Leinster v Ospreys 05/03/2016 @ 15.00

[Peg Leg]

terrible soft defending has let them back in. McQuilkin must be hopping

Not the first time Triggs has made Tuquiri look like a good tackler. I don't think his future lies with Leinster.

Don't agree at all. He makes some mistakes but definitely adds physical presence around the field, breakdown and in the the line out. I'd have kept him; but apparently he's not staying.

Glad you're not in charge. Don't think he adds enough at all.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Just to note the possibly obvious- but Fergus was really good for the try. Great line, injection of pace (yeah, he still has a bit) and pass Leavy was perfect. Had a good all round game- with some punishing tackles on his counterpart and Davies too got crunched at least once.

Heartening improvement- and justification of Leo's selection over the unlucky Adam Byrne.

Ferg had a good game and I was happy for him. But he clearly hasn't the pace to be a winger at even AIL level, never mind Pro12 level.
He can still make a contribution, his defence is excellent and he can kick but he simply can't run fast enough anymore.

Said this recently but Ferg slowing down makes me think it might be an idea to put him back in the centre next season. Not that he'll bust tackles like Ben but we're really going to lack that focal point when Henshaw isn't around, especially with two inexperienced tens likely to be running the show.

[wixfjord]

I thought Ferg was excellent yesterday. Back to what he does best. Coming in from his wing and making 3-4 yards each time. Showed a fair turn of speed for the try too. Hopefully he can keep this form up.

[Ruckedtobits]

OK so, you're watching that trying to think what do you take out of it and trying to name a few specific work-ons for some of the players. Talking with a couple of coaches last night as we watched it replay, (and drained a couple of bottles of good red), we came up with the following:

~ Cian to work with Peter Dooley all week on feet movement, before looking for a soft shoulder every time he carries, no more just boshing bodies and going nowhere;
~ Mads to spent 20 mins in each of next three sessions working on a) restart kicks, and b) exit kicks TO TOUCH from his own 22 on right touchline;
~ Molony works with his line-out pod on attacking the throw, not his opposition jumper, in 4 or 5 man line-outs;
~ McGrath works on his passing off the floor, not with pick-up, for every pass to his right and also works on the pace of this pass;
~ Jordi works on his left shoulder tackling from standing position, aiming to tackle in front of his body and driving his opponent backwards.

None of these are impossible to improve and each element needs improvement. Work over next 3/ 5 sessions would mean real improvement and increased confidence in execution for each of these players in a short period and, critically, before our season comes to the carve-up

[artaneboy]

Not the first time Triggs has made Tuquiri look like a good tackler. I don't think his future lies with Leinster.

Don't agree at all. He makes some mistakes but definitely adds physical presence around the field, breakdown and in the the line out. I'd have kept him; but apparently he's not staying.

Glad you're not in charge. Don't think he adds enough at all.

Hey, neither of us are ever going to be in charge. So you can relax on that concern. Rather than indulge in a (satisfying but pointless) "he is-he isn't" bout of witty repartee, let's look to the evidence of the stats. He's comparable to his peers of Kearney and Moloney there. Sure Trigg's not as fashionable, how could he compare to a couple of young homies, with an apparent higher potential ceiling. But we need good solid pros to make teams hum. There have been plenty of initially unfashionable players who have proved there worth, remember Stan Wright? He wasn't always loved unconditionally ye know! Even less celebrated players such as Damien Browne served us well for a couple of seasons. Anyway, it's academic as Nathan seems to going at the end of the season, I say best of luck to him and thanks for his contribution.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The point is that Triggs isn't that solid though, his missed tackle on Baker was appalling and it wasn't an isolated incident.

Thought Leavy had a decent game yesterday but he also fell off a lot of tackles and didn't make enough of an impact at the breakdown. I can remember one excellent turnover but I'd like to have seen him do much more when the Ospreys were dominating possession.

Healy's inconsistency is very frustrating. Thought he looked better since his return from injury but then yesterday was a bit of a backwards step. He did grow into the game though, didn't think he was awful and was unlucky to get pinged in our 22. He was just wrecked and did his best to get out of the way but was then too tired not to fall the wrong way when someone bumped into him.

[wixfjord]

The point is that Triggs isn't that solid though, his missed tackle on Baker was appalling and it wasn't an isolated incident.

Thought Leavy had a decent game yesterday but he also fell off a lot of tackles and didn't make enough of an impact at the breakdown. I can remember one excellent turnover but I'd like to have seen him do much more when the Ospreys were dominating possession.

Healy's inconsistency is very frustrating. Thought he looked better since his return from injury but then yesterday was a bit of a backwards step. He did grow into the game though, didn't think he was awful and was unlucky to get pinged in our 22. He was just wrecked and did his best to get out of the way but was then too tired not to fall the wrong way when someone bumped into him.

21 tackles and 0 missed for Leavy according to ESPN.
Granted their stats are sometimes off, but still. I thought he was excellent, great support too.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I wouldn't have thought he made that many but he definitely missed a good few too.

[ChrisUppy]

I remember Leavy making two turnovers for sure. I hope we manage to hold on to him.

[hugonaut]

The point is that Triggs isn't that solid though, his missed tackle on Baker was appalling and it wasn't an isolated incident.

Thought Leavy had a decent game yesterday but he also fell off a lot of tackles and didn't make enough of an impact at the breakdown. I can remember one excellent turnover but I'd like to have seen him do much more when the Ospreys were dominating possession.

Healy's inconsistency is very frustrating. Thought he looked better since his return from injury but then yesterday was a bit of a backwards step. He did grow into the game though, didn't think he was awful and was unlucky to get pinged in our 22. He was just wrecked and did his best to get out of the way but was then too tired not to fall the wrong way when someone bumped into him.

I've no idea how you can come to that conclusion on Leavy's tackling. The guy put on an absolute clinic yesterday afternoon in terms of tackling. I don't think he fell off one tackle, let alone 'a lot' of them. Left and right shoulder, in the line or in cover, he was excellent.

Healy is just working his way back into form after a number of injuries, I think inconsistency is to be expected. I've been surprised at how quickly people have been criticising and/or writing him off over the past three or four weeks. I was encouraged by the hunger he showed - 9 carries in 43 minutes is a big effort for a prop. I think that he'll continue to get back towards his previous standards if he can stay injury free for the rest of the season.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

It's hardly a new thing though is it, when was the last time Healy showed good form consistently? That's the worry.

I'll try and rematch the game again but off the top of my head I can think of three occasions where Leavy missed tackles. Not being funny but you're not going to remember someone not making tackles if you didn't see them.

[hugonaut]

It's hardly a new thing though is it, when was the last time Healy showed good form consistently? That's the worry.

I'll try and rematch the game again but off the top of my head I can think of three occasions where Leavy missed tackles. Not being funny but you're not going to remember someone not making tackles if you didn't see them.

Matt O'Connor's first season [2013-14]? He was really good in some of those games, absolutely exceptional. He missed about five months of last season with his hamstring surgery [mid September to mid-February] and then did well enough on his return ... you have to make allowances for the fact that the team were incredibly low on morale and nobody was playing at peak capacity at the end of last season.

I think it's only really been since the neck surgery and racing back for the World Cup that there has been a real drop in form. He didn't look 100% at RWC15 but I guess that the medical and coaching staff thought that he'd be able to shrug that off as he had the recoveries from his previous surgeries. I think surgery on your neck must be a pretty daunting experience for a front row player, and I don't think that there was any doubt that he was favouring one shoulder during the tournament, just as O'Mahony was.

With that in mind, I'm pleased enough with his recent performances. I think he's shrugged off the worry about his neck from the way he has been carrying and tackling, and that he just needs a string of games to get back into the run of things, pyschologically as much as physically.

[sunshiner1]

I'm a big fan of Healy but I thought he was cack the last few times he's played for Ireland. Thought it was wrong when Schmidt dropped Cronin for him and even more so after seeing his performance. He's a very good player but I definitely think he's lost something because of injuries over the last few seasons that made him a top world class player. We also seem not to use him as a ball carrier anywhere as much as we used to. Wonder is that tactical?

[curates_egg]

I'm a big fan of Healy but I thought he was cack the last few times he's played for Ireland. Thought it was wrong when Schmidt dropped Cronin for him and even more so after seeing his performance. He's a very good player but I definitely think he's lost something because of injuries over the last few seasons that made him a top world class player. We also seem not to use him as a ball carrier anywhere as much as we used to. Wonder is that tactical?

You could make a case for him being our third best loosehead at present. If he can get the body and mind back in order, then there's no doubt he could be one of the best again. His injury profile and form since the Lions tour has been a concern (how many of our players could you say that about) but it would be great to get the pre-Lions Church back. Nice to have such depth (if you include Benty in there as well, we are blessed).

[curates_egg]

~ McGrath works on his passing off the floor, not with pick-up, for every pass to his right and also works on the pace of this pass;

It wasn't necessarily the pass that worried me; it was some of the decisions and execution at the base. Putting aside the overhype on here and elsewhere, this guy is going to be our starting 9 next year as things stand. He is a way off the level we've had at 9 when we've won things. Now, he may well get there and I was very impressed with him as an Ireland U20 so believe he can, but he's not there yet by any means.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Luke was blessed that that kick that was blocked down didn't lead to a score. He's been mostly excellent this season aside from when he was clearly carrying that knee injury IMO so I wouldn't see anything to be worried about. It looks like he might finally be over that injury too which is great, his movement doesn't look restricted anymore.