The Leinster thread

[lucky number 7]

Tullamore.....The place smells sticky...looks like a kip ...the rugby pitch is fairly boggish.... and its situated in the centre of the most monotnous landscape on the face of the earth....

 

[Feicarsinn]

you obviously haven't been to Dunmanway. Or Waterford. Or Mullingar. Or Tralee. Horrible places *shudder*

I liked Waterford and Tralee, they didn't seem to have the same quantity of scum.

Anyway, by town Ireally meant city, sorry for the confusion.

 

[munstermuffin]

Waterford havin no scum ha ha good joke they easily worst in Munster.

As for Leinster I think Shane Horgan will loose out this year and Luke on the wing although I agree I'd prefer him at 12 as he is irelands only real option there

 

[Logorrhea]

Munsters is very good with dearest ticket â'¬25 for covered seating and you can get a family terrace ticket (2adults & 2 kids) â'¬35

But thats the same as Leinster. None of the international players are available, and the other big players may get 20-30 minutes.

So no, Munster is not very good. They are as bad as Leinster for fleecing the fans.

 

[munstermuffin]

No that is dearest ticket majority of tickets are â'¬15 and for â'¬35 you get 2 adults and 2 kids which I think is fair

 

[coonor]

Waterford havin no scum ha ha good joke they easily worst in Munster.

As for Leinster I think Shane Horgan will loose out this year and Luke on the wing although I agree I'd prefer him at 12 as he is irelands only real option there

I agree Luke needs to see more ball than he usually does for Ireland. Luke is a great ball carrier and strong in defence. I'd still love to see BOD at 12 and Earls/Bowe/Fitz at 13 for the world cup

 

[munstermuffin]

After world cup I think it has to be Earls at 13 and Luke at 12 don't think Luke is a13 but well he is super ball carrier and big and superb rugby brain which isn't maximized on wing but for world cup BOD and Earls although I'll even admit Keith still has alot to learn

 

[durbutter]

I'm gonna state it here; D'Arcy to have a brilliant season, and be one of Irelands outstanding backs.
Last year he was quiet by his standards, and i was thinking end of the road for him. But the news from Oz about a doctor finding the cause of a chronic problem (in his knee?) and subsequently operating on him is very encouraging.

If he can retrieve his step and turn of pace he had before, and ally that to the massive workrate and hunger he's shown in recent years then we could be talking of a season like he had in 03/04!!!

 

[munstermuffin]

D'Arcy is a good player and well has been excellent for Ireland and I'm sure he'll still be capable of doing job but he has been broken and mended so much and well he is on wrong side of 30 that his body will surely be feeling effects frequently

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

From today's Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2010/0818/1224277070278.html

Leinster has a long-standing agreement to play a certain number of fixtures per season at the RDS but with the incorporation of the Italian sides into the Magners League it has given the province the scope to shift two matches to the Aviva Stadium.

Mick Dawson, Leinster's chief executive, explained: "We have a 20-year arrangement with the RDS with a break clause after 10 years to play 13 matches a season there so, with the two extra Magners League games and the schools' cup (final) match, that takes us up to our quota.

"They understand what we are trying to do. In the long-term we would be hoping to knock down the Anglesea Stand and improve that stadium (the RDS) and get it up to about 23-24,000 which is probably about right. So, events here (in the Aviva) would be novelty events and we would hope that a lot of people who never get to an international here would take the opportunity to come and watch Leinster play.

"At the moment it wouldn't be our intention to play any more games in the Aviva. We think two is about right and the reason for that is that we want to fill it out on both occasions.

"It is very important from a player's perspective that we get it full and that it has the right atmosphere in the place. The RDS is still our home and we are committed to them long-term."

A 23,000 or 24,000 capacity stadium should be more than big enough considering the current average attendence is around 15,000 and rising.

 

[munstermuffin]

Snoop I agree there but with a new development it can bring in more fans but lads it's great to see rugby continuing to grow in Ireland.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

It'll be interesting to see if Leinster can sustain their growth. Brian O'Driscoll draws a lot of "fair weather" fans to Leinster. When he retires and/or when Leinster have a less successful period, will some of these drift off?

In my opinion, Leinster have a hardcore support of around 10,000 fans now which they won't drop below. By bringing two games a year to the Aviva, they're opening the brand (and I hate myself for saying that) up to a wider audience which will sustain their steady growth. New stars like Luke Fitzgerald, Jonathan Sexton and Jamie Heaslip must also be pushed in advertising campaigns to lessen the media interest drop felt by the retirement/departure of Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'arcy, Leo Cullen etc over the next two seasons.

 

[Logorrhea]

I dont think O'Driscolls retirement will have that much of an impact. The Branch have been doing excellent work and I think this year we have gone from 10,500 season ticket sales to the allocated 13,500. This is in the time of the biggest recession we have seen in this country since the famine.

 

[munstermuffin]

I really think Leinster have so many household names they'd survive BODS departure but agree with snoop that in times when the team aren't challenging is when a true prediction can be made.
In munster there is I'd say 17-18000 die hard fans between limerick and cork. Which is sad in a way to see because some of these fans may go to every ML game but come H Cup the corporate men and few big game fans get tickets and up to 5000 diehards loose out

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I dont think O'Driscolls retirement will have that much of an impact. The Branch have been doing excellent work and I think this year we have gone from 10,500 season ticket sales to the allocated 13,500. This is in the time of the biggest recession we have seen in this country since the famine.

Aye, Mick Dawson and his cohorts have done a stellar job in growing the Leinster fan base. I think there were only 1500 season ticket holders in Michael Cheika's first year in charge

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

From the Indo:

BRIAN O'DRISCOLL says that his summer wedding "seems like an eternity ago".
Now back to work, the Irish captain has spent the last few weeks delving headlong into a working relationship with new Leinster coach Joe Schmidt.
A new voice and new ideas will refresh and, he hopes, renew last season's Heineken Cup semi-finalists and Magners League finalists.
"He's been great," enthuses a relaxed O'Driscoll, who may not feature for Leinster until the first of only two matches they are scheduled to play in the Aviva Stadium this season -- the October 2 Magners League clash against Munster.
"Joe has been very easy-going. He obviously has his own ideas on how the game should be played and it's nice to hear a different voice. As fantastic as Michael Cheika was, the change is probably a good thing for the squad.
"A new man is coming in, throwing new ideas at us, challenging us in different ways and that's important. If you've played a long time, you need to be continually challenged.
"I don't know anyone who is the complete player or anyone who knows it all. You need to continue to keep learning until the day you retire."
Given the high-profile departures of Kurt McQuilkin and Alan Gaffney from Leinster's coaching roster, Schmidt's innovative approach as a former backs specialist with Clermont -- belatedly crowned French champions last season -- will prove pivotal for O'Driscoll and his talented team-mates.
"I'm really looking forward to that, even some of the small things he's been talking to us about," he adds.
"He puts a lot of emphasis on you making your own decisions, so it's not a case of spoon-feeding you. He's a thinking player's man.
"He definitely challenges you and it's something we as a back line are looking forward to working on."

All talk about Joe Schmidt seems to centre on him trusting the backline more to play what's in front of them. Hopefully this is the case since Alan Gaffney's era as backs coach brought about some terribly boring rugby. Leinster haven't been an exciting team to watch for two years. The trophies were nice though!

 

[munstermuffin]

Thing is though snoop Munster never won playing nice rugby too and when Leinster started winning it was done playing dogged and Leicester Tigers don't play fancy rugby.

 

[durbutter]

Well a happy medium is the ideal. They can remain hard nosed up front and add creative back play. Hope this leads to Ireland's backs performing a little better

 

[ORothlain]

Is O'Driscoll's retirement that eminant? I mean, 2 years and no more BOD? Surely he's not retiring in 2 years.

 

[munstermuffin]

BOD mite give a year in France for a nice payday after World Cup and who can blame him.