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

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057895346&page=249

New thread continued from above enjoy

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Rigor Mortis

Dubinusa wrote: »

Keenan has been good! I always thought he was going to be a good pro.
R.O.L is playing great also! The team is really stacked. I think there's so much quality and eventually, some lads will end up leaving.

A few might. The stats show that across the squad, guys get good time. The reality of this game is that you cant play every week. The most that guys are going to play is 2 out of 3 weeks. So you ask yourself, do i play on a winning team in a lot of big league games and maybe compete for a bench spot in the big Pro14 and HEC games or do I go to another province in the hope that they will make the breakthrough and get into finals. The Carberry case is a bit different and I accept that, but for most guys who are genuinely capable of competing for a Pro14 spot, it will be a hard case to make.

Steve

Didn't want to comment till I saw the match on telly.

I was there and heard all the boos for BW, totally unjustified imo, I think he reffed the match reasonably well.

Tomane's slide was a clear yellow, even in the stands I said that as others booed.

I don't agree with Bents YC though, nor many of the other scrum calls as the Scots were clearly tactically pulling them down.

Dubinusa

Keenan has been good! I always thought he was going to be a good pro.
R.O.L is playing great also! The team is really stacked. I think there's so much quality and eventually, some lads will end up leaving.

antietam1

Maybe they see something wrong in his training that was not apparent when he was playing for an enemy province.

ArmchairQB

stephen_n wrote: »

Couldn’t understand it last year, still don’t understand this year. Can’t see him getting near the team, possibly even the pro 14 team, let alone the first team.

Leinster obviously offered him a decent contract saw him warming up on Friday must have been one of the dreaded 24th men

Squidgy Black

prawnsambo wrote: »

Yeah, against Ulster. Had a yellow card against them at one stage, late in the second half and played right through it without shipping a point.

They'd two yellows, Dowling was in the bin at 62 and then Clarkson at 67, still didn't concede despite having two men in the bin for 5 minutes.

Squidgy Black

Rob Russell got two tries and had a pretty decent game overall at 15, his placekicking was decent as well, kicked a penalty and a conversion. Could see him getting an academy spot if he goes well with Trinity this season.

prawnsambo

Bridge93 wrote: »

A team won 31-10 in the Celtic Cup final I think

Yeah, against Ulster. Had a yellow card against them at one stage, late in the second half and played right through it without shipping a point.

Bridge93

A team won 31-10 in the Celtic Cup final I think

Steve

Clegg wrote: »

I think there's a good chance Larmour could be our starting full back for this season. He's been excellent for Ireland in the World Cup and must surely be putting Keaney under pressure for the QF spot.

MOTM today and well deserved!

Clegg

I think there's a good chance Larmour could be our starting full back for this season. He's been excellent for Ireland in the World Cup and must surely be putting Keaney under pressure for the QF spot.

stephen_n

Wegians89 wrote: »

Still don’t understand why he moved. Long season but he doesn’t look like getting a sniff in with Leinster

Couldn’t understand it last year, still don’t understand this year. Can’t see him getting near the team, possibly even the pro 14 team, let alone the first team.

Wegians89

stephen_n wrote: »

Cian Kelleher

Still don’t understand why he moved. Long season but he doesn’t look like getting a sniff in with Leinster

stephen_n

antietam1 wrote: »

Well he did ask the Ed prop to paint a picture.
McFadden is another player injured by foul play while scoring a try.

Well the advice at halftime must have been different as he started penalizing him for doing it in the second half.

Wegians89 wrote: »

What’s the story with jack Kelly? I’s he with Leinster or the 7’s? Any spare back three players as Connacht have a few injuries building up there already

Cian Kelleher

Wegians89

What’s the story with jack Kelly? I’s he with Leinster or the 7’s? Any spare back three players as Connacht have a few injuries building up there already

antietam1

stephen_n wrote: »

I’m amazed there wasn’t more commentary on here about the clusterfvck that was the scrums last night. I’d say Benty must have wanted to punch Millhouse. From the very first scrum of the game the Edinburgh loosehead was dropping his bind, not even subtly. As soon as the pressure came on he dropped his left shoulder every single time. That’s the reason the crowd were so pissed off with Millhouse, completely farcical interpretation of what was going on. 5 penalties in a row against two different tightheads before he told him to stay up.

Well he did ask the Ed prop to paint a picture.
McFadden is another player injured by foul play while scoring a try.

stephen_n

I’m amazed there wasn’t more commentary on here about the clusterfvck that was the scrums last night. I’d say Benty must have wanted to punch Millhouse. From the very first scrum of the game the Edinburgh loosehead was dropping his bind, not even subtly. As soon as the pressure came on he dropped his left shoulder every single time. That’s the reason the crowd were so pissed off with Millhouse, completely farcical interpretation of what was going on. 5 penalties in a row against two different tightheads before he told him to stay up.

Shefwedfan

Squidgy Black wrote: »

He has a unique ability that none of the Irish scrumhalves have in that he can just whip a pass out wide with little to no windup, as seen last week. I think he'll definitely pick up a cap, but I think his international career depends on the style Farrell will play, and also if he can usurp McGrath at some stage, which I think is a possibility as after last season the gap is closing.

Only counter point would be that we actually have quite a backlog of Irish scrumhalves at the moment, Murray/McGrath/Marmion/Cooney, and also Blade has been going really well with Connacht and was unlucky to not get a call during the 6 Nations and is certainly laying down a marker so far this season with his performance against the Dragons.

Marmion and Cooney are not up to it.....they have been around long enough and made little impact.

McGrath similar but that could change at this World Cup.

I can see JGP getting capped but unless the style of game changes he won’t be regular.

Neil3030

If Johnny stays fit for the season we should be there or thereabouts in the Heino.

After that it's largely whether any of the young lads in the back row can make a step up - Doris, Penny, Deegan, Connors, Murphy; or what the extent of Conan's injury is. A back row of Ruddock, VdF plus one other (Conan or Leavy back, or a young lad stepping up) should be able to compete at the top level.

Our depth at 9, front row and second row is healthy.

Tomane on this form also allays concern about Henshaw getting injured.

Lowe, Larmour, Kearney x2, Ferg, Kelleher, and possibly Keenan make for a decent raft of backs.

Clegg

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Generally good performances all around though, Leinster played a lot of rugby and showed a lot of maturity when down to 13. I felt that this might be a transition year but looking at these early performances I reckon we've some serious talent coming through and an entire squad that are genuinely well coached. We look the biz at the moment anyway.

FWIW I think you'd be right in believing this will be a transition year/season. We were at our very best in 2018 and just tapered off very slightly last season. Those were our peak years with that squad.

We're not going to fall off a cliff or anything close to that. But I just don't expect us to make another Champions Cup Final. Saracens are at their peak right now and Toulouse are a year ahead of us in their rebuild. We've a few long term injuries to key players and we won't see many regulars until about Christmas due to the World Cup. Then they'll be gone again in January to begin prep for the Six Nations.

Our squad needs to be refreshed, new players blooded and some younger guys given a chance in the first choice XV. That's exactly what appears to be happening though, so I'm not worried about this season at all. It won't be like the 2015 season when Leo was just starting out as a coach and we were wondering if the academy could produce enough talent to get us through. We've a core of experienced leaders in the side and they're helping guide the young tyros through games. It's going really well for us right now.

Squidgy Black

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Gibson park well deserving of MotM. Said earlier in the thread that I reckon he could be the next capped Leinster player and I stand by that at full time. He's adapted very well to Northern Hemisphere rugby and I think he has a different skill set to our current options.

Murray, Marmion and McGrath are all great at spotting gaps around the rucks but I feel Gibson Park is better at keeping defences flat and honest because he can drift and then release with a pretty impressive range of passes and he has plenty of acceleration to be a threat himself. I think his status has held him back, reckon he's going to have a huge season and think he'll feature for Ireland after the World cup the first time we play a tier 2 nation or Italy. Or Scotland.

He has a unique ability that none of the Irish scrumhalves have in that he can just whip a pass out wide with little to no windup, as seen last week. I think he'll definitely pick up a cap, but I think his international career depends on the style Farrell will play, and also if he can usurp McGrath at some stage, which I think is a possibility as after last season the gap is closing.

Only counter point would be that we actually have quite a backlog of Irish scrumhalves at the moment, Murray/McGrath/Marmion/Cooney, and also Blade has been going really well with Connacht and was unlucky to not get a call during the 6 Nations and is certainly laying down a marker so far this season with his performance against the Dragons.

[Deleted User]

Leinster look great. They look well conditioned, well drilled and really motivated. Was great to see Toner elated at full time. He's enjoying his rugby despite the fact that he must be carrying a lot of disappointment.

Gibson park well deserving of MotM. Said earlier in the thread that I reckon he could be the next capped Leinster player and I stand by that at full time. He's adapted very well to Northern Hemisphere rugby and I think he has a different skill set to our current options.

Murray, Marmion and McGrath are all great at spotting gaps around the rucks but I feel Gibson Park is better at keeping defences flat and honest because he can drift and then release with a pretty impressive range of passes and he has plenty of acceleration to be a threat himself. I think his status has held him back, reckon he's going to have a huge season and think he'll feature for Ireland after the World cup the first time we play a tier 2 nation or Italy. Or Scotland.

James Lowe also clearly enjoying his rugby, he's constantly involved - looking for work from the moment he walks on the pitch and thought he was MotM contender from the backs. Fardy led the pack very well, he covered a lot of ground and was constantly winning contact, his tackling technique is incredible. It feels like a shame watching him play like this - he would add a huge amount to that Australian pack.

It's notable that the first names who come to mind after that game are all southern hemisphere players. They were just a class above tonight. Tomane starting to play with confidence and it's changing the nature of the player he has been up until now. Real edge to him tonight, he was given a card for something I've complained about for years, and ultimately agree with, but am frustrated that it's a Leinster player who's been randomly penalised for it (eventually).

Toner was up there with Lowe, Park, Toner and Tomane. His work rate and impact on the set piece was exceptional but he showed his international quality with some of his distribution. He can step in on the complex calls and add good value. Still feel very sorry for him.

Generally good performances all around though, Leinster played a lot of rugby and showed a lot of maturity when down to 13. I felt that this might be a transition year but looking at these early performances I reckon we've some serious talent coming through and an entire squad that are genuinely well coached. We look the biz at the moment anyway - hope it persists.

Shefwedfan

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Have a feeling Tomane's going to have a big impact this season with Henshaw being perpetually injured and on international duty. Similar to Lowe's season last year, just takes a year or so to settle in.

Said it last season, Tomane just needed time, he is class act

Squidgy Black

Have a feeling Tomane's going to have a big impact this season with Henshaw being perpetually injured and on international duty. Similar to Lowe's season last year, just takes a year or so to settle in.

Neil3030

Hope Venjur wasn't chopping any chillies tonight

Buer

MOTM will be interesting. Tomane has been consistently very good but I imagine the yellow will scupper him. Deegan, Fardy, Penny, JGP and Keenan all impressed too.

We await with bated breath.

sydthebeat

Jesus, that should be meat and drink to a flanker

awec

Lots of moist loins around the RDS tonight.

sydthebeat

Hairy Joe has been quite good tonight, especially in defense.

[Deleted User]

Soaking.