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

Yeah_Right

antietam1 wrote: »

Can't agree either or both Vunipola could have ended up here, same with Manu our poaches are not very good.

You should try doing a bit of research before commenting on things that you don't have a lot of knowledge about.

acer911

What is the best way to get two tickets for the away Northampton game and how easy will it be to get them? Not a season ticket holder if that matters.

Niallof9

Penny is incredibly powerful. He will be an Irish international by the end of the summer i think.

With this new breed its not necessarily the size of them, its the size of their mentality. Its light years ahead of some of the prior generation. They grew up on Irish rugby being dominant and better coaching and facilities.

arsebiscuits1

Niallof9 wrote: »

Penny is incredibly powerful. He will be an Irish international by the end of the summer i think.

With this new breed its not necessarily the size of them, its the size of their mentality. Its light years ahead of some of the prior generation. They grew up on Irish rugby being dominant and better coaching and facilities.

Penny in a bit of space is almost a centre. His handling, footwork and ability to find the soft shoulder are all very impressive.

I'd be surprised if there was a better handling/ passing forward in Leinster (Deegan maybe)

I think this summer is a bit soon to be an international. But I can see him being a very important member of our Euro squad.


But I agree. Penny is a real example of the new school of players. To come straight out of school being ready for senior rugby is incredibly impressive. The fact that he didn't need the sub academy at all is incredible

arsebiscuits1

RugbyLover123 wrote: »

Nobody worried about Pennys size at the top level? Seems a good bit smaller then VDF, and say Hooper who is considered a small 7. I know he was a quality underage player but I’m having doubts about whether he’ll make it at HC knockout/international level.

I think Penny and Hooper both have Rugby intellect in common.

If you've enough in the top 2 inches it more than makes up for any height you're lacking.

Pennys technique is incredibly sound. His rucking and tackling are both very polished. But his decision making and reading of what he needs to do is very good. His decision time around the ruck could be better. But that will come with more senior game time

And the way the game is going with regards to high tackles I think having shorter stockier guys in the mould of Penny and Turner are going to be very beneficial.

They'll be forcing the bigger lads to adjust even lower to get an effective hit. That's where an unstable platform or a soft shoulder appears and the linebreaks or gain line successes are found

Niallof9

I disagree if Penny after having played for Leinster is not in the summer tour Andy Farrell is already failing in my book.

I'm nearly certain he won't make this mistake.

It took a few years for Joe to finally embrace a bit of youth.

Maybe its not the forwards im having doubts about. Its more the backline youth. Who do we have that is coming through that is at Deegean or Penny level. IS Turner going to break through?

arsebiscuits1

Niallof9 wrote: »

I disagree if Penny after having played for Leinster is not in the summer tour Andy Farrell is already failing in my book.

I'm nearly certain he won't make this mistake.

It took a few years for Joe to finally embrace a bit of youth.

Ah here. Would you let a fella find his feet before sharpening the pitch forks.

The only way Penny is getting in is on merit. I don't think anyone will be upset if he gets there - especially seeing as we are a little light on 7s on this Isle with no Leavy or SOB.

But to say a coach has started to fail because he thinks a 20 year old might need another season in a position where 20% of all rugby injuries occur is just a bit much

Shefwedfan

Niallof9 wrote: »

Penny is incredibly powerful. He will be an Irish international by the end of the summer i think.

With this new breed its not necessarily the size of them, its the size of their mentality. Its light years ahead of some of the prior generation. They grew up on Irish rugby being dominant and better coaching and facilities.

Penny is 20....we have
Ruddock, Deegan, Doris, Nordi, Conan, VDF, Stander etc all available to Ireland.

Let the guy get a chance and a few caps at HC level before shoving him into an international match where he could get hammered and set back......

kingofthekong

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

Ah here. Would you let a fella find his feet before sharpening the pitch forks.

The only way Penny is getting in is on merit. I don't think anyone will be upset if he gets there - especially seeing as we are a little light on 7s on this Isle with no Leavy or SOB.

But to say a coach has started to fail because he thinks a 20 year old might need another season in a position where 20% of all rugby injuries occur is just a bit much

If Farrell brings a below average T. O'donnel or Reidy from Ulster over Penny on a summer tour after a whole season of european/pro14 rugby then its a big mistake.

Clegg

We still haven't see VdF and Leavy in the same backrow that often. When one of fit the other licks up an injury. A backrow of Conan, Leavy and VdF complements each other so well. It's a shame that we won't get to see that this season.

Niallof9

kingofthekong wrote: »

If Farrell brings a below average T. O'donnel or Reidy from Ulster over Penny on a summer tour after a whole season of european/pro14 rugby then its a big mistake.

exactly. If you're good enough you're old enough. If penny starts European games he's got a good shot. We need to start rebuilding right away. Leinster will be at the heart of it. Kelleher's in the same boat, i also predict a cap on summer tour.

He's already failing if he ignores whats in front of him. I'll sharpen the pitchforks for this scenario.

Thankfully Lancaster and Cullen back youth, maybe he will too.

kingofthekong

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Penny is 20....we have
Ruddock, Deegan, Doris, Nordi, Conan, VDF, Stander etc all available to Ireland.

Let the guy get a chance and a few caps at HC level before shoving him into an international match where he could get hammered and set back......

Disagree, the whole reason England have such a powerful pack is because Eddie fast tracked Underhill and Curry .....they should do the same with Penny

Curry was taken on a tour to Argentina when he was 19 thats a year younger than Penny...now hes up there with the best 7s in the world

This constant reluctance to try younger players out is dieing out now that these players are receiving professional level coaching and S&C from when they are 15 years old

whatawaster

kingofthekong wrote: »

Disagree, the whole reason England have such a powerful pack is because Eddie fast tracked Underhill and Curry .....they should do the same with Penny

Curry was taken on a tour to Argentina when he was 19 thats a year younger than Penny...now hes up there with the best 7s in the world

This constant reluctance to try younger players out is dieing out now that these players are receiving professional level coaching and S&C from when they are 15 years old

I think, and I'm open to correction here, that English players physically peak earlier, possibly because they are in Academies from a younger age.

Shefwedfan

kingofthekong wrote: »

Disagree, the whole reason England have such a powerful pack is because Eddie fast tracked Underhill and Curry .....they should do the same with Penny

Curry was taken on a tour to Argentina when he was 19 thats a year younger than Penny...now hes up there with the best 7s in the world

This constant reluctance to try younger players out is dieing out now that these players are receiving professional level coaching and S&C from when they are 15 years old

Penny has played a few Pro 14 games and we are now shoving him into international rugby just to get youth into the team


Let's see how he gets on this season, if he can force his way into the HC squad. No problem with bringing young players into Ireland squad when they deserve it, like Larmour/Carbery etc. Not just shoving in a young player because of what England done

Faugheen

Clegg wrote: »

We still haven't see VdF and Leavy in the same backrow that often. When one of fit the other licks up an injury. A backrow of Conan, Leavy and VdF complements each other so well. It's a shame that we won't get to see that this season.

I’ve always thought Leavy at 6 as opposed to 7 would be the answer. Good carrier, great on the ground and works around the pitch. Having him at 6 and letting Josh do his thing at 7 is a great thought.

I just hope when Leavy comes back that he had the same fight as before. He’s an excellent player.

salmocab

Faugheen wrote: »

I’ve always thought Leavy at 6 as opposed to 7 would be the answer. Good carrier, great on the ground and works around the pitch. Having him at 6 and letting Josh do his thing at 7 is a great thought.

I just hope when Leavy comes back that he had the same fight as before. He’s an excellent player.

Think I’ve said it before mate of mine reckons if Leavy was a NZer he’d be touted as the next Richie Mc Caw.

arsebiscuits1

salmocab wrote: »

Think I’ve said it before mate of mine reckons if Leavy was a NZer he’d be touted as the next Richie Mc Caw.

He's the first Dan Leavy

Clegg

salmocab wrote: »

Think I’ve said it before mate of mine reckons if Leavy was a NZer he’d be touted as the next Richie Mc Caw.

Sad thing is I'm pretty sure that at 25 years old, Leavy has already suffered more serious injuries than McCaw did in his entire career. It wasn't just his incredible ability that made McCaw possibly the greatest rugby player of all time. He was remarkably durable despite being the most targeted player on the pitch in every game he played.

jacothelad

Clegg wrote: »

Sad thing is I'm pretty sure that at 25 years old, Leavy has already suffered more serious injuries than McCaw did in his entire career. It wasn't just his incredible ability that made McCaw possible the greatest rugby player of all time. He was remarkably durable despite being the most targeted player on the pitch in every game he played.

Yes but you forgot the important fact that McCaw was in possession of a 'Cloak of Invisibility.' This made him invisible to opponents and more importantly to referees hence he was able to operate offside at every ruck, maul, lineout and restart with complete impunity....:D:D:D:D:D

Shefwedfan

jacothelad wrote: »

Yes but you forgot the important fact that McCaw was in possession of a 'Cloak of Invisibility.' This made him invisible to opponents and more importantly to referees hence he was able to operate offside at every ruck, maul, lineout and restart with complete impunity....:D:D:D:D:D

McCaw of course has passed on that cloak, it seems a lot of NZ team have it

stephen_n

Former Former wrote: »

A back row of Ruddock, VDF and Conan probably isn't even the best in Ireland, let alone being the envy of Europe.

These things are cyclical. We've had ten years of incredible quality in the back row, we might be in for a dip.

I think Doris is the most likely of the current youngsters to really make an impact.

A backrow of VDF, Conan & Leavy, with Ruddock on the bench would still be one of the best in Europe I’d imagine.

antietam1

Yeah_Right wrote: »

You should try doing a bit of research before commenting on things that you don't have a lot of knowledge about.

What do you mean, the Vunipolas went to Wales first and rugby could have brought them here.

ClanofLams

I’m not sure if it has been mentioned here but Stuart Lancaster has a podcast type thing with Off the Ball called leaders questions, on youtube. The second season is being released now. Have only listened to a a couple of episodes but there’s some very interesting insights.

He mentioned Leinster players and staff going over to his dads funeral, in the middle of a match week, in the small village he’s from which isn’t particularly easy to get to as something that had a big impact on him.

Also on a episode with Ronan O’Gara, which was recorded about ten days before the champions cup final last season, he asked O’Gara about who the leaders in the Munster dressing room were. O’Gara immediately said Denis Leamy, said he wasn’t one you would think of, was quiet etc but when he spoke it was usually very insightful and that he was particularly good with players on one on one. Might be a complete coincidence but i thought it was pretty interesting that a few months after that Denis Leamy joined the Leinster academy set up.

Synode

Faugheen wrote: »

I’ve always thought Leavy at 6 as opposed to 7 would be the answer. Good carrier, great on the ground and works around the pitch. Having him at 6 and letting Josh do his thing at 7 is a great thought.

I just hope when Leavy comes back that he had the same fight as before. He’s an excellent player.

Doubt we'll have to worry about his fight. It will be more about how well the medical team can get his body back to pre injury condition. He was such a huge loss in 2019. Beast of a player.

Dravokivich

ClanofLams wrote: »

I’m not sure if it has been mentioned here but Stuart Lancaster has a podcast type thing with Off the Ball called leaders questions, on youtube. The second season is being released now. Have only listened to a a couple of episodes but there’s some very interesting insights.

He mentioned Leinster players and staff going over to his dads funeral, in the middle of a match week, in the small village he’s from which isn’t particularly easy to get to as something that had a big impact on him.

Also on a episode with Ronan O’Gara, which was recorded about ten days before the champions cup final last season, he asked O’Gara about who the leaders in the Munster dressing room were. O’Gara immediately said Denis Leamy, said he wasn’t one you would think of, was quiet etc but when he spoke it was usually very insightful and that he was particularly good with players on one on one. Might be a complete coincidence but i thought it was pretty interesting that a few months after that Denis Leamy joined the Leinster academy set up.

Never been one for the podcasts, any link to that?

kmart6

Dravokivich wrote: »

Never been one for the podcasts, any link to that?

Series:
https://www.offtheball.com/podcasts/leaders-questions-with-stuart-lancaster

ROG:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVKq8XZxOwk

dregin

Here's the new Stuart one on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rdSTSLVdWnP5k7XsKkEp1?si=MZS2U0YnRX-8qST5Vah-Bw

Clegg

Cian Kelleher lives!! We also get to see Deegan at 8. Now that Conan will be out for most of the season, I imagine Deegan and Doris will get the chance to compete for the starting role for Champions Cup games.


15. Hugo Keenan (8)
14. Adam Byrne (53)
13. Rory O’Loughlin (64)
12. Joe Tomane (16)
11. Cian Kelleher (7)
10. Ross Byrne (74)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (73)
1. Peter Dooley (64)
2. James Tracy (95)
3. Michael Bent (127)
4. Ross Molony (85)
5. Scott Fardy (46) CAPTAIN
6. Josh Murphy (24)
7. Scott Penny (7)
8. Max Deegan (49)

16. Bryan Byrne (42)
17. Michael Milne (3)
18. Vakh Abdaladze (10)
19. Ryan Baird (1)
20. Caelan Doris (19)
21. Hugh O’Sullivan (15)
22. Harry Byrne (3)
23. Jimmy O’Brien (9)

Shefwedfan

Joe Tomane has been excellent so far this season. How long did he sign up for ?

If just 2 years I would hope he would stay on longer

molloyjh

Yeah Tomane has been really good so far this season. Anyone know what the story is with Conor O'Brien? Is he injured?