The Leinster thread

[munstermuffin]

Ross Byrne was on a nice upward curve finishing the season also.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Ross Byrne was on a nice upward curve finishing the season also.

He improved out of sight last season. Similar thing happened with him at u20 level. Took a while to get comfortable but once he was, he ran the show. It's a fantastic position to be in having players of the calibre of Byrne and Joey Carbery vying for a spot as Jonny Sexton's successor.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Ringrose out for 4-5 months with a shoulder injury... That's a centre partnership of Reid and O'Loughlin for the first few rounds of Europe, we could struggle.

 

[big ginger 8]

If only he was with the Lions, maybe he wouldn't have been injured!

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Ringrose out for 4-5 months with a shoulder injury... That's a centre partnership of Reid and O'Loughlin for the first few rounds of Europe, we could struggle.

Ah balls. Maybe we'll see some of Tommy O'Brien, Conor O'Brien, Tom Daly and Jimmy O'Brien step up as so many others did last season.

 

[Amiga500]

Ah balls. Maybe we'll see some of Tommy O'Brien, Conor O'Brien, Tom Daly and Jimmy O'Brien step up as so many others did last season.

It seems Brien was a right busy f**ker in his day....

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Sexton played the entire third test with a fractured wrist and then injured his ankle, might make his delayed start to the season as planned...

Top class player welfare there Lions...

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Team for the first pre-season game against Perpignan has been announced. Nobody who was on a summer tour has been named in the squad.

Leinster Rugby:

15. Jordan Larmour
14. Adam Byrne
13. Jimmy O'Brien
12. Tom Daly
11. Ian Fitzpatrick
10. Cathal Marsh
9. Nick McCarthy
1. Ed Byrne CAPTAIN
2. Bryan Byrne
3. Jeremy Loughman
4. Mick Kearney
5. Ian Nagle
6. Josh Murphy
7. Will Connors
8. Max Deegan

Replacements

16. Sean McNulty
17. Vakh Abdaladze
18. Oisín Heffernan
19. Oisín Dowling
20. Peadar Timmins
21. Charlie Rock
22. Noel Reid
23. Hugo Keenan
24. Barry Daly
25. Peter Dooley

While it's nothing more than a training run, it'll be interesting to see how Jordan Larmour goes at 15 and Jeremy Loughman performs at 3. Larmour could give Leinster another attacking dimension should he fulfill his potential in the new position of fullback. With Mike Ross' retirement and Tadhg Fulong having his game time managed due to the Lions circus, Loughman could be pressed into action more frequently this season.

 

[Groundhog]

Leinster now have I think 4 Byrnes on the books. Why are we worrying about NIQs when Leinster are clearly operating some sort of backalley breeding stud for professional athletes with presumably Shane Byrnes just servicing Leinsters need for youth for a generation to come.

 

[Amiga500]

I've a mental image of all these mini mullets running around D4....

 

[Groundhog]

I've a mental image of all these mini mullets running around D4....

And let's not forget the infamous Leinster team building tour to Eastern Europe....

 

[munstermuffin]

And let's not forget the infamous Leinster team building tour to Eastern Europe....

This post deserves a medal

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Team for the Gloucester friendly listed below. A few points of interest are Jimmy O'Brien, Josh Murphy, Bryan Byrne and Max Deegan start for the second straight game. Tom Daly tore his ACL against Perpignan so Leinster are down to just Noel Reid and Rory O'Loughlin in midfield followed by the academy. As such, Isa Nacewa getting a run at 12 could be a sign of how Leinster will manage in the absence of Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose. Could be a great use of resources to have Nacewa maintain a creative role, babysit the young flyhalves and mask his loss of pace.

Leinster Rugby:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Hugo Keenan
13. Jimmy O'Brien
12. Isa Nacewa CAPTAIN
11. Dave Kearney
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Peter Dooley
2. Bryan Byrne
3. Michael Bent
4. Ian Nagle
5. Scott Fardy
6. Josh Murphy
7. Jordi Murphy
8. Max Deegan

16. Sean McNulty
17. Ed Byrne
18. Vakh Abdaladze
19. Oisín Dowling
20. Peadar Timmins
21. Charlie Rock
22. Cathal Marsh
23. Ian Fitzpatrick
24. Oisín Heffernan
25. Mick Kearney
26. Will Connors
27. Barry Daly
28. Adam Byrne
29. Fergus McFadden
30. Jordan Larmour

 

[munstermuffin]

Very nice balanced team.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Leinster beat Gloucester by 50-14. Report at the link:
http://www.the42.ie/leinster-gloucester-pre-season-friendly-report-3553768-Aug2017/

Can't read much into pre-season results. Leinster have scored 11 tries in 2 games though which may indicate their attacking style from last season is being continued. I expect the Ireland summer tourists to come back in for the next game.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Bath match
Leinster Rugby:

15. Jordan Larmour
14. Fergus McFadden
13. Jimmy O'Brien
12. Conor O'Brien
11. Barry Daly
10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Ed Byrne
2. Rónan Kelleher
3. Michael Bent
4. Ross Molony CAPTAIN
5. Mick Kearney
6. Caelan Doris
7. Will Connors
8. Max Deegan

16. Sean McNulty
17. Vakh Abdaladze
18. Oisín Heffernan
19. Ian Nagle
20. Peadar Timmins
21. Nick McCarthy
22. Cathal Marsh
23. Adam Byrne
2. Seán Cronin
3. Andrew Porter
5. James Ryan
7. Jordi Murphy
10. Joey Carbery
11. Dave Kearney
24. Ian Fitzpatrick
25. Hugo Keenan

Excuse you Leinster for ******* up the bench!

 

[Diomedes]

Lads what do we think our starting backrow is? It's mentioned often but we really do have some frightful depth there.

Jack Conan is very much on the rise and I think it'd be very difficult to leave him out of the 15. But at the expense of Heaslip? I'm not sure about that...so the question might arise as to whether fitting Conan in at 6 might be better?

I'd be interested to see how a
Conan
SOB
Heaslip
backrow would function maybe with Leavy on the bench? (Just in terms of providing the best cover - Murphy truly provides the most cover, however he'll have earn his place well after such a long lay off).

That still leaves the likes of Ruddock and VdF (who have been fantastic) out in the cold - I think a 6/2 split is something we could really utilise well when required.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Really hard to call. I'd say Conan, O'Brien and Heaslip would be the starting back row in a fully fit squad. O'Brien rarely plays for Leinster these days though. Equally I wouldn't quibble with Dan Leavy, Josh van der Flier, Rhys Ruddock or Jordi Murphy starting any big game. It's a phenomenal position to be in. Competition among them drives improved performance.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I reckon Leavy will earn his start, no idea where though. Hell of a nice headache for Cullen to have though, if Murphy gets back to his best he has a solid claim to start too. At full fitness three international class backrows won't make the 23 which is crazy depth for a club side.

 

[Diomedes]

I reckon Leavy will earn his start, no idea where though.

I'm inclined to agree with you here, he's been on a upward trend the last couple of seasons - I feel his profile is slightly overshadowed by VdF in the popular conscience though, despite consistently delivering performances on par with, and sometimes exceeding VdF last season.

Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of VdF and think he's excellent but I'd have him and Leavy on about the same level whereas a lot of people I'd speak to still seem to rate VdF a lot more highly.