Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread VI: End of the MOC [Revenge of the STH]

errlloyd

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I wonder if they're looking at Ringrose to replace Te'o next season, if he doesn't re sign. Or maybe that's still a bit soon.

The team needs three quality centres. Madigan doesn't count. Even if Te'o leaves they should be looking to develop Ringrose there

Larbre34

"Who is that precocious young outside centre....?" the retired old props with the hot whiskeys in the grandstands will say, peering out from under their golf club beanies "he's got the look of a Gibson about him"

They'll soon know.

G'wan the Leo for picking him in fairness, how much more interesting this year is proving to be so far!

typhoony

i was advocating throwing him at Centre, i think at times he will get roasted but no better way for him to learn than in at the deep end.

former total

sydthebeat wrote: »

sorry lads, a half back pairing of boss and madigan doesnt fill me with much confidence.
we're going to need our forward pack trucking along and im not sure we'd get it with that front 5. Our back row is solid and we should get some joy there, but boss will have to be at his fastest with clean ball in order for mads to get the line working.

Is Boss not exactly the guy you want there if your pack is struggling a bit? I'd rather him in that situation than Reddan or McGrath.

shuffol

Great to see Ringrose get a run out at center but I'd much prefer if his first start came with Sexton at 10.

Tox56

Cullen is making all the right noises so far fair play, aside from Ringrose obviously Kelleher starting is completely out of nowhere and brilliant to see. Would prefer McGrath starting but McGrath-Sexton is a partnership I definitely want to see, get them on early

Ryan really shouldn't be there though

thomond2006

shuffol wrote: »

Great to see Ringrose get a run out at center but I'd much prefer if his first start came with Sexton at 10.

He'll be playing more with Madigan this season than Sexton.

molloyjh

sydthebeat wrote: »

sorry lads, a half back pairing of boss and madigan doesnt fill me with much confidence.

former total wrote: »

Is Boss not exactly the guy you want there if your pack is struggling a bit? I'd rather him in that situation than Reddan or McGrath.

I think it'll be interesting to see how Boss goes tomorrow. I thought he was very poor in Llanelli but then he was playing with Byrne at 10 and may have had to take on a lot more responsibility as a result. He certainly seemed a lot better off the bench against Glasgow where he really made an impact. For me the question now is whether he can do the job as a starter or whether he's becoming more of an impact player from the bench. This game might tell us a bit more there.

I'm most worried about Healy tbh. He's still a long, long way off anything approaching form. Yet at the same time in the Glasgow game he single handedly held 2 forwards stationary at a ruck as they tried to poach, which I thought was pretty damn impressive. Got his body position right and there was no moving him. So if he can provide at least that for us and the others can help secure decent enough ball we may be ok. Tracy was good in open play 2 weeks ago (one bad missed tackle aside) but his darts were very poor. Maybe Toner can give him a better target.

It's going to be a tough game. Exciting and all as the selection may be there aren't many settled combinations in there and a good chunk of the team will be playing their first game in the new set-up. It may stand to us in the long run but for the game tomorrow it might make for a messy affair.

scott1974

On a different note, Gopperth is appealing the 3 week ban.
Looking at this I think Wasps have a bit of a nerve.
http://vid01.bt.co.uk/v1/bc/pd/2503979514001/201511/2213/2503979514001_4590271698001_4590268034001.mp4

scott1974

molloyjh wrote: »

I think it'll be interesting to see how Boss goes tomorrow. I thought he was very poor in Llanelli but then he was playing with Byrne at 10 and may have had to take on a lot more responsibility as a result. He certainly seemed a lot better off the bench against Glasgow where he really made an impact. For me the question now is whether he can do the job as a starter or whether he's becoming more of an impact player from the bench. This game might tell us a bit more there.

I'm most worried about Healy tbh. He's still a long, long way off anything approaching form. Yet at the same time in the Glasgow game he single handedly held 2 forwards stationary at a ruck as they tried to poach, which I thought was pretty damn impressive. Got his body position right and there was no moving him. So if he can provide at least that for us and the others can help secure decent enough ball we may be ok. Tracy was good in open play 2 weeks ago (one bad missed tackle aside) but his darts were very poor. Maybe Toner can give him a better target.

It's going to be a tough game. Exciting and all as the selection may be there aren't many settled combinations in there and a good chunk of the team will be playing their first game in the new set-up. It may stand to us in the long run but for the game tomorrow it might make for a messy affair.

Towards the end of last weeks game we kicked twice to the corner from penalties and then lost the line out... Hopefully this will be an area we can improve on this week, I think both those throws were from Strauss and looks like he'll be starting next week...

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

scott1974 wrote: »

On a different note, Gopperth is appealing the 3 week ban.
Looking at this I think Wasps have a bit of a nerve.
http://vid01.bt.co.uk/v1/bc/pd/2503979514001/201511/2213/2503979514001_4590271698001_4590268034001.mp4

That's hilarious. He's clearly looking at the player and knows the ball is going out and then he does the arm basket things on the other side as if he was actually expecting the ball to be there. Silly to appeal it.

irishbucsfan

It's likely we'll get quite badly beaten imo. We're playing a team top of the league with a completely changed XV not to mention Boss/Madigan at half back (we've seen how that goes before). It'll be a huge result if we win.

This is a selection with next week in mind as far as I'm concerned. Good luck to the younger guys.

Journeyman_1

irishbucsfan wrote: »

It's likely we'll get quite badly beaten imo. We're playing a team top of the league with a completely changed XV not to mention Boss/Madigan at half back (we've seen how that goes before). It'll be a huge result if we win.

This is a selection with next week in mind as far as I'm concerned. Good luck to the younger guys.

Scarlets have rested key players also though and from a quick glance at some other message boards, the fans seem happy enough with a LBP.

irishbucsfan

Journeyman_1 wrote: »

Scarlets have rested key players also though and from a quick glance at some other message boards, the fans seem happy enough with a LBP.

Well they should be expecting far more when they see our selection really. Resting a few key players is one thing, what we've done with 15 changes and the players we've selected is an entirely different kettle of fish.

NiallBoo

scott1974 wrote: »

On a different note, Gopperth is appealing the 3 week ban.
Looking at this I think Wasps have a bit of a nerve.
http://vid01.bt.co.uk/v1/bc/pd/2503979514001/201511/2213/2503979514001_4590271698001_4590268034001.mp4

How was that not a red card?
Dylan Hartley would have been proud of that one.

scott1974

scott1974 wrote: »

On a different note, Gopperth is appealing the 3 week ban.
Looking at this I think Wasps have a bit of a nerve.
http://vid01.bt.co.uk/v1/bc/pd/2503979514001/201511/2213/2503979514001_4590271698001_4590268034001.mp4

If he has gotten time off for previous good behaviour he'll lose that for appealing and that's about it. It's a good sign for us to be honest, they are obviously nervous about not having him available so are risking a few more weeks. No way it get's reversed unless the decision had some technical fault in the detail.

irishbucsfan wrote: »

It's likely we'll get quite badly beaten imo. We're playing a team top of the league with a completely changed XV not to mention Boss/Madigan at half back (we've seen how that goes before). It'll be a huge result if we win.

This is a selection with next week in mind as far as I'm concerned. Good luck to the younger guys.

I don't agree with that at all. We are 4th but have been missing 17+ players. Scarlets are going well and are a good team, but at home with plenty of Internationals throughout the team I'd be quite disappointed if we didn't win this.

Truth be told I think we could do a number on them here, hoping to be at the game too so can't wait!

scott1974

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Well they should be expecting far more when they see our selection really. Resting a few key players is one thing, what we've done with 15 changes and the players we've selected is an entirely different kettle of fish.

I think you have to hand it to Leo, it's a new approach compared to last year.
I think last year people here were frustrated with guys not getting game time... now they are!!
Whether we win tomorrow night remains to be seen... I like the approach.

irishbucsfan

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't agree with that at all. We are 4th but have been missing 17+ players. Scarlets are going well and are a good team, but at home with plenty of Internationals throughout the team I'd be quite disappointed if we didn't win this.

Truth be told I think we could do a number on them here, hoping to be at the game too so can't wait!

Maybe I'm subconsciously sandbagging but I honestly can't understand where that confidence is coming from!

Personally I'll be absolutely thrilled with a win. It would make my weekend. Looking forward to it either way.

Sangre

scott1974 wrote: »

I think you have to hand it to Leo, it's a new approach compared to last year.
I think last year people here were frustrated with guys not getting game time... now they are!!
Whether we win tomorrow night remains to be seen... I like the approach.

Thankfully the injury situation is a 100x better than it was last year. Still hard to believe how many we were missing around this point.

WarZ

After the horrors of MOCS tenure this is proving to be a lovely period at Leinster rugby. Hopefully Leinster can forget about those dark ages and play with confidence again. MOC set Leinster back years, Cullen seems to be a good fit to get the next generation back on track

irishbucsfan

irishbucsfan wrote: »

but I honestly can't understand where that confidence is coming from!

Our backs don't fill me with confidence, but that is a fairly quality international pack that have worked with Leo all last year. We also have a massively superior bench with plenty of impact all across the park and Sexton to come on and turn the screw after 50 minutes.

The three variables that could land me completely the wrong side of expectation are the lack of time in camp many of the players have, the amount of changing around and a bit of world cup hangover for good measure.

I still think 1 - 23 we have a better team and if our pack gives us a good platform we should turn them over. Week before a European cup game and certainly it's unlikely to be a high intensity affair, but I think we'll win by 5+.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

WarZ wrote: »

After the horrors of MOCS tenure this is proving to be a lovely period at Leinster rugby. Hopefully Leinster can forget about those dark ages and play with confidence again. MOC set Leinster back years, Cullen seems to be a good fit to get the next generation back on track

I think it's a bit too early to be judging anything Leo is doing. I understand that from the first few games and the general atmosphere around the team that fans are happier with the current set up than they were at any point over the last 2 years but MoC did deliver a trophy in his first year and a very respectable European Campaign last season.

I hope at the end of the season we can shower Leo and his team with praise but lose tomorrow and lose against Bath and then what are we looking at?

Sangre

Deleted User wrote: »

Our backs don't fill me with confidence, but that is a fairly quality international pack that have worked with Leo all last year. We also have a massively superior bench with plenty of impact all across the park and Sexton to come on and turn the screw after 50 minutes.

The three variables that could land me completely the wrong side of expectation are the lack of time in camp many of the players have, the amount of changing around and a bit of world cup hangover for good measure.

I still think 1 - 23 we have a better team and if our pack gives us a good platform we should turn them over. Week before a European cup game and certainly it's unlikely to be a high intensity affair, but I think we'll win by 5+.

The problem is that the 'weak' points are at key positions - hooker, lock, no.6, half backs and outside centre. Lets hope we're not too far behind come 60 minutes.

molloyjh

Deleted User wrote: »

Truth be told I think we could do a number on them here, hoping to be at the game too so can't wait!

I don't know. 6 of the starting XV haven't played under Leo. We've 2 guys getting their first ever starts, one of whom has shown a fairly serious weakness in a core part of his game (Tracys darts). Denton and Ryan are fairly average, even at this level. Healy isn't on form. Boss and Madigan haven't exactly lit the world alight before. And Ringrose starts his first game at 13. There are a hell of a lot of reasons why we could see Leinster struggle tomorrow.

If we win this one I reckon it'll be tight enough. If we manage to actually do a number on them I'll be nothing short of delighted. A TBP might see me getting absolutely obliterated in the Horseshow in celebration.

scott1974

On a Euro note...Sam Burgess has left Bath.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/34732141

Journeyman_1

Can't blame him for heading off with all the media ****e not likely to end anytime soon.

scott1974

Journeyman_1 wrote: »

Can't blame him for heading off with all the media ****e not likely to end anytime soon.

Yeah, looks like we got the right guy from the Rabbitoh's...
Hopefully T'eo doesn't want to follow Sam back anytime soon..

connachta

a Periscope from Donnybrook interpro A game, guys?

Hagz

Wasn't that long ago that Madigan was giving Ringrose kicking lessons in Blackrock, now they're playing alongside each other. Really excited about this game.

ssaye2

Fanj is out. @ianfitz94 starts and Jack Power comes on to the bench.