Chapter 1: What are the key matchups for the weekend's rugby action?
Hello, you're very welcome along to the latest episode of the Counter Rock Rugby Podcast brought to you by the Irish Times in partnership with Oak Energy. Rugby writer John O'Sullivan is going to join me to whet the appetite for another very busy weekend of rugby action. all four provinces lining out.
There's another Inter pro, Munster Ulster, which, as we'll get into, has been slightly blighted by injuries, which means it's not as big an occasion as perhaps we initially hoped, but nevertheless, Leinster are away to Benetton and then Connacht are also away in Joburg against the Lions, you've got the women's Six Nations on Saturday night.
Ireland, they're talking about their revenge tour to give France one after last year's quarterfinal defeat in the World Cup. And then Sunday, AIL finals. UL Bows and Blackrock in the women's match and Mary's Clintarf in the men's club game getting its day in the sun. It seems to get more popular every year. It has to be said. So good day out for all those involved.
So here is John O'Sullivan to chat through everything you need to keep an eye out for this weekend. Hello, John. How are you? You're down in Tolman this weekend. That's your assignment. That is the biggest game, to be fair, provincially. Munster, Ulster, down in Tolman. But that's your assignment this weekend?
Yeah, it would have been the biggest game, but Folster's injury list, to be honest. I think Munster would have started as 11-point favourites. I think the spread is 23, something like that.
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Chapter 2: How are injuries affecting Ulster's performance this season?
So that tells you where the bookies think this game is going. And in fairness to Ulster, they've got the extra match the following week. So it'll be very interesting to see what sort of team they can send down to Tholman Park. It's just unfortunate if it's a much weakened team.
It's worth pointing that out because that was going to be my first question to you about Ulster. Angus Bell foot, Scott Wilson ankle, Tom O'Toole hand. So straight away, you're wondering who in the name of God is going to play prop for them. James Hume neck, Jude Possethwaite hand, Bryn Ward shoulder, all got injured last week against Leinster.
And then longer term, Nick Timoney hip, James McNabney knee, who he's been out for over a year now with poor old McNabney. Rob Herring-Caff, Rob Ballacoon-Elbow, Rory Maguire-Shoulder, another prop, Stuart Moore-Knee, and Michael Larry apparently has just come back to training.
So all of a sudden, for all the justified positivity and praise that has gone Richie Murphy and Mark Sexton's way, could this season spiral out of control very quickly? And given the gap, I think there's only about seven points separate second from ninth at the minute.
Are we looking at a world in which Ulster could actually, after all the good work they've done, they could miss out on the top eight purely because of this injury list?
Well, I suppose the short answer to your question is yes. In all probability, hopefully a large tranche of those players will come back and it won't be kind of medium term because that's what it is now, a medium term injury. I think for Ulster, it's just hugely unfortunate and disappointing for Richie and his coaching team, the players, the supporters.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of Ireland's revenge tour against France?
But you're dogged by this sort of injury list when it comes to the business end of the season and obviously a semi-final the following week against Exeter. There's not a lot you can do about it except go with a positive attitude.
He's going to have to lean very, very, very heavily on his academy structure, if you like, and academy players to get through this week, sprinkled with, I presume, a backbone of senior players. So, yeah, very difficult. And it's difficult to see them being able to get anything out of Saturday's game in Limerick.
I do remember whenever the Challenge Cup knockouts kicked into gear, there were some quotes during the round that Richie Murphy was kind of saying, this is all well and good, but the league is still not quite the priority, but it's very important that they finish top eight and get a home knockout tie, if possible. We all know that the ticket boon that that gets.
for the club dare I say he was foreshadowing the difficulty of fighting on two fronts deep into the season because this is what happens in Ulster for all their improvement probably just don't quite have the depth to do so is that fair?
Yeah, I think it would put three of the four provinces to the pin of their collar to have that sort of injury list.
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Chapter 4: How do the AIL finals impact the local rugby community?
Leinster are probably best placed to cope with something like that. But even they would be difficult for them. I think the other thing is that you've got to remember that the Challenge Cup semi-final is in Belfast. So they're playing a home game essentially. And it's a wonderful opportunity to go and compete for silverware.
And knowing Richie as I do, I don't think he would just kind of say, well, we're going to put all our eggs in one basket. You have to find a way in which you're competitive across the next couple of weekends and keep your fingers and toes crossed that you don't pick up any more injuries. I don't think that you would ever see anybody throw a game.
So he has to bring it aside down to the part that he thinks can do a job.
Chapter 5: What are the expectations for the women's Six Nations match?
It will rely heavily on young players. And then they've got to go flat out in Belfast the following week against Exeter. The run-in is massive. Ulster's run-in was hugely difficult in the first place. So, you know, this is just a set of circumstances that have... given Richie and his coaching team a huge problem.
And if they come through this and make the top eight, no matter where they make the top eight, given the injury constraints and given the fixture list on the run-in, it will be a marvellous achievement. And if they make it to Bilbao on top of that for the Challenge Cup final, it'll be amazing.
Is the result Saturday in the miracle territory against Munster? Or does that put too much faith in Munster's ability to back up a good performance with another good performance?
Chapter 6: What challenges does Ulster face in the upcoming Munster match?
Because there's one thing we've learned about Munster this year, is that they struggle to do that.
I wouldn't be disparaging about Munster. I thought they played really well in the game at the weekend. So, I mean, it's been a challenge for them in a variety of different ways, if you like. They have a team that produced a performance that are coming off a very good win, a comprehensive win in Italy and Treviso. And yeah, they love momentum going into the game.
So the only thing that will let them down is a lack of concentration and focus on the job at hand. And I can't see them doing that because they don't have the latitude or the luxury. And what Conor did in South Africa last weekend kind of put the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the top eight in the URC table. So nobody can afford to take their foot off the pedal in terms of going forward.
And Munster will be very much aware of that. And I would be very surprised if they're not kind of close to their best after a performance like they had in Treviso.
Did you see Tyke Byrne's comments during the week, just out of curiosity? Getting drawn into outside noise. Yeah, so he was talking, obviously he was asked about the Roger Randall situation because it was the first time, I think, the first time Byrne has spoken to the press since that blew up. And, you know, he's captain of the club. It's a justifiable...
line of questioning to see if he has anything to say about what's, you know, the appointment or what's been said on the outside. And he gave an interesting answer. He says, I suppose you'd be naive not to address it, but after initially saying you can't get drawn into it, he did say as a squad, you'd be naive not to address it internally.
But last week we met as players and we drew a line in the sand about it in terms of knowing there's a lot of outside noise and knowing that players are probably going to be approached by people on the outside, probably trying to even get inside their head in terms of creating negative thoughts or negative pictures.
I found that fascinating because it's, you know, players and teams, you know, it's not uncommon for siege mentality to come in, you know, us against them. Oh, everyone's talking about things apart from rugby. We'll show them. But I just thought it's very interesting that they'll even go so far as to paint, you
what justifiable questions about an individual's past as people trying to bring them down and almost deliberately working against them. For me, that was just, this is a very media, we're talking about media here, but I just thought that was a fascinating snapshot into what some players think about people doing their jobs.
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Chapter 7: How do player injuries impact team strategies in rugby?
Now, the other thing is they've got to back it up in Claremont. That's the most important thing. But it's good. I think I agree with you in the sense that I think it's good to see that they're confident and they're willing to say they're not willing to hide behind, you know, couched language, if you like, in terms of, oh, well.
you know, if we've prepared well and if we play to our best, we can win the game, all that sort of stuff. They're going over and saying, no, we genuinely feel we have a chance. And that's the attitude that we're going to bring to Claremont, which is healthy and good and shows a development from a mental side in the group as well.
Do they have a genuine chance?
I think based on the way they played in the World Cup, yes. I think there were elements of what they did. They have the two extremes of playing against England and Italy. So while it was enjoyable to watch them score nine tries against Italy, France are closer to England than they are to Italy. And they're playing at home and this will be... huge challenge.
So if Ireland bring fluency and control to the way they play the game, if they can get a platform up front, if they get their ball carriers over the game line and they're able to play from off the front foot, then they have a quality to be able to be competitive. What you'd like to see is more of the second half in the England game and less of the first half.
So they have to back up that confidence and boldness going over and play from the start. What they would have learned from the England game is that if you start poorly or if you start in a slightly anxious manner against quality opposition, you invariably pay a price. And I don't think Ireland are yet the team to be able to chase down opponents when they give them a healthy start in a game.
So first 20 minutes, try and manage the game in those circumstances and build on that. And I think that's very important. That's the long answer to your question. Yes, I think they can be competitive in Claremont. What that looks like, I think will be predicated on how they start.
One thing that would make me slightly more cautious is for all the attacking verve against Italy, that third Bavin Parsons try was sensational. Some of the offloadings and skills, which was something that was definitely lacking against England. Just basic catch pass, let them down a little bit in Twickenham. But that certainly came back against Italy.
Athletic wingers running through people, a couple of decent forward rumbles from close range. I thought defensively, Ireland still...
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