Pro14 Final Leinster v Scarlets Sat 6PM Aviva Stadium

[alanair]

Berry, who has refereed 11 international games, will be assisted by Marius Mitrea (FIR) as Assistant Referee 1 and Mike Adamson (SRU) as Assistant Referee 2. Neil Paterson of the SRU will serve as the Television Match Official.

so Not only Berry... but that 'plank' of a TMO / former Ref Paterson.... God help us

[wixfjord]

Seems 1/2P is having a fitness test tomorrow to determine his availability.

[Oldschool]

Its a bit of a smoke screen. Last game of a long season, they played last weekend and have prepped to play us only a few weeks ago, I'd say training is not that critical this week compared to recovery and review.

Red herring designed to lull us into a sense that they'll be arriving on zimmer frames, barely able to stand never mind play rugby.

[Ruckedtobits]

Berry, who has refereed 11 international games, will be assisted by Marius Mitrea (FIR) as Assistant Referee 1 and Mike Adamson (SRU) as Assistant Referee 2. Neil Paterson of the SRU will serve as the Television Match Official.

so Not only Berry... but that 'plank' of a TMO / former Ref Paterson.... God help us

Fes Refs in Pro12 / Magners / Celtic ever had less 'feel' for the game than Paterson. To see him appointed for the Final because of nationality makes a total joke of the competition. Having make a few good calls during the season, this is a very poor one.

[Icarus]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

[blockhead]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

Scarlets sound like the Munster of Wales.

[domhnallj]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

no mention of the lethal combination of porridge, haggis and pints of heavy they were force-fed when up in Glasgow?

[neiliog93]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

Scarlets sound like the Munster of Wales.

They very much identify as such and I've heard them saying how Scarlets-Ospreys or to a lesser extent Scarlets-Cardiff is similar to Leinster-Munster. Except where the skill levels are concerned.

[Flash Gordon]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

The "refreshed players" advantage is the best one. A Champion Cup final in Bilbao followed by a game the next week which was a hard physical local derby is hardly refreshing is it?

[fourthirtythree]

That one is a bit odd alright. Our squad has been running on empty recently.

I think whoever wrote that was "very refreshed" themselves...

[deco]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

Scarlets sound like the Munster of Wales.

Well they did beat NZ once.

[blockhead]

They are getting their excuses in early over in the Planet Rugby forum:

Capital City of Ireland vs Town in Carmarthenshire
Top players coming back refreshed after being rested vs A squad full of players with burns, blisters and sores
Biggest budget in Pro 14 vs Budget in lower half of Pro 14 teams
Playing in home stadium across the road vs Having to travel for an away game
Hoards of home fans vs The odd few farmers who still have money left to travel after the semi

Scarlets sound like the Munster of Wales.

Well they did beat NZ once.

Was there a Play made about it?

[Logorrhea]

Getting a little hyped about this match. I think this is going to be a massive performance.

[ronk]

They’ve switched to longer seasons than they used to have with more international call ups.

Waiting for the internationals to finish preseason later is normal for us. We saw the same thing with Scarlets fans who didn’t like the semi final draw rules but were only realizing that.

It’s an adjustment, but they’ve pro players who will manage.

[wixfjord]

I'm slightly worried actually. We need our pack to get on top of them again and for there to be no slack kicking. They'll have learned from the semi.

But particularly I'm worried about our wide defence. Both Lowe and Larmour can be got at by a team like the Scarlets.

An 11 point handicap seems a lot.

[Angelsea Angst]

I think that the Leinster team to play in the final will be stronger than the team which played against Munster in the semi-final due to the return of key players such as Sexton and due also to the greater preparation focus and time for the match. We wont beat Scarlets as comprehensively as we did in the European semi final but we will nevertheless beat them and lift the Pro14 trophy. Let us, as the 16th man, also do our bit and ensure that Isa does not finish his Leinster career on a low note. We will need to make ourselves heard in the Aviva like we did in Bilbao.

[paddyor]

Berry, who has refereed 11 international games, will be assisted by Marius Mitrea (FIR) as Assistant Referee 1 and Mike Adamson (SRU) as Assistant Referee 2. Neil Paterson of the SRU will serve as the Television Match Official.

so Not only Berry... but that 'plank' of a TMO / former Ref Paterson.... God help us

Having watched the game back, I'm fine with him. Can't really think of a whole lot he did wrong except bring it back for Munster adv after they kicked it away. The 2 big decisions weren't his. There's a good interview with him on the hard yards podcast towards the end.

[suisse]

I'm genuinely surprised they have any time to type given they seem to spend their days incessantly booing.

The Welsh reaction to the Europe semi is glorious. They finally decided to be competitive and join the big boys. It was only then they spotted how unfair semis can be. But given they never had to go to Bordeaux or Marseille, sure what would they know?

[Andrew097]

A Euro final, a semi against Munster and a final against Scarlets is pretty daunting considering the quality of the Scarlets team. They looked more than comfortable against Glasgow. The Leinster speedster looks like it is running out of gas. I think Leinster might struggle this Saturday to get a win. It might even come down to the sequence of scores. If they get a lead or good start we might just lack the energy to pull them back.
Hope I,m wrong

[neiliog93]

Berry as the ref isn't a complete disaster but Patterson as the TMO is very worrying. The Grobler decision was bizarre and he seems the type who will listen to a referee's prompt when a particular decision is being considered, even if he can see 100% reliable evidence that the referee's gut instinct was wrong in front of his eyes.