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

molloyjh

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Sorry but I seen this all before, everyone wants young player in, then once they play a game you have people ready to shoot them down before they even get a chance

The guy is a kid with less than 20 caps and no idea how many starts, why would anyone even make a comment about him in the first place? Let the lad play, he is going to mistakes....

There is absolutely nothing wrong with an honest appraisal of young players performances. Identifying those areas that he needs to improve on in a matter of fact and impersonal manner is just discussion. Nothing more.

I think you are being very sensitive over absolutely nothing. Buer wasn't being harsh or abusive or anything like that. This is a discussion forum. If we can call out and talk about things players do well then we can do the same for the things that they don't. As long as its done in a reasonable and objective manner then what exactly is the issue?

salmocab

This is like another poster who claimed that the media And social media saying things about players affects selection. Think it was in reference to Connors if I remember right. People are free to discuss players in matches, not being a d1ck about it is the only thing they need to stick to.

antietam1

Why cant we adore venerate even all our players, like Munsterfans.

Clegg

I've yet to see Tommy O'Brien have a poor game for Leinster. Everything seems so easy for him that he can slot in anywhere across the backline and have a good game.

His eventual position may end up being on the wing as we've a glut of established and up and coming centres. Still want to see Frawley get an extended run at 12. I've no doubt TOB would excel out wide either.

bayern

like him on the wing too, given his speed, skills and physicality.

arsebiscuits1

Bent had a brilliant game. Absolutely schooled the Glasgow front row and kept himself very busy. He consistently gets us that meter over the gainline with some nice footwork. Leinster really are fortunate to have a squad player of his caliber.

Tracy was good again. Brings really good physicality both sides of the breakdown. Had a great poach on our 22. He's quietly building up a lot of turnovers for himself. Excellent return on the lineout too. Really shored up that area of his game in tricky conditions.

Josh Murphy might well be on track for players player of the year. He's putting together the types of performances that make him a dream to play beside. Ferocious carrying and tackling. Bringing real dog to his games. He's putting in the performances I've been wanting from Ross Molony for years. Lovely steal on lineout ball too. Again, we're lucky to have a squad player of his caliber.

Penny's hunger for work is notable. On one Leinster restart he single handedly gained Leinster an extra 30m into Glasgow territory with 2 excellent tackles forcing them into a tough exit. Excellent support line off a TOB break. Decision making needs work but that comes with more game time.

Ruddock on a different level. 15 carries. 5 more than any other Leinster player. Consistent front foot ball. Was excellent to be able to go to him to get us out of trouble. Just before JOB's try, play had completely broken down. Ruddock just picks and goes with nothing on, blasts past a few Glasgow players and gets Leinster front foot ball out of nothing to stretch Glasgow.


Luke played like a player totally shorn of confidence until he found an excellent rhythm in the lead up to Jimmy O'Briens try. Heavily involved in setting the pace there. Had a decent game after that. Passing was decent bar a few mishaps and around the park he was generally strong.

Harry Byrne had a poor game off the boot. Tricky conditions but his kicking from open play wasn't at the standard I would expect from him. Even factoring in his age. But there is absolutely no doubt of his skill level. His catch pass under pressure is excellent and by and large picked out some lovely passes.

I'm yet to see any notable weaknesses in Tommy O'Briens game. Strong tackler. Both evasive and strong carrier as the situation requires. Lovely passer under pressure and picking out a good long pass. Reminds me a bit of ROL in his breakout season except a much better defender.

Cian Kelleher had a solid game for us too. Plenty of carries and ran hard. I would like to see him get more involved though and pop up at first receiver here and there.

Bench made very little impact which is disappointing. We had much less possession in the last 20 and the conditions did turn. But we started losing collisions we had been winning and the tempo fell off a cliff. Closed out the game reasonably well but ultimately it was well in our control and we should have been dictating the game by the last 20.

salmocab

Bent was one of Leinster best overseas signings. He is so consistent and now he’s scoring a try a game*

*stat may be warped to suit my love of him.

bayern

salmocab wrote: »

Bent was one of Leinster best overseas signings. He is so consistent and now he’s scoring a try a game*

*stat may be warped to suit my love of him.

Bents entering cult status for me. Will be incredibly hard to replace.

bayern

BOD being very vocal that Harry Byrne isn't playing enough for Leinster on OTB.

Clegg

https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1323543928751202308?s=19

Yeah_Right

Watching the game last night, I thought that with the front row injuries that Ireland has, it could be worth calling Bent up as a bench option. I know he is old and won't be around for the next RWC but he could be a short term solution as he can play both sides.

dregin

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Watching the game last night, I thought that with the front row injuries that Ireland has, it could be worth calling Bent up as a bench option. I know he is old and won't be around for the next RWC but he could be a short term solution as he can play both sides.

The amount of work he's done in the trenches over the years for Leinster has surely earned him the freedom of several cities.

Buer

bayern wrote: »

BOD being very vocal that Harry Byrne isn't playing enough for Leinster on OTB.

He's not up to this point but surely he'll be getting plenty of game time almost by default as long as his brother retains his spot in the Irish 23?

I'd expect RB to start against the Ospreys this coming weekend but Harry will potentially get the next 3 starts as they all clash with Irish games. I hope Sexton isn't involved in all of those games but surely they'd give him the week off and still continue with HB those weeks? If he gets to the end of November with 5 starts under his belt (of even 4) that's solid progress for him. He's likely to finish the season with 8-10 starts which is sufficient for a 21 year old outhalf.

If his form calls for more starts than that during the season then he should get them and probably will. Ideally, he'll be in a position to be in our first choice 23 for next season as Sexton may move on (or be moved on) at that point.

salmocab

dregin wrote: »

The amount of work he's done in the trenches over the years for Leinster has surely earned him the freedom of several cities.

We’ve only two cities to offer him

arsebiscuits1

bayern wrote: »

BOD being very vocal that Harry Byrne isn't playing enough for Leinster on OTB.

160 minutes in the last 2 games is a pretty decent return so far.

If nothing else he's proving he can be trusted to come on with 20-30 to go in a tight enough game.

It will be an interesting battle between the brothers now for that 22 shirt in Europe

RugbyLover123

bayern wrote: »

BOD being very vocal that Harry Byrne isn't playing enough for Leinster on OTB.

Thought he was incredibly harsh on RB. Hindsight is a great thing and how we’re the Irish management to know RB wouldn’t change the game? Granted I don’t think RB is the long term solution to the Irish 10 jersey but he has enough credit in the bank to come off the bench in an international game.

And what games does he think HB should be playing that he hasn’t been?

I think it’s fairly clear BOD doesn’t rate RB one bit.

Interested Observer

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Watching the game last night, I thought that with the front row injuries that Ireland has, it could be worth calling Bent up as a bench option. I know he is old and won't be around for the next RWC but he could be a short term solution as he can play both sides.

Ah I'd leave him with Leinster, but he has been an unbelievable player for Leinster over the years. He's a player who you'll really miss/appreciate when he's gone.

Dwarf.Shortage

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

160 minutes in the last 2 games is a pretty decent return so far.

If nothing else he's proving he can be trusted to come on with 20-30 to go in a tight enough game.

It will be an interesting battle between the brothers now for that 22 shirt in Europe

Because as we all know rugby was invented on the 22nd of October :pac:

Needs to start getting European minutes, if that's ahead of Ross so be it.

arsebiscuits1

Dwarf.Shortage wrote: »

Because as we all know rugby was invented on the 22nd of October :pac:

Needs to start getting European minutes, if that's ahead of Ross so be it.

Yes but it's the most applicable minutes recently.

We've had 1 european game in 10 months. I hardly think there's much of an argument that Harry hasn't gotten enough european minutes. He'd only had 6 senior games of rugby before the end of last seasons pool stages. There was no reasonable argument that he should have been involved.

It's also high performance sport. He doesn't "need to be getting these minutes" He needs to earn these with some high standard performances.

9/9 conversions against Zebre is absolutely a good way to do it.

4 low pressure kicks from hand directly leading to turnovers and one intercept pass against Glasgow are less good ways to go about getting those big game appearances.

If Ross plays better than Harry in blue or green over the coming months, he will play. It's that simple.

Clegg

It's easy to forget that Penny is just 21. He's getting a chance to shine now that VDF and Connors are unavailable due to test commitments. Although there's a problem once they come back. We have four opensides available to us with Leavy's return, but only one slot available.

https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1323954394719784962?s=19

pickarooney

I never know how to interpret these tackle stats. If Doris can make 1 or 2 tackles against France and still have a decent game and in another match the flankers are making 20-25 tackles each, what does it say, ultimately?

arsebiscuits1

pickarooney wrote: »

I never know how to interpret these tackle stats. If Doris can make 1 or 2 tackles against France and still have a decent game and in another match the flankers are making 20-25 tackles each, what does it say, ultimately?

Anything more than 15 is a pretty decent return.

But ultimately it matters very little on its own.

The analysts and coaches have a much more comprehensive breakdown of a players individual performance. They'd break down the tackles down to their effectiveness and technique and weather they're implementing the work ons set out to them.

They'd also be looking at the breakdown and attack side of their game
It's also why missed tackles also don't always tell the full picture. Some missed tackles are actually very positive misses. Especially for outside backs. The stat is missed, but they may have prevented an operlap etc.

Clegg

Furlong, Baird and Cronin to set up their rehab.

https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/status/1323997054998323201?s=19

dregin

bayern wrote: »

Bents entering cult status for me. Will be incredibly hard to replace.

If the OLSC don't release a Bent shirt, I'll be making my own!

salmocab

dregin wrote: »

If the OLSC don't release a Bent shirt, I'll be making my own!

Get Bent
We should run a competition for this

Clegg

Would be 15/15 if not for Buer.

https://twitter.com/OptaJonny/status/1323964014452498435?s=19

FrannoFan

kingofthekong wrote: »

Devin Toner was very poor he really I hanging on , looks a liability in defence and so many stupid errors

totally disagree. toner was smashing lads in defence. calm presence at lineout. Last play of the game was toner enveloping a glasgow player leading to a turn over.

Exclamation Marc

James Lowe finally gets his Ireland call up. Delighted for him.

Serbian

Exclamation Marc wrote: »

James Lowe finally gets his Ireland call up. Delighted for him.

"Finally" 😅

I think most of us won't be surprised to see him dropped in at the first possible opportunity. His strike rate with Leinster has been remarkable, already an all-time top 10 try scorer for the province.

People love trying to make something out of his defence based on snap judgements from his first couple of games in blue, but for me he has developed into the most complete winger we have in Ireland, pace, kicking, power and the x factor to unlock defences with a little bit of magic now and then.

I think he's a natural successor to Earls who, as excellent as he is, is possibly in his last season with Ireland.

Clegg

I agree with you on Lowe being our most complete wing. As a strike runner and finisher he's second to none and his offloading ability makes him a secondary playmaker, albeit a rather unorthodox one. He's also a very effective ball carrier and can be used to get over the gain line in set plays.

I have a concern about his pace though. He's not particularly quick after the first 10 metres. That's something we'd have to compensate for.