Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

maybe flown home with porter for next week?

Decent enough team, considering. This will most likely be Adam Byrne's last appearance for Leinster. I'm ecstatic to see Milne back! I have hopes that he can push on and be a quality loose head. Of course, his season was junk with injury this year! Happy to see Leo chuck Deeny back into the fire!

Overall with a shallow squad, the ideal result would be any kind of point. The kids have done well so far! Hopefully, a solid effort with a point or more is attainable.

Yeah fair one. They really are considering this game a lost cause. Weakest leinster squad I can remember for a long time. They're banking in getting something from the munster game to seal the deal. Bit of a gamble either way.

Can you name me any pro team where the Hooker doesn't throw into the lineout? No reason why a 10 has to be the placekicker sure John Eales used to be the main kicker for Australia.

No. I can't think of any. It's very rigid thinking. A player like Dan Sheehan is about as tall and heavy as the back row jumping options. But it would never occur to them to train the other back rows as throwers or trian the likes of Sheehas as a jumper.

They're just pigeonholed and assigned roles without consideration of whether they're most suited to the role or not.

It's certainly an interesting idea. You could get the whole team training throwing the ball and see who's best.

It would present certain problems. Say your best thrower was a centre and he was unavailable. Then what? The next centre up might not be any use as a thrower and you'd have to switch to someone else who maybe hadn't been throwing in all season in actual games.

Well not really that’s their primary job which is dictated by how the game is played, hooker throwing is more traditional but as I said if they can’t then it’s unlikely anyone else has practiced at it much. So it becomes a requirement that they can do that to get picked, there’s no physical reason it needs be them, props have to prop, scrum halves have to pass as their primary job.

I think Leinster are looking very solid with hookers. 2 international players and a solid #3, in Treacy. McKie looks decent and there's a youngster in Barron. It could be an area of strenght!

I mention the backs because I think it used to be commonplace for the scrumhalf or blindside winger to lob it in to the lineout back in the days before lifting. My memory's a little fuzzy; was it winger Grant Batty, or scrumhalf Sid Going who was throwing in for NZ in the 1973 Baabaas game?

I guess props are needed for lifting, and second rows for jumping. Hookers and 7s tend to be the lightest members of the pack, but the openside might have specific defensive duties off the lineout, so to get your heaviest players in early to form a maul the throw is left to the hooker? Maybe?

“Why those players are pigeonholed as jumpers and he's pigeonholed as a thrower, isn't clear to me. Is it clear to you?”

I’d imagine it’ll be because those players have better counter-movement jump stats than Sheehan, for a start. Couple that with the fact Sheehan will have significantly more experience throwing, that’s going to be a huge head start for him too.

I remember reading parts of Keith Earls book thinking it was obvious that so much more actually gets tracked, versus the rudimentary stats we’re often privy to, so if there was an opportunity to get an edge there, I’d be amazed if we hadn’t seen it already.

Looking forward to seeing how the pups go today! I assume a loss, but hope for any result.

Just watched the Bulls v Glasgow highlights and I am amazed at the size and quality of the stadia down there! They must come up here and look at the **** stadiums and wonder WTF!

Fair warning, he tries to put on an Irish accent at around 3:00. It is not good.

Because if you wanted to keep it in the forwards after winning it they wouldn't be as much use and if you wanted to give the ball to the backs you need them out in the backline. You have to be thinking further ahead than just securing possession.