Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread XI (The Finals Countdown)

Shefwedfan

BonnieSituation wrote: »

I think it's cute that you clearly didn't see that I was joking in my original post. I mean a retired 42yo Peter Stringer being capped for Ireland?


However, I think it's downright worrying that you bothered to go through the rigmarole of trying to explain why a retired 42yo Peter Stringer shouldn't be capped for Ireland. I mean... really? You poor soul.

Anyway I guess we should leave it there. Because just wow.

Springer done a few episodes of that Dancing with the Star, can we count them?

BonnieSituation

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Springer done a few episodes of that Dancing with the Star, can we count them?

You'll have to ask Richie. I'm no authority on this as you can see.

Buer

So Leinster will be making no additions to their current squad and "there are going to be a few players who retire at the end of the season".

So it's accepted knowledge that RK will be departing. It appears there will be at least two more. There's also going to potentially be some guys let go who don't have contracts sorted due to unavoidable financial constraints.

I think we could see close to an all Irish squad next season. Fardy will be 36. He's been a great servant and player but, if we're looking at a scenario where we're playing behind closed doors, gate receipts are non-existent and squads are cut to the bare bones, he can't be kept on. The same would be true of Tomane.

Cullen noted that "a lot of younger players will get promoted from the academy" which is interesting as Aungier, Mullin, TOB and Dowling are the only 3rd year academy players. I assume Baird and Harry Byrne will probably make the jump too and we could see the likes of Milne or Dunne step up to the senior squad.

Given his age and injury history, I think we may have seen the last of Fergus McFadden in blue. It's a shame if so as he deserved a send off. He's had a career that is probably beyond the level of talent he actually possessed but he was exceptionally driven and hardworking which paid off for him.

There are also potentially decisions to be made on the futures of Seán Cronin and Michael Bent. It might appear exceptionally harsh but, if the finances are going to be hammered as expected, neither are the future and Cronin is probably on a fairly solid wedge of cash still. There's a stronger argument for retaining Bent due to international involvement of Porter and Furlong as well as his ability to cover both sides.

Scottmactom

Bryan Byrne is gone, assume Dan Sheehan getting bumped up from academy to replace him.

Lots of talk Adam Byrne was leaving, pre-pandemic. Dowling was rumoured to be heading west.

Clegg

Looking forward to seeing him in green.

https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1252520803079462918?s=19

Buer

If Lowe is with Ireland, McFadden and Kearney retire and Byrne moves on, we're going to suddenly look a little sparse in the backfield at times.

I'm not sure if any of the academy back three players are really in a position to play senior rugby right now (Aaron O'Sullivan, Jack Kelly who is a key member of the Irish Sevens, Michael Silvester and Liam Turner).

That leaves us with Lowe and Larmour potentially on international duty and only Kelleher, Keenan, Daly and DK. I could see Byrne staying put particularly given the uncertainty around contracts and a move abroad at this time.

errlloyd

ROL back to wing to make room for some OBs too.

Buer

errlloyd wrote: »

ROL back to wing to make room for some OBs too.

Likely scenario along with TOB and JOB both covering the back three, I suppose.

troyzer

Did anybody else see the season ticket holder email that was sent out with the video?

God I miss rugby.

PMC83

Scottmactom wrote: »

Bryan Byrne is gone, assume Dan Sheehan getting bumped up from academy to replace him.

Lots of talk Adam Byrne was leaving, pre-pandemic. Dowling was rumoured to be heading west.

Any sources on the Adam Byrne thing? Haven't read anything, would hate to see him go

Squidgy Black

Scottmactom wrote: »

Bryan Byrne is gone, assume Dan Sheehan getting bumped up from academy to replace him.

Lots of talk Adam Byrne was leaving, pre-pandemic. Dowling was rumoured to be heading west.

Byrne is due back next season unless he signs full time with an English team, was only on loan to Bristol for the rest of the season so not sure what way that'll play out with the English teams coming under the kosh financially.

Scottmactom

BB gave an interview to Luke Fitz and said he was leaving at the end of the season hence the loan.

salmocab

PMC83 wrote: »

Any sources on the Adam Byrne thing? Haven't read anything, would hate to see him go

Think it was just more rumours linking him with Connacht, not sure where it came from but I’d not put much stock in it.

Scottmactom

salmocab wrote: »

Think it was just more rumours linking him with Connacht, not sure where it came from but I’d not put much stock in it.

Nah rumours he was looking at premiership clubs.

Squidgy Black

Scottmactom wrote: »

BB gave an interview to Luke Fitz and said he was leaving at the end of the season hence the loan.

Hadn't heard that, just listened to it there. From the sounds of it he'd been told there wasn't a renewal coming his way or else he had made the decision to move on himself.

Sad to see players retire under these circumstances and I'd agree that we're likely to see a smaller squad next year.

At the same time I think it's important to remember that Leinster is one of the least exposed clubs and the Irish provinces in general have much more scope to weather this crisis than teams in England, Wales, France etc.

It's been said plenty of times, but I'd really like to have seen what this Leinster team was capable of. One of the best coached squads in club rugby history. Picking the championship teams would have been a job.

Buer

Deleted User wrote: »

At the same time I think it's important to remember that Leinster is one of the least exposed clubs and the Irish provinces in general have much more scope to weather this crisis than teams in England, Wales, France etc.

Precisely. It's a crying shame that possibly Leinster's best every team won't get any reward but, relatively speaking, we could be in an even stronger position next season.

A number of privately owned teams will be taking huge finanical hits and cutting their wage bill to balance the books, I would imagine. We're going to see them either releasing players or guys being forced to renegotiate their contracts to stay where they are. I don't think many teams, if any, are going to be as strong next season. There were very few confirmed notable transfers before this situation started and that's not going to change.

Any team that manages to remain as strong next season as they have been this season, will be doing very well.

The one exception to this is Munster who have made two world class signings from South Africa and another very decent one in Matt Gallagher. I do wonder if these are viable still given the circumstances.

Scottmactom

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Hadn't heard that, just listened to it there. From the sounds of it he'd been told there wasn't a renewal coming his way or else he had made the decision to move on himself.

think its a fair move, he will be 27 at the start of the next season and never pushed on to challenge Cronin and now has fallen back to 4th choice, with Sheehan coming through and ready for some pro 14 action.

Scottmactom

Leinster possible back three options next season:

Fullback:
Jordan Larmour
Hugo Keenan
Jimmy O'Brien
Ciaran Frawley
Michael Silvester

Wing:
James Lowe
Dave Kearney
Barry Daly
Adam Byrne
Cian Kelleher
Rory O'Loughlin
Tommy O'Brien
Aaron O'Sullivan

Richie_Rich89

PMC83 wrote: »

Any sources on the Adam Byrne thing? Haven't read anything, would hate to see him go

I think Barry Daly is a more rounded player than Adam Byrne, and, as such, it's difficult to see a place for the latter going forward. The number of players Leinster use in a season is usually mid to high 50s so two XXIIIs and an extra XV (61 players) should cover things.

Just in the backs:

First XXIII
9. Luke McGrath, 10. Jonathan Sexton, 11. James Lowe, 12. Conor O'Brien, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Barry Daly, 15. Hugo Keenan; 21. Jamison Gibson-Park, 22. Ross Byrne, 23. Jordan Larmour

Second XXIII
9. Rowan Osborne, 10. Harry Byrne, 11. Rory O'Loughlin, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 13. Jimmy O'Brien, 14. David Kearney, 15. Ciarán Frawley; 21. Hugh O'Sullivan, 22. David Hawkshaw, 23. Tommy O'Brien

Extra XV
9. Paddy Patterson, 10. Tim Corkery, 11. Andrew Smith, 12. Liam Turner, 13. Gavin Mullin, 14. Aaron O'Sullivan, 15. Michael Silvester

And that's without even factoring in Cian Kelleher

There might have been space for Byrne if it wasn't for the presence of the two imports Henshaw and Lowe

First XXIII
11. Jordan Larmour, 12. Conor O'Brien, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Barry Daly, 15. Hugo Keenan; 23. Rory O'Loughlin

Second XXIII
11. Cian Kelleher, 12. Tommy O'Brien, 13. Jimmy O'Brien, 14. David Kearney, 15. Ciarán Frawley; 23. Adam Byrne

Extra XV
11. Andrew Smith, 12. Liam Turner, 13. Gavin Mullin, 14. Aaron O'Sullivan, 15. Michael Silvester

troyzer

Daly is having no luck the last few seasons. If his knee goes again, I'd say he's done.

Yeah_Right

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

First XXIII
9. Luke McGrath, 10. Jonathan Sexton, 11. James Lowe, 12. Conor O'Brien, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Barry Daly, 15. Hugo Keenan; 21. Jamison Gibson-Park, 22. Ross Byrne, 23. Jordan Larmour

Second XXIII
9. Rowan Osborne, 10. Harry Byrne, 11. Rory O'Loughlin, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 13. Jimmy O'Brien, 14. David Kearney, 15. Ciarán Frawley; 21. Hugh O'Sullivan, 22. David Hawkshaw, 23. Tommy O'Brien

I love it. Ireland's starting fullback and their regular inside centre (yes he swaps with Bundee a lot) can't even make Leinster's starting line up. Sure

sydthebeat

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I love it. Ireland's starting fullback and their regular inside centre (yes he swaps with Bundee a lot) can't even make Leinster's starting line up. Sure

are ya not used to RRs schtick yet??

"import" henshaw ... and not a mention of hairy Joe anywhere.

Its boring at this stage

Richie_Rich89

And then in the forwards...

First XXIII
1. Peter Dooley, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. James Ryan, 5. Devin Toner, 6. Josh Murphy, 7. Dan Leavy, 8. Caelan Doris; 16. Sean Cronin, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Andrew Porter, 19. Ryan Baird, 20. Max Deegan

Second XXIII
1. Edward Byrne, 2. James Tracy, 3. Vakhtang Abdaladze, 4. Jack Dunne, 5. Ross Molony, 6. Rhys Ruddock, 7. Will Connors, 8. Jack Conan; 16. Dan Sheehan, 17. Michael Milne, 18. Jack Aungier, 19. Oisín Dowling, 20. Josh van der Flier

Extra XV
1. Charlie Ward?, 2. John McKee, 3. Thomas Clarkson, 4. Charlie Ryan, 5. Brian Deeny, 6. Martin Moloney, 7. Scott Penny, 8. Sean O'Brien?

Not included in lists: Roman Salanoa (Maybe could switch to loosehead? Alternatively, an extra th spot might open up if Porter switches back across when Healy finishes up)

If Dan Leavy doesn't get back as good as before the injury I can see Connors moving ahead of JvdF as first choice openside. He makes bigger impact tackles. It's almost as if he's a souped up version of van der Flier.

Might be wise to move Bent and Fardy on at this juncture. If they wait for another season then there's the risk that you'd be losing Bent, Healy, Fardy and Toner all at the same time. Better to stage it rather than have a whole tranche of players depart at the same time.

It's probably fair to assume that only one of Fardy and Dowling will be with Leinster next season. If that turns out to be the case, I think it would be quite short-sighted to choose the guy who'll be 36 next season over the guy who'll be 23, especially in the context that Baird looks good enough to take Fardy's place in the first choice XXIII as it is.

Richie_Rich89

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I love it. Ireland's starting fullback and their regular inside centre (yes he swaps with Bundee a lot) can't even make Leinster's starting line up. Sure

Henshaw's a very limited player at 12. COB has a lot more variety to his attacking game, a much more natural inside centre. Having an inside centre with a cultured kicking game and who kicks off his left foot when his 10 is right footed could be quite an advantage if they bring in this new 50:22 law.

I was watching some highlights of BOD there and it really stands out that he was far better than Ringrose at bringing other people into play. He'd draw defenders to him and pass, freeing someone else into a hole. It really did make Ringrose look like a quite one-dimensional strike runner in comparison. I was thinking GR could potentially go off and play 7s for a season to improve his vision and passing games. Unlikely to happen, of course, but in the event that it did, I suppose you could put Henshaw at 13 outside COB. I think Henshaw's much better at OC than he is at IC.

On Larmour, it's purely a matter of positional suitability. I think he's a left wing. James Lowe would be keeping him out of the team, as I see it. Keenan might not have reached the heights in the game that Larmour has but I think the team would play better with him at fullback instead of Larmour because he'd be better at bringing others into play by finding them with a pass. I'd use the analogy that you'd pick Bent over Healy (a higher level player) at tighthead because he suits the positional requirements better and is thus likely to make the team play better as a whole.

RugbyLover123

This is all just in your opinion?

There is no way Larmour and Henshaw don’t start in a fully fit Leinster team in the next 12 months.

And as good as Josh Murphy is, he doesn’t get in the 23 let alone start at 6.

Faugheen

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I love it. Ireland's starting fullback and their regular inside centre (yes he swaps with Bundee a lot) can't even make Leinster's starting line up. Sure

He has a hard-on for Conor O’Brien, despite the fact he has shown nothing to suggest he’s this prodigious talent Richie wants him to be.

Also, no JGP.

And Connors and Penny ahead of vdF?

You know vdF is Leinster born and bred right? And not the Johnny Foreigner you want him to be.

You’re an absolute parody of yourself

Shefwedfan

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

Henshaw's a very limited player at 12. COB has a lot more variety to his attacking game, a much more natural inside centre. Having an inside centre with a cultured kicking game and who kicks off his left foot when his 10 is right footed could be quite an advantage if they bring in this new 50:22 law.

I was watching some highlights of BOD there and it really stands out that he was far better than Ringrose at bringing other people into play. He'd draw defenders to him and pass, freeing someone else into a hole. It really did make Ringrose look like a quite one-dimensional strike runner in comparison. I was thinking GR could potentially go off and play 7s for a season to improve his vision and passing games. Unlikely to happen, of course, but in the event that it did, I suppose you could put Henshaw at 13 outside COB. I think Henshaw's much better at OC than he is at IC.

On Larmour, it's purely a matter of positional suitability. I think he's a left wing. James Lowe would be keeping him out of the team, as I see it. Keenan might not have reached the heights in the game that Larmour has but I think the team would play better with him at fullback instead of Larmour because he'd be better at bringing others into play by finding them with a pass. I'd use the analogy that you'd pick Bent over Healy (a higher level player) at tighthead because he suits the positional requirements better and is thus likely to make the team play better as a whole.

Has COB started in any of the European games so far?

BOD was the best 13 ever to play rugby in the World. Yes he was better than Ringrose

I will go on what Cullen and Lancaster say over you, both say Larmour is a 15.

Scottmactom

Where will Leinsters current academy be next season:

Prop
Jack Aungier(Suttonians RFC/Clontarf) - senior team
Michael Milne(CC Roscrea/UCD) - senior team
Tom Clarkson(Blackrock/DUFC) - academy yr 2, U21
Roman Salanoa(Old Belvedere) - ???

Hooker
Dan Sheehan(Clongowes/Lansdowne) - senior team

Lock
Jack Dunne(St. Michaels/DUFC) - senior team?
Charlie Ryan(Blackrock/UCD) - academy yr 2, U22
Brian Deeny(Wexford RFC/Clontarf) - academy yr 2, U21

Lock/Blindside
Oisin Dowling(St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - leave province
Ryan Baird(St. Michaels/DUFC) - senior team

Backrow
Martin Moloney(Athy RFC/Old Belvedere) - academy yr 2, U22

Scrumhalf
Patrick Patterson(Blackrock/UCD) - academy yr 3, U23

Outhalf
Harry Byrne(St. Michaels/Lansdowne) - senior team
David Hawkshaw(Belvedere/Clontarf) - academy yr 3, U22

Outside Backs
Gavin Mullin(Blackrock/UCD) - ???
Tommy O'Brien(Blackrock/UCD) - senior team
Michael Silvester(Clongowes/DUFC) - academy yr 3, U23
Aaron O'Sullivan(Exile/Blackrock) - academy yr 3, U22
Liam Turner(Blackrock/DUFC) - academy yr 2, U22

Squidgy Black

Was listening to The42 podcast the other day and Salanoa was referenced as one of the players who was linked with another province but has chosen to stay at Leinster, I know there was rumours flying around about him joining Connacht a couple months ago