Heineken Cup Final

when I googled Courtney Lawes I just found image after image of this guy looking seriously confused! do it

So here we are after a long season, Leinster and Northampton have navigated their way through the pool stages and knockout stages undefeated... But what happens when 2 teams meet undefeated? Somethings got to give.

Cardiff has proved quite a successful venue for Irish teams in the past. There was Munster in 06 and 08 followed by the Grand slam for Ireland in 09... but does that bear any significance on this game? not really...

Leinster are slight favorites heading into the game with the bookies giving them a handicap of -6.0.. 6 points in rugby though is a slender lead.. One break away try and you can kiss that 6 point lead bye bye. Northampton have got the men for break away tries too. Remember the quarter final when they played Ulster? A try their scrum half finished off courtesy of a super counter attack by Ashton and Foden. Their try was simply class, however I'd like to point out that Leinster won't switch off as easy to allow something like that to happen.

Both of these teams are fairly equal and have adapted to the new laws probably the best in the northern hemisphere. A very mobile pack and a cracking back 3 lies await on each team but there similarities stop there as Leinster have got a centre that the rest of the world can only dream about. Any team would gladly take Brian O'Driscoll into their starting 15. The man is a rugby genius and finals are what he was born to play. He always does it on the big occasion and this one will be no exception. 1-15 in the Leinster team is sprinkled with talent and there subs bench isn't too shabby either with the young guns to call on. Northamptons threats come from their pack and their ever impressing duo of Ashton and Foden. In the pack they have got Dylan Hartley who we won't talk about much on this blog due to the fact that I can't stand him. Credit where credit is due though, he has the look of a good leader about him, that seems to be his strongest point, but I think he's an average professional rugby player at best. The other guy in there ranks is Courtney Lawes. What can I say about him? He's tall, athletic, big hitter, hard worker, etc. etc. I could go on but I won't. And here is why... From 5 o clock tomorrow, the Sky commentators will begin to talk about Courtney Lawes. They have him up there with Jesus and the likes.... But you will be sick hearing about him by the end of the game and that is a fact. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a Courtney Cam set up for tomorrow ( a camera that follows Courtney Lawes ONLY)... In fact even if Leinster do win tomorrow, Courntey Lawes will probably get man of the match.

Anyway enough of all that, lets get down to business.... Who do I think is going to win? Leinster.... Who do I want to win? Again Leinster..... Who is going to win? Comments and predictions below please... All I know is, its going to be a fantastic final. The Millenium Stadium is the best stadium in the world for an atmosphere and I hope they close the roof.... Allez le Bleus

RT Prediction: Leinster

Supa Dupa Rugby Round Up with Francois “I’m so Lonely” Badenhorst

Greetings, how are you? How’s your mom? Oh yeah I had that checked; the doctor says its just an undescending testicle. Okay, now that we’ve exchanged formalities it’s time for you to sit down and let me tell what’s happening... SHUT THE HELL UP BACK THERE!
The first game of round 13 was the most uneventful with the Highlanders bagging a 13-6 win over the struggling Hurricanes. Highlanders are hanging in there so far and could pose quite a danger to the Crusaders playoff ambitions. The other game played in Nzed, however, was far more eventful. The Chiefs beat the Stormers 30-23 in a game that was as bi-polar, some would say bi-winning, as Charlie Sheen. To give a closer insight on the whole thing I’m gonna give you guys the internal dialogue I was having at half time:
Francois (Me): Oh great! The Stormers are up 20-3 at halftime! No way this could go wrong. What a way to start my Saturday then watching my beloved Stormers win. I mustn’t forget to bury that prostitute that I left overnight in my cars trunk.
As you can ascertain I was pretty sure of victory and as you can divine from the final score I was wrong. Curse you Stormers!
Over in my most favourite country in the world, Australia, the Reds and the Blues squared off in a battle of the log leaders. The Reds did their chances a world of good by winning this one 37-31. The Reds won far handier than the score line suggests and were never really in danger of losing the game.. Reds won, Stormers lost, how could weekend get any better? Well it did; quite rapidly in fact and it was all down to the minnows of South African rugby. The Lions won! Not only won but away from home on the distant shores of Australia. Yes that’s right, The Lions clocked the Brumbies 29-20 in Canberra. It wasn’t any fluke either the Lions played out of their skin scoring some killer tries. New captain Josh Strauss was an absolute inspiration for the Lions.
The Bulls slaughtered the Rebels 47-10 in Pretoria. Hardly a shocker; the Rebels are in meltdown with Danny Cipriani seemingly more focused on drinking his own body weight in vodka. It’s not looking good for these guys I’m afraid. Don’t be fooled by this big victory either, the Bulls aren’t that good. I’m pretty sure a rag tag bunch of blind orphans could have snuck a win over the Rebels last weekend. Last, but not in any means least, the Cheetahs got the win against the Crusaders, 33-20. Things learnt from this game: The Cheetahs are going to humble some teams before this thing ends, Sonny Bill isn’t rugby Jesus and the Ebersohn twin’s (Flyhalf Sias and centre Robert) are amongst the finds of the season. The twins were amazing for the Cheetahs; both bagging a try and Sias being deadly accurate with the boot. This game made my weekend! Tikaboo Cheetahs.
Go forth and tell people what you have learnt here today my brave disciples.. My biceps are huge.

In a completely unrelated note, here is Chris Ashton getting what he truely deserves every now and again :D

Coming tommorow: HEINEKEN CUP FINAL Ruck That special