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

Baird will be in the mix next week if he came through the A game. It will be all change though from yesterday, nothing to actually play for and a final the following week, I think the full 23 could well be rested. Not sure beyond Baird who might possibly be pushing into the 23 for Marseille barring injuries.

30k! Jaysus. So, I presume this match was pre-planned for the Aviva? I thought it was a scramble due to it being a cancelation from the previous date? That's quite a load of punters.

Europe is the goal for Leinster. They will baby the top players. A run against Munster will be ideal for young players like Clarkson. I'm unsure about Treacy and his injury status? If he's fit, he will play. Luke may need minutes and if RB does need minutes, it would be smart to have him on the bench. HB is unlikely to get anymore match time and there's no reason not to let him start.

Some lads have been crapped on with injury. Milne lost the entire season, Connors also and DK. But, I think Leo will give minutes to those who are leaving. It his a home match, after all.

The game was meant to be in the Aviva back at the start of April when there was a much higher chance that you'd have seen two full strength sides with more to play for as well as being a tuner for the CC Round of 16.

Switching the fixtures around and putting it last up has just unfortunately conspired to it being a dead rubber for Leinster where profit is likely the only benefit.

Also, there's a huge benefit to the second string players getting experience and/or minutes on the pitch against decent opposition.

Leinster have earned the right not to field a full team next week. It will be some of the subs from yesterday, the veterans and the kids, and righftully so.

Is this a IRFU decision?

Leinster have sold over 30,000 tickets already for the Aviva game, and still have a week to go to sell more. The RDS only has a capacity of 18,500. Thats a massive difference in ticket revenue.

Theres a reason Leinster play Munster in the Aviva it every year, and thats because it makes them a lot more money than playing in the RDS would.

I don't think La Rochelle will be as turgid in the final but huge difference from last year will be they are without Skelton, who caused havoc in that SF, and Leinster have Sexton/JGP back at halfback who are a very high-tier test quality pair of halfbacks. Leinster also have Doris this season who has become one of the best backrows in Europe. Going to be a very tough game, I wouldn't be looking at that SF and thinking Leinster will have it handy, they haven't made the final by accident, they haven't lost a game in the tournament so far, and they are pretty stacked.

I don't think we'd be getting the brilliant performances that we're getting out of him had he started all 3 tests in SA personally. Him not going on that tour and getting the extra rest and full pre-season has been brilliant for us.

Is there a danger Leinster have played their final in the semi-final and La Rochelle are timing their run well and will peak when it matters most?

It's good there's a two-week break anyway. It would be difficult to raise performance levels that high again in just 7 days.

If we play at 70% of what we did yesterday, we'll beat La Rochelle, and probably handily enough.

No. Leinster played exactly the way Leinster play. There is nothing non-repeatable about the performance, there was no going to the well, no emotional battling back against a lost cause, etc.

Sexton looks as good as he does lately in large part due to the evolution of Leinster's playing style, and the emergence of personnel to take the pressure off him. Lowe, Keenan, Ringrose etc sharing the duties at first receiver or receiving passes out the back from forwards.

Anyway, this Munster game. Need to avoid a repeat of the Rainbow Cup fixture which was lost 3-27.

Teamsheet that day was:

1. Edward Byrne
2. Dan Sheehan
3. Andrew Porter
4. Ross Molony
5. James Ryan
6. Ryan Baird
7. Scott Penny
8. Josh Murphy
9. Hugh O’Sullivan
10. Harry Byrne
11. James Lowe
12. Rory O’Loughlin
13. Garry Ringrose (captain)
14. David Kearney
15. Jordan Larmour
16. Seán Cronin
17. Peter Dooley
18. Michael Bent
19. Scott Fardy
20. Martin Moloney
21. Cormac Foley
22. David Hawkshaw
23. Tommy O’Brien

I'm not really a fan of Baird at blindside at the moment - based on what I've seen of him there to date. Doesn't have enough presence in the tight. Sometimes I think it's better to put a 'loose' 6 in as the athletic lock (alongside a powerful th secondrow) and have more of a grafter at blindside. I used to wonder would England/Leicester have been better off putting Tom Croft in the second row and bringing in a hard-nosed smash 'em blindside at 6.

We might see something like:

1. Edward Byrne
2. John McKee
3. Thomas Clarkson
4. Joe McCarthy
5. Ryan Baird
6. Alexis Soroka
7. Scott Penny
8. Max Deegan
9. Cormac Foley
10. Harry Byrne
11. Jordan Larmour
12. Rory O’Loughlin
13. Jamie Osborne
14. Robert Russell
15. Max O'Reilly
16. James Tracy/Sean Cronin
17. Michael Milne
18. Vakhtang Abdaladze
19. Devin Toner
20. Sean O'Brien
21. Luke McGrath
22. Ross Byrne
23. Conor O’Brien

The pack is probably on the lightweight side. They'll have to step up. Their experience on the South African tour should stand to them. When they're facing South African, or South African-style, teams it's first and foremost about fronting up physically.

If Larmour isn't available, I guess ROL to the wing with COB or Hawkshaw coming into the XXIII at 12. Or I suppose maybe Cosgrave on the wing. He's appeared there once or twice for the 'A's recently.

It's a dreadful pity Tommy O'Brien picked up another long-term injury.