Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

I think this is definitely the case defensively - where for all the reputation Bordeaux have for flair, they're actually a really hard-nosed team defensively, and their goal line defence in particular is really excellent.

But I don't necessarily think that was the flow of the game in terms of the tries Bordeaux scored. It wasn't like they were scoring great tries from deep or systematically driving Leinster down the field through their carries.

They got unbelievably easy access for all 5 of the tries they scored:

• 14 mins - 1st try: right after scoring the opening try, Leinster fail to deal with the restart, and the ball gets knocked into touch. Leinster then mess up the lineout, and give Bordeaux easy access to Leinster's 22. After a couple of phases of decent defensive pressure, Leinster leave a big gap at a pillar defender and Lucu dives over.
• 18 mins - 2nd try: a big turning point - LBB's kick through grazes Hugo Keenan's fingertips, and instead of it being a Leinster scrum back near half way, it's a scrum to Bordeaux 5m from Leinster's line. They score off first phase wide when Ioane makes a poor read defensively.
• 25 mins - 3rd try: This, to me, was pretty pivotal and a clear poor decision by Karl Dickson. Josh van der Flier wins a jackal turnover on the Leinster 22, and in the process, Cameron Woki (sitting on the ground) scrags his arm, and the ball spills forward. Dickson (and I think 95% of refereees) could and should have given VDF a penalty either for the Bordeaux player holding on or for Woki playing him from the ground, but instead gives Bordeaux a scrum on the Leinster 22. They score within a few phases via LBB.
• 36 mins - 4th try: Jalibert hits a scrappy, partially blocked down kick from inside the Bordeaux half and the ball bobbles. JGP is running back to gather and gets a slight (but nonetheless very clear) push on the back from Damian Penaud, who gathers the ball just after this. He pops it up to LBB who blazes in untouched from 40m or so. I equally think this was a pretty clear and obvious penalty.
• 40 mins - 5th try: Leinster, in panic mode, with the clock deep in the red of the first half, are trying to play from deep (foolishly in my opinion). Harry Byrne throws an intercept and Yoram Moefana picks it up and waltzes in.

The game was done as a contest at this point.

Bordeaux are a phenomenally dangerous and clinical team, but it's hard not to argue they got all the breaks around these scores I've listed above too I think.

I was roaring at the telly for all these things too. Even stopping the game for multiple angles of replay for the ball flicking Keenan finger, when is TMO used to re litigate thattype of decision? And then a suggestion of foul play at a ruck a few mins later and he wouldn't stop the game.

But the reality is that BB are a far better side in defense and attack. And we were poor. Coaching and execution seem off. We didn't have a top quality 10 or 12, they had quality throughout, big ball carriers dominating in attack and defense. Well beaten.

I'm not one to normally have a go at the ref and it certainly wasn't the cause of the loss but some of the decisions I can only conclude were the result of bias.

The vdf one was particularly galling, he didn't knock it on, the ball was knocked out of his hands by the player on the ground who was initially preventing him from lifting it. And the ruck where the ball was turned over by a player on his knees right in front of Dickson was equally far below the standard of refereeing games of this magnitude require. Oh and add to that the 'non' deliberate knock on at the lineout that put Leinster back several metres, yet that knock on advantage was declared over despite never recovering the same ground. The fact that JGP stopped playing when it happened should have led to at least a scrum being called then and there.

Conversely I didn't see Penaud affecting JGP for the ball recovery for the 4th try, he just misjudged it to my eyes.

We must have seen the replay of Keenan's fingertips grazing the ball 10 times yet did not see a single replay of Moefana's head contact on Conan in the build up to Leinster's try. That was 100% a bunker review. Would have made a huge difference psychologically.

The second try came from a kick on Halfway alright, but don’t forget that UBb had possession on halfway because the previous restart was kicked out on the full gifting a scrum on halfway to UBB

There's no scenario where that happens.

I don't think they actually have the money to afford something like that - I think we're already seeing the impact of Humphreys' tax on Leinster for producing players as it is now with the turnover in the current squad. Going to the market for the three players you're describing would probably add something like €1.5m-€1.8m on Leinster's wage bill.

Even if they had - the IRFU wouldn't sanction the signing of a 10 while the Irish 10 position is so unsettled behind Jack Crowley (and with his concerning injury issues).

He has a habit of terrible decisions against Irish teams when we are playing the French. Shafted Munster v Toulon too in the pool stage when he gave Toulon the winning penalty for a mystery infringement by Tom Farrell.

I'd say 80% of it is South Dublin and agree with you. They are playing high standard rugby from probably 13. Then it jumps to practically professional at 16. Nothing like it for any other sport - in this country. Equivalent in Football is you are playing League of Ireland U17 or U20 and even that, it's probably at most a 1/3 the amount of professional support and it is more likely to interfer with school than be right beside it.

The penalty thing with Joe McCarthy is becoming a bit of a trope now IMO. He's played 1,115 minutes of rugby this season (18 games) and has given away the grand total of 9 penalties across both Ireland & Leinster, in all competitions.

He plays in a team that play an aggressive strategy at the defensive ruck, and he plays in a position where he's asked to disrupt opposition mauls etc, so he's always a bit more vulnerable, but it really hasn't been an issue at all this season IMO.

Agree that VDF always works hard and does his job well (which is the bare minimum) but he also adds unexpected value which is what makes him great.

I think his unexpected added value has diminished in the last year or 18 months. He's 33 now so there's no shame in it.

But I've noticed that when he walks, he looks like he's in pain. I wouldn't be surprised if he's just taken so many knocks that he's playing through constant pain. It's very admirable but it probably means he's on the decline. We really need a replacement plan for him too. Not right now but in the near future.