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

The counter argument, frequently made by Welsh fans, is that the IRFU disproportionately benefit from the URC arrangement, with particular respect to TV rights. Not saying i agree with it.

The academy system probably precludes a draft but Buttress raises it as a possible improvement for the Welsh clubs. It would definitely balance players out across the country in Ireland after school level if it was introduced and if we want to see the provinces improve relative to each other, it's worth considering.

Sure, Leinster & Munster (to a lesser extent) would lose players every year and probably would not get the same in return, but if the IRFU decided strategically that the long term health of the game on the island was enhanced by it you could see it happening. A draft also doesn't prevent players moving around later on.

Ah, I keep hearing this but kids in Ireland are far more mobile for college than they used to be. UCG, Queens, UL, etc. Lots of good options, particularly if you want to go to college and play rugby at the same time. There are lots of lads who will bite your hand off and very few who would throw in a promising rugby career because the have to live in Galway or Belfast. There are decent group of Irish playing on not great money in the USA right now.

Contempomi, Nacewa, Gibson Park, James Lowe Nathan Hynes,, Rocky Elsom... which leinster school did these guys go to??

Particularly since the Troll is a Connacht fan. So having a go at Munster won’t impact on him.

That is one way looking at it, but it's quite 'provincial', and not in a good way. Another way of looking at it is that young lads are being offered professional coaching and a professional pathway with a stipend for moving a few hours down the road to go to college, for free. Some won't take it but I would be extremely surprised if Ireland ended up losing a significant amount of talent because that was the route. Already lots of players 'move' to get the chance to play, like anyone who doesn't grow up in Belfast, Limerick, Dublin or Galway. I think this way of framing is Dublin/Leinster centric but doesn't have the wider (IRFU) view in mind.

How are we buying the league?

Here's Leinster's strongest XV

1. Porter (Leinster Academy)
2. Kelleher (Leinster Academy)
3. Furlong (Leinster Academy)
4. Molony (Leinster Academy
5. Ryan (Leinster Academy)
6. Doris (Leinster Academy)
7. van der Flier (Leinster Academy)
8. Conan (Leinster Academy)
9. Gibson-Park
10. Sexton (Leinster Academy
11. Lowe
12. Henshaw
13. Ringrose (Leinster Academy)
14. Larmour (Leinster Academy)
15. Keenan (Leinster Academy)

I count 12 from 15, produced by Leinster.

I chuckled when you talked about money made from the Irish team. You mean the Irish team who LEINSTER supplied with 12 of the starting 15 that beat NZ, that Irish team? 11 of the starting 15 that beat NZ, came through the LEINSTER academy (3 from NZ, 1 from Ulster, 0 from Connacht, 0 from Munster). Whatever money the Irish team makes, is mostly made by Leinster.

If a different province produced as many test players as Leinster do, they'd all be on big money too.

But hey don't let facts get in the way of whatever you need to tell yourself to make you feel better.

Leinster has, what, 50% of the Irish population? Leinster by virtue of it's catchment is bequeath a large portion of Irish players. The province has done a good job in developing players and establishing systems, etc. but its greatest advantage literally fell off the Christmas tree.

A valid point, put it doesn't back up the claim that Leinster have "money bags" or are the richest club in Europe or that they "buy the league".

Leinster might be be big, but outside of South Dublin and a few spots elsewhere, rugby isn't really a big thing. In fact, there's a lot of animosity towards rugby.

France and England have much bigger populations than NZ. Who's won more world cups?

Animosity is bit much. Competitions like towns cup, increase in youths rugby participation and number of pro players show there isnt a lot of animosity.

It might be changing a bit. I played youth rugby for a club in West Dublin and it was very much a community club of players from local schools. I was the only person on my team who went to a fee paying school (and I got rinsed for it).

But there is absolutely still the notion that Rugby is a private school-boys sport and is very exclusive of working class. I heard someone say recently "rugby isn't inclusive because there's nobody from the inner city on the Ireland team" . Which isn't true at all, there just isn't a strong rugby culture in those communities. It's nothing to do with socioeconomic background. I'd bet whoever said that had never even stepped foot inside a rugby club, because in my experience, rugby is incredibly inclusive.

But it's very difficult to just overcome decades worth of tradition of other sports like Soccer and GAA in other areas.

You realise we haven't played in over a month

Osborne only just turned 20. He played against the Bulls, Zebre and Glasgow this season and was due to start v Montpellier before it was cancelled.

Deegan has played 6 games this season (all but 2 games) and was out injured for all of last season.