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The Leinster thread

  • Thread starter snoopy snoopy dog dog
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Even without Irish guys that's a nice team but think that signing is just to have a frontrow while looking but those 2 I mentioned earlier have been rumoured down here as if they went on loan for year it'd benefit Munster Leinster and Ireland and well Snoop I agree if Hurley can stay fit he is a serious talent but well that dies away if your not fit consistently
 
snoopy snoopy dog dog said:
Agreed, it smacks of a short term deal until somebody else can be identified. If he takes the opportunity, he could earn a squad place though. At 30 he has another 4 or 5 years ahead of him. He's a few years younger than Ronan McCormack and may take his spot in the squad in the short to medium term.

The squad for the Leicester game is:

15: Luke Fitzgerald
14: David Kearney
13: Eoin O'Malley
12: Fergus McFadden
11: Niall Morris
10: Ian McKinley
9: Isaac Boss
1: Heinke van der Merwe
2: Richardt Strauss
3: Simon Shawe
4: Nathan Hines
5: Devin Toner
6: Dominic Ryan
7: Sean O'Brien CAPTAIN
8: Stephen Keogh
REPLACEMENTS: Jason Harris-Wright, Jack McGrath, Stewart Maguire, Ed O'Donoghue, Paul Ryan, Paul O'Donohoe, Isa Nacewa, Michael Keating, Mariano Galarza, Eoin Sheriff, Ian Madigan, Eamonn Sheridan
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I like the look of this team it got plenty of youth and un tested players for leinster with the new signings and all it's going to be good to see Luke back and also in his perfed position i don't think he will last a full 80 mins though maybe 50-60 mins with necewa coming on then.
 
lynam1104 said:
I like the look of this team it got plenty of youth and un tested players for leinster with the new signings and all it's going to be good to see Luke back and also in his perfed position i don't think he will last a full 80 mins though maybe 50-60 mins with necewa coming on then.
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The match with Leicester has already been played! I'm a Sarries fan and even I know that!
 
Somebody was asking a page or two back about the strength the schools versus clubs at underage level. Today a Leinster u19 squad containing both schools and clubs player was named. The breakdown is 18 schools players to 4 from the clubs.

The Leinster Under-19 squad, sponsored by SWORD Security, to play Northampton Saints on Friday 27th August in Franklins Gardens (KO: 5pm) has been named...

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LEINSTER UNDER-19: BACKS: Garret O'Suilleabhain (Clongowes Wood College SJ), Ferdia Kenny (Pres Bray), James Kearns (CBC Monkstown), Stephen Murphy (Gonzaga College SJ), Mark Corballis (St. Michael's College), Peter Lydon (Kilkenny College), Marcus Walsh (Blackrock College), Robbie Holt (Edenderry), John O'Hehir (Blackrock College), Pat McMillan (King's Hospital)
FORWARDS: Des Merrey (Kings Hospital), Tyrone Moran (Blackrock College), Tadhg Furlong (Good Counsel), Josh Hinde (Kings Hospital), Alan O'Connor (Skerries), Michael Oyuga (Belvedere College SJ), Daniel Mannion (Wicklow), Jack Conan (St. Gerard's), David Hogan (Blackrock College), Lee Mitchell (Belvedere College SJ), Liam Curran (St. Mary's College), Brian Du Toit (Kings Hospital)
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There are a few decent players there. Four players from KH is quite an achievement for that school.
 
Snoop heard reports from Leicester game and despite the workout it was supposedly an excellent workout with plenty of positives
 
http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/2010/0901/1224278034997.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/2010/0901/1224278034997.html

Leinster bring in Prescott as cover

Rugby team news: Having had their hand forced by the serious and untimely injury to prop Stan Wright, Leinster have moved to strengthen their front row options with the signing of Ben Prescott.
The unheralded 32-year-old arrives from English championship side Nottingham and has put pen to paper on a one-year deal. Although born in Libya, Prescott actually qualifies for Ireland but has never been capped at any level.
Leinster will hope to have as much good fortune in their transfer dealings as they did in bringing Wright to the province in 2006. The Cook Islander, who will be out of action for six months after rupturing an Achilles tendon, arrived as a relative unknown but has gone on to prove an invaluable member of the Leinster set-up.
"We are pleased to complete a deal for Ben and he will add further competition to the pack, especially in light of the unfortunate long-term injury to Stan Wright," team manager Guy Easterby said this afternoon.
"Ben trained with the squad this week and we are confident that his experience and ability will be a welcome addition to the panel for the remainder of the season."
Prescott could be pressed into action as early as Friday night when last year's beaten finalists open their Magners League campaign away to Glasgow. The new arrival is included in a 24-man squad alongside the likes of Ireland internationals Jamie Heaslip, Sean O'Brien and Luke Fitzgerald. Coach Josef Schmidt will name his starting line-up tomorrow afternoon.
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and

Girvan Dempsey gets a job as a scout for underage players and assistant coach to the u20s team.
http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/4992.php
 
Leinster beat Connacht 24-14 in Galway in the opening u20 interpro fixture. It's a decent result considering there could have been about half a dozen others eligible for u20 level who would have improved the 1st XV. Leinster and Ulster (who beat Munster 20-15) are both strong at this level this year
The Leinster Under-20's, sponsored by SWORD Security, kicked off their defence of the interprovincial ***le with a fine 24-14 victory over Connacht in the Sportsgrounds, Galway on Friday evening...


The hosts started the game brightly and Niall Kenneally kicked the Westerners into a 16th minute 3-0 lead before Leinster rallied four minutes with a well-worked try from UCD hooker David Doyle.

Wing forward Patrick Dix touched down on 26 minutes after a good forward effort and his try was converted by Dundalk out-half Gearoid McDonald to extend Leinster's advantage to 12-3. Kenneally kicked a 33rd minute penalty to reduce Leinster's lead to six points at the interval.

The second half ebbed and flowed with neither side asserting themselves until Kenneally's third successful penalty on the hour mark made it 12-9 and it was the spur the visitors needed as five minutes later a superb break by Sam Coghlan-Murray led to Eoin Joyce's try.

Cathal Marsh was one of three substitutes for Leinster as they upped the ante and the St. Michael's out-half's creativity resulted in a fine solo try, which he also converted..

There was still time for Connacht to score an injury time try through Shane Laydon, but the visitors held on to seal a gritty win.

*Leinster Under-20's next game is away to Ulster next Friday evening in Ravenhill (KO: 5pm).

CONNACHT SCORERS: S. Laydon (1 try), N. Kenneally (3 penalties)

LEINSTER SCORERS: C. Marsh (1 try, 1 conversion), D. Doyle, P. Dix, E. Joyce (1 try each), G. McDonald (1 conversion)

LEINSTER UNDER-20:

15: Michael Sherlock (Skerries)
14: Sam Coghlan Murray (UCD)
13: Alex Kelly (St Michael's College)
12: Collie O'Shea (Clontarf)
11: Andrew Boyle (UCD) / Michael McGrath (Clontarf) 60
10: Gearoid McDonald (Dundalk) / Cathal Marsh (St. Michael's College) 65
9: Peter Du Toit (UCD)

1: Peter O'Reilly (Castleknock College) / Tadhg Furlong (Good Counsel) 54
2: David Doyle (UCD)
3: Martin Moore (Lansdowne) CAPTAIN
4: Michael Kearney (Clontarf) / Emmet McMahon (St. Michael's College) 71
5: Robert Hynes (UCD)
6: Eoin Joyce (UCD)
7: Patrick Dix (St Michael's College) / Mark McGroarty (Gonzaga College SJ) 78
8: Colin Mallon (Old Belvedere)

REPLACEMENTS NOT USED: Patrick Carroll (Blackrock College), Patrick O'Driscoll (Kilkenny College)
Click to expand...
 
There's an interview with Joe Schmidt in today's iTimes. It mainly reads as a CV saying what he's done in the past but it also lays out his coaching philosophy:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0911/1224278642728.html

Clermont played with extraordinary depth and width, though Schmidt readily accepts this was usually down to their pack's set-piece strength and ballast in the collisions. He's surprisingly wary of the amended laws, and the possibility of the game becoming "rugby league" from the kicking ping-pong of a year or two ago, and hopes the pendulum swings back a little again in maintaining more of a contest at the breakdown.

First off he wants a reaction to Leinster's sloppiness of last week, starting tonight. "I'd love to keep the hard edge, because I think they had a hard edge defensively, but grow the game a little bit.

"I'd like people at the RDS to come along to see the hard-edge, because it is a physical confrontation, and at the same time it is the gladiators on show, and so you want to see a bit of a show. I'd like to think we can get people excited. That might take a little perseverance to start with, but if we can produce that it will be worth seeing."
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Once again from the Irish Times:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0916/1224278995209.html

LEINSTER MANAGER Guy Easterby has defended the continued search for an established tighthead prop ahead of their Heineken Cup opener against Racing Metro on October 9th.
Mike Ross earned several compliments from fellow forwards after dismantling an inexperienced Cardiff scrum last weekend, and is expected to recover from a calf strain to feature against Benetton Treviso on Saturday, but in the wake of Stan Wright's season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon the Leinster management continue to trawl the Southern Hemisphere in search of respectable cover despite the arrival of Simon Shawe and progress of Jack McGrath and Stewart Maguire.
"We are still very keen to get someone in to bolster our resources," said Easterby. "I guess there has been a bit of press that we are not promoting from within. There are lads in a development process, especially frontrow players, that we need to look after and make sure we don't use them too soon because if we do that causes problems further down the line. Our resources are really stressed in that area so we want (to sign) another prop before the ERC kicks off."
Leinster's new consultant scrum coach Greg Feek's current presence in New Zealand, and his association with Wellington in the Super 14, ensures the right candidate can be found as the NPC and Currie Cup, in South Africa, reach their conclusion.
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Somebody on LF.com was saying Stan Wright hopes to be back from injury in February so I imagine any deal will be for the duration of the Heineken Cup group phase only a la Wian Du Preez signing for Munster last winter. I guess this shows that they aren't confident in Simon Shawe and Ben Prescott to step up and view them as Magners League level players.

It's interesting that Easterby recognises the widely held perception that Leinster aren't giving young props a chance.
 
Leinster's British & Irish Cup campaign kicks off today away against Newport. This is the team selected:

LEINSTER:

15: Niall Morris
14: Andrew Conway
13: Brendan Macken
12: Ian McKinley
11: David Kearney
10: Ian Madigan
9: Paul O'Donohoe

1: Jack McGrath
2: Tom Sexton
3: Ben Prescott
4: Trevor Hogan
5: Mariano Galarza
6: Eoin Sheriff
7: Paul Ryan
8: Stephen Keogh CAPTAIN

REPLACEMENTS:

16: Aaron Dundon
17: Stewart Maguire
18: Ciaran Ruddock
19: Ben Marshall
20: John Cooney
21: Noel Reid
22: Michael Keating

There are some interesting calls. The back three all prefer to play at fullback. In my opinion Niall Morris hasn't impressed when he's played for the senior team so he could do with a big game. Andrew Conway is lightning quick, runs decent lines but is quite slight. Shifting to the wing is probably the best move for him in the long term. Dave Kearney could benefit from Luke Fitzgerald's injury, the need to rest Isa Nacewa and Rob Kearney's international commitments.

Ian McKinley started the A game against Munster at 10 before being forced off injured. Clearly Joe Schmidt rates Ian Madigan as a better flyhalf so a shift to 12, where Leinster are light on numbers, could be in the offing for McKinley on a more permanent basis. He played there for Ireland u18 and u20 on occasion.

Ian Madigan showed talent but looked very raw in his appearances in the Magners League. He needs a run of games at 10 for the As. I'd be inclined to give him close to the full 80 minutes and keep Noel Reid (who was excellent in his last A showing) on the bench.

In the front row, Jack McGrath is likely to get 80 minutes since there's no loosehead prop cover on the bench. Tom Sexton will also likely see a lot of game time due John Fogarty's apparent major injury problems and Leinster's lack of hooking options. Ben Prescott has fallen way behind Simon Shawe and Mike Ross and needs to put in a good shift before Clint Newland arrives. Hopefully Stewart Maguire gets a good 30 minutes off the bench.

Hogan and Galarza are two international second rows so they should go pretty well and along with Keogh and Prescott they'll add a grizzled edge to the pack.

I expect a Newport win since this is a scratch Leinster team playing on the road but hopefully 4 or 5 players will put their hand up and show Joe Schmidt that they're ready for Magners League rugby. The players who I'd be looking to most of all with the view to immediately stepping up are Kearney, Conway, Madigan, O'Donohoe and Galarza. McGrath and Sexton need to show they're up to this level because they're not far away from a call up despite being very inexperienced.


......................................................................................................................

Result: Newport 28 - 33 Leinster A

Leinster got their British & Irish Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 33-28 victory over Newport in Rodney Parade on Sunday afternoon..



http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?...nster win B&I Cup opener in Newport...&src=sp

A brace of tries from Ireland Under-20 outside back Andrew Conway in both halves, with scrum-half Paul O'Donohoe getting reward for a good outing with a try of his own midway through the first half, got Leinster to within touching distance of a bonus point victory.

But as the visitors pressed late on, they couldn't breach the Dragons defence for a fourth time.

Ian Madigan enjoyed a fine kicking performance in slotting home all three conversions and the out-half also kicked four penalties. It was a strong forward effort by Leinster in a contest in which the backline also displayed real tenacity in attack.

Leinster will face Plymouth Albion in the next round of the British & Irish Cup in Donnybrook on Friday, 10th December (KO: 6.30pm).

LEINSTER: 15: Niall Morris
14: Andrew Conway (Noel Reid, 78)
13: Brendan Macken
12: Ian McKinley
11: David Kearney (Michael Keating, 68)
10: Ian Madigan
9: Paul O'Donohoe
1: Jack McGrath
2: Tom Sexton
3: Ben Prescott (Stewart Maguire, ht)
4: Trevor Hogan (Ciaran Ruddock, 61)
5: Mariano Galarza
6: Eoin Sheriff
7: Paul Ryan (Ben Marshall, 8)
8: Stephen Keogh CAPTAIN
REPLACEMENT NOT USED: John Cooney
 
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Leinster CEO Mick Dawson in the Herald today when asked about Fionn Carr, Ian Keatley and Jamie Hagan:
"The door is always open," said Leinster chief executive Mick Dawson. "Obviously, Joe Schmidt is the coach. If he believes they are good enough and he makes a recommendation, we will definitely try and get them back."
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Looking at it on a case by case basis:
Carr is scoring a bucket load of tries in an average team. The early part of next season is dominated by the World Cup when Leinster will more than likely be without Luke Fitzgerald and Rob Kearney. Shane Horgan will be 33 and coming towards the end of his career. Carr isn't getting the international recognition which his try scoring merits and probably needs to move to a bigger team to prove his worth to the Irish management team.

Keatley is also well down the international pecking order (4th choice flyhalf) despite rapid improvement this season and needs to move to show he can perform at a higher level i.e. he needs Heineken Cup rugby. Leinster will be without Jonathan Sexton early next season due to NZ 2011. The Leinster coaching staff will have seen how the province have struggled in games where Sexton has been absent. The main backup Shaun Berne is currently injured, not a front line goalkicker, a below average tactical kicker, not Irish qualified and out of contract at the end of the season. Keatley can also play 12 - Leinster haven't got adequate backup for 30 year old Gordon D'arcy.

Hagan is unquestionably the future Irish tighthead. Leinster have a soon to be 31 year old Mike Ross, a 31 year old amateur (as of 6 weeks ago) Simon Shawe, 32 year old journeyman Ben Prescott and 32 year old presently injured Stan Wright (who's a better loosehead) as their tighthead options. 30 year old Clint Newland is apparently on the way as a stop gap until the end of the season. Joe Schmidt has signed 3 of those 5 players so it appears he's not too happy with the situation at #3.

Given those factors and also the fact that all three players are on 1 year deals at Connacht, I'm sure each and every one will interest the new Leinster coach. Sign them up and while you're at it put in an offer for Sean Cronin too! In my opinion, Carr would be very open to a move to Leinster, Keatley may find Munster a more attractive proposition if the southern province make a bid (given Ronan O'Gara's veteran status versus that of Jonny Sexton) and Hagan will likely bide his time out west for another season.
 
Snoop I think we will see Keatley come here as ROG will be a 20 min player after World Cup. I also expect Cronin here after the World Cup.
 
munstermuffin said:
Snoop I think we will see Keatley come here as ROG will be a 20 min player after World Cup. I also expect Cronin here after the World Cup.
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I agree with you that Munster is the most likely destination for each player. Keatley and ROG would rotate in and out for a year before Keatley takes over and Cronin would jump in as 1st choice hooker with Varley getting 20 minute cameos off the bench (I think Flannery is done). It's perfectly logical that both players will end up in red.

You could flip it though and say Leinster need both players just as badly. Cronin would immediately jump in front of Richardt Strauss with Strauss proving an able replacement. Keatley would start 50% of games at flyhalf, have a great chance at being the starting 12 in big games and at least be a 30 minute impact replacement off the bench if the coach wants to change things.
 
I agree Cronin would make both teams but I just feel with him been a proud Munster man that he will come back here and I agree Flannery is dogged by injury and well is wrong side of 30.

On Keatley I think in fairness if he comes to Munster then he knows it'll be 1 year max rotating with ROG which might be excellent in his learning and then after that the 10 shirt would be his. Also this will be better for his Irish chances as I feel he will get more gametime in big games.
In Leinster I think you'll agree Sexton has that jersey for 8/9 years if he wants it. I know Keatley can play 12 but he want to be a 10.
It'd also damage his Irish chances because if your playing back up 10 at province it hard to see him making Ireland team.
 

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