BBC Alba to screen Leinster vs Glasgow LIVE

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Pro12

BBC ALBA SCREEN LIVE COVERAGE OF LEINSTER V GLASGOW PRO12 PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL

Leinster v Glasgow Warriors

BBC ALBA – Saturday 12th May 19:30 – 21:25

BBC ALBA will this weekend screen live coverage of RaboDirect PRO12 semi-final showdown between Leinster and Glasgow Warriors.

Coverage from the Royal Dublin Society will begin on Saturday at 7.30pm. The match itself will begin at 7.35pm and commentary will be provided by Hugh Dan MacLennan.

Saturday’s clash will see Warriors and the Leinstermen bid to secure a place in the end of season PRO12 showpiece final.

Sean Lineen’s side will enter the game in a positive mood following last weekend’s comprehensive 24-3 win over Connacht and Warriors will be hoping they can progress one step further than they did in 2010 when they lost away to Ospreys at the semi-final stage.

The match will see Warriors come up against a formidable Leinster side who are aiming for a European and PRO12 double and who have reached the play-offs for the last three seasons.

However, Glasgow will take confidence from their unbeaten PRO12 record against Leinster this season.

Their first league meeting was in September when tries from Peter Horne and Nick Campbell, plus kicks from Duncan Weir and Scott Wight, helped Warriors to a famous 23-19 win in Dublin.

Their last league meeting was at Firhill in February in a match that ended in a 10-10 draw, with Glasgow’s points coming through a converted penalty try plus a penalty from Scotland stand-off Ruaridh Jackson.

As well as all the live action, we’ll have half-time features including interviews with Warriors skipper Al Kellock and departing head coach Sean Lineen.

BBC ALBA has signed an exclusive deal to show live RaboDirect PRO12 rugby in Scotland until the 2013/14 season. The channel is committed to showing at least eight Edinburgh or Glasgow home matches per season, and has teamed up with Irish and Welsh broadcasters to also provide live coverage of selected away matches for both sides.

Saints team named for Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Northampton, Premiership

The Northampton Saints team has been named for tomorrow’s Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final against Harlequins, being played at the Twickenham Stoop at 2:45pm.

After 22 Rounds of intense Aviva Premiership Rugby action the Saints confirmed their semi-final spot with last Saturday’s bonus point win over Worcester.

But while the Saints put five tries past the Warriors director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that the team will have to step up several gears for tomorrow’s trip to table-topping Harlequins.

“Harlequins have led the Premiership pretty much from start to finish, and will no doubt be feeling confident ahead of tomorrow’s game,” he said. “They have won plenty of big games in tough places and have a team which is playing with confidence.

“The forwards have been providing good ball and Nick Easter, Danny Care and Nick Evans have been guiding the rest of the team into the right areas of the field.

“It is going to be a very difficult game for us, but I believe that we have the right mentality and players to be able to get the result we want. Training has been intense and positive this week and everyone has been focused on the challenge in front of them.

“We know we have the team to do well, now it is up to the players to show what they can do.”

Tomorrow’s game sees Ben Foden become the fourth Saint this season to hit his century of appearances in the black, green and gold – the others being Chris Ashton, Lee Dickson and Roger Wilson – and Mallinder paid tribute to the full back.

“We have seen Ben develop his game consistently over the past few years, and he is now one of the important players we have at Franklin’s Gardens,” the Saints boss added. “He has had an outstanding season for us and has shown how good he is at international level as well.

“He is still improving, however, and with the new contract he signed earlier in the season I’m looking forward to seeing him play many more times for the Saints.”

Tickets remain available for tomorrow’s game at the Twickenham Stoop. Supporters who want to travel should contact the Harlequins ticket office directly.

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Leicester Tigers team for Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Leicester Tigers, Premiership

George Chuter will make his 200th starting appearance for Leicester Tigers in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final against Saracens at Welford Road (5.30pm).

England international hooker Chuter became the first player to reach 250 Premiership appearances in the win over Bath last Saturday which secured a home game in the semi-finals and reaches another personal landmark this weekend.

Ben Youngs, George Skivington and Graham Kitchener return to the Tigers squad after missing last Saturday’s Round 22 victory.

Tigers have reached the semi-final stages of the competition for an eighth successive year and face Saracens in a repeat of the last two Premiership Finals.

Tickets for Saturday’s game are available now from the Tigers ticket office. Call in at Welford Road or the Club Store in Market Street, Leicester, or phone the hotline on 0844 856 1880. Or book online at www.leicestertigers.com

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Leinster team to face Glasgow Warriors

Posted on May 11, 2012 in Glasgow, Leinster, RaboDirect Pro 12

The Leinster team to face the Glasgow Warriors in Saturday night’s RaboDirect PRO12 Play Off in the RDS (KO: 7.35pm) has been named.

Isa Nacewa will make his 100th appearance for the province as the two sides shape up for their fifth meeting this season.

Nacewa, 29, has to date scored 358 career points for Leinster and he starts at full-back in a back three which features Fergus McFadden – who replaces the injured Luke Fitzgerald – and David Kearney who lines up on the wing.

Rob Kearney (back) and Brian O’Driscoll (knee) picked up niggles in training this week and have been ruled out for this weekend’s game. The Ireland duo will be further assessed by the Leinster medical team over the coming days

Gordon D’Arcy – capped 204 times for the province to date – partners the fit again Eoin O’Malley at centre, with Eoin Reddan linking up at half back alongside Jonathan Sexton.

Jamie Heaslip leads the team and the Naas man is named in an all-Irish back-row alongside Shane Jennings and Sean O’Brien who makes his 70th appearance for the province. Devin Toner forms a second row partnership with All Black Brad Thorn.

Leo Cullen is named amongst a strong replacements bench.

Over 14,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday’s game and tickets are still on sale from www.leinsterrugby.ie, the Leinster Rugby Store (Donnybrook), Spar (Donnybrook) as well as Ticketmaster outlets nationwide. There will also be tickets on sale on the day on both Simmonscourt Road and Anglesea Road from 4pm.

Meanwhile, with a number of events taking place in and around the RDS on Saturday, supporters are advised to use Public Transport. Gates open at 6pm.

LEINSTER:

15: Isa Nacewa

14: Fergus McFadden

13: Eoin O’Malley

12: Gordon D’Arcy

11: David Kearney

10: Jonathan Sexton

9: Eoin Reddan

1: Cian Healy

2: Richardt Strauss

3: Mike Ross

4: Brad Thorn

5: Devin Toner

6: Sean O’Brien

7: Shane Jennings

8: Jamie Heaslip CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Sean Cronin

17: Heinke van der Merwe

18: Nathan White

19: Leo Cullen

20: Kevin McLaughlin

21: Isaac Boss

22: Ian Madigan

23: Andrew Conway

REFEREE: George Clancy (IRFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: John Lacey (IRFU), Leo Colgan (IRFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Mark Patton (IRFU), 5th OFFICIAL: Richard Kerr (IRFU), TMO: Marshall Kilgore (IRFU)

Rabo Direct Pro12 final venue permutations

Posted on May 11, 2012 in RaboDirect Pro 12

As the RaboDirect PRO12 Play-Off semi-finals get ready to kick-off in Swansea tonight (Friday, 11 May) RaboDirect PRO12 Chief Executive John Feehan has confirmed the arrangements for the Final on the weekend of 26/27 May.

As stated at the start of the season, and in accordance with the way the final venues were determined in the previous two seasons, the top ranked team from the regular campaign will enjoy home advantage.

The final rankings from the 22 rounds of RaboDirect PRO12 matches were as follows:

1. Leinster

2. Ospreys

3  Munster

4  Glasgow Warriors

This means the three possible venues for the RaboDirect PRO12 Final at RDS, home of Leinster, the Liberty Stadium, home of the Ospreys, and Thomond Park, home of the reigning champions Munster.

One of the three venues will be ruled out after the first semi-final in Swansea tonight, when the Ospreys host Munster. Whichever team wins will still have a chance of hosting the Final.

However, if Leinster beat Glasgow Warriors at the RDS on Saturday night then they will host the Final due to their No1 ranking.

“Ever since we introduced the Play-Off system at the start of the 2009/10 season we have wanted to reward the team finishing in the top two positions in the regular season. This means they get home advantage in the semi-finals and then, possibly, in the Final,” explained Feehan.

“We have enjoyed full houses at both previous Finals – 19,500 for Leinster v Ospreys in 2010 and 26,100 for Munster v Leinster in 2011 – and look forward to another world class, capacity occasion at the end of this month. Each team will be able to ask for up to 50% of the tickets for the Final.

“Due to the Republic of Ireland international football match against Bosnia at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 26 May, PRO12 decided, after discussions with both Leinster and our TV partners, to avoid any potential clash and switch a Dublin Final to Sunday, 27 May.

“It was also felt by all parties that due to the tight turn-around between the semi-finals and Final, it would be better to confirm the RDS as Leinster’s home venue, rather than consider a possible switch to the Aviva Stadium, to help with the ticketing, policing, travel and administration of the Final.”

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