Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

I would absolutely take your arm off if you offered me Pool 3 or 4 ahead of our pool.

Bristol should be a 5 pointer but LAR, Bath and Clermont are all really tough games against sides who are capable of having a big performance against us. Clermont and Bath will have a very good inside knowledge of us through Ala'alatoa and Molony respectively.

Benetton are the lowest ranked URC team. That's not good. They're likely to give up 5 points to their opposition on the road and have a strong chance of losing at home to LAR, Bath or Clermont. As we were seeded and are Irish, we could only have Benetton, Bulls, Sharks or Stormers as the other URC team and we got the worst one for our pool.

It is what it is and you have to just get on with it but it's comfortably the hardest draw for a seeded team.

You'd have to think Leinster have been too safe and conservative in selection of the first choice side over the past number of seasons.

James Ryan only made his first Champions Cup start in October 2017 because Fardy withdrew late against Montpellier. This was in a season when Ireland won a Grand Slam with Ryan as a starter. Just four months prior Leinster's original plan was to not have Ryan in the XXIII for Europe (Fardy and Toner starting, with Molony benching).

Joe McCarthy came off the bench for Ireland in a World Cup QF before Leinster promoted him ahead of the uncapped Ross Molony.

It took Farrell backing JGP as his man for Ireland before Leinster had him as definitive first choice ahead of Luke McGrath. The former is now one of the best 9s in the game, which is a level McGrath never threatened to get to.

If players of the calibre of Ryan, McCarthy and Gibson-Park are promoted too slowly what chance does Foley have of leapfrogging McGrath? What chance does Harry Byrne have of being backed ahead of the incumbent Ross? It's all a bit safe and conservative. It's almost as if there's an attitude of the pecking order is the pecking order and it's going to take a lot for anything to change that.

Having a settled side is good. But are there players in the squad who could strengthen the first choice XV or XXIII if they were backed?

There is an argument that Leo is a conservative selector.

But you've missed the mark using Ryan and McCarthy as examples haha. Both I would consider the arguments to Leo taking chances and backing youth.

Ryan got his Leinster debut at his first practical opportunity. He had a hamstring avulsion in the first year of his academy early in the season so missed the entire thing. Now there is no way of knowing if Leinster would have played him that season but given he made his test debut that summer… I think it's a safe bet that he would have seen meaningful game time.

McCarthy saw significant game time in his first season in the academy. He was playing senior rugby for Leinster essentially any time he was fit. Fitness was an issue for him in his first 2 season we just didn't hear about it because Leinster don't release updates on academy players. A year one academy player getting any game time in a final is significant. Yes it was only 4 minutes. But it was still significant for a player that young to be playing in Europe.

McGrath vs JGP I do agree with you however. Leo has persisted with Luke for years despite the fundamentals of a 9 being lacking. I do think there are bigger factors at play in terms of the overall development of 9s at Leinster. But we have seen glimpses of just how good a player Patterson can be since he left. Perhaps he should have been backed sooner. Foley has rarely been fit the last 2 seasons but I would like to see him backed more too. Gunne was the best underage 9 from Leinster in recent memory. I would be hoping for a breakout from him next season.

https://x.com/leinsterrugby/status/1807790004921307494?s=46&t=-2Z2jGr2LnMXZ48GxvT46w

Dan Sheehan has done his ACL

We have Gus McCarthy who'll be a year 2 academy and would be considered one of the more exciting prospects. He's made his debut already.

Time will tell but I'm sure he's ready to take his chance