Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Leinster defeat Edinburgh at Murrayfield
Australian Rocky Elsom, who was playing in his first ever Heineken Cup match, picked up the Heineken Man of the Match award, in part due to his fine solo try. Beating the tackles was the first step, but the speed he showed to pull away and keep the lead was impressive.
Center Brian ODriscoll, whos been below par in the past year or so, looked to come back to form as he sparked the midfield with typical BOD style runs, and himself got on the end of a nice break from Felipe Contepomi. The try itself was fuelled with controversy though as it looked to have come from an earlier forward pass.
The good news for Leinster fans is that ODriscoll showed a few moments of pure class, the type of which were seeing from the man once hailed as the best center in the world. Importantly, hes looking in good shape too.
I've lost a few pounds. I was too, not muscle bound, but I was too heavy last year. I was carrying a bit but I was probably eating the weights a bit more too. I've come down the guts of a stone."
"I feel quick, I definitely feel quicker than last year, but 80 minutes is a long time to carry around an extra stone, if you look at it that way. I've worked on that side of things a lot more, I've worked on being able to make it through 80 minutes. I used to struggle, after 65-70 it used to start getting to me. Now I'm still struggling at times in games but I'm finishing strong, which is important."
It was an admirable performance by Edinburgh to stay within reach, but the experience and star quality of the Leinster side got them through for a comfortable start to the fascinating Heineken Cup.
Time: 05:42
Posted at 7:45 pm | 22 comments
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Viewing 22 comments
el nino October 14, 2008 6:35 pm
i watchd this match BOD was in awesome form mayb back in the lions contention ???
Alasdair October 14, 2008 7:27 pm
"It was an admirable performance by Edinburgh to stay within reach,"We don't agree here!
Third Centre October 14, 2008 7:33 pm
Gotta love the ridiculous forward pass before BOD's try !As a Leinster fan I'm very relieved but we need to improve a lot against Wasps
Robsy October 14, 2008 7:34 pm
Im n edinburgh fan and I have to say I was ashamed by their performance. I was really hoping that rugbydump wouldnt put highlights up of this game. Edinburgh are not as Sh*t as this. They could not tackle which was appaling for proffesional players. They are a much better team under Andy Robinson but are missing key players such as Ross Rennie, Dave Callam, and Ben Cairns. still there is no excuse it was appalling from Edinbrugh.
Anonymous October 14, 2008 8:39 pm
great support line by Contepomi for his try
Feargal October 14, 2008 8:41 pm
i had notice bod looked very heavy during the rwc and 6ns. also noticed he lost the tree trunk legs and ridiculous biceps after i saw a game pic in the paper. good to here hes gettin in proper shape. if he keeps it up he may shaft shanklin from the lions 13 jersey(he's most likely at the mo imo). also reckon o'connell had and fixed the same problem
martin-offload October 14, 2008 9:23 pm
What O'Driscoll is saying is that he was fat! lol
Jack October 14, 2008 10:21 pm
O'Driscoll getting back into form nice. Anyone see the big hit Van Der Linde made in the second half was class.
BC22 October 15, 2008 4:16 am
The constant soccer type appeals to the referee from Edinburgh were shameful.
Anonymous October 15, 2008 5:04 am
who is the massive fatty from edinburgh??? he is frekin hugeseriously everyone thinks that BOD is worked to hard the reality is that he goes out a drinks everynight thats why he looks so worn out he is a good player but he is going to waste he should stop being such a party animal
Sean October 15, 2008 5:05 am
Yes the appeals did seem a bit overdone but they were all necesary if you watched closer
Anarchangel October 15, 2008 5:10 am
Who would have thought rugby was so easy when you can pass forward* and stand around offside professionally disrupting the opposition ball!*Twice in BOD's try.
Anonymous October 15, 2008 7:55 am
Anyone see the late hit on Dempsey just before the Horgan try? That was a nasty sly hit
Iain October 15, 2008 8:09 am
I was really quite annoyed by Edinburgh playing so badly. I thought Southwell was particularly rubbish but it was a poor showing on the forwards' part too. I remember watching the Newport - Glasgow game at the beginning of the season and there was talk of good things to come from Edinburgh and Glasgow. So much for that, eh.It thought Godman actually played quite well, though. I've not had much chance to see him play so far this season and I think he's looking good to get the 10 shirt for the Autumn Internationals before Dan Parks. Mind you, I'd rather see David Blair and Gordon Ross play at 10 before Parks again.
Cheis October 15, 2008 8:14 am
contempomi runs like a prop :Pi prefer him at 12 instead of flyhalf!!good game though!!
Tanqueray October 15, 2008 9:26 am
I Was at the game, and it is fair to say that Edinburgh's defence was embarassingly poor, gifting Leinster at least 3 of their tries.Edinburgh had most of the play for the 1st 20 mins, but still found themselves 20 points down as a result. Leinster were never going to give away that kind of lead.Debney's refereeing was abysmal, but at least he was consistently shite, and I don't think either side benefitted particularly from it, with the exception perhaps of the try from the massive forward pass.Sadly Edinburgh now face the customary uphill struggle to even have the slightlest chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, which is a shame as they do have a talented squad.
Bailey October 15, 2008 11:34 am
what a crap game!!! these guys having NOTHING compared to super 14 and im bloody English
burger October 16, 2008 2:39 pm
edinburgh were rubbish and if they had played as well as they did last year they would have won. bod didnt hav to do anything, the defence was crap
Anonymous October 16, 2008 11:07 pm
Edinburgh were crap - they should have beaten Leinster who were on even worse form IMO - reason they did so badly was atrocious back cover and even worse refereeing. Leinster should have had one try chalked off and Edinburgh should have had another penalty try. As for someone bitching about football style hassling of the referee - the protests were not that bad. Leinster had scored through a HUGE forward pass and twice committed professional fouls in two try scoring opportunities for Edinburgh. Southwell was not that bad, the missed tackles were not his but the team defensive organisation was shambolic. Would love to see Robinson let rip.
Anonymous May 10, 2009 2:39 pm
edinburgh were very unlucky not to beat leinster
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