Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

absolutely agree

Gunne's box kicking was dreadful. He seems to be highly rated but I thought some of his game was poor. Byrne was grim really. Andrew Osborne was so crap he could be an Ulster player. Is that too harsh?🤣

Ross had a terrible game. If Harry Byrne had the exact same game there would be calls for us to ostracize him from the team. He had us **** about in our own half and they abused his lack of running game in defence by using him as a trigger to rush when he caught the ball.

Reminded me of the Northampton game last year.

Probably insufficient recognition of Scarlets who took all their chances , they were on form with a huge variance in play making and destroyed our midfield defence which is traditionally a high spot

Larmour seems to be out for the season but nobody knows what he’s recovering from . Where’s McErlean feel he could swap more with Andy Osborne who has dominated time on the clock

We should beat Northampton. They've played well in Europe this season, but their domestic form isn't particularly good. They just lack the quality up front. In last seasons semi final Courtney Lawes was probably the best player on the pitch, but he's playing in France these days, as is Lewis Ludlam. Henry Pollack is already very good, but he's not at the level where he can make up for the loss of either one of them.

Last season we targeted the passing channels between 10-12-13. Fin Smith got really flustered that day and a lot of Saints attacks broke down in midfield through knock ons. I'm sure they'll be better prepared for that this season though. An area of weakness in the rush defence is if you can get a quick tip on pass before the defender gets to you. Smith has excellent hands and can make those sort of passes without actually having to catch the ball first. Seen him do it a lot this season and they usually lead to like breaks.

I also think Leinster are a better attacking side this season. In that game at Croker we started fast enough with some nice trys, but we struggled to score after that. Ross Byrne had a very poor day from the tee also. Missed at least 3 penalties which would have put us well ahead. Prendergast and Barrett gives us a greater threat through their passing and kicking skills alone.

Well maybe Barrett and Snyman help

Shiney Shiney's Ratings of Ian Cameron's Ratings

Ian Cameron 4.5

Rated players erratically having obviously not watched much of the game. Got a couple right but more by accident and luck than rugby analysis. Poor showing in light of being outside Lions ratings bolter.

Rory Maguire, Stephen Smyth and Tommy O'Brien out escorting Leo the Lion today at the rugby blitz in Cabinteely area. Loads of kids getting photos with them. Fair play to them!

This season has been awful for Ciaran Frawley. After the South Africa test series last summer it was set up for him to make a charge for the Leinster starting 10 jersey and a spot in the Ireland 23. Missed a few drop goal attempts in the Champions Cup final, but added an edge in attack that we needed especially as Byrne was struggling.

Now he's Leinster's third choice at 10 and 15 and probably fifth choice at 12. Inside centre is probably his best position too. Nothing has gone right for him since the November tests. Been given opportunities at flyhalf, but all his old faults remain. Loose kicking, inaccurate passing and handling errors.

He's a very talented player who has been hurt by his ability to cover a few positions to an acceptable level. But he doesn't have the technique for 10 nor the athleticism for fullback at the highest level. Inside centre is his best position, but there are too many quality options there that I think he's lost his spot. He's firmly behind Charlie Tector for instance.

Hugh Cooney MOTM in the AIL final. He was class both in attack and defence

Probably L'Equipe, their player ratings are infamous.