Player movement

Buer

Not sure I recall as much chat around Irish/Irish based players moving to provinces for some time....as it stands, I've heard the following in some form or another:

• Frawley to Ulster/Munster
• Byrne to Ulster (had been rumoured Munster but that seems to have gone quiet)
• Burns to Munster
• Milne to Munster
• Cronin to Munster
• Kilgallen to Munster
• Dillane to Munster
• Snyman to Leinster

And then we have guys who are out of contract who will almost certainly have been approached by other provinces. TOT already supposedly approached by Leinster (and rejected them). Aungier is in the same boat, I'd imagine.

There's also a rake of guys moving on. Jenkins is apparently gone to the Sharks. Ala'alatoa to Clermont. Carbery to Bordeaux. And a glut of guys rumoured to be gone/released without any indication as to where they're going: Zebo, Murray, Kilcoyne, Archer, Greg Jones and Eric O'Sullivan off the top of my head.

Hey_Ho_Lets_Go_3

TOTs move to Leinster was blocked by the IRFU.

Deegan/Soroka to Munster.

Dubinusa

Deegan to Munster would be foolish, imo. That would block minutes for Quinn and Gleeson! I think Deegan would go to Connacht.

launish116

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121711367#Comment_121711367

Deegan to Ulster please

ulsteru20s

Deegan to ulster makes way more sense. I'm not sure he would start over ahern or coombes and then he's in the same position as before.

Munster also have a ton of back row talent coming in to their academy that needs to be accomodated.

At Ulster, talent is coming but we definitely have space right now to start and mentor that talent .

I'm also not sure the irfu could block TOT to Leinster. Leinster can't outbid them, but he can leave if he wants. See Henshaw.

launish116

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121711635#Comment_121711635

With the likes of Deegan I always wonder what would have been if they had left Leinster before now.

Lord Palmerston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712254#Comment_121712254

There's not much argument to suggest he'd be a better player - he's racked up 5,400+ minutes for Leinster, and is in his 8th season (he's 27). If you exclude the initial breakthrough season (when he was a teenager) he's averaged almost 800 mins a year, and has had a couple of bad injuries (ACL in 2020 where he lost a full year) and an ankle injury that saw him miss a good chunk too.

He got over 1,000 mins last season and is well on track for similar this year. If you compare him to other guys of 1997 vintage across the provinces, he's got a comparable number of appearances for Leinster as Fineen Wycherley has for Munster (106 v 104), more than Shane Daly has (106 v 84), a good bit more than Calvin Nash has (albeit a year younger, but he's at 67 or so), and more than Gavin Coombes has (106 v 86). Compared to Ulster, he's played for Leinster than all of the following have played for Ulster (Marcus Rea - 48), Greg Jones (42) and Robert Baloucoune (65). At Connacht - he's racked up more games than Paul Boyle (73) and Oisin Dowling (25 + 9 Leinster).

Even at Leinster, of the same vintage he's featured more than James Ryan (72), Will Connors (39), Ciaran Frawley (76), Hugo Keenan (50) and Jimmy O'Brien (76).

That's just comparing to guys of roughly similar age profile.

He's been in the best and most successful team over the course of his career, and has still racked up major minutes in a strong coaching environment with a track record of improving players and turning them into international class players. I don't think there's a credible argument he'd be a better player necessarily today had he left before now.

The guys he can't get past are the standard - he needs to be better than Caelan Doris, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan right now to make an Ireland squad, and he's getting the chance to test himself against them every day.

ulsteru20s

Deegan is a really good player. I sometimes wonder if he is a little betwixt and between the way the 6 position is trending. Baird and Ahern are basically lock size. Hopes is playing 6 for the u20s.

I've always loved his game though. I'd be incredibly happy with him in Ulster.

Dubinusa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712374#Comment_121712374

I think he'd be a good fit.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712340#Comment_121712340

Presumably most of those guys have significantly more Champions Cup starts tho, right?

Lord Palmerston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121712438#Comment_121712438

Well actually no.

None of the examples from other provinces have more Champions Cup games than him with only Fineen Wycherley equalling Deegan on 16.

All of Daly (12), Nash (10), Coombes (14), Baloucoune (15), Jones (6), Rea (9), Boyle (9) and Dowling (7) have less.

Of the Leinster contingent James Ryan, Hugo Keenan, Ciaran Frawley and Jimmy O’Brien have more, but that doesn’t enhance the argument that he’d be a better player if he’d left Leinster.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121714143#Comment_121714143

I said "starts" not "games" tho. I'd assume most of those you listed have more minutes than him despite playing fewer games? Some probably considerably more minutes?

Lord Palmerston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121714326#Comment_121714326

I’m sure plenty of them do, but plenty of them don’t as well.

It doesn’t change anything really - he’s got minutes for Leinster in European Cup knockouts multiple times.

The notion that he’d be a better player if he got a few more minutes in Europe with inferior teams and poorer coaching tickets hasn’t really been proven here IMO.

The thing stopping him getting more Irish recognition is he’s behind the exact guys he’s behind at Leinster.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121714367#Comment_121714367

Ah look, I don't think either of us are going to prove he'd be a better player whether he stayed or whether he left, I was just curious.

ulsteru20s

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121714367#Comment_121714367

I agree with most of this but he's not just behind guys at leinster. At 6, he also seems to be behind prendergast and ahern. At 8, probably coombes? I think coombes has been closer more recently.

I'd say at this point he's a pretty complete player who doesn't need any more developing. He might benefit from playing against conan and doris in games rather than in training. Just from an exposure pov.