did. Being a Munster fan, the two Heineken Cup Finals that Munster won were both close and, at times, agonizing!
This final will rest on stars for both teams. Toby Flood is out, which is a huge blow to the Tigers. Flood is the current England fly half and I was surprised to see Dupuy kicking in the Heineken Cup semi final. To lose him is huge. Geordan Murphy will have to play a big part in both defense and offense, but it will be his ability to come into the line that can change the game in Leicester's favor. Their depth is extraordinary, given that they have lost Flood and their two big Islanders, still serving their bans.
London Irish, on the other hand, have one player that can break open the game in a second: Tagicakibau. He is to the Irish what Joe Rokocoko is to the All Blacks or what Bryan Habana is to the Springboks: a scoring threat from anywhere at anytime. If Leicester can bind him up, they can win. The Irish also have another weapon: Mike Catt. He is, to my knowledge, the oldest player in the Premiership. Yet, he is far from done! His incredible experience and leadership on the field are invaluable and his playing abilities are still sharp as well.
The scrums will probably go to Leicester, with their Italian and Argentinian props up front and their powerful second row. However, the lineouts seem to be in Irish's favor with Kennedy and Casey the two main receivers. The breakdown battle also seems to be in Leicester's favor.
Overall, I pick Leicester to win, again. I am pulling for London Irish on all fronts (being an Irish fan) but unless Mike Catt has something still up his sleeve...I do not see the Irish winning unless it is due to yellow cards/injuries or a cheeky drop goal.
~Tyler
London Irish
and
Leicester Tigers
Both teams have been exceptional, but the final comes down to who can grind it out the longest. Finals rarely turn out like this season's EDF Energy Cup did. Being a Munster fan, the two Heineken Cup Finals that Munster won were both close and, at times, agonizing!
This final will rest on stars for both teams. Toby Flood is out, which is a huge blow to the Tigers. Flood is the current England fly half and I was surprised to see Dupuy kicking in the Heineken Cup semi final. To lose him is huge. Geordan Murphy will have to play a big part in both defense and offense, but it will be his ability to come into the line that can change the game in Leicester's favor. Their depth is extraordinary, given that they have lost Flood and their two big Islanders, still serving their bans.
London Irish, on the other hand, have one player that can break open the game in a second: Tagicakibau. He is to the Irish what Joe Rokocoko is to the All Blacks or what Bryan Habana is to the Springboks: a scoring threat from anywhere at anytime. If Leicester can bind him up, they can win. The Irish also have another weapon: Mike Catt. He is, to my knowledge, the oldest player in the Premiership. Yet, he is far from done! His incredible experience and leadership on the field are invaluable and his playing abilities are still sharp as well.
The scrums will probably go to Leicester, with their Italian and Argentinian props up front and their powerful second row. However, the lineouts seem to be in Irish's favor with Kennedy and Casey the two main receivers. The breakdown battle also seems to be in Leicester's favor.
Overall, I pick Leicester to win, again. I am pulling for London Irish on all fronts (being an Irish fan) but unless Mike Catt has something still up his sleeve...I do not see the Irish winning unless it is due to yellow cards/injuries or a cheeky drop goal.
~Tyler
Sunday, May 3, 2009
WOW
The 2009 Heineken Cup Semi Finals were insane.
Both of my picks failed to win, and both games were opposite of my predictions. Leinster won by a huge margin and Leicester won by the tiniest of margins. But we'll review the games just the same.
Munster v. Leinster
Except for the first ten minutes or so, Munster never looked like they were going to win. An early Keith Earls break was the first and only real threat from the Munster offense. In addition, their defense was bad. Just...bad. Leinster had fantastic defense and their offense was also very good. When Felipe Contepomi went off injured very early, I figured Munster had it in the bag. But, Jonny Sexton was wonderful. He kicked his goals and outshone Ronan O'Gara in every facet. I picked Sexton as Man of the Match, not Brian O'Driscoll.
Cardiff v. Leicester
At least one of my picks, Geordan Murphy, made a name for himself in the game. A bad one. A late yellow card, the second for Leicester, put two men in the sin bin and allowed Cardiff to storm back with two brilliant tries, both converted from the touchline by Ben Blair. The 26-26 tie forced extra time, which was thoroughly boring since no one was willing to take a chance and go for the line. In the end, a penalty shootout was always on offer, and was very exciting. To have the entire game riding on the kick of a forward is almost too much pressure on a non-kicker. When Martyn Williams missed his kick, which couldn't be expected of him, the game was always Leicester's.
Players to note:
--Ben Blair: He kicked two of the most important kicks of his career today, both from the touchline. If he had missed either, the season would have been over for Cardiff.
--Rocky Elsom: Yet another great game from the Aussie flanker. He was solid in defense and made one break that looked worthy of something Brian O'Driscoll would do.
--Ben Kay: Even though Stuart Barnes is annoying and entirely pro-English, he was 100% right about Kay's play today. He was phoenomenal.
--Jonny Sexton: When he came on for Contepomi, most would have seen it as the end of the match, but Sexton proved to be better than even O'Gara.
--Gordon D'Arcy: Although he has made a quiet comeback from injury in the 2008 Six Nations, he has played very well for Leinster and scored the try that really started to seal Munster's doom.
--Ronan O'Gara: He only had two chances to kick for points, but his punts and chips were very poor for most of the game, in addition to his poor defense.
So now we wait and see who plays well in the coming weeks until the final, on May 23.
~Tyler
Both of my picks failed to win, and both games were opposite of my predictions. Leinster won by a huge margin and Leicester won by the tiniest of margins. But we'll review the games just the same.
Munster v. Leinster
Except for the first ten minutes or so, Munster never looked like they were going to win. An early Keith Earls break was the first and only real threat from the Munster offense. In addition, their defense was bad. Just...bad. Leinster had fantastic defense and their offense was also very good. When Felipe Contepomi went off injured very early, I figured Munster had it in the bag. But, Jonny Sexton was wonderful. He kicked his goals and outshone Ronan O'Gara in every facet. I picked Sexton as Man of the Match, not Brian O'Driscoll.
Cardiff v. Leicester
At least one of my picks, Geordan Murphy, made a name for himself in the game. A bad one. A late yellow card, the second for Leicester, put two men in the sin bin and allowed Cardiff to storm back with two brilliant tries, both converted from the touchline by Ben Blair. The 26-26 tie forced extra time, which was thoroughly boring since no one was willing to take a chance and go for the line. In the end, a penalty shootout was always on offer, and was very exciting. To have the entire game riding on the kick of a forward is almost too much pressure on a non-kicker. When Martyn Williams missed his kick, which couldn't be expected of him, the game was always Leicester's.
Players to note:
--Ben Blair: He kicked two of the most important kicks of his career today, both from the touchline. If he had missed either, the season would have been over for Cardiff.
--Rocky Elsom: Yet another great game from the Aussie flanker. He was solid in defense and made one break that looked worthy of something Brian O'Driscoll would do.
--Ben Kay: Even though Stuart Barnes is annoying and entirely pro-English, he was 100% right about Kay's play today. He was phoenomenal.
--Jonny Sexton: When he came on for Contepomi, most would have seen it as the end of the match, but Sexton proved to be better than even O'Gara.
--Gordon D'Arcy: Although he has made a quiet comeback from injury in the 2008 Six Nations, he has played very well for Leinster and scored the try that really started to seal Munster's doom.
--Ronan O'Gara: He only had two chances to kick for points, but his punts and chips were very poor for most of the game, in addition to his poor defense.
So now we wait and see who plays well in the coming weeks until the final, on May 23.
~Tyler
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