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

I was frustrated with how poorly we dealt with short kicks this season. We need to gameplan our own system's deficiencies better

I think if fitness is good, you have a great chance of doing the double.

I think the defensive system will be less easy to exploit with more practice and maybe select more for athleticism on the wings.

Nonsense, just look at the team sheets in the losses. Jack White has said that Leinster B were the 2nd best team in the league. The league may be harder and this schedule was tough but no depth player really excelled this year. Our structures are easy to read. Our defense is easily exposed out wide. Hopefully, all this gets settled.

Leinster have the bulk of the national squad. To say that it's an achievement to get to the latter stages of tourneys is absurd. They should be expected to make these fixtures. There's no real way of defending the team. They were abjectly poor this year. As a Leinster supporter, the season blew. Almost men again!

Who Said it was an achievement to get to latter stages of competition. I didn't.

Of course if you look at things any bit sensibly you can defend leinster and the "almost men again" comment from you is pathetic.

Care to show through clips or give examples of how leinster were or are so easy to read as you claimed?

I think this is how most teams gain territory against Leinster last yeae

This sounds harsh on first reading but - it's probably right.

Leinster are absolutely one of the best teams in knockout rugby… until it gets tight.

In the last three seasons, our record in knockouts across both tournaments is played 18 (counting the two-leg Connacht tie as one match), won 12, lost 6, points difference a frankly staggering +276.

In the six games we’ve lost, they have all been one-score matches except the last Euro final and even that needed extra time to separate us. Three of the six were one-point losses. I actually don't want to count how many of them we were leading going into the final minutes.

Conversely, the only time we've won in a knockout by a one-score margin was the Northampton game this year, and that was a lot nervier than it should have been, we were blowing them away and then we just… stopped.

For me, it keeps coming back to on-field leadership. We can hammer absolutely anyone in Europe, but if we don't, there doesn't seem to be an ability to change tack and if we get into trouble, we just press the self-destruct button, and that is consistent across both the Lancaster and Nienaber eras.

Whatever we do about playing style, defensive system, etc next year, we have to tackle this. I would kill for a Heaslip, Nacewa or Fardy character but I don't really see one in this group. Even Sexton, for all his leadership qualities, was much too prone to brainfarts when under pressure (CC final 2022 being the prime example).

Maybe we need Cullen to channel his inner Rassie and terrorise the players into being too scared to lose.

Lowe,JGP,alaalatoa,Jenkins, and I’m sure there’s more that’s not home grown!

Henshaw too but regardless it’s hardly a number worth mentioning

Thanks for pointing that out, still doesn't change the point which was reaching the finals and latter stages is an achievement

Not sure why you felt the need to post that in first place.

As far as evidence/clips etc. rewatch some of the fixtures. Northampton/2nd half, Lions, Stormers...

They hammered Northampton in first half, should have scored more, watching half a game doesn't really give a proper view does it.

Lions/Stormers was poor results but not clsoe to main team, they should have and would have predicted to win the Lions game is my thoughts

The Bulls game was a mess and poor tactics.

The other games this year would be the two Ulster games when poor tactics and poor decisions meant they lost both and winning either meant they wouldnt have to go away in semi

Apart from that did they lose to Glasgow and that was it? the Glasgow game was always going to be a loss away with the Scottish players back for Glasgow

What other games?

But Leinster is not the only international squads in Europe. Plenty of teams are stacked with international players and haven't got close to what leinster have

So just saying it's not an achievement is nonsense, plus it is why so many overseas fans say Leinster fans are big headed. It is not automatic that Leinster win majority of games every season and should be in finals.