Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread.

The Rooster

durkadurka wrote: »

You would have thought that would have been his preference given he's from Limerick.

I wonder is there more to it...

Last year I predicted Cronin would join Leinster.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65944517&postcount=140

I believe he'd only go back to Munster if Flannery left. Flan did have an interest in playing abroad, but injury scuppered any chance of that.

irishbucsfan

The Rooster wrote: »

Last year I predicted Cronin would join Leinster.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65944517&postcount=140

I believe he'd only go back to Munster if Flannery left. Flan did have an interest in playing abroad, but injury scuppered any chance of that.

I've heard of friction between the two players in the past from their ex-teammates. Always thought it was just one of those rumours from nothing, but maybe there is some truth to it.

PhatPiggins

The Rooster wrote: »

Last year I predicted Cronin would join Leinster.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65944517&postcount=140

I believe he'd only go back to Munster if Flannery left. Flan did have an interest in playing abroad, but injury scuppered any chance of that.

OMG thats Nostradamus like. Good call.

Risteard

rrpc wrote: »

And yet surprisingly we don't seem to have many fit for the 6N...

Sean O'Brien had to take a couple of throws for Leinster on Friday night.

Well next year the likelihood is that all 4 provinces could have IQ starting hookers and IQ back up bar Leinster.

If Flannery gets back fit there'll be him, Best and Cronin. Varley has sufficient HC experience that he could step us as I'm sure Nigel Brady could. Now there's probably a dip form the top 3 to the next but it's not immense.

Ah, SOB to hooker, I wonder is Brent Pope still banging that drum.

[Jackass]

Risteard wrote: »

Well next year the likelihood is that all 4 provinces could have IQ starting hookers and IQ back up bar Leinster.

If Flannery gets back fit there'll be him, Best and Cronin. Varley has sufficient HC experience that he could step us as I'm sure Nigel Brady could. Now there's probably a dip form the top 3 to the next but it's not immense.

Ah, SOB to hooker, I wonder is Brent Pope still banging that drum.

Yeah Healy went into the hooker position, but Sean O'Brien was taking the throws. Obviously an option that was explored having Seany at 2 if they'd practiced perhaps?

At the time Pope was saying it, there was merrit to it, Heaslip was emerging as one of the best 8's in world rugby and McLoughlin had just broken into the Irish team and Leinster were desperate for a hooker.

durkadurka

Heaslip has just tweeted a load of moneybags....

I would read less than nothing into that! Probably just showing Healy a new thing on twitter!

Gracelessly Tom

durkadurka wrote: »

Heaslip has just tweeted a load of moneybags....

Irelands answer to Rio Ferdinand.:rolleyes:

CIARAN_BOYLE

durkadurka wrote: »

Heaslip has just tweeted a load of moneybags....

Probably Heaslip is talking about being paid for his recent media work.

Spud83

Has it been deleted? If so that just makes it more interesting. Although he just gave a thanks to puma so maybe just a sponsorship deal.

durkadurka

Still there, I would guess the money from puma might be conditionL on him remaining here where he's a huge star???

crisco10

Tweet from IRFU about quarters:

Heineken Cup: Leinster QF Sat April 9 at 6pm. Ulster QF Sun April 10 at 2pm

molloyjh

crisco10 wrote: »

Tweet from IRFU about quarters:

6pm kick-off is great too. None of this early afternoon carry on. Great stuff.

durkadurka

Yep like the last qf there'll be plenty of time for everyone get drunk and raucous! The atmosphere that time was absolutely savage.

durkadurka

Kearney has tweeted that he'll be back on the pitch in a month or so

[Jackass]

Gotta get on twitter...

I'd love to know who's fu*king around in these negotiations...

I can't help but feel that if the "star" players are holding out for the big bucks, there's a serious problem..

The IRFU have so much more to lose at this stage, losing the likes of Sexton & Heaslip, that they must be offering as much as they can to keep them.

If that's not good enough, as much as I love them, they can fu*k off to France with their slimy agents and I hope they never darken the doors of Leinster again.

No one is bigger than the club / province, and I'd stand behind the union for not being held to ransom. If it's money you're more interested in, there's plenty of room for that in France. No player is irreplacable either, and it's better to have players happy to play for Leinster than players looking for cash that isn't there. Madigan & O'Brien will do for me if that's what it comes to.

I feel most Leinster fans will turn their back on them too if they walk out over money.

GerM

:eek:

Indo reporting Hagan is close to signing for Leinster with Ross going south. Makes sense to an extent but can't help but feel that the situation is purely being engineered to dig Munster out.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/leinster-confident-of-hagan-capture-2512805.html

lologram

GerM wrote: »

:eek:

Indo reporting Hagan is close to signing for Leinster with Ross going south. Makes sense to an extent but can't help but feel that the situation is purely being engineered to dig Munster out.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/leinster-confident-of-hagan-capture-2512805.html

Surely not. I'd take Ross thanks!

Scared the shot out of me there.

sources indicate that Munster are keen for Ross to return to his native province next season.

Munster are keen for McCaw and Nonu too apparently. They'd be keen to have BOD and Ferris etc too...

Noise I reckon/hope

lologram

I'm not sure I see how it makes sense. Hagan felt badly treated by Leinster and happy with Connacht, Ross felt badly treated by Munster and happy with Leinster. I don't get why they would, respectively, like to move back to the provinces that they were treated badly by.

But then again, it's completely up to them where they'd like to work. Personal choice. I just want Ross to stay at Leinster, he's key to the team.

GerM

lologram wrote: »

Surely not. I'd take Ross thanks!

I wouldn't rule it out. The IRFU don't want Munster going to the dogs. Munster certainly don't want to start dropping into the also rans bracket. If the IRFU offer Ross a central contract at the end of his current one on the condition he moves south he would surely consider it. 3 years, back home on very good money? Even with his acrimonious past with Munster his head would surely be turned. Get Hagan on board with Leinster to pacify them and remind them they've Stan Wright coming back anyway even if he is primarily a loosehead.

In the long run it could work out better for Leinster but it would leave them vulnerable at tighthead. Hagan is still relatively unproven. If Hagan returns and is successful it would be a fantastic move overall. Leinster get the most promising prop in the country and Munster have their scrum solidified for the next several years allowing them to compete for the HEC again.

Worst case scenario? Hagan flounders at the higher level and becomes a squad player at best. Munster paper over the cracks with another thirty something and their scrum isn't massively improved as there are more issues than just the tighthead (although it's obviously the main issue).

GerM

lologram wrote: »

I'm not sure I see how it makes sense. Hagan felt badly treated by Leinster and happy with Connacht, Ross felt badly treated by Munster and happy with Leinster. I don't get why they would, respectively, like to move back to the provinces that they were treated badly by.

But then again, it's completely up to them where they'd like to work. Personal choice. I just want Ross to stay at Leinster, he's key to the team.

Hagan didn't feel badly treated by Leinster. It was in UCD where he struggled. He felt it was cliquish in relation to the rugby schools. In fact, he credits Dave Fagan (strength and conditioning coach) and Roly Meates with getting his head right after he dropped out of UCD and getting him back on track with rugby in the Leinster academy.

He left Leinster due to them having several established props ahead of him and he was frustrated with the lack of games. He was impressed by Bradley (no longer in Connacht) and decided to sign. Whilst he didn't really break through in Leinster, I'm not sure he harbours any ill feeling towards Leinster Rugby and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he was willing to listen to a move back. His family are in Dublin, his girlfriend is too to the best of my knowledge. Makes sense.

Connacht are getting ridden sideways though if it goes through.

Gracelessly Tom

[Jackass] wrote: »

I'd love to know who's fu*king around in these negotiations...

I can't help but feel that if the "star" players are holding out for the big bucks, there's a serious problem..

The IRFU have so much more to lose at this stage, losing the likes of Sexton & Heaslip, that they must be offering as much as they can to keep them.

If that's not good enough, as much as I love them, they can fu*k off to France with their slimy agents and I hope they never darken the doors of Leinster again.

No one is bigger than the club / province, and I'd stand behind the union for not being held to ransom. If it's money you're more interested in, there's plenty of room for that in France. No player is irreplacable either, and it's better to have players happy to play for Leinster than players looking for cash that isn't there. Madigan & O'Brien will do for me if that's what it comes to.

I feel most Leinster fans will turn their back on them too if they walk out over money.

Maybe judgement should be held off until all the facts are known? Could be the players are the ones being screwed? We don't know so before you go slamming two of our best players, just think there is two sides to every story.

It's already been posted here that Sexton wants a similar (or same as) deal as Rog got (realistically to sit on the bench for the next 3 years) but the IRFU won't give it. He's stated he doesn't expect the IRFU to match the big French cash offers, just give him a fair offer.

He doesn't want to leave Leinster but if he gets fvcked over then I can understand him heading off. IRFU can get greedy and think, he'll still play for Ireland, someone else pays his wages so win win for the IRFU. Lose for Leinster but then thats not the IRFU's main concern.

Let's look through all the glory and honour stuff for a second and realise that we are talking about these guys jobs. They're professionals and should be treated accordingly.

It pains me to say that the Irfu have clearly made a huge mistake with rog's deal, ad it's coming to bite us in the ass.

Ciaran-Irl

[Jackass] wrote: »

Gotta get on twitter...

I'd love to know who's fu*king around in these negotiations...

I can't help but feel that if the "star" players are holding out for the big bucks, there's a serious problem..

The IRFU have so much more to lose at this stage, losing the likes of Sexton & Heaslip, that they must be offering as much as they can to keep them.

If that's not good enough, as much as I love them, they can fu*k off to France with their slimy agents and I hope they never darken the doors of Leinster again.

No one is bigger than the club / province, and I'd stand behind the union for not being held to ransom. If it's money you're more interested in, there's plenty of room for that in France. No player is irreplacable either, and it's better to have players happy to play for Leinster than players looking for cash that isn't there. Madigan & O'Brien will do for me if that's what it comes to.

I feel most Leinster fans will turn their back on them too if they walk out over money.

Don't go making massive assumptions and telling players they can go **** off. I have heard plenty of comments from people that are close to the team that say each of them are being offered much lower than the current old guard of top players are on.

Is it "turning their back on Leinster" if Sexton just wants to get what ROG was on before the current contract, or if Heaslip wants to be on the same contract as POC? **** that. They are the two most important players post world cup, so they deserve to be offered a fair contract.

They don't owe you, me or Leinster anything. I wouldn't turn my back on them for wanting what is fair.

Gracelessly Tom

Ciaran-Irl wrote: »

They don't owe you, me or Leinster anything. I wouldn't turn my back on them for wanting what is fair.

+1, 100% agree. They've helped win Heineken Cup, Magners League, triple crowns, grand slams and 6 nations championships. This has helped raise the profile of rugby in Ireland and get more people involved and increases revenue in the game. All of this lines the IRFU's coffers so if anything it's them that owe the players, not the other way around.

pajunior

Ciaran-Irl wrote: »

Don't go making massive assumptions and telling players they can go **** off. I have heard plenty of comments from people that are close to the team that say each of them are being offered much lower than the current old guard of top players are on.

Is it "turning their back on Leinster" if Sexton just wants to get what ROG was on before the current contract, or if Heaslip wants to be on the same contract as POC? **** that. They are the two most important players post world cup, so they deserve to be offered a fair contract.

They don't owe you, me or Leinster anything. I wouldn't turn my back on them for wanting what is fair.

The thing I would like to know is why the IRFU offered ROG a large contract in the first place. He was the wrong side of 30 and was realistically not going to find a huge contract in France.

Sexton on the other hand is exactly what a lot of French teams are desperate for. Honestly I think Tolouse would be mad to pass up the opportunity to sign him. A lot of French teams must still regret not offering BOD more all those years ago.

CatFromHue

GerM wrote: »

Hagan didn't feel badly treated by Leinster. It was in UCD where he struggled. He felt it was cliquish in relation to the rugby schools. In fact, he credits Dave Fagan (strength and conditioning coach) and Roly Meates with getting his head right after he dropped out of UCD and getting him back on track with rugby in the Leinster academy.

He left Leinster due to them having several established props ahead of him and he was frustrated with the lack of games. He was impressed by Bradley (no longer in Connacht) and decided to sign. Whilst he didn't really break through in Leinster.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/magners-league/the-beast-from-the-east-2349520.html

"However, Hagan's non-traditional background coloured his immediate post-school experiences.
"I went to UCD and studied science and played for the U-20s, but I never really fitted in, I didn't like it and dropped out around Christmas time. I think my background was a factor, there was still a lot of that schools stuff going on, they are a different breed, it could be a bit cliquey."

"I was only a young fellah, and they had plenty of props around, Stan Wright, Ronnie McCormack, Stephen Knoop and Ollie Le Roux were all about and it was hard to get a look in. I got 10 minutes off the bench at the end of a Magners League game against the Dragons -- that was it -- it was frustrating. To be honest, it's a bit intimidating there. Lots of big names around the place and it's easy to go into your shell."

Teferi

durkadurka wrote: »

Heaslip has just tweeted a load of moneybags....

A few of the lads have been posting that back and forth in the last day or so.

bamboozle

Gracelessly Tom wrote: »

+1, 100% agree. They've helped win Heineken Cup, Magners League, triple crowns, grand slams and 6 nations championships. This has helped raise the profile of rugby in Ireland and get more people involved and increases revenue in the game. All of this lines the IRFU's coffers so if anything it's them that owe the players, not the other way around.

loyalty aside, which would anyone want to earn 170k PA or 600k PA its a no brainer, the IRFU fooked up giving DOC and ROG big deals while they seemingly cant afford to stump up for Sexton.

DOC getting a 2 year deal is crazy considering the amount of 2nd row's on Munster's books, plus Nagle has just signed a 2 year deal.

i'm hoping some of the extra cash earned from the quarter final might go towards bumping up contract offered to Sexton & heaslip cause they deserve every penny they can get.