Great stuff , thanks sea point> Was in O'Neill's last weekend so have an idea where that is. Will have no excuse now, plenty of locations and will be there with my connacht jersey on.

sligsup wrote: Have had to leave galway for London due to work , anyone with a suggestion of good rugby pub central london to watch the games. I know the cabbage patch in twickenham but thats a little out of the say. Apologies for going slightly off topic!!!!

Out in the wilds of Surrey myself, but have had to do the same thing when I was working/living in the big smoke. What area are you based in?

When Magners games weren't so accesible I used to meet supporters for games in Waxy O'Connors on Rupert Street. There's a big O'Neills on the next street along Wardour Street that also shows lots of rugby (you can cut through Waxy's to get out onto it if yuo go to the ground floor there's and exit near the toilets, then out and left to O'Neills).

g.co/maps/hx5wm

Ulster fans (if they're not all in Dublin) tend to congregate in O'Neils, Great Queen Street. Between Holborn and Covent Garden tube stations.

If you're in town on the Sunday, then the Porterhouse near Covent Garden is the official Leinster pub for the game.

mary hinge wrote: Brock James is a flaky kicker

My only knowledge of him is from the last time these sides played .And yes,he really fluffed it that day.

Head says there's a good chance of a Edinburgh v Clermont Final.

Heart says the opposite.

Have had to leave galway for London due to work , anyone with a suggestion of good rugby pub central london to watch the games. I know the cabbage patch in twickenham but thats a little out of the say. Apologies for going slightly off topic!!!!

This thread should be blocked on "You had to go and say it" grounds

I think an all Ireland final is most definitely on...

My only concern for Ulster would be nerves, but I think their core will get them through (Best, Mueller, Wannenburg, Ferris, Terblanche and Pienaar)...

They also have a stronger bench and in Marshall & Humpty Lite they can up the tempo considerably if they choose/need to

TEAMS:

Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche 14 Andrew Trimble 13 Darren Cave 12 Paddy Wallace 11 Craig Gilroy 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar; 1 Tom Court 2 Rory Best 3 Declan Fitzpatrick 4 Johann Muller (capt) 5 Dan Tuohy 6 Stephen Ferris 7 Willie Faloon 8 Pedrie Wannenburg
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady 17 Paddy McAllister 18Adam Macklin 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Robbie Diack 21 Paul Marshall 22 Ian Humphreys 23 Adam D'Arcy

Edinburgh: 15 Tom Brown 14 Lee Jones 13 Nick De Luca 12 Matt Scott 11 Tim Visser 10 Greig Laidlaw (capt) 9 Mike Blair; 1 Allan Jacobsen 2 Ross Ford 3 Geoff Cross 4 Grant Gilchrist 5 Sean Cox 6 David Denton 7 Ross Rennie 8 Netani Talei
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly 17 Kyle Traynor 18 Jack Gilding 19 Steve Turnbull 20 Roddy Grant 21 Chris Leck 22 Phil Godman 23 Jim Thompson

Leinster will either have to blitz Cleremont early on and get to Brock James who is capable of falling apart in big games, or else they'll face a game like the final last season. Clermont will be looking to attack the Leinster set piece, Leinster will look to get Clermont moving sideways. It's really tight to call, two excellent sides. But I'm backing Leinster, and I think they'll pull away in the last 15. Sexton & Nacewa are going to stand out....

I'm going for a Leinster vs Edinburgh final.

I see one more big shock in this Edinburgh team. Ulster are nervous, and I think will regret not starting with Marshall and Pienaar at 9 and 10 respectively. Okay, Ian Humphrey's confidence is shot, but the answer isn't replacing him with young Paddy Jackson.

Visser to be man-of-the-match and Edinburgh to win by 2: 26-24.

Leinster will just about edge it in Bordeaux. Brock James is a flaky kicker and I think Leinster have the edge in this department. If the Leinster scrum holds, and D'Arcy and BOD gain parity with the Clermont midfield and keep Malzieu on the wing quiet, then Leinster by 2: 19-17.

Wouldn't have any confidence in Ulster beating Clermont, evne though they were only a bad refereeing decision away from putting them out in the last pool match.

Final for me is the Leinster-Clermont game on Sunday, if they win that we'll be playing HEC even if Edinburgh pull off 2 miracles in a row and beat Ulster.

Two massive games this weekend. We're obviously all praying for an all Irish final, but how do people see the games going?

With "home" advantage and a big crowd behind them, I think Ulster should do the job against Edinburgh.

The other game is harder to predict. Leinster are clearly in great form, but the fact they have to go to the south of france and win changes everything.

Here's Gerry Thornley's thoughts:



I fear it will be an Ulster Clermont final, and I can't really believe I'm saying this, but I could see Ulster sneaking that in London (assuming their key men are fit and on song).

Thoughts?