Champions Cup 24/25 - Round 1

[munstermuffin]

Well we learned alot here.

1. Leinster see Barrett as a centre
2. Deegan I know was highly touted but he is miles off an Irish camp spot and that is cemented tonight.
3. Prendergast needs to really sort out his defence game (I'm sure he will) and then we are talking about and world class all rounder.
4. The Scrum is easy ref
5. Leinster bench is like a cheat code really.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

15, good fend to be fair but have to throw yourself at that completely.

Bad day at the office considering his mistake for the first too

 

[McTallshort]

Men against boys now

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Ref should have given that the second Josh asked the question. Most honest guy out there.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Bristol's 9 is absolute bin juice

Why the eff would you refuse to play that ball while watching your scrum getting munched?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Bristol's 9 is absolute bin juice

Why the eff would you refuse to play that ball while watching your scrum getting munched?

Ok he redeemed himself, that was class

Edit: ah that's offside if they check it

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

He won't even let the game end, the *******.

Fun second half. Can't wait to watch Sam grow in the next 18 months. Still plenty of errors but does so many key skills so well.

 

[munstermuffin]

He won't even let the game end, the *******.

Fun second half. Can't wait to watch Sam grow in the next 18 months. Still plenty of errors but does so many key skills so well.

Errors will be expected. His attacking game is there already defensive side needs alot of work.
Tyler Blenyendaal when here was a rugby brain and seems to be flying it as a coach now too.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

That was a comedy

 

[TRF_Olyy]

What a car crash of an ending

 

[mikebrownsauce1512]

Huge exception for **** pitches like Sarries, Edinburgh and Falcons

**** those pitches, should all be grass bosh

 

[OllyM97]

Might as well just fast-forward to a Leinster/Toulouse final now. I'm a bit bored with the Champions Cup nowadays, the fun and unpredictability has just drained out of it in recent years. How many teams have a realistic chance of winning it?. 2 I reckon. This Tournament is nowhere near what it used to be.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

I remember when it was pretty known it would be clermont vs Toulon but at least they had to play 8 tough games to get there. Now any good team will have a quarterfinal wrapped up after the first window.

 

[AngloScotsHybrid]

RG Snyman gets overshadowed by Etzebeth but he is absolutely world class. There aren't many giants like him that can run and offload.

 

[Rinkadink]

Can't emphasise enough how bad that weather was to play in. Had a big effect on the game. Fair play Leinster, went about as I feared with the bench but was hoping Bristol would make a better account of ourselves second half. Think we let ourselves down a bit.

How class were those big guns from the Leinster bench though? Seeing JB taking the ball to the line was so good to watch even whilst getting pumped. Hopefully we have a couple back from injury and give you guys a better game of it and in nicer conditions in the final. Now to thaw myself out and pour a cider or two.

 

[Smurfy]

Nice cameo from Luke McGrath there. I remember watching him at u 20 level and thinking he was the future at 9, he was so far ahead of everyone in terms of awareness and rugby intelligence, which showed itself in the quality of his decision making, the trail lines he ran, and his defence. However ultimately the speed and length and accuracy of his passing game always let him down, which I always felt could and should have been sorted by good coaching, but wasn't. Funnily enough I thought his passing game today was excellent, and it was good to see him play so well.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Can't emphasise enough how bad that weather was to play in. Had a big effect on the game. Fair play Leinster, went about as I feared with the bench but was hoping Bristol would make a better account of ourselves second half. Think we let ourselves down a bit.

How class were those big guns from the Leinster bench though? Seeing JB taking the ball to the line was so good to watch even whilst getting pumped. Hopefully we have a couple back from injury and give you guys a better game of it and in nicer conditions in the final. Now to thaw myself out and pour a cider or two.

I was impressed by Bristol apart from the 20mins they were absolutely shell shocked and I'd put that as much down to the weather and totally erratic referreeing which meant the game had no flow whatsoever. But they dealt with the ref better, fronted up in defence and put us under territorial pressure for most of the 80 mins. MacGinty seemed like a loss, Jenkins was good as a back up but just couldn't apply constant pressure on our defence. And then it was just a few big errors in key moments and Leinster's ability to capitalise which differentiated the teams.

From a Leinster POV we got the job done, we're a very good defensive outfit and have periods where we can score multiple tries in short periods and it's kept us humming this season. Jordie seems like a good addition, RG is a great one and Sam P is better than Ross Byrne (he'd have scored neither of those tries yesterday). Dan Sheehan and Furlong back for the business emd of the season will be great boosts too. It'll be an unsettling year until we can get a trophy in the cabinet though, hopefully it happens.

Biggest negative is Frawley, I was never his biggest fan but he looks like a guy rapidly playing his way out of Ireland squads and it can be difficult to get back in once Farrell doesn't see a use for you.

 

[mikebrownsauce1512]

I was impressed by Bristol apart from the 20mins they were absolutely shell shocked and I'd put that as much down to the weather and totally erratic referreeing which meant the game had no flow whatsoever. But they dealt with the ref better, fronted up in defence and put us under territorial pressure for most of the 80 mins. MacGinty seemed like a loss, Jenkins was good as a back up but just couldn't apply constant pressure on our defence. And then it was just a few big errors in key moments and Leinster's ability to capitalise which differentiated the teams.

From a Leinster POV we got the job done, we're a very good defensive outfit and have periods where we can score multiple tries in short periods and it's kept us humming this season. Jordie seems like a good addition, RG is a great one and Sam P is better than Ross Byrne (he'd have scored neither of those tries yesterday). Dan Sheehan and Furlong back for the business emd of the season will be great boosts too. It'll be an unsettling year until we can get a trophy in the cabinet though, hopefully it happens.

Biggest negative is Frawley, I was never his biggest fan but he looks like a guy rapidly playing his way out of Ireland squads and it can be difficult to get back in once Farrell doesn't see a use for you.

That Leinster team could genuinely compete at international level, if you don't win a trophy this year the Irfu should give all your players to the three other provinces.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Premier sports coverage feels so low budget

At least it's cheap December + Jan is costing me like £22 so it's not too bad. But ergh the coverage doesn't scream highest level of club rugby