Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread IV

molloyjh

Larbre34 wrote: »

Dont get too used to them. The Pro12 stops being 'Da Rabo' in 37 days.

Hunky Dorys league here we come!

Yep, something to look forward to all right....

Artful_Badger

Those jerseys might not as well on the fellas though....

[Jackass]

Please, for the love of Jayzus, just announce the signings of Will Skelton, Nadolo and Rene Ranger and put us out of our misery!!

.ak

[Jackass] wrote: »

Please, for the love of Jayzus, just announce the signings of Will Skelton, Nadolo and Rene Ranger and put us out of our misery!!

Meh. I think we should be chasing quality signings like Grey, Tindall, and Carr.

.ak

Also NOC because JG and IM aren't doing the business.

ssaye2

molloyjh

Jaysus Leinster did well out of that didn't they!?

sydthebeat

good man sean cronin!!!

Hagz

Steffon Armitage has it in the bag.

Neil3030

Hagz wrote: »

Steffon Armitage has it in the bag.

Please tell me this is slang for some sort of venereal?

.ak

It's generally always a finalist, and then it's generally always somebody from the winning team.

Mahatma Geansai

ssaye2 wrote: »

Is that not the list that was released 4 months ago?

irishbucsfan

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

Is that not the list that was released 4 months ago?

Are you sure that wasn't the longerlist?

ssaye2

15: Darren Hudson
14: Brendan Macken
13: Collie O'Shea
12: Noel Reid VICE-CAPTAIN
11: Sam Coghlan-Murray
10: Cathal Marsh
9: Luke McGrath
1: Ed Byrne
2: James Tracey
3: Tadhg Furlong
4: Tom Denton
5: Quinn Roux
6: Ben Marshall
7: Dominic Ryan CAPTAIN
8: Jack Conan

Replacements:

16: Bryan Byrne
17: Jack O'Connell
18: Ross Molony
19: Leo Auva'a
20: John Cooney
21: Steve Crosbie
22: Andrew Boyle


Ponty team named:

15.Geraint Walsh. 14.Lewis I Williams. 13.Adam Thomas. 12.Dafydd Lockyer - cpt. 11.Owen Jenkins. 10.Simon Humberstone. 9.Joel Raikes.

1.James Howe. 2.Liam Belcher. 3.Keiron Jenkins. 4.Craig Locke. 5.Chris Dicomidis. 6.Wayne O'Connor. 7.Rhys Shellard. 8.Dan Godfrey.

Subs: 16.Lloyd Williams. 17.Dai Flanagan. 18.Aled Summerhill. 19.Aled Morris. 20.Jordan Sieniawski. 21.Owen Sheppeard. 22.Chris Phillips.

Mahatma Geansai

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Are you sure that wasn't the longerlist?

No, the exact same list. Its odd that it popped back up over the last week.

Mahatma Geansai

What is Macken's contract situation for next season. If he doesn't have one signed yet, I'd imagine he'll be out the door, as he can't even get the 13 jersey for the A team now.

USIrishYa

Macken has a contract for next season.. seems like they may be looking at converting him to wing..

disappointing to see Thornbury is injured again.

Hagz

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

What is Macken's contract situation for next season. If he doesn't have one signed yet, I'd imagine he'll be out the door, as he can't even get the 13 jersey for the A team now.

He's contracted till 2015

.ak

I'm glad the Macken wing experiment is continuing. He wasn't great there last week but he has some set of wheels on him and great hands. He could make a decent winger yet and I just don't think he'll develop the nuances required to play outside centre at a higher level.

Great to see Reid given some responsibility, and perhaps my prediction of COS over taking Macken as our fringe 13 next season is happening sooner than I expected.

Tasty looking backrow. Good to see Furlong getting back to playing as well - if he isn't too hungover from Wednesday!

Also good to see Molony in there. Really physical guy for his age. Sure he's in there due to injuries but he could put down a marker for next season.

Buer

Delighted with that side, to be honest. Hopefully they can win but they're making the changes a lot of people want to see.

Macken is now officially being looked at as a winger.

McGrath is ahead of Cooney (which is hard on Cooney who does everything solidly but nothing very well).

SCM getting a good run out to stake a claim on a development contract.

Ben Marshall starting.

Ed Byrne being invested in at the expense of a superior, departing player.

Will be a tough game. Not a huge amount of experience in the side. Denton and Ryan have recently turned 26 and 24 respectively. No other player is over the age of 23.

Tox56

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

What is Macken's contract situation for next season. If he doesn't have one signed yet, I'd imagine he'll be out the door, as he can't even get the 13 jersey for the A team now.

Or, like, they're experimenting with him on the wing...

Tox56

Buer wrote: »

McGrath is ahead of Cooney (which is hard on Cooney who does everything solidly but nothing very well).

I still think he will make a solid Pro12 player in time

RobbieRuns

That is a very good looking team. Don't think that there is a lot between McGrath and Cooney. It just shows great strength in depth.

Podge_irl

Tox56 wrote: »

I still think he will make a solid Pro12 player in time

His physical fundamentals are all grand. He quick enough, he's got a fine pass on him, decent accuracy. His decision making is quite flawed though and that's something he really needs to improve to be of much use.

ScissorPaperRock

Who is this COS I keep seeing references to?

Edit: Never mind, just saw the team sheet

[Jackass]

Macken is a project on the wing. Looks like they're trying to convert him and he had a spell there against Treviso. His attacking game is superb, but not sure his skillset is complete enough to fill the void at 13.

We've plenty of options coming through there, but might also be a hint at MOCs ambitions for Fitz next season if the next in line 13 in the squad is now being tried on the wing.

Looks like a good team, hopefully they'll do the job. If they do, the final will be in Donnybrook which would be a fantastic occasion for the players and fans.

CatFromHue

You can vote for the Try of the Season here

http://competitions.independent.ie/vote-for-the-best-leinster-try-of-the-year-and-win-match-tickets-.html

1) D. Kearney's against Ospreys in the Rabo
2) Fitzgerald's against Northampton were BOD passed through his legs
3) SOB's against Ospreys in the HEC
4) Jordhi Murphy's against Castres in the HEC

Went for 3 as it was a great rip from Heaslip and the both the line and offload by Cronin were fantastic

.ak

I'm disappointed the Murphy vs Ulster one isn't there.

[Jackass]

I went with the Fitz try myself. All four are very good, but for the sheer "spectacular", rather than technical brilliance of the last two, BOD's through the legs and Fitzys step seal it for me.

Hagz

Luke's for me.

ArmchairQB

BOD's try that Luke scored for me!!

LEIN

Has to be Luke.

Grimebox

Went for Kearney's try

Swiwi.

Fitzgerald if I'm honest.

Kearney if I allow myself to be swayed by Jimmy's searing break and well-timed pass.

Buer

Would probably be Fitzgerald's try for me but my personal favourite was Boss against the Ospreys in the HEC which was a lovely move off a line out.

awec

It's interesting the way it works - Fitzgerald will get the plaudits for that try but it's the best one because of what BOD did.

Tox56

awec wrote: »

It's interesting the way it works - Fitzgerald will get the plaudits for that try but it's the best one because of what BOD did.

Same when Bod himself won IRB try of the year or something for finishing off a searing move seemingly involving everyone in the backline but him

EDIT: This one

What a catch Denis Leamy! :pac:

Buer

Leamy's take and Wallace's pass were top class. For all the stick he took, Wallace still offered something that no other 12 has been able to yet. I hoped Marshall could but his passing game seems to have been shelved.

Heroditas

Don't worry, Noel Reid will sort it out.

Taco Corp

Heroditas wrote: »

Don't worry, Noel Reid will sort it out.

you know, he might just do that. Had written him off after that B&I semi a few years ago. a huge improvement from him this season but he needs to start more of the bigger games ahead of Darcy next season to see if he continues the upward trend.

blackdog1

Tim bateman is a player the provinces should go after. Great looking 12 currently benching forthe hurricans.

For 2nd rows id go for either Jeremy thrush or tom donnelly both big lumps. We dont need a replacement for mccarthy we need a genuine option off the bench ala moore and ross , healy and mcgrath

Buer

blackdog1 wrote: »

For 2nd rows id go for either Jeremy thrush or tom donnelly both big lumps. We dont need a replacement for mccarthy we need a genuine option off the bench ala moore and ross , healy and mcgrath

No way a current All Black is going to come here to sit on the bench.

Donnelly might be an option but he's 33 in the autumn and, as a former All Black, he would probably want a decent wedge for a bloke nearing the end.

I'd rather we look at guys closer to Franco van der Merwe who are established, consistent and experienced without having as high a profile.

I would also want someone young enough that we could potentially sign on an extenstion if our lock prospects don't come through to ensure we aren't in this boat again in 24 months.

blackdog1

Buer wrote: »

No way a current All Black is going to come here to sit on the bench.

Donnelly might be an option but he's 33 in the autumn and, as a former All Black, he would probably want a decent wedge for a bloke nearing the end.

I'd rather we look at guys closer to Franco van der Merwe who are established, consistent and experienced without having as high a profile.

I would also want someone young enough that we could potentially sign on an extenstion if our lock prospects don't come through to ensure we aren't in this boat again in 24 months.

Thrush is behind whitelock , retallic and romano, so you never know. Romano would be my prefered lock but not gonna happen. Donnelly would be a good stop gap for 2 yrs. Hewas ggetting no game time at the crusaders last year so he wouldn't be on a huge wage

durkadurka

The As are losing 13-5 after a half hour in ponty

matthew8

durkadurka wrote: »

The As are losing 13-5 after a half hour in ponty

Just scored a converted try 13-12 now.

.ak

16-12 half time. Hopefully we have a big second half.

former legend

.ak wrote: »

16-12 half time. Hopefully we have a big second half.

I would hope that the Leinster team, mostly full-time pros, would have better conditioning than the Welsh lads and can begin to dominate.

former legend

Live commentary on BBC Wales, MW 882, if anyone is interested.

matthew8

Stoppage time try, converted 22-22 and now extra time.

ArmchairQB

C'mon Leinster!!!