Edinburgh faces Leinster
Edinburgh will face Leinster in the Magners League this Friday. The Magners League match will be key to how both sides progress in the League this season. Currently, Munster tops the table after three games of the season.
Leinster will visit the Scottish club after a poor performance against Benneton Treviso, which they lost 29-13 in Italy. The Irish side were expected to pick up maximum points on their visit to Italy, but were on the receiving end of a tough physical Treviso
team who won by a 16-point margin.
Leinster has started the Magners League in poor form and have only managed to beat the Cardiff Blues in a 34-23 points victory at the RDS. On their last trip to Scotland, Leinster lost narrowly to the Glasgow Warriors on the opening game of the season. New
manager Joe Schmidt will not be happy with the team’s performance, but will be hoping his side can bounce back against Edinburgh, which has also started the season poorly.
Edinburgh lost their three opening games. However, the fixture list has been unkind to coach Rob Moffat who had a difficult match away to Ulster, which they lost 29-21. They lost their home match to Munster in another closely contested game and had it not
been for the boot of Ronan O’ Gara, they would have managed a draw. In their first match they had a tricky away fixture to the Cardiff Blues. Edinburgh was beaten by 34 points to 23 that day.
This match will be crucial for both teams and it will be a surprise if both managers do not play their strongest sides. Leinster will most likely recall some of their big stars who came off the bench in the last match. Rob Kearney and Cian Healy may well
feature from the start.
Edinburgh will again be reliant on Chris Patterson’s kicking, which has been prolific over the past number of years. The Scottish full back could be the key player in the game. Both sides will seek to gain an advantage in the early stages and a tough physical
encounter will be expected.
The front fives match up well and whoever gains an advantage in the pack may well go on to win this match. Leinster must be disciplined in defence and give nothing away from kicking range or Patterson will punish them. Leinster will again rely on the pack
being dominant and if they can get enough ball, the likes of Brian O Driscoll, Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney and Isa Nacewa will cause Edinburgh massive problems.
Leinster are languishing in 8th place and would have had ambitions to reach a successive Magners League final having finished in first place last season. They finished the season losing to the Ospreys in the final.
Edinburgh will also be looking for a win after finishing well last season. Currently, they languish at the bottom of the table and are only ahead of minnows Aironi Rugby on points difference. Neither side can afford to lose this game.
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