Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread II

Fishooks13

Why do people have this notion that Munster are lacking in wingers?

A few months ago people were suggesting we buy Carr and now Conway.



But Madigan on the other hand..............

.ak

Conway would be behind LOD IMO and he can't even get onto the team.

tolosenc

Fishooks13 wrote: »

But Madigan on the other hand..............

You can keep your greasy, salt of the earth mitts off of him!

its_phil

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I don't buy it. He signed a 2 year contract just last april so is in contract for another season.

He won't leave.

Seems it may be true. Thornley reporting..

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2013/0125/1224329251882.html

Hagz

Are you serious?! This is one of the most shocking moves I've come across in a while. He's obviously getting p*ssed watching Gilroy and Zebo make the headlines. Hopefully he comes back.:(

Foxtrol

I still dont think this will happen but if it does can we get as outraged as Connacht fans did over McCarthy??? :mad::mad::mad:

its_phil

Foxtrol wrote: »

I still dont think this will happen but if it does can we get as outraged as Connacht fans did over McCarthy??? :mad::mad::mad:

Yes you may

To be fair and I know Leinster fans won't like this, it isn't a bad move for him in the short term. I'd say he will return home at some stage and you will get a better player closer to his peak. There is just so much talent coming through at Leinster, it can't all stay.

Hagz

its_phil wrote: »

To be fair and I know Leinster fans won't like this, it isn't a bad move for him in the short term. I'd say he will return home at some stage and you will get a better player closer to his peak. There is just so much talent coming through at Leinster, it can't all stay.

Aye. I'd imagine once he makes the next step and proves he can start for Leinster, he'll soon come back.

I'd say Munster fans will be a bit impartial to his arrival. He hasn't shown what he's capable of at senior level and has only shown glimpses of it at u20 level. Once they see what he's capable of they'll guard him with pitchforks in between games. The greatest schools player ever, and they've taken him.

Foxtrol

its_phil wrote: »

Yes you may

Thank you... :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

To be fair and I know Leinster fans won't like this, it isn't a bad move for him in the short term. I'd say he will return home at some stage and you will get a better player closer to his peak. There is just so much talent coming through at Leinster, it can't all stay.

According to this he's signed up next year as well.

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/9880.php

Cant see Leinster letting him go early!

Did old Gerry read a few rumours on a couple forums without doing some journalistic research to back up his story? Never...

its_phil

Foxtrol wrote: »

Thank you... :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:



According to this he's signed up next year as well.

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/9880.php

Cant see Leinster letting him go early!

Did old Gerry read a few rumours on a couple forums without doing some journalistic research to back up his story? Never...

Whatever about people not liking Thornleys Ireland opinion, his reporting is usually spot on.

Only guessing, but could Conway have had a release clause inserted based on minutes played?

Hagz

Conway to play all Amlin games in a Leinster bid to keep him?

tolosenc

Thornley, of late, has been making it up as he goes along. Nothing to see here.

ongarite

It would be a shame for Conway to leave Leinster seeing as Carr is heading back to Connacht now too. With Fitz back playing and looking in good form straight away, that's one position on the wing filled I suppose.

I think Isa has had a poor season by his very high standards so a bit of rotation between Isa, Conway and D. Kearney would be a good thing.

Podge_irl

Pretty weird move if true. I don't know how much closer he'd be to the first team down in Munster and he's got an alright coach up in Leinster.

[Jackass]

Would it really be the worst thing in the world if we lost Conway?

Luke Fitz is back to fitness, Dave Kearney is coming back to fitness, Rob Kearney is back to fitness, would be a great bargaining chip to sign Nacewa on for another few years (with helping out the other provinces with young backs the likes of Keatley, McSharry, Tonetti, Carr, Felix Jones, Conway as well as old guard like Downey and Johne Murphy... ) we'd also have McFadden to play wing, possibly opening up game time for Macken and / or O'Malley in the centre, we have two lads coming out of the academy at the end of the season, Sam Coughlin-Murray, who is the next Shane Williams, and Darren Hudson, with Andrew Boyle the year behind them and Adam Byrne the year behind him....

We could survive without him. If he doesn't want to be here then good luck to him.

There are more important young players to hold on to like Madigan, Macken, O'Malley, Cooney, L. McGrath, Gilsenan, Ryan, Ruddock, J.McGrath, Conan, Furlong, Moore, Marshall, Murphy etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer him to stay, but it's time to either step up or shut up.

[Jackass]

Hagz wrote: »

The greatest schools player ever, and they've taken him.

Bold statement!! I think Luke Fitzgerald and Gordon D'Arcy would have something to say about that!!

Hagz

Hagz wrote: »

The greatest schools player ever, and they've taken him.

ah c'mon now

molloyjh

[Quote=[Jackass];82874239]Would it really be the worst thing in the world if we lost Conway?

Luke Fitz is back to fitness, Dave Kearney is coming back to fitness, Rob Kearney is back to fitness, would be a great bargaining chip to sign Nacewa on for another few years (with helping out the other provinces with young backs the likes of Keatley, McSharry, Tonetti, Carr, Felix Jones, Conway as well as old guard like Downey and Johne Murphy... ) we'd also have McFadden to play wing, possibly opening up game time for Macken and / or O'Malley in the centre, we have two lads coming out of the academy at the end of the season, Sam Coughlin-Murray, who is the next Shane Williams, and Darren Hudson, with Andrew Boyle the year behind them and Adam Byrne the year behind him....

We could survive without him. If he doesn't want to be here then good luck to him.

There are more important young players to hold on to like Madigan, Macken, O'Malley, Cooney, L. McGrath, Gilsenan, Ryan, Ruddock, J.McGrath, Conan, Furlong, Moore, Marshall, Murphy etc.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer him to stay, but it's time to either step up or shut up.[/Quote]

Ah here Conway is a serious, serious talent. His confidence seems to have taken a big knock since the injuries, but if he can be played back into form like Fitzy a few years ago he could be something special. I for one don't want to see someone like that going to the competition, much less our oldest rivals. Best of luck to him if he does and all, but I for one hope it isn't true.

jamiedav2011

If this is true, then I can't really see what his issues are with not playing enough games?

He's done feck all in big games that he has played, and has been injured a huge amount in the last two years.

I think this might open the door for us to get a big NIQ for next year though.

No doubt Conway is a serious talent, but where does he think he's going to get more games at Munster with Zebo, Earls, LOD, Howlett, Hurley, Jones etc?

Thornley says in the piece that the form of Zebo and Gilroy would have annoyed Conway. But that's his own issue isn't it, not Leinster's?!

Winters

The way the Irish system works and if he does indeed have another year left on his contract then I would have no doubt that if he does leave it will not have been without Leinster and the IRFUs full input.

However I would expect Luke O'Dea, Zebo and Howlett (if he stays) would be ahead of him in Munster, no?

Teferi

It's an absolute sideways move if so, doesn't improve his chances by going. If he is worried about gametime or needs a fresh outlook then you'd think he would be better served by going to a mid-level AP team he can break into for a year or two.

irishbucsfan

[Jackass] wrote: »

Bold statement!! I think Luke Fitzgerald and Gordon D'Arcy would have something to say about that!!

Didn't Conway make that Blackrock College all-time side ahead of Fitzgerald?

It's a very tough one to call and its very hard to compare.

GerM

I don't really understand why he'd want to go there. Peripheral, highly rated backs from Leinster have not fared well there. Kieran Lewis went an Irish international with a handful of HEC starts in his previous two seasons and promptly became mediocre at best. Jones went there and looked sharp, impressing early on but a combination of injuries and stagnant back line moves have made him redundant. If I was Conway, I'd look at getting a contract in England for 2 years, get a lot of game time in a tough league and see if I could score some tries and make people take notice in a manner similar to what Niall Morris has done.

All the best to him if he goes, hopefully some day he'll be back. I would be disappointed to see him depart. We are not as well covered in the backs as some may think. Nacewa's contract expires at the end of next season at which point he'll be 32 and we would have to seriously consider whether he's worth another contract. Carr is gone. SCM is a complete unknown quantity who has never appeared for the senior side and has only a couple of A appearances this season. Hudson looked solid rather than spectacular last season. He's 23 this year so needs to step up on his return from injury quickly. If you take into account injuries and potential Irish call ups, we've little enough cover.

[Jackass]

I'd imagine with game time he'd comfortably push ahead of O'Dea.

Munsters game plan can make wings look better than they are though. It's a lot of pick and go, trudge, trudge, trudge until there's an overlap, then send it out wide. Not much continuity type breaks or inside balls and breaks through the middle, it's massively reliant on the boot or wingers to make the yards - so in that sense it could suit Conway well as he has pace to burn.

Leinster on the other hand very much play a 15 man game, you'll notice none of our wingers are ever the main men to make the yards, try scoring from Leinster players ranges from 1 to 15 and usually involves clever passing moves to make breaks in the middle of the field rather than going out wide, which is surprisingly rare angle of attack from Leinster.

I doubt the rumour is true, but Munster of all places would be a strnage choice for a man in his position, unless Munster are heavily courting him, which wouldn't surprise me, as they spend as much time sniffing around young Leinster players as a dog does his own rectum.

jamiedav2011

[Jackass] wrote: »

I'd imagine with game time he'd comfortably push ahead of O'Dea.

Based on what? He's shown little for Leinster since coming on the scene. O'Dea has impressed nearly every time we've seen him, and certainly been more impactful in games than Conway.

dregin

Any word on how long Adam Byrne will be out with the ankle fracture?

Rigor Mortis

Have to say, I am not a fan of Conway, perhaps because he was over hyped at the start. That said he clearly has some talent and I think that this season should have tought us that you need quality cover. An injury list like this years is not common, but it is possible in a high contact sport. Wouldnt be keen to lose him unless we have someone better coming on board.

GerM

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Based on what? He's shown little for Leinster since coming on the scene. O'Dea has impressed nearly every time we've seen him, and certainly been more impactful in games than Conway.

Whilst LOD has certainly caught they eye when he has played, I'm curious as to whether he's rated in Munster as highly as we might think. He was taken off last weekend at half time for the A side and one of the match reports criticised his performance. The big window of opportunity now comes during the 6N for him which will reveal a lot.

Clegg

Could be a chance for Adam Byrne to gets more games next season. But I imagine D. Kearney would be next in line for a spot on the wing.

jamiedav2011

GerM wrote: »

Whilst LOD has certainly caught they eye when he has played, I'm curious as to whether he's rated in Munster as highly as we might think. He was taken off last weekend at half time for the A side and one of the match reports criticised his performance. The big window of opportunity now comes during the 6N for him which will reveal a lot.

That may be, but in terms of impact and effectiveness, anything he's shown in the same timeframe as Conway has been better.

Perhaps, as a poster above said, it's just the fact that Conway was so hyped and seems to be so ineffective so far.

Compared to D. Kearney for example, he's shown little strings to his bow so far. This may also be down to the way Leinster play. We do indeed tend to use our wingers in a different way, and value overall skills and stepping over pace (Carr, Conway(

Podge_irl

Clegg wrote: »

Could be a chance for Adam Byrne to gets more games next season. But I imagine D. Kearney would be next in line for a spot on the wing.

D. Kearney would already be ahead of Conway in the pecking order I would think. Very inconveniently timed injury, he really stepped up last year.

ed7890

GerM wrote: »

Whilst LOD has certainly caught they eye when he has played, I'm curious as to whether he's rated in Munster as highly as we might think. He was taken off last weekend at half time for the A side and one of the match reports criticised his performance. The big window of opportunity now comes during the 6N for him which will reveal a lot.

Just to add, O'Dea is just coming back from injury, which probably had an impact on his performance at the weekend. People who were at the game were saying he didn't look match sharp yet.

jamiedav2011

Podge_irl wrote: »

D. Kearney would already be ahead of Conway in the pecking order I would think. Very inconveniently timed injury, he really stepped up last year.

Without doubt, he was excellent last year.

Conway is a kid. WTF at people already making any form of judgement of him.

He's a full year younger than LOD, whom had all of 5 appearances last season at this time.

Conway has played
09/10 - 4 games (he was 18)
10/11 - 8 games
11/12 - 7 games (injured for much of the season when opportunities would have arisen)
12/13 - 11 games

He's still only 21 years old (22 in July), just because he's had exposure to the senior game at a young age does not make him a senior player!

For perspective, that's 30 games in 4 years, Dominic Ryan is a year older and has 40 games in 4 years.

His development has not been lightning quick, correct, but again, he's still got years and years to realise the potential that he showed as a kid.

Clegg

Still a bit concerned about the lack of news re:Sexton.

jamiedav2011

totallegend wrote: »

In the interests of fairness, it should be noted that the article is by Gavin Cummiskey.

Also, I don't understand people saying "Dave Kearney is already ahead of Conway" as a reason to leave when Conway is two years younger.

If Conway's only goal is for more first team rugby, then he has a better chance of getting it in Munster, but I'd be disappointed to see him go and I don't think it will come to that.

Says Thornley on the website, is it different in the paper?

totallegend

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

Says Thornley on the website, is it different in the paper?

My mistake.

phog

Clegg wrote: »

Still a bit concerned about the lack of news re:Sexton.

I see Heaslip has gone public and asked him to stay.

Leinster No.8 Jamie Heaslip has urged teammate Jonny Sexton to resist a move to the continent, but admits he would understand if the fly-half did seek pastures new.

Clegg

A few different places are saying Jonny is gone to RM.

totallegend

Clegg wrote: »

A few different places are saying Jonny is gone to RM.

Like who?

danthefan

Strong rumours this morning that Sexton is gone alright. Devastating for Leinster.

Clegg

totallegend wrote: »

Like who?

Babbling Brook and Planet Rugby.

I wouldn't take much heed of it, yet.

Although this is the first time that anyone is saying that he's definitely gone.

.ak

danthefan wrote: »

Strong rumours this morning that Sexton is gone alright. Devastating for Leinster.

Will be a year to forget if true.

lemansky

Ror was saying it, which is ominous.....:(

Honey-ec

Clegg wrote: »

Babbling Brook and Planet Rugby.

I wouldn't take much heed of it, yet.

Although this is the first time that anyone is saying that he's definitely gone.

It's true. Not revealing my source, but a good few people on here know me and know my info is reliable.

Fishooks13

Not looking good.

Clegg

I can understand Jonny wanting to take the offer from France.
Will he still be in contention for Ireland or is that now off the table? We'd be in deep sh1te if we didn't select him.

Good luck to Ian Madigan.

justsomebloke

ah crap, was going to be one hell of a rebuilding period over the next couple of years with the likes of BOD, Darce, Cullen going but now Sexton leaving leinster is going to make it even harder

.ak

Yeah few folk I know at the branch confirmed it also.

I think the IRFU have missed a huge trick here. What they save in a 400k central contract being taken off their hands, they lose on the potential ERC earnings Leinster make each year for progessing to through the finals.

We won't get anywhere without Sexton now.

Fishooks13

Clegg wrote: »

I can understand Jonny wanting to take the offer from France.
Will he still be in contention for Ireland or is that now off the table? We'd be in deep sh1te if we didn't select him.

Yes. He's simply too good to leave out