Leinster v Montpellier, Saturday, 1pm, RDS

[artaneboy]

I think Adam Byrnes best bit of defense in the game was giving away that yellow!

Sad, but very true. His one correct read of the match!


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[Experimental]

Just goes to show us tho, we need to have better tactics for closing out games, that yellow and Molonys infringements, could have costed us dearly.

[curates_egg]

Should've won that at a canter. A bit more smarts (and tackles) and we would've. Still, full credit to a very green team for hanging on.

Ryan outstanding for a 20 year old who hasn't played in a month. Pack did very well in general. No bad performance (Molony not super).

Henshaw's best game for Leinster. Such a pity he rarely plays in his best position...which brings me on to Carbery, who is so good. If the heads that be think he's better at 15, they can't be wrong. So talented.
Barry Daly is also becoming a serious prospect. Very good in defence I thought (and obviously in attack).
Ross Byrne was a bit ropey at times but did well given the pressure.
Really wasn't helped by some - at times - atrocious service from McGrath, who's still a frustrating enigma. Clearly a good player but seems to switch off.
Adam Byrne the other enigma. So good running with the ball, so poor in defence again today. A real pity but it doesn't seem to be getting better. I would even ignore his missed tackles on Nadolo if he hadn't missed other tackles and been out of position so often. Still: took one for the team with the yellow.
5:1 instead of 3:2. Happy days

[wixfjord]

Just goes to show us tho, we need to have better tactics for closing out games, that yellow and Molonys infringements, could have costed us dearly.

Molony gives away too many penalties.
He will be out of the 23 next weekend, and will struggle for gametime when Fardy, Toner and Ryan are fit.
Ryan was fantastic today. Some specimen.

[Laighin Break]

Just goes to show us tho, we need to have better tactics for closing out games, that yellow and Molonys infringements, could have costed us dearly.

Molony gives away too many penalties.
He will be out of the 23 next weekend, and will struggle for gametime when Fardy, Toner and Ryan are fit.
Ryan was fantastic today. Some specimen.

Molony gave away the penalty in front of the posts (for kicking in the ruck) that Pienaar kicked to reduce the gap to 7). Was it then him again that gave away the next penalty at ruck time when we were on the attack (after Conan's run where he dragged Montp's 13 with him for the ride), which then gave them a good attacking position?

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Pick the bones out of that one! A bonus point win against one of the form teams in France while missing Fardy, SOB, Heaslip, Sexton, Ringrose, Kearney, and Lowe...with Isa also going off before HT...and yet it feels like we were lucky to get away with the win.

In a way the big difference was goal kicking. We did nearly everything we could to put them away, except for putting more points on the board off the tee. I thought it was a poor call to go for that last kick near halfway but Ross Byrne didn't even look like he was trying to make it, he just looked so casual and like he was just killing time without any belief that he could get it, a lot of work needed there.

The scrums were very messy but in general I thought the pack was excellent. Dev was close to MOTM for me, thought he was absolutely immense in every facet. He hunted down Nadolo to make the tackle on at least three occasions and stopped him dead. His lineout and restart work was good, made tonnes of tackles, and showed great hands. It was a real return to form for him. Furlong was also excellent in open play, he looks really fit to me and really worked hard to get on the ball and showed great skills and power.

The balance of the backrow was perfect. Josh would also have been up there for MOTM IMO, he was everywhere...again. Thought he was crucial in halting their momentum in the first half, always in the faces of their midfield and caused knock ons, and he covered for others missed tackles on their big men, plus he was a nuisance at the breakdown as always. Conan fought exceptionally hard in contact, should have been buried a few times but kept pumping the legs and gained ground. Rhys never stopped working either and barely made any errors, although I do think he looks slightly underpowered going forward at times, just compared to previous seasons when he was good for a couple of big busts per game.

A serious mixed bag from the halfbacks, with Luke ending up more on the bad side and Byrne still very much in credit. I didn't understand why we kept kicking to Nadolo but I'll give Luke the benefit of the doubt that it was a tactic from above, his execution was often poor though. Some kicks were too long, he was blocked down, and had one go out on the full. His pass was generally poor too and he missed at least three tackles which is very unlike him. Did some good things but it wasn't enough, poor performance overall. Thought Ross was excellent in the first half. His passing was really good and he was more of a threat than usual. He made errors in the second half but still very positive overall. We were worried about him beforehand but he played a huge role in a crucial BP win. Defensively he was good too. JGP was pretty good off the bench as well.

Not sure I agree with the praise for Adam's yellow card. We were certainly in trouble but thought we had the numbers (although I'd need to see it again) and we were probably lucky not to concede a PT. Even allowing for the bouncing ball I thought he was poor for their first try, but with that said I don't think he was as bad in defence as the stats suggest. He did really well to slow down Nadolo a few times and when he got stepped in their 22 he had chased well and prevented the clearance kick. He really was outstanding with ball in hand, made a huge number of metres.

Joey had a dreadful first ten minutes but was flawless after that. He's such a good decision maker and adds such a threat out wide as a second receiver. His tackling is underrated and his positioning is usually perfect.

Henshaw was my MOTM, there must be some highlight reel from that match! He made some tackles/steals that he had absolutely no right to and carried really strongly, timed his pass to Joey for Daly's try perfectly too.

I've been critical of Daly but he was brilliant, anther candidate for MOTM. Having worried about his defence, I counted four occasions when his defence got us on the front foot, including two brilliant reads and one incredible chase. He was good under the high ball too, the one that he attacked near their 10m line was superb and it's great to see him so full of confidence.

We need to stop putting pressure on ourselves. Clear our lines better, take our points, and stop giving away stupid penalties like Molony did (he would have been vilified if we hadn't won) and we'll improve.

[Oldschool]

Last week Henshaw looked rusty except for the fact that in the last ten minutes he was making all the necessary defensive reads.
Today he was the 'man' for 80 minutes.
Ross and that last penalty. His run up wasn't long enough to make the posts. He showed a lack of awareness of the importance of the kick.
Mark it down to experience but the captain or Dev should have said something to him or even the cup holder.
Adam Byrne simple motto for you my good man, as my father in law used to say.
"When in doubt stay out". IE remove your uncertainty and away you'll go.
It really is that simple jfdi.
My father in law used to play on the wing fyi.

[Fan with smartphone]

That was a lot of fun. Lots of mistakes yep, there are some repeat issues that aren’t going away just yet, but you’d hope they are still fixable. You are talking about young players against some high end opponents. Maybe I’m allowing a win to colour everything rosy, it was maybe more exciting than it needed to be, but I loved it.

[Logorrhea]

...... I don't think he was as bad in defence as the stats suggest. He did really well to slow down Nadolo a few times

He got ran over a few times and flapped at him on another few occasions. Byrne reminded me of a certain player I used to play with. Great going forward but afraid to get hurt. Byrne tackled like he was afraid to get hurt. He needs to fix that before I'd let him anywhere near a Heineken Cup squad again.

Its fixable, but at this moment hes not good enough.

[wixfjord]

One of the worst things Byrne did wasn't even a missed tackle, because he didn't even get close to making a tackle. We had Nadolo cornered down in the scoreboard corner and Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him. Got them out of a serious hole.

It's a real shame because he could be test level if his defence improved.

[Logorrhea]

Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him.

I don't think he was bamboozled, I think he just didn't want to make the hit.

[wixfjord]

Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him.

I don't think he was bamboozled, I think he just didn't want to make the hit.

I'd hope it's the former and not the latter tbh.

[artaneboy]

Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him.

I don't think he was bamboozled, I think he just didn't want to make the hit.

I'd hope it's the former and not the latter tbh.

No, he can tackle; he's done that plenty of times. The issue seems to be when he has to be exercise judgement and timing. He was as bad in that last week too. It can be taught, but he better start soon...


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[Ruckedtobits]

From Isa's departure until JGP's arrival, Leinster fielded an all Irish qualified XV. Is that the first time this has happened to any Irish Province in European competition?

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him.

I don't think he was bamboozled, I think he just didn't want to make the hit.

I may be mistaken but I think that was the fullback who came on, don't remember it being Nadolo. Adam put pressure on him meaning he couldn't kick and the guy stepped him brilliantly and got away from both him and Joey. I really wouldn't blame him for that one, it was good pressure initially and then a great step.

I really find it hard to blame him for not stopping Nadolo on his own. I do think he did a reasonable job of slowing him down (can think of two efforts where he certainly wasn't afraid of being hurt) but would also put the blame more on Luke for kicking poorly and giving Nadolo a run at him. I do agree that he flapped at a couple of tackles though. There was one from a kick to Nadolo where he waved him past, and another when he had the chance to bury Mogg near halfway but just tamely held on before someone else finished the job.

I actually thought his positioning was good for the most part, the problem is that when he gets it wrong he gets it badly wrong and it keeps happening. I reckon he's improved in defence when we're well set, but once the other team makes a break or is close to our line he's all at sea. Cruden probably would have exposed his positioning more but luckily that wasn't the case.

[wixfjord]

Byrne was completely bamboozled by a simple step from him.

I don't think he was bamboozled, I think he just didn't want to make the hit.

I may be mistaken but I think that was the fullback who came on, don't remember it being Nadolo. Adam put pressure on him meaning he couldn't kick and the guy stepped him brilliantly and got away from both him and Joey. I really wouldn't blame him for that one, it was good pressure initially and then a great step.

I really find it hard to blame him for not stopping Nadolo on his own. I do think he did a reasonable job of slowing him down (can think of two efforts where he certainly wasn't afraid of being hurt) but would also put the blame more on Luke for kicking poorly and giving Nadolo a run at him. I do agree that he flapped at a couple of tackles though. There was one from a kick to Nadolo where he waved him past, and another when he had the chance to bury Mogg near halfway but just tamely held on before someone else finished the job.

I actually thought his positioning was good for the most part, the problem is that when he gets it wrong he gets it badly wrong and it keeps happening. I reckon he's improved in defence when we're well set, but once the other team makes a break or is close to our line he's all at sea. Cruden probably would have exposed his positioning more but luckily that wasn't the case.

He got stepped badly twice actually, one in 60th min from Nadolo and another in 64th by Michel. The second one was even worse. Headless chicken stuff.

[ronk]

Think Ross Byrne did enough to settle the selection debate for a while.

We were better with him at 10 and Carbery at 15

[Fan with smartphone]

Ah that’s harsh folks. Saying afraid of getting hurt is an unfair statement to make in my eyes. He’s not the first and will not be the last to struggle against Nandolo. I’ve seen him play for Fiji, the crusaders and Montpellier a fair amount of times at this stage. I can only recall one man ever bringing him down in open country. Robbie Henshaw. And he only managed it once, he got rightly run over the rest of the time. Work does need to be done, but I’d cut a little slack. Nandolo is more undefendable than Bastareaud in his pomp.

It’s worth watching last year’s highlights from the away game. Zane Kirchner and Rob Kearney - 2 players who’d have a good defensive reputation - did not have their sorrows to seek that day. I’ll include the obligatory Nandolo highlights package too. Plenty of good players in supporting roles in that movie. And I’ll tell you what, he’s got bigger since then. He could do with shedding a kilo or two to help his own defence.

https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video ... phone&tt=b


https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video ... phone&tt=b

[Fan with smartphone]

Re: Leinster v Montpellier, Saturday, 1pm, RDS
Postby Ruckedtobits » October 14th, 2017, 7:49 pm
From Isa's departure until JGP's arrival, Leinster fielded an all Irish qualified XV. Is that the first time this has happened to any Irish Province in European competition?


I remembered this one from the recesses of my memory ruckedtobits. Think I remember it because northampton were giving out about being at a financial disadvantage at the time. I’d say there’s more examples.

https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/nor ... 0-leinster

[curates_egg]

I would need to rewatch the match but I had the impression Byrne missed every tackle on kick chase when he wasn't contesting. Didn't even make an effort sometimes.
You could forgive him not stopping Nadolo - although his technique looked bad at times - but that wasn't the only problem.
He was electric with the ball though.