RUGBY OPINION
Leinster drawn against familiar foe in Champions Cup
By Daire Walsh
IRISH fans will get another chance to see the legendary Paul O’Connell on home soil following the completion of this Autumn’s World Cup, after his new club Toulon were drawn alongside Leinster in Pool 5 of the 2015/16 European Rugby Champions Cup.
The French giants will be aiming to secure a fourth successive European top-tier crown, and the addition of the veteran Irish lock is an indication of their ambition for the upcoming campaign. With no significant development in their search for a new head coach, Leinster may well enter the new season with Leo Cullen in temporary charge.
With several players set to feature at the World Cup, the opening weeks of the Guinness Pro12 will seriously test the resources available to the Blues, and with Bath and London Wasps completing the line-up in their group, Leinster’s front-line players will need to hit the ground running upon their return.
The past week was once again a busy one on the international stage for Ireland, with Nigel Carolan’s U20 outfit bringing their World Rugby Championship campaign to an end in mixed fashion. There was disappointment in 5th-8th place play-off against Wales on Monday evening of last week (June 15), when their Celtic counterparts held the edge in their second meeting of 2015.
A rotation of the squad meant that Billy Dardis missed out on this encounter, but Athy’s Joey Carbery did retain his place at out-half for the fourth consecutive fixture. The damage in this contest was essentially inflicted by Wales in the opening period, when they amassed 22 unanswered points.
An improved performance upon the resumption led to tries from Ciaran Gaffney and Charlie Rock, but as a result of a 22-12 reversal to their Six Nations rivals, Ireland finished the tournament with another play-off tie against Scotland.
Ireland had already registered a victory over the Scots in the group stages, and with Dardis returning to a back-line spearheaded by Carbery, the Green Army ultimately achieved a seventh-place finish.
Elsewhere, there was success for the Emerging Ireland squad in the Tbilisi Cup, as they added to earlier triumphs over Emerging Italy and Uruguay with an accomplished 45-12 win against hosts Georgia at Avchala Stadium.
This ensured that Allen Clarke’s side had a 100% record in the competition, and claimed the silverware on offer. It was also a productive weekend for the Ireland Men’s Sevens, who added a Rugby Europe Division B Cup title to their growing list of honours.
With a total of 381 points scored over the course of six games in Zagreb (and not a single point conceded), the Wolfhounds have now qualified for the Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament in Lisbon next month.
Naas’ Adam Byrne was a pivotal member of this winning side, and although Jenny Murphy was once more absent with injury, the Ireland Women’s Sevens brigade recovered from a quarter-final defeat to France in the Rugby Europe Women’s Grand Prix Series on Sunday morning to overcome the Netherlands in the final of the competition’s plate section.