RaboP12 (Round 5): Connacht (34) vs Leinster (6) k/o - 20:00 Fri, 28 September 2012 (Sportsgrounds, Galway)

First topic message reminder :

Connacht usually up their game when the men from the east arrive. This might be a game for the avid supporters. I'm expected a hard hitting gritty game with few tries run in by either side. And a typical Galway breeze to keep the kickers honest.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:LEINSTER:

15: Rob Kearney
14: Fergus McFadden
13: Brendan Macken
12: Gordon D'Arcy
11: Isa Nacewa
10: Ian Madigan
9: John Cooney

1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Thomas Sexton
3: Jamie Hagan
4: Quinn Roux
5: Tom Denton
6: Ben Marshall
7: Shane Jennings CAPTAIN
8: Leo Auva'a

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Sean Cronin
17: Cian Healy
18: Mike Ross
19: Devin Toner
20: Jordi Murphy
21: Luke McGrath
22: Noel Reid
23: Fionn Carr

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:Connacht XV

15. Robbie Henshaw
14. Tiernan O’Halloran
13. Eoin Griffin
12. Dave McSharry
11. Fetu’u Vainikolo
10. Dan Parks
9. Kieran Marmion

1. Denis Buckley
2. Adrian Flavin
3. Nathan White (captain)
4. Michael Swift
5. Mike McCarthy
6. Eoin McKeon
7. Johnny O’Connor
8. George Naoupu

Replacements (from):

16. Jason Harris-Wright
17. Brett Wilkinson
18. Ronan Loughney
19. Dave Gannon
20. Willie Faloon
21. Dave Moore
22. Miah Nikora
23. Mata Fifit

Leinster Squad Update
With a large number of players away at international squad training until Wednesday, a reduced panel took to the field.
Gordon D’Arcy experienced discomfort after sustaining a blow to the ribs during the first half of Saturday evening’s win over Edinburgh but the Ireland centre should be fit to play on Friday night in Galway.

Eoin Reddan (minor quad strain) was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s line up and he too will be monitored by the medical team this week.

Shane Jennings (illness) and Jonathan Sexton (forearm) were both replaced as precautions, but the St. Mary’s College duo are expected to be available ahead of Thursday’s team announcement.

Jamie Heaslip’s next game will mark the Naas number eight’s 150th Leinster appearance.

Golden wrote:If Connacht can play with that intensity in the Heineken Cup theyll be a match for anyone. Cant wait to see how they get on. that must be Leinsters biggest defeat in some time.

About 3 weeks I'd say,bad start to the season alright.

Well played Connacht ye were awesome.

It's actually a fairly standard start to the season for us. 3 wins, 2 defeats. We tend to lose a few at the stage and then go on a role. We have conceded A LOT of tries though.

Feckless Rogue wrote:It's actually a fairly standard start to the season for us. 3 wins, 2 defeats. We tend to lose a few at the stage and then go on a role. We have conceded A LOT of tries though.

I said it last week to Gibbo...this doesn't feel like its just taking time to get into gear. I think the concern is real - the opposition isn't getting easier year by year and certainly in the next few weeks that's a guarantee. Defence is........... porous to say the least, but more concern for me even is the lack of punch in attack. It's untypically flat and predictable. I don't know, maybe there is a level of concealment and pacing but... someone is going to get stung badly this year if they think they can delay the A game any longer - if it even exists..

well, thats me off the Leinster bandwaggon ....

Reprimand DOD, Sin é, he's showing serious pro-Province leanings over country. Declan will not be amused with him. Bring him into line.

Biltong wrote:DOD, I have removed your insults and I suggest you refrain from doing it immediately.

moie kleur jonge..een sort politie kleur. Mischien kun jij de anderen vertellen..dat ze kunnen wel bemoiend met zijn eigen zaken..ik heb niets te zegen tegen hun.

DOD step away from the sir.....

DOD wrote:

Biltong wrote:DOD, I have removed your insults and I suggest you refrain from doing it immediately.

moie kleur jonge..een sort politie kleur. Mischien kun jij de anderen vertellen..dat ze kunnen wel bemoiend met zijn eigen zaken..ik heb niets te zegen tegen hun.

Perhaps if you behave I wouldn't have to stick my nose into this, eh?

Perhaps bilton...life is full of whatifs. What if people didn't have a humour bypass or just ignored what is not directed at them...


So what you going to do grote jonge, ban me...i hope you understand the lingo (albeit with terrible grammar) given you speak the peasant version

What a bout ye Biltong? Here have a

One guy delirious that a team won
...another guy delirious that a team lost
and a South African with a big stick............

there's a joke coming soon but I'm not hanging round for the punchline. Night guys. Enjoy.

One guy delirious that a team won
...another guy delirious that a team lost
and a South African with a big stick............
Waiting for DOD's next trick.

A South African with a big stick...it really is the 80's all over again

errr.... what did we do with a stick in the 80's?

Play fetch with our dogs?

That's an interesting way of putting it...

I think DOD and Mowgli would make a good couple..

This will be the season when we find out what Schmidt is really made of. A team on front foot is easier to urge on. Leinster looking like they've lost their way somewhat and seem uncertain. The Munster match is going to be a real showdown.

Mickey Mouse league

HERSH wrote:Mickey Mouse league

Says Goofy

very good, you'll go far.

mickey. you can't divorce Minnie just because she has prominent teeth!

I didn't say she had prominent teeth, I said she was focking goofy!

Very disappointing from Leinster, slow starts are common with us but that doesn't mean it should be acceptable. A lot of work to do coming in to some bigger games.

Only thing more disappointing than the Leinster performance is DOD's posting.

Congratulations to Connacht, developing very well since Elwoods arrival. Very impressive stuff.

Of ffs another one. If my postings disappoint you then just ignore them.

Mcsharry for connacht looks a really good young player. Which probably means we won't see him on ireland team for another 5 years.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Mcsharry for connacht looks a really good young player. Which probably means we won't see him on ireland team for another 5 years.

Ah no,Kidney is gone in less than a year so he'll have a chance after that.

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Mcsharry for connacht looks a really good young player. Which probably means we won't see him on ireland team for another 5 years.

Ah no,Kidney is gone in less than a year so he'll have a chance after that.

you never know, if we somehow have a good 6 nations (very unlikely i know) he may have his contract renewed.

God,I won't sleep right for a week with that thought going through my mind.

any word on injuries??

Probably be word tomorrow. But Redan should be OK. Rob Kearney out until at least November. Strauss OK. Darce not sure.

Kearney out til November? Christ.

Thanks for the info Jen.

Heineken Cup group shifting further towards Clermont... Chris Henry for Ireland in the autumn?

Our back 3 is getting quite light now I must say. Haha what is the equivalent to Brad Thorn in the back 3!?!

Need fitz, O'Malley and K2 back quick.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Mcsharry for connacht looks a really good young player. Which probably means we won't see him on ireland team for another 5 years.

Who would you drop to accommodate him?

(btw, O'Halloran was in the last 6Ns training squad).

Shouldn't Leinster have done more recruitment over the summer? They're an attractive province to play for and surely would have been able to afford it with the H-cup revenue. Is Leo A'vuva going to cover 2nd row?

Morgannwg - IRFU take the prize money for Heineken Cup into central fund for all provinces. There would be add on money for home QFs & semis and some extra cash from sponsors though. Like all Irish provinces, they can only have 4 NIQ players and 1 who could become eligible to play for ireland with 3 years residency. At the moment, Leinster have one slot available and that is probably being kept to bring back Brad Thorn for the end of the season like last year.

Morgannwg wrote:Shouldn't Leinster have done more recruitment over the summer? They're an attractive province to play for and surely would have been able to afford it with the H-cup revenue. Is Leo A'vuva going to cover 2nd row?

when we bring in foreign players, we are accused of buying the heineken cup and not being able to produce our own. Now people are asking why didnt we bring in players. We just can never get it right

LF4L - I doubt if Morgannwg was accusing Leinster of buying the HCup. Most of us just roll our eyes when we hear this endless bragging about Leinster having the best Academy in Europe.

Sin é wrote:LF4L - I doubt if Morgannwg was accusing Leinster of buying the HCup. Most of us just roll our eyes when we hear this endless bragging about Leinster having the best Academy in Europe.

i know he wasn't im talking about the many people that did.

Morgannwg wrote:Shouldn't Leinster have done more recruitment over the summer? They're an attractive province to play for and surely would have been able to afford it with the H-cup revenue. Is Leo A'vuva going to cover 2nd row?

Until we got hit with all of the injuries we were looking OK. Academy is producing some quality players.

Funny you pick on 2nd row, the area where we have no injuries.

Big Leo is a flash player and good carrier. Not HC standard barring injury to Heaslip, and not a 2nd row. We have Leo and Dev as first choice, Browne and Denton as backup and Quin Roux as a throw of the dice. Has promise, and if he works out could become our "Project player" (Where we have a space left) if not, he is only on a 1 year and the Stormers sound like they would be happy to take him back.

Sin is right, we have the possibility of a 39 year old Thorny playing for a few months at the end of the season again. Not sure how we would work it though, probably have to either make Roux a "project" or lose him.

We have Goodman and Bent to come when the ITM finishes. Bent is an already IQ prop, and Goodman is a 10/12 solid squad player.

The IRFU want us to develop players rather than buy them in. I agree. Better for Ireland and better for Leinster too in the long run.

The best foreign imports are the ones who develop our players as well as contributing on the pitch. e.g Ollie Le Roux and Brad Thorn.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:Academy is producing some quality players.

Just read your post. I suppose this qualifies as "endless bragging" Personally never said it was the best in Europe or anything like it, but I know a few lads who have kids in the system and there is serious pressure to get even into sub academy. We have exported a lot of Academy guys to the UK too, including Leicester and there is a guy in the 1st team in Northampton who could not even make our Academy.

Jenny (I wasn't referring to that comment more general bragging you get from the likes of Gibbo). Leinster may be supplying plenty of players to English academies, but then again Leinster are enjoying the fruit of lots of other team's academies in their pro team - like Van de Merwe, Strauss, Cronin, Ross, Leo A, Reddan & Boss are all products of someone else's academy for starters.

not sure they had academies in Redan boss and rosses day.cronin and Strauss I'll give you. Big Leo was just a guy from Wellington who turned up over here and played for Belvo. got spotted by Leinster and signed as squad cover. same as his fellow kiwis undone who played for clontarf.

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:not sure they had academies in Redan boss and rosses day.cronin and Strauss I'll give you. Big Leo was just a guy from Wellington who turned up over here and played for Belvo. got spotted by Leinster and signed as squad cover. same as his fellow kiwis undone who played for clontarf.

sor.
ry fellow kiwi dundon . stupid phone

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:not sure they had academies in Redan boss and rosses day.cronin and Strauss I'll give you. Big Leo was just a guy from Wellington who turned up over here and played for Belvo. got spotted by Leinster and signed as squad cover. same as his fellow kiwis undone who played for clontarf.

The point I'm making is that Leinster have a fair few players who haven't come through the Leinster system. The Academy has been there since about 2003/04 now and you'd expect 'the best academy in Europe' to be able to have more graduates in the team at this stage, particularly in key positions like hooker, TH, locks & scrumhalf.

I mentioned Big Leo because I had read concerns from fans about Cullen. I guess Leinster are well covered in the back 5 though. Who's calling it the best academy in europe? Although I will say it seems to be producing the players at all levels so it must be good. Would like to see some U20 cross-border competition myself, but I wonder where in the season they'd fit it in.

An academy isn't a factory...it's a nurturing ground.

There is no guarantees expected and no guarantees given.

An Irish racehorse trainer talked once about a great racer. The racer went to stud after a glittering career. The trainer was eager to get in on the bloodline and had a number of his mares covered by this amazing animal.

He laughed at the memory.....the foals were all duds and he'd wasted quite a lot of money. But the analogy holds true. A trainer chooses animals and foals he thinks have the right stuff, he spends a few years training them, he spends big money on them but there are no guarantees that they'll do the business - it's pretty much a gamble.
An academy is just an educated guess school - but nobody knows from where the next great or greats will come.

Crickey Fly, you are losing the run of yourself. An academy isn't a stud either

Aidan O'Brien from Ballydoyle Racing Stables (the most successful in the world) would not be taking in any old crap from Coolmore, no matter who the foal's daddy was. The foals would be teenagers/young adults and would have shown serious ability before making it into the Ballydoyle Academy. I'd suggest that any horse that makes into into Ballydoyle will be a success unless they get injured.

Sin é wrote:

Jenifer McLadyboy wrote:not sure they had academies in Redan boss and rosses day.cronin and Strauss I'll give you. Big Leo was just a guy from Wellington who turned up over here and played for Belvo. got spotted by Leinster and signed as squad cover. same as his fellow kiwis undone who played for clontarf.

The point I'm making is that Leinster have a fair few players who haven't come through the Leinster system. The Academy has been there since about 2003/04 now and you'd expect 'the best academy in Europe' to be able to have more graduates in the team at this stage, particularly in key positions like hooker, TH, locks & scrumhalf.

Well you are the only one I have seen saying it is "the best in Europe" I believe you that others have said it, but have not seen it myself.

Just because a few lads on a forum say it does not mean anyone in the Leinster organisation thinks it.

We have had problems in those areas for sure but we have adressed most of them, and we produce back rowers and outside backs for fun.

5 props in the academy now (a lot more than other provinces) and the 2 THs are very promising. Cooney and McGrath are promising at SH, we sent Harris Wright off to England and he is now at Connacht, the other hooker is Tom Sexton who has had not had much game time. 2 guys in the Academy too one of whom has a LH prop for a twin brother, and while 2nd row is still a problem we just got 2 lads in first year who are said to be serious prospects.

Sin é wrote:Crickey Fly, you are losing the run of yourself. An academy isn't a stud either

Aidan O'Brien from Ballydoyle Racing Stables (the most successful in the world) would not be taking in any old crap from Coolmore, no matter who the foal's daddy was. The foals would be teenagers/young adults and would have shown serious ability before making it into the Ballydoyle Academy. I'd suggest that any horse that makes into into Ballydoyle will be a success unless they get injured.

I'd suggest I know what I'm talking about, Sin é and there is NO guarantee on pedigree performing.... and trainers are only too aware of it. You can't guarantee the deal until they pay you back for the effort you put into to their nurturing.