Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

None of the Irish outhalves are top quality international 10s at this stage in their development unfortunately. It’s a real problem not just for Leinster but for Irish rugby as a whole. I can’t think of many great teams who didn’t have a top quality 9/10 combo directing affairs.

We’ve won 4/5 games in each 6N since Sexton retired. The difference from 2024 to now is that France have got their game together.

Crowley is incumbent and had a good end to the 6N. Hopefully he can nail it down over the summer (fitness permitting). Consistently has been an issue in the past.

Of the next best, I’m not sure. It’s been like snakes and ladders since the WC for the Irish 10 jersey. SP is in poor form and needs to address a large flaw in his game. Harry Byrne lacks consistency and doesn’t have any particular stand out traits. Carbery’s career went downhill after leaving Leinster in a large part due to injures but looked like he dirtied his bib following multiple missed tackles in the NZ tour in 2022. Jack Murphy looks to have similar defensive frailties to SP and Carbery.

There seems to be a pro Frawley push following his cameo (a bit like 2024) although I’m not convinced but if he plays well for Connacht at 10 at the start of the season he could very well competing for the starting Irish 10 in the AI. How he would cope with the outside scrutiny/noise is a different matter.

We'll establish he's been signed as a 10 when we see him playing as a 10, and only at that stage.

Crowley coming up to Leinster would benefit both.

I'm a big fan of Frawley, sad to see him go but hopefully he can thrive in Galway.

Leo totally committed to another year judging by the IT interview today.

To be fair, both Shane Horgan and Ian Madigan (who I rate very highly as a pundit) too have both come out suggesting Frawley should have seen more gametime at 10 too.

12 at Connacht is arguably one of the deepest positions at any of the provinces outside of Leinster, even excluding Frawley. It's certainly not a problem.

I'm sure Lancaster was careful with his words.

I'm also sure he didn't "bullsh*t" him.

When JN was announced as a coach at Leinster, my expectations were that they would take his defensive system and build it onto Lancasters overall system giving a team that would close out the finals.

What appears to have happened, whether by accident or design, is that the Lancaster system was thrown out/not worked on and Leinster now have the worst of both worlds, a non-functioning attack and a defence that isn’t delivering.

If the coaching team isn’t changing they need to figure out a cohesive plan for both attack and defence, none of the “I’m only the attack/defence coach “ which suggests a coaching team that is not aligned on approach

Like Leo being careful with words of late??!!

Talent and skill have never been Joey's problem. Staying injury free is the worry

The42.ie reporting that Lowes departure is all but confirmed