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| Leinster v Bath: European Champions Cup – live! | Leinster v Bath: European Champions Cup – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 3.14pm BST15:14 | |
| The battle of the open-sides, Sean O’Brien v Francois Louw, is going to be magnificent. This is actually O’Brien’s first appearance for his province since the start of the season when he injured his shoulder. We could also see a head-to-head between two former rugby league teammates, Sam Burgess and Ben Te’o. Also look out for the young third-choice tight-head Kane Palma-Newport, who faces the Lion Cian Healy. | |
| 3.04pm BST15:04 | |
| Brian O’Driscoll is wearing maroon chinos. Where’s your messiah now, | |
| Flanders | |
| Ireland? | |
| 3.03pm BST15:03 | |
| Leinster 0-0 Bath | |
| OK we don’t have a live scores feed for this match, so I’m putting this non-event (we’ve still got 15 minutes to kick-off) right here so it appears at the top of your key event list at the top/right* of your screen. | |
| Also it’s only 15 minutes to kick-off and I’m worried the football men are still on the telly. | |
| •Delete depending on what you’re reading this on. | |
| 2.57pm BST14:57 | |
| @leinsterrugby I just found 2 tickets for the match today on the ground. Get in touch if you've lost yours #LEINvBATH | |
| 2.55pm BST14:55 | |
| Bath have won the toss. This isn’t cricket, so it doesn’t matter. But then I’ve been on OBO duty for six weeks, so I’m reporting it out of habit. | |
| 2.51pm BST14:51 | |
| One noteworthy name among the Bath replacements: Peter Stringer returns to the Aviva Stadium. This could be an emotional game for the former Ireland number nine. I can’t imagine supporters of Bath or Leinster, England or Ireland, would begrudge him a good game should he make it on today. | |
| 2.30pm BST14:30 | 2.30pm BST14:30 |
| Stat! The back rows are going to have to be on their best behaviour today: | Stat! The back rows are going to have to be on their best behaviour today: |
| 80 - @Ian_madigan (80) and @George_Fordy (69) rank 1st and 3rd for points scored in the @ChampionsCup 2014/15. Duel. pic.twitter.com/CtXGwgn3uJ | 80 - @Ian_madigan (80) and @George_Fordy (69) rank 1st and 3rd for points scored in the @ChampionsCup 2014/15. Duel. pic.twitter.com/CtXGwgn3uJ |
| 2.29pm BST14:29 | 2.29pm BST14:29 |
| If anyone fancies sending in predictions, please feel free. Leinster by 10, I reckon, in a neat reflection of Ireland v England. | If anyone fancies sending in predictions, please feel free. Leinster by 10, I reckon, in a neat reflection of Ireland v England. |
| 2.25pm BST14:25 | 2.25pm BST14:25 |
| Elsewhere today, there is football on. This being 2015, you’ve no excuse for navigating away from here rather than opening them in new tabs, but Barry Glendenning has a very entertaining match between Arsenal and Liverpool and Niall McVeigh is on the 3pm kick-off clockwatch/seeing who wins the office sweepstakes. Just remember that I’ve got the better sport right here. | Elsewhere today, there is football on. This being 2015, you’ve no excuse for navigating away from here rather than opening them in new tabs, but Barry Glendenning has a very entertaining match between Arsenal and Liverpool and Niall McVeigh is on the 3pm kick-off clockwatch/seeing who wins the office sweepstakes. Just remember that I’ve got the better sport right here. |
| 2.19pm BST14:19 | 2.19pm BST14:19 |
| The teams have been confirmed as announced earlier in the week and thus as below. | The teams have been confirmed as announced earlier in the week and thus as below. |
| The team takes a pre-match stroll out on the famous pitch. #QF pic.twitter.com/1cXOezyUtF | The team takes a pre-match stroll out on the famous pitch. #QF pic.twitter.com/1cXOezyUtF |
| Someone might want to let Bath’s social media person know that this ground is less than five years old and this isn’t THE Lansdowne Road pitch. Someone pedantic, I guess. | Someone might want to let Bath’s social media person know that this ground is less than five years old and this isn’t THE Lansdowne Road pitch. Someone pedantic, I guess. |
| 2.15pm BST14:15 | 2.15pm BST14:15 |
| Afternoon folks. Today is about one thing, and one thing only: revenge. The last time an English side went across the Irish sea and tried to take Dublin, things didn’t go too well for them. They were battered and bruised, not outfought as many expected but rather outsmarted. They got sucked into traps, gave penalties and possession away and found themselves kicked to death by a team that plays deathly dull anti-rugby but plays it mighty effectively (actually that’s kinda ironic when you think about it). A few short weeks ago in the Six Nations, England were given a royal stuffing by Ireland, more so than the 19-9 scoreline suggested. | Afternoon folks. Today is about one thing, and one thing only: revenge. The last time an English side went across the Irish sea and tried to take Dublin, things didn’t go too well for them. They were battered and bruised, not outfought as many expected but rather outsmarted. They got sucked into traps, gave penalties and possession away and found themselves kicked to death by a team that plays deathly dull anti-rugby but plays it mighty effectively (actually that’s kinda ironic when you think about it). A few short weeks ago in the Six Nations, England were given a royal stuffing by Ireland, more so than the 19-9 scoreline suggested. |
| So now England’s George Ford, Anthony Watson, David Attwood and Jonathan Joseph, humbled that day, go back to the Aviva stadium to face Leinster with revenge on their minds. Well, revenge and proving themselves proper European heavyweights, reaching the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition and turning around English teams’ poor recent away record in European knock-out rugby. Actually, on second thoughts, let’s not get too hung up on that whole revenge thing. | So now England’s George Ford, Anthony Watson, David Attwood and Jonathan Joseph, humbled that day, go back to the Aviva stadium to face Leinster with revenge on their minds. Well, revenge and proving themselves proper European heavyweights, reaching the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition and turning around English teams’ poor recent away record in European knock-out rugby. Actually, on second thoughts, let’s not get too hung up on that whole revenge thing. |
| Bath, beaten twice in the opening two rounds of the pool stages, are, by some distance, the underdogs today. However, they came back from the dead in said pool stages to qualify and produced one of the very finest performances of any team this season when winning in Toulouse. Leinster on the other hand have wobbled a wee bit; they’re off the pace in the Pro 12, are without a win in three and didn’t fully convince in winning their pool. It could just be that they’re feeling the effects of actually having to qualify for the competition now. Clearly part of the Anglo-French conspiracy to sideline the Celtic nations, this whole getting-in-on-merit thing. | Bath, beaten twice in the opening two rounds of the pool stages, are, by some distance, the underdogs today. However, they came back from the dead in said pool stages to qualify and produced one of the very finest performances of any team this season when winning in Toulouse. Leinster on the other hand have wobbled a wee bit; they’re off the pace in the Pro 12, are without a win in three and didn’t fully convince in winning their pool. It could just be that they’re feeling the effects of actually having to qualify for the competition now. Clearly part of the Anglo-French conspiracy to sideline the Celtic nations, this whole getting-in-on-merit thing. |
| However this revenge-mission-but-not turns out, be it Die Hard 3 (brilliant) or I Spit on Your Grave (terrible), let’s celebrate the return of the best show in northern hemisphere rugby anyhow. After what was, let’s face it, a pretty poor, stodgy Six Nations, saved by its final weekend (the whole of which I missed with flu), the European Champions Cup should provide us with tense, high-grade, attacking rugby. Indeed there are a few sides – Leinster, Toulon, Clermont, Saracens and Northampton – who you’d fancy to challenge for the Six Nations title. Never mind tradition, this is where it’s at this spring. | However this revenge-mission-but-not turns out, be it Die Hard 3 (brilliant) or I Spit on Your Grave (terrible), let’s celebrate the return of the best show in northern hemisphere rugby anyhow. After what was, let’s face it, a pretty poor, stodgy Six Nations, saved by its final weekend (the whole of which I missed with flu), the European Champions Cup should provide us with tense, high-grade, attacking rugby. Indeed there are a few sides – Leinster, Toulon, Clermont, Saracens and Northampton – who you’d fancy to challenge for the Six Nations title. Never mind tradition, this is where it’s at this spring. |
| The number of Six Nations stars on show today lends weight to this theory. The hosts make nine changes and feature nine of the championships’ winning players in their starting XV. You can add internationals Fergus McFadden and Isaac Boss to that lot, not to mention Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Eoin Reddan and Gordon D’Arcy on the bench. Bath too have shuffled their side from that which consigned London Welsh to relegation last Sunday, with Watson, Joseph, Ford and Attwood all coming in as well as Wales’ prop Paul James.. Vengeance or no, this is a hell of a good looking match. | The number of Six Nations stars on show today lends weight to this theory. The hosts make nine changes and feature nine of the championships’ winning players in their starting XV. You can add internationals Fergus McFadden and Isaac Boss to that lot, not to mention Richardt Strauss, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Eoin Reddan and Gordon D’Arcy on the bench. Bath too have shuffled their side from that which consigned London Welsh to relegation last Sunday, with Watson, Joseph, Ford and Attwood all coming in as well as Wales’ prop Paul James.. Vengeance or no, this is a hell of a good looking match. |
| Kick-off is at 3.15pm BST. Here are your teams: | Kick-off is at 3.15pm BST. Here are your teams: |
| Leinster: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Ben Te’o, Ian Madigan; Luke Fitzgerald; Jimmy Gopperth, Issac Boss; Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jordi Murphy, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip (c). | Leinster: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Ben Te’o, Ian Madigan; Luke Fitzgerald; Jimmy Gopperth, Issac Boss; Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jordi Murphy, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip (c). |
| Replacements: Richard Strauss, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Tom Denton, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gordon D’Arcy, Zane Kirchner. | Replacements: Richard Strauss, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Tom Denton, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gordon D’Arcy, Zane Kirchner. |
| Bath: Anthony Watson; Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan; George Ford, Micky Young; Paul James, Rob Webber, Kane Palma-Newport, Stuart Hooper (c), Dave Attwood, Carl Fearns, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston. | Bath: Anthony Watson; Horacio Agulla, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle Eastmond, Matt Banahan; George Ford, Micky Young; Paul James, Rob Webber, Kane Palma-Newport, Stuart Hooper (c), Dave Attwood, Carl Fearns, Francois Louw, Leroy Houston. |
| Replacements: Ross Batty, Nick Auterac, Max Lahiff, Matt Garvey, Alafoti Faosiliva, Peter Stringer, Sam Burgess, Tom Homer. | Replacements: Ross Batty, Nick Auterac, Max Lahiff, Matt Garvey, Alafoti Faosiliva, Peter Stringer, Sam Burgess, Tom Homer. |