Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

Spicer should be out on his ear is a harsh stance to take.

While being a professional athlete does mean your public actions are factored into your employment status I don't think this is a case where termination should follow.

I'm not defending his actions. Nor am I dismissive about the seriousness of this situation.

But what happened was a mistake (this is the judges exact words). So this is what's on record.

Naturally there are different severities of mistake. But what they have in common is what happens after. All you can do is take accountability for your actions. I think it's pretty clear that he has done.

"Alan Spicer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to assault causing harm to the woman in her 20s and paid €10,000 compensation."

"The six-foot-ten second row, who has represented Ireland under-20s, University College Dublin (UCD) and Leinster, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to assault causing harm to the woman in her 20s and paid €10,000 compensation."

https://www.thejournal.ie/alan-spicer-leinster-assault-case-7066915-Jun2026/#:~:text=Alan%20Spicer%20pleaded%20guilty%20on,and%20paid%20%E2%82%AC10%2C000%20compensation.&text=A%20LEINSTER%20RUGBY%20player%20who,jail%20and%20a%20criminal%20conviction.

No, it absolutely doesn't. That's a facile, inaccurate accusation. And a cheap one, FtD, which angers me a lot.

I didn't mean that the IRFU found the messages. I know they were found by the investigation. (That, in fairness, may not have been clear from what I wrote, in which case I apologise.) But also involved in the same WhatsApp chain were worse messages from Craig Gilroy. He was not fired. If those two should have been let go for their messages, he should have been. He was not. The difference was that he was not under investigation. He was not a PR liability. That's why PR is absolutely at the heart of it.

If you don't see the relevance of my references to the Southern media, then let me explain.

There are big sports stars across the island. When they do something wrong, it's a story. It gets clicks, which is what attracts advertisers, and gets more income. It also sells physical media, albeit that's negligible in today's market. Sports stars being monstrous = money.

When a well-known sports star from South of Ireland is accused of rape or sexual assault, he is not allowed to be named.

That is the law.

His identity is protected. There is no story that can be followed in the media. (Before some idiot asks, there is a legal concept called “jigsaw identification” that means, in law, you can’t reveal they’re a professional sportsman for any well-known team in case that leads to them getting identified "bit-by-bit". You would subsequently get prosecuted as a broadcaster/ podcaster/ whatever.)

That is the legal framework of RoI reportage, regardless of anyone’s ideological feelings about “North or South”. (NB - It’s different when it’s a civil case. Hence the recent, long-overdue reckoning (my own words) for Conor McGregor.)

It’s not the case in Northern Ireland, where a sportsman accused of sexual assault or rape can be named in case any other victims see it and want to come forth. I agree with this (which I am saying because you made this explicitly personal FtD.)

So - when a relatively well-known sports star representing Ireland is accused of a sex crime, and the Southern press can actually report it, it’s a licence to print money. They go for gusto. It will engender what we call a “long-tail” engagement – in other words, readers will keep coming back to the story for updates/clarifications. People who wouldn’t engage with your product certainly will if it feeds into things they feel very passionately about (feminism/social justice. And I don't provide either of those examples in a cynical way.)

When it’s about convictions, that changes. Obviously the Southern media can report that. But only in the North when you’re accused, can a Southern newspaper report a story with an attention-grabbing, headline-worthy, advertiser-engaging name. Given every Southern broadcaster, including RTE, elicits and relies on advertising money, I think it’s clear how pivotal that simple legal distinction is.

I am an Ulsterman that was horrified by what Jackson and Olding were alleged to have done and not comfortable with the legal outworkings. I also realise there was no legal basis for firing them and that it was about PR. That might not be a bad thing. Women need to enjoy playing rugby and feel supported and safe in their teams.

I find it absolutely jaw-dropping that I've been put on the defensive by Leinster fans (NB not FtD) defending a man scarring a woman's face.

(Sorry - just to make sure, have I got that right? I know Jean and ArseB are very keen on analysing the precise language and minutiae of everything when it suits them i.e. "did the judge order that?" When the reporting says “sustained a cut lip, a scar and a discoloured tooth” – is the scar real? How funny is the scar? Is it big? Who cares that this woman ended up with Alan scarring her face? Do Jean or ArseB know? Do they care?

I understand obviously the important thing is that Alan said he was sorry, and immediately, mind you! Not what anyone else suffered. What a legend. Boys will be boys.)

James Lowe getting the headlines but also the final match for our most capped player ever Luke McGrath and a few fan favourites - Slimani & Cahir amongst others.

Its a good start anyway

What are your thoughts about that? As an Ulster fan, it seems to me JGP is every bit as crucial to Leinster as Sexton once was. (And possibly as important to Ireland, although I think the drop-off is less between him and Casey/Doak.)

Gunne played in 17 matches this season, though only 4 starts. He is only 22 so making good progress. With Luke gone he will get a lot more minutes next season

Interesting reading a lot of the posts on here about Spicer. A lot of support and a lot of calls for him to learn from his mistake and be given a second chance. Very different to a lot of the reactions on here regarding Sevu Reese.

Lot of similarities though. 21 year old professional rugby player gets in a drunken confrontation with a woman, assaults her causing injuries, pleads guilty and apologises. I think they both deserve a second chance.

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly where I'm coming from