Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

CIARAN_BOYLE

37 lads showed up for route 6"6 screening on Saturday

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/8609.php
http://leinsterrugby.ie/mdtv/

On another point is there any plans for a Leinster A game or a friendly to give some players a run out during the next few weeks while the pro 12 break is on? Or will there be a lot of players released to clubs?

profitius

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

37 lads showed up for route 6"6 screening on Saturday

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/8609.php
http://leinsterrugby.ie/mdtv/

On another point is there any plans for a Leinster A game or a friendly to give some players a run out during the next few weeks while the pro 12 break is on? Or will there be a lot of players released to clubs?

Should be interesting to see how it goes!

CatFromHue

I wonder if they got to keep the jerseys? Considering they got a free lunch and tickets to the Connacht game that would have made a pretty good day out.

It certainly looks like there is at least 1 GAA lad there anyway from your man in the green and yellow shorts in the pic.

It also looks like the first of what could be a few trials:

“Having the Leinster senior coaches and conditioning team in attendance certainly added significance for the players and this is the first of what will hopefully be a series of position specific recruitment initiatives which will aim to give new players the opportunity to take up the game."

bamboozle

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

37 lads showed up for route 6"6 screening on Saturday

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/8609.php
http://leinsterrugby.ie/mdtv/

On another point is there any plans for a Leinster A game or a friendly to give some players a run out during the next few weeks while the pro 12 break is on? Or will there be a lot of players released to clubs?

very intersting idea, noticed a few of the lads in the photo seemed to be wearing gaa shorts

Big Nelly

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

37 lads showed up for route 6"6 screening on Saturday

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/8609.php
http://leinsterrugby.ie/mdtv/

On another point is there any plans for a Leinster A game or a friendly to give some players a run out during the next few weeks while the pro 12 break is on? Or will there be a lot of players released to clubs?

Seen this on Leinster website, what was this about? heard nothing about it beforehand? was it trying to find players over 6'6"?

.ak

Big Nelly wrote: »

Seen this on Leinster website, what was this about? heard nothing about it beforehand? was it trying to find players over 6'6"?

Yep. Specifically to blood new locks I believe.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Big Nelly wrote: »

Seen this on Leinster website, what was this about? heard nothing about it beforehand? was it trying to find players over 6'6"?

There was a previous release about it as well
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=74372514&postcount=3423

CouchSmart

World Cup's all done now - from a Leinster perspective anyway. It was fun while it lasted but it'll be great having the full squad back together now. Considering how many players were missing we've done extremely well; 4 wins from 6, 3rd spot - only thing keeping us from 2nd is pd and not too many injuries either, apart from the obvious.

There's a 2 week break now but after that it's really all go-go-go for us. First game back is an away trip to our bogey team Edinburgh, then Munster in the Aviva followed by 4 HEC games in 6 weeks, with a trip to Italy thrown in too! Luckily we definitely have the depth for this kind of schedule - although a couple of injuries should be expected (happens every year) so no doubt we'll need everyone at some stage.

It'll be interesting to see how the Ireland lads are introduced back into the team. I assume the dirt trackers will be straight back in, along with players like Reddan, Sexton, Cronin etc who were mainly benching for the last few WC games. It's hard to know how much time some of the senior guys, BOD, D'Arce etc will be given. I can't see them back for Edinburgh or Munster and at that stage the first rounds of the HEC look unlikely. That being said maybe they'll be dying to get onto a pitch to get over the quarter final.

Personally, I'd like to see a good bit of rotation until after Christmas, hopefully with a 'first' team emerging for HEC quarters (I think it's vital that we know what are best team is going into the knock outs, as it's something I think cost Ireland dearly in the WC). Healy/VdM, Kearney/Nacewa etc. We have a lot of players pushing for starting jerseys and I think it's best we let them and the incumbents have a fair crack at nailing down a place in the 'first' XV.

What's the word on Horgan? Last I heard he's still limping which isn't good. Would be very hard getting any sort of pre season done. At this stage it looks like he mightn't be back until the New Year. I'm starting to get the feeling this is the last season Horgan will be playing. Big chance for someone to take his spot in the mean time, there's always a positive.

I reckon by the end of the year our 'first' team will look something like:

1. Healy
2. Strauss
3. Ross
4. Sykes
5. Toner
6. O'Brien
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip

9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. D. Kearney
12. Fitzgerald
13. O'Driscoll
14. Nacewa
15. Kearney

iamjenko

You dont think Cullen will be picked in the second row no? Is he not still captain?

Personally I would like to see Nacewa at fullback too.

funky penguin

Agreed, crazy not to have Nacewa at FB, he's so dangerous from there. As much as I love R. Kearney and all that....

However.....Schmidt is quite excellent as creating squad depth, with excellent use of rotation, so I can't imagine Kearney being too stuck for game-time. Saying that, it will be interesting to see how much of that is European rugby.

I'd expect Cronin and Strauss to have the share of the number two, like above, with Strauss in pole-position unless Cronin really takes his chances.

The front row will have room to breath with 23 man squads, so expect Hagan, Ross, Healy and VDM getting lots of game-time.

2nd row will probably be Cullen and Sykes, with Toner benching. What I would love to see though, is more of Locky there. Having having a lock that destructive would be such a bonus, and an excellent utility bench option.

back-row......WAR! SOB, Jennings, Heaslip would be my preference, but Locky, Ryan, Ruddock and Leo has proven to be important during the WC.

half-backs: Reddan and Boss will continue swapping, with Reddan nudging Pole with his speedier service. Sexton the man and all that, but what a start to the season by Madigan! Of course, there's also Berquist.....

Centre: It will be really hard to shift BOD and Darcy. Despite the stick he gets, Darcy is an excellent player, with tonnes of experience. But then look at McFadden, who sometimes looks like a possessed ape when he comes off the bench. And remember his very special game with Eoin O'Malley last year away to Clermont? we had a fair few key injuries and these two were superb (even if McFadden was on the wing!). On top of this, Macken....and Sheridan in the academy.

Back three......WAR PART II

Nacewa vs Kearney
Carr vs Luke vs D Kearney vs Horgan vs McFadden vs Conway......

Jesus I forgot Luke at Centre!

Can't frickin wait. Because of the world cup, it only feels like it's starting now. In fact, I pushed forward my trip home to Ireland a couple of days to catch the Bath game in December. EXCITEMENT!!

iamjenko

Yeah there is serious competition for places right across the park! Every team selection will be interesting!

It would be good to see Willis stay on too, he's done a great job for us the last two months!

GerM

I would say lets wait and see in relation to Kearney/Nacewa. Yes, Isa is a genuinely superb full back who gives us a creative spark from deep but an element of that will still be able to be provided from the wing with him coming in and joining midfield or collecting ball in space which he'll still get plenty of. Kearney has had very little time working with Schmidt and hasn't had the benefit of his input into his game. I think Leinster could utilise Kearney very well from deep with him hitting the line. Nacewa is great at conjuring up something from nothing but Kearney is probably a better strike runner for set moves. He picks good lines, has very good pace (once he gets moving) and is a big bloke. Think of his tries last season against Racing, away to Brive and at home to Munster in the ML semi final for example.

Regardless, I think Joe will get the best out of the back three unit and that's the way they'll play, as a unit as opposed to a full back and two wingers.

wixfjord

Very exciting times, and we're certainly looking to be the best squad of the Irish teams.

We're in a great position, in touching distance of the top of the ML, a good HEC group, and not too much injuries.

I hope Joe is feeding everyone raw meat in a bid to go one step further this year.

In saying that, Munster followed by Montpellier away will be a big ask.
Though, looking at the league, they're down near the bottom, with four losses a draw and one win (last week at home to an understrength Toulon).

wixfjord

GerM wrote: »

I would say lets wait and see in relation to Kearney/Nacewa. Yes, Isa is a genuinely superb full back who gives us a creative spark from deep but an element of that will still be able to be provided from the wing with him coming in and joining midfield or collecting ball in space which he'll still get plenty of. Kearney has had very little time working with Schmidt and hasn't had the benefit of his input into his game. I think Leinster could utilise Kearney very well from deep with him hitting the line. Nacewa is great at conjuring up something from nothing but Kearney is probably a better strike runner for set moves. He picks good lines, has very good pace (once he gets moving) and is a big bloke. Think of his tries last season against Racing, away to Brive and at home to Munster in the ML semi final for example.

Regardless, I think Joe will get the best out of the back three unit and that's the way they'll play, as a unit as opposed to a full back and two wingers.

I agree, I think Kearney has shown up really well in the WC, and was good before his injury last year. Definitely a more solid option than Nacewa in my book, and he has other abilities which Nacewa doesn't.
Would certainly have Iosa on the wing though if not at FB!

GerM

True, wixfjord, but Montpellier lost 11 players to the WC and don't have the depth to cope with that sort of hit. Their strongest XV

totallegend

The lack of regular updates on Horgan is slightly worrying, can't see him being back before Christmas.

I'd definitely try to give game-time against Edinburgh to the likes of Jennings, McFadden, Cronin, Boss, Cullen who haven't had a huge amount of play in NZ, then pick from the full squad for the Munster game.

I think Kearney will play full-back with Nacewa switching to the wing, I'd be happy with that anyway, think Nacewa is the sort of player who will be able to get involved from the wing, he won't be out there waiting for the ball to come to him. So for the Munster game, I'd expect a back three of Kearney, Nacewa, Carr. In the centre, I don't think either D'Arcy or O'Driscoll were fully fit in NZ so if they will benefit from a bit more rest, then let them have it; with Fitzgerald playing well and McFadden returning, we're not stuck for centres.

I would also like to see Willis kept on a bit longer at scrum-half; it looks like Cooney isn't ready yet so Willis as back-up during the Six Nations would be good, he's impressed me so far.

The back-row is going to be fascinating; in some respects, I'd like to see one of Heaslip/Jennings/SOB benched for the Munster game and really give Ruddock or Ryan a chance to shine. Leo, for me anyway, is not in the running for the starting #8 jersey but could continue to improve.

Second-row will, I presume, be Cullen and Sykes but I've been impressed by Toner lately. His try against Connacht seemed to show that he's finally realised he's a big unit and he should be knocking people over.

Front-row is probably locked down as Healy, Strauss, Ross, but VDM, Cronin and Hagan is some back-up unit; Nathan White impressed me against Connacht too, so all in all, reasons to be cheerful.

A win against Munster and a good start to the HEC would help me forget about the World Cup all the quicker.

COME ON LEINSTER!!!

wixfjord

GerM wrote: »

True, wixfjord, but Montpellier lost 11 players to the WC and don't have the depth to cope with that sort of hit. Their strongest XV

I suppose, and most of these bar Trin Duch will be back in action this weekend I'd presume.
Is Ouderago in the French squad?

Looking at it, our options are mouthwatering!

Could be looking at a bench of
Cronin
VDM
Hagan
Toner/Browne
Locky/Ruddock/Ryan
Boss/Willis
Madigan
Kearney/O Malley/McFadden/Carr/Conway/D Kearney

Surely that rivals Toulouse and Clermont for impact!

iamjenko

wixfjord wrote: »

I suppose, and most of these bar Trin Duch will be back in action this weekend I'd presume.
Is Ouderago in the French squad?

Looking at it, our options are mouthwatering!

Could be looking at a bench of
Cronin
VDM
Hagan
Toner/Browne
Locky/Ruddock/Ryan
Boss/Willis
Madigan
Kearney/O Malley/McFadden/Carr/Conway/D Kearney

Surely that rivals Toulouse and Clermont for impact!

I was only just thinking along the same lines! Strength in depth at the province now is incredible!

anonymous_joe

Not sure some of those lads listed are particularly good though.

We've got a great squad, but very little in a couple of key positions. (Second row springing to mind here.)

GerM

I'd keep an eye on Sykes. I think he's going to prove to be a very good player once he settles down. He's a big abrasive lump and can handle the ball well. The issue is whether age catches up with Cullen this year and if Toner can sustain a good run of form and get enough match time to do so.

totallegend

Speaking of second-rows, Ed O'Donoghue has not been taken on by Narbonne, seems he enjoyed the French nightlife a bit too much:
http://www.lindependant.fr/2011/10/05/o-donoghue-c-est-no,69444.php

He was only there for a week's trial and apparently that was enough to convince them that he wasn't for Narbonne, a second-tier team in desperate need of a second-row forward, but when you're on trial at a club and your "epic Saturday night lasts until Sunday morning", it doesn't give a great impression.

I don't know if this means he's coming back to Leinster or what.

wixfjord

totallegend wrote: »

Speaking of second-rows, Ed O'Donoghue has not been taken on by Narbonne, seems he enjoyed the French nightlife a bit too much:
http://www.lindependant.fr/2011/10/05/o-donoghue-c-est-no,69444.php

He was only there for a week's trial and apparently that was enough to convince them that he wasn't for Narbonne, a second-tier team in desperate need of a second-row forward, but when you're on trial at a club and your "epic Saturday night lasts until Sunday morning", it doesn't give a great impression.

I don't know if this means he's coming back to Leinster or what.

Well, there's a guy that strikes me as a pure eejit. Always wondered why he suddenly "fell out of favour" at Leinster, that might explain it.

.ak

With the depth of players I think it's important we rotate regularly, for the purely self-serving reason that when we're at the business end of the season we'll hopefully be fighting battles on two fronts - The ERC and Pro12, and so we'll need fresh legs in both squads.

So with that in mind this is the squad I'd select for the Nov 4th Munster match up [posted in LF on similar thread], as I think this match will be pivotal to how we preform in the up and coming months, and thus our 'first squad' (injuries withheld) will be pushed forward here.

1. Healy
2. Strauss
3. Ross
4. Cullen
5. Sykes
6. SOB
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip

9. Reddan
10. Sexton
11. D. Kearney
12. Fitzgerald
13. McFadden
14. Nacewa
15. R. Kearney

16. Hagan
17. VDM
18. Cronin
19. Toner
20. Rhys Ruddock
21. Boss
22. Madigan
23. Carr

__________________

Reasoning..

Locks: Toner has been coming along nicely, but the amount of bad games for me unfortunately outweigh the last two good games he's had. Away to Edinburgh will be the big test for me. If he's decent there he might pip ahead of Sykes... Sykes hasn't looked amazing tbh, but he put in a pretty solid performance last week and I think in a big Derby like this he'll relish in it.

Back 3: Kearney is probably one of the world's best aerial full backs. The way Munster have been playing recently I'd like to see him start. Isa was originally brought in as a 10, and proved his salt at wing before being put on FB to cover Kearney. IIRC he played at center for the blues (when Schmidt was there?), so you could argue he is the ultimate utility back. IMO I think Isa has had some of his best games at wing, so I'd love to see him start on the wing with R. Kearns on FB. David has been seriously putting his hand up as a heavy hitting winger and has taken some lovely high balls. The prospect of that back 3 is mouth watering, as Munster would be forced to play tight rugby and I think we can beat them there. Carr on the bench? I'd almost be tempted to replace him with a center, like EOM or Macken (see below), but I think this is a game that if he came off the bench he'd make some serious threatening runs - something he hasn't done in the past couple of games.

Centers: As mentioned I really think Darce and BOD need time to rest up. Another side of the coin is the players feel they will want as much game time as possible for form. Darce in particular mentioned prior to the Wales match his form was picking up due to more game time. It's a tough call, but I'd love to see the Fitz/Ferg combo at 12 and 13 respectively. Although I've left the bench pretty tight without center cover...

cython

I may regret this if I'm competing for tickets, but on facebook just now that there's another Hour of Power tomorrow for the Bath HC game in the Aviva on December 17th....

durkadurka

cython wrote: »

I may regret this if I'm competing for tickets, but on facebook just now that there's another Hour of Power tomorrow for the Bath HC game in the Aviva on December 17th....

dont worry, readers of this thread will be all too aware......

thunderthing

cython wrote: »

I may regret this if I'm competing for tickets, but on facebook just now that there's another Hour of Power tomorrow for the Bath HC game in the Aviva on December 17th....

I saw that, just wondering, what does that entail exactly? Is it for season ticket holders or what's the story? Do you get the tickets from ticketmaster or what's the craic?

CatFromHue

I don't think the schedule allows for resting players, rotating maybe but not resting. Squad management wil be a big thing but the whole squad will have to be available. The rest period is now.

The Edinburgh game is the first of 13 continuous games before the Six Nations. These include the 6 Heineken Cup games, which we saw from the last two seasons the benefit of getting a home quarter, and 7 Pro 12 incl games against Munster, Ulster, Cardiff x 2, away to Treviso, away to Edinburgh (only won once in the last 5 games over there in the Pro12), and away to Connacht. Or to put it another way that's 4 games against teams aiming for a top 4 finish if not higher.

I also think Kearney will be the first choice 15 with Nacewa on the wing. I'm still not sure of Luke Fitz in the centre. The teams he has been up against have been weakened and he runs laterally a bit too much for me. We'll see soon enough if this is a long term move for him other wise I could see him back on the wing.

cython

thundercunt wrote: »

I saw that, just wondering, what does that entail exactly? Is it for season ticket holders or what's the story? Do you get the tickets from ticketmaster or what's the craic?

The hour of power tomorrow will not be limited to season ticket holders. Basically the Leinster branch will put a batch of about 1000 tickets (likely in the corner of the upper tier, so not the best of seats, but grand for the price) on sale for 10 euro each, plus ticketmaster's fee of usually 2 euro, between 10 and 11am, or until they have all sold out (usually the latter). Availed of the last two (Clermont and Munster), and was happy enough with the Clermont one (Munster one is for next month) except for the bitter cold, but that was nothing to do with the tickets, to be fair!

thunderthing

cython wrote: »

The hour of power tomorrow will not be limited to season ticket holders. Basically the Leinster branch will put a batch of about 1000 tickets (likely in the corner of the upper tier, so not the best of se, but grand for the price) on sale for 10 euro each, plus ticketmaster's fee of usually 2 euro, between 10 and 11am, or until they have all sold out (usually the latter). Availed of the last two (Clermont and Munster), and was happy enough with the Clermont one (Munster one is for next month) except for the bitter cold, but that was nothing to do with the tickets, to be fair!

Oh, sounds cool. So is it usually better to buy them online or go to a ticketmaster outlet or, in general, if you get in at 10, you'll probably get them yeah?

.ak

thundercunt wrote: »

Oh, sounds cool. So is it usually better to buy them online or go to a ticketmaster outlet or, in general, if you get in at 10, you'll probably get them yeah?

I think it's just online with the link they've provided.