Compiled by GAVIN CUMMISKEY
Costello's Munster marching on
MUNSTER are clearly reaping the benefit of the British and Irish Cup this season. Their bonus point, 29-0, win in Moseley should be enough to put the Ian Costello- coached A team into the knockout stages of the competition.
Munster scored tries through Dave Kilcoyne, Christy Condon, Paddy Butler and Peter Borlase.
The Ulster Ravens also won in England – and progress – beating the Rotherham Titans 31-24.
And, at Donnybrook yesterday, Leinster A drew with London Welsh, 24-24.
Set-piece frustrations boil over: Coaches call for change
SKY Sports commentator Mark Robson has a habit of uttering some grating one-liners but at least he does his research. Until Jerome Garces came to Swansea last Friday night, the Ospreys had managed to repel 17 previous visitors to the Liberty Stadium.
London-South Africa, I mean Saracens, broke the Thomond- esque fortress on Friday night with a 16-13 victory but at least the Ospreys are pale-faced this Christmas, like any hard man plying his trade in these freezing times should be.
“They have been working hard on changing the culture down here from the old days, the galacticos,” said Robson. “They banned the fake tan. They only wear the coloured boots if you have played 50 times for the Ospreys or won 15 caps. They want to change the culture.”
Just as he said it, Garces stood over yet another mangled scrum. That was a different problem entirely as both coaches agreed afterwards.
“I think we would be better off not having scrums,” said Ospreys coach Sean Holley.
“We do not practise moves from scrums now because it is such a mess,” added Mark McCall, Saracens director of rugby and former Irish centre.
Traditional festive fare: St Vincent's retain the cup
THERE was once a time when the Hospital’s Cup would pack the rafters at Donnybrook. On the go since 1881, the competition still exists. St Vincent’s University Hospital retained their crown on Friday night with a 14-0 victory over the Trinity Federation Hospital’s (St James’s, Tallaght and the Dublin Dental hospital) at Anglesea Road.
If the list of coaches is anything to go by, it is still taken very seriously. Beaumont were trained by two former Leinster stalwarts, Malcolm O’Kelly and Emmet Byrne, who has been studying medicine since his retirement.
St Vincent’s had Greg McWilliams, who coached St Michael’s College to their first Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup title back in 2007, at the helm with a little help from former Blackrock coach Barry Gibney.
St Vincent’s were swamped with former Blackrock schoolboys, but they were actually captained by Patrick Lee of neighbouring Oatlands College.
10– Number of games Connacht have now lost on the bounce. They can't be blamed for their endeavour, though, as they were only undone on Saturday by Gloucester centre Johnny May's 75th-minute try. They lost 23-19, but on a scale of one to 10 for unluckiness . . . you get the point.
In the shadow of Carter: Berquist steals the limelight
MATT Berquist’s Leinster career has yet to really get going due to a cracked kneecap back in September. Word is the Kiwi outhalf is on the mend, although Ian Madigan and Irish rugby have clearly benefited from his absence.
Like most number 10s from the down there, Berquist existed in the shadow of Dan Carter during his time at the Canterbury Crusaders, but the New Zealand Herald’s end-of-season accolades threw him a back-handed compliment yesterday under the “Biggest Surprise” of the season.
“Dan Carter was struck down with an iffy hamstring midway through the campaign forcing Mat Berquist into the No 10 shirt. His first outing was against the champion Bulls and Berquist, a journeyman who had never really shown himself to be anything other than provincial quality, emerged as the night’s hero. He was composed, accurate and decisive – knocked over his goals, passed and ran neatly, and put his side in all the right places. He kept that up for the entire period Carter was injured.”
