Leinster v Saracens

[paddyor]

Garces really had a shocker:

1. missed at least 2 blatant knock ons
2. should have carded Saracen 9 for assault on Sexton and Rob for no arms tackle on Williams. in fact he had to be told by TJ to blow up Sexton incident even though he had a perfect view of it
3. ignored obvious crooked throw by George on halfway in first half
4. repeatedly allowed tackled player to hang on
5. repeatedly allowed attacking players to go off their feet in support of ball
6. never considered card warning to them (before pen to go 13-9) or us (before ht) for multiple offending in defensive red zone

He did get calls on Johnny kicking it away and Saracens crossing late on right though and Toner yellow was merited.

Wow. So much nonsense. I thought he was the best ref of the weekend. He did make mistakes (I wouldn't blame him for missing a "blatant" knock on way up the pitch from him. ARs have to help there. 3 is nitpicking, could have called us back for the LO before the first try. 3&4 are interpretation, important that he's consistent, and it doesn't destroy the game, who cares. I didn't see a card warning at all tbh. The ringrose peno for example wasn't cynical at all, he thought it was a lose ball.

[Experimental]

I have two words:

Dan Leavy!

[Laighin Break]

If Kearney's tackle was deemed a penalty, should it not have technically been a penalty try?

[curates_egg]

If Kearney's tackle was deemed a penalty, should it not have technically been a penalty try?

I thought a penalty try is only if a try is definitely going to be scored, which you definitely couldn't have said.
Sanjay slipped into Kearney, who knew nothing about it. I thought Garces was spot on.
I also thought he was right about Wigglesworth's sloppy shoulder.

We didn't get the run of his decisions in the first half but it evened out. He clearly was allowing the attacking team to hold on to the ball in rucks, and missed/ignored crooked throws and feeds.
The officials were definitely the least questionable of the weekend. Let's see who we get for the semis.

[curates_egg]

James Ryan is POC reincarnate. Makes metres every carry. He has to start now with Fardy.

How insulting to Ryan. O'connell was a great leader but was not a brilliant second row player. Ryan has carried more effectively this year than any irish second row ever and I include Henderson in that list. He takes the ball in the worst positions but still makes ground.

Fardy, Ryan in the second row would have some athleticism and power. Toner was good yesterday (bar the braindead yellow which could have cost us) but a Fardy and Ryan in front of Ruddock, Leavy and Obrien is mouth watering

Plus about 3 on the POC comparison. He was a terrible ball carrier with poor hands. Ryan is a superb ball carrier, with amazing skill. POC brought a lot of other things to teams, but it wasn't carrying. A bit like O'Mahony, who has become Ireland's worst carrier - despite being excellent at other parts of the game.

[A16]

POC and JR are two completely different players, with very diverse skill sets. The comparisons between the two baffle me, especially since their playing styles really aren’t that similar. Both are/were fine players but I really don’t see where these comparisons keep coming from.

[blockhead]

POC and JR are two completely different players, with very diverse skill sets. The comparisons between the two baffle me, especially since their playing styles really aren’t that similar. Both are/were fine players but I really don’t see where these comparisons keep coming from.

Their both Locks?

[A16]

POC and JR are two completely different players, with very diverse skill sets. The comparisons between the two baffle me, especially since their playing styles really aren’t that similar. Both are/were fine players but I really don’t see where these comparisons keep coming from.

Their both Locks?

Cheers for keeping me up to date on that, who would have thought!

[olaf the fat]

POC and JR are two completely different players, with very diverse skill sets. The comparisons between the two baffle me, especially since their playing styles really aren’t that similar. Both are/were fine players but I really don’t see where these comparisons keep coming from.

Their both Locks?

Cheers for keeping me up to date on that, who would have thought!

Apparently, anybody baffled by the comparison of two locks.

[Oldschool]

James Ryan is already so far ahead of POC that the bafflement at comparisons is understandable.
Malcom O'Kelley might be a more suitable candidate.

[blockhead]

James Ryan is already so far ahead of POC that the bafflement at comparisons is understandable.
Malcom O'Kelley might be a more suitable candidate.

Ah come on guys. Ryan has just begun his pro career and you're saying that he is already way ahead of POC?
Show the great man some respect, and in Ryan's case, calm the fup down.

[jimbobjoe]

James Ryan is already so far ahead of POC that the bafflement at comparisons is understandable.
Malcom O'Kelley might be a more suitable candidate.

Ah come on guys. Ryan has just begun his pro career and you're saying that he is already way ahead of POC?
Show the great man some respect, and in Ryan's case, calm the fup down.

+1

[Oldschool]

James Ryan is already so far ahead of POC that the bafflement at comparisons is understandable.
Malcom O'Kelley might be a more suitable candidate.

Ah come on guys. Ryan has just begun his pro career and you're saying that he is already way ahead of POC?
Show the great man some respect, and in Ryan's case, calm the fup down.

Apologies, I meant relatively speaking.
Also JR needs to be very carefully managed over the next couple of years in particular.

[fourthirtythree]

Absurd to say that. Sure, he carries better, but so do other locks who aren't a patch.

Come back and talk when the guy has 100 pro games and a Lions tour to go with his 6N and European Cup (okay, I'm the one jumping the gun there!).

[A16]

Their both Locks?

Cheers for keeping me up to date on that, who would have thought!

Apparently, anybody baffled by the comparison of two locks.

If you’re comparing players on the sole premise that they play the same position, then you may want to reconsider a few things. I don’t know about you, but when I watch Ryan play he doesn’t remind me of POC at all.

[arsebiscuits1]

Garces really had a shocker:

1. missed at least 2 blatant knock ons
2. should have carded Saracen 9 for assault on Sexton and Rob for no arms tackle on Williams. in fact he had to be told by TJ to blow up Sexton incident even though he had a perfect view of it
3. ignored obvious crooked throw by George on halfway in first half
4. repeatedly allowed tackled player to hang on
5. repeatedly allowed attacking players to go off their feet in support of ball
6. never considered card warning to them (before pen to go 13-9) or us (before ht) for multiple offending in defensive red zone

He did get calls on Johnny kicking it away and Saracens crossing late on right though and Toner yellow was merited.

Garces had a brilliant game and really added to the occasion. The shoulder hit on Sexton was the only blot, he really should have gone to the TMO.

Other than that he let the game pan out exactly as the teams wanted to play. There wasn't a single penalty given for holding on. Which is incredibly rare these days, especially with the calibre of both packs playing. But as a result, the game flowed. The ball in play time must have been insane and the first scrum wasn't until the 17th minute. This is what most fans want to see and part of that was down to Garces. Hats off to him for that.

He also used common sense in many ways which I thought was admirable. With the Lowe taking out the catcher decision, he was clearly pushed. One technical infringement directly leading to another one, cancel out, no one is hurt, play on. Great call.

Also, there was a moment when a Leinster staff member in the technical zone clearly deliberately touched the ball to prevent a quick line out, Garces called play on (much to Lowes annoyance as it was a cracking kick) correct decision for those just wanting the game to be played.

He called Sexton and Farrell over during a break in play to tell them to calm down, as they were both being petulant at that stage and the handbags were getting out of hand.

You can list every mistake he did to your hearts content, but in the context of a game with 80 minutes and multiple decision, some are going to go the other way - I am sure I can find as many blots in Leavys performance if I looked hard enough...

Over the context of the 80 minutes, Garces was fantastic

[Raydollard]

You have listed enough errors yourself to suggest he wasn’t very good.

[arsebiscuits1]

You have listed enough errors yourself to suggest he wasn’t very good.

And there you have it folks.

Raydollard has disagreed with me.

So you know what I've said it correct

[riocard911]

How refreshing and confidence-inducing was it for us not to feck up even one line-out in the course of a match? Plaudits to all involved! Upwards and onwards!!!!!

[Peg Leg]

Garces really had a shocker:

1. missed at least 2 blatant knock ons
2. should have carded Saracen 9 for assault on Sexton and Rob for no arms tackle on Williams. in fact he had to be told by TJ to blow up Sexton incident even though he had a perfect view of it
3. ignored obvious crooked throw by George on halfway in first half
4. repeatedly allowed tackled player to hang on
5. repeatedly allowed attacking players to go off their feet in support of ball
6. never considered card warning to them (before pen to go 13-9) or us (before ht) for multiple offending in defensive red zone

He did get calls on Johnny kicking it away and Saracens crossing late on right though and Toner yellow was merited.

Garces had a brilliant game and really added to the occasion. The shoulder hit on Sexton was the only blot, he really should have gone to the TMO.

Other than that he let the game pan out exactly as the teams wanted to play. There wasn't a single penalty given for holding on. Which is incredibly rare these days, especially with the calibre of both packs playing. But as a result, the game flowed. The ball in play time must have been insane and the first scrum wasn't until the 17th minute. This is what most fans want to see and part of that was down to Garces. Hats off to him for that.

He also used common sense in many ways which I thought was admirable. With the Lowe taking out the catcher decision, he was clearly pushed. One technical infringement directly leading to another one, cancel out, no one is hurt, play on. Great call.

Also, there was a moment when a Leinster staff member in the technical zone clearly deliberately touched the ball to prevent a quick line out, Garces called play on (much to Lowes annoyance as it was a cracking kick) correct decision for those just wanting the game to be played.

He called Sexton and Farrell over during a break in play to tell them to calm down, as they were both being petulant at that stage and the handbags were getting out of hand.

You can list every mistake he did to your hearts content, but in the context of a game with 80 minutes and multiple decision, some are going to go the other way - I am sure I can find as many blots in Leavys performance if I looked hard enough...

Over the context of the 80 minutes, Garces was fantastic

Great reply