Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread V

Larbre34

With 18 Edinburgh absences, our 'C' team such as it is should be able to beat them. Hugely interesting selection, delighted to see Kevin back.

Hope Te'o brought his tackling head because Solomon's will send a coach and horses down that inexperienced area of our line.

This match is Kirchner's to grab by the b0ll1x

CatFromHue

I could see Munster slipping up in Cardiff so a good win here and we'll be back in business.

ssaye2

CatFromHue wrote: »

I could see Munster slipping up in Cardiff so a good win here and we'll be back in business.

November and especially 6N Leinster have gotten the points to win the league or go close, hopefully the same this season.

molloyjh

Larbre34 wrote: »

With 18 Edinburgh absences, our 'C' team such as it is should be able to beat them. Hugely interesting selection, delighted to see Kevin back.

Hope Te'o brought his tackling head because Solomon's will send a coach and horses down that inexperienced area of our line.

This match is Kirchner's to grab by the b0ll1x

They've 18 injuries and another 2 away with Scotland so they are missing 20 in all. Leinster are missing at least 19 though.

Swiwi.

molloyjh wrote: »

Squad named:

09. L McGrath
10. Gopperth
11. Fitz
12. Reid
13. Te'o
14. Fanning
15. Kirchner

Tidy back division this week: ZK in his best position at 15, Fitz and an in-form Fanning on the wings, an intriguing mid-field mix, and the people's hero McGrath geting a run out at 9. Bloody Gopperth at 10 though

Pudsy33

http://jrnl.ie/1753717

I am seriously excited to see Te'o orrow. I'm not expecting miracles but a few big hits and decent carries will be great to see. MOC says Te'o described the breakdown as a free shot so hopefully we will see him clearing people out left right and centre.

irishbucsfan

Pudsy33 wrote: »

http://jrnl.ie/1753717

I am seriously excited to see Te'o orrow. I'm not expecting miracles but a few big hits and decent carries will be great to see. MOC says Te'o described the breakdown as a free shot so hopefully we will see him clearing people out left right and centre.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him as well.

I would be very happy if he doesn't do the usual League convert thing of playing 70 minutes a week for the first 6 months, but I'd still be interested in seeing the odds on him picking up a sinbinning at some point!

Seems to have massive potential though. Himself and Reid in midfield could be devastating (especially with Lukey running lines inside Reid).

Swiwi.

The worse thing about this game is the time! I was all set to watch Aki debut for Connacht, but I must admit Te'o lining out for Leinster is tempting too. In addition, Connacht have stuck Aki at 13, which is not his best position, so maybe my Leinster loyalty will shine though. Especially given I no longer have West of Ireland heritage...

thomond2006

CatFromHue wrote: »

I see Edinburgh have gone for the auld 4 3 2 2 2 1 formation this week.

Kenny Cunningham used to play in that formation at Wimbledon.

molloyjh

Swiwi. wrote: »

Tidy back division this week: ZK in his best position at 15, Fitz and an in-form Fanning on the wings, an intriguing mid-field mix, and the people's hero McGrath geting a run out at 9. Bloody Gopperth at 10 though

Yeah, really happy with that back line. McGrath has his issues but can really get pace into the game. While we haven't seen it from Reid much lately he loves himself a line break. If Te'o can just make a couple of decent carries and create space for him Reid could do some real damage. And the back 3 is very handy. Hopefully we get better use out of Kirchner this week in particular.

Swiwi. wrote: »

The worse thing about this game is the time! I was all set to watch Aki debut for Connacht, but I must admit Te'o lining out for Leinster is tempting too. In addition, Connacht have stuck Aki at 13, which is not his best position, so maybe my Leinster loyalty will shine though. Especially given I no longer have West of Ireland heritage...

You do have some Welsh connections though too don't forget. :cool:

Swiwi.

NB: I assume it's now Te'o the Lion...?

S12b

I'm looking forward to seeing Luke McGrath get a start.....there is so much talk about him here but anytime I've seen him I have been underwhelmed. Clearly a good running threat and a solid tackler but can he pass well for 60+ minutes considering he usually throws at least 1 shocker in the 10 or 15 minutes he gets as a sub.

irishbucsfan

Swiwi. wrote: »

NB: I assume it's now Te'o the Lion...?

After how widely adopted The Vange has become I can't imagine any other nickname will stick.

molloyjh

S12b wrote: »

I'm looking forward to seeing Luke McGrath get a start.....there is so much talk about him here but anytime I've seen him I have been underwhelmed. Clearly a good running threat and a solid tackler but can he pass well for 60+ minutes considering he usually throws at least 1 shocker in the 10 or 15 minutes he gets as a sub.

I'd take 1 error every 15 minutes for the speed and sniping threat he brings at this stage tbh. Boss has been poor in nearly every aspect of his game. And McGrath is almost certainly only going to improve. Remember that usually when McGrath comes on it's at the end of the game and he's there to make an impact in a short space of time so he can end up forcing it a little. Hopefully the fact that he's starting will reduce that.

P.Walnuts

So eh...what's going to happen to Macken?

Can't make the squad even with injuries and in ternational call ups....can see him getting signed by a promoted Prem team at this rate

vienne86

Very nice team. Delighted with Kirchner at 15 and with Luke McGrath getting a start - hope he makes the most of it. Really looking forward to seeing Te'o. Great to have Strauss in. Has Dundon disappeared? Decent Edinburgh side too. Should be a good match.

former legend

P.Walnuts wrote: »

So eh...what's going to happen to Macken?

Can't make the squad even with injuries and in ternational call ups....can see him getting signed by a promoted Prem team at this rate

Pool old Brendan.

Well, it was obvious from a few weeks ago that Te'o was going to play this one, but not to even make the bench is a bit of a kick in the nads alright. I know Crosbie and McGrath offer more cover but Macken should be way ahead of both of them.

I don't think he'll be here next season.

stephen_n

In fairness he has got chances and failed to take them, he is not versatile and his passing game is non existent, he's a bit of a headless chicken when it comes to bringing other players into the game.

P.Walnuts

former legend wrote: »

Pool old Brendan.

Well, it was obvious from a few weeks ago that Te'o was going to play this one, but not to even make the bench is a bit of a kick in the nads alright. I know Crosbie and McGrath offer more cover but Macken should be way ahead of both of them.

I don't think he'll be here next season.

It's unfortunate alright, I still hold out some hope but ye, it isn't looking good. Munster possibly?

Still think he has the raw alibities to be a really good 13

Sangre

stephen_n wrote: »

In fairness he has got chances and failed to take them, he is not versatile and his passing game is non existent, he's a bit of a headless chicken when it comes to bringing other players into the game.

Given that he is lightening quick, might be worth a punt on the wing. Not sure what his boot is like though.

Buer

They tried briefly last season and it wasn't pretty.

vienne86

P.Walnuts wrote: »

So eh...what's going to happen to Macken?

Can't make the squad even with injuries and in ternational call ups....can see him getting signed by a promoted Prem team at this rate

Oh heavens, hadn't even noticed that he was missing, which I suppose says something in itself - doesn't look good. Expect him to move on at the end of the season. He hasn't really taken his chances.

justsomebloke

Ye I think Macken and Reid together were generally a bit woeful but when paired with BOD or D'Arcy Reid took his chances more so then Macken, so Macken was always going to find it hard to break in.

How many matches in a row has Fanning started at this stage?

former legend

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How many matches in a row has Fanning started at this stage?

This will be his 11th in 11 weeks. He's played 80 minutes in each of the last 8.

.ak

As much as I feel bad for Macken I also can't help feel it's his fault and nobody else's. He never learned the basics and excelled at underage level due to his speed and size. EOM on the other hand was a short arse and had to graft. It's easy to see why BOD called EOM his protégée, the latter clearly had to work harder and could fix defenders and punish attackers.

Macken basically needs to go back to centre school and unlearn all his bad habits.

Regarding the game I'm worried now I won't see it, can't get a straight answer from the bars over here if they can show tg4, and my wifi sucks for streaming.

Also - I was serious about that free ticket in the Anglesea stand. First to PM gets a free ticket.

dregin

/me shakes fist at the absolute BASTARD who already gave him tickets for the North Stand

Also, just asked a mate who's a barman in NYC whether or not they're showing the match. Unfortunately for you, he's a massive Connacht fan, so chances are you'll be watching the wrong debutant :P

Hagz

Bit harsh there I think. I'm sure the coaches that identified him as a future talent would accept some of the blame for not being able to maximise that talent.

vienne86

That's been a lot of playing for Fanning all right, and I'm surprised he's starting, but he'll be getting a break after this weekend.

Heroditas

Can't wait to see the likes of Denton run at Te'o. I really hope Te'o send them backwards. It would really get the crowd going and do wonders for his confidence.