Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

.ak

GerM wrote: »

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.

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.

Going by today I'd call him a very mobile 7. He's got great pace, and is quite tall (or maybe Murphy makes him look a bit taller), but definitely puts a huge amount of work in on the deck. Has a serious love for the game though - he was still buzzing after the game on the bench.

What age is he? Always time to add bulk. Speaking of which, the conveyer belt of decent backrowers doesn't stop does it? Ryan, Jordi, Gilsenan coming up behind an already strong contingent of backrowers. Conan looked solid from what I saw today too.

GerM

Quint2010 wrote: »

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

Touch and go. Was originally out for 6 months which would have him back for early April. He has been making very good progress though according to reports. Should be back in training come the QF but I'd be surprised if he was involved. Better to give him a few extra weeks, ease him in with some Pro12 rugby and, if he's doing well, bring him back in.

GerM

.ak wrote: »

Going by today I'd call him a very mobile 7. He's got great pace, and is quite tall (or maybe Murphy makes him look a bit taller), but definitely puts a huge amount of work in on the deck. Has a serious love for the game though - he was still buzzing after the game on the bench.

What age is he? Always time to add bulk. Speaking of which, the conveyer belt of decent backrowers doesn't stop does it? Ryan, Jordi, Gilsenan coming up behind an already strong contingent of backrowers. Conan looked solid from what I saw today too.

He turned 19 in September last year I think. He's a fantastic leader too. Was made captain of the U20 side on his debut despite being a year young and surrounded by several players that were in their second year on the side.

Conan is a bit of a tank. He's got a lot of potential as does Coughlan. Can't fit them all in though. My kingdom for a few locks of the same quality.

ambid

luckyfrank wrote: »

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

A few months ago the GAA were talking about building a new 20,000 stadium in Abbotstown because Louth, Meath, and Kildare need new stadiums so they were thinking of building one stadium on the M50 for all three counties.

I think the idea was shot down as they stopped talking about it pretty quickly.

A modern stadium would be nice and the RDS is a bit of an odd place. But the atmosphere is great and there is always a buzz in Ballsbridge. Incurring the cost of a new stadium would be scary and I certainly wouldn't fancy moving to the M50, buut if they can sell naming rights and improve the facilities in the RDS then I think the atmosphere and location makes up for the aging stadium.

Sindri

ambid wrote: »

A few months ago the GAA were talking about building a new 20,000 stadium in Abbotstown because Louth, Meath, and Kildare need new stadiums so they were thinking of building one stadium on the M50 for all three counties.

I think the idea was shot down as they stopped talking about it pretty quickly.

A modern stadium would be nice and the RDS is a bit of an odd place. But the atmosphere is great and there is always a buzz in Ballsbridge. Incurring the cost of a new stadium would be scary and I certainly wouldn't fancy moving to the M50, buut if they can sell naming rights and improve the facilities in the RDS then I think the atmosphere and location makes up for the aging stadium.

It's a bitch to travel to the RDS from Kildare. The roads are always packed given what time of day it is, takes flippin' ages to get there, but I wouldn't want us to move. Makes little sense.

errlloyd

Sindri wrote: »

It's a bitch to travel to the RDS from Kildare. The roads are always packed given what time of day it is, takes flippin' ages to get there, but I wouldn't want us to move. Makes little sense.

I'd rather invest the money building an undergound motorway to ballsbridge then moving the stadium. Like its surrounded by good pubs, its in rugby country. Its a posh part of dublin true, does that give traveling fans a good impression? Maybe?

Sindri

errlloyd wrote: »

I'd rather invest the money building an undergound motorway to ballsbridge then moving the stadium. Like its surrounded by good pubs, its in rugby country. Its a posh part of dublin true, does that give traveling fans a good impression? Maybe?

Part of Dublin it's in is beautiful.

It's a good stadium for playing rugby in as well. Intimidating for the opposition.

irishbucsfan

Leinster wont be moving for 15 years anyway, so we can handle that hurdle when we come to it. By then there'll probably be -3 NIQs per team and Ireland will be winning 2 Grandslams a year, so maybe we'll have to build a Nou Campesque mega Bertie Bowl in place of Stephens' Green or something equally ridiculous.

.ak

I was 99% sure I read in a paper last year that RDS got the rights to develop a new Anglesea stand and it would be ready for the start of the 2012/13 season?

durkadurka

.ak wrote: »

I was 99% sure I read in a paper last year that RDS got the rights to develop a new Anglesea stand and it would be ready for the start of the 2012/13 season?

No chance. That's seven months away.
There's no money and no planning as far as I know.

danthefan

.ak wrote: »

I was 99% sure I read in a paper last year that RDS got the rights to develop a new Anglesea stand and it would be ready for the start of the 2012/13 season?

There was one poster here, can't remember who, who kept saying that over and over and over again, maybe you read it here. There certainly was talk but the money isn't there.

CIARAN_BOYLE

.ak wrote: »

I was 99% sure I read in a paper last year that RDS got the rights to develop a new Anglesea stand and it would be ready for the start of the 2012/13 season?

RDS made the decision develop a new stand and hope it would be ready for 2012/2013. Unfortunately there is no money (naming rights haven't sold yet), no planning (why go through the hoopla required untill you know that you might get money) and no deal with Leinster (who would be expected to increase their commitment by removing the break clause in their contract with the RDS and increase their rent payments).

Not going to happen for next season.

.ak

I getcha, cheers.

So when it does happen, will Leinster need to play games elsewhere until the work is finished or can they do that in the off-season months?

irishbucsfan

.ak wrote: »

I getcha, cheers.

So when it does happen, will Leinster need to play games elsewhere until the work is finished or can they do that in the off-season months?

I'd imagine they'll be able to play with reduced capacity for small games and move any mid-large sized games to the Aviva. That's at a complete guess.

durkadurka

Yeah I'd be thinking that. Sure the upper anglesea don't turn up for the small games anyway....

irishbucsfan

I remember going to some smallish games in Lansdowne Road. Atmosphere wasn't great, but it works at least. (A Cardiff game stick out for some reason).

CIARAN_BOYLE

.ak wrote: »

I getcha, cheers.

So when it does happen, will Leinster need to play games elsewhere until the work is finished or can they do that in the off-season months?

I've heard that it could be done in theory in the off-season maybe with Leinster moving any home playoffs (before the offseason) to the aviva. However if it was done that way the RDS would not be available for the horse show which a lot of RDS members see as more important than Leinster Rugby even if Leinster Rugby is the main tenant.

One thing stalling discussions between Leinster rugby and the RDS apparently

copacetic

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I've heard that it could be done in theory in the off-season maybe with Leinster moving any home playoffs (before the offseason) to the aviva. However if it was done that way the RDS would not be available for the horse show which a lot of RDS members see as more important than Leinster Rugby even if Leinster Rugby is the main tenant.

One thing stalling discussions between Leinster rugby and the RDS apparently

Pretty much every RDS member would see it as more important, any redevelopment would have to be arranged around the horse show, possibly meaning RDS is half closed during the season.

Also the south and north stands will always need to be removable to suit the horse show, limiting the options overall for an RDS revamp.

The success of using the Aviva has meant there is little or no need for the revamp anyway. The complaints from the other poster above that it doesn't look nice are a bit silly.

It's plenty big for practically every game that we now use it for and I'd say the majority of match going fans are happy enough with the RDS. Personally I'd play every game there.

.ak

copacetic wrote: »

Pretty much every RDS member would see it as more important, any redevelopment would have to be arranged around the horse show, possibly meaning RDS is half closed during the season.

Also the south and north stands will always need to be removable to suit the horse show, limiting the options overall for an RDS revamp.

The success of using the Aviva has meant there is little or no need for the revamp anyway. The complaints from the other poster above that it doesn't look nice are a bit silly.

It's plenty big for practically every game that we now use it for and I'd say the majority of match going fans are happy enough with the RDS. Personally I'd play every game there.

I agree with you for the most part. But you know yourself that Leinster and the IRFU are well aware they could be selling more season tickets but not unless the grounds fit more in.

Also a larger Anglesea stand would mean more games could be played there instead of the Aviva. Also it would suit the horse show.

CatFromHue

The conservative in my looks at games like today in Cardiff and shudders when talk of enlarging the RDS comes up.

The Cardiff stadium is 26,000 and they had 8,000 there today. It might well have been no one though. Granted we get more than 8,000 to all our games and we wouldn't be upgrading to 26,000 but it is a warning about what could go wrong.

Take last season for example, the regular season home Magners games were:

Leinster 34 - 23 Blues Royal Dublin Society 15,890
Leinster 13 - 9 Munster AVIVA Stadium 50,645
Leinster 19 - 18 Edinburgh Royal Dublin Society 16,786
Leinster 27 - 6 Dragons Royal Dublin Society 10,390
Leinster 30 - 8 Connacht Royal Dublin Society 17,136
Leinster 15 - 10 Ospreys Royal Dublin Society 14,876
Leinster 21 - 16 Aironi Royal Dublin Society 9,790
Leinster 30 - 5 Treviso Royal Dublin Society 10,236
Leinster 26 - 15 Scarlets Royal Dublin Society 11,976
Leinster 34 - 26 Ulster Royal Dublin Society 17,670
Leinster 38 - 3 Warriors Royal Dublin Society 12,318

Excl the Aviva game our average RDS Magners League attendance was 13707. So that approx 75% of the RDS capacity. So other than the home Munster game we didn't sell out any Magners games last season (the home Ulster game was sold out this season). Also how many of these attendance numbers were "massaged" is hard to know.

The regular season HEC games were:

Leinster 38 - 22 Racing Métro 92 Royal Dublin Society 17,936
Leinster 24 - 8 ASM Clermont Auvergne AVIVA Stadium 44,873
Leinster 43 - 20 Saracens Royal Dublin Society 18,500

We only sold out 1 of the 2 games in the RDS (this was the same this season). So in total we only sold out the RDS once of all the games in it.

If you ask me as long as the Aviva is available to us we don't yet need to upgrade the RDS to a larger capacity. When the average attendance in the RDS gets to about 85-90% then it would time to increase the capacity I'd say. Upgrading the facilities is a different matter though.

copacetic

And sat was a 'sell out' with loads of empty seats.

The point about being able to sell more season tickets is a good one, there is a market especially for more central expensive ones. However the logistics of getting the building done would badly affect nearly a season of games. Would take a couple of years to make back just that loss.

.ak

CatFromHue wrote: »

The conservative in my looks at games like today in Cardiff and shudders when talk of enlarging the RDS comes up.

The Cardiff stadium is 26,000 and they had 8,000 there today. It might well have been no one though. Granted we get more than 8,000 to all our games and we wouldn't be upgrading to 26,000 but it is a warning about what could go wrong.

Take last season for example, the regular season home Magners games were:

Leinster 34 - 23 Blues Royal Dublin Society 15,890
Leinster 13 - 9 Munster AVIVA Stadium 50,645
Leinster 19 - 18 Edinburgh Royal Dublin Society 16,786
Leinster 27 - 6 Dragons Royal Dublin Society 10,390
Leinster 30 - 8 Connacht Royal Dublin Society 17,136
Leinster 15 - 10 Ospreys Royal Dublin Society 14,876
Leinster 21 - 16 Aironi Royal Dublin Society 9,790
Leinster 30 - 5 Treviso Royal Dublin Society 10,236
Leinster 26 - 15 Scarlets Royal Dublin Society 11,976
Leinster 34 - 26 Ulster Royal Dublin Society 17,670
Leinster 38 - 3 Warriors Royal Dublin Society 12,318

Excl the Aviva game our average RDS Magners League attendance was 13707. So that approx 75% of the RDS capacity. So other than the home Munster game we didn't sell out any Magners games last season (the home Ulster game was sold out this season). Also how many of these attendance numbers were "massaged" is hard to know.

The regular season HEC games were:

Leinster 38 - 22 Racing Métro 92 Royal Dublin Society 17,936
Leinster 24 - 8 ASM Clermont Auvergne AVIVA Stadium 44,873
Leinster 43 - 20 Saracens Royal Dublin Society 18,500

We only sold out 1 of the 2 games in the RDS (this was the same this season). So in total we only sold out the RDS once of all the games in it.

If you ask me as long as the Aviva is available to us we don't yet need to upgrade the RDS to a larger capacity. When the average attendance in the RDS gets to about 85-90% then it would time to increase the capacity I'd say. Upgrading the facilities is a different matter though.

True. But Thomond upgraded to 20k nicely. Doesn't need to sell out, but almost is always full. RDS is getting that way too.. Even with those averages. Also if there were more ST's sold those averages would remain the same probably even if the seating went up a tad.

I'm not against upgrading the Anglesea stand, wouldn't bother me if they didn't either mind you.

CatFromHue

.ak wrote: »

True. But Thomond upgraded to 20k nicely. Doesn't need to sell out, but almost is always full. RDS is getting that way too.. Even with those averages. Also if there were more ST's sold those averages would remain the same probably even if the seating went up a tad.

I'm not against upgrading the Anglesea stand, wouldn't bother me if they didn't either mind you.

Leinster season tickets were on sale until 19 Aug which was 2 weeks before the start of the season (http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/8302.php). I'd imagine 2 weeks was the least amount of time before the season started for them to leave the tickets on sale. Considering I had to renew mine last April, I think, I doubt the STs sold out. Whether everyone could get tickets were they wanted is a different matter.

If I remember right the Anglesea stand tickets are the most expensive. The demand for these may be less than the cheaper North and South stands.

Thomond upgraded from 13,000 or 13,500 to 26,000.

molloyjh

The As today were very good. There's certainly no shortage of talent coming through the Academy. Gilsenan was excellent and Cooney & Reid really impressed me but Dave Kearney was in another class altogether. He's really stood out this season for me and today I reckon showed he should be ahead of the lines of Carr at senior level right now.

As for the RDS I'm quite happy with it as is. I know there's plans to redevelop the Anglsea which is fine so long as they include a Terrace, but there's so much more to the ground than that. The green areas outside that they have set up for the kids and that sort of thing really help create a great relaxed and friendly atmosphere on match days. I'd take it over Thomond or the Aviva any day.

JustinDee

CatFromHue wrote: »

The Cardiff stadium is 26,000 and they had 8,000 there today. It might well have been no one though. Granted we get more than 8,000 to all our games and we wouldn't be upgrading to 26,000 but it is a warning about what could go wrong

There isn't really a valid comparison between the two. On one hand there is a successful provincial side that has won the ERC comp twice, current champion and is thriving. On the other there is a regional team that hasn't done well in ERC comps, is generally the team people in South Wales (where rugby union is strong) love to hate and gets the same crowds (sometimes less) as a Ponty v Ponty club game on a Sunday.

JustinDee

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I remember going to some smallish games in Lansdowne Road. Atmosphere wasn't great, but it works at least. (A Cardiff game stick out for some reason).

That was actually the first Celtic League (there was no sponsor at the time) game to break the 25,000 mark. I remember it too.

phog

.ak wrote: »

True. But Thomond upgraded to 20k nicely. Doesn't need to sell out, but almost is always full. RDS is getting that way too.. Even with those averages. Also if there were more ST's sold those averages would remain the same probably even if the seating went up a tad.

I'm not against upgrading the Anglesea stand, wouldn't bother me if they didn't either mind you.

Thomond is a 26K stadium and we don't have the option of moving a few hundred yards up the road to large stadium like Leinster did. I'd guess that if the old Thomond had a 50K seater stadium available to them in the province then TP might never have been upgraded.

Neil3030

The only reason redevelopment of the RDS could be justified would be corporate facilities. I'd be confident that Leinster could rent out at least 20 executive suites for around £20-30k per annum, which would be very nice revenue for the club.

Winters

Currently the set up in the RDS is adequate and I would imagine is proving good value for both parties. With the RDS itself rarely selling out and the option of moving bigger games to Lansdowne I would only advocate improving the terrace in the Anglesea Stand and some of the access egress issues.

Remove the existing terracing and rebuild it the full length along the front of the Anglesea Stand. Joe will have to set up his lap top elsewhere though.

guapos

Finally we will be able to get revenge for the semi final defeat to Cardiff all those years ago in Landsowne Rd. Any idea where i could find the leinster team from that day?