Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread V

vienne86

shuffol wrote: »

Wouldn't rate Wallace or Ferris from what I've heard of them.

No, I'm not impressed, but am prepared to give them a bit of time.

shuffol

I think I remember Ben Kay saying that Jennings was the best backrow he's ever played with. Considering some of the backrows on the English WC winning side that's some praise.

ssaye2

http://www.the42.ie/peter-stringer-leinster-munster-1948109-Feb2015/

aimee1

ssaye2 wrote: »

http://www.the42.ie/peter-stringer-leinster-munster-1948109-Feb2015/

Madigan and sexton at world cup so can we get ROG out of retirement to play alongside him.

vienne86

aimee1 wrote: »

Madigan and sexton at world cup so can we get ROG out of retirement to play alongside him.

Nope!

Some cover at SH for the world cup would be great, but I'm not sure we would need Stringer much beyond that. We certainly wouldn't want to pay much for him.

CatFromHue

I think one of the reasons Stringer is leaving Bath is due to lack of consistent game time, or it will next season.

He'd get that during the RWC but assuming both Boss and Reddan come back to Leinster after it, and not retire, that would be that for Stringer.

For that reason I can't see it happening.

thebaz

The return of Jennings and Leo along with Rocky , added a steel to leinster play that had always been lacking . No more were we the lady-boys , now we were winners. Great servant to leinster rugby.

total former

CatFromHue wrote: »

I think one of the reasons Stringer is leaving Bath is due to lack of consistent game time, or it will next season.

He'd get that during the RWC but assuming both Boss and Reddan come back to Leinster after it, and not retire, that would be that for Stringer.

For that reason I can't see it happening.

I don't think he was given much choice in it I'm afraid.

But look, this is just more of the same. Reporter asks question, coach can't very well say "nah, he's very old, he's being dumped by Bath, why the hell would we want him?" even if that's what he's thinking, so he gives as bland an answer as possible, and that gets spun into the story.

And as you point out, Stringer himself wouldn't go near a short-term contract.

Sangre

Big Nelly wrote: »

It is getting a bit packed at the moment thou, you have

Keith Wood
Ronan O'Gara
Shane Horgan
Paul Wallace
Reggie Corrigan
Gerry Thornley

To name a few on rugby Podcasts and TV......

Its not first come first served though thankfully. If he is better than any of the above he will be able to forge his own niche.

phog

On Jennings, he seemed to save his best for us, caused us untold bother in most of the games he played against us. He'll leave a fair gap in Leinster's backrow.

Best of Luck to him.

molloyjh

total former wrote: »

Having predicted difficulties against the Dragons, I'm now predicting a comfortable win against Zebre who are a) pants at the best of times but also b) disrupted by the Six Nations which the Dragons were not.

There are some quality players in there, that is a decent half-back partnership and Vunisa might knock over a few guys, but overall they shouldn't have a prayer against us.

Yeah I was very nervous ahead of the Dragons game but this one I can only see going Leinsters way. A TBP would be nice, but a win is all important. We need to focus on that and if we can go for the TBP in the second half then great. I still expect the game to be sh*te tbh, but at this stage as long as we win I just don't care.

leakyboots

Buer wrote: »

Christ, I don't know what it was but he really didn't like you boys. He saved his best and slyest for that fixture for about 5 consecutive years.

Yeah, he was a real pain against us. Reminds me a lot of Alan Quinlan, must be an absolute pain in the hoop to play against.

Great servant for Leinster, all the best for the future.

edit: have to say I thought he came across very well in the Donal Walsh documentary, he shot way up in my estimation of him as a man after that, top bloke

matthew8

This should be a whole lot easier than Dragons. Dragons are just a poor team but Zebre are a bit of a basket case. Better Leinster team out too.

Larbre34

Shane Jennings, leader and grafter, embodiment of Leinster over the last few years. Well done and thanks for everything.

Now can we go out and beat ******* Zebre for him.

clsmooth

Cracking player Jennings. Game that stands out for me was v Quins in The Stoop in 2009. You could see him lead the defensive line that day. Was some schools player too. Remember him charging down an out halfs kick on the 40m line vs Belevdere (I think) during the SCT cup one year and gathering the ball and scoring. Was the final play of the game and Belvo were winning. You couldn't make it up Kidney messed him around but his experience at Leicester really seemed to make him a better player on his return.

Larbre34

I see MOC has taken my advice and is pursuing Peter Stringer for a year.

An ideal buy with Boss probably departing, do a job for you in the Test windows and mentor / coach the younger lads, a great pro in very good physical nick.

total former

Larbre34 wrote: »

I see MOC has taken my advice and is pursuing Peter Stringer for a year.

<insert "can't tell if serious" meme here>

All we can see from today's development is that whichever "journalist" asked the question of Matt is an avid reader of boards.ie.

Larbre34

total former wrote: »

All we can see from today's development is that whichever "journalist" asked the question of Matt is an avid reader of boards.ie.

Sure thatll do!

awec

total former wrote: »

<insert "can't tell if serious" meme here>

All we can see from today's development is that whichever "journalist" asked the question of Matt is an avid reader of boards.ie.

Are you the journalist?

thomond2006

Jennings was unlucky to come to his prime at Leinster between the Wallace and SOB eras as Ireland's first choice openside.

stephen_n

It's not a big surprise, given age and injuries that Jenno is retiring but sadly it will be another great leader leaving the squad, he brought so much as a player especially in a tight game and although we have serious resources in the back row coming through, he will be hard to replace. I'd imagine though he will probably go into coaching, he always struck me as that sort of intelligent player, who really thinks about the game. What ever he does though, he will always be remembered fondly by Leinster fans and not so by munster fans.

irishyouths9

stephen_n wrote: »

It's not a big surprise, given age and injuries that Jenno is retiring but sadly it will be another great leader leaving the squad, he brought so much as a player especially in a tight game and although we have serious resources in the back row coming through, he will be hard to replace. I'd imagine though he will probably go into coaching, he always struck me as that sort of intelligent player, who really thinks about the game. What ever he does though, he will always be remembered fondly by Leinster fans and not so by munster fans.

at the moment he has no plans on coaching.

vienne86

leakyboots wrote: »

edit: have to say I thought he came across very well in the Donal Walsh documentary, he shot way up in my estimation of him as a man after that, top bloke

I had forgotten about that - fabulous. Thanks for reminding us about it.

total former

awec wrote: »

Are you the journalist?

No, I keep my unique brand of incisive analysis, encyclopaedic rugby knowledge and witty repartee exclusive to boards readers.



You're welcome.

ssaye2

Shane Byrne said stringer IS going to leinster on tv3 this morning

Maybe he just misspoke after yesterday

.ak

Looks like Aerlingus just did us a solid.

http://balls.ie/rugby/nigel-owens-engages-old-irish-tradition-getting-angry-ryanair/

.ak

Anyway, there's an off topic thread for gawdy working class airlines.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057358876&page=66

EDIT: Moved posts to there

vienne86

Now Nige has dropped a bit in my estimation. Rules are rules, and Ryanair have never made a secret of the passport requirement. He should have done his homework - it's not rocket science. Ayway, good move by Aer Lingus and I'm glad he'll be in the RDS tonight.

Neil3030

.ak wrote: »

Looks like Aerlingus just did us a solid.

http://balls.ie/rugby/nigel-owens-engages-old-irish-tradition-getting-angry-ryanair/

Brilliant comment underneath: "Hands away, Blue!"

vienne86

ssaye2 wrote: »

Shane Byrne said stringer IS going to leinster on tv3 this morning

Maybe he just misspoke after yesterday

Hmmmm. I wouldn't read too much into Matt O'Connor's comments yesterday. I'd say a journalist asked the question, and Matt, naturally enough, didn't say no. No more than that.

thomond2006

Is Michael Bent out of contract? He's played a lot of rugby for Leinster this year despite being 3rd choice LH, 4th choice TH?

total former

thomond2006 wrote: »

Is Michael Bent out of contract? He's played a lot of rugby for Leinster this year despite being 3rd choice LH, 4th choice TH?

Nope, he's here again next season and he's going to be even more important with the RWC.

thomond2006

total former wrote: »

Nope, he's here again next season and he's going to be even more important with the RWC.

Leinster have arguably the greatest depth of props of any European club.

thomond2006

thomond2006 wrote: »

Leinster have arguably the greatest depth of props of any European club.

Certainly up there and with the injury insanity this season we really needed them all.

To my mind, Bent was one of our most important players this season - especially when we lost Jack McGrath for the citing incident.

Definitely someone we should work very hard to retain at the end of his contract.

Neil3030

So for those of us who have never seen him in action, what sort of player is Leavy?

Sangre

Neil3030 wrote: »

So for those of us who have never seen him in action, what sort of player is Leavy?

A good while ago now but I've only seen play live once in that SCT final where he captained the winning side. He was head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of ability. I recall he got both the winning try and the winning turnover.

Very much in the D Ryan mould as noted below.

ssaye2

Neil3030 wrote: »

So for those of us who have never seen him in action, what sort of player is Leavy?

Athletic, quick around the pitch and on the ground.

At 20 years old still and outstanding prospect

6"3 and 15 12 - last year so probably over 16 stone now

Fairly Similar to Ryan but loads of potential, hopefully he makes it

Tox56

Neil3030 wrote: »

So for those of us who have never seen him in action, what sort of player is Leavy?

Hes good at everything really. From what I've seen hes big and has outstanding technique over the ball, and by far most importantly really good rugby sense in terms of awareness for the offload, footwork in contact, when to compete for the ball and when not to. Some players just 'get it' and I think hes one of them

As always you never really know how he'll translate to senior rugby. Id be optimistic though, I'd rate him a level above Conan and maybe two levels above VdF in terms of overall potential

Buer

He's very similar to Ryan in size and style around the field but I'd put his breakdown work on another level altogether given their respective ages.

Quint2010

vienne86 wrote: »

Now Nige has dropped a bit in my estimation. Rules are rules, and Ryanair have never made a secret of the passport requirement. He should have done his homework - it's not rocket science. Ayway, good move by Aer Lingus and I'm glad he'll be in the RDS tonight.

Why can't he just get the boat?

Neil3030

Quint2010 wrote: »

Why can't he just get the boat?

It takes about 4 hours to get to holyhead from cardiff. Then you're banking on the swift ferry sailing otherwise you are on the regular ferry which takes a further 3.5 hours.

irishbucsfan

Neil3030 wrote: »

It takes about 4 hours to get to holyhead from cardiff. Then you're banking on the swift ferry sailing otherwise you are on the regular ferry which takes a further 3.5 hours.

And he has a game to prepare for.

dregin

Neil3030 wrote: »

It takes about 4 hours to get to holyhead from cardiff. Then you're banking on the swift ferry sailing otherwise you are on the regular ferry which takes a further 3.5 hours.

Isn't the HSS gone?

Neil3030

dregin wrote: »

Isn't the HSS gone?

Yes, but Irish Ferries run a Swift service from Holyhead to Dublin Port, which is like a smaller version of the HSS.

EDIT: Next week on Neil's guide to North Wales - where to score the best rarebit.

The_Captain

Neil3030 wrote: »

Yes, but Irish Ferries run a Swift service from Holyhead to Dublin Port, which is like a smaller version of the HSS.

EDIT: Next week on Neil's guide to North Wales - where to score the best rarebit.

Episode 2: Gogs and sheep, is there anything else in north Wales?

Neil3030

I'm still getting my head around this whole 'player led' policy that Leinster are moving towards. Can someone please clear up the following:

How exactly does this differ from a coach-led system?
What issues with our play under Schmidt is this supposed to address?
Are there examples of other teams who operate such a policy?

molloyjh

Neil3030 wrote: »

I'm still getting my head around this whole 'player led' policy that Leinster are moving towards. Can someone please clear up the following:

How exactly does this differ from a coach-led system?
What issues with our play under Schmidt is this supposed to address?
Are there examples of other teams who operate such a policy?

How exactly does this differ from a coach-led system?
My (admittedly very limited) understanding of this is that in a coaching-led system teams have set plays that they go to in certain situations and positions on the park. This gives more clarity to everyone involved as to what could be coming next as there will only be a limited number of plays that could be on at any time. It also makes it harder to adapt to what is happening on the field as players are more "programmed" into what has been decided off the field. So if the opposition have you figured out you could struggle. Look at Sarries in London in the 2010/11 season. Leinster knew in those last few minutes exactly what Sarries were going to do and exactly how to negate it. With all the analysis done on the game now it is harder and harder to find that on-field advantage through a purely coach driven environment.

The way we're meant to be trying to play allows players to make calls in real-time based on what they see happening in front of them. If they need to change their approach they can do themselves without having to wait until half time. It means a larger number of calls open to them at any given time though which could reduce clarity.

What issues with our play under Schmidt is this supposed to address?
If I were you I'd try not to look at it that way. Leinster are a different side to the one we were 2-3 years ago and the game has developed somewhat as well. As Joe himself is fond of staying, if you're not moving forward you're moving backwards. In other words you can't stay still or you'll get overtaken. There is logic and merit to the idea of giving players greater responsibility on the pitch because it makes you a harder side to analyse and better at adapting to things in real time. If there is no one way that you are sent out to play how do sides identify how to break you down or contain you? And if you're capable of changing things around after 20 minutes how do coaching-led teams prepare for that?

That said I'm still not convinced that we are actually trying to implement this player-led culture (for want of a better title for it). Our game plan has been incredibly predictable and actually fairly static for some time. And you'd imagine that if you were looking to empower your players in that way then it would absolutely necessitate a huge focus on the basics of the game. Surely accuracy of execution becomes paramount in training for this type of culture? And our accuracy under MOC has been arguably our biggest failing.

Even if it is what we are doing we either don't have the personnel to implement that way of playing (at half back particularly) or it's not being managed properly. Take for example the kick from hand yesterday that led to the Zebre try. We didn't have any cover on the right hand side of the pitch at all. We were incredibly narrow. Kicking a long ball right back to Zebre offered them a perfect opportunity to attack us down that side and we paid the price for it. That's hardly the kind of "heads up" type of stuff that this culture requires.

As for what other teams use that culture, I honestly couldn't answer that one I'm afraid.

total former

I'm confused.

If we're not trying to implement this player led culture, why are we discussing it? Where did this notion come from?

Neil3030

A few people have suggested that we are:

irishbucsfan wrote: »

What's the point in going into any detail. Nothing that gets said is ever acknowledged and is completely forgotten by the next time people want to go on an anti-coach rant. Regardless of whether it's said by a poster here, a player in an interview, or a MOC in a press conference. People ignore the detail, argue the semantics and then wait until the team plays poorly and make the exact same complaints all over again.

Comparing this team to Foley's Munster is pointless unless you acknowledge the important differences in the setups. Foley's setup with Munster is the traditional coach-led culture that we've seen in Ireland for years now, MOC wants Leinster to move away from that a great deal, as has been said numerous times, and that fact is absolutely crucial to everything that is going on with Leinster this season. It's a really smart move for Leinster to make given the leadership and experience we have in our squad (and given the 4 province setup in Ireland this should be the case for a long time) If you're more reliant on leadership and dynamic decision making on the field then you need strong leadership from key players and most importantly strong performances from half backs. If the key players are missing and the half backs are not up to scratch then it's going to be really difficult to complete that culture change. It's really frustrating that it isn't working yet and we can certainly criticise the coach for the reasons that it hasn't completed (not the disruption, but certainly half back performances), but people just completely ignore the point over and over despite it being repeatedly pointed out, and it's getting boring.

Neil3030

molloyjh wrote: »

How exactly does this differ from a coach-led system?
My (admittedly very limited) understanding of this is that in a coaching-led system teams........

I guess my confusion lies in where the line is drawn. The heavily structured coach-led Schmidt system still allows for the 9 or 10 to chose from a selection of options. If there's space in behind, kick, if there's space out wide, pass, etc. Take the back-door, the loop, the skip, etc.

Contrast that to Leinster last night, particularly in the first half, where you saw the type of play that has been so typical and so frustrating under this coaching regime, i.e. the aimlessly toing and froing across the pitch. I noticed that both the structure of the back line and the inevitable path of the ball was very linear - very seldom did the back line assume pod formations allowing for a backdoor option, very seldom did they send a decoy runner back the other way to keep the defense honest, very seldom did anyone try straighten to get go forward ball. Just predictable progression of passes from 9 out to the flanks, clear out, recycle and go back the other way. My question is, is THIS coach or player led? Are the players calling for this linear predictable backline play, or is this imparted by the coaches? And when are these decisions being made? On the field?

I take your point in your response to the second question.