Reddan to Leinster?

Funkstard

The Sunday Times seems to think it's going to happen...

"...a senior Leinster source confirmed yesterday that the province is confident Reddan will sign for them next week"

(quoted from the Sport section)

There was talk of him coming back to Ireland as everyone knows..would have thought he would have been Munster-bound though?

Stev_o

Funkstard wrote: »

The Sunday Times seems to think it's going to happen...

"...a senior Leinster source confirmed yesterday that the province is confident Reddan will sign for them next week"

(quoted from the Sport section)

There was talk of him coming back to Ireland as everyone knows..would have thought he would have been Munster-bound though?

TBH he's been playing so well in the GP i dont know why he would want to change that to a such a joke of a league called the Magners

Sangre

would be an absolute dream signing for Leinster. it would be a bit of an odd one career wise for him. its not like he needs to move to be selected for ireland.

jph100

i was just about to start this exact thread!

he wud be a fantastic signing for leinster.think it wud be a great move for him aswell playing alongside the irish backs(+contepomi)

grames_bond

that would be brillaint for leinster, i can see the partnership between him and dr phil being a really good one!!

Snickers Man

Stev_o wrote: »

i dont know why he would want to change that to a such a joke of a league called the Magners

Apart from the lack of faith of the most cynical among us, please tell me what's so terrible about the Magners League?

I really want to know.

I want to know what its shortcomings are so that we can attempt to fix them. I think those people who are so keen to see our rugby talent go the way of our soccer talent - i.e. away - should be ostracised at best, and taken out and kneecapped at worst.

Look at the crowds that trooped along to the RDS on Stephen's Day to see the Leinster Ulster match.

Look at the attendances Ulster can still pull in at Ravenhill, even though the team is currently a real ragball rovers.

Lord alone knows it doesn't come easy to me to say nice things about Munster but look at the investment they are putting into Thomond Park. Those new stands are going to look magnificent when they're finished. And they're going to be even more fearsome when packed full of hairy-arsed muck savages cheering on their team.

These places and these teams need more than the three home games (mostly) a year that the Heineken Cup provides. Our four provinces can't just play each other all the time. So what do we do for a "bread and butter" league that can support our professional game?

We could go back to the hey day of the All Ireland League, which many clubs never wanted anyway. Top gates of 5,000 for a real top of the table all Limerick clash and most games played in front of two men and a dog. It also coincided with the worst decade EVER for the national side. Go on! Check the records.

No wins against France.

No wins against Scotland.

Home defeats against Italy and Samoa.

Record defeats against England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.

A good decade to be nostalgic about? I don't think so.

Sure, the Limerick proletariat finally got to put the faded old-school clubs of Dublin in their place and it needed to be done but get over it guys. We need to move on.

We need a professional league as our main domestic competition. We are too small to do it on our own. We need the Scots and Welsh to buy into it. It has steadily improved. It has a mainline sponsor, albeit one that has had a lousy year thanks mainly to the worst summer in decades.

It has a meritocracy in that it is used to decide entry into the Heineken Cup.

It could do with better scheduling so that it doesn't clash as much with international matches but that is a conundrum that all professional leagues are facing.

Of course it could be better but at the moment it presents the best alternative to a flight from our shores of ALL our capable players such as soccer has endured for decades.

People who are so lacking in faith in our own players' and adminstrators' ability to put together a viable league with our best players playing at home regularly and would feel more comfortable supporting big name teams in England for which the occasional Irish player may make an appearance are entitled to their opinion but should not expect ANY respect.

Go ahead and be a globalised peasant. Feck off and buy the Manchester United shirt. Pretend that you are part of some global brotherhood and that your slavish support for some overhyped investment vehicle marks you out among your peers as a discerning aesthete committed to quality and dismissive of substandard fare. Plonk yourself in front of Sky Sports for hours at a time on Super Saturdays and Super Dooper Sundays.

Give me the open-aired RDS on a freezing cold January afternoon with nothing but a hot Bushmills to warm me up any day.

marco_polo

Stev_o wrote: »

TBH he's been playing so well in the GP i dont know why he would want to change that to a such a joke of a league called the Magners

At the moment it looks alot like there will be more ML teams than T14 teams in the HEC quarter finals, and the exact same amount as the mighty GP.

Could it be more competitive? Of course it could, but you can't question the quality of the teams in it.

bleg

well briain.

can't be having reddan going to play with the enemy!!!!




honestly though i dunno why he's making the move, he's on the irish team yet he has a better chance of winning competitions with wasps

jph100

Snickers Man wrote: »

Apart from the lack of faith of the most cynical among us, please tell me what's so terrible about the Magners League?

I really want to know.

I want to know what its shortcomings are so that we can attempt to fix them. I think those people who are so keen to see our rugby talent go the way of our soccer talent - i.e. away - should be ostracised at best, and taken out and kneecapped at worst.

Look at the crowds that trooped along to the RDS on Stephen's Day to see the Leinster Ulster match.

Look at the attendances Ulster can still pull in at Ravenhill, even though the team is currently a real ragball rovers.

Lord alone knows it doesn't come easy to me to say nice things about Munster but look at the investment they are putting into Thomond Park. Those new stands are going to look magnificent when they're finished. And they're going to be even more fearsome when packed full of hairy-arsed muck savages cheering on their team.

These places and these teams need more than the three home games (mostly) a year that the Heineken Cup provides. Our four provinces can't just play each other all the time. So what do we do for a "bread and butter" league that can support our professional game?

We could go back to the hey day of the All Ireland League, which many clubs never wanted anyway. Top gates of 5,000 for a real top of the table all Limerick clash and most games played in front of two men and a dog. It also coincided with the worst decade EVER for the national side. Go on! Check the records.

No wins against France.

No wins against Scotland.

Home defeats against Italy and Samoa.

Record defeats against England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.

A good decade to be nostalgic about? I don't think so.

Sure, the Limerick proletariat finally got to put the faded old-school clubs of Dublin in their place and it needed to be done but get over it guys. We need to move on.

We need a professional league as our main domestic competition. We are too small to do it on our own. We need the Scots and Welsh to buy into it. It has steadily improved. It has a mainline sponsor, albeit one that has had a lousy year thanks mainly to the worst summer in decades.

It has a meritocracy in that it is used to decide entry into the Heineken Cup.

It could do with better scheduling so that it doesn't clash as much with international matches but that is a conundrum that all professional leagues are facing.

Of course it could be better but at the moment it presents the best alternative to a flight from our shores of ALL our capable players such as soccer has endured for decades.

People who are so lacking in faith in our own players' and adminstrators' ability to put together a viable league with our best players playing at home regularly and would feel more comfortable supporting big name teams in England for which the occasional Irish player may make an appearance are entitled to their opinion but should not expect ANY respect.

Go ahead and be a globalised peasant. Feck off and buy the Manchester United shirt. Pretend that you are part of some global brotherhood and that your slavish support for some overhyped investment vehicle marks you out among your peers as a discerning aesthete committed to quality and dismissive of substandard fare. Plonk yourself in front of Sky Sports for hours at a time on Super Saturdays and Super Dooper Sundays.

Give me the open-aired RDS on a freezing cold January afternoon with nothing but a hot Bushmills to warm me up any day.

tbh i didnt read all of ur post but u seemed to make some decent arguments so u shud open a different thread.it has nothing to do with reddan(hopefully) going to leinster!

Stev_o

Snickers Man wrote: »

Apart from the lack of faith of the most cynical among us, please tell me what's so terrible about the Magners League?

I really want to know.

I want to know what its shortcomings are so that we can attempt to fix them. I think those people who are so keen to see our rugby talent go the way of our soccer talent - i.e. away - should be ostracised at best, and taken out and kneecapped at worst.

Look at the crowds that trooped along to the RDS on Stephen's Day to see the Leinster Ulster match.

Look at the attendances Ulster can still pull in at Ravenhill, even though the team is currently a real ragball rovers.

Lord alone knows it doesn't come easy to me to say nice things about Munster but look at the investment they are putting into Thomond Park. Those new stands are going to look magnificent when they're finished. And they're going to be even more fearsome when packed full of hairy-arsed muck savages cheering on their team.

These places and these teams need more than the three home games (mostly) a year that the Heineken Cup provides. Our four provinces can't just play each other all the time. So what do we do for a "bread and butter" league that can support our professional game?

We could go back to the hey day of the All Ireland League, which many clubs never wanted anyway. Top gates of 5,000 for a real top of the table all Limerick clash and most games played in front of two men and a dog. It also coincided with the worst decade EVER for the national side. Go on! Check the records.

No wins against France.

No wins against Scotland.

Home defeats against Italy and Samoa.

Record defeats against England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.

A good decade to be nostalgic about? I don't think so.

Sure, the Limerick proletariat finally got to put the faded old-school clubs of Dublin in their place and it needed to be done but get over it guys. We need to move on.

We need a professional league as our main domestic competition. We are too small to do it on our own. We need the Scots and Welsh to buy into it. It has steadily improved. It has a mainline sponsor, albeit one that has had a lousy year thanks mainly to the worst summer in decades.

It has a meritocracy in that it is used to decide entry into the Heineken Cup.

It could do with better scheduling so that it doesn't clash as much with international matches but that is a conundrum that all professional leagues are facing.

Of course it could be better but at the moment it presents the best alternative to a flight from our shores of ALL our capable players such as soccer has endured for decades.

People who are so lacking in faith in our own players' and adminstrators' ability to put together a viable league with our best players playing at home regularly and would feel more comfortable supporting big name teams in England for which the occasional Irish player may make an appearance are entitled to their opinion but should not expect ANY respect.

Go ahead and be a globalised peasant. Feck off and buy the Manchester United shirt. Pretend that you are part of some global brotherhood and that your slavish support for some overhyped investment vehicle marks you out among your peers as a discerning aesthete committed to quality and dismissive of substandard fare. Plonk yourself in front of Sky Sports for hours at a time on Super Saturdays and Super Dooper Sundays.

Give me the open-aired RDS on a freezing cold January afternoon with nothing but a hot Bushmills to warm me up any day.

When did i mention anything bout football?? [This does probably warrant another thread aswell since it is a good topic to discuss]

But my point is the ML is low quality rugby and it doesnt top the
priority list of all the clubs playing there. Ospreys who are through to the QF cant be bothered to play with it, Cardiff are indifferent about it they cant make up their minds. Munster will throw out a experienced side only to get people game time otherwise its usually a development side with a few old heads.

Im not say get ride of the ML but it needs shaking up and my point was why would Reddan leave a English team involved in EDF, Premiership [was] Heineken Cup to come over here to the place where he got no sniff of progressing to play the occasional ML and Heinekin Cup matches??

LuckyLloyd

Funkstard wrote: »

would have thought he would have been Munster-bound though?

Munster are not currently in need of cover at srumhalf IMO.

Peter B

Could it be anything to do with the tax break you get by finishing up your international career in IRL? Not sure what the exact details are. Also there are probably better sponsorship possibilities playing over here.

remus808

Great news, but at the same time I feel sorry for Keane. Was looking very promising! Hopefully he will still be getting game-time

How old is Reddan?

Junior

I think Reddan is 27 ?

suppafly

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Munster are not currently in need of cover at srumhalf IMO.

Thomas O'leary is average at best. When strings goes they'll need someone like reddan to replace him

zAbbo

I said this a few months back, I reckoned that either Munster or Leinster would be battling to get his signature before the end of January.

ALH-06

Reddan's 27 now, entering the physical peak of his career.

Don't know why people are so surprised he'd be interested in going to Leinster. Why not? Leinster is probably one of the wealthiest rugby clubs in Europe, they'd be offering a tonne of cash to an Irish player of his quality. Especially in the problem SH position.

Keane is improving and Willis is definitely one for the future but neither can compete with the top Heineken Cup SHs. Not yet. And Easterby is obviously more rubbish now aged 36 than he was back at his peak, when he was still really rubbish. So Leinster definitely need another quality SH asap if they want to be taken seriously at HC level.

Reddan won the premiership at his first year at Wasps. Won the Powergen Cup the following year. Scored a try in the final of the HC last year, when Wasps won that. He's achieved everything he can there! Time to move on to a new challenge. Where better than Leinster? Underachieving team but with massive potential, plenty of money, a massive support base, and of course Reddan would be placed at the forefront of Irish rugby. Gives him a much better chance of future selection in the Irish team. Its a complete no brainer.

BTW Snickers Man - I completely agree with your comments on the ML. Well said. I also get really p#ssed off with the league's many detractors...

Stop criticising the Magners League people! Support our domestic game and it will grow!

Jackz

Pity is not on RTE or Sky Sports, perhaps on Setanta but commercialised better.

LuckyLloyd

suppafly wrote: »

Thomas O'leary is average at best. When strings goes they'll need someone like reddan to replace him

True enough, but paying big money for someone who wouldn't walk into the team at present would be bad business for Munster; a bad move for the player himself; and ultimately bad for Irish rugby.

Diamondmaker

Maybe people are over analysing the situation.


Maybe the fella just wants to be at home ! Im sure regardless of exactly where he is from many of his freinds family and former colleagues live in and around Dublin !!

Why would he be mad to wish to see out his career at home...pay, tax breaks, career and all other speculation aside !

toomevara

With all this talk of Reddan, don't forget O'Riordan at Bristol, the guy's playing out of his skin....

Oilrig

ALH-06

"Leinster is probably one of the wealthiest rugby clubs in Europe,"

Just where are they getting all this money from?

razorblunt

When is Whitaker's contract up I doubt they could afford him and Reddan in the same side.

Murphy at Leicester hasnt done all that bad either but was obviously helped alot by the Ellis injury.

damnyanks

Benefit of playing with Leinster would mean playing for Ireland wouldnt cause him much grief either at the club or physically (He'd get the required breaks)

toomevara

damnyanks wrote: »

Benefit of playing with Leinster would mean playing for Ireland wouldnt cause him much grief either at the club or physically (He'd get the required breaks)

You have a point, but he'd also be playing in a team who's form is utterly erratic and which wouldn't provide him with anything like the quality regular rugby that he gets at wasps. Wasps also have two of the,imo,best coaches in world rugby. i.e. mcGeechan and Edwards. Coming to Leinster would be a crazy move for him. Munster yes, but leinster....madness.

Tim Robbins

Stev_o wrote: »

But my point is the ML is low quality rugby and it doesnt top the
priority list of all the clubs playing there. Ospreys who are through to the QF cant be bothered to play with it, Cardiff are indifferent about it they cant make up their minds. Munster will throw out a experienced side only to get people game time otherwise its usually a development side with a few old heads.

Come on now, this is silly. I am beginning this is a troll.

You could apply your reasoning more so to CA and the H cup. How seriously did they (arguably the best team in Europe) take it this year? Throwing away bonus points to Munster by fielding a complete B team.
In fact how seriously do any of the French teams take it? Bourgoin - no.
Stade Francais can't score away to Bristol. Toulouse? Can't seem to turn up for away matches. Get hammered by Ulster last season, struggle to beat Edin. this year. Biaritz - 3,000 fans to a "European" final.

Furthermore if you follow the Top 14 or GP, you'll see them rotate their squads more than most of the Celtic League teams do in the Celtic League.

You have to give players the first cap sometime. It makes more sense to do this in a league match than a cup match.

Magners may not have Sky, George Hook and H Cup singing its praises but you see some fantastic rugby. Watch the tries of month for it and other leages and you'll see what I mean.

MikeHoncho

toomevara wrote: »

You have a point, but he'd also be playing in a team who's form is utterly erratic and which wouldn't provide him with anything like the quality regular rugby that he gets at wasps. Wasps also have two of the,imo,best coaches in world rugby. i.e. mcGeechan and Edwards. Coming to Leinster would be a crazy move for him. Munster yes, but leinster....madness.

So you would rather that Leinster dont try and improve on one of the reasons why performances have been eratic. Do you think it might be a small conicidence that Leinsters dip in form happened after Whitaker was injured? Leinster are looking to bring in an IRISH player to solve a problem area for them . It makes sense to do this. Why would he go to Munster and have to compete with Stringer for the spot. What sense does that make for a 27 year old who wants as much game time as possible to impress the Ireland staff. He hasnt actually claimed the number 9 shirt for Ireland yet.

I do agree with you about the coaching at Leinster though. Cheika has to go.

John_C

Redden would be as good as signing two players for Leinster since they would be allowed to sign another big name foreigner if Whits is let go.

Tim Robbins

MikeHoncho wrote: »

I do agree with you about the coaching at Leinster though. Cheika has to go.

We are top of the Celtic League and won all our home games in a tough HC group. Would you get real? What's your expectation?
In the HC, in 2007 we were knocked out by Champions. Dito 2006, 2008 we were beaten in a very tough group.

Magners League we have been in it right up until the end.
Also, he has brought Irish players home and brought in new players:
Heaslip, Fitzgerald, Kearney, Healy.

Dr Phil who couldn't even get a game under Kidney was just nominated for IRB player of the year. Dempsey who was incapable of attacking players has transformed as player under current coaching staff. Several other players Jackman etc have come on immensly.

Munster, our friends but still are biggest rivals, we were well beaten in the 2006 semi's, but we have hammered them at home several times and have recently beaten them away.

Attendances for ML and HC are higher than they ever have been. We can pull in over 10,000 for a ML game that before we would only get 3,000 for. This is because people watching a team that wants to play good Rugby.

Compare Chieka's record, to Kidney, Williams, Ella etc and you'll see we have a good coach.

Goodluck2me

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Munster are not currently in need of cover at srumhalf IMO.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

True enough, but paying big money for someone who wouldn't walk into the team at present would be bad business for Munster; a bad move for the player himself; and ultimately bad for Irish rugby.

Reddan is certainly, on form and potential, infintiely better than stringer and will no doubt start as 9 in the 6N.
Yes he would walk into the team, but yes it would be bad for rugby as we wouldnt have our best two SH playing every week.

You only have to look at Wasps v Munster to see how poorly in comparison stringer played, his box kicks were shockingly erratic and misdirected, his service was avergae at times, like his pass to O Gara on the dead ball line which ROG stood over the line for.
Reddans service was much better on the scrappier ball that he recieved.

MikeHoncho wrote: »

I do agree with you about the coaching at Leinster though. Cheika has to go.

What exactly are they doing wrong coach? I havent heard anything but good words for the guy since he has joined from players I know in that camp, he is well respected, honest and competitive, and is imo doing a great job there.

tHE vAGGABOND

This would be a fantastic start for Leinster - we have needed a class 9 for quite a while IMHO. The fact that its an irish international coming home makes things even sweeter.

Agreed - we need a whole new coaching setup, some Jake White style tough love may be what we need

jph100

John_C wrote: »

Redden would be as good as signing two players for Leinster since they would be allowed to sign another big name foreigner if Whits is let go.

great point.who wud we get though?

have to agree with people defending cheika.id only want him to leave leinster if it was for the ireland job!

MikeHoncho

I honsetly cant believe that any self respecting Leinster fan can defend that arogant Australian who is apparently "not a career coach" who has done nothing but under achieve since he took over that position. Look how much talent is in that team and yet again we have failed at European level. It has to come down to coaching. They cant even run in a try against 13 men FFS. We need a coach that can bring consistency and Cheika has proved he is not capable of that during his tenure.

Crash

toomevara wrote: »

You have a point, but he'd also be playing in a team who's form is utterly erratic and which wouldn't provide him with anything like the quality regular rugby that he gets at wasps. Wasps also have two of the,imo,best coaches in world rugby. i.e. mcGeechan and Edwards. Coming to Leinster would be a crazy move for him. Munster yes, but leinster....madness.

Why would he consider going back to a team that gave him reasonably short shrift when he wore the red? I'd say he considers having done his time at munster, and has little interest in returning.

jdivision

Just for info, the tax break is that money earned playing professional sport in Ireland can be written off against tax from future earnings.

Chucky the tree

MikeHoncho wrote: »

So you would rather that Leinster dont try and improve on one of the reasons why performances have been eratic. Do you think it might be a small conicidence that Leinsters dip in form happened after Whitaker was injured? Leinster are looking to bring in an IRISH player to solve a problem area for them . It makes sense to do this. Why would he go to Munster and have to compete with Stringer for the spot. What sense does that make for a 27 year old who wants as much game time as possible to impress the Ireland staff. He hasnt actually claimed the number 9 shirt for Ireland yet.

I do agree with you about the coaching at Leinster though. Cheika has to go.

Your aftr completely missing the point of his post. He never said it was a bad move on Leinster part, he said it was a bad move on Reddan's part.

Chucky the tree

goodluck2me wrote: »

What exactly are they doing wrong coach? I havent heard anything but good words for the guy since he has joined from players I know in that camp, he is well respected, honest and competitive, and is imo doing a great job there.

I dont think Dennis Hickie would agree with all that.

jph100

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I dont think Dennis Hickie would agree with all that.

why is cheika the reason hickie retired?

ALH-06

Oilrig wrote: »

ALH-06

"Leinster is probably one of the wealthiest rugby clubs in Europe,"

Just where are they getting all this money from?

Where dya think? They've just signed a massive new sponsorship deal with Bank of Ireland, are pulling huge crowds to the RDS week in week out and probably sell more merchandise than most other Celtic League clubs put together. Think about all the Leinster jerseys, tracksuits, anoraks etc you see around Dublin... That stuffs expensive!

Leinster have pots of money (as do Munster - look at the new Thomond). Only 3 weeks ago I read in the paper that the Leinster top men are challenging the IRFUs '3 top foreigner' limit for the provinces. Its because they've got the money to sign whoever they want! They'll offer Reddan a fortune.

Chucky the tree

jph100 wrote: »

why is cheika the reason hickie retired?

they didnt get on. Hickie didnt want too move somewhere else too play rugby so he retired.

jph100

Chucky the tree wrote: »

they didnt get on. Hickie didnt want too move somewhere else too play rugby so he retired.

pity that.hickie was a fantastic player.if he wanted to leave leinster it wud have been great to see him play in france or england.

the point was made that if whitaker goes we cud bring in another big name foreigner.who might we get?

jauzion wud have been unreal but he just signed a new contract with toulouse,his previous deal was up at the end of the season

remus808

jph100 wrote: »

jauzion wud have been unreal but he just signed a new contract with toulouse,his previous deal was up at the end of the season

Because we don't already have the two best centres in the world??!

Not to mention D'arcy, who is no mug.

IMO Leinster could use a big-name signing on the wing with Hickie gone.. Kearney and Fitzgerald are promising for sure but I think we need a lethal finisher/speedster

Bounty Hunter

Like most Limerick lads i would think that Reddan would prefer to play for Munster. I dont see any reason for him to move now, instead stay at wasps and establish the Irish no.9 jersey as his own. Then a year from now prehaps do the double on Stringer and take the no.9 Munster shirt.

His supposed not enjoying his previous stint at Munster is irrelevant as he never really played nor had a chance to just like numerous other munster SH's during that period. and nobody enjoys warming the bench. Infact here he might feel he has a point to prove, while as a Limerick man a doubt he would have any real desire to play for Leinster unless he wants the move this minute.

toomevara

çrash_000 wrote: »

Why would he consider going back to a team that gave him reasonably short shrift when he wore the red? I'd say he considers having done his time at munster, and has little interest in returning.

Agree up to a point, but in terms of the logic of the guys career path, at the present time and with all due respect, a move to Leinster would have to be regarded as a backward step.

Plus given the way Reddan comprehensively outplayed Stringer on Saturday and in all recent encounters between the two I wouldn't be surprised if the attitude in Thomond towards him has undergone a considerable change.

If Munster come knocking with the right package he'd be mad not to consider it, past history notwithstanding. He's a Limerick man after all's said and done and stringer's time as first choice Scrum half at Munster is just about over...

Diamondmaker

Maybe the guy just wants to come home !

Bounty Hunter

Munster is his home !

jph100

karmabass wrote: »

Because we don't already have the two best centres in the world??!

Not to mention D'arcy, who is no mug.

IMO Leinster could use a big-name signing on the wing with Hickie gone.. Kearney and Fitzgerald are promising for sure but I think we need a lethal finisher/speedster

ha! so u wud have said no to jauzion coming here given the opportunity!?

i agree about needing someone on the wing. i think kearney is more a full back and fitzgerald is more a centre.pity we didnt get howlett.

Podge_irl

MikeHoncho wrote: »

I honsetly cant believe that any self respecting Leinster fan can defend that arogant Australian who is apparently "not a career coach" who has done nothing but under achieve since he took over that position. Look how much talent is in that team and yet again we have failed at European level. It has to come down to coaching. They cant even run in a try against 13 men FFS. We need a coach that can bring consistency and Cheika has proved he is not capable of that during his tenure.

I don't think that's an entirely fair appraisal of the situation. People can claim Leinster have had a star-studded backline for the last number of years, and there is no denying that they did, but the pack has been utter pants until this year - and that was not a coaching issue so much as a lack of decent players issue. For God's sake, Blaney was the first-choice hooker, we had a succession of mediocre locks to partner Mal and could barely patch up a couple of props. The pack was useless and I'm shocked Leinster did as well as they did on a number of occasions.

The pack this year is playing really well. Its just a horribly unfortunate coincidence that our only decent scrum-half got a long-term injury (Willis just isn't the same post-operation) and Knox apparently no longer cares about the team. Hopefully if a new backs coach is in place next year, and if Reddan came we would be much better placed. Mind you, I wouldn't go so far as suggesting there are no mental issues with the team.

remus808

jph100 wrote: »

ha! so u wud have said no to jauzion coming here given the opportunity!?

No not quite, I just think that would be the worst possible expenditure given that Leinster have more strength at centre than anywhere else. (Dr Phil, BOD, Darce and Fitz). Personally I think the squad is very strong, and wing is the only one I can see as a problem area.

ALH-06

toomevara wrote: »

Agree up to a point, but in terms of the logic of the guys career path, at the present time and with all due respect, a move to Leinster would have to be regarded as a backward step.

If Munster come knocking with the right package he'd be mad not to consider it, past history notwithstanding. He's a Limerick man after all's said and done and stringer's time as first choice Scrum half at Munster is just about over...

Eh can you explain why Leinster would be such a step backwards for Reddan, while he'd 'be mad' not to consider Munster? I wasn't aware there was such a huge gulf between the two teams. I was under the impression Leinster have beaten their southern friends twice out of the last three times they've played, and that there are currently more Leinster players on the Irish squad then there are Munster players. Nah I don't think Leinster are better than Munster at the moment, but they're definitely improving and have undoubted quality. So lets all be more realistic. There is no massive difference in standard between the two teams. Sorry lads dont want to make this a Munster-Leinster thing again but just think about what you're saying!

One more thing - why would Reddan so obviously prefer a team that had completely snubbed him only 2 years ago, and one with a settled and experienced incumbent SH at that, over another Irish team that clearly has a clear weakness in the SH position? I know Leinster have underachieved etc but that will change... No-one can deny the quality in that team and the potential. As Stuart Barnes said you'd be a fool to write them off.

ALH-06

From Independent, Monday 21/01/2008.

Wasps' Irish scrum-half Eoin Reddan has emerged as a target for Leinster.

Reddan, who previously played for Munster, is reportedly close to signing a deal with the Blues.

Meanwhile, Leinster are also looking to lure Saracens boss Alan Gaffney back to his old role as backs coach, with David Knox looking certain to return to Australia.