Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread X: [****]

antietam1

The lineout just before the intercept try I really thought Leinster were going to drive it and go for a dg.
Tomane made 4 tackles? one of those was on a small back just coming down from a catch, it should have been a dominant tackle instead the guy got the ball away.

Thermoman12

troyzer wrote: »

It was a three on one. It doesn't change the fact that he should have completed the tackle.

The ball was in mid air and he just stood there. Of course your man was likely to just offload it as soon as Tomane took him down. But he had a chance at forcing him out.

Instead he did nothing. Watch it again:

https://youtu.be/WqG-Y-2Li0I

He hesitated when he should have committed. His only chance of stopping a try there was to push him out.

Easy try saver is a bit harsh on my point. He would have done well to stop that. But he didn't put himself in a position where he'd even have a chance.

I've already criticised SOB for being sloppy due to what I thought was exhaustion. He was very, very slow getting up for large chunks of the game.

I also already said McGrath had a howler of a game.

I am being fair, Tomane wasn't the reason we lost the game and he was far from the worst player on the pitch. But he has no credit in the bank on past performances.

McGrath, Cronin and SOB are in the 23 any day of the week. Tomane hasn't really done anything to earn it yet so of course people are going to be more critical.

McGrath gave away the game with that intercept, didn’t play bad until then, it’s just unfortunate for him

irishbucsfan

Incisive stuff here anyways

irishbucsfan

Heymans wrote: »

Let me guess. You don’t think he did well and you want David Kearney back in the team? West Dublin my whole

Do you have any specific opinions about the Kearneys and the internet? Perhaps some sort of online conspiracy?

Podge_irl

antietam1 wrote: »

The lineout just before the intercept try I really thought Leinster were going to drive it and go for a dg.

Considering they were on 3 tries that would have been an odd call.

Burkie1203

Podge_irl wrote: »

Considering they were on 3 tries that would have been an odd call.

Not at all. Pop over a DG and it's 2 score game. 4 points on the road in France ....

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

Considering they were on 3 tries that would have been an odd call.

Not at all and in the end we lost by ONE point when we could have won by TWO. See the difference. We came home with one point instead of four in the end. That’s why you take your easy points first and then chase the big ones.

Buer

The knock on impact of this result is that, if Leinster go on to win their remaining games, a home semi final is now out of our own control. I don't see Racing or Saracens losing any of their remaining games. We may even struggle to get ahead of Munster given their toughest game is behind them and Castres' interest could well be diminished by the time Munster go there.

I think we need to win 3 of our final 4 games with bonus points. It's not impossible but it's a tall order. As it stands, I think I expect Saracens and Racing to both finish on 27 points. If we progress that far and face either of those sides in their home country in a semi final, it's going to be very difficult to win.

First and foremost, Leinster need to get the show back on the road though and actually secure the pool. If Toulouse are still in the mix by round 5 (and they almost certainly will be given Wasps are all but eliminated already) a win in Dublin will see them top the pool.

troyzer

Is this James Ryan's first loss for Leinster?

I think it might be.

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

Not at all and in the end we lost by ONE point when we could have won by TWO. See the difference. We came home with one point instead of four in the end. That’s why you take your easy points first and then chase the big ones.

Yes, thank you for the maths lesson.

A drop goal is not easy points and I can't think of a rugby team in the world who would have deliberately gone for one in that situation. There was 12 minutes left, not 2.

Buer

A drop goal would have been nice but I'd have been very surprised if we had gone for it. It's a tough option with the minimum reward as well as the potential for a charge down or turnover. It's very easy to highlight errors of judgement in retrospect. The fact is, we got ourselves back on top and were in a position to strike the body blow when a bad error gifted them their opportunity to go in front again. If we were in the same situation again, I'd want us to keep possession and grind them down just as we had done for two tries in the preceeding 20 minutes.

FrannoFan

Thermoman12 wrote: »

McGrath gave away the game with that intercept, didn’t play bad until then, it’s just unfortunate for him

I thought he was poor long before then.
Toulouse looked offside a lot but Barnes was saying the 9 was lifting it so they were entitled to come up. He was just too slow from the base.
His box kicking wasn't what it has been in the past either
The intercept was just another error in what had been a below average performance from him.

He had a bad game. Doesn't mean he is a bad player (he had been excellent against wasps)

Former Former

It's all Freddie Burns' fault.

Sure look, Leinster are no worse a team than we were this time yesterday. We got literally every slice of bad luck that was going, including a number of self-inflicted wounds, and we still put ourselves in a position to win.

As Buer says, the problem is that with the seeding for home semis, we now need to look after our own performances and hope that others slip up too. I don't see Saracens dropping many points but Racing ain't all that, they'll drop points and if they don't, I'd be OK about going to France to play them.

Our more immediate problem is that Bath are still in the hunt and so will be more inclined to care when we visit the Rec.

salmocab

troyzer wrote: »

Is this James Ryan's first loss for Leinster?

I think it might be.

Was he not involved in one of the losses late last year?

Benetton next Saturday is a banana skin waiting to happen.

We'll be down to a bare enough squad with most of the internationals likely to be in camp or rested.

Podge_irl

salmocab wrote: »

Was he not involved in one of the losses late last year?

No, his first professional loss was against Aus.

salmocab

Podge_irl wrote: »

No, his first professional loss was against Aus.

Ah right, decent record all the same

Buer

Any indication on what VDF's injury was or extent of it?

I think we badly missed his defensive work when he went off. His corner flagging is top notch and it could have saved our bacon at some point.

Burkie1203

Buer wrote: »

The knock on impact of this result is that, if Leinster go on to win their remaining games, a home semi final is now out of our own control. I don't see Racing or Saracens losing any of their remaining games. We may even struggle to get ahead of Munster given their toughest game is behind them and Castres' interest could well be diminished by the time Munster go there.

I think we need to win 3 of our final 4 games with bonus points. It's not impossible but it's a tall order. As it stands, I think I expect Saracens and Racing to both finish on 27 points. If we progress that far and face either of those sides in their home country in a semi final, it's going to be very difficult to win.

First and foremost, Leinster need to get the show back on the road though and actually secure the pool. If Toulouse are still in the mix by round 5 (and they almost certainly will be given Wasps are all but eliminated already) a win in Dublin will see them top the pool.

Ulster could beat Racing at Ravenhill
Sarries only potential loss is at Lyon

Munster are racking up big injury list.

Former Former

Buer wrote: »

Any indication on what VDF's injury was or extent of it?

I think we badly missed his defensive work when he went off. His corner flagging is top notch and it could have saved our bacon at some point.

Just a HIA so hopefully he's OK for the Autumn internationals.

prawnsambo

Former Former wrote: »

Just a HIA so hopefully he's OK for the Autumn internationals.

Apparently he wasn't even given a HIA. The on-field diagnosis was that it was a head injury and treated as such without the need for one.

He was very stunned. Didn't look like he knew where he was and needed some assistance getting off the field.

errlloyd

Buer wrote: »

Any indication on what VDF's injury was or extent of it?

I think we badly missed his defensive work when he went off. His corner flagging is top notch and it could have saved our bacon at some point.

I saw him after the game. He was walking around chatting to fans. Didn't get a chance to ask him, but he did seem good.

stephen_n

It’s clear at this stage that for a certain cohort of Leinster fans, any foreign import will have to be twice as good as the homegrown players in his position. We had it with JGP for a while there, with Kirchner and T’eo, let’s not even start on Jimmy Goperth. It’s a bit sad really that fans will go out of their way to find fault with players, who are turning up and trying their best to help the team win. There are many reasons we lost yesterday and many individual errors by players throughout the team. Joe Tomane certainly wasn’t the reason we lost or one of the main offenders in those stakes, yet he is made the scapegoat out of nothing more than xenophobia, which is a bit sad really.

Clegg

Did we even have that with Te'o? The only time I ever heard or read someone criticising him was when I was on Boards. And even then it was just one poster.

The only foreign import at fault yesterday was Isa for retiring last season. Missed his leadership and defensive quality and I don't think we'd have been quite as slow out of the blocks had he been on the pitch.

AdamD

Deleted User wrote: »

The only foreign import at fault yesterday was Isa for retiring last season. Missed his leadership and defensive quality and I don't think we'd have been quite as slow out of the blocks had he been on the pitch.

Except vs Clermont 2 years ago when we played virtually the same game and Isa had quite a poor match (whisper it).

Biggest worry from that match is the line out. Hasn't been a strength at all this season.

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

Yes, thank you for the maths lesson.

A drop goal is not easy points and I can't think of a rugby team in the world who would have deliberately gone for one in that situation. There was 12 minutes left, not 2.

I didn’t mention drop goal I mentioned 3 points. Put Toulouse under pressure and get them to cough up a penalty which there is a greater chance of getting as a team gets more desperate when the pressure builds near their line. Maybe you will get a try but honestly I’d have taken 3 points first and pushed the game out to a two score game. Then you go for the bonus point try.

It wasn’t a maths lesson it was a lesson in tactics.

Clegg

All said in hindsight now, but Fardy really should've started.

troyzer

Clegg wrote: »

All said in hindsight now, but Fardy really should've started.

Or put on sooner.