Leinster V Brive, RDS, Sat 16th. 18:00. SS1.

PhatPiggins

sock puppet wrote: »

Me too. It could happen. They sent their first team to Leinster when they really should have fielded a B team considering their position in the Magners League. So they obviously want some success in the competition.

I'll be stunned if it does though. Watched the Scarlets last few games and they are completely void of confidence. Big negative for such an attack minded team.

Having said that I thought something similar before their game in reading.

wixfjord

Leinster team:

15: Rob Kearney
14: Shane Horgan
13: Brian O'Driscoll
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Isa Nacewa
10: Jonathan Sexton
9: Eoin Reddan

1: Cian Healy
2: John Fogarty
3: Stan Wright
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Nathan Hines
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Shane Jennings
8: Jamie Heaslip

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Bernard Jackman
17: Mike Ross
18: CJ van der Linde
19: Malcolm O'Kelly
20: Sean O'Brien
21: Paul O'Donohoe
22: Shaun Berne
23: Girvan Dempsey

danthefan

Really pissed off SOB is dropped. His performances recently have been as good/better than anything Jennings has produced this season, it's a really ****ty message to give to an on-form young player too.

wixfjord

danthefan wrote: »

Really pissed off SOB is dropped. His performances recently have been as good/better than anything Jennings has produced this season, it's a really ****ty message to give to an on-form young player too.

I agree. Very very harsh.

Brive team: 15. Scott Spedding, 14. Nicolas Jeanjean, 13. Jamie Noon, 12. Lachlan Mackay, 11. Horacio Agulla, 10. Luciano Orquera, 9. Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 1. Pablo Henn, 2. Steve Thompson, 3. Pascal Idieder, 4. Retief Uys, 5. Damien Browne, 6. Alix Popham, 7. Fabien Domingo, 8. Antoine Claassen,
16. Guillaume Ribes, 17. Petrisor Toderasc, 18. Christian Short, 19. Simon Azoulai, 20. Shaun Perry, 21. Viliame Waqaseduadua, 22. Régis Bianco, 23. Pat Barnard,

Not au fait with Brive but I see Pallisson is missing and Orquera starts at 10 after a poor game at Albi last week. Perry and Flutey not starting aswell. Weakened team I would say. It will still be a tough battle and the likes of Popham, Noon and Thompson will know Leinster well. Is Damien Browne Irish also?

danthefan

danthefan wrote: »

Really pissed off SOB is dropped. His performances recently have been as good/better than anything Jennings has produced this season, it's a really ****ty message to give to an on-form young player too.

Yea its a bit tough, but maybe Cheika is rotating them? Get Jennings playing in a relatively safe match at home and use SOB away to LI?

danthefan

Deleted User wrote: »

Yea its a bit tough, but maybe Cheika is rotating them? Get Jennings playing in a relatively safe match at home and use SOB away to LI?

Nah, Jennings will start against LI now.

Sangre

danthefan wrote: »

Really pissed off SOB is dropped. His performances recently have been as good/better than anything Jennings has produced this season, it's a really ****ty message to give to an on-form young player too.

Cheika might be just giving Jennings some game time to trial his fitness. Now he can pick SJ or SOB against LI, if he had picked SOB against Brive he would have limited himself.

That said, I hope he stays with SOB for LI. That backrow has been working very well together lately. They didn't give the Scarlets an inch.

Very, very strong team. Anything other than a BP win in RDS will be seen as a failure.

danthefan

Sangre wrote: »

Cheika might be just giving Jennings some game time to trial his fitness. Now he can pick SJ or SOB against LI, if he had picked SOB against Brive he would have limited himself.

Very good point.

That said, I hope he stays with SOB for LI. That backrow has been working very well together lately. They didn't give the Scarlets an inch.

Very, very strong team. Anything other than a BP win in RDS will be seen as a failure.

I'd be very very surprised if SOB started against LI.

Sangre

I'd be suprised if SOB started too, unless he plays a stormer off the bench.

Cheika rates Jennings very highly, not just for playing abilities but also his leadership and experience.

Beanmachine

Yeah have to agree it's almost certain Jennings will start against against LI now,Although it is harsh on SOB i think its the right call i really like jennings at 7 might not have the carrying capabilites of SOB but i think he's better on the floor and overall i think he's better equiped to deal with Armitage

irishbucsfan

Shane Jennings is by far our best 7. SOB is a great player but he's more of a natural 8 than a 7 and he's never going to get that shirt.

For me over the past few seasons I've been a huge fan of SOB coming through, but this season the emergence of McLaughlin has really put a big block in front of him. McLaughlin can't be left out of the team given his form, Jennings can't be left out of the team given his ability and better suitability to the position, and Heaslip is one of the top 3 in his position in the world.

SOB though, is an excellent guy to have on the bench, as he can cover all three positions across the back row, so for me the question of who I'd prefer to be on the bench is easilly answered. Jennings can only cover 7 or play as an ineffective 6, whereas SOB has shown ability in all three positions.

Podge_irl

Beanmachine wrote: »

Yeah have to agree it's almost certain Jennings will start against against LI now,Although it is harsh on SOB i think its the right call i really like jennings at 7 might not have the carrying capabilites of SOB but i think he's better on the floor and overall i think he's better equiped to deal with Armitage

Jennings has also been out for 14 weeks now while SOB has been playing excellently in his absence. It kind of makes you wonder what SOB would ever have to do to get ahead of Jennings.

thomond2006

Podge_irl wrote: »

Jennings has also been out for 14 weeks now while SOB has been playing excellently in his absence. It kind of makes you wonder what SOB would ever have to do to get ahead of Jennings.

Maybe he would move to Munster?

Quinlan is 35 and Wallace is 33. Definitely a space in the starting XV for him in 2 seasons.

irishbucsfan

Podge_irl wrote: »

Jennings has also been out for 14 weeks now while SOB has been playing excellently in his absence. It kind of makes you wonder what SOB would ever have to do to get ahead of Jennings.

Jennings is one of the most valuable players in the team... SOB doesn't bring the same competitiveness on the ground that Jennings does. SOB could be the best ball carrier in the world, but until he develops Jennings' defense and ability on the ground he won't start ahead of him.

smurphy29

It's a tough call on Sean O'Brien, but I think most posters seem to have the right idea: Cheiks needs to give Jennings this match so he can give him a chance to get picked for next week. If he didn't pick him tomorrow he couldn't possibly against London Irish. SOB is probably the more eye-catching of the two because he's such a superb ball carrier, but it's imortant to remember that Jenno was having a superb season before his ridiculous suspension. Remember a certain 30-0? He destroyed Munster at the breakdown that night. It's clear that Cheiks rates him as one of his most important forwards.

We all have a tendency to want to fast-track our favourite young players to the team, but let's not get too upset. SOB is young, he's great - he will have plenty of time in the Leinster shirt, it's not going to be the worst thing for him to be on the bench for a bit.

danthefan

thomond2006 wrote: »

Maybe he would move to Munster?

Quinlan is 35 and Wallace is 33. Definitely a space in the starting XV for him in 2 seasons.

Get stuffed :mad:

Sangre

I think Jennings is over-rated on the deck. I think Heaslip gets a lot more turnover ball than Jennings.

PhatPiggins

Sangre wrote: »

I think Jennings is over-rated on the deck. I think Heaslip gets a lot more turnover ball than Jennings.

+1 I think Jennings is far too hot and cold to ever be rated as an excellent 7.

Realistically Cheika was probably looking to ease him back in and a weakened Brive team are the ideal opponents(no offence intended).

Armitage was far more effective in the first game so I'm not sure the arguement of bringing Jennings in to counter him holds true.

stephen_n

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Jennings is one of the most valuable players in the team... SOB doesn't bring the same competitiveness on the ground that Jennings does. SOB could be the best ball carrier in the world, but until he develops Jennings' defense and ability on the ground he won't start ahead of him.

Not sure that is entirely true given some of Leinsters performances on the ground in Jennings absence, particularly against the scarlets when SOB seemed to be turning over ball on the ground for piss and giggles. Had to have been one of the most aggressive backrow performances I have seen from Leinster

Mr.Applepie

thomond2006 wrote: »

Maybe he would move to Munster?

Quinlan is 35 and Wallace is 33. Definitely a space in the starting XV for him in 2 seasons.

We gave you Felix Jones and you broke him. No more giving you players until you can learn to look after them

anonymous_joe

POD seems finally to have overtaken Chris Keane.

Blured

anonymous_joe wrote: »

POD seems finally to have overtaken Chris Keane.

About time too - Chris Keane reminds me of Chris Whitaker of the first half of last season.

Will be interesting to see how Jennings gets on, but I dont think he will be too off the pace. The whole team is going to be a little rusty for this fixture. Strong bench as well - CJ, SOB and Jackman should provide some impact in the second half

Juwwi

Bookies are giving Brive +31point on the handicap :eek:

corny

They'll need it and more!

thehighground

Mr.Applepie wrote: »

We gave you Felix Jones and you broke him. No more giving you players until you can learn to look after them

Ulster broke him, not us;)

wixfjord

thehighground wrote: »

Ulster broke him, not us;)

Wasnt it Johnny O Connors noggin that broke him?!

durkadurka

danthefan wrote: »

Nah, Jennings will start against LI now.

Jim Glennon said on newstalk tonight that he reckons SOB will still start against LI. He said jennings getting a run out just to see how fit he is.

ALH-06

durkadurka wrote: »

Jim Glennon said on newstalk tonight that he reckons SOB will still start against LI. He said jennings getting a run out just to see how fit he is.

Starting Jennings tomorrow is a no brainer. Superb player, great leader on the pitch, our only out-and-out groundhog. We'll need him in some capacity for LI so naturally he gets game time now. It's the least he deserves. Shouldn't have been banned in the first place but that's a whole different debate

As for SOB, he got his chance and he's shown us what he can do. He'll definitely go on to play a significant role in the LI match and the rest of the season.

wixfjord

durkadurka wrote: »

Jim Glennon said on newstalk tonight that he reckons SOB will still start against LI. He said jennings getting a run out just to see how fit he is.

What would Jim Glennon know though? Thats like me saying it! Its not as if he has any input

durkadurka

Well he was half decent in his day. I'm just reporting it, that's all.

All i'm saying is that jennings starting on sat does not mean that SOB is doomed for another few months

Bugnug

Just had a look at the Leinster team for this evening, anybody else surprised to see Shane Jennings walk straight back on to the team considering Sean O Briens recent performances with a man of the match thrown in there?

Good result for Ulster last night and great performance by Boss, surely this merits serious consideration for the number 9 for Ireland?

Quiet Lurker

Bugnug wrote: »

Just had a look at the Leinster team for this evening, anybody else surprised to see Shane Jennings walk straight back on to the team considering Sean O Briens recent performances with a man of the match thrown in there?

Good result for Ulster last night and great performance by Boss, surely this merits serious consideration for the number 9 for Ireland?

Bugnug,
i think it is sensible management by Michael Chieka. SJ has had no gametime for a long period now so he needs some in case he is needed. There is no point in him trying to sort his rustiness out in a match against London Irish which is the crucial game. So he will get 70 minutes today and then the decision on which is more suitable for LI game will be made.
SOB has had a wonderful season and may get the nod but I think it will take him another season to cement his name onto Leinster and irish team

Bugnug

Has anybody heard any updates on Luke Fitzgeralds injury situation?

Paulusmaximus

luke is back training/rehab every day now. They hope he'll be back by end of season and should be fit to go on the ireland summer tour if selected.

chupacabra

There are already threads for both the Leinster game today and injury updates, no need for a new one.

Trojan

Heading into town for this now. Looking forward to a good game - think Brive will be a bit tougher than the bookies are giving them credit for.

_blank_

chupacabra wrote: »

There are already threads for both the Leinster game today and injury updates, no need for a new one.

I'll merge them

sm.org

Whats the weather like up there gents?

_blank_

sm.org wrote: »

Whats the weather like up there gents?

Looked like it was going to chuck it down earlier, but the rain stayed away and the clouds cleared.

I'm on the Northside though, could be different in dube land

sm.org

Des wrote: »

Looked like it was going to chuck it down earlier, but the rain stayed away and the clouds cleared.

I'm on the Northside though, could be different in dube land

Much obliged. Thinking of betting on Leinster to cover the spread but would like the rain to stay away.

Corega

By any chance could somebody direct me to a live audio stream for this game? Ta.

2040

This is going to be a tryfest.

Size=everything

2040 wrote: »

This is going to be a tryfest.

Normally I'd agree but the fact that we haven't played in so long and Sexton and Jennnings are coming back straight from injury leads me to a much more cautious outlook.

2040

Size=everything wrote: »

Normally I'd agree but the fact that we haven't played in so long and Sexton and Jennnings are coming back straight from injury leads me to a much more cautious outlook.

The obligatory bit of humility before the rout.

Blazher

SS1

Aidric

That's a horrible miss.

jd007

What a miss!:eek:

Spore

Shite, nearly in the corner with Shaggy!

thomond2006

Aidric wrote: »

That's a horrible miss.

jd007 wrote: »

What a miss!:eek:

Who missed?

jd007

Could've been an early try there only for Kearney. He did well.