Armchair wrote:... if we had the energy and committment that Edinburgh showed we would have won by 20, I was very impressed with them
Absolutely. They looked very well-coached and well-organised. Cockerill does a lot of things well as a coach, has outstanding experience and is a serious addition to Edinburgh in particular but also to the coaching standard of the league in general. I would be surprised if they can keep him for any significant length of time.
Regarding Bryan Byrne – he's as honest as the day is long and the idea that he doesn't practise his lineout throwing – and practise it diligently – is unthinkable. But the unfortunate fact is that, hard worker or not, his throwing has never been anywhere near reliable since he joined up; whether it's a 'A' level or Pro12 level, it has been an issue for 4-5 years. It's not like it
was really good, that he had it and changed technique to get better but instead got worse [like you see with some bowlers in cricket] ... it's always been unreliable to the point of mediocrity.
Some of it may be physiological. He's not a big guy, and he doesn't have long levers or big hands. That is what it is, it's not going to change. But there's definitely a psychological element to it too, because smaller hookers have thrown better.
At this point, it's looking like a problem that could cut his Leinster career short, because you'd struggle to see
any improvement on previous seasons in that regard. Beyond the Pro12, I've seen him play a lot of games in Donnybrook for the 'A' side, and his throwing issues have been more or less a constant.
He's a good player who does a lot of things well and is a serious worker, but he's not so good that he can get past struggling at a major part of his position. I've a good bit of sympathy for him. It's a lonely place when you're on the spot in a team game, be it kicking goals or throwing in to a lineout.