Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

Teferi

Deleted User wrote: »

Or a team of 15 O'Garas

Ah c'mon now. You need 16 O'Garas. The extra one to come on for the last 10 minutes and finish the game out.

Clegg

The more I see Dave Kearney play, the more impressed I am with him.

Hes a very solid player now. He can just roll off tackles and make ground when he really has no right to. He also ran some very good lines this evening.

Zebo is getting the hype but I think Kearney is the better player. If Kearney was playing more regularly then he could easily be pushing for inclusion on the New Zealand tour.

Podge_irl

I'm very impressed with Kearney, and he is a player I dismissed 12/18 months ago as massively inferior to his brother and only there cause of his name. Goes to show both what good coaching can do and what a massive idiot I am.

[Jackass]

Well it's not like he's been completely ignored. He did make the bench for one of the Irish games. But you're right, Kearney is a smashing player. It's easy to confuse some fancy feet and speed and think a player is amazing, but Zebo's defensive performances this season have shown him up. Kearney jr. has been great going forward and solid in defence (although he has had one or two lapses at times)

It's funny how that was a Leinster B team and less, and it was three quarters a Edinburgh Heineken Cup team, quit a gulf there. Ulster should demolish them.

Very strong performances from a truck load of young recent and current academy lads.

Madigan, again, looks the real deal. If he keeps up his current rate of progress, it wont be long before he's challenging Sexton for the jersey. What a mouth watering prospect that is, having two 10's of that quality.

[Jackass]

Vote for Leinster try of the season...

http://www.herald.ie/sport/rugby/vote-for-the-evening-herald-leinster-try-of-the-season-3076528.html

I went for MadDog.

Podge_irl

I went for Mad Dog as well though it was a close run thing with the Sexton try. The Bod try would be third for sheer audaciousness and perfectly executed.

padser

I went for Sexton. Over and back across the pitch, playing what's in front of you and near perfect execution once the gap opened up. Also brilliant protection of the ball by Jennings once Nacewa was tackled.

BOD's try was a VERY close second for me, awesome execution of a training ground move. It was just the heads up nature of Sexton's try by the entire team that swung it for me.

Madigan had a nice try but in fairness, defense was pretty poor.

danthefan

Fishooks12 wrote: »

can we have Madigan............pleeeeeeeassssseeeeeee

Two more seasons contracted.

Anyway Schmidt has been attracting some attention back in NZ, article from the NZ Herald.

Rugby: Plenty of talk about Schmidt

Could Joe Schmidt be about to make a dramatic return to New Zealand rugby?

However much some Kiwis might relish the prospect, the truth is, two factors stand in the way of any such move. Pat Lam's determination and potential to turn around a losing sequence with the Blues is the first. And the second is that Irish province Leinster will fight hard to keep Schmidt in Dublin.

There is good reason for that. Leinster have played the best, the most innovative, entertaining, and effective rugby anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere this season. The defending Heineken Cup champions, now preparing for a semifinal in this year's competition against crack French outfit Clermont Ferrand at the end of this month, have stood out for the quality of their rugby.

Schmidt is responsible for that. He is regarded as one of the top coaches in Europe, with the possible exception of another Kiwi, his old colleague at Clermont, Vern Cotter. Their meeting in the Heineken semifinal on April 29 will be a meeting of coaching masterminds.

Schmidt left Clermont and Cotter's side almost two years ago and in that time has taken Leinster forward, always a valuable criterion on the part of any coach. The quality yet simplicity of their rugby is a triumph: quick ball, clinically and efficiently procured, is the key to their game, just as it has been that of the most successful sides such as the Crusaders and the All Blacks.


But under Schmidt, Leinster have not just won ball - they have used it superbly. One of the tries they scored in the Heineken Cup quarter-final rout of Cardiff last weekend had the precision of a watchmaker's touch and the simplicity of an under-10s move. Yet it completely ruptured Cardiff's so-called professional defence because it was done at such pace, with support runners off the ball working at speed and the angle of the attack brilliantly turned to confound the defenders.

Schmidt would protest that little of what he does is rocket science, and he would be correct. It's just that such poverty exists in the world of Northern Hemisphere attacking rugby that Leinster's moves and philosophies stand out like a sore thumb.

But then, that is the genius of this New Zealander. He understands the value of simplicity but absolutely insists that whatever move is called, it is done with a precision beyond complaint.

The supreme irony is most of Schmidt's salary is paid by the Irish Rugby Football Union, chief funders of the Leinster province. So technically, he ought to be available to Ireland ... especially as none of the Leinster players who play for Ireland look anything like as good in an international jersey.

That's not because they're not good enough. Schmidt has transformed them, and made them look world beaters. The pity from New Zealand's point of view is that, right now it is highly unlikely he would be available.

Fishooks12

danthefan wrote: »

Two more seasons contracted.

Anyway Schmidt has been attracting some attention back in NZ, article from the NZ Herald.

Ah I know about the contract, more a mad appeal considering how good he was last night!

Bad news for Leinster if true on Schmidt though, although I can't see him leaving

danthefan

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Ah I know about the contract, more a mad appeal considering how good he was last night!

Bad news for Leinster if true on Schmidt though, although I can't see him leaving

Have to admit I'd been pretty skeptical of Madigan in previous season but he was just growing into professional rugby. Looking like he could be a really superb player.

Get your hands off our Schmidt

jimbomalley

danthefan wrote: »

Two more seasons contracted.

Anyway Schmidt has been attracting some attention back in NZ, article from the NZ Herald.

written by peter bills though...looks like its just a franchised article. if it was written by a kiwi i'd be more worried. cant see him leaving tbh unless he's being offered the national job

.ak

I really hope the LR branch do their most with the IRFU to keep Schmidt. He could be the next Guy Noves. Players like him, fans like him, he gets results and is actively involved in Leinster's academy.

Also that article is mind numbingly patronising against European rugby.

"Schmidt would protest that little of what he does is rocket science, and he would be correct. It's just that such poverty exists in the world of Northern Hemisphere attacking rugby that Leinster's moves and philosophies stand out like a sore thumb."

:rolleyes:

danthefan

.ak wrote: »

I really hope the LR branch do their most with the IRFU to keep Schmidt. He could be the next Guy Noves. Players like him, fans like him, he gets results and is actively involved in Leinster's academy.

Also that article is mind numbingly patronising against European rugby.

"Schmidt would protest that little of what he does is rocket science, and he would be correct. It's just that such poverty exists in the world of Northern Hemisphere attacking rugby that Leinster's moves and philosophies stand out like a sore thumb."

:rolleyes:

Tbf, is he wrong?

As I've just posted on PR before seeing your post, Leicester, Wasps, Munster and Toulouse, the previous big 4 in Europe, are in various stages of decline.

.ak

Hmm, you're not wrong, but that article is suggesting that it's never been seen before Schmidt. :P Leinster have always had a great attacking flair, and so have most of the French teams.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying NH should be known for it's attacking rugby, but there are teams in NH that are well balanced and possess enough attacking guile to cut open most Super 15 teams. Leinster, Clermont, Quins, Toulouse (on their day), Toulon, Montpelier etc. Far from a 'poverty'.

.ak

HEC Opponent Watch: Clermont are playing SF now. If they were watching our second string team last night, they might be looking to send a message now.. Although Stade F. will be no push overs.

Burgo

.ak wrote: »

HEC Opponent Watch: Clermont are playing SF now. If they were watching our second string team last night, they might be looking to send a message now.. Although Stade F. will be no push overs.

Is it been televised?

.ak

Burgo wrote: »

Is it been televised?

Yes... on French TV. Clermont are dominating with a pretty 2nd string team. Just got a try there... 13-0 to Clermont (25 min)

vienne86

Burgo wrote: »

Is it been televised?

You can get live updates here:

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/rugby/top-14/

.ak

22-9 with 3 min left. Clermont once again looking majorly strong up front. I'm worried about our pack competing with them tbh. Think they'll need something special to beat them upfront...

.ak

25-9...

.ak

James was looking on form with the boot as well. Don't think there's a chance of a replay of his 2010 mare on the tee this year...

Fishooks12

.ak wrote: »

I really hope the LR branch do their most with the IRFU to keep Schmidt. He could be the next Guy Noves. Players like him, fans like him, he gets results and is actively involved in Leinster's academy.

Also that article is mind numbingly patronising against European rugby.

"Schmidt would protest that little of what he does is rocket science, and he would be correct. It's just that such poverty exists in the world of Northern Hemisphere attacking rugby that Leinster's moves and philosophies stand out like a sore thumb."

:rolleyes:

Maybe if we made tackling optional like in S15 this problem would be remedied?

.ak

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Maybe if we made tackling optional like in S15 this problem would be remedied?

profitius

.ak wrote: »

I really hope the LR branch do their most with the IRFU to keep Schmidt. He could be the next Guy Noves. Players like him, fans like him, he gets results and is actively involved in Leinster's academy.

Also that article is mind numbingly patronising against European rugby.

"Schmidt would protest that little of what he does is rocket science, and he would be correct. It's just that such poverty exists in the world of Northern Hemisphere attacking rugby that Leinster's moves and philosophies stand out like a sore thumb."

:rolleyes:

They have a point but full credit has to go to Schmidt. Hes highly intelligent and just like the top sports players making things look easy, Schmidt makes coaching look easy.

He works on simple things, getting the players to learn good habits and drills it into them until it becomes instinctive. It takes a while and thats why they got off to a bad start under him last season but that didn't last long.

funky penguin

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0414/1224314721788.html

Interesting read here, and interview with Sexton regarding mental health and the pressure of being an out-half.

Hagz

Or you could go out and be half-injured but you’re playing for the team because you know you can give something to the team that someone else might not, and then you’re criticised for not being 100 per cent.”

What's he saying?? Is he saying he has something more to give to the team than Madigan??? Is he saying he's more important than everyone else???

Ridiculous comment.

Benny Cake

Hagz wrote: »

Or you could go out and be half-injured but you’re playing for the team because you know you can give something to the team that someone else might not, and then you’re criticised for not being 100 per cent.”

What's he saying?? Is he saying he has something more to give to the team than Madigan??? Is he saying he's more important than everyone else???

Ridiculous comment.

Johnny sounds like he might have more in common with Rodge than we thought...:D

Big Nelly

Hagz wrote: »

Or you could go out and be half-injured but you’re playing for the team because you know you can give something to the team that someone else might not, and then you’re criticised for not being 100 per cent.”

What's he saying?? Is he saying he has something more to give to the team than Madigan??? Is he saying he's more important than everyone else???

Ridiculous comment.

Did you read the article? I read it in paper, he was taking about earlier in his career he took too much notice of the press and shouldn't have bothered because he could get slated in the press but he could have been half injured etc and that is why he had a bad game....don't see how that is ridiculous comment????

.ak

Big Nelly wrote: »

Did you read the article? I read it in paper, he was taking about earlier in his career he took too much notice of the press and shouldn't have bothered because he could get slated in the press but he could have been half injured etc and that is why he had a bad game....don't see how that is ridiculous comment????

I think Hagz was trying to be funny?