Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread II

Tox56

Hudson and SCM are the two back 3 players in their third year of the academy, presumably one of them will replace Carr in the senior squad

irishbucsfan

I think SCM might return to the academy for another year

CIARAN_BOYLE

Fishooks13 wrote: »

Carr back to Connacht is a done deal

yep, confirmed and all
http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013012183174/carr-returns-to-connacht

Tox56

Yeah Hudson has had 7 senior appearances so far compared to SCM's 0. It would be the logical progression for him to move up to the senior team

.ak

Hudson's extremely unlucky to pick up that injury this season. I think he's a savage player, and apart from a few defensive blips in the senior squad earlier this season he's a great back 3 player.

Any idea when his shoulder will be fixed?

Teferi

Good luck to Carr. I wish him the absolute best, an honest player who tries his balls off he just simply hasn't got it for the level we need.

thomond2006

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

yep, confirmed and all
http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013012183174/carr-returns-to-connacht

Good signing for Connacht. I thought his move to Leinster was a risky one and unfortunately it didn't work out.

.ak

Atleast all parties were willing to give it go. No harm done really, and probably picked up a few things under Joe.

Big Nelly

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

yep, confirmed and all
http://www.connachtrugby.ie/2013012183174/carr-returns-to-connacht

Got warnings before about my posts on Carr so will won't say much.....best of luck to him but should of never came to Leinster!!

Maybe with Connacht robbing Leinster players they will stop moaning:D

molloyjh

.ak wrote: »

Just on this. Can't remember what game it was, may have been Scarlets last week, but the opposing Captain was asked how they would approach the game. They said that Leinster don't commit numbers to the breakdown, so they'll target them there.

In translation - we're probably the most watched team in NH rugby. From a casual and a analytical point of view. Our goose is cooked in that regard. Teams know what to do to beat us - spoil our rucks, and they'll do anything to do that until they're told not to anymore.

Our latest two games are ideal examples. Exeter were off their feet, flying in from every angle at every ruck. Scarlets were refusing to roll away at any ruck and were not penalized.

Now, should this be picked up by the ref? Well that's another discussion for another day. But you could argue the point that alot of refs will let that slide in order to keep some fluidity on the game.

The point is though we need to look at that part of the game and change it up, because every team we come across now know it's our achilles heel and few refs will be willing to help us out in that regard.

Nor should they be helping us out. I was apoplectic in the RDS for the Scarlets game for the refs lack of action in that area, but we needed to be smarter about how we managed that. There's feck all point in moaning about the officials really as they aren't going to suddenly change the way they ref the game. We need to be able to adapt to it better.

The other thing is the rush defense. There's been a few times we've been caught out with this. I remember even going back to September/October 2011 against Glasgow in the RDS they stood very flat to the gain line (were often off-side) and we were never able to get our game going as a result. We've seen more of it this season. And one thing we haven't employed enough to counter it is the little chip over the top. Put the ball in just behind them where there's space.

It's up to us to keep the other side "honest" for want of a better word, not the ref. I'm not sure we've been as good at that aspect of the game as we could be.

Higher

Carr just wasn't able to make the step up at Leinster unfortunately. With Kearney, Kearney junior and Fitzgerald returning from injury suddenly Leinster look in rude health again in back 3. Now we have Kearney, Fitzgerald, Nacewa, McFadden, David Kearney all competing for 3 spots with Adam Byrne ascending up the ranks.

I don't think Leinster will ever see that kind of injury crisis in the backline again. Injuries to Kearney, Fitzgerald, O'Driscoll, Nacewa, Eoin O'Malley, Kearney junior. 4 starters in a 7 man backline and 2 of their replacements.

Even during that kind of crisis Schmidt didnt trust Carr and instead opted to put a outhalf at fullback and play a clearly unfit Nacewa heavily casted. If he cant be trusted in that kind of crisis, he never will be.

Tim Robbins

Great to see Carr back to Connacht. He will get much more game time there.

If he couldn't put in one star performance when Leinster had massive injuries to the backline then he's not going to make it there.

He's a good player and deserves more game time.

Tim Robbins

Higher wrote: »

Even during that kind of crisis Schmidt didnt trust Carr and instead opted to put a outhalf at fullback and play a clearly unfit Nacewa heavily casted. If he cant be trusted in that kind of crisis, he never will be.

Carr reminds me of a flashey tag rugby player. Tag you get loads of players who go off on solo runs and can score tries against players who don't know how to defend and close down angles.

However, he is not good in attacking units. This is different. You might have to straighten a line and split second time a pass to make room for the person outside you. This is the schmidt way and Carr is not good at this.

Zzippy

errlloyd wrote: »

You're forgetting that we were very nearly the first team to beat Clermont in SMM for a long time...

Actually you weren't. Ulster also very nearly did it in round 6 last year (19-15), when they finished level on 20 points with Clermont and only got 2nd in the group on try count in the head-to-head games.

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchcentre/16057.php

Higher

Zzippy wrote: »

Actually you weren't. Ulster also very nearly did it in round 6 last year (19-15), when they finished level on 20 points with Clermont and only got 2nd in the group on try count in the head-to-head games.

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchcentre/16057.php

A year is a long time in rugby Zzippy. How many games have they played there since that Ulster game?

Zzippy I know you're not a fan of Leinster (its quite obvious from your posts) but we know were out, we know other teams have qualified with Clermont in their group. Theres no need to keep rubbing it in (which is what you are attempting to do imo)

Ciaran-Irl

Zzippy wrote: »

Actually you weren't. Ulster also very nearly did it in round 6 last year (19-15), when they finished level on 20 points with Clermont and only got 2nd in the group on try count in the head-to-head games.

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchcentre/16057.php

There is a substantial difference between the sentence, "we were very nearly the first team to beat Clermont in SMM", and the sentence, "we were the first team to nearly beat Clermont in SMM".

.ak

Higher wrote: »

Zzippy I know you're not a fan of Leinster (its quite obvious from your posts) but we know were out, we know other teams have qualified with Clermont in their group. Theres no need to keep rubbing it in (which is what you are attempting to do imo)

Off topic. Report posts if you have a problem with them.

Zzippy

Higher wrote: »

A year is a long time in rugby Zzippy. How many games have they played there since that Ulster game?

Zzippy I know you're not a fan of Leinster (its quite obvious from your posts) but we know were out, we know other teams have qualified with Clermont in their group. Theres no need to keep rubbing it in (which is what you are attempting to do imo)

I'm absolutely not trying to rub it in, Leinster are my second team and I'm very disappointed they didn't qualify. This is a discussion forum, and many people often get pulled up on something they write that others don't agree with. I happened to recall the Ulster game last year and how close they came, which is why I disagreed with the original post. As it happens, Clermont haven't lost at home since November 2009, which was 2 years 2 months before the Ulster game, and 3 years 3 weeks before the Leinster game. I don't know how many games they played at home in the intervening 10-11 months.

Sorry if you got the wrong impression, but your opinion is incorrect.

Glass Prison 1214

Happy Birthday Brian O'Driscoll

imno22

big couple of months now for some young guys, a lot of opportunities.

The 5 most obvious cases:

Brendan Macken(needs to continue to show his improvment and potential)
Ben Marshall(can quickly move up the pecking order with some good performances)
Mark Flanagan(needs to stay healthy and show he is upto the next level)
John Cooney(needs to show he has the ability to play at a higher level)
Andrew Conway(needs to regain some confidence and form)

Some under the radar cases:

Dominic Ryan(needs to regain a semblence of the form he showed pre injury)
Jack McGrath(needs to show he is ready to step up and become a major contributer next season)
Devin Toner(lots of question marks about his future)

Tim Robbins

imno22 wrote: »

big couple of months now for some young guys, a lot of opportunities.

The 5 most obvious cases:

Brendan Macken(needs to continue to show his improvment and potential)
Ben Marshall(can quickly move up the pecking order with some good performances)
Mark Flanagan(needs to stay healthy and show he is upto the next level)
John Cooney(needs to show he has the ability to play at a higher level)
Andrew Conway(needs to regain some confidence and form)

Eoin O'Malley as well. I thought he looked handy. Had a rugby brain anyway.

Teferi

Anyone know what Ian McKinley has been up to since having to retire?

.ak

I thought he did some course in sports management?

danthefan

He's coaching over in Italy, or was as of the start of the season. He did an interview on Off The Ball after retiring and said his ambition is to become a coach.

desertcircus

Comments about Leinster being targeted at the breakdown ring true,especially this season. We had Hines and then Thorn, but Browne is too slow and Toner just not aggressive enough to force teams back at the breakdown. With Healy and Cronin being such running threats, along with the back row, we need the remaining forwards to be ferocious at clearing out. Hopefully Quinn Roux will stay another year...

Winters

Coaching in Italy last I heard.

irishbucsfan

desertcircus wrote: »

Comments about Leinster being targeted at the breakdown ring true,especially this season. We had Hines and then Thorn, but Browne is too slow and Toner just not aggressive enough to force teams back at the breakdown. With Healy and Cronin being such running threats, along with the back row, we need the remaining forwards to be ferocious at clearing out. Hopefully Quinn Roux will stay another year...

This is where I think Ruddock will earn his starting place. And if Browne can ever get fully healthy it would be a big help.

Higher

It is vital we keep Quinn Roux

.ak

Higher wrote: »

It is vital we keep Quinn Roux

I'm not sold until I see him play a string of games together. You never know, he might heal up quicker than expected and be a standout in the Amlin cup, but other than that I can't see Leinster gambling on him again.

Higher

We're being linked to Andries Bekker again apparently.

jamiedav2011

.ak wrote: »

I'm not sold until I see him play a string of games together. You never know, he might heal up quicker than expected and be a standout in the Amlin cup, but other than that I can't see Leinster gambling on him again.

Is it a gamble though? We've loads of NIQ slots free, he looked solid any time he's played, and exactly what we need at ruck time, and the positives should he be a success far outweigh the negatives of keeping him.

jamiedav2011

Higher wrote: »

We're being linked to Andries Bekker again apparently.

Link?

lemansky

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Link?

Saw it mentioned on twitter today by Adam Redmond. He said

@AdamRedmond wrote:

Exclusive Leinster news today; Sexton, Bekker, Roux, Tom Sexton, Marshall #irishdailymail #RaboPRO12 #irishrugby

jamiedav2011

lemansky wrote: »

Saw it mentioned on twitter today by Adam Redmond. He said

Interesting, is it that they've all signed on?

irishbucsfan

Wow... Roux, Sexton and Bekker all on the same day would make me very happy!

lemansky

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Interesting, is it that they've all signed on?

Apparently Tom Sexton has anyway-three years. Hopefully the other names are being mentioned in a similar vein!

.ak

If it's in the Daily mail that they signed surely we would've heard by now. Just rumours I'd say.

Hype710

Tom Sexton's done well but I can't help feeling for his own sake he should try to get regular rugby. I thought Connacht would be a great fit but they've signed Henry. I suppose if he can get ahead of Dundon he'll be doing well and Cronin and Strauss may be away with Ireland a fair bit.

lemansky

.ak wrote: »

If it's in the Daily mail that they signed surely we would've heard by now. Just rumours I'd say.

That is what I was thinking-I'm just desperately clinging to any rumour that lifts the mood after the weekend

imno22

Interesting on Sexton, they must like his potential to give him a three year deal.

.ak

Posts deleted. Unrelated to Rugby discussion.

Podge_irl

If Roux does sign on again and Bekker and McCarthy come in then I can see big Dev leaving...

justsomebloke

Podge_irl wrote: »

If Roux does sign on again and Bekker and McCarthy come in then I can see big Dev leaving...

Even without Bekker coming, if Roux resigns I think Dev should think about moving on for his own development

Where would he go to?

If he wants Ireland caps he needs to be in Ireland.

Tuohy, Stevenson & Muller, Henderson up North - no room
Ryan, POC, DOC, the great white Nagle, Holland at Munster - no room

Connacht the only option for him, but I don't think he's their kind of guy, they need to replace McCarthy with a bruiser.

He's not going anywhere imo.

imno22

Toner could easily leave for the premiership, its clear we dont rate him highly if we are bringing in mccarthy and bekker

Hagz

I would love Bekker. One of my fave locks in the world.

irishbucsfan

Toner should go to the premiership. Hed be a perfect fit for plenty of teams there.

justsomebloke

Deleted User wrote: »

If he wants Ireland caps he needs to be in Ireland.

If he wants Ireland caps he needs consistent first team rugby, which he won't get in Ireland.

Truthfully at least a couple of years in England or France not worrying about being called up to the Ireland squad would probably do him the world of good and at that point he would probably be a much better player to bring back to Leinster and then let him fight for an Irish jersey.


Given his age he would be able to get a contract here regarless after the spell so even the tax thing wouldn't be an issue

justsomebloke

After getting the email about the wasps tickets I really hope the feckers take it seriously. I'd really love a semi-final and final in the RDS.

Yes it's not the HEC but it would be something special if we could win a European trophy in our back yard.

edit: actually on second thoughts given our success rate at rabo final's in the RDS maybe it's not a good idea to get that far

.ak

Still, it'd be a cracking game if we had Toulouse in our backyard. They're one team I always have immense joy in watching. It'll be interesting to see what teams Leinster and Toulouse put out in the quarters actually.