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Same as ever in Dublin - a pre-Six Nations Sexton injury scare and a Dragons thrashing by Leinster
Just like clockwork, it’s happened again. Nearly every time the Six Nations appears on the horizon there is some injury scare or drama surrounding Johnny Sexton, the veteran talisman and now Ireland skipper.
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Nothing has seemingly changed in these peculiar Covid times. Twenty days before the Irish resume their delayed 2020 campaign with the visit of Italy to Dublin, the 35-year-old lasted less than 23 minutes of Leinster’s league season opener, trading places with replacement Ross Byrne at the RDS before there was even a sweat broken in the largely one-sided encounter.
We’ve been here on so many occasions before that it was nothing new to see the old trooper troop off with the national interest foremost in his mind and while Leinster will do their usual and play down his premature exit, brace yourself for the usual diet of speculation about the health of Sexton, this treasured of Ireland playmakers on whom Andy Farrell – and Joe Schmidt before him – pins so much on.
Sexton had hardly covered himself in glory during his short-lived cameo, scuffing the kick-off which didn’t travel the requisite distance as happened at one critical first-half stage during the Champions Cup quarter-final defeat to Saracens 13 days earlier.
He did nearly create an opening try for Hugo Keenan, the winger agonisingly failing to apply the necessary finish, but Leinster had just gone two tries to the good when Sexton eventually said his farewell and drifted away into the night air, sparking the Dr Googles of Ireland into action with the various prognosis on the the state of their most valuable man’s hamstring strain.
New season, same @leinsterrugby ?
The reigning #GuinnessPRO14 champions opened the defence of their title with a victory over @dragonsrugby at the RDS ?
Sum up their display this evening?
Highlights ??? pic.twitter.com/5XdUn8rB7F
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 2, 2020
As for the match, the kindest we can say is we came in search of a flicker of light for the general competitiveness of this garbled five-nation PRO14 set-up and skulked away a few hours later chastened by the latest evidence that these run of the mill champions versus bang average XV fixtures are hardly worth the hassle of stepping outside the front door.
A lack of PRO14 intensity was one of the main reasons that came out in the wash after Leinster were ambushed by Saracens, the analysis suggesting that their long-established dominance in a league tournament they have won three times on the bounce and five in eight years just isn’t of the level required for the step-up in competitions.
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That, of course, isn’t Leinster’s fault – they can’t be held responsible for other clubs not being up to the mark in the PRO14, but they would surely revel in more clubs making a better fist of matches against them and stop the action from frequently being a cakewalk.
There wasn’t much hope for the Dragons, admittedly. The margins between these teams in their last three Dublin encounters was 35, 42 and 44 points and the gap at the Friday night interval was 21 before finishing at 30, the Wesh region beaten 35-5.
Garry Ringrose, Jordan Larmour and James Lowe all touched down in the corner during an opening half where the only Dragons incidents of note were Jamie Roberts’ yellow card for tacking Ringrose high in the act of scoring and the stumble that felled Sam Davies in open country with the try line at his mercy.
In time, Dragons should improve robustness given the roster overhaul overseen during the lockdown by the no-nonsense Dean Ryan, and they did look snappy getting on the board through Ashton Hewitt’s 59th-minute acrobatics by the flag.
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By then, though, Lowe had already bagged his second and Leinster’s fourth to secure the bonus point, and they closed out the procession with an effort from Ryan Baird.
Winter months packed with more of this same one-sidedness surely can’t satisfy Leinster, however – nor enhance the credibility of the league that it is the real deal compared to the Premiership and Top 14. Those South African Super Rugby teams, touted for inclusion this week in 2021, can’t arrive in quick enough to lift the general standard.
LEINSTER 35 (Tries: Ringrose 17, Larmour 22, Lowe 32, 56, Baird 65. Cons: Sexton 18, Ringrose 23, Byrne 33, 57, 66) DRAGONS 5 (Try: Hewitt 59)
The @AVIVAStadium has played a literally monumental role in the story of modern Irish rugby. @CiaranKennedy_. ??? talks to @jamieheaslip and @MikeRoss03 on a special anniversary for Lansdowne Road ??https://t.co/HgWEafJqQa
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Billy's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to comments