Our preview of the inaugural competition continues today with the analysis of Pool 2 containing Leinster following our preview of Pool 1 yesterday.
Leinster have been one of the most dominant forces in European rugby over the past number of years and will be aiming to re-establish some dominance in the competition following two, by their standards, disappointing seasons in the old Heineken Cup.
In their group are the always dangerous Harlequins, a Castres side who have a lot to prove but may not have the interest in both the Top 14 and the Champions Cup, and the recently controversial Wasps (I’ll explain further down).
We’ve taken a look at the pool and given you the breakdown of how (we think) it’s going to pan out…
Top dog. . .
Leinster will have to be considered the top dog in this group simply on their past pedigree alone. While they haven’t been the force of old so far this season, you would still fancy them to get the results needed to escape the group.
They have gotten the wake-up call they needed in their defeat to Munster and will surely be much improved when they face Wasps in their opening game in the RDS on Sunday. Key injuries may affect their progress somewhat but they were fortunate enough to be drawn in one of the softer groups in the competition compared to Ulster and Munster who both have extremely difficult pools.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IFbhkRpJd0
Will we see more performances like this one from Leinster this season?
Video via Leinster Rugby TV.
After being pummelled at the breakdown against Munster you would be hopeful that coach Matt O’Connor has taken a break from criticising referees and focused on the problems at hand. Leinster win games by dominating the breakdown area and they will need to regain that hard edge when they travel to Castres and Harlequins if they want to get results in those cauldrons. That being said, we are confident that Leinster have the quality to pick up the necessary results in their away games to ensure a safe passage from the group.
Whipping boys. . .
Wasps are the weakest team in this group and should not have too much influence on the sway of this pool apart from possibly defeating Castres at home. Other than that, it is difficult to see where they are going to pick up wins as their squad is considerably weaker than the three other teams in the pool. Added to this they may struggle for home support following their incredible decision to move their home ground to Coventry, over 100 miles away from their original ground.
They do have some quality in the form of Joe Launchbury, Ashley Johnson and Christian Wade (in attack only), but while they do have a decent squad that is strong enough for a solid mid-table Aviva Premiership finish, they just don’t have enough quality players to qualify from this group. A win against Castres and a win against Harlequins will be as good as it gets for the Wasps.
Schmidt’s about to get real. . .
This is where we look at which Irish players need to impress to be sure of their spot on the roster for next year’s Rugby World Cup? For Leinster we are going for
Ian Madigan.
Ian Madigan is somewhat of an enigma. Two seasons ago, he was the in-form fly-half in the country and there were talks of him being a possible Lions bolter but he has yet to reach the same heights he did that season. Last year he was used sparingly by Matt O’Connor and had to make do with the bench for some of the biggest games of the season. He came on and showed good composure in the Six Nations this year but has yet to really establish himself on either the international or the domestic stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSavIAUuy9k
Video via Goose Stepper.
He needs a good year of consistent game time in one position if he is to make the squad for the World Cup next year. He must also ask himself whether he wants to be Sexton’s back-up, his challenger or does he want to be an inside centre?
The 'Conor Murray come from nowhere to get the Irish number nine shirt at the World Cup in New Zealand in 2011 candidate for the most likely unknown player or player with little international experience to make the World Cup squad for England 2014'. . .
And the award goes to
Rhys Ruddock…
This is a big year for the Leinster back-row. He was on the periphery for a long time but established himself as a regular last year and is on his way to becoming a key player for the province. He impressed for Ireland during the summer but would not be considered for the squad at the minute if all players were fit.
He has a point to prove this season with the Irish squad and if he provides Leinster with some quality performances this year, this guy could not only make the squad for the World Cup, he could end up being a key player. Ruddock has improved his ball carrying immensely and along with Dominic Ryan was one of the only bright lights for Leinster against Munster this season.
Keep an eye out for the gargantuan this season…
Player most likely to have their own Parody Twitter account. . .
Apart from the already existing Boring Kearney… we think it probably has to be Harlequin’s Danny Care.
It would most likely be a guide to awful haircuts called ‘Bad Care-day’.
Prediction. . .
- Leinster
- Harlequins
- Castres
- Wasps
Leinster should top this group with Conor O'Shea's Harlequins also qualifying as a runner-up. However, if Castres show an interest in the Champions Cup they have a good chance of qualifying and may leap frog their English rivals. It all depends on how much the French teams want it.
