Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

Big Nelly

Leinster 'A' booked their place in the semi finals of the British & Irish Cup when they defeated Pontypridd 32-0 in Donnybrook on Sunday afternoon...

Noel Reid kicked the hosts into a 2nd minute lead with a penalty and the former St. Michael’s College out-half doubled his side’s advantage three minutes later following an infringement by a Pontypridd forward at a ruck.

Then Reid turned provider after 14 minutes as his clever pass found the onrushing Conor Gilsenan who displayed pace and power to burst through and touch down for the opening try of the game.

Reid added the extras to push Leinster’s lead to 13-0.

The home side looked potent with ball in hand and skipper Jack McGrath and Jordi Murphy’s work at the breakdown giving the side momentum, however they couldn’t add to their tally despite Reid and then Kearney both coming close to scoring a try late in the half, but they were denied by some rigid Ponty’ defence.

But then Reid found Brendan Macken and the centre dotted down in the corner, with Reid adding the difficult touchline conversion, to make it 20-0 at the interval.

Leinster began the second half brightly and Murphy punched successive holes in the Welsh side’s defensive line before centre Collie O’Shea almost weaved his way through for the opening score of the half only to be foiled by Gavin Dacey.

Then in the 53rd minute Leinster struck when Macken intercepted a Pontypridd pass inside the Leinster 22 and he sprinted clear to score under the posts at the Bective end, with Reid adding the conversion, to give Leinster a commanding 27-0 lead.

Then in the 72nd minute Darren Hudson rounded the Pontypridd rearguard to score his side’s fourth try of an entertaining but one sided affair.

LEINSTER SCORERS: B. Macken (2 tries), C. Gilsenan, D. Hudson (1 try each), N. Reid (2 penalties, 3 conversions)

LEINSTER ‘A’:

15: David Kearney
14: Darren Hudson
13: Brendan Macken
12: Colm O’Shea (Cathal Marsh, 68)
11: Andrew Boyle
10: Noel Reid (Barry Daly, 75)
9: John Cooney (Luke McGrath, 75)

1: Jack McGrath CAPTAIN (Jack O'Connell, 75)
2: Aaron Dundon (Tom Sexton, 68)
3: Nathan White
4: Neilus Keogh
5: Mark Flanagan
6: Jordi Murphy
7: Conor Gilsenan (Jack Conan, 75)
8: Leo Auva’a

REPLACEMENT NOT USED: David Doyle

PONTYPRIDD:

15: Harley Thomson
14: Lewis I Williams
13: Gavin Dacey
12: Dafydd Lockyer
11: Matthew Nuthall
10: Simon Humberstone
9: Rhys Downes

1: Chris Phillips
2: Huw Dowden
3: Pat Palmer
4: Cory Hill
5: Ryan Savage
6: Chris Dicomidis CAPTAIN
7: Wayne O’Connor
8: Dan Godfrey

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Garyn Lucas
17: Gareth Wyatt
18: Gary Williams
19: Rhys Williams
20: Tom Hetherington
21: Jake Thomas
22: Ryan Harford

REFEREE: Greg MacDonald (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Ken Henley-Willis, Gary Glennon (both IRFU), 4th OFFICIAL: Nigel Correll (Leinster Rugby Referees), 5th OFFICIAL: Colm Roche (Leinster Rugby Referees)

luckyfrank

danthefan wrote: »

Definitely not happening any time soon. The RDS does the job for the moment.

RDS just looks shi/te i know it is in the rugby heartland of leinster but really maximize crowds maybe a site just off m50 would be ideal for dublin and other leinster fans from outside the capital

Podge_irl

luckyfrank wrote: »

a site just off m50

Would be an awful idea. It would significantly reduce the crowd not maximise it.

Stadiums outside of city centres are a complete pain in the ass. It also means the atmosphere around the stadium is crap. The RDS is brilliantly located - there are any number of park and ride places for people to use to get a LUAS into town and then walk or get a DART.

danthefan

luckyfrank wrote: »

danthefan wrote: »

Definitely not happening any time soon. The RDS does the job for the moment.

RDS just looks shi/te i know it is in the rugby heartland of leinster but really maximize crowds maybe a site just off m50 would be ideal for dublin and other leinster fans from outside the capital

Ehhh, no thanks. That would be awful.

CIARAN_BOYLE

GerM wrote: »

They redeveloped Donnybrook but did much better, more quickly in terms of marketing than expected so the ground was redundant by the time it was finished. That's Leinster's home ground and has been a waste of money really. RDS might not be pretty but it's a perfect size and location for Leinster and they've a 20 year lease on it until 2027. If they need anything bigger, the Aviva is always there to use.

There is still debt from the expansion of Donnybrook afaik so Leinster might be a bit gunshy regarding building their own stadium. It may have been a waste of money for Leinster's professional team but it gets 50 matches a year between Leinster A, important schools matches, Leinster underage games, and Womens international matches.

There is a breakclause in the RDS lease in 2017 so if Leinster need it they can renegotiate the deal with the RDS and play more games in the Aviva.

The RDS are planning an expansion/redevelopment which may address problems with appearance.

Big Nelly

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

There is still debt from the expansion of Donnybrook afaik so Leinster might be a bit gunshy regarding building their own stadium. It may have been a waste of money for Leinster's professional team but it gets 50 matches a year between Leinster A, important schools matches, Leinster underage games, and Womens international matches.

There is a breakclause in the RDS lease in 2017 so if Leinster need it they can renegotiate the deal with the RDS and play more games in the Aviva.

Was there not plans to upgrade RDS?

CIARAN_BOYLE

Big Nelly wrote: »

Was there not plans to upgrade RDS?

plans but no deal done. RDS waiting to find funding (Sell naming rights) and if they do find funding they would probably want to renegotiate the Lease so that Leinster will be there for at least 10 years (removing break clause) or increase the rent. I'd say it will be 2015 before anything happens

CIARAN_BOYLE

feck away semi

Sindri

Hopefully we have Saracens away instead of Clermont.

tolosenc

Match won't be in Clermont, though. A glimmer of hope.

.ak

I suppose two home semi's in a row was too much too ask.

It's a pity cuz I wanted to root for Clermont, but now I'll defo be hoping Sarries win... Aside from obvious reason it's cheaper to travel to the UK too!

.ak

Great game at Donnybrook today. Was seriously impressed with how the half-backs have come along. Noel Reid was seriously good in defense, and John Cooney had a solid game and was very good with ball in hand going forward.

Seriously impressed with Gilsenan. He was immense. Had a chat with him after the game too, great attitude and said he really enjoyed that game - although I thought he was trying to kill himself at times! His hands were bloodied after the game...

Great game from everyone really though. Macken was great, and Marshall (the smallest center I've ever seen) was class when he came on as well

Tox56

.ak wrote: »

Great game at Donnybrook today. Was seriously impressed with how the half-backs have come along. Noel Reid was seriously good in defense, and John Cooney had a solid game and was very good with ball in hand going forward.

Seriously impressed with Gilsenan. He was immense. Had a chat with him after the game too, great attitude and said he really enjoyed that game - although I thought he was trying to kill himself at times! His hands were bloodied after the game...

Great game from everyone really though. Macken was great, and Marshall (the smallest center I've ever seen) was class when he came on as well

What type of player is Gilsenan?

Quint2010

Tox56 wrote: »

What type of player is Gilsenan?

He's a sort of six and a half.

Tox56

Quint2010 wrote: »

He's a sort of six and a half.

Not ANOTHER one?!

luckyfrank

Leinster v Cardiff = Avvia ?

Jedwardian

I thought John Cooney played really well today. His passing was good and he made a few sniping breaks and half breaks.

Noel Reid had a strong game too, attacking the gain line constantly and showing a strong boot. He needs to work on the accuracy of his tactical kicking too. I liked what I saw from his replacement Cathal Marsh too. He ghosts past defenders effortlessly. If he bulks up a bit, I like his chances of having a future with Leinster, more so than Noel Reid.

Brendan Macken had a very good game but he cuts infield too often for my liking.

On today's showing, Conor Gilsenan will be a superb player. He's very eager for work in both attack and defence. His sidestep past the fullback for his try was outstanding. The only downside from him today was his sin binning.

GerM

.ak wrote: »

Seriously impressed with Gilsenan. He was immense. Had a chat with him after the game too, great attitude and said he really enjoyed that game - although I thought he was trying to kill himself at times! His hands were bloodied after the game...

That's the big concern with him in my opinion. He's not massive relative to other back row players but he's absolutely fearless. He's picked up a couple of injuries already and has been taken off a couple of times with knocks.

Quint2010 wrote:

He's a sort of six and a half.

I'd consider him a proper 7. Unreal work rate, great support player and has skills at the breakdown. Don't think he's big enough to ever play blindside at senior professional level although he's very powerful for his size.

Podge_irl

tolosenc wrote: »

Match won't be in Clermont, though. A glimmer of hope.

Anyone have any idea where the match will be played? Tempted to book some precautionary flights now...

Big Nelly

luckyfrank wrote: »

Leinster v Cardiff = Avvia ?

Would think so.....more money that way

Podge_irl

Big Nelly wrote: »

Would think so.....more money that way

It's been confirmed for Lansdowne already.

padser

luckyfrank wrote: »

Leinster v Cardiff = Avvia ?

Assume so. They will fill it and have no obligations to rds in the knockout stages.

Gutted with draw as the odds were for a Leinster semi final in Aviva given that being "at home" or "or away" to munster / ulster would all effectively have meant avia semi final.

Realistically of the available options (home / away against sar/cler, home / away against edin / toul, or home / away against mun / uls) we got the 5th attractive out of 6 in my head.

Would have preferred Munster in the Aviva to away to either sarc / cler - I think people saying "glad to hav avoided Munster" underestimate just how much of a swing being away from home is - and how poor Leinster have been away from home this yr, especially in the HEC.

Still first things first, home qf to get through

Big Nelly

Leinster Coach JOE SCHMIDT gives his reaction to the province's home Heineken Cup Quarter Final draw against Cardiff Blues...

First and foremost we’re delighted to be in the Quarter Finals of the Heineken Cup and to achieve a home tie, given the group we managed to progress out of, is a fine achievement by the team. As events unfolded across Europe over the last few days it was difficult to second guess who we would be playing, but now we know that we’re going to be facing Cardiff Blues in the Aviva Stadium and we know that we’re going to be in for a real battle.

“We’re down to the last eight and we will need to go up another level because Cardiff will travel to Dublin in high spirits after their performances over the group stages. We were lucky to get a win in Cardiff City Stadium a few weeks ago and they didn't bring a full strength side when we faced them in the RDS earlier this year, so with a few players to come back into their side they will be formidable opponents.

"Cardiff were in control of the Pool and though missed out on a home quarter final, you could see their disappointment. They had a huge win away to Racing-Metro 92 in the Pool stages and to gain 21 points and not win their Pool is extremely unlucky from their point of view.

"Cardiff are a hugely impressive side; well coached with a physical set of forwards up front and a lot of skill and pace out wide and they have been well served by a number of All Blacks in their ranks who I would personally know well. Given our familiarity in the PRO12, we will know to expect a tough game on Easter weekend, but that’s what knockout rugby is all about.

“It is great for our supporters that we will have a chance to play in the Aviva Stadium; a home from home for the province which has served the team well in recent times. Our loyal followers who travel in such large numbers week in, week out are rewarded with a home tie and with the larger stadium this means that we are able to facilitate even more supporters to attend the game.

“If we do manage to win this game that means that we'll maybe travel to either Wembley Stadium or St. Etienne and to be honest if we do get to that stage then we'll be delighted. But we're not looking any further past the Quarter Final."

Big Nelly

padser wrote: »

and how poor Leinster have been away from home this yr, especially in the HEC.

2 wins and a draw, hardly say that form was poor.

thomond2006

Cardiff are playing god awful stuff with Parks at 10, of all the quarters I think this is the easiest to call.

CatFromHue

Cardiff were very lucky today. One of their tries was a knock on, the other came from a lucky bounce, and the other from a blocked down kick. They had what two or three line outs in the Racing 22 in the last 5 or 10 mins and they managed to mess them all up. It very nearly turned into a loss as well as Racing nearly broke free at the very end.

GerM

thomond2006 wrote: »

Cardiff are playing god awful stuff with Parks at 10, of all the quarters I think this is the easiest to call.

Would tend to agree. They're so limited in attack. Parks is a good bloke for picking off points and giving a steady hand but that's not enough for HEC knock out rugby. 34 tries in 18 games this season with 12 of those coming against Aironi, Treviso and Edinburgh in the Pro 12. 9 tries in 6 HEC matches for a team that wins 5 games is ridiculously low. Roberts is a great man for taking the ball on and getting over the gain line but isn't creative at all. Someone like Halfpenny hasn't scored a try for them this season.

In the forwards, they're middling. They've one or two great players but the rest aren't anywhere near their class. Warburton carries their back row but can't do it against the top sides when he's just out numbered. Rush is not the player he was at all. Jenkins is crucial to them also but the rest of their front row is average. Their second row is solid and not a lot else but Leinster's second row isn't one of the best in Europe either.

I'd say they'll make a game of it but Leinster should win by 12-15 points to be honest.

Quint2010

Will BOD be back for the QF and or possible SF?

CIARAN_BOYLE

.ak wrote: »

Great game from everyone really though. Macken was great, and Marshall (the smallest center I've ever seen) was class when he came on as well

Marsh usually a 10 afaik

CatFromHue

The Cardiff Blues have only won once in Dublin and that was in the 03/04 season.

Their record against us is

P18 W5 D2 L11

It's funny when you look at the results over the last 10 years the balance of power has changed completely from then to us.