Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

finatron

Relax lads you have 2 games to go yet you may be getting all worried over notting

ray jay

There are some comments from Michael Bent about his move to Leinster in this article.

totallegend

ray jay wrote: »

There are some comments from Michael Bent about his move to Leinster in this article.

So he has an Irish grandmother; how does that entitle him to an Irish passport??

CIARAN_BOYLE

totallegend wrote: »

So he has an Irish grandmother; how does that entitle him to an Irish passport??

Legally.

If you have an Irish grandparent you can claim citizenship.

PhatPiggins

durkadurka wrote: »

Ruddock seems to get the captaincy nod quite a bit.

I think that might have been part bribe to convince him to stay. He was an average captain but young guys often are (Peter O'Mahony was worse).

Heaslip, meh, I think he's the lazy pundits choice. Like a good rumour its been said so many times that it becomes acccepted but I haven't seen anything in him to suggest he's got what it takes.

Do people think the captian needs to be a guy who will be available for the majority of games and will be an automatic pick for the strongest XV ?

CIARAN_BOYLE

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Do people think the captian needs to be a guy who will be available for the majority of games and will be an automatic pick for the strongest XV ?

Automatic pick for the strongest XV definitely
Available for the majority of games is preferred but not necessary

Hagz

I would say Sexton but I know that a lot of people would be against the idea of an out-half being given extra duties. He was a huge leader during the pool games and (maybe some would disagree) one of the guys who showed leadership during the 6nations in the absence of O'Driscoll and O'Connell.

I would be slightly worried about putting extra pressure on a player in such a pivotal position, but in saying that, I don't think Heaslip is much of an inspirational captain and as much as Nacewa is the wise head, people are right in saying that it's difficult for a back-three player to take-care of captains duties.

Regardless of who it is, no one person captains the team for Leinster, there are a lot of leaders, and so in that respect perhaps Heaslip is a suitable choice.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Nothing against Sexton but I wouldn't make him captain. I don't like 10s as captain because they already do so much of the leadership work by dictating how their team will play the game

cb_

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Nothing against Sexton but I wouldn't make him captain. I don't like 10s as captain because they already do so much of the leadership work by dictating how their team will play the game

It's not so much the leadership/ on field issues. The issue for me would be all the extra off field hassle that goes with being captain. The captain needs to be available for extra interviews etc. I think Sexton has enough on his plate with regards to doing the extra training required for kicking etc. without having to do this. Can easily pick someone else. At the end of the day your on field leaders are your on field leaders. Your captain is just someone who will keep their nose clean and speak well in front of the press - the good ones have a way of influencing the referee although I think modern day refs are wise to this now, so I don't really think it matters who we pick...

ray jay

If Clermont beat Saracens, they'll be playing the semi 300km away from home in Bordeaux. That should take the edge off their home advantage.

justsomebloke

ray jay wrote: »

If Clermont beat Saracens, they'll be playing the semi 300km away from home in Bordeaux. That should take the edge off their home advantage.

If it was any other french team bar Clermont I would probably agree with you but clermont fans will actually travel

vienne86

justsomebloke wrote: »

If it was any other french team bar Clermont I would probably agree with you but clermont fans will actually travel

Their supporters are great, that is true. But they don't have a great record away from home. I'm surprised they would have the match in Bordeaux.

GerM

They travel but won't come near to filling the stadium in Bordeaux in my opinion. The ground holds about 35k which is twice the size of their home ground. 370km is a massive haul. It's a 4 hour drive each way. I'd be very surprised if 20k made the journey. Clermont isn't a big place and won't have tens of thousands of people hitting the roads. I can see there being a lot of neutrals or empty seats at the game.

As vienne86 states, they're not very strong outside of their home town. Great team but they're French and that means wins outside of home are seen as a bonus. This season, they've played 14 games away and won 6. In their HEC history they've 30 matches played away from Clermont and won only 8. To be honest, I'd be surprised if they're in the semi final. If Saracens can stifle them, they should be able to get enough points on the board to put Clermont out.

ambid

Just on Heaslip as a potential captain, I remember the start of last season when the team were really struggling and had lost something like three of the first four games. A major factor in turning that around was Heaslip returning to the team, and if I recall correctly he replaced Jennings as captain as Jennings was really struggling for form and to provide leadership.

Heaslip seems to get a lot of criticism these days, most of which I don't understand and I think is very unfair. But he has proven that he is a leader and is respected by coaches and the team. He'd be a good option as captain I think.

CatFromHue

As Heaslip was red carded against NZ the previous summer Heaslip was ok to start last season from the first game. He started the first two games of last season.

CIARAN_BOYLE

saw today that Bent will only join leinster after the ITM cup campaign which is a bit of a disappointment since it means we will be with just Hagan (+ young talent) at TH for the first few months of the season since Ross will be involved internationally. It will rule Bent out of the first couple of rounds of the Heineken as well.

Thats the part of the year when we really need TH cover when Ross is away.

Fishooks12

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

saw today that Bent will only join leinster after the ITM cup campaign which is a bit of a disappointment since it means we will be with just Hagan (+ young talent) at TH for the first few months of the season since Ross will be involved internationally. It will rule Bent out of the first couple of rounds of the Heineken as well.

Thats the part of the year when we really need TH cover when Ross is away.

I think it's probably a good thing in the long run if it gives Hagan some consistent game time

Although I'm not a Leinster fan so it's easier for me to think like that

WeeBushy

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

saw today that Bent will only join leinster after the ITM cup campaign which is a bit of a disappointment since it means we will be with just Hagan (+ young talent) at TH for the first few months of the season since Ross will be involved internationally. It will rule Bent out of the first couple of rounds of the Heineken as well.

Thats the part of the year when we really need TH cover when Ross is away.

It's disappointing but at the same time it shows that he has loyalty. Hopefully he'll be like that for Leinster.

Kinger83

Team for tomorrow is up..

Leo Cullen captains the side for the visit of Cardiff and he is named in a pack which shows a number of changes from the side who defeated Munster 18-9 last weekend. Cullen partners Brad Thorn at second row, with Sean O'Brien - who will make his 25th Heineken Cup appearance - coming into the back-row alongside Kevin McLaughlin and number eight Jamie Heaslip.

The backline is unchanged with Eoin Reddan partnering Jonathan Sexton - who has amassed 300 points in 27 European appearances to date - at half back.

Fellow Ireland international Gordon D'Arcy forms the midfield partnership with Brian O'Driscoll for the 68th time in Leinster colours, while Luke Fitzgerald, Rob Kearney and Isa Nacewa complete the back three.

South African loose-head prop Heinke van der Merwe is named alongside five Ireland internationals on the bench including the likes of Sean Cronin, Shane Jennings and Fergus McFadden.

LEINSTER:

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

1: Cian Healy
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Mike Ross
4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN
5: Brad Thorn
6: Kevin McLaughlin
7: Sean O'Brien
8: Jamie Heaslip

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Sean Cronin
17: Heinke van der Merwe
18: Nathan White
19: Devin Toner
20: Shane Jennings
21: Isaac Boss
22: Ian Madigan
23: Fergus McFadden


REFEREE: David Pearson (RFU), ASSISTANT REFEREES: Pascal Gauzere (FFR), David Changleng (SRU), 4th OFFICIAL: Tim Wigglesworth (RFU), 5th OFFICIAL: Roy Maybank (RFU), TMO: Geoff Warren (RFU)

CatFromHue

I hoped that Toner would start.

CatFromHue

Cardiff Team:
15. Leigh Halfpenny 14. Alex Cuthbert 13. Casey Laulala 12. Dafydd Hewitt 11. Tom James 10. Dan Parks 9. Lloyd Williams

8. Xavier Rush (c) 7. Martyn Williams 6. Michael Paterson 5. James Down 4. Bradley Davies 3. Scott Andrews 2. Marc Breeze 1. Gethin Jenkins

16. Kristian Dacey 17. John Yapp 18. Sam Hobbs 19. Macauley Cook 20. Maama Molitika 21. Richie Rees 22. Ceri Sweeney 23. Gavin Evans

I thought Martyn Williams was injured?

Paterson, Williams, and Gethin Jenkins didn't play last week against Glasgow so should make the team stronger.

Let's get ready to rumble!

Such a strong bench. Think Toner has been pure quality this season. Added some bite to his game.

Still think this could be a slippery banana skin of a game. Don't like this writing teams off business!

thomond2006

I'm shocked Jennings isn't starting, he's the best guy to negate Martyn Williams plus he was the best forward on the park last weekend.

It won't matter anyway, that Cardiff side should get 30+ put on them.

bamboozle

thomond2006 wrote: »

I'm shocked Jennings isn't starting, he's the best guy to negate Martyn Williams plus he was the best forward on the park last weekend.

It won't matter anyway, that Cardiff side should get 30+ put on them.[/QUOTE]

not wishing to be cocky, but once Martyn Williams tires and both teams turn to the benches Leinster should pull clear in final 10-15 mins. min 15 point win.

durkadurka

durkadurka wrote: »

Ill hazard a guess

Healy Strauss Ross
Cullen thorn
Mcloughlin,Sob, heaslip

Redden sexypants
Luke dorce bod isa
R Kearney

Cronin vdm white toner Jennings boss madigan Fergus

First time I've correctly predicted a joe team in a year!

ambid

durkadurka wrote: »

First time I've correctly predicted a joe team in a year!

You spelt McLaughlin's name wrong though so that doesn't count!

durkadurka

durkadurka wrote: »

First time I've correctly predicted a joe team in a year!

Even the blind squirrel has been known to find a nut every once in a while...

durkadurka

Deleted User wrote: »

Even the blind squirrel has been known to find a nut every once in a while...

I'm hurt

GerM

thomond2006 wrote: »

I'm shocked Jennings isn't starting, he's the best guy to negate Martyn Williams plus he was the best forward on the park last weekend.

Normal tactic. Williams is pushing 37 and will be dead on his feet by the 50th minute. Jenno comes in, SOB goes to 6 and hell is unleashed. Schmidt never tends to pick sides according to opposition selections and I like that. Let them worry about negating us rather than us negating them.

[Jackass]

A broken clock is right twice a day and all that

haha, j/k

Nice team, agree re Toner, but I guess that's why locky is in there, to add tht extra dimension to the line-out. No real shocks, good to see everyone fit. This game will be tighter than people think i reckon...