discuss here.
I'd like to see a replay of those sacked nails in the Toulouse 22. Felt we were unlucky not to get any change from mauls going forward
That's grand if you ignore smacking the ball into touch as illegal. Good stuff.
I'm surprised at the lack of commentary around Frawleys drop goal attempt at the end of the game in normal time. There was no pressure put on him from Toulouse and it was right in front of the posts...little distant yes but really should have put that over. Again mentality has to be questioned
no. if Lowe had knocked the ball backwards it would have been play on, even if the ball had bounced into touch.
Similarly, if Toulouse had knocked it forward it would have been a yellow card.
The two incidents are not comparable and the ref got both correct.
Leinster also got away with a 5 yard forward pass on their own tryline.
Swings and roundabouts
Gosh, that sounds like quite the egregious list. I wonder if Toulouse fans, who were watching with an eagle eye to see if they ever had a questionable call go against them, might have a similar tally of complaints? I'll bet they do.
Telling how those saying Carley was consistent conveniently fail to mention 2 no arms tackles (for one of which a player had to leave the field), calling turnover penalties lightning quick for TOU vs for Leinster, not reviewing a clear rip by Ntamack when a try had been scored, Willis egregiously coming in at the side and lifting the ball when a ruck had been formed.
The Lowe yellow was a clear yellow. If it was a Toulouse player, Leinster fans would be screaming for a yellow.
They both threw their hand up for a ball they had zero chance of catching, one went forward, one went directly into touch. Both yellow cards.
You always felt it was a matter of when Toulouse would land the knockout blow, not if. Leinster had little moments of promise but Toulouse were in control for the majority of that match. Leinster got destroyed at the breakdown and swarmed in attack. Surprisingly, the scrum was the only area where Leinster could compete.
Defending against Leinster is very easy with Ross at 10. JGP would actually be better passing the ball straight to Osborne, because all Ross does is shovel it on and slow the attack down, giving defences time to leave him and drift because they know he's no threat.
But Leinster losing a final is hardly surprising. Just don't have the star quality to get over the line against top sides. That's 3 in a row now. Ouch!
In the context of this tight game Leinster taking the chance to finally go ahead was the right option and that's not just with hindsight.
Has happened in a few Munster/Ireland/Leinster games now if I remember correctly.
no, he didn’t. Lowe knocking the ball on is irrefutable. He threw his hand up and the ball went forward off it. He had no reasonable prospect of catching it, and he stopped a break.
The Toulouse player touched the ball and it bounced backwards into touch. He did not deliberately try slap it into touch.
Knocking the ball backwards and it bouncing into touch does not automatically equate to slapping the ball into touch, which is why it wasn’t a penalty.
But they did award the try
There's nothing wrong with kicking for the corner, but you need the rugby smarts to adjust if it's not working and the opposition's maul defence is top drawer. This is where Leinster let themselves down, there was abundant evidence kicking for the corner was not the value play and taking the 3pts was the correct way to proceed.
he did not slap it in to touch
it bounced into touch
He slapped it into touch as much as Lowe deliberately knocked the ball on
again, he didn’t slap it into touch.
Leinsters depth is nowhere near what it needs to be to win the Champions cup. Relying so much on Porter because you have no confidence in Healy, leaving McGrath on the bench for 110 minutes' doing a 6-2 split and not changing your front row until almost 70 mins...
Leaving Byrne on even when he was clearly injured.
A game plan with no flexibility and no confidence in the full 23 man squad
Again, a slap into touch is as illegal as a deliberate knock on.
Yes, Leinster have every advantage. They are favourites in every single game they play for a reason.
because one was a deliberate knock on and the other wasn’t a knock on at all.
The Toulouse one he tried to catch the ball, it went backwards into touch. The question was whether he deliberately batted it into touch, he obviously didn’t.
Lowe had no reasonable prospect of catching the ball, he knocked the ball on and stopped a break. Yellow card all day long. If Lowe had knocked it backwards it would have been play on.
when you are not executing at the normal level a few three points surely can steady the ship.
Couldn't agree more
Because Carley and his team were useless. Did all they could to not award the Leinster try.
All irrelevant now , but how was Lowe a yellow , if Toulouse didn't get one in first half ,which was a much more threatening position on pitch.
Irish teams seem to have gone too far the other way from the always kicking to the always risking for the try.
Don't really get this logic. Points win games.
I get the logic of kicking to the corner, even if you don't score , if you keep them there for ten minutes, they are not scoring and they should be tiring more. However they get a psychological boost and you get the opposite when they get out of their 22.
I don't think Leinster (or Ireland to a lesser extent) fully understand that there's a different dynamic at play in really tight, knock out games against a quality team.
Why do they insist on going to the corner so much instead of kicking points. Obsessed with trying to put games to bed early on. That doesn't alway work and is even less likely to work in a final against a pedigree team.
Their decision making in general is dreadful. Why the hell did they play the advantage over in the second half of extra time. Take the penalty and kick it 50 yards into touch.
Its also the principal, he is at the top, his must go, so that others will see.
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