Hi Everyone

Just a quick one for now, as the Irish squad is being announced later in the week and I thought as we’re so close, we may as well wait till then to have a proper blog.

Still, there are a few things to talk about today, have you noticed that the same two things let the big two teams down at the weekend, rucking and kicking!

Breakdown killing "big guns"

Both were beaten well at the breakdown, turning over lots of good ball.

In Munster’s case, you can add to this the fact that their discipline has started to slip here.

Kicking is also a much bigger problem for Munster, when they haven’t been playing well they have always have had O’Gara to fall back on and this just isn’t there at the moment.

Is all ok with ROG?!

Listening to him on the radio and reading some of his comments - it just doesn’t sound good in camp ROG!

Yes, we all know that he is supremely confident (if that is the right word!) but when you read him trying to pick one good game that he has had this season (Indo) and talking about how experience counts, it sounds like he is feeling the pressure that Sexton is putting him under.

Have no doubt Ireland still needs him to be playing well, whichever way Kidney goes for the starting berth, healthy competition is the only thing that can bring out the best in these players.

Leinster shouldn't have rested players

Why did Leinster rest players going into this one? Wouldn’t next week have been a better one? Had they not been watching Ulster in the last while? (Expect a good few northies to be in Declan’s squad!)

Cian Healy was missed in the front row, neither of the second rows were natural lineout leaders and on that note how in hell did they just allow Ulster to just keep throwing the front of the lineout?

In crap weather, lineout defence 101 is stop them getting easy ball, stack the front and make them try to throw it long! Drive you nuts!

I’m not even to go into how much Sexton kicking alone was missed and not just for points, the positional kicking wasn’t smart.

Who played well?

Heaslip and O’Brien played well, the latter could make the November international squad.

Also it had to be said is there any end to Brian O’Driscoll and his hunger for the game?!

The only reason that I’d look forward to the sad day that he does retire, is that we can finally start calling him, rightfully, the best that there ever was!

Connacht let another slip, they fought hard but they need to be winning these games soon! Have a look at the table and see why.

Connacht as feeder, won't happen!

You are all right, a feeder province would work great in developing talent but the problem here isn’t the IRFU but the other provinces themselves.

They do not want to have players going to other teams with all the knowledge they would have of their structures, calls, etc...that’s just the way it is.

Talk to you soon.