Andrew097 wrote:Great stuff from a young Leinster team in the face of tough big proven players. Once again young newcomers looked eager to write their part of Leinster rugby. daly and Ryan put in great performances. But to win playing so so is a big result.
The forwards were just relentless in their face all afternoon not bad set pieces except for one bad scrum. Would not worry about Byrne a bit of time with the tackle bag on technique and also picking the correct tackle for the opponent. Really a coaching thing and easily fixed. Lovely finish by Carbery when the space gets tight, no chance of a dislodge and wonderful finish by Daly against three for his try. It was a half chance but with that determination and smarts he gave them no chance. The half backs gave me heart failure once or twice but considering they were not great we still won.
If you had offered me that result before the game I would have bitten your arm off.
I,m a Barnes critic but we got two nice calls from him at the end so I,ll hold my powder dry on this occasion
+1.
I must confess I had this down as a probable Montpelier win, once I knew Sexton was out. My ace in the hole was that Vern had never brough a successful team to the RDS. When I heard he hadn't travelled, I was sure it was curtains.
Given the lack of control exerted on the game by our half-backs, this was a great five points. The defensive display against a very strong French team with confidence, size and strength was superb. Yes we missed tackles, particularly on Nadolo, but we worked really hard covering for each other.
The stand-out performers were numerous. Furlong, Dev, Ryan, JVDF, Isa, Henshaw, Daly and Carbery all met that standard in my view. Healy and Reid joined the list during their stints.
IMO, nobody played below expectations. A couple were below my
hopes for the day. Criticisms there are for a couple, certainly, given their progression. McGrath reverted to a lower standard, particularly with his kicking which was mis-directed and far too ponderous in preparation which provided the opposition back-three with time to get into position.
Ross Byrne was better with ball in hand than I could have hoped but two or three passes were sub-standard when he has shown he can execute to such a high standard e.g. his perfect pass for Carbery's try. However, his startling acceleration and break from right to left in the first half created a great opportunity for an offload inside the opposition 22. Make that pass after a 15m line-break and Leinster would probably have scored another but, more importantly, Montpelier would have had to alter their defensive plan which assumed we would not break from No 10.
Adam Byrne, defensively, matched my worst fears but his attacking play almost compensated for those flaws. The necessary improvements are coachable because he is not afraid of contact, just inept as to which body position he applies.
McGrath J, Treacy, Conan, Ruddock all had great work-rates against huge opponents without ever hitting their top form. Credit in particular to Treacy for the quality of throwing which was very effective.
The Coaching ticket deserve huge kudos. The overall disruption to their season plans by injury have been substantial and missing Sexton was a huge blow. But the effectiveness of the defence complimented the strike running which delivered two of our tries.
Finally a special word for Noel Reid who was thrown into the Lions' Den much earlier than anticipated. His tackling was technically excellent and brave in execution. His passing, as always, was a thing of beauty and his choice of options very impressive. In the continued absence of Isa and Gary Ringrose, Reid and Henshaw look more complete and dangerous than Henshaw and O'Loughlin.
Overall, missing Rob K, Lowe, Ringrose, Sexton, Fardy, SO'B, Leavy and Jamie against a team dominating the Top 14 and producing a five point return, was a great achievement. That it caused the fans so much angst was regrettable but that's sport.
With regard to the Leinster supporters, the Marketing team must have used the entire budget getting the bodies into the Aviva a week ago. The bonus was not in a full house yesterday but the energy and passion of those who turned up. A very knowlegible crowd quite prepared to cheer their team when necessary and let them know they were there when needed. Definitely the 16th man on the day.
