Leinster vs Munster, Fri 4th Sept 7:35pm, Eir Sport / Eir Sport FB page

Superfoods wrote: »

Yes, one of the most promising hookers in Ireland that is rated highly by Ireland best ever hooker should be thrown away after one to two games :-)

Did you happen to notice who he was throwing to last week and who he is throwing to this week?

Last week Was Munster mainly.

Guys casual fan here getting more interested. Can someone explain how Leinster beat Munster in the Pro 14 recently yet they are now playing again in the semi final?

stephen_n wrote: »

Not hugely worried about this game to be honest. I get the feeling if Leinster took the field 5 minutes after kick off, Munster would still struggle to score with JJ at 10. Shorn of their big ball carriers in Snyman and Kilcoyne, I just can’t see them creating enough scoring opportunities to win the game.

Somehow without those 2 a couple of weeks back we were only a missed conversion from a draw.

Skyfloater wrote: »

Does Casey pose a running threat. Murray doesn't seem to back himself anymore with the sniping runs.

I've seen him make a few darts off the back of a maul.
When he arrives at a ruck he just fires the ball out incredibly quick. His height definitely helps him at that and conversely hinders Murray

SkinnyGuy7 wrote: »

Guys casual fan here getting more interested. Can someone explain how Leinster beat Munster in the Pro 14 recently yet they are now playing again in the semi final?

Welcome SkinnyGuy. Others have answered the general jist of the question above. Allow me to provide an alternative (and altogether more positive) view of the league.....

Obvioiwly Ireland, Scotland and Wales (the original Celtic League cointries) are far smaller countries than England or France with a fraction the number of pro teams as a result. This means that each pro team has a larger number of internationals than a standard French or English club. And each international is proportionally more valuable to the Unions than in England or France given the relative scarcity of players compared to those larger countries.

This has led to a couple of things. The first is a heavy reliance on the national teams. The majority of the money for the game comes from the 6Ns in the smaller countries. Our market for the league (divided at this stage across 2 hemispheres and 5 countries) is never going to be on par with the markets in England or France. So the revenues aren't there for our league as it is for theirs.

The second is the player welfare system in Ireland that looks to manage the playing time of our top tier players to better ensure maximum fitness & availability at key times during the season. This means that there are games in the league that are played with second string sides.

The third is the importance of the few pro teams we have in developing players. We have 4 starting slots available every week compared to 12 in England and 14 in France. So we need to utilise those spaces to keep our top tier players up to speed but also to ensure that we have adequate back up to those guys should they get injured or suffer a drop in form. For both the provinces and the national team. So the blooding of younger players in those second string games actually serves a purpose in and of itself. A good few guys who started in those games in the last few years have now pushed on to the national team like Dan Leavy, Caelin Doris etc.

Essentially the league here is part of the pathway to the national team. But that development aspect is far more pronounced here than in England for example. In England they can blood 20 young players and that averages at under 2 per team. You simply wouldn't notice it. In Ireland that would average 5 per team, which is a third of the team.

Theres little point in comparing leagues directly. Its apples and oranges. However in the last 10-15 years, when the league has been reasonably consistent and the various systems in Ireland have been in place, we have shown to be as competitive as England or France in the HEC and in the 6Ns, ie we are punching above our weight. The World Cup has been an outlier in terms of our failures there, but that seems to be down to other factors than the league. That's the final hurdle for Irish rugby to clear. That aside we are in a very good place and the league plays its part in that.

molloyjh wrote: »

Welcome SkinnyGuy. Others have answered the general jist of the question above. Allow me to provide an alternative (and altogether more positive) view of the league.....

Obvioiwly Ireland, Scotland and Wales (the original Celtic League cointries) are far smaller countries than England or France with a fraction the number of pro teams as a result. This means that each pro team has a larger number of internationals than a standard French or English club. And each international is proportionally more valuable to the Unions than in England or France given the relative scarcity of players compared to those larger countries.

This has led to a couple of things. The first is a heavy reliance on the national teams. The majority of the money for the game comes from the 6Ns in the smaller countries. Our market for the league (divided at this stage across 2 hemispheres and 5 countries) is never going to be on par with the markets in England or France. So the revenues aren't there for our league as it is for theirs.

The second is the player welfare system in Ireland that looks to manage the playing time of our top tier players to better ensure maximum fitness & availability at key times during the season. This means that there are games in the league that are played with second string sides.

The third is the importance of the few pro teams we have in developing players. We have 4 starting slots available every week compared to 12 in England and 14 in France. So we need to utilise those spaces to keep our top tier players up to speed but also to ensure that we have adequate back up to those guys should they get injured or suffer a drop in form. For both the provinces and the national team. So the blooding of younger players in those second string games actually serves a purpose in and of itself. A good few guys who started in those games in the last few years have now pushed on to the national team like Dan Leavy, Caelin Doris etc.

Essentially the league here is part of the pathway to the national team. But that development aspect is far more pronounced here than in England for example. In England they can blood 20 young players and that averages at under 2 per team. You simply wouldn't notice it. In Ireland that would average 5 per team, which is a third of the team.

Theres little point in comparing leagues directly. Its apples and oranges. However in the last 10-15 years, when the league has been reasonably consistent and the various systems in Ireland have been in place, we have shown to be as competitive as England or France in the HEC and in the 6Ns, ie we are punching above our weight. The World Cup has been an outlier in terms of our failures there, but that seems to be down to other factors than the league. That's the final hurdle for Irish rugby to clear. That aside we are in a very good place and the league plays its part in that.

TLDR; pay no attention Awec, he is a grumpy bugger

CMcsporty wrote: »

Some trivia in IT today on Ringrose

At school he was sub scrumhalf on the JCT, played fullback in fourth and fifth year and it was only an injury to another player that saw him switch to the number 13 jersey. It is a role in which he has thrived for province and country. He’s scored eight tries for Ireland but also has a 100 per cent kicking return, having landed a touchline conversion in a Test match against the USA on a summer tour in 2017. He is an ambassador for LauraLynn, the Children’s hospice based in Leopardstown.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing him at FB, he's the right shape and size for that. Leinster missing a trick again.

I think everyone might want to take a deep breath and stop falling for a wind up

Jesus lads, you must have all been wingers. Not a braincell between you.