Funkerstation » nt that Leinster are on the way back to great

Brian ODriscoll is excited. His body may hurt a little less than his playing days, but his rugby mind stays as active as ever and he is keeping a close eye on the progress of two young Ireland and Leinster centres.?Watching Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose for Leinster strikes a nostalgic chord with ODriscoll, who knows a thing or two about the arts of rugbys midfield having played 133 times for Ireland, and when he starts waxing lyrical about their potential then you take notice.Leinsters 16-8 win at Connacht on January 4, 2014, was no landmark match in the big scheme of things -- Gordon DArcys match-winning try wasnt especially unique -- but it was the first time when the present and great Ireland partnership met the future in then Connacht No. 13 Henshaw.DArcy and ODriscoll were coming to the end of their rugby careers but there was something about Henshaw that stayed with the Leinster and British & Irish Lions legend. ODriscoll never played competitively against Ringrose, but similarly, his first encounter with the future Ireland centre left a lasting impression.?With Garry, the first time I saw him I thought he had huge promise, BT Sport pundit ODriscoll tells ESPN. He was with the Ireland U20s and they were training against the national team about three years ago. You could tell immediately he was pretty special.He was a lot skinnier then, he was pretty slight but his running angles were exceptional. He had a nice passing game and clearly had something different to his peers.Robbie grew on me, the more I saw of him. He was young when he first played for Connacht as an 18 or 19-year-old but what immediately stood out was in the first game I played against him, I tried to see if he had an edge and he certainly wasnt taking any backward steps.He wasnt going to be bullied around the place. Theyre going to complement one another beautifully and theyre pretty unique.DArcy and ODriscoll played a record 56 matches alongside each other in Irelands midfield. Leinster teammates Ringrose and Henshaw are yet to play together for Ireland -- the closest they came was when Ringrose replaced Henshaw in the early stages of their match against New Zealand in Dublin.The true acid test of any partnership is at international level but ODriscoll believes the two of them can take their form with Leinster to the next stage with Ireland.Theres huge potential there. I am very excited about watching them develop, ODriscoll said. The two of them are playing provincially together for the first time and youre looking at an opportunity of them playing in the national jersey as well.Knowing how young they are, they can forge a long-lasting centre partnership. They complement each other beautifully.Robbie Henshaw is the perfect 12 for the modern game -- hes big, physical but very skilful. And Garry Ringrose is a good tackler and elusive with bundles of pace and a great offloading game. They complement one another with Johnny Sexton at 10 and Joey Carbery. They have an embarrassing of riches there.The two link up again in Saturdays Champions Cup clash between Leinster and Northampton at the RDS. Ringrose and Henshaw tormented the Saints last Friday in a performance which reminded ODriscoll of the great Leinster team that won three European titles in four years from 2009 to 2012.He credits Stuart Lancaster with bringing an increased intensity to their defence to the extent that they now use it as an attacking weapon with Ringrose and Henshaw instrumental to that new approach.ODriscoll feels normal service has been resumed at his former province complete with a young all-Ireland partnership in the centres and there is a growing excitement that Leinster are on the way back to greatness.Tune in for round 4 of the European Rugby Champions Cup with Leicester v Munster, Saturday December 17 at 15:15, followed by Leinster v Northampton Saints at 19:45 and Sale v Saracens on Sunday December 18 at 17:30, exclusively live on BT Sport 2.Mike Edwards Buccaneers Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Ronde Barber Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Mike-alstott-buccaneers-jersey/ . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Warren Sapp Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Matt Gay Buccaneers Jersey . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury.WHICITA, Kan. -- Landry Shamet and Daishon Smith each set career highs with 16 points and the Shockers shot 66 percent from the floor in a 116-79 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Sunday.The last time the Shockers scored at least 110 points was against North Texas on March 1, 1962.Austin Reaves scored a career-high 15 points, Zach Brown had 13 points, Conner Frankamp 11 with five assists and Darral Willis Jr. added 11 points, all in the first half, for Wichita State (4-0).Shamet and Frankamp hit consecutive 3-pointers and thhe Shockers surged early, doubling the Hawks 21 points on Markis McDuffies layup en route to a 62-37 halftime lead.dddddddddddd The Shockers shot 73 percent from the floor (19 of 26) in the first half.Smiths 3-pointer with 5:55 left put Wichita State over the 100-point mark.Ryan Andino scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the Hawks (0-4), who shot 49 percent from the floor (27 of 55). ' ' '