Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread XI (The Finals Countdown)

FrannoFan

bayern wrote: »

IRFU Academy 7s Squads, Round 2:

Leinster: John McKee(u21/Hooker), Joe McCarthy(u20/Lock), Alex Soroka(u20/Backrow), Patrick Patterson(u23/Scrumhalf), Niall Comerford(u21/Wing), Marcus Hanan(u21/Prop), Jack Boyle(u19/Prop), Lee Barron(u20/Hooker), Charlie Tector(u19/Outhalf), Marcus Kiely(u20/Centre), Jamie Osborne(u20/Back Three), Chris Cosgrave(u20/Back Three), Karl Martin(u19/Centre)

bold = Academy Year 1

A lot of front rows for a 7's tournament!

bayern

FrannoFan wrote: »

A lot of front rows for a 7's tournament!

Suppose they have to take whoever is healthy and in the "academy bubble"

munster's team is mostly forwards.

P.Walnuts

Stan27 wrote: »

Anyone read sean o briens book ?

Rugby autobiographies are among the most tedious books I have ever read*.

On a similar note, surely they must be running out of titles at this point, there's only so many times you can make a play on words using Rugby terminonlogy.

*Treveor Brennan's was good tbf

stephen_n

Not overly familiar with Glasgow’s depth but that doesn’t appear to be that strong a team?

stephen_n

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets)

15. Jimmy O’Brien (20)
14. Cian Kelleher (15)
13. Rory O’Loughlin (71)
12. Tommy O’Brien (5)
11. Dave Kearney (150)
10. Harry Byrne (12)
9. Luke McGrath (130)
1. Peter Dooley (77)
2. James Tracy (112)
3. Michael Bent (143)
4. Ross Molony (98)
5. Devin Toner (250)
6. Josh Murphy (34)
7. Scott Penny (15)
8. Rhys Ruddock (176) CAPTAIN

16. Dan Sheehan (1)
17. Michael Milne (10)
18. Tom Clarkson (2)
19. Jack Dunne (8)
20. Scott Fardy (63)
21. Hugh O’Sullivan (21)
22. David Hawkshaw
23. Dan Leavy (64)

Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Strong enough team all things considered.

Oh and Whitehouse

bayern

stephen_n wrote: »

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets)

15. Jimmy O’Brien (20)
14. Cian Kelleher (15)
13. Rory O’Loughlin (71)
12. Tommy O’Brien (5)
11. Dave Kearney (150)
10. Harry Byrne (12)
9. Luke McGrath (130)
1. Peter Dooley (77)
2. James Tracy (112)
3. Michael Bent (143)
4. Ross Molony (98)
5. Devin Toner (250)
6. Josh Murphy (34)
7. Scott Penny (15)
8. Rhys Ruddock (176) CAPTAIN

16. Dan Sheehan (1)
17. Michael Milne (10)
18. Tom Clarkson (2)
19. Jack Dunne (8)
20. Scott Fardy (63)
21. Hugh O’Sullivan (21)
22. David Hawkshaw
23. Dan Leavy (64)

Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Strong enough team all things considered.

Oh and Whitehouse

Frawley injured again?

Surprised Hughie over Osborne again..

salmocab

Another 6-2 split and more time for Leavy. All we need now is the complaint about Fardy and my weekend is complete.

thomond2006

salmocab wrote: »

Another 6-2 split and more time for Leavy. All we need now is the complaint about Fardy and my weekend is complete.

FFS Leinster playing pensioners.










Does that suffice?

Squidgy Black

Surprised at how experienced that front 5 selection is, but should easily dominate. Hopefully Hawkshaw gets a run this time around.

Clegg

Disappointed not to see Frawley get another start. Hopefully he hasn't picked up a bad injury. Decent side otherwise. Hope to see Leavy and Hawkshaw get some time off the bench.

baas baa

What's the story with Conor O'Brien?

bayern

baas baa wrote: »

What's the story with Conor O'Brien?

Injured

Richie_Rich89

Why drop Sheehan? I would have retained him as a starter after his barnstorming showing last weekend. Tracy as a strong-scrummaging hooker would have been good to have on with the rookie props when they make the changes. I know Tracy's ahead in terms of Ireland squad selection, but Sheehan was so impressive I would have stuck with him. Maybe they're just managing his introduction to top flight rugby based on how his body is responding or something.

To me, the wings are the wrong way around. Both players are more naturally suited to the other wing. I don't think Kelleher is good enough defensively to be any kind of option on the right wing in the biggest games. You always stick the guy who's good going forward but suspect defensively on the left wing. Defence doesn't really matter at 11, but ideally you need a guy who's sound defensively, who'll make good reads - like a Bowe or a Baloucoune - at 14.

ROL starting any games as a wing seems to have been completely ditched. It's hard to see how he gets back to being an international as things stand.

Fardy seems to have fallen behind Molony. He's lucky enough to make the XXIII. The 6-2 split could partly be because of lingering uncertainty over Leavy (is Leavy on a fake pitch a concern?). Silvester and Turner will be disappointed to miss out - or Martin Moloney if he's available and it was a 6-2 split.

bayern wrote: »

Frawley injured again?

Surprised Hughie over Osborne again..

With the 6-2 split, HOS possibly being able to fill in at 15 might have come into it.

Richie_Rich89

Cian Healy held up well in the scrum in Paris. I was thinking he might struggle after seeing the Saracens scrum dominance. Maybe this evidence points to McBryde being more the problem.

WhoamI2022

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

Cian Healy held up well in the scrum in Paris. I was thinking he might struggle after seeing the Saracens scrum dominance. Maybe this evidence points to McBryde being more the problem.

Or maybe it points to Leinster getting no decent run out before the Sarries match and ended up massively undercooked. The games in the Pro 14 compared to the games the Sarries played in the Premiership are at a different level

Normally hitting the qtrs the players have just finished a 6 nations. Everyone is at peak fitness and battle hardened.

bayern

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Or maybe it points to Leinster getting no decent run out before the Sarries match and ended up massively undercooked. The games in the Pro 14 compared to the games the Sarries played in the Premiership are at a different level

Normally hitting the qtrs the players have just finished a 6 nations. Everyone is at peak fitness and battle hardened.

this is utter bollix, especially last september.

Leinster choked in the 1st half and the scrum was targeted and dismantled by an elite front row.

Now did only scrummaging against Ulster and Munster in the lead up to the QF help, almost certainly not.

aloooof

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Or maybe it points to Leinster getting no decent run out before the Sarries match and ended up massively undercooked. The games in the Pro 14 compared to the games the Sarries played in the Premiership are at a different level

Ya, that just sounds like a pretty poor excuse tbh. In any case 2 of the games were against Munster, who I'd expect to beat your average Premiership side.

UAEguy2020

WhoamI2022 wrote: »

Or maybe it points to Leinster getting no decent run out before the Sarries match and ended up massively undercooked. The games in the Pro 14 compared to the games the Sarries played in the Premiership are at a different level

Normally hitting the qtrs the players have just finished a 6 nations. Everyone is at peak fitness and battle hardened.

I don’t know about that, as we see in Europe the GP Teams are pretty rubbish outside of the top 2. I will say this season though Wasps and Bristol added a lot so who knows going forward.

sydthebeat

Or just maybe it it was because they were up against a world class front row who got the better of them on the day??

UAEguy2020

Or maybe dare I say it Saracens were just the better side on the day? Is that allowed to be the outcome or must it always be something bigger every time an Irish side loses a match?

aloooof

sydthebeat wrote: »

Or just maybe it it was because they were up against a world class front row who got the better of them on the day??

Sometimes it's as simple as this. The Saracens front row all featured in the RWC final last year.

sydthebeat

aloooof wrote: »

Sometimes it's as simple as this. The Saracens front row all featured in the RWC final last year.

yes, and we didnt have someone like mike ross whos experience would have allowed him to compensate in order to simply lock it down.

UAEguy2020

It’s already been mentioned that a large reason for the scrums shortcummings was Connors and Doris put too much attention on trying to stop Vunipola off the base of the scrum and weren’t putting enough weight in the scrum.

aloooof

sydthebeat wrote: »

yes, and we didnt have someone like mike ross whos experience would have allowed him to compensate in order to simply lock it down.

Add in that Furlong was injured too, which is sometimes forgotten. Porter will have learned a lot from it tho, you'd expect.

Paul Smeenus

But really it was Ulster and Munster's fault for not giving Leinster a significant enough work-out.

bayern

It's only leinster's fault, they choked in the biggest game of the season that they were supposedly planning for months for against a severely weakened saracens side.

anyway looking forward to seeing Harry Byrne tonight against a strong Glasgow side, same for JOB at 15.

arsebiscuits1

No side wins that many scrum penalties without favorable interpretation from the ref.

Even the most blue eyed of us couldn't place all the issues on the refs shoulders. But upon rewatch Saracens got away with absolute murder that day with the angles they drove at.

Leinster didn't adapt which was unfortunate. Possibly points towards a coaching/ player issue. But to win these games you need luck and the rub of the green. That day we didn't get it. We will get it next time

arsebiscuits1

baas baa wrote: »

What's the story with Conor O'Brien?

Long term hamstring injury he is currently rehabbing after surgery.

Wont be seen this side of Christmas

UAEguy2020

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

No side wins that many scrum penalties without favorable interpretation from the ref.

Even the most blue eyed of us couldn't place all the issues on the refs shoulders. But upon rewatch Saracens got away with absolute murder that day with the angles they drove at.

Leinster didn't adapt which was unfortunate. Possibly points towards a coaching/ player issue. But to win these games you need luck and the rub of the green. That day we didn't get it. We will get it next time

You could see Porters inexperience, Furlong would have got into the refs ear.

arsebiscuits1

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

You could see Porters inexperience, Furlong would have got into the refs ear.

Both props at different times tried voicing their displeasure at the ref. The ref did not want to hear it.

It's also a pretty limited tactic. There hasn't ever been a scrum penalty given against a prop that they feel was justified. Furlong having a word will have had minimum effect