Leinster vs Munster Match Day Thread, 08th Oct 2016, Aviva Stadium, SS1 & TG4

leakyboots

leakyboots wrote: »

Ah to be fair (and just to reiterate I think he's deserving of a ban) I can't see the IRB intervening on this if its left slide.

In the event of a citing, I can imagine Cronin saying something like 'wasn't aware ball was out, didn't see the player beneath me' and getting a few weeks.

You're most likely correct.

I do remember the IRFU getting a lot of criticism over the O'Connell issue. The fact that there wasn't even a citing hearing at the time drew quite a few column inches. The IRB having recently demonstrated a willingness to step in where a national governing body has not acted is note worthy but then again it was in relation to racism which drew media attention from outside the sports pages.

daithi7

Moflojo wrote: »

12 week ban for Cronin. Full statement here.

Ha,ha, very good.

BoardsMember

Just looking at the highlights, the defense in the corner for the Nacewa try off the 5 yard scrum really was appalling.

Cookiemunster

Deleted User wrote: »

You're most likely correct.

I do remember the IRFU getting a lot of criticism over the O'Connell issue. The fact that there wasn't even a citing hearing at the time drew quite a few column inches. The IRB having recently demonstrated a willingness to step in where a national governing body has not acted is note worthy but then again it was in relation to racism which drew media attention from outside the sports pages.

The Pro12 citing process is completely different now. Back then it was up to the individual unions to cite one of their players. Now the League has a citing commissioner who is independent of the unions.

Adbrowne

http://www.the42.ie/munster-prop-james-cronin-citing-cited-stamp-3019838-Oct2016/

Cronin cited

molloyjh

Finally got around to watching the game back. One interesting and important stat. The first time that Leinster got into an attacking position and gave up possession and territory to Munster without getting a score was the 79th minute. Up to then every time Leinster got into a position to score they didn't let up until they had. They did turn ball over a few times but Munster never really got out of their half until Leinster got points on the board. Ultimately that was the difference between the sides. Munster couldn't convert and Leinster were a lot more ruthless. We got unlucky a couple of times and were a little careless others but it's a good sign that we kept at it until we got the scoreboard moving.

For all the grief he got Wilkinson was perfectly fine. A few mistakes but nothing to get worked up over. Communicated well and was pretty consistent.

Leinsters breakdown work annoyed me on the day. We didn't really contest, but that was plainly deliberate. We allowed Munster to have the ball and backed our defence to keep them out. Too often Munster moved the ball across the line without fixing anyone and our line just faded across to make the tackles.

Our forwards were very workman like on the day. Got the job done with minimal fuss. But they all delivered. Our back line showed glimpses of what they can do. Sexton was excellent, Henshaw was impressive given his debut after injury, Isa was looking a bit more like the Isa of old and Ringrose was pure class. His footwork and composure on the ball is something. The way he can glide past defenders or shrug off tackles (it wasn't just Earls, he sent POM flying in the first half too) and his defence are all great qualities he has.

For all the people knocking Rob he did very little wrong and I saw nothing more from Zebo to suggest he should be ahead of Rob in the pecking order for Ireland. ROL wasn't great, but that's to be expected and he did seem to settle into things more in the second half. I want to see more of him on the wing when Ringrose is at 13.

For Munster I thought Stander worked his socks off, but the guy needs help. He can't carry the team against better sides. POM looked wrecked after 30 mins. Hopefully he's eased back in over the next few weeks. Murray was average enough unfortunately (we're all allowed bad games) but Bleyendaal has a lot of work to do to convince. Sweetnam too is still a bit raw. He got badly caught for our first. It was as telegraphed as possible. We did it once but the ref got in the way. So we shaped to do it a second time and still Sweetnam got sucked in when he needed to hold his width.

Overall pretty happy with the game and the result. Leinster could have gotten the 4th try had they been a bit more efficient at times, but they never really looked like they got out of second gear. There's more in this team, and as our midfield develop some familiarity we should start to see that more and more.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Did the player who called the ref a "f**king eejit" get into any kind of trouble or did they let it slide?

molloyjh

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Did the player who called the ref a "f**king eejit" get into any kind of trouble or did they let it slide?

Wilkinson didnreact to it but I've no idea who it was or if they were in fact referring to the ref.

Although you can be sure it was Sexton. :pac:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

molloyjh wrote: »

Wilkinson didnreact to it but I've no idea who it was or if they were in fact referring to the ref.

Although you can be sure it was Sexton. :pac:

Maybe he agreed with the assessment of him on that particular incident

It was definitely a "Dublin" accent anyway. I felt you could hear a lot more than usual from players during this match so it's possible it wasn't the ref's mic it was picked up on and/or he didn't hear it.

Adbrowne

molloyjh wrote: »

.For Munster I thought Stander worked his socks off, but the guy needs help. He can't carry the team against better sides.

Stander had 22 carries but a lot of them were into traffic. He beat 1 defender. Ringrose and Henshaw had 25 carries between them and beat 10 defenders. It summed up the game perfectly. Leinster didnt get drawn into an arm wrestle. I think Munster need to reassess how they use Stander. He isnt the quickest around but he is no slouch so maybe they need to look at getting him carrying away from the breakdown instead of close to it.

Stander and Holland were Munsters biggest ball carriers and a lot of it suited Leinster as it was predictable . Leinster backrow Just slow it down even concede a yard or two over the gainline but the defence was set. Quick line speed and force an error. Leinster were getting the ball to the centres and out wider and made yards far easier.

Hagz

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Did the player who called the ref a "f**king eejit" get into any kind of trouble or did they let it slide?

My viewing of it was that it was dialogue between Jamie Heaslip and Peter O'Mahony. I'm pretty sure Jamie Heaslip said 'scumbag' whilst passing POM and POM replied 'f**king eejit'.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Hagz wrote: »

My viewing of it was that it was dialogue between Jamie Heaslip and Peter O'Mahony. I'm pretty sure Jamie Heaslip said 'scumbag' whilst passing POM and POM replied 'f**king eejit'.

I only heard "f**king eejit" and assumed it was aimed at the ref because he'd just got in the way of play and had to bring them back to scrum again.

Hagz

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I only heard "f**king eejit" and assumed it was aimed at the ref because he'd just got in the way of play and had to bring them back to scrum again.

There was like a scuffle afterwards when Cronin, who you'd assume didn't hear the whistle, came in to clear out. TOD pushed him and then a couple Leinster players came over. You can very clearly hear Scumbag from one player on the audio, which is then followed by the 'f**king eejit*.

Interested Observer

molloyjh wrote: »

Ringrose was pure class. His footwork and composure on the ball is something. The way he can glide past defenders or shrug off tackles (it wasn't just Earls, he sent POM flying in the first half too) and his defence are all great qualities he has.

So basically what you're saying is... Ringrose for Ireland :pac:

molloyjh

Interested Observer wrote: »

So basically what you're saying is... Ringrose for Ireland :pac:

He should def start against NZ! :pac: