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By popular (ahem …) demand, here is a brief rundown on the teams playing in this season’s Celtic League.
Cardiff
Three new summer signings (Ceri Sweeney being the pick of the bunch), but various squad departures (R. Sidoli, Selley, Macleod, Stcherbina, and significantly, Rob Howley).
Nonetheless, there is still plenty of experience left in the tank. More of the same really, unless Dai Young can extract more out of the team. Last season was a bit of a disappointment and there is always the feeling that Cardiff lacks that stern, mercenary execution needed to win the big games in Europe.
Tito and Rush are great competitors, but will never be Martin Johnson or Zinzan Brooke.
Top four – perhaps higher if Jamie Roberts, Chris Czekaj and Tom James push on.
Star Player – Ben Blair.
Connacht
The Wild West of Ireland, but not on the field.
Underpowered and underfunded, such is the lot of Connacht. Proud and committed at home but bottom feeders despite the presence of players O’Connor, Murphy and Duffy, and coach Michael Bradley.
Poor lads. Shame on the IRFU.
They will finish bottom unless their home form carries them through to 9th.
Star Player – Jonny O’Connor.
Edinburgh
Very well coached by a reinvigorated Andy Robinson and two key signings in Jim Hamilton and Chris Paterson.
The only departure of note is the bulky but generally ineffective tighthead Craig Smith. Unbeaten in Wales last year, they will want to build on that.
Home games are often pretty feeble simply because they play at an empty Murrayfield.
They have a tough pool in the HC (Wasps, Leinster and Castres), and will therefore most likely look to the Magners as the main source of success, unless of course Europe takes too much out of them.
An inventive backline and a competitive, light pack that should embrace the ELVs.
Top 6 easily.
Star player – Ben Cairns.
Glasgow
Similar to Edinburgh. Well coached by Sean Lineen and a good squad. Daryl Gibson and Donnie Macfadyen will be big losses, but Mark McMillan will bring his own brand of scrum half vibrancy to the Firhill Arena.
Superb back row with the Killer Bs (Barclay, Brown and Beattie), it is likely the ELVs may make their territory game even more effective.
Not as creative as Edinburgh but certainly on the up.
7th.
Star Player – John Barclay.
Leinster
The Irish All Stars. Champions of last season but still lacking tight grit.
Le Roux has departed and therefore Healy must step up. The young loosehead has untold promise and Declan Kidney will be hoping he makes the leap to become the Irish Jason Leonard.
Elsom and Van der Linde will be welcome acquisitions, but Southern Hemisphere players often take a season to acclimatise to the HC.
Time is not on Leinster’s side as O’Driscoll, Contepomi and Horgan are ageing, albeit slowly but surely.
Leinster has a great chance to progress from their HC pool, but that struggle could potentially distract their Magner’s campaign.
Any side that contains Jackman, Hogan, O’Kelly, Heaslip, Whitaker, Fitzgerald, O’Driscoll, Contepomi, Nacewa, D’Arcy, Horgan, Kearney and Dempsey must demand success. Fast and loose will suit them but they must improve in the tight five.
The arrival of Elsom and VDL may be too late in the season to affect a real European challenge.
1st or 2nd place.
Star Player – Luke Fitzgerald.
Llanelli
Dwayne Peel is irreplaceable and Alix Popham was a great club man. Both players will be keenly missed. However, David Lyons is no slouch in the number 8 rol. He is an able replacement.
I can’t wait to see him in action.
The Scarlet scrum is often in retreat so the signing of Kees Meeuws should provide some respite.
Rob Higgit and Simon Maling are agreeable journeymen who should also serve the club well alongside stalwarts Stephen Jones, Daffyd Jones, Regan King and Mark Jones, who remain.
The new coaching team, including John Muggleton, will surely be an improvement over the mediocre Phil Davies.
Not a great deal of squad depth and they should be outclassed in the HC by both Stade Francaise and Harlequins.
Regardless, an improved campaign in the Magners beckons.
Top 6 or a complete disaster escalated by internal strife and player divisions and the problems that follow playing in a new stadium. Lightweight pack but an intelligent back division that should see some intelligent counter attacking. Lineout is a problem but Jones tactical boot should flourish under the ELVs.
Star Player – Simon Easterby.
Munster
Good boot, good pack, strong centres – good prospects.
Stadium renovations will be playing the ABs in the autumn, HC Champions – reasons to be cheerful then.
Nick White could be an astute signing and will demolish the 5 metre scrum zone, but Munster’s success will depend primarily on how Tony McGahan replaces Declan Kidney and also how they remedy the loss of the rolling maul.
O’Gara’s boot will be as reliable as ever and Paul Warwick is a good substitute.
Fervent support and an excellent attitude should see Munster grab a top four placing, but they should also go far in the HC, which will pose its own problems later in the season.
Top 4.
Star Player – Rona O’Gara.
Newport Gwent
The Connacht of Wales. Well coached by Paul Turner but badly underfunded.
Tom Willis is a true professional. However, Sweeney, P. Sidoli, Owen, Charvis and Brew are significant losses.
They will be demolished in the HC by Bath and Toulouse and a lack of depth will hinder their progress in the ML.
Fighting for last place with Connacht.
Star Player – Tom Willis.
Neath-Swansea
The Gloucester of Wales. Big squad but tend to go missing on the big occasions.
Many departures are only offset by only one signing, Tommy Bowe. However, this could have the effect of narrowing the team resolve.
Departed coach Lyn Jones never galvanised the squad to hit the real heights and it is questionable whether the temporary replacement Sean Holley can do any better.
Mike Phillips will be MIA for the beginning of the season and Justin Marshall is now plying his trade in Montpellier.
The Ospreys must therefore hit the ground running.
Potentially the ELVs could suit the Ospreys down to the ground and it is down to Holley to get a team, who basically won the Grand Slam with Wales, playing like a team when the going gets tough.
1st or 2nd place tussle with Leinster.
Star Player – Jonathan Thomas.
Ulster
Although Matt Williams seems to be getting rave reviews in Ireland, I am convinced that at some point Ulster will crash and burn.
They were truly horrible at points last year and Williams’ honeymoon period will not last forever.
Replacing David Humphreys will be difficult but his younger brother looks more than capable.
Diack, Schifcofske and Botha look good signings, having already played under the ELVs. But there has also been a huge player drain: Barker, Bartholomeusz, Best, Wilson, Humphreys, Bowe, Larkin, Harrison, McMillan and Campbell.
A Friday night trip to Ravenhill is no longer the trial by fire it once was.
I really can’t see where the threat will come from in this side. Hopefully Andrew Trimble will come and play in London and leave this rabble far behind.
8th.
Star Player – Andrew Trimble.
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