GUINNESS PRO12 CHAMPIONS Connacht will open their title defence against last year’s semi-finalists Glasgow Warriors after the fixtures for the new season were announced this afternoon.
Pat Lam’s side will begin their campaign against Glasgow at the Galway Sportsground on Friday 2 September while Leinster will face Treviso, Ulster will hosts the Dragons and Munster will travel to the Scarlets.
The 2016/17 season will see six ‘Big Weekends’ spread across the year that will comprise of intra-union derby matches while Friday evening games will be played at the new regular ‘appointment-to-view’ time of 7.35pm.
The first ‘Big Weekend’ of the season will take place in Round 6 with the clash between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium the headline act. Connacht will welcome Ulster to Galway while there will be two Welsh derbies and two clashes between the Scottish and Italian sides.
“We are delighted to announce the fixture list, as well as the designated broadcasters for the first 13 rounds, ahead of what promises to be a truly special Guinness Pro12 season,” Martin Anayi, managing director of Pro12 Rugby, said.
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“With 70 of the first 78 matches scheduled for live television, we have more free-to-air matches than ever before, while the majority of Friday night fixtures will be at the regular timeslot of 7.35pm, which our fans tell us is their preferred slot.
70 of the opening 78 games are being shown live. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
“Our aim is to develop a schedule that puts the fan experience first and gives our clubs the best chance of bumper crowds coming to watch our star players in the biggest games of the season. Now our fans will get to experience big weekend atmospheres with mouth-watering fixtures spread across the whole season.
“For example, we have ensured that all teams have a home match in either Round 1 or 2, and in one of the last two rounds. Also, no club has three consecutive home or away matches – lending the competition a far better balance.”
The Pro12 final will take place on Saturday 27 May 2017 with the venue to be announced in due course.
Guinness Pro12 2016/17 Round 1 fixtures:
Friday, 2 September 2016 (7.35pm kick-off unless otherwise stated)
Leinster Rugby v Benetton TrevisoOspreys v Zebre RugbyUlster Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons
Saturday, 3 September 2016
Cardiff Blues v Edinburgh Connacht Rugby v Glasgow Warriors (5.15pm)Scarlets v Munster Rugby (3pm)
Full fixture list available here
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Montpellier 21
Connacht 19
John Fallon reports from Saint-Affrique
CONNACHT GOT THEIR season up and running with a useful run out against Montpellier in the Challenge Vaquerin in Saint-Affrique.
Conditions were perfect in the small French town in the Massif Central and both sides ran in three tries apiece in a good encounter during which both squads were fully utilised.
It didn’t take Montpellier long to let Connacht know that the new season is up and running with Australian scrum-half Nic White running in the opening try after just 21 seconds.
Ben Botica, making his debut since his summer move from Harlequins, added the easy conversion.
But the Pro12 champions settled and Cian Kelleher crowned his debut with a try in the right corner after 14 minutes after an excellent offload from another newcomer Cormac Brennan from Ballyvaughan in Co Clare, the latest to come out of the Connacht academy.
Jack Carty kicks a conversion. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Irish-qualified New Zealander Dominic Robertson-McCoy also made a good debut in a side which marked Eoin Griffin’s first game back after a couple of seasons with London Irish.
Montpellier, who also picked up their first silverware last season when they won the European Challenger Cup, used a different 15 in each half in what was their only warm-up game before the Top 14 kicks off next weekend.
They led 14-7 at the break after Fijian international No.8 Akapusi Qera crossed 12 minutes from the break.
Connacht also made wholesale changes at the break with Nepia Fox-Matamua, back for his first game since suffering a knee injury in October, getting in for a try just minutes after the restart after a period of sustained pressure.
Arno Van Wyk, one of the most recent South Africans to join Jake White’s Montpellier, got their third try but winger Brennan, after some neat footwork, marked his debut with a score of his own.
New signing Lewis Stevenson also made his Connacht debut off the bench, with Irish sevens player Josh Rowland from New Zealand also making his bow.
Niyi Adeolokun breaks through. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Montpellier scorers:
Tries: N White, A Qera, A Van Wyk
Cons: B Botica (2), D Catrakilis.
Connacht scorers:
Tries: C Kelleher, N Fox-Matamua, C Brennan
Cons: J Carty, S O’Leary.
Connacht:
15. Cian Kelleher
14. Niyi Adeolokun
13. Eoin Griffin
12. Bundee Aki
11. Cormac Brennan
10. Jack Carty
9. Caolin Blade
1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Dominic Robertson-McCoy
4. Sean O’Brien
5. Danny Qualter
6. Eoin McKeon
7. Jake Heenan
8. John Muldoon (captain)
Replacements used: Shane Delahunt, Tom McCartney, Ivan Soroka, Ronan Loughney, Saba Meunargia, JP Cooney, Cian Romaine, Lewis Stevenson, James Connolly, Nepia Fox-Matamua, Conor McKeon, Conor Lowndes, Shane O’Leary, Ed O’Keeffe, Peter Robb, Rory Parata, Josh Rowland.
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IAN MADIGAN SAYS that the demands of the French rugby season are going to mean that he will be rotated throughout a gruelling campaign which could run to well over 30 games for the club.
Madigan came off the bench for Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday night in Toulouse but a couple of penalties and setting up their opening try of the season was not enough to prevent a 22-17 loss.
Bordeaux-Begles, who will host Ulster in the opening game of the Champions Cup in October, made wholesale changes to the side which defeated champions Racing 92, but Madigan was drafted before the break when former French international Lionel Beauxis was injured.
“Lionel is a really good player, a proven French international. The first game of the season was tough so they rotated quite a lot of guys, nine changes in all,” said Madigan.
“Lionel went well in preseason and deserved his start but unfortunately I think he has now picked up a bang on his quad so that will have to be assessed and see how he is. It is a very long season and you have got to rely on your squad.
“You have 26 regular season then, hopefully, another three knockout games and then throw in Europe on top of that and you are getting into the 30s so you need to be able to rotate your squad and rely on the 40 guys you have got there.”
Madigan has settled in well after his summer move from Leinster and with successive home games to come against Montpellier and Bayonne, he is hoping to make a mark.
“We were happy to come away with a point from a position where we were 10 points down with 10 minutes to go away from home, to score a late try and get a losing bonus point was a positive for us.”
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It was a poor weekend for the Irish in France, although Ronan O’Gara’s Racing 92 got off the mark with a 29-16 home win over promoted Lyon.
But Bernard Jackman’s Grenoble fell to a second defeat, this time going down 22-19 at home to La Rochelle, with Brock James impressing for the visitors after his move from Clermont Auvergne.
Former Ulster centre Chris Farrell and Connacht lock Aly Muldowney started for Grenoble, who led 13-12 at the break.
Pau, coached by former Munster assistant Simon Mannix, also fell to a second defeat when they lost 22-18 at home to Toulon. Former Munster players Paddy Butler and James Coughlan started in a back row which was completed by England exile Steffon Armitage, playing against his former club after a summer move.
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THE STRENGTH AND conditioning sphere is an ever-growing one in Irish sport and Ed Slattery, who works with the Ireland women’s rugby team, is hopeful that a new event can contribute to the educational process.
Slattery is running the 2016 Athletic Performance Seminar in Dublin on 8 October, when the likes of Connacht’s Paul Bunce, Neil Welch of the Sports Surgery Clinic, and the IRFU’s Martin Kennedy and Marian Earls will be among the speakers.
Connacht’s Paul Bunce is one of the key speakers. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
“I think the knowledge base is definitely increasing, and that’s only a good thing,” says Slattery of strength and conditioning in Ireland.
“It’s definitely a booming industry and in a lot of ways it’s almost bottlenecking in that there are more and more people getting qualified but the number of professional jobs is limited.
“The knowledge is improving, but it’s a case of picking and choosing knowledge. You can go on the internet to look up a topic and become overwhelmed very quickly by the amount of information that’s out there. I think picking and choosing your sources is important.”
Slattery is confident that the Athletic Performance Seminar can be a valuable and affordable source for S&C coaches around Ireland, particularly with some of the best practitioners in the country featuring on the list of guests.
“Sometimes we look too much to the outside, to the US and the UK for what they’re doing,” says Slattery about how the idea for the event came about.
“Obviously, they are doing great work in strength and conditioning, but I think we sometimes neglect to look inside our own country to see what’s going on.
“A guy like Neil Welch is a phenomenal coach, an expert when it comes to dealing with injuries, but maybe doesn’t really get any recognition here. Paul Bunce has been with Connacht through the Pro12 success, so it’s interesting to see how they did that.
“It’s about looking inside Ireland and saying, ‘We have got really good coaches working here, let’s look at what they’re doing.’”
Slattery himself has developed on home soil, completing his S&C degree in the Setanta College at LIT Thurles, while also volunteering with Munster’s U19 and U18 Clubs sides.
Marian Earls is on the seminar’s guest list. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
He took on an internship at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin upon graduating, before his current role with the Ireland Women opened up. Just over a year later, he is thankful to have a professional S&C job and to have worked with many experts around the country.
The theme of the seminar in Dublin next month is ‘Individualising and Evaluating Your Athletic Development Program,’ and Slattery is excited about the insight the likes of Bunce can provide in this area.
“It’s definitely growing a lot,” says Slattery of individualisation in rugby S&C. “For example, it was a goal of the Connacht S&C department last year to increase their individualisation.
“It maybe gets exaggerated and sometimes people want to see a squad or 30 or 40 players on 30 or 40 completely different programmes.
“Realistically, you probably have one main programme for a block and then you tinker and tailor it to each individual player. It might be small things like one player doing a deadlift while another does a squat. It might be a case of one player working on strength, with another working for power depending on their requirements.
“It’s about the athletes achieving their priority goals. It can be tough if you have a team of 30 or 40 players and limited time; how do you manage to actually do that individualisation? So we will cover that on the day.”
Working alongside the highly-regarded Earls, Slattery gets hands-on experience of the importance of individualisation every day with the Ireland Women.
“We fitness tested last week,” he says. “With those results and the results from the strength tests a few weeks prior, we’ll track priorities with players.
“With some players, it’s aerobic fitness they need to develop; with other players they are weak for their position and need to continue developing their strength. We’ll make small adjustments to their programmes.
The Ireland Women in the gym at the 2014 World Cup. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
“We trained this morning, for example, and we had one large block that was the template for the programme, but within that certain players did specific exercises or maybe different reps or tempos through the exercise to target their individual goals.”
Knowing that “coaching is not a massively-paid job,” Slattery was keen for the seminar to be affordable.
While visits from high-profile coaches from abroad often mean €200 for a day-long event or even €400 for a weekend, tickets for the Athletic Performance Seminar – running from 9am to 4.30pm on 8 October – are available at €80 on an early bird basis.
“We’re going to be talking about the evaluation of a programme, in terms of what needs to be done, where do I need to get a player to, and how do I structure the programme in order to achieve that?” explains Slattery.
“We’re going to look at injury management – so injury prevention strategies for the most common injuries and then how do you individualise that injury prevention? If you have a squad of 30 players, how can you structure that prevention system to get to each player’s weakness?
“We’ll look at managing the individual through competition phases, so Martin Kennedy will speak about his time with the Ireland U20s at the World Cup and two All-Ireland trophies with Dublin.
“Paul is going to speak on fitting that individualisation into the programme itself and then how you evaluate the programme. Connacht won the Pro12; does that mean the S&C programme worked?
“You can’t just take the trophy and say it worked; how do you look at it and evaluate if you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish?”
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DAVID POCOCK WILL miss the rest of the Rugby Championship after breaking his hand in Australia’s 36-20 win over Argentina in Perth on Saturday.
The back-row forward requires surgery on the injury and he could also be a doubt for the Wallabies’ tour of Europe, with the squad set to depart on October 22.
Pocock was substituted in the 36th minute against the Pumas, Australia coach Michael Cheika revealing the 28-year-old tried to continue despite the injury.
“It was quite swollen so it was hard for him to move his hands,” said Cheika.
“He wanted to play through, I had to take him off.”
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Pocock announced on social media he will undergo surgery on his hand when the swelling around the injury has reduced.
“Really disappointed to be ruled out of #RugbyChampionship,” Pocock wrote on Twitter.
“Surgery on my hand once the swelling goes down. Thanks for all the support.”
New Zealand have already wrapped up the Rugby Championship title, partly due to their pair of victories over Australia.
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CONNACHT HEAD COACH Andy Friend admitted he is relieved his side are still in control of their own Pro14 play-off destiny after escaping from Parma with a 6-5 win in a bruising encounter on Saturday evening.
The 6-5 win over Zebre, Connacht’s first away victory in the Pro14 since winning in Bloemfontein at the start of December, sets them up for a showdown with fellow contenders Cardiff Blues next Saturday at the Sportsground.
Victory for Connacht there will secure a play-off place in the league for the first time since winning it three years ago and also guarantee automatic qualification for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
“There is a lot of energy expended out there,” said Friend, after two Jack Carty penalties in the opening quarter were enough to see them over the line at Stadio Lanfranchi.
“We move on to Cardiff now in control of our position.”
Zebre, with former Connacht coach Michael Bradley in charge, got the only try of the game when Italian winger Mattia Bellini scored three minutes after the restart.
They defended stoutly and held Connacht out with Darragh Leader’s touchdown after 55 minutes ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Connacht will have Irish internationals Bundee Aki and Quinn Roux back for Saturday’s showdown and left Parma on Sunday morning with only one new injury concern.
“Tom Farrell got a bit of a poke in the eye. We think he is going to be fine, we just need to see,” Friend added.
“But I think we got out of that game pretty clean and now we move on.”
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FORMER LEINSTER AND Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy has little sympathy for the controversy both Israel Folau and Billy Vunipola became embroiled in last week.
Folau last week shared an image on Instagram warning “hell awaits you” to “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolators,” a move that flouted a warning issued by Rugby Australia last year about the homophobic content of his social media output.
Today, Folau has signalled he will contest the breach notice issued by his employers on Monday. Meanwhile, England and Saracens number 8 Vunipola has rowed back from comments he made in support of Folau’s stance after being issued a formal warning by his club.
Folau at Waratahs training last month. Source: AAP/PA Images
Many have argued that Folau and Vunipola should be permitted to broadcast their biblical interpretations as freedom of religion. D’Arcy does not disagree, but stresses that sport as an inclusive aspect of life, ought to be protected from such divisive language.
“Sport by it’s very nature is inclusive. It’s person-agnostic. It doesn’t care who you are,” D’Arcy said at the launch of the Aviva Stadium Tour.
“Sport is people coming together for an experience, in this case it happens to be rugby, once you step away from sport your actions outside of that have consequences if you want to continue to participate in sport.
“At a very basic level, if you start putting labels onto people in sport, you break down the fabric of what sport is. I don’t think there’s any ambiguity on that. People are entitled to believe whatever they want, but if you want to participate in sport – which is inclusive by its very nature – you need to understand that and participate in that.”
D’Arcy on hand to launch the new and improved Aviva Stadium Tour, providing fans with a unique behind the scenes experience the stadium giving them first-hand experience of what matchday is like for international football and rugby players. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
He added: “Sport can’t have labels, barriers… and if you don’t want to participate within those parameters, fine. But there are ramifications to your actions if you don’t.
“Even when you get into a team (are you asking): ‘how could I play rugby with that guy’ or ‘trust that person’?
“What if there is a person on his team who is gay and hasn’t come out or one of the many things he doesn’t agree with? How do they function under the banner of sport? Because that’s not inclusive.”
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MUNSTER HEAD COACH Johann van Graan has named a strong team for Saturday’s Guinness Pro14 inter-pro against Connacht at Thomond Park [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport/Premier Sports], as the province chase top spot in Conference A.
Van Graan has made four changes in personnel from last week’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Saracens for the final round of Pro14 action, with Dan Goggin, Calvin Nash, Stephen Archer and Chris Cloete all drafted into the starting XV.
Conor Murray starts for Munster. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
As expected, Joey Carbery and Keith Earls are not risked by Munster, while Darren Sweetnam, Rory Scannell, John Ryan and Jack O’Donoghue are the players to drop out from the European loss in Coventry.
Both Munster and Connacht have assured themselves of a place in the end-of-season play-offs, but the home side are pushing hard to top Conference A and earn an automatic passage through to a home semi-final.
Trailing Glasgow Warriors by three points heading into the final round, Munster need Edinburgh to do them a huge favour at Scotstoun, while beating Connacht themselves to snatch top spot off Dave Rennie’s side.
As such, van Graan has retained many of his frontline internationals with Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Conor Murray, Niall Scannell, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander all named to start against Andy Friend’s side.
Mike Haley continues at fullback with Conway and Nash completing the back three, while Farrell pairs up with Goggin, who was named Munster’s young player of the year this week, in midfield.
With Carbery still sidelined through injury, Tyler Bleyendaal is again handed the out-half reins, while Archer and Cloete come in as the only changes to the Munster pack for the round 21 encounter.
Connacht, meanwhile, have handed a first senior start to academy out-half Conor Dean as Friend wraps Jack Carty in cotton wool ahead of their quarter-final tie against Ulster next weekend.
Connacht’s Conor Dean is set for his senior debut. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
With a place in next season’s Champions Cup and the Pro14 knockout stages already assured, this is something of a free hit for Connacht and Friend has included a mixture of youth and experience for his side’s trip to Limerick.
Having had last weekend off, the likes of Tiernan O’Halloran, Bundee Aki, Kieran Marmion and captain Jarrad Butler all start for the western province, while Finlay Bealham makes a remarkable return from the horrific hand injury he suffered last week.
Tom Daly and Stephen Fitzgerald, both of whom signed contracts with Connacht for next season, are handed starting opportunities, with 21-year-old Dean set to become the seventh academy player to make his debut this term.
Tighthead Bealham takes his place alongside hooker Tom McCartney and Matthew Burke at loosehead, with James Cannon starting alongside Joe Maksymiw in the second row. Butler, Eoin McKeon and former Munster man Robin Copeland make up the back row.
Munster:
15. Mike Haley
14. Andrew Conway
13. Chris Farrell
12. Dan Goggin
11. Calvin Nash
10. Tyler Bleyendaal
9. Conor Murray
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
7. Chris Cloete
8. CJ Stander.
Replacements:
16. Rhys Marshall
17. Jeremy Loughman
18. John Ryan
19. Billy Holland
20. Arno Botha
21. Neil Cronin
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Sammy Arnold.
Connacht:
15. Tiernan O’Halloran
14. Niyi Adeolokun
13. Bundee Aki
12. Tom Daly
11. Stephen Fitzgerald
10. Conor Dean
9. Kieran Marmion
1. Matthew Burke
2. Tom McCartney
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Joe Maksymiw
5. James Cannon
6. Eoin McKeon
7. Jarrad Butler (captain)
8. Robin Copeland.
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Replacements:
16. Shane Delahunt
17. Peter McCabe
18. Conor Carey
19. Eoghan Masterson
20. Paul Boyle
21. Caolin Blade
22. Eoin Griffin
23. Darragh Leader.
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella are joined by Andy Dunne to get stuck into last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals.:
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CLONTARF HAVE NO shortage of motivation heading into this afternoon’s All-Ireland League final against Cork Constitution at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 3pm).
The Bulls finished the regular season second only to today’s opponents, but lost both home and away encounters with the Munster club. They will also take fuel from the lingering sting of missing out on the Division 1A top four last season.
“We were a bit disappointed with ourselves last year and how we ended up,” says captain Michael Noone, though he also acknowledges that the campaign was closed with a 43-12 win over Con. A thumping victory, but too little too late to nudge them up higher than fifth.
“We were putting it down as a transition year, but we were never going to accept that. Our goal was to be here first weekend in May. Now, it’s to go on and win it.”
Michael Noone and Brian Hayes with hands on the cup. Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO
‘Tarf have done a fine job of hitting that sort of target while ramping up to peak performance in recent weeks. A narrow loss at home to Terenure presented them an uphill struggle, but they powered up that particular incline, going to Lansdowne and racking up an 8 – 36 win to earn home advantage for the rematch in the semi-final.
“The back-to-back wins at the end of the season was testament to how good the guys are. To win by a certain amount to bring them back to Clontarf for a home semi was testament to the club’s strengths and the guys who came back in.
“Con and ourselves always seem to end up here, there or thereabouts, for the first weekend in May.”
“We’re under no illusions. We haven’t beaten them this year in the league. That’s quite a while ago now. It’s a final, everyone’s back, it will be an interesting encounter.”
Interesting indeed. Days after Munster signalled his exit, Duncan Williams is among the Cork Con squad, with Sean French out on the wing hoping to benefit from the new-found width in Con’s gameplan.
Clontarf hasn’t been able to call on Leinster centre Conor O’Brien, but they will be more than happy to make do with his brother Sean alongside Matt D’Arcy in the centre. Connacht scrum-half Angus Lloyd partners David Joyce at half-back while Vakh Abdaladze has been given leave from Leinster to take up a spot among the replacements.
It’s a necessary headache for coaches the length and breadth of the AIL’s upper reaches. Up-and-coming professional are of course a worthwhile addition to their squads, but they come with challenges too. Tactically, they must be bedded into a system with minimal preparation time after spending at least half a week with their province. Emotionally, there are devoted clubmen who may have to miss out and make way for an elite talent.
Sean O’Brien storms away against Lansdowne. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
“There will always be disappointed players if they are deselected for whatever reason,” says Clontarf head coach Andy Wood, “we are lucky that the guys who have come in have generally played a season or two more or less before they have gone on to make their mark.
“We have provided a little pathway or a shop window for them. So when that time comes around in whatever, the second or third season, they are not strangers. We are not just parachuting them in.
“The lads know them. They are around on a Thursday, they will pop in on a Tuesday to say ‘hello’ or they will be at games watching and supporting.
“So it’s not as if they are strangers to it but it is not easy on players who have played a number of games in-a-row and then ‘X’ is available.
“They understand I guess, but no one ever likes it on a personal level. By and large, lads understand that if a player of quality is coming in for the right reasons, it is for the betterment of the team or the perceived betterment of the team.
“Again, we just roll up our sleeves and get on with it.”
“The ambition of our players, whether we are officially tacked on to the professional game or not, there are still players who are playing to be the best of their ability in the AIL, who we hope would transition in (to Leinster).
“You certainly want to be speaking to the coaches who would directly influence these players’ careers.
“There is always a good relationship with Leo (Cullen) and Peter Smyth in the Academy as well. It wouldn’t be every week but there are certainly conversations now and again.”
French scores against Trinity in the semi-final Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
For Cork Con, Sean French is a stand-out young talent and the club don’t expect to see much more of the U20 Grand Slam-winner after this season. Between his power on the wing and the influence of Shane Daly and Alex McHenry through centre, Con have impressed this season by veering away from the style which brought them to three straight finals, expanding their attacking threat across the breadth of the field to reach a fourth.
“It’s good to see them expressing themselves to a degree, being able to play and back themselves, and I think being prepared to make a mistake too,” says Con coach Paul Barr.
“I would have worked with Sean and Shane in school (PBC), and then Alex with Con, and they are really dedicated young players with I think an awful lot of ability, and it’s fantastic.”
“We have a funny dynamic in that we have an older group of players who would have played in those two finals against Clontarf and last year against Lansdowne, and we have a younger group of players who have never played in any final. I think that it’s a nice mix, and those young players have a fearlessness when playing for the club.”
Youth, experience, nous and fearlessness. It’s set to be a humdinger on the big stage down Lansdowne Road.
CLONTARF (Probable): Jack Power; Michael Courtney, Sean O’Brien, Matt D’Arcy, Cian O’Donoghue; David Joyce, Angus Lloyd; Ivan Soroka, Paddy Finlay, Royce Burke-Flynn, Cormac Daly, Ben Reilly, Tony Ryan, Adrian D’Arcy, Michael Noone (capt).
Replacements: Declan Adamson, Tom Ryan, Vakh Abdaladze, Andrew Feeney, Conor Kelly, Mick McGrath, Brian Deeny.
CORK CONSTITUTION (Probable): Liam O’Connell, Sean French, Shane Daly, Niall Kenneally (capt), Rob Jermyn, Aidan Moynihan, Jason Higgins: Gavin Duffy, Vincent O’Brien, Dylan Murphy, Brian Hayes, Evan Mintern, Joe McSwiney, Kevin Sheahan, Luke Cahill
Replacements: Patrick Casey, Brendan Quinlan, James Murphy, Alex McHenry, Ross O’Neill, Duncan Williams, Jonathan Wren.
Referee: Jonny Erskine (IRFU)
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