Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread XII (The Byrne Supremacy)

Dave_The_Sheep

I for one am shocked. Shocked I tell you.

Former Former Former

MOC-level mind games from ROG this week.

Dubinusa

What does it say? It won't translate for some reason.

Dubinusa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119093773#Comment_119093773

I'm in the U.S, so no tg4!

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119094149#Comment_119094149

Will Skelton will play for La Rochelle this weekend, despite ROG saying he was out for the season.

seaninbayarea

URC.TV

RogerThis

Does Leinster have the biggest player budget of any club in the world?

It's the biggest in Europe: https://youtu.be/vdORTVc5MLw?t=2457

But is there bigger in SA, New Zealand, or Japan?

Neil3030

The player is a bit crap but i am very happy with the $100 or $125 or whatever it was for the season pass to URC.tv. All games, on demand.

crisco10

Based on the munster game and how they ran toulouse close, how poor were toulouse last week??

Interested Observer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095110#Comment_119095110

Munster rely on non-repeatable "going to the well" sorts of performances to keep their season going, they got one against Toulouse but even that wasn't enough. They didn't get one tonight.

TRC10

Well Larmour has played himself into the 23 at the very least for next week, and he could easily start.

McCarthy and Baird were both absolutely mega. Foley really stepped up and was excellent. H.Byrne had a solid game and generally just made good decisions.

Clegg

Posted in the match thread that I think we've two very special talents in Jamie Osborne and Joe McCarthy. They're so young, but frequently make the right decisions. They're both ultra athletic players for their positions and make relatively few mistakes.

Osborne makes good decisions in attack, knows when to pass and when to run and has the athleticism to constantly get over the gainline. McCarthy only has 8 senior appearances, but looks comfortable playing against far bigger forwards. He's a strong carrier, has an offloading game and can pilfer ball at the ruck. Also, I'm convinced he was entitled to hit Murray at that ruck. Ball was out and the back foot no longer in play. He has smarts about him too.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095293#Comment_119095293

Agreed.

But to be fair, McCarthy is no small guy himself. He's not mega tall (same as Molony for my eye), but he is a seriously beefy boy. He has legs like absolute tree trunks. And at 21 he's likely to put on another 5kg at least. He could be a great player for us for years to come. Reminds me of Brad Thorn a bit.

And I think Baird at 6 is something we'll see more of next season, given at lock we'll have Ryan, Jenkins, Molony and McCarthy.

Faugheen

As I said in the match thread as well, Nick McCarthy needs to be moved on. Foley played better today than I’ve ever seen the former. You can clearly tell all that AIL gametime has helped him significantly (likewise Joe McCarthy). Ben Murphy played well too when he came on.

I’d much rather they (Foley in particular) were prioritised for development.

Dubinusa

They should negate the Ngati transfer! Frawley is a keeper. I've no idea why they'd even consider bringing Ngati in.

I too hope that Foley can push on. Nick McCarthy is not very good. He's barely urc level. It's a shame that Josh Murphy is off. I really like him as a player, except for his discipline.

Interested Observer

I'd hate to see him move but Frawley is simply too good to be on the fringes of a starting 23. He'd start for most teams in the league and in the premiership imo.

KH25

Any news on Frawley? I think Larmour played himself into the 23 jersey tonight if Frawley isn’t available.

Dubinusa

I'm surprised by this result. I thought it would be tight for 50 minutes and then Munster would pull away. Fair play to that Leinster team! Very good result.

Going forward, with Sextons impending retirement. I think it would be mad not to give Frawley a run at 10! Obviously, HB has still a lot of upside and promise. RB is probably as good as he's ever going to be and it's possible that Frawley could be a very good oh. If they're bringing in Ngati, would Ngati sit? He's not unending Henshaw and Frawley is a fantastic player. It makes no sense to me. A waste of money, imo.

Interested Observer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095709#Comment_119095709

Cullen said he passed his HIA but ran out of time to get back on because he needed stitches in his chin.

salmocab

Honestly that game went much the way I thought it would, Munster were missing some of their best players and that Leinster team always was going to score try’s. Only thing I wouldn’t be pleased with was the amount of handling errors.

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095929#Comment_119095929

Ngatai is a a former All Black and regular starter at a Top14 club, so he won't be costing us pennies. I'd be absolutely gobsmacked if he's coming in to be 3rd choice 12 and start the odd URC game.

So with him coming in, I reckon we will see Frawley at 10 more next season. My only concern is, he's been settled at 12 for the last two years and he turns 25 in December, which is quite late in the day to develop into a top class 10. But you never know, he's an extremely gifted footballer so maybe he can pull it off.

I wonder if the Ireland coaches are in on it and will give him some minutes there over the summer.

AdamD

Presume this season will become quite lucrative financially for Leinster. Home semi-final in Europe, home quarters, potentially semi and final in the URC.

All_in_Flynn

Very impressive performance last night. McCarthy looks a serious talent. Big boy for a 21 year old who looks like he has the frame to fill out even more.

Wouldn't be overly worried about Skelton. Yes he's a massive human but I think Leinster this season, have evolved beyond allowing themselves get steamrolled by a bigger pack. Time will tell but I reckon a lot is going to have to go wrong for Leinster to let this game get away from them. Skelton or no Skelton. If they play anywhere close to the level they played against Toulouse then they'll win comfortably.

Interested Observer

Only blip for McCarthy is he gave away a bunch of penalties, at least 3 and maybe more again. Probably will improve there with a bit of experience.

Lsdrugbyfan

He plays on the edge. Need that from a forward.

Zeugnis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119095959#Comment_119095959

Great that he passed his HIA, a lot of his injuries have been facial/head which is worrying. Anyway, a joy to watch, I hope he's 23 next week.

TRC10

I hope Skelton plays. I want us to beat them with him in the team so we can finally put to bed the "Leinster get bullied" narrative.

moonshy2022

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119097407#Comment_119097407

Last time I heard this nonsense it was about Saracens, then they thumped us.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119096833#Comment_119096833

The home semi in Europe is lucrative for the IRFU, and in turn, all rugby in Ireland.

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119097407#Comment_119097407

Agree, want to beat the best to be the best. Shouldn't have any fear of another team.