“He’s an exciting player and the fact that he has put his hand up that early in the season is really good.”
The Guinness PRO14 is two weeks into the 2019/20 season and usual suspects Leinster and Munster are flying wins with two wins from two. Leading lights – due to points difference – are Cheetahs, who have handed out thundering thumpings in their first two games.
Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble were joined by Jerry Flannery for the latest episode of Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby and all three kicked off the show by delving into the PRO14 for the first time this season.
Flannery has been very impressed by a couple of young bucks from Munster and Leinster, Trimble spotted a couple of South African dangermen and, over in Connacht, their scrum-halves are running amok.
Rhyno Smith and Anthonie Volmink (Cheetahs)
The Cheetahs have torched in 111 points in two games and have doled out beatings to Cardiff and Ulster. As always, the question will be if they can do it outside of South Africa but Gold help every other team if they even come close to replicating such form.
Volmink raged in a hat-trick against a bedraggled Ulster while Smith has scored three tries in two games and an amazing name.
Shane Daly (Munster)
“He was man of the match in Munster’s first two games,” notes Flannery of Daly (pictured above).
“He’s not got a clearly defined position yet. He has featured on the wing [for Munster] but he played 13 for the Under 20s team that had Jacob Stockdale, James Ryan and Andrew Porter. He’s got really good feet, he’s big and he’s good aerially. He’s an exciting player and the fact that he has put his hand up that early in the season is really good for Munster. He’s the sort of guy who can make something out of nothing.”
Caolin Blade (Connacht)
The Connacht outhalf missed out on the extended Ireland World Cup squad but their loss was Andy Friend’s gain. Blade and the Connacht squad ripped through a positive pre-season and he was given the No.9 jersey for their opening two Guinness PRO14 games even though Kieran Marmion was released back to them.
Marmion scored off the bench for Connacht, at the weekend, but Blade had already broken Treviso with two cracking tries. Check out the footwork here:
Caolin Blade out destroying lads at the weekend 🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/2CchtvoGnP
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 8, 2019
Aged 25 now so not a bolter, by any means, but this season could well see his breakthrough in the Irish set-up too.
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster)
“He’s quality.”
That is Jerry Flannery’s take on Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher, brother to back three talent Cian. Ronan scored a hat-trick against Ospreys in Leinster’s 53-5 victory over Ospreys and is a player that will hope to stake a claim, in years to come, for the Leinster and Ireland No.2 jersey.
“I saw him play for Leinster A in the A tournament that was on in Boston, last season. He’s dynamic and powerful. There’ll be a good tussle between himself, James Tracy, Bryan Byrne and Seanie Cronin, when he gets back from the World Cup.”
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The latest episode sees Barry Murphy, Andrew Trimble and Jerry Flannery look ahead to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
