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

I'm a bit concerned of the Barrett effect. We don't have him for the period of the season when we have been found wanting. OK, maybe it means we can send stronger team to SA and so get home advantage thru the knockouts. And maybe his skillset and experience helps develop other players. But it may prove counter productive - blocking players getting gametime/experience, highlighting the deficencies when he leaves. I can't wait to see him play, but if he's an answer to something, I'm still not sure what the question is, unless the key thing is a glamour signing.

Well, that's why we're still looking…

I'm not trying to downplay the deficiencies, but the solution is a lot more along the lines of 'filling in the gaps' than 'hitting the reset button and starting again'.

We need a new out-half, I think that's clear at this point. If, a year from now it's not obvious that Prendergast is the answer, then we have to be allowed go to the market. After that, personnel is not the issue.

We need to see what Nienaber is actually made of, and tbh none of us really know. Yes, he has a very impressive CV, but at the same time this is his first year of coaching without Erasmus calling the shots. I don't care if his title at SA was 'head coach', he was making zero big calls. I think Nienaber deserves a break since he only arrived in November, but it's TBD if more time with the squad will be a good thing or not…

We're very close to where we need to be. We played a lot of really good rugby this year and I wouldn't trade our situation for pretty much anyone's except Toulouse.

I don't know why we keep falling at the final hurdles, maybe bringing Isa back as mental skills coach wouldn't hurt.

Huffed and puffed, they scored 43 points

I don't necessarily think he answers a question, I think Leinster are just adding a World Class talent who they hope can push them over the edge towards the latter part of the season.

I'm not convinced RG is actually going to add anything at all to Leinster. Fit or not. I personally would have held on to Moloney and worked harder at getting a good backup for Porter cause as it stands the only quality backup we had was Ed Byrne.

Not seeing much to convince me the young lads coming through are good enough. That might be harsh given they are young but its clear to see Clarksons potential, I can't say the same about the other side of the scrum.

No one is saying that though.

Then what does "focus on the league" mean? Genuinely not sure how it would play out if that doesn't mean less emphasis on Europe.

The European Cup pays a lot of bills and gets the fans interested in a way the URC simply does not, and that is not just a Leinster phenomenon, our northern and southern cousins aren't really arsed either.

I hope we're in the situation to have to make this call next year, but I'd be surprised if we ever pick a full strength side a week out from a European final. Toulouse did the exact same thing, btw. And for all the accusations of hubris and arrogance, we lost those two games by a combined margin of three points, losing the lead in the 77th and 78th minute respectively.

An NIQ won't be approved and shouldn't be approved. The whisper at the time of Predergast, which I can't remember who said it, was Leinster had approached the IRFU about getting a NIQ instead of predergast. Which was blocked of course, honestly I would think it was also a shot across at the IRFU at leaving a young Leinster player alone

Seemingly it was mentioned on the radio that Connacht have the option to sign a 10 NIQ as a injury cover

a sense of perspective: Leinster have come along way since 2006, and it has almost all been done with limited IRFU help. The academy, the coaching, the underage progression, the high performanceexpectations have brought Leinster players to international standard. With my Ireland hat on, I wish the other three provinces had done the same. Yes there have been plenty of mistakes (MOC era? And we played our first string team in the semi finals this year while the bulls had sent their 3rds to Northampton to concentrate on the league), and shifting goal posts (ERC shambles anyone?) but each time lessons have been learnt and improvements made. The team is one score away from winning everything (same for the international team). The question is how to make that final step. After last season’s disappointment and the RWC exit, I didn’t expect Leinster to regroup the way they did - I certainly didn’t expect them to make the final when I saw the group they got, and everyone on these message boards welcomed the challenge the SA teams would bring to the league - but I was proven wrong.
As Awec puts it, it feels like another crossroads. What will happen next?