Jordi packing his bags

[Oldschool]

Not only is he a huge loss but it's a bad time to be making an announcement like this, just before the back to backs with Exeter.

[Peg Leg]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

[riocard911]

Sad to see Jordi go, but the move up the road keeps him in the provinces and available for Ireland, which is great. And all done and dusted without PO'M levels of histrionics! Well done, Ulster! Well done, Leinster!!!

[wixfjord]

Not only is he a huge loss but it's a bad time to be making an announcement like this, just before the back to backs with Exeter.

No announcement has been made by any party in fairness, this is a story from Thornley.

[curates_egg]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

Think we need Deegan but would definitely rather we kept Jordi over Timmins or the other Murphy.
We've 3 brilliant players who want to play 7, excluding Jordi. I'm delighted we will keep all of them but hope we can keep them all happy.
At 8, we need to see what happens to Jamie. Best case, he lasts until 2019.
Rhys is the only out and out sux.
I'd have kept Jordi. He's somewhat hampered by being a Jack of all trades, but he is a very handy jack.

[Blue not red blood]

Is this the cost of keeping Arlene onside ?

[mildlyinterested]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

madness to rather lose Deegan than Murphy.

[jezzer]

It's a win win for him and for Ulster, but obvs a big loss for us.

Of all our backrowers he's been the hardest to accurately rank in the pecking order. He's suffered from being so versatile, been hard for him to stake a claim to any of the jerseys on big game day. He's also been given some very different and specific roles. I can remember days when he's hung out on the tramlines and made massive go forward for us and other days where he's been sent on a mission to chop everything down behind the gainline.

He's the ultimate no 20 cause you can use him everywhere, which has played against him cracking the starting lineup sometimes.

To my eye, he looks to have bulked up a lot this off-season. Might he be taking the 7 shirt off his list of "can-dos" and focussing on 6/8?

Will be missed a lot. I'd say he's a great teammate also. Very upbeat and selfless.

I do think Seanie and VDF are better classic sevens, Leavy and Ruddock (and maybe Fardy) are better classic sixes and Conan and Jamie are better classic 8s.

Jordi is prob the best "role player" we have in the squad though.

[RoboProp]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

3 words. Joe. RWC2019. Etc


Wait, that's how many now?!

[molloyjh]

* wrong thread

[CiaranIrl]

I don't think some people will realise just how good he is until he lines up against us next year. Then the penny might drop. Big loss.

[Peg Leg]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

madness to rather lose Deegan than Murphy.

I'd be happier to see young potential take a sojourn and keep actual top end talent on the books. What's so hard to understand about that?

[mildlyinterested]

Fock right off Ulster! You can have Deegan or Timmins. Both have a very high ceiling who will develop, but focked if we are developing players to lose them in their pomp to our closest rivals.

Don't you do it Jordi!

madness to rather lose Deegan than Murphy.

I'd be happier to see young potential take a sojourn and keep actual top end talent on the books. What's so hard to understand about that?

Max Deegan is not top end talent?

Better tell the coaches.

[molloyjh]

Max Deegan is a real prospect, but he's not a top end talent yet. And the coaches know it, which is exactly why he isn't starting European games ahead of a guy who is at best 3rd choice for Ireland.

[mildlyinterested]

Max Deegan is a real prospect, but he's not a top end talent yet. And the coaches know it, which is exactly why he isn't starting European games ahead of a guy who is at best 3rd choice for Ireland.

He is a top end talent, which is why he spent 1 season in the academy.

He hasn't reached his potential yet, but his actual talent level is higher than Jordi Muprhys.

[wixfjord]

Is there not a 15 year old coming through that's EVEN BETTER than Max Deegan that we can start hyping up yet?

Deegan has enormous potential and if he lives up to it will be world class. He’s not ‘a top end talent’ yet.
We’ve seen with guys like Conway, Macken etc that potential doesn’t always come through.

His ‘actual talent’ level is objectively not higher than Murphy’s at this moment. He hasn’t even started a big game never mind put in top class performances against NZ and England.

Jordi has lived up to his own potential and is already a high test level backrow with versatility. Worth its weight in gold.

Deegan could be better.

It’s the one in the hand or two in the bush scenario here.

Leinster have risked it for a biscuit and gone for the two in the bush option.
So to speak!

[Ruckedtobits]

Max Deegan is a real prospect, but he's not a top end talent yet. And the coaches know it, which is exactly why he isn't starting European games ahead of a guy who is at best 3rd choice for Ireland.

+1, +1.

[fourthirtythree]

Leinster have risked it for a biscuit and gone for the two in the bush option.
So to speak!

I think it's Jordi himself that has decided to risk it. I have no knowledge beyond what's public but no doubt Nucifora was an eager supporter of this as well but nobody would have made Jordi do it and I'd be surprised if Leinster weren't happy to offer him a deal.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Gutted to hear this, brilliant player and so reliable and versatile. Fair play to him for taking the plunge though, I'm guessing he could have got more money elsewhere but is backing himself to make the World Cup squad by doing this. That Ulster pack could look an awful lot better with Jordi, a fit Marty Moore (although I still don't see that happening), and Dooley or another LH from another province. Hope it goes really well for him.

Having watched that Rock senior cup team in 2009 I wouldn't have believed anyone who told me that none of Jordi, Conway, or Macken would be playing for us by the time they were 27.

I don't agree about the logjam being cleared though. It certainly helps, but if we pick a backrow of Ruddock, SOB, and Conan, with VDF on the bench this Sunday, then we're still leaving out Leavy, Jordi, and Deegan, and that's with Heaslip still unavailable. It's impossible to predict injuries etc but I still think someone else will need to go.

[suisse]

It never fails to amaze me how Leinster fans celebrate a move by one of our players to the opposition.

The opposition, maybe. But at least he hasn't gone to a trophy contesting rival.