PRO 14 | ROUND 9 | 3 THINGS
After the international break, this weekend the PRO14 is back with all 14 teams in action.
Here are 3 things to watch out for as we head in to round 9.
Conor Murray has been out with a neck injury since Ireland's summer tour to Australia and has yet to play for his province this season. The scrum half has been in the middle of an ever growing rumour mill since being taken off the field in the last of Ireland's summer tests. The recruitment of former All Black Alby Matthewson on a four month contract to Munster and the radio silence from inside the Munster camp only added fuel to the injury speculation fire. Speaking on Newstalk's Rugby Off The Ball podcast, Murray cleared the air stating that the silence was due to not fully knowing the extent of the injury rather than purposefully withholding medical information. Despite not making it into the team that secured a historic win over the All Blacks in Dublin last weekend, Murray has been back in full training this week and is set to mark his return to the league with a game against Zebre in Parma this Sunday.
In the 2016/2017 season, before the arrival of Richard Cockerill, Edinburgh managed only 6 wins out of 22 in the Pro12. Since then, the now head coach of the Scottish capital's side, has turned the team's fortunes around. Last season Cockerill's men secured 15 wins and a place in the PRO14 quarter finals.
This season, Edinburgh got off to a rocky start with two consecutive losses away against Ospreys and Ulster. A win against Connacht in the third round was quickly forgotten as the Scotsmen were thrashed away to Leinster 31-7 and in round 7 they suffered a 34-16 loss to Zebre. Wins against Benetton and Cheetahs and a convincing win against the Scarlets in round 8 keep the outfit in 4th position in Conference B. Edinburgh's performance against the Scarlets was impressive and looks promising for the side's future. They made it hard for the West Walians to play their brand of rugby, or any rugby at all. Constant pressure from the home side in the Scarlets 22 resulted in 5 tries and a 31-21 win. Despite the shakey start, Edinburgh look set to improve and continue to climb up the league and if they carry their good form into the game against the Dragons this Sunday then the men from Newport, who recently sacked their defence coach in a bid to improve their performance, might be in for a long evening at Rodney parade.
Irish fans will be wild with excitment and pride for years to come after their country's win over New Zealand in Dublin last weekend and so they should be. It's not often a team beats the All Blacks let alone beat them twice in two years. However, it'll be a different story for the players. Less than five minutes after the final whistle cemented Ireland's famous win, Rory Best had already begun thinking about their next challange - the USA. There is no time for complacency at the highest level and although it will be something all involved will take with them wherever they go in life, for now at least, they have more work to do.
Leinster will be welcoming the Ospreys to the RDS this Friday evening where they will be without some of their star international players - including all three of their world class openside flankers.
Sean O'Brien will be out for a few weeks with a broken arm, an injury he picked up playing against Argentina earlier this autumn; Dan Leavy was sat in the stands at the Aviva last weekend watching his fellow Irish team mates and Josh Van Der Flier battled his way through one of the greates wins in Irish rugby history. With all regular Leinster openside flankers away on international duty, it is time for the next generation to prove themselves at the RDS. Welcome 19 year old Academy player Scott Penny.
It's not often that someone like Penny will get handed a chance like this with 3 world class 7s playing in his side. Let's see what he makes of his chance as he starts in that all important no. 7 Leinster jersey.
Here are 3 things to watch out for as we head in to round 9.
1. The Return of Conor Murray
2. Edinburgh On The Rise
This season, Edinburgh got off to a rocky start with two consecutive losses away against Ospreys and Ulster. A win against Connacht in the third round was quickly forgotten as the Scotsmen were thrashed away to Leinster 31-7 and in round 7 they suffered a 34-16 loss to Zebre. Wins against Benetton and Cheetahs and a convincing win against the Scarlets in round 8 keep the outfit in 4th position in Conference B. Edinburgh's performance against the Scarlets was impressive and looks promising for the side's future. They made it hard for the West Walians to play their brand of rugby, or any rugby at all. Constant pressure from the home side in the Scarlets 22 resulted in 5 tries and a 31-21 win. Despite the shakey start, Edinburgh look set to improve and continue to climb up the league and if they carry their good form into the game against the Dragons this Sunday then the men from Newport, who recently sacked their defence coach in a bid to improve their performance, might be in for a long evening at Rodney parade.
3. Leinster 7
Leinster will be welcoming the Ospreys to the RDS this Friday evening where they will be without some of their star international players - including all three of their world class openside flankers.
Sean O'Brien will be out for a few weeks with a broken arm, an injury he picked up playing against Argentina earlier this autumn; Dan Leavy was sat in the stands at the Aviva last weekend watching his fellow Irish team mates and Josh Van Der Flier battled his way through one of the greates wins in Irish rugby history. With all regular Leinster openside flankers away on international duty, it is time for the next generation to prove themselves at the RDS. Welcome 19 year old Academy player Scott Penny.
It's not often that someone like Penny will get handed a chance like this with 3 world class 7s playing in his side. Let's see what he makes of his chance as he starts in that all important no. 7 Leinster jersey.
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