Match Thread: Leinster v Northampton, 03/05/25

I agree with a large part of this post - we see the same throughout Irish rugby. No province is currently playing to the level their resources should allow them to and all we hear are excuses.

Having said that, the Prendergast point is either an example of you finding an excuse to take a pot shot at the young guy for the sake of it or highlighting that you dont watch much rugby if that was the worst attempt you've ever seen.

The biggest issue with his tackle down the line was just getting his angles completely wrong, something that happens multiple times in every match - there were several in the other semi yesterday. It is even more excusable in this situation in open field when player has unexpected pace or acceleration, something that Pollock absolutely has. It isn't effort, it is just incredibly difficult thing to do that Prendergast did poorly.

Given Prendergast's priors he could have absolutely been blown through by Pollock if he'd gotten his angle right but what you've done in your post is take a pot shot at a young player.

Re neither Irish outhalf going on the Lions tour this year, and whether that would be beneficial: ROG always makes out that his experiences on the 2001 Lions tour (also to Australia) were the making of him as a top class player. He got to witness Johnny Wilkinson up close and see what it took to reach the very top. Not sure if the same would apply this year (are Fin Smith or Finn Russell really at Wilkinson’s level), but just something to put out there …

Mod Edit

Warning issued.

Incredible that an actual columnist threw in a Dublin meeja jibe. Stockpiling of players outlawed in most sports? Conor George types do well it appears.

Well not watching too much rugby makes sense then.

Getting angles wrong is a common thing in rugby and the likes of NFL when you misjudge the pace of the opposing player when concerned about them cutting inside. I am in no way excusing his tackling in general just that one - to me that wasn't even his worst tackle attempt during that match.

There is judging him to a standard and there is pure hyperbolic bile - like claiming that tackle was the worst attempt you've ever seen if you hadnt clarified that afterwards that you dont watch much rugby.

You do not deserve to win a game with 58% tackle success. The mentality from ALL the Leinster player was awful to a shocking extent. During my live WhatsApp chat during the game, we could see live..

They kicked the ball away too much to a team that will run it back at you.

The kick chase was awful and clear outs too slow.

Poor tackling from Prendergast.

His tackle attempt reminded me more like something from tag rugby rather than something form an Irish International player!

Leinster not up for it and the line speed is shockingly slow compared to the Harlequins and Glasgow games

These are comments are just from the first half!!!

We both believed they should have taken the 3pts at 76mins and questioned why it was not a penalty try.

As one of the other posters said, It was a sad day when the players at 76 mins had to scream towards the bench to decide what to do.

I was never a big fan of the neinaber defence at domestic level, people forget he used it at Munster and it did not get them far. We went from a team that sliced teams open with a sword, to a team using a hammer instead.

One big disappointment for me is Leinster's attitude towards their fans. The narrative is that the players are devastated, not one fking mention of the fans. The fans have supported Leinster for years forking out money for expensive match tickets and travel to games. What we more or less got from Leo was ..'we move on to Zebre...nothing to see here..and as for Neinaber he said the fans will have to accept it, so suck it up Leinster fans....

Watch jordie Barratt at the full time whistle. He had a face of a guy, why did you not start me, why did I come here...

I'm afraid Leo must go, my choice to replace him Noel McNamara, attack coach for Bordeaux. He will get us back playing Leinster style rugby.

Listen to Ben Young's and Dan Coles new podcast

Good to listen to different views compared to Irish commentary

Their views on SP and Barrett especially

Great post. It's interesting you mention that talismanic figure being key to success in the past. Names like Elsom, Thorn, Nacewa spring to mind. And two homegrown names, Sexton and BOD.

It's something sadly lacking in modern Irish rugby. A real leader. That's what Leinster lacked yesterday. Well, he was on the bench for most of the game. Like the good sitting room in a traditional Irish household. Never used but always ready.

Doris played about 15 minutes of the second half. In that time he scored a try, won two turnovers and kicked a 50-22. He's one of the few Leinster players on Saturday that played to the level required to actually win the game. Shame he went off.

I don't know if he would have decided to kick the three either though. But maybe had he not been injured we wouldn't have needed that. There was a period right after he was taken off that Leinster lost their heads again and let Northampton back into it. It was a collective failure of the squad of management that one player going off, even if he's world class, led to such a deterioration in play so quickly.

Ireland dont like giving players any game time until they are at least 22. Prendergast is a rare one that got some game time at 21. For Leinster and Ireland Sam Prendergast has had a total of 35 matches. At only 9 months older Fin Smith has played 98!

The biggest problem for Ireland is minutes. In the past it was talked about as a virtue, and when you reach your peak, being able to manage minutes is an advantage, but the trouble is players get so little game time from 18-23 that they never get the opportunity to reach their peak in many cases.

If you look at 10s of the past, Sexton and O'Gara, both had a lot of gametime at AIL level when it was more competitive than it is now getting minutes in the legs and in the head.

Can anyone imagine an Irish backrow only just turned 20 who has already had almost 30 professional appearances like Henry Pollack. Would be lucky to have that many appearances by 23. And thats why we fall down under pressure. Players just dont have the game experience when they are expected to deliver.

Until we both start trusting young players and re-energise the AIL, we will continue to see players who reach their mid 20s without the game time or exposure both to reach their potential and perform under pressure.

I dunno Podge, he seemed to have 4-5 really, really poor defensive moments. Some of them related to the tries conceded. I'd be hard pushed to name another who performed more poorly defensively.

I think if you listed the weaknesses of the players in that 23 (maybe Healy excepting) the biggest gap between weakness and what's reasonable at this level would be Prendergast's defence.

There was more going on on the day, and the stuff like his pass for the TOB try was class, but his defence remains a massive issue.