Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread VIII: May the Fourth Star Be With You!

Clegg · 19-05-2017 10:15PM

Whisper it, bit that was a very Lancaster coached in a big game performance.

We hammered them a few months ago in a regular league game. Massive, massive bottle job.

Former Former · 19-05-2017 10:19PM

I think the last three games have shown us that Heaslip, O'Brien and Kearney are still crucially important to the team.

And that's JGP's three-year contract may have been a tad long.

Buer · 19-05-2017 10:19PM

Clegg wrote:

Whisper it, bit that was a very Lancaster coached in a big game performance.

I didn't want to point that out but yes, very much so.

ongarite · 19-05-2017 10:20PM

Gotta agree we have missed Heaslip big time the last month.

Clegg · 19-05-2017 10:21PM

Actually pretty disgusted by that tbh.

Some looked like they expected this to be a walk over. VdF was taking this seriously. Not enough of his team mates were.

awec · 19-05-2017 10:22PM

Former Former wrote: »

I think the last three games have shown us that Heaslip, O'Brien and Kearney are still crucially important to the team.

And that's JGP's three-year contract may have been a tad long.

If he gets capped I am buying myself a pair of boots and hitting the gym.

Buer · 19-05-2017 10:22PM

Former Former wrote:

And that's JGP's three-year contract may have been a tad long.

I wonder if Ulster want to buy it out.

Seriously, he's right up there for me in terms of my least favourite players now. His talent to performance ratio is shocking. Couldn't have given less of a damn tonight.

I do think we failed to do our due diligence on him though. The guy is an utterly embarrassing kicker. We can't have been aware of that when signing him.

Squidgy Black · 19-05-2017 10:24PM

Former Former wrote: »

I think the last three games have shown us that Heaslip, O'Brien and Kearney are still crucially important to the team.

And that's JGP's three-year contract may have been a tad long.

In fairness youd think a scrum half with Super Rugby starts, won an ITM cup and was named most promising player of the year, as well as playing with the Maori All Blacks, would be at least a half decent backup.

His performances remind me of Piatau over the last few months, disinterested and not bothered. Except Piatau can actually play.

Squatter · 19-05-2017 10:25PM

My hope is that Fardy can provide some leadership next season. We regularly field teams of 15 talented individuals, who man for man are better than their opposite number, but all too often our play is rudderless and we seem desperately in need of leaders on the pitch. With Sexton, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weaker than it once was. The idea of Isa captaining from the wing is, putting it bluntly, completely asinine.

awec · 19-05-2017 10:26PM

Buer wrote: »

I wonder if Ulster want to buy it out.

Seriously, he's right up there for me in terms of my least favourite players now. His talent to performance ratio is shocking. Couldn't have given less of a damn tonight.

I do think we failed to do our due diligence on him though. The guy is an utterly embarrassing kicker. We can't have been aware of that when signing him.

Haha, no thanks Buer. We're not that desperate.

19-05-2017 10:26PM

Triggs put in a good effort, disappointing for him that that's the last game of his pro career.

I thought he was barely worth a spot in the extended squad a year ago, but he's vindicated his position repeatedly recently.

FACECUTTR · 19-05-2017 10:32PM

awec wrote: »

If he gets capped I am buying myself a pair of boots and hitting the gym.

I heard a rumour you liked squats......

awec · 19-05-2017 10:33PM

FACECUTTR wrote: »

I heard a rumour you liked squats......

A good set of glutes will turn heads FACECUTTR.

CatFromHue · 19-05-2017 10:34PM

Clegg wrote: »

Whisper it, bit that was a very Lancaster coached in a big game performance.

We hammered them a few months ago in a regular league game. Massive, massive bottle job.

Lancaster looked mighty pissed in the coach's room during the game but there's loads and loads of stuff that happened that had nothing to do with the coaches.

FACECUTTR · 19-05-2017 10:34PM

awec wrote: »

A good set of glutes will turn heads FACECUTTR.

Only if you wear short shorts !!

awec · 19-05-2017 10:35PM

FACECUTTR wrote: »

Only if you wear short shorts !!

It's summer time in Ireland, what else would you be wearing?

swiwi_ · 19-05-2017 10:44PM

Buer wrote: »

I wonder if Ulster want to buy it out.

Seriously, he's right up there for me in terms of my least favourite players now. His talent to performance ratio is shocking. Couldn't have given less of a damn tonight.

I do think we failed to do our due diligence on him though. The guy is an utterly embarrassing kicker. We can't have been aware of that when signing him.

Hard to do due diligence when his final season at the canes involved 2 minutes at the end of each match.

I've been shocked at his kicking out of hand though. Pretty damn average. Don't rate McGrath too highly either yet, bit of a weak spot for Leinster, but he does definitely seem a better player than Gibson park.

Clegg · 19-05-2017 11:16PM

CatFromHue wrote: »

Clegg wrote: »

Whisper it, bit that was a very Lancaster coached in a big game performance.

We hammered them a few months ago in a regular league game. Massive, massive bottle job.

Lancaster looked mighty pissed in the coach's room during the game but there's loads and loads of stuff that happened that had nothing to do with the coaches.

I'm sure he was and I'm sure he prepared the team in the best way he knew how. But there's a pattern developing around the sides he coaches. Excellent in regular games but when the they get into big game situations they underperform. With all respect to the Scarlets this is a game Leinster should have won. They've been imperious at home all season, smashed the Scarlets a few months ago bit with a stronger side underperformed massively. There was so much to play for. Home semi-final and a home final. Such a disappointing way to go out. It's almost inexplicable how poor we were in these circumstances.

irishbucsfan · 19-05-2017 11:41PM

Everything is gonna be OK

irishbucsfan · 19-05-2017 11:42PM

swiwi_ wrote: »

Hard to do due diligence when his final season at the canes involved 2 minutes at the end of each match.

I've been shocked at his kicking out of hand though. Pretty damn average. Don't rate McGrath too highly either yet, bit of a weak spot for Leinster, but he does definitely seem a better player than Gibson park.

Well McGrath was our players' player of the year so he must at least be doing something right

mogwai81 · 20-05-2017 03:51AM

I really hope Adam Byrne spends the preseason working on his defence, for all he does going forward he has some serious issues defensively. I know he has missed a lot of rugby due to a couple of leg breaks but its been an area of weakness since his U20 days. He has a habit of either bitting in and not getting man and ball or not trusted the man inside him (maybe just over eager) to make the tackle and leaving numbers outside of him.
He seems to also get caught out with cross field kicks in behind. I'm sure the coaches are advising him to at least wait until the opposition 10 has passed it before rushing up, but he seems to panic on the field. In fairness it is only his first full season and maybe he's still a bit green.
I always want him to start for Leinster and I'm hopeful when Irish squads are announced but it's becoming harder to argue when he seems to makes mistakes in most games.

Former Former · 20-05-2017 02:49PM

Just to clarify.

If Munster win today we'll be in the second group of seeds for next season's European Cup.

If Ospreys win, we might still be second seeds but 67% chance of being third seed.

So come on Munster.

Bridge93 · 20-05-2017 06:15PM

That was as poor a performance as I've seen in a long time. Nearly everything and everyone malfunctioned. Only a few come out of that with any credibility. Worrying trend of making a complete mess of the more important and difficult games. Montpellier, Castres, Clermont, Munster and Scarlets.
It's all very well being flat track bullies and putting 70 points on Zebre if your going to go missing when it matters

Uriel. · 20-05-2017 07:22PM

I doubt I've ever seen a worse performance from leinster in recent times. Other than perhaps vdf no-one performed. Many so called leaders did zero leading. Shocking performance.

A lot of frustration naturally in the crowd last night. Any word on injuries?

Bridge93 · 20-05-2017 08:02PM

Ringrose and Conan in parts were the only ones to show up for me. I've seen VdF named by a few but he was totally anonymous and completely outplayed at the breakdown by his opposite number

.ak · 20-05-2017 10:40PM

I thought VDF put in a massive shift, really impressed by his breakdown work. The problem was he was the only one, I counted him as the first arrival to 3 rucks in a row at one point, on the 3rd ruck he got there a second too late and Davies won a turn over. That's not his fault, that's the system letting him down. At no point should anyone be first arrival to 3 rucks in a row, not even our openside. Only so much work you can do before you suffer.

wise7 · 20-05-2017 10:42PM

Leavy was very effective from the minute he came on.

Former Former · 20-05-2017 10:44PM

I guess what we've seen in the last few weeks is that the experience that so many posters here think is a load of bollocks might actually count for something after all.

This is a very young side. It's still learning and developing. This season was a big step up from last year, which was a quantum leap from the previous.

Our truly great players all came through a couple of setbacks and disappointing seasons before hitting their peak. The younger guys will learn a lot from the last three weeks. Our head coach is still learning too and he'll have a lot to take from this as well.

Good things are going to happen.

Former Former · 20-05-2017 10:47PM

.ak wrote: »

I thought VDF put in a massive shift, really impressed by his breakdown work. The problem was he was the only one, I counted him as the first arrival to 3 rucks in a row at one point, on the 3rd ruck he got there a second too late and Davies won a turn over. That's not his fault, that's the system letting him down. At no point should anyone be first arrival to 3 rucks in a row, not even our openside. Only so much work you can do before you suffer.

VDF was our best forward by some distance. His work rate is phenomenal.

Ruddock really struggled, he looked tired.

.ak · 20-05-2017 10:51PM

Former Former wrote: »

I guess what we've seen in the last few weeks is that the experience that so many posters here think is a load of bollocks might actually count for something after all.

This is a very young side. It's still learning and developing. This season was a big step up from last year, which was a quantum leap from the previous.

Our truly great players all came through a couple of setbacks and disappointing seasons before hitting their peak. The younger guys will learn a lot from the last three weeks. Our head coach is still learning too and he'll have a lot to take from this as well.

Good things are going to happen.

I thought having such a young side may be an issue, but then after the Clermont game I thought they'd learn... Maybe it was still a bit raw. One thing about losing is it's contagious. You start thinking about the mistakes you haven't made yet rather than how you're going to win. We were on a roll, and then the Clermont game happened, and we flapped about against Ulster and Scarlets. Only positive to take from this is the guys will learn from it, but it may take a painful summer to stand to them.

Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread VIII: May the Fourth Star Be With You!

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