Treviso v Leinster, Saturday 18th September

[King_D'Arcy]

Her advice wasn't for the team management, it was for us fans. And we didn't listen. And we lost. I've learned my lesson

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

It must suck to support a loosing team, of course as a Connacht fan I wouldn't know. I'm not sure if this has been said before but Fionn Carr for Ireland anyone?

Never mind that, send Carr and Ian Keatley back home to Leinster. How the team could have done with their cutting edge on the wing and control at flyhalf yesterday.

 

[dangandan]

so madigan did not play well? did not get to see the match but was hoping he'd show his running ability against a weaker side like treviso cos it would be nice to see another quality flyhalf come through. but i guess treviso weren't so weak after all!

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Madigan was so-so. He's being criticised on LF.com for not providing direction but he wasn't helped one bit by the more experienced Gordon D'arcy and Eoin Reddan who lined up alongside him.

I wouldn't be too hard on Madigan. He's 21 and has plenty of time to grow into a role with the team. Jonny Sexton for example didn't make the Leinster 10 shirt his own until he was 24. Madigan will learn from the experience - it was just his 2nd start at flyhalf and 8th appearance in total for Leinster. I will say that he probably needs to concentrate on one position now though. He moves between 10 and 15 and while that versatility will get him a good few appearances off the bench, he needs to settle on one spot to avoid the utility back tag ("jack of all trades, master of none") which plagued Jeremy Staunton and until recently Paddy Wallace.

In my opinion Madigan needs game time sooner rather than later to reach his potential. He may not get enough of that with Leinster so the best thing for his career could be a move to Connacht (I suspect Ian Keatley will move at the end of the year), a mid-low ranking Premiership or Top 14 club or a RFU Championship club. Look at how Gareth Steenson has gone from fringe Ulster squad player to learn his trade in the old Division 1 (now Championship) and is now scoring for fun in the Premiership. Madigan's career could have the same trajectory.

Also on the Leinster fansite there are some people already calling for Joe Schmidt's head. The mind boggles.

 

[munstermuffin]

Lads first of all I glad I said in another thread the Italian teams will be no push overs and while I didn't expect this result I think it shows no team can just automatically expect a BP win against them.

And for some reason I think this result may just be a blessing in disguise for Leinster.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

You're right that this could be a blessing in disguise. It'll wake the team up that they don't have a divine right to win against one of the "minnows" of the league. It's also a good insight for Joe Schmidt as to which squad members have a poor attitude and workrate.

 

[coonor]

Kearney is really starting to push his luck. The trouble is he showed he has the ability to be one of th best Full backs in the world and now everyone is wandering what happened. this will be a wake up call for all the players who think the Magners league matches are just a bit of fun. The best thing Schmidt can do is show that a bad attitude is unacceptable and bench all the players not treating Treviso wih the respect they diserve.

 

[munstermuffin]

Thing with Kearney is he should be pushing himself as he is under pressure at club and country for starting spot.
Paul Warwick gets his Irish citizenship in next few week and if only it were possible he'd be ahead of Kearney I think but well Luke Fitz could be at 15 for Ireland

 

[durbutter]

Thing with Kearney is he should be pushing himself as he is under pressure at club and country for starting spot.
Paul Warwick gets his Irish citizenship in next few week and if only it were possible he'd be ahead of Kearney I think but well Luke Fitz could be at 15 for Ireland

Paul Warwick has played 7's for Oz. Can't play for Ireland.

Edit. Oh right sorry not what you were saying.

 

[munstermuffin]

I know he can't play was saying a WHAT IF as he gets his citizenship but I do think Kearney is going to struggle to start for Leinster or Ireland unless he ups it big time

 

[Shaggy]

Did anyone see this incident involving Sean O'Brien ... I didn't see the match so can't say if it was intentional or not

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rug...gthy-ban-over-treviso-eye-charge-2347699.html

 

[coonor]

O'brien has now ben cleared of the eye gouging accusation. The panal in Belfast agreed that O'brien moved his hand from the Treviso player's collar across his face and up to grab his scrum cap.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

The guy who wrote that is the Irish Independent's former soccer corresponent David Kelly. He's no longer their soccer correspondent because the Irish soccer team demanded that he be removed from press conferences because he's an exaggerating clown who puts a negative slant on everything. He was moved to the rugby department but his knowledge of the sport is frankly rubbish.

O'Brien tried to drag a Treviso player away by his headguard. When doing so his hand brushed across said player's face. His defense was backed up by Treviso. There was no intention or malice to what he did but that doesn't make for a good headline in David Kelly's sensationalist world. O'Brien was cleared of the charge yesterday. Kelly didn't report on this strangely enough.

 

[Shaggy]

The guy who wrote that is the Irish Independent's former soccer corresponent David Kelly. He's no longer their soccer correspondent because the Irish soccer team demanded that he be removed from press conferences because he's an exaggerating clown who puts a negative slant on everything. He was moved to the rugby department but his knowledge of the sport is frankly rubbish.

O'Brien tried to drag a Treviso player away by his headguard. When doing so his hand brushed across said player's face. His defense was backed up by Treviso. There was no intention or malice to what he did but that doesn't make for a good headline in David Kelly's sensationalist world. O'Brien was cleared of the charge yesterday. Kelly didn't report on this strangely enough.

Thanks guys ... Good to hear that no foul play was involved, and that common sense prevailed ... does highlight the pitfalls of judging what happens in a game solely on a written report from someone else though

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

That's true. If you read Kelly's piece or any of the Munsterfan's forums, you'd think O'Brien was guilty of a crime punishable by death!

 

[durbutter]

That's true. If you read Kelly's piece or any of the Munsterfan's forums, you'd think O'Brien was guilty of a crime punishable by death!

Harsh and untrue. Have another read there before making rash statements.

Edit; On munsterfans i mean

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Have another read there before making rash statements.

I have. I particularly like the claim that the Treviso player could have choked. There are lots of comments about how it's a 12 week ban minimum and a couple of sensible posters who say it was a nothing incident.

 

[durbutter]

Ah there's a few knobs in every fourm. All i could see was a thread degenerating into "how much rugby have you ever played" micky swinging contest between 2 different pov's !

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

That is true. What I hate about team specific websites is that the loudest voices view their own team through rose tinted glasses and castigate their main rivals at any given opportunity. I swear that on LF.com they revel in Munster being defeated as much as they do in a Leinster victory. The voices of reason, of which there are many, tend to be shouted down by fools and wums who've no interest in watching rugby from a less biased perspective.

 

[durbutter]

That is true. What I hate about team specific websites is that the loudest voices view their own team through rose tinted glasses and castigate their main rivals at any given opportunity. I swear that on LF.com they revel in Munster being defeated as much as they do in a Leinster victory. The voices of reason, of which there are many, tend to be shouted down by fools and wums who've no interest in watching rugby from a less biased perspective.

Indeed, and it's only going to get worse in the next few weeks........