Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread VI: End of the MOC [Revenge of the STH]

pajero12

errlloyd wrote: »

So ten tries and 9 conversions?

Yeah, One Penalty Try, Really should have been 11,

Rigor Mortis

Impressive performance, particularly up front. I thought Timmons, Locky and Leavy were the stand out and COnan after he came on. Van der Flier dropped a certain try over the line. Hopefully this is a lesson he will have learned in a pre - season friendly that he wont repeat again.

Hard to know whether Moseley were truly awful or whether we were just very good. We certainly looked fitter and in pretty good nick coming into the season.

The Lost Sheep

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

Impressive performance, particularly up front. I thought Timmons, Locky and Leavy were the stand out and COnan after he came on. Leavy dropped a certain try over the line. Hopefully this is a lesson he will have learned in a pre - season friendly that he wont repeat again.

Hard to know whether Moseley were truly awful or whether we were just very good. We certainly looked fitter and in pretty good nick coming into the season.

Moseley are a championship side. British and Irish Cup standard so you would expect Leinster guys to be in better nick/fitter.

.ak

kingofthekong wrote: »

How did Dan Leavy and Conan play ?

Conan was very good. Carried really well and almost got a hattrick. Leavy was decent, very industrious, poured himself into the breakdown constantly but seemed a bit cautious to move about the field.

Josh I thought had a really good game at 7 in the 2nd half. Apart from fluffing an absolute sitter of a try.

Best forwards on the night for me were Dundon and Timmins in the first half, and Conan and Beirne in the 2nd. Beirne especially... Absolute monster of a man, very athletic.

Best backs were mick, fanning, Reid, Teo... Marsh and Byrne both with their own unique qualities... Marsh was better flat on the line and was able to play a tight offloading game, but Byrnes reading of the game was better. Boss's directional play was far better than McGrath, constantly put the ball in the right area of the
pitch, knowing where the next carry was coming from. Adam Byrne was pretty good tko serious stride on him and very physical. Didn't see enough ball to be rated but looked great at fullback in the 2nd half.

Isa was pretty good too, better than expected... But made a load of errors. To be expected, he's a bit rusty. Very encouraging to see him try express himself though, pushed himself hard.

I would say Darcy was probably the worst back. Consently misread the pass and tried to hard to fix n pass when a carry or break was on.

kingofthekong

Thanks , Darcy is purely living off his name at the moment I'd say he's struggling to make the xv at this rate

Steve

Looks like someone ordered too many '14' shirts



Great game, great to see Isa still has the magic!

DelMcG

Agree with a lot of what is being said about the game tonight. Here are some of my own thoughts, for what they're worth:

We have to put aside the fact that it was Moseley. Yeah, they were awful, but you play the hand you were dealt and there was a feeling in watching this side tonight that a definite gameplan was put in place and it wouldn't have made a difference if it was a Championship team or a Super 15 team, the plan would have been the same.

Some of the handling and passing was like watching Leinster of old. Did it all come off? No, it didn't. Some of that could have been down to the artificial surface (some odd bounces out there tonight) and the conditions, as it was very damp. Some of it could simply have been down to a mixture of rust and players being asked to do things outside the comfort zone. With good coaching, it will get better and tonight there was a lot to suggest that there is some fine coaching going on already.

In defence, KMcQ's influence is already crystal clear. The tackling was far more accurate than I saw at any point last year, and it was a real mix of high & low, chokes & chops. One player who I haven't seen praised already was Mike McCarthy and he really should have been. He was aggressive but accurate in his defence (often his Achille's heel) and on more than one occasion, his speed out of the line was very impressive - harked back to his Connacht days when, lest we forget, he was flanker cover too. The breakdown work was also excellent all over the park. There were countless turnovers, the try line was protected well on the rare occasions it was threatened and there was a real sense that the players were buying into a new system with gusto tonight.

On set pieces, there's not much to go on when you play a team this poor. Their lineout was awful (the girls playing Minis at halftime did a better job) and their scrum wasn't much better. Hard to judge where our set pieces are right now when facing poor opposition. I did get the feeling that there is a little more polish needs applying to lineouts on our own throw as they weren't always cleanly taken.

Attack was obviously the order of the day and some of it was really impressive to watch. Ferg, Ben Te'o, Fanj, Mick McG and of course Isa all made hay while the sun shone in terms of open field running, line breaking etc and the speed of passing, the general fitness of the players and the support lines being run were all very, very encouraging indeed. If this is the influence of The Swirve at work, I don't think they need to shop around for a backs coach: I think they may already have one.

The tries were a lovely mishmash of pure pace to beat your opposite number, good vision to see a gap, one fantastic cross field kick straight into Fanj's hands and in the case of the forwards, pure power against an inferior opposition who had lost motivation and energy as the game went along. Special mention to Josh van der Flier. He made an absolute pig's ear of a try scoring opportunity when, under little pressure, he dropped the ball having crossed the line like some sort of Lidl-brand NFL running back. The next time he got the chance, he showed a clean pair of heels to sprint over by the posts and did not make the same mistake twice. It could have been a dispiriting mistake, instead it drove him to try again.

Also a word for the one and only Isa Nacewa. He played like he'd never been away. He looks in the best shape of his life. I cannot wait to watch him again this season.

Tonight was a friendly. A friendly against inferior opposition who would not and have not challenged for the B&I Cup. Nevertheless, there was so much out there tonight to be positive about. I was cautiously optimistic about the season ahead and the new coaching ticket. That caution, whilst not gone entirely, has diminished considerably on the back of the two pre-season wins we've seen in the last 8 days.

We could be in for a good season, folks, we really could...

molloyjh

Can someone please explain to me why Adam Byrnes name hasn't been mentioned yet. Pace to burn, good upper body strength, played both FB and wing. The guy had a very, very solid game. Mick McGrath was a stand out too. His speed, and more so his acceleration, were really impressive. He did so much right in the first half.

Individuals aside its hard to glean much from such a one sided game. For me the endeavour, the ambition and the work rate were massive positives. Sure we were going to thump Moseley. They were very predictable and overall pretty poor. But the way we approached the game and applied ourselves points to some really positive work going on behind the scenes. There was no shortage of offloading and width (but not just for the sake of width). Reid at times read things really well which was great. And Te'o carried well and even managed to distribute fairly effectively at times.

The only bad news is that, as we all really know at this stage, Darce is done. Total legend and someone to be hugely admired he's gone a season too long. He should have called it a day 3 months ago. It's a shame because I have some serious man love for the guy. But he simply can't fight the clock.

People seemed altogether very excited and positive last night.

Was there a bit of drinking going on in here?

UnknownEntity

Deleted User wrote:

Was there a bit of drinking going on in here?

I think 68-0 speaks for itself.

vienne86

Deleted User wrote: »

People seemed altogether very excited and positive last night.

Was there a bit of drinking going on in here?

Whatever about that.......but it makes great reading just before the start of the season, compared with what we have been reading over the last two seasons. I'm getting excited now!

FrannoFan

Moseley were totally out of there depth and I would read very little into it. They were losing the collision all day and the tries were inevitable.
Positives were our general realignment was way better than last year. We had some proper shape in attack that was totally missing last year.
Individual positives have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Thought Byrne looked very comfortable at 10 when he came on and showed some very good decision making(again had an armchair ride) but his cross field kick for fanning was class

molloyjh

FrannoFan wrote: »

Moseley were totally out of there depth and I would read very little into it. They were losing the collision all day and the tries were inevitable.
Positives were our general realignment was way better than last year. We had some proper shape in attack that was totally missing last year.
Individual positives have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Thought Byrne looked very comfortable at 10 when he came on and showed some very good decision making(again had an armchair ride) but his cross field kick for fanning was class

I thought the cross field was too short and it put Fanning under a bit of pressure as a result. A bit more length on it and he'd have strolled in, instead he had to come in field and step a few defenders. But for the terrible attempts at tackling he'd never have scored it.

.ak

molloyjh wrote: »

I thought the cross field was too short and it put Fanning under a bit of pressure as a result. A bit more length on it and he'd have strolled in, instead he had to come in field and step a few defenders. But for the terrible attempts at tackling he'd never have scored it.

Agreed. Fanning had to check his run and come infield. Now it didn't matter but better opposition would've picked that ball out and possibly run a try in.

FrannoFan

.ak wrote: »

Agreed. Fanning had to check his run and come infield. Now it didn't matter but better opposition would've picked that ball out and possibly run a try in.

Execution could have been a little crisper but the vision was very good as it came from a fast break.
I thought the reason he went for the lower trajectory was to help fanning and having him not to have to check as much as he might have. As pointed out he had to stop. If he had gone for a higher longer cross field kick he might have been covered quicker and had to wait for the ball. He sort of stabbed the kick across.

armchaircoach

What was lovely to see was passes being out in front of players with them running on to balls. None of the bo***cks from last season of hitting safe shoulders.

There was one lineout in particular where the pass from the base was almost parallel with the lineout, with D'Arcy running onto the ball.

Interested Observer

armchaircoach wrote: »

What was lovely to see was passes being out in front of players with them running on to balls. None of the bo***cks from last season of hitting safe shoulders.

There was one lineout in particular where the pass from the base was almost parallel with the lineout, with D'Arcy running onto the ball.

I noticed that alright, my friend commented on it at the time. Good to see.

I really hope Noel Reid gets a good run in the team, he's such a good footballer.

Rigor Mortis

Didn't know Moseley are part timers. Makes their selection as opponents even more surprising.

The Lost Sheep

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

Didn't know Moseley are part timers. Makes their selection as opponents even more surprising.

Leinster able give lots of squad players/younger players a look at they otherwise may not have been able to
The B&I Cup team has beaten them when they've played...

DelMcG

DelMcG wrote: »

Agree with a lot of what is being said about the game tonight. Here are some of my own thoughts, for what they're worth:

We have to put aside the fact that it was Moseley. Yeah, they were awful, but you play the hand you were dealt and there was a feeling in watching this side tonight that a definite gameplan was put in place and it wouldn't have made a difference if it was a Championship team or a Super 15 team, the plan would have been the same.

Some of the handling and passing was like watching Leinster of old. Did it all come off? No, it didn't. Some of that could have been down to the artificial surface (some odd bounces out there tonight) and the conditions, as it was very damp. Some of it could simply have been down to a mixture of rust and players being asked to do things outside the comfort zone. With good coaching, it will get better and tonight there was a lot to suggest that there is some fine coaching going on already.

In defence, KMcQ's influence is already crystal clear. The tackling was far more accurate than I saw at any point last year, and it was a real mix of high & low, chokes & chops. One player who I haven't seen praised already was Mike McCarthy and he really should have been. He was aggressive but accurate in his defence (often his Achille's heel) and on more than one occasion, his speed out of the line was very impressive - harked back to his Connacht days when, lest we forget, he was flanker cover too. The breakdown work was also excellent all over the park. There were countless turnovers, the try line was protected well on the rare occasions it was threatened and there was a real sense that the players were buying into a new system with gusto tonight.

On set pieces, there's not much to go on when you play a team this poor. Their lineout was awful (the girls playing Minis at halftime did a better job) and their scrum wasn't much better. Hard to judge where our set pieces are right now when facing poor opposition. I did get the feeling that there is a little more polish needs applying to lineouts on our own throw as they weren't always cleanly taken.

Attack was obviously the order of the day and some of it was really impressive to watch. Ferg, Ben Te'o, Fanj, Mick McG and of course Isa all made hay while the sun shone in terms of open field running, line breaking etc and the speed of passing, the general fitness of the players and the support lines being run were all very, very encouraging indeed. If this is the influence of The Swirve at work, I don't think they need to shop around for a backs coach: I think they may already have one.

The tries were a lovely mishmash of pure pace to beat your opposite number, good vision to see a gap, one fantastic cross field kick straight into Fanj's hands and in the case of the forwards, pure power against an inferior opposition who had lost motivation and energy as the game went along. Special mention to Josh van der Flier. He made an absolute pig's ear of a try scoring opportunity when, under little pressure, he dropped the ball having crossed the line like some sort of Lidl-brand NFL running back. The next time he got the chance, he showed a clean pair of heels to sprint over by the posts and did not make the same mistake twice. It could have been a dispiriting mistake, instead it drove him to try again.

Also a word for the one and only Isa Nacewa. He played like he'd never been away. He looks in the best shape of his life. I cannot wait to watch him again this season.

Tonight was a friendly. A friendly against inferior opposition who would not and have not challenged for the B&I Cup. Nevertheless, there was so much out there tonight to be positive about. I was cautiously optimistic about the season ahead and the new coaching ticket. That caution, whilst not gone entirely, has diminished considerably on the back of the two pre-season wins we've seen in the last 8 days.

We could be in for a good season, folks, we really could...

Honestly, I can't get past this fact. They were rubbish. Very little you could infer from that match.

Steve

Deleted User wrote: »

Honestly, I can't get past this fact. They were rubbish. Very little you could infer from that match.

They had no defense, no question there, but they weren't rubbish. Take away our HC players and boil it back to an "A's" / B&I cup team and the result would have been different.

irishbucsfan

Steve wrote: »

They had no defense, no question there, but they weren't rubbish. Take away our HC players and boil it back to an "A's" / B&I cup team and the result would have been different.

I don't think Moseley have ever beaten our B&I Cup team. They've played before a few times and our As have won every time as far as I'm aware.

They'll be playing again later this year, they're in our group again.

Steve

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I don't think Moseley have ever beaten our B&I Cup team. They've played before a few times and our As have won every time as far as I'm aware.

They'll be playing again later this year, they're in our group again.

I'll gladly plead ignorance there, I heard that from a less than sober 'fan' who seemed like he knew the game.. ah the curse of drink etc...:D

Teferi

Kane Douglas firmly establishing himself in the Steven Sykes Hall of Dud Signings. Good riddance.

salmocab

Teferi wrote: »

Kane Douglas firmly establishing himself in the Steven Sykes Hall of Dud Signings. Good riddance.

Whilst I actually quite liked Douglas rating him with any kind of X factor is laughable. He couldn't nail on a place in a provincial team here but apparently adds X factor to the Wallabies WC squad?

CatFromHue

I wouldn't put Douglas in the same box as Sykes.

In fairness to him he did finish the season with us hoping he'd push on in season 2 after he got a break.

jack01986

Is there any video highlights from the Moseley game?

Buer

So, now that the dust is (potentially) settling, we have an idea of the sort of XV we'll be able to put out during the RWC and it really isn't half bad:

Bent, Byrne, Moore, McCarthy, Denton, McLaughlin, Ryan, Conan, Boss (suspect he'll be getting a good chunk of time in case the phone rings), Marsh, McFadden, Reid, Te'o, Fanning, Nacewa

Having the two lads available in the front row makes a big difference. With such an untested outhalf, we'll need a good pack and strong set piece.

molloyjh

Buer wrote: »

So, now that the dust is (potentially) settling, we have an idea of the sort of XV we'll be able to put out during the RWC and it really isn't half bad:

Bent, Byrne, Moore, McCarthy, Denton, McLaughlin, Ryan, Conan, Boss (suspect he'll be getting a good chunk of time in case the phone rings), Marsh, McFadden, Reid, Te'o, Fanning, Nacewa

Having the two lads available in the front row makes a big difference. With such an untested outhalf, we'll need a good pack and strong set piece.

Yeah if the Ireland is right that makes a big difference for us at LH particularly. Wouldn't have been worried about Furlong starting. But Bent is a step up on that side.

It also shows our squad depth, to lose 17 (?) players to the RWC, have a couple of injuries and still field that squad is really positive stuff.

Buer

Think Marsh is a big issue though, to be honest. I think they'll give him a run but it's going to really be sink or swim stuff for him. Going from A team or AIL to senior, pro rugby is a big leap. I'd see Boss starting the first game anyway to hold his hand.

I don't think it's too unlikely to have Nacewa potentially playing 10 down the line during the RWC.