Leinster vs Glasgow , 14/01/18, 13.00pm (Sky Action)

paddyor · Post by **paddyor** » January 8th, 2018, 5:17 pm

Think we're likely to see a similar team to the one that started against Exeter with a few injury enforced changes. Don't think there's much chance of Lowe comin in ahead of JGP. Could McGrath get the start ahead of Healy after captaining the side? Think ROL will get the nod as 13/wing cover. If there's any doubt over Furlong he'll be held back but he seemed okay playing on to HT on Saturday.

Healy
Cronin
Furlong
Toner
Fardy
Leavy
VdF
Conan
McGrath
Sexton
Larmour
Nacewa
Henshaw
McFadden
Kearney

Byrne
McGrath
Porter
Molony
Murphy
JGP
Byrne
ROL

Lar · Post by **Lar** » January 8th, 2018, 5:21 pm

paddyor wrote:If there's any doubt over Furlong he'll be held back but he seemed okay playing on to HT on Saturday.

Slightly odd but Furlong was treated for an injured arm but had a HIA at HT which apparently he failed which is not a good sign imo.

Raydollard · Post by **Raydollard** » January 8th, 2018, 7:03 pm

It’d be disappointed if Lowe was not playing in a game that requires us to get full points. I think he will be picked.

neiliog93 · Post by **neiliog93** » January 8th, 2018, 7:48 pm

Team I think they'll pick:

1.Healy 2.Cronin 3.Bent

4.Fardy 5.Toner

6.SOB 8.Conan 7.VDF

9.L.McGrath 10.Sexton 12.Henshaw 13.O'Loughlin 14.McFadden

11.Isa 15.R.Kearney

16.B.Byrne 17.J.McGrath 18.Porter 19.Molony 20.Leavy (if fit)/Jordi 21.JGP 22.R.Byrne 23.Larmour

arsebiscuits1 · Post by **arsebiscuits1** » January 8th, 2018, 7:48 pm

They said SOB would be ready for this game.

So he wont be fit.

I'm not so sure they'll shoehorn Larmour to the wing. I think possibly Daly at 11 with Larmour at 23

Having said that, a backline of Daly, Isa, Henshaw, McFadden and Kearney is incredibly skilled and solid. But probably lacks the spark that Byrne, Carbery or Larmour offer that we have become accustomed to seeing this season.

I think Tadgh may well be stood down for this game. The media have their claws in this non story and the IRFU do not need any question marks over Furlongs health ahead of the 6N. Porter and Bent can do more than a job on the Glasgow scrum and it would be an ideal opportunity for both. And reassuring to see them step up as Tadgh could well get himself hurt over the course of the season with the sheer amount of rugby he's played over the last year

CiaranIrl · Post by **CiaranIrl** » January 8th, 2018, 8:29 pm

paddyor wrote: Could McGrath get the start ahead of Healy after captaining the side?

McGrath will start this, and Healy will start against Montpellier.

curates_egg · Post by **curates_egg** » January 8th, 2018, 9:12 pm

There's a few variables at play here.
Injuries/fitness:
Furlong - might not be cleared; if he is, he starts. If not, I'd say Bent does.
SOB - might be cleared; if he is, he starts. If not, it's Leavy-VDF-Conan.
Isa - might not be not be fit; if he is, he starts. Where depends on a couple of factors.
Ringrose - might not be injured; if he is, he starts. If not, do you straight swap ROL (who is looking better), or - if fit - revert to that tasty Nacewa-Henshaw combo?
Tracey - might be injured; if he is, he benches. If not, and with Strauss injured, it's Byrne.
Ryan - if fit, benches. If not, it's probably Molony but a bit of a muchness.

Larmour - the only place he would start is on the wing, and I wonder would he be risked in a position he hasn't had much time in a while and where our defensive system asks a lot of wingers?
Lowe - argument for starting him if Larmour doesn't but similar argument against, added to the fact that JGP is playing well and McCarthy has had no gametime.

If it were an away game, I'd say we'd go Isa-Henshaw-ROL-McFadden-Kearney; being a home game, in which we could do with TBP, I wonder if they will throw caution to the wind and gamble on Larmour. Interesting.

A16 · Post by **A16** » January 8th, 2018, 9:25 pm

Team I expect to be picked:

1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Bent
4. Fardy
5. Toner
6. Leavy
7. Van der Flier
8. Conan
9. Mcgrath
10. Sexton
11. Nacewa
12. Henshaw
13. O’Loughlin
14. McFadden
15. Kearney
16. Byrne/Tracy
17. McGrath
18. Porter
19. Molony
20. Murphy
21. JGP
22. Byrne
23. Larmour

Team I would pick:

1. Healy
2. Cronin
3. Bent
4. Fardy
5. Toner
6. Leavy
7. Van der Flier
8. Conan
9. McGrath
10. Sexton
11. Lowe
12 Nacewa
13. Henshaw
14. Larmour
15 Kearney
16. Byrne/Tracy
17. McGrath
18. Porter
19. Molony
20. Deegan
21. McCarthy
22. Byrne
23. McFadden

LeRouxIsPHat · Post by **LeRouxIsPHat** » January 8th, 2018, 9:37 pm

Whether Jack starts or not, great to see him back playing well. I don't think his form was ever that bad, but he's definitely more like his old self anyway.

I wonder if we'll rotate in the second row in order to keep someone fresh for Montpellier? Probably not, but I'd be thinking about it if I was Plumber, it's one of the few areas we need to manage our resources quite carefully.

simonokeeffe · Post by **simonokeeffe** » January 8th, 2018, 10:01 pm

Id have Porter ahead of Bent at this stage

Dont think 11 would be shoehorning Larmour

Cianostays · Post by **Cianostays** » January 8th, 2018, 10:33 pm

I've no faith that SO'B will be fit for this one, he'll be fine for Paris though.

I'd go with Porter at Tighthead for this one. The circumstances suggest we'll be able to rotate or rest certain personnel. I also think Healy should start having been unavailable for the past couple of weeks. Back Row of Jordi, JVDF and Conan with Leavy/Murphy depending on Dan's fitness. RO'L to come straight in @13. Back 3 of Daly, Ferg and Rob with Jordan on the bench.

neiliog93 · Post by **neiliog93** » January 8th, 2018, 10:38 pm

LeRouxIsPHat wrote:Whether Jack starts or not, great to see him back playing well. I don't think his form was ever that bad, but he's definitely more like his old self anyway.

I wonder if we'll rotate in the second row in order to keep someone fresh for Montpellier? Probably not, but I'd be thinking about it if I was Plumber, it's one of the few areas we need to manage our resources quite carefully.

+1. It's been really encouraging stuff from him. He's probably done enough to get the Ireland no.17 jersey back from Kilcoyne.

simonokeeffe wrote:Id have Porter ahead of Bent at this stage

Dont think 11 would be shoehorning Larmour

Actually, yeah, for the Glasgow game this makes sense. They have injury problems at prop and wouldn't ever have been renowned as a scrummaging force, which suits Porter. Obviously, he contributes more in the loose than Bent. In the reasonably unlikely event that Porter struggles badly at scrum time, you could always put Bent on at half-time (like when Jamie Hagan got the hook at half-time of the 25-3 home game against Montpellier back in the day).

Then, when we're up against Montpellier over there in the second game, you put Bent back in for the sake of his scrummaging against a strong scrummaging unit.

paddyor · Post by **paddyor** » January 8th, 2018, 11:09 pm

Glasgow Injuries from the Zebre game

Unavailable players: Brian Alainu’uise (knee), Fraser Brown (head) Scott Cummings (hand), Alex Dunbar (knee), Zander Fagerson (foot), Callum Gibbins (achillies), Stuart Hogg (hip), Rory Hughes (shoulder), Sam Johnson (jaw), Lelia Masaga (knee), Leo Sarto (shoulder), Tommy Seymour (foot) Tim Swinson (hand) Ratu Tagive (Achilles), George Turner (suspension) and Ryan Wilson (ankle).

1 THP
2 Hookers
3 Locks
2 Backrows
2 Centres
4 Leftwings
1 FB

Rumour that Russell and Gray will be rested. The team we face could be weaker that the one that beat us in the Pro14 back in November.

LeRouxIsPHat · Post by **LeRouxIsPHat** » January 8th, 2018, 11:18 pm

paddyor wrote: 1 THP
2 Hookers
3 Locks
2 Backrows
2 Centres
4 Leftwings
1 FB

Show Spoiler:

paddyor · Post by **paddyor** » January 8th, 2018, 11:20 pm

Cianostays wrote:I've no faith that SO'B will be fit for this one, he'll be fine for Paris though.

I'd go with Porter at Tighthead for this one. The circumstances suggest we'll be able to rotate or rest certain personnel. I also think Healy should start having been unavailable for the past couple of weeks. Back Row of Jordi, JVDF and Conan with Leavy/Murphy depending on Dan's fitness. RO'L to come straight in @13. Back 3 of Daly, Ferg and Rob with Jordan on the bench.

Hadn't thought of that about Healy. He's had a 3 week break, could probably use the game time.

Ruckedtobits · Post by **Ruckedtobits** » January 8th, 2018, 11:47 pm

Jack McG as starter with Church in on 50 mins. Backrow of Leavy, VdF and Conan with SO'B off the bench on 50 mins. Mid-field of Henshaw and RO'L with Isa on the bench as cover for 11-15. Back three of Lowe, Ferg and RK. McCarthy on bench.

There's risks in every selection but Lowe adds to our attacking strength significantly and strengthens our defensive capacity against Seymour in particular.

McCarthy is only a risk if McGrath gets injured AND our pack are under pressure. With good ball and Sexton outside him there's very small risk if pack gain supremacy. If pack don't have supremacy, we'll need Lowe more than ever as an attacking strength.

Our biggest risk area is hooker. They have good line-out ability and could attack us. Byrne will survive their scrum if necessary but is our least reliable thrower. Cronin was much improved last Sat in blustery conditions. Bent to start, if Tadgh unavailable, but Porter to arrive at 45 mins to carry and attack.

IMO, our attack looked fairly coherent on Saturday for the first time in a while, particularly in counter-attack. Ringrose available would be big for us if it happened. But Henshaw is the key mid-fielder at present

paddyor · Post by **paddyor** » January 9th, 2018, 12:10 am

Ruckedtobits wrote:Jack McG as starter with Church in on 50 mins. Backrow of Leavy, VdF and Conan with SO'B off the bench on 50 mins. Mid-field of Henshaw and RO'L with Isa on the bench as cover for 11-15. Back three of Lowe, Ferg and RK. McCarthy on bench.

There's risks in every selection but Lowe adds to our attacking strength significantly and strengthens our defensive capacity against Seymour in particular.

McCarthy is only a risk if McGrath gets injured AND our pack are under pressure. With good ball and Sexton outside him there's very small risk if pack gain supremacy. If pack don't have supremacy, we'll need Lowe more than ever as an attacking strength.

Our biggest risk area is hooker. They have good line-out ability and could attack us. Byrne will survive their scrum if necessary but is our least reliable thrower. Cronin was much improved last Sat in blustery conditions. Bent to start, if Tadgh unavailable, but Porter to arrive at 45 mins to carry and attack.

IMO, our attack looked fairly coherent on Saturday for the first time in a while, particularly in counter-attack. Ringrose available would be big for us if it happened. But Henshaw is the key mid-fielder at present

They're down to the bare bones at lock not that that has much to do with Byrnes competence out of touch.

hugonaut · Post by **hugonaut** » January 9th, 2018, 7:22 am

If Ringer is out, it will be interesting to see if we go with Isa at No12 alongside Henshaw at No13, or put Rory O'Loughlin in as a straight swap. ROL failed his HIA after the Connacht game, so his availability might be questionable for this game. We know Isa has had a break since the Exeter game, so he will be raring to go. I think his big job over the next two weeks will be a man-on-man-marking job on Nadolo in Montpellier - whether he needs a game before that is up to the coaches.

I think you have to select Larmour and Ferg on the back of their recent form – they've been outstanding in attack, and we have to look to go out and attack this Glasgow team from the first to the final whistle. When you've got players in such obviously good form and in such good confidence, you've got to use them. The odds are that they'll deliver.

From what I've read, Glasgow are struggling badly with injury and besides that, they're clearly already out of the competition. If they struggle at scrum and lineout time [as their injury list suggests they might] in a game in which they have no real stake, it will be fast and loose. That's why I'd go with Healy, Porter and O'Brien on the bench ... to give us a load of pop and carry after 50 minutes. I'd suggest that over Christmas, Porter has pushed himself ahead of Bent in the depth chart ... but in a given situation, his pace and explosive power might be of better use off the bench than from the opening whistle.

Personally speaking, I'd prefer to see Sean O'Brien given another week off the front line and started against Montpellier. All circumstances point to that being a far tougher game for us, and we get so little gametime from him that I'd prefer to see him start the ones where his experience and physicality are most required. It's tough on Max Deegan and Jordi Murphy, who have both done very well over Christmas/New Years.

Nick McCarthy on the bench for this one to allow us to shoehorn James Lowe into the No23 jersey and give him an experience of European rugby in the RDS. I think it's a gamble worth taking for this fixture.

Forwards [1-8]: J. McGrath, S. Cronin, M. Bent, D. Toner, S. Fardy, D. Leavy, J. van der Flier, J. Conan
Backs [9-15]: L. McGrath, J. Sexton, J. Larmour, I. Nacewa, R. Henshaw, F. McFadden, R. Kearney
Subs [16-23]: B. Byrne, C. Healy, A. Porter, R. Molony, S. O'Brien, N. McCarthy, R. Byrne, J. Lowe

curates_egg · Post by **curates_egg** » January 9th, 2018, 8:22 am

Even a strong Glasgow side do a lot of attacking on loose ball, turnover, finding gaps in the middle, so maybe experimenting on the wing in this game isn't so much of a risk defensively. We will revert to a tried and tested defence against Montpellier no doubt. Ringrose out for 6 weeks with - yet another - sprained ankle is a bummer for us and for him.
On balance, I'd go Nacewa-Henshaw this week, and Henshaw-ROL next week, with Isa on the wing against Montpellier to shut them down.
I wish McCarthy had gotten a few starts over the past 6 weeks, but he hasn't. I saw stuff at the start of the season I really like but I would not be willing to chance it on him at this stage. He better get more game time during the 6 Nations though.

Degz · Post by **Degz** » January 9th, 2018, 8:38 am

hugonaut wrote: Forwards [1-8]: J. McGrath, S. Cronin, M. Bent, D. Toner, S. Fardy, D. Leavy, J. van der Flier, J. Conan
Backs [9-15]: L. McGrath, J. Sexton, J. Larmour, I. Nacewa, R. Henshaw, F. McFadden, R. Kearney
Subs [16-23]: B. Byrne, C. Healy, A. Porter, R. Molony, S. O'Brien, N. McCarthy, R. Byrne, J. Lowe

This.

Babbling 'brook