#SEA OF BLUE OFFICIAL LEINSTER SUPPORTERS CLUB GUIDE TO OSPREYS v LEINSTER Sunday 8th November 15:00 OFFICIAL LEINSTER SUPPORTERS CLUB OSPREYS v LEINSTER MESSAGE FROM THE COMMITTEE And so here we are again, another weekend and another game of rugby. All part and parcel of what’s expected we hear you say, however the fact is that the team would’ve arrived back to Ireland at some stage Tuesday following victory over Glasgow in Scotstoun the previous evening and have now headed off again for another game. Given the quick turnaround between these two fixtures, it was comforting to read Leo’s injury update on Wednesday, that there were no ones to report following that game. Therefore the previously aforementioned issues of headaches for coaches and who to select is the only pressing one that they’ll need to address as we look to Round 5 of the 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 season and an away fixture against Ospreys. Given that the encounter last Monday was played out on a very fast, and wet pitch, it was great to see so many players returning from injuries and continuing to get themselves back to the form that they’ll demand and expect given their individual lengthy rehab journey’s. Dan Leavy came back in Round 3 in the game against Zebre while Cian Kelleher (hamstring) and Rory O’Loughlin (calf) both came through their first games back in Round 4. It was also a very positive sight to see David Hawkshaw take to the pitch to claim his first senior cap given the very unfortunate run of form he suffered with the Ireland u20s. All in all though plenty of smiles all round for a job well done against a very dogged and determined Glasgow side. Back to the focus for this weekend though and our opponents Ospreys. Last season we faced off against them twice and while the victory in the RDS back in Oct ’19 was a bit of a rout finishing 53-5 to us in front of a crowd of 11,259, the return fixture in February at The Gnoll was a more closely contested affair where we again ran out victors but on a score line of 21-13. That game will be remembered by Tommy O’Brien as the location where he crossed for his first senior try, but not wanting to let him have all the spoils though, contributions from Josh Murphy & Cian Kelleher, saw us win out over a very determined Ospreys side. For this game (at the time of writing) its 1st vs 3rd in Pool A, where as we know we have continued this season as we left off the last one with a 100% record to date and we’re now 4/4/4. And before you bring it up on Social Media yes we know we wrote 4/4/4 as this represents Played 4, Won 4 and 4 Bonus Points to give us maximum points (20) out of both groups at this stage of the competition, The introduction of Hugh O’Sullivan on Monday also represented the 47th player Leinster have used across the 4 games of this current campaign which in itself is another milestone achievement and should be widely applauded. When you watch fixtures during these International windows you hear commentators, coaches and other players lamenting the fact squads have been decimated as the Senior Internationals are away with their National Squad so it’s a credit to Leo, Stuart and the wider Leinster family to be able to continue in a way that almost leaves the uneducated outsider who might glance at the results, wondering if Leinster had any players at all called away for a period of time. Fantastic for all players involved and it even leads to a bit of healthy competition and banter when these players do return as their original starting positions are never guaranteed. All of us on the OLSC committee are mindful of the fact that we are all still unable to attend games for the most part and therefore by putting together some material for you to peruse over, we hope it keeps you in the rugby mind frame as the season slowly but surely rolls along. As always we’re thankful to the support we get from Leinster Rugby as a whole as well as yourselves and we encourage you to continue to show your support for the team through Social Media and the posts on our pages. For now though as always, stay safe! Yours in Rugby, OLSC Committee OFFICIAL LEINSTER SUPPORTERS CLUB OSPREYS v LEINSTER LEINSTER STATS ospreys 167 POINTS SCORED 77 22 TRIES SCORED 7 32 OFfLOADS 10 1,992 METRES GAINED 873 97 DEFENDERS BEATEN 32 39 CLEAN BREAKS 21 57 POINTS CONCEDED 72 8 TRIES CONCEDED 8 571 TACKLES MADE 621 88% TACKLE SUCcESs 87% 21 TURNOVERS WON 18 67 TOTAL TACKLES MISsED 78 47 TURNOVERS LOST 47 Harry Byrne (30) LEADING POINTS SCORER Stephen Myler (35) James Lowe (3) TRIES SCORED Matt Protheroe (2) Tommy O’Brien (176) METRES GAINED Luke Morgan (95) Rhys Ruddock (31) NUMBER OF TACKLES Adam Beard (47) Johnny Sexton (100%) TACKLE SUCcESs Nicky Smith (100%) Jimmy O’Brien (3) TURNOVERS WON Olly Cracknell (4) OFFICIAL LEINSTER SUPPORTERS CLUB ONLINE SHOP The Official Leinster Supporters Club are delighted to announce that we have now launched our online shop. Our range of supporter items include: OFFICIAL LEINSTER SHOPSUPPOR TERSNOW CLUB 12 #SEA county OF army BLUE .