Round 14? I think?

[Leinster Fan]

Leinster sloppy so far.

Doris and Daly are the only players who have looked good for us.

 

[Leinster Fan]

F***'s sake, it's not a knock on if it comes off his leg. You'd think a ref would know that.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Bit of luck here and there for Leinster, but their defence has been outstanding.

 

[Leinster Fan]

In fairness Jack McGrath has been awesome here. Actually looking like a test Lion for the first time in two years.

Bit of luck here and there for Leinster, but their defence has been outstanding.

Some of it's been very sloppy, but the discipline and defence once the Scarlets have got close to the line has been excellent. I'd be very with this score at half time given that we'll have the wind in the second half.

EDIT: Scrap that, if we don't score here I'll be p*****.

 

[dullonien]

Missed opportunity by the Scarlets. They were on top in the first half, but sloppiness in the Leinster 22 undid a lot of good build-up play. They were better in the second half, but that early dive by Asquith was a real kicker (not sure he lost contact with the ball mind!). The missed sitter of a penalty shot not long after was a further blow. Still could have won it at the death, but wrong choice made with Hardy completely out on his feet and unable to keep-up with play.

On Hardy, that was a mighty fine display from the youngster. As was Dan Davis', he looks like the next Justin Tipuric. The way he stood up Kearmey on the touchline was pure class.

Scarlets going in the right direction again though after some turgid performances recently.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Missed opportunity by the Scarlets. They were on top in the first half, but sloppiness in the Leinster 22 undid a lot of good build-up play. They were better in the second half, but that early dive by Asquith was a real kicker (not sure he lost contact with the ball mind!). The missed sitter of a penalty shot not long after was a further blow. Still could have won it at the death, but wrong choice made with Hardy completely out on his feet and unable to keep-up with play.

On Hardy, that was a mighty fine display from the youngster. As was Dan Davis', he looks like the next Justin Tipuric. The way he stood up Kearmey on the touchline was pure class.

Scarlets going in the right direction again though after some turgid performances recently.

I was very impressed by the Scarlets' 7 and 9, who I think are the ones you're referencing. Scarlets should have one that game to be honest, left it behind them really.

From a Leinster perspective it was really encouraging to see Daly back on form. He completely outshone the two first choice players who were with him in our back three. JGP, Reid and Abdaladze were great off the bench. Mixed bag from 9-10-12 really, all three of them had some good moments but there was a fair few frustrating things as well. Deegan was quiet and couldn't really get into the game at 6, he's much better at 8 really. Doris was impressive though in fairness.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Scarlets were the better team last night and deserved to win.

They really should have been at least 10 points up at the end of the first half rather than 10 points down. Given the inexperience from 6-10 in the Leinster team, it's great that they pulled out the win.

I'm seeing a lot of people say elsewhere that they didn't think Hugh O'Sullivan played well. I disagree. He made a couple of errors but in general, his passing was zippy and on point while his box kicking was excellent. He got decent length on his touch finders into a stiff breeze in the first half. There's lots to be encouraged about.

It was Ciarán Frawley's worst performance in a Leinster shirt but he'll learn from his errors. He was surrounded by inexperience at 9 and 12 and it showed. Alongside Jamison Gibson Park and Noel Reid, he'd look a lot better.

Vakh Adbaladze impressed again. It won't be long until he's pushed ahead of Michael Bent, not that Bent did anything wrong.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Munster and Dragons playing the most mind numbing game of kick and chase ever. Has all the intensity of an underage training game. Wouldn't think Munster had an All Black, a Springbok and Irish internationals on the pitch and U20 stars like Johnston and Bleyendaal though.

Been impressed with the ref though.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Could Cheetahs make a late charge for the playoffs? They're now 7 points off 3rd in their conference with a game in hand. Among their 8 remaining games are home ties against Dragons, Ospreys and Kings x2 all of which are winnable. They should be aiming for at least 18 points from those fixtures.

 

[munstermuffin]

Munster and Dragons playing the most mind numbing game of kick and chase ever. Has all the intensity of an underage training game. Wouldn't think Munster had an All Black, a Springbok and Irish internationals on the pitch and U20 stars like Johnston and Bleyendaal though.

Been impressed with the ref though.

To be fair conditions here are worst I've seen in long time. Pitch is desperate. Not Dragons fault bit weather crazy
Wind on tv I presume isn't being highlighted but like last night these games are iffy as standards always drop.

 

[munstermuffin]

Great to get win. We were below par but to be fair Dragons were excellent too. Played well in poor conditions. And had excellent kicking game.

Conditions were terrible but must say for his 1st game in crappy conditions the red was excellent. Found his communication and authority to be briliant

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Yes, Cheetahs are legitimate outsiders for the playoffs. They really underperformed early season given the quality they have at 10 now.

Sounds like a heartbreaker for Benetton. But it's a sign of the times that a heartbreaker is a draw at Ulster. I think Scarlets showing life in Dublin is enough to conclude that Benetton won't make the playoffs.

To be fair conditions here are worst I've seen in long time. Pitch is desperate. Not Dragons fault bit weather crazy
Wind on tv I presume isn't being highlighted but like last night these games are iffy as standards always drop.

I thought that the Dragons now had a semi-synthetic pitch?

 

[munstermuffin]

Yes, Cheetahs are legitimate outsiders for the playoffs. They really underperformed early season given the quality they have at 10 now.

Sounds like a heartbreaker for Benetton. But it's a sign of the times that a heartbreaker is a draw at Ulster. I think Scarlets showing life in Dublin is enough to conclude that Benetton won't make the playoffs.



I thought that the Dragons now had a semi-synthetic pitch?

Plenty of patches of water on it though and it's not a top rugby pitch. Add in soccer played there means it doesn't get recovery treatment

 

[munstermuffin]

Plenty of patches of water on it though and it's not a top rugby pitch. Add in soccer played there means it doesn't get recovery treatment

Also it's a hybrid pitch so not artificial. Grass is kinda fake but its more the drainage system that decides how good it is. The turf is stil natural and muck.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

This week has really destroyed the Pro14 stats about tries per game. Bit of a strange one.

Kings complete the Scottish double. Zebre favourites for the wooden spoon now.

 

[Leinster Fan]

This week has really destroyed the Pro14 stats about tries per game. Bit of a strange one.

Kings complete the Scottish double. Zebre favourites for the wooden spoon now.

The standard of the league falls dramatically during international windows. Only to be expected I suppose given that there are four squads being mostly picked from the league and that presumably means well over 100 players unavailable for their clubs.

All the games I've seen this weekend have been amazingly awful though.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Of the 14 teams in the league, 11 still have a great shot at making the playoffs. Is that a sign of quality and competitiveness or of most teams being bang average like in the Premiership?

It's be brilliant to see Benetton finish top 3 in Conference B and qualify for the Champions Cup.

 

[munstermuffin]

Of the 14 teams in the league, 11 still have a great shot at making the playoffs. Is that a sign of quality and competitiveness or of most teams being bang average like in the Premiership?

It's be brilliant to see Benetton finish top 3 in Conference B and qualify for the Champions Cup.

There alot of sub plots. It's very competitive and well teams are staying fighting.
I was hugely impressed with Dragons attitude today despite nothing really to fight for

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

This weekend more or less sums up conference B. Leinster with their worst performance of the season against a team in their conference still managed to increase their lead at the top.

I had to stop watching Connacht last night too, it was depressing.

 

[munstermuffin]

This weekend more or less sums up conference B. Leinster with their worst performance of the season against a team in their conference still managed to increase their lead at the top.

I had to stop watching Connacht last night too, it was depressing.

Was always expected though. Leinster have better depth so were always likely to win