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

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119555485#Comment_119555485

I've signed up for 247.tv for this game. The stream went live at 7.00 but its just a blank screen at the moment. Is anyone else watching and are you seeing anything different?

Rigor Mortis

stream is very good quality

Rigor Mortis

7-0 McKee try after 2

Rigor Mortis

7 all.

Rigor Mortis

14-7 Quins ahead on 33

Rigor Mortis

14-14 Milne try on half time

Itxa

Scrum is being destroyed I thought Milne on would change that. No hope. I put it down to lack of game time. Abdeladze usually strong. Both sides going back.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119561741#Comment_119561741

It's a bit of a concern. The scrum went to shyte at the end of last year when it really counted. And now it's continuing in this team. Could be coincidence as this is a development team. But it could also be a persistent problem with scrum coaching.

Hope they sort it out this season.

Itxa

Soroka on immediate impact.

Itxa

Deegan incredible break and offload

40 yards out

Rigor Mortis

21-19 harlequins on 54

El_Duderino 09

Poor execution across the pitch. Pretty much what you'd expect from a pre season warm up game.

Some really promising aspects. Deegan has been active and Osborne has a massive boot for clearance kicks.

Rigor Mortis

21-26 Penny try 4, McCarthy got try 3

Itxa

Prendergast at 10 looking good

Rigor Mortis

Final score 26-21. Entertaining enough and a good hit out. Ross seemed to get a bit of a knock, not sure it was that bad though

TRC10

O'Reilly and Ngatai had pretty poor games. I was expecting a lot more from Ngatai. But I'm sure he'll improve.

Jenkins was good I thought and looks massive. Deegan was excellent when he came on. Milne also looked good, I think he could have a big season. Scrum looked very dodgy early doors but it improved a lot. Prendergast looked very tidy at 10.

Soroka looks like he's put on a lot of size and came on at lock interestingly. We'll see if that's a regular thing. Not sure I'm a fan of it.

Juventu4

How did Jenkins go in the row, solution to our size problem in that department?

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119562424#Comment_119562424

Wouldn't call him our "solution" just yet. Time will tell. He only played the first 40, but I thought he did pretty well. Busted over the gain line a few times and was very physical in D. He looks substantially bigger than all of our other locks.

stephen_n

Anyone know when Racing are going to announce the stadium for the December game?

DelMcG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119564731#Comment_119564731

You'd assume they'll play it at the Death Star. Nowhere else they could really play it: Racing don't have the fanbase to justify a move to the Stade de France.

There were rumours that the FRU & the Top 14 were going to suspend evening games in the face of the energy crisis but that seems to have fallen by the wayside, judging by today's schedule. One wrinkle they didn't account for in that rule was that EVERY Racing game is a night game, no matter the time of day 😄

stephen_n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119566114#Comment_119566114

By Death Star do you mean the U Arena? Not familiar with that reference.

Lost Ormond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119566114#Comment_119566114

Death Star? If youre talking about their own ground, la defense, its not going to be there as its unavailable the weekend of december 9-11 because of a concert

Dubinusa

1st match up, I think Milne will get the start? Very excited to see what he can bring? This 1st match is an opportunity for Russell and MOR! These lads are very promising.

Can't wait!

arsebiscuits1

Watched the game back last night.

Full credit to Quins for putting on a brilliant production. Commentary, pre match, half time and post match were all top notch. I was really impressed. I was away all weekend so being able to buy the game to watch back was a fantastic touch.

I thought that was a bloody decent performance for a first hit out of the season missing all of our front runners.

Credit to Mikey Milne who shored up the scrum on a night that would be a learning experience for Hanan.

Our pack were all really really well drilled and sharp. The defensive shape was very settled. We carried with vigour and added some lovely footwork in too.

Lineout was particularly impressive and John McKee looks like he's ready for a breakout season. Can easily see him taking third choice hooker spot. Darts were excellent.

Backline didn't feature as much and we really didn't keep the ball too much. The gap between Ngatai and Osborne was a bit too big and times on D and they'll need to hone their partnership. Osborne really does look to be older than his age. Classy classy player.

Great debut (of sorts) for Prendergast too. I'm excited for this guy. Still U20s eligible (I believe) but looks at home with senior rugby. Definitely needs a few more kgs on him which will come but he is brave - doesn't shirk many tackles. Excellent kicking game on him and can pass it too. Very very impressive showing from a young 10. I hope he continues to develop.

Itxa

That was an interesting game not least because Cullen used it to give a lot of academy players a run out. Obviously he’s giving the senior players a rest but reaching so deep into the chest of players could have backfired. A drubbing or even a few slight mistakes can crush a youngsters confidence but then the commitment to giving out chances to prove themselves always outweighs potential confidence damage. But building confidence should be key though. Being so committed to squad development is a good thing and it’s going to get more difficult to do that now with an increasingly competitive league.

The first thing that stood out to me in the first half was the ground Jenkins made off carries. He made a good 7-10 yards off two carries and had the defender behind him when he went to ground. That’s the type of front foot ball we need and have been missing up to this point. I can see him starting in Europe this season.

The perfect player came on to compliment him (as I’m not too sure how good his lineout is due to his size, Jenkins, for the lifters to get him upwards). That player was Alex Soroka. He is literally too good a jumper at 2 to have further back in the lineout at 6. It would be a waste of solid possession off lineouts. He made a big impact around rucks and looked a lot older than his years. I can’t see him nudging past Ryan yet but I would say that seriously on the cards soon given his apparent talent.

I thought that was a fairly full on blooding occasion for Cullen and team. He used a lot of academy players down to the youngest members. Who was the scrum half who was on at the close of game? Looked young enough. Prendergast to me looks like a prospect. He showed a wide array of kicking types during his game. He is a tall slinky type of frame in the mould of Manny Lebock or even Pollard. I know Pollard isn’t that tall but he kind of strokes the ball in the same silky style and seems to have all the time in the world. It’s that calmness at being able to release perfectly weighted kicks that sets him apart. Let’s hope Prendergasts relaxed style develops into the same solid game management and game changing ability as those players. (He did however miss one gaping tackle that led to the try that Chris Cosgrave let in on the left wing. Let’s hope he can put on some muscle and put in big hits up that 10 channel).

Quinns game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRiS-37n-bI&ab_channel=Harlequins

Serbian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119575912#Comment_119575912

You think Soroka is going to nudge past Ryan soon? There's just no way that's going to happen soon. Sure, he's an excellent jumper in the line out, but I'm not convinced he's even a second row yet. Even if he is, he has to nudge past McCarthy, Molony and Jenkins before he gets near Ryan.

He'll be used in the row for the games where we rest the first teamers, but I think the best he could hope for this season is to make the bench as a back row in a first choice team scenario such as European games.

Itxa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578171#Comment_119578171

Why? I thought Leinster was the place of promotion of talent and ability above all other things. Pecking order and loyalty to service is only a barrier to getting the best players on the pitch.

Soroka in his few showings for Leinster has already shown he is as good as the others and will likely be better in a year or two. He is definitely better than Moloney and McCarthy already as good as they are.

Jenkins has his own set of attributes and might not be liftable at lineout time so also shortcomings. Ryan is lauded for his work rate but from what I’ve seen Soroka also has that.

If we are to stay true to the promotion of talent philosophy, he should be played and no name or reputation should keep out superior ability.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578331#Comment_119578331

I really like Soroka but he absolutely hasn't shown that he's "definitely better than Malony or McCarthy" yet. He's definitely looked good in the very limited minutes he's gotten so far, but calm yourself down with the hyperbole.

Dubinusa

Soroka is a good prospect! I think he's best suited to blindside. Rating him above Molony at the moment is nuts. Imo, Molony was the forn lock in Ireland last season.