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

connachta

I don't get who's this new centre called James Ryan who made 2 huge breathrough this day...

kingofthekong

Luke mcgrath doesnt half make some dumb errors

Shefwedfan

JGP get a smack from someone ?

Burkie1203

Shefwedfan wrote: »

JGP get a smack from someone ?

In the warm up apparently

Squidgy Black

Kearney and McGrath have to be replaced by Larmour/JGP. We're just completely underwhelming in attack at the moment, and neither are contributing in comparison to their competition.

Shefwedfan

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Kearney and McGrath have to be replaced by Larmour/JGP. We're just completely underwhelming in attack at the moment, and neither are contributing in comparison to their competition.

I agree

McGrath has a nightmare, Kearney just looked poor

Our attack is good, stupid mistakes all over the place.....Lyon made it difficult as well....

Clegg

I'm delighted with that result. We always struggle in France, so to come away with a win against the league leaders is an achievement.

The performance is a different story. There were a few very good performances in there and in general our defensive structure was excellent. But similar to last week we have away too many penalties and invited pressure on ourselves. We also blew a few great try scoring opportunities through individual errors.

Good result, but we need a big improvement to beat Northampton away. Win that and I think the group is sealed.

Shefwedfan

I watched bits of Northampton, really Treviso should have won and even the last play the ref was totally against them.....

If we can sort out some of the errors I think we can win over in Northampton

Clegg

Had a look at the stats for the game.

VDF is down for the most tackles with 22 completed. To put that into context, Deegan has the next most with 14. VDF is just stupidly competitive.

baas baa

VDF was motm hands down, horror show minute from Ringrose toward the end.

PhlegmyMoses

Clegg wrote: »

Had a look at the stats for the game.

VDF is down for the most tackles with 22 completed. To put that into context, Deegan has the next most with 14. VDF is just stupidly competitive.

There was a bit of talking about him being underpowered and all the things he can't do at the WC, even though I thought he was one of our better players. But in Leinster colours he shows a great running game, offloading, hits so many rucks and makes so many tackles. Maybe with a new Irish coach it might play to his strengths more because he is not the guy to make metres in an attritional game by trucking it up the middle and asking him to do that is pointless.

Don't think McGrath and Kearney were as poor as being made out. Both players bore a good deal of pressure from the way Lyon were playing.

Excellent Leinster performance. Lyon were up for this game but they took 20 minutes to acclimatise to the speed and width Leinster put on the ball.

I feel we learned form Toulouse away last year and tightened up a little more despite looking the better team in possession.

Provided we keep the squad reasonably healthy I think we can 6/6 this pool and having watched Northampton earlier I think we've possibly gotten the toughest fixture out of the way. No guarantees but If I was going to make a bet at this point I'd back Leinster to clean sweep the pool.

baas baa

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Don't think McGrath and Kearney were as poor as being made out. Both players bore a good deal of pressure from the way Lyon were playing.

Excellent Leinster performance. Lyon were up for this game but they took 20 minutes to acclimatise to the speed and width Leinster put on the ball.

I feel we learned form Toulouse away last year and tightened up a little more despite looking the better team in possession.

Provided we keep the squad reasonably healthy I think we can 6/6 this pool and having watched Northampton earlier I think we've possibly gotten the toughest fixture out of the way. No guarantees but If I was going to make a bet at this point I'd back Leinster to clean sweep the pool.

McGrath's kicking was excellent, but in other facets he's just too inconsistent and has regressed the past year IMO. Kearney did what Kearney does, will never be enough for some but I'm sure Cullen and Lancaster got exactly what they wanted.

Shefwedfan

baas baa wrote: »

McGrath's kicking was excellent, but in other facets he's just too inconsistent and has regressed the past year IMO. Kearney did what Kearney does, will never be enough for some but I'm sure Cullen and Lancaster got exactly what they wanted.

I’m a huge Kearney and McGrath fan but I don’t think either will be happy with that display

McGrath made a mess a few times when Leinster had control of the ball. I know Lyon tried to make a mess of breakdown which he done ok with but needs to step it up.....the Lyon 9 was a lot better all day and that doesn’t happen much

Kearney had a couple of errors as well, both players I think had poor games by their standards

Kearney lack of passing was really shown up a few times when we had a potential attacking option and he ran straight into contact

baas baa

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I’m a huge Kearney and McGrath fan but I don’t think either will be happy with that display

McGrath made a mess a few times when Leinster had control of the ball. I know Lyon tried to make a mess of breakdown which he done ok with but needs to step it up.....the Lyon 9 was a lot better all day and that doesn’t happen much

Kearney had a couple of errors as well, both players I think had poor games by their standards

Kearney lack of passing was really shown up a few times when we had a potential attacking option and he ran straight into contact

Attacking wise we know what we get from Kearney at this stage, he's not going to miraculously develop a passing game, we conceded 6 points which is in part down to having a FB who doesn't give up easy territory, prefect against a big pack on a heavy pitch in France. One moment stood out for me which maybe coloured my perception a bit, there was a Lyon kick through near the touchline which with an inexperienced or indecisive FB could've caused trouble but Kearney swept it up and managed to keep in play and the danger was cleared, they're the moments that keep Kearney in the side on days like today.

baas baa

baas baa wrote: »

Attacking wise we know what we get from Kearney at this stage, he's not going to miraculously develop a passing game, we conceded 6 points which is in part down to having a FB who doesn't give up easy territory, prefect against a big pack on a heavy pitch in France. One moment stood out for me which maybe coloured my perception a bit, there was a Lyon kick through near the touchline which with an inexperienced or indecisive FB could've caused trouble but Kearney swept it up and managed to keep in play and the danger was cleared, they're the moments that keep Kearney in the side on days like today.

Without being a world class tackler like his brother, Kearney brings a composure to defensive 15 play that has been central to the success of some of the teams he's been in.

In some ways watching the way Ringrose plays - I can't help but feel he'd be an incredible 15. I'd be far more interested seeing him slot in there than Henshaw.

Clegg

Watched Leinster's first try again. VDF's work on the charge down and regather was sensational, but there were other great contributions as well. Ryan's after receiving the offload from VdF. VdF's clearout at the subsequent ruck. Deegan's little floated pass to the wing over the head of a Lyon player to keep the move going. And Ruddock's good latch to help Deegan over the line. It was an excellent team try.

baas baa

Clegg wrote: »

Watched Leinster's first try again. VDF's work on the charge down and regather was sensational, but there were other great contributions as well. Ryan's after receiving the offload from VdF. VdF's clearout at the subsequent ruck. Deegan's little floated pass to the wing over the head of a Lyon player to keep the move going. And Ruddock's good latch to help Deegan over the line. It was an excellent team try.

There were numerous clearouts from VDF that made my go "wow". His ability to get low and explode into the guy competing for the ball is something else, must be great for McGrath seeing the 7 Jersey in front of him as he's running toward a tackled player.

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

Watched Leinster's first try again. VDF's work on the charge down and regather was sensational, but there were other great contributions as well. Ryan's after receiving the offload from VdF. VdF's clearout at the subsequent ruck. Deegan's little floated pass to the wing over the head of a Lyon player to keep the move going. And Ruddock's good latch to help Deegan over the line. It was an excellent team try.

If we can get Leavy back playing rugby - we've a very formidable starting backrow in Leavy, VDF, Ruddock. And some genuine talent coming through behind them. For all the talk of Kelleher, I was really impressed by Deegan this afternoon.

baas baa

baas baa wrote: »

His ability to get low and explode into the guy

Squidgy Black

baas baa wrote: »

There were numerous clearouts from VDF that made my go "wow". His ability to get low and explode into the guy competing for the ball is something else, must be great for McGrath seeing the 7 Jersey in front of him as he's running toward a tackled player.

The tackles where he was driving back props and second rows were what really impressed me. His leg drive is insane for his size, he had no issue smashing players with 20+ kg on him back about 5 foot.

baas baa

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Totally blows them out of the ruck

baas baa

Squidgy Black wrote: »

The tackles where he was driving back props and second rows were what really impressed me. His leg drive is insane for his size, he had no issue smashing players with 20+ kg on him back about 5 foot.

Great to see, shows technique and timing can trump size. Can't seem to get off the sexual analogies.

Shefwedfan

Clegg wrote: »

Watched Leinster's first try again. VDF's work on the charge down and regather was sensational, but there were other great contributions as well. Ryan's after receiving the offload from VdF. VdF's clearout at the subsequent ruck. Deegan's little floated pass to the wing over the head of a Lyon player to keep the move going. And Ruddock's good latch to help Deegan over the line. It was an excellent team try.

I just wonder why VDF offloaded to Ryan....he passed and then stopped accelerating and came up behind Ryan

VDF is faster so I would have expected him to try and break free, he passed to Ryan and then played the back up.....was the plan for
Ryan to slip the ball back to him?

Shefwedfan

[Deleted User] wrote: »

If we can get Leavy back playing rugby - we've a very formidable starting backrow in Leavy, VDF, Ruddock. And some genuine talent coming through behind them. For all the talk of Kelleher, I was really impressed by Deegan this afternoon.

I was shocked when they said it was Deegan first start in HC, he has been around for ages or so it seems and then you remember how young some of these guys are

Lyon has a big pack, I thought Deegan and kelleher done well....when you think our scrum was not blitzed...one of the scrum penalties towards the end it was clear the Lyon player was not straight

Clegg

Leinster were one pass away for a lot of the game. Around 50 minutes there was a set play off a scrum that we worked very well. Lowe came in off wing to truck the ball up. Next breakdown McGrath passes to Sexton who who had quickly moved from the openside and pivoted down the blindside. So did three other Leinster players to create an overload near the touchline. Sexton then passed behind Deegan who knocked it on. If Deegan can gather the pass there's a try on as we have a two on one down the touchline.

Two minutes later Leinster win possession on the deck and Ryan breaks down the wing. He has three players outside him. Give it to any of them and we're away. The dummy wasn't even necessarily the wrong idea. It was his failure to give the pass.

Shefwedfan

Clegg wrote: »

Leinster were one pass away for a lot of the game. Around 50 minutes there was a set play off a scrum that we worked very well. Lowe came in off wing to truck the ball up. Next breakdown McGrath passes to Sexton who shaped who quickly moved from the openside and pivoted down the blindside. So did three other Leinster players to create an overload near the touchline. Sexton then passed behind Deegan who knocked it on. If Deegan can gather the pass there's a try on as we have a two on one down the touchline.

Two minutes later Leinster win possession on the deck and Ryan breaks down the wing. He has three players outside him. Give it to any of them and we're away. The dummy wasn't even necessarily the wrong idea. It was his failure to give the pass.

We had a number of those, including the maul and McGrath knocked on while taking the ball out....they had Lyon opened and probably would have scored from the view I seen

It was just messy stuff but Leinster created the openings just poor execution.....the pitch and weather was awful which didn’t help

I must admit, I have no idea why Leinster didn’t get a second yellow....if it was the other way around we would be going nuts

baas baa

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I just wonder why VDF offloaded to Ryan....he passed and then stopped accelerating and came up behind Ryan

VDF is faster so I would have expected him to try and break free, he passed to Ryan and then played the back up.....was the plan for
Ryan to slip the ball back to him?

I think he had to slow down to regather the ball and Ryan was outside him at a full head of steam. Ryan can fairly cover the ground, at first I thought it was Deegan

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

Leinster were one pass away for a lot of the game. Around 50 minutes there was a set play off a scrum that we worked very well. Lowe came in off wing to truck the ball up. Next breakdown McGrath passes to Sexton who who had quickly moved from the openside and pivoted down the blindside. So did three other Leinster players to create an overload near the touchline. Sexton then passed behind Deegan who knocked it on. If Deegan can gather the pass there's a try on as we have a two on one down the touchline.

Two minutes later Leinster win possession on the deck and Ryan breaks down the wing. He has three players outside him. Give it to any of them and we're away. The dummy wasn't even necessarily the wrong idea. It was his failure to give the pass.

To my mind this is one of those games that virtually no one will ever watch back again, but if you want to learn a lot about what Leinster are trying to do this is about as illustrative as it gets.

Our attitude ball in hand was unusually aggressive. We changed it up enough to keep Lyon guessing but the focus generally was pinning the ears and making a hard, gainline winning carry and we did it really well. Furlong in particular played better today than I've seen in around 6 - 8 months. Brute force trauma is generally not how we go about beating French teams in France and yet that's the tone we set today and Lyon really struggled.

I'm not sure if Leocaster figured out how to unleash an under performing world cups worth of frustration onto the French side or whether that just happened by accident, but it happened.

The stand out performers in the top 14 were rendered tryless and genuinely looked shell shocked after 20 minutes.

This was a good day for Leinster. Look on me ye mighty and despair.

prawnsambo

Shefwedfan wrote: »

We had a number of those, including the maul and McGrath knocked on while taking the ball out....they had Lyon opened and probably would have scored from the view I seen

Unfair to blame McGrath for that. As he was trying to pull the ball out of the maul, it surged forward and the ball was pulled out of his hands. It always frustrates me how the scrum half has to literally rip the ball from the back of the maul, forwards should not be fighting to hold on to it from their own SH.