Leinster v Zebre Sat 2pm TG4

[wixfjord]

Ross Byrne really loses his mind at times. WTF was that at the end? Bizarre!

[A16]

Thought Vakh looked great. He scrummaged well, carried strongly and topped it off with a try. Credit to him.

[OTT]

Thought Vakh looked excellent. He scrummaged well, carried strongly and topped it off with a try. Credit to him.

Yeah. He looked great. Two massive carries right after coming on. Good to see from a guy who has been less heralded coming through.

[TerenureJim]

Impressed with Zebre, fell away at the end but are really a developing team under Bradley

[tingman]

Geez that was tough to watch - 41 points somewhat flattering but it was turgid stuff for long periods.

[enby]

Ross Byrne really loses his mind at times. WTF was that at the end? Bizarre!

He really is a peculiar player. I was far more impressed by McPhillips for Ulster last night in a far more difficult game.

Deegan deserved his MOM award. Lowe, Daly and Furlong put in good shifts. Despite what others have said I thought JGP was fine. Bench did really well

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Fair play to everyone who was there but I'm very glad I wasn't. A very lethargic performance but I think the weather and the number of frustrating stoppages made it seem worse than it was. Once the weather improved a bit and the game flowed a little better we improved a fair bit. Once Dev didn't catch the kick off I expected the worst.

Leavy was very good and Furlong was pretty good as well without either of them getting out of second gear. Bryan Byrne continued his good form off the bench and Vakh was excellent. I was disappointed with him in the A game last week but he was brilliant today.

I don't think anyone was that bad individually, more of a collective lethargy. JGP did make errors but did some good things as well. Ross Byrne certainly isn't in top form but don't think he played badly by any means, and had some lovely moments like the clearance kick off his left, a great pick up off his laces, the break for Lowe's try, and some good kicking (his kicks to touch are superb). I don't think it helped that COB looked nervous beside him. I felt he played within himself once he had that horror kick early on. He made half breaks and could have off loaded but think he was afraid of making more errors. I was always off the opinion that Tom Daly was too one paced for pro rugby but don't think that's the case with COB, reckon he could be a slow burner and will really improve with games. Lowe was excellent and offered a lot of energy when we really needed it. ROL was lively and I thought he was smart to hold onto the ball a few times when there were men outside him, forcing it could have been a disaster in those conditions.

Deegan head and shoulders above everyone else though IMO. He reads the game so well and has the athleticism to get where he needs to be, like when he took the quick tap for his try but then finishes it off on the far side of the pitch. He did brilliantly to get to the ball for his first try, but how can a guy his size pick it up and spin away like that? Just brilliant. His handling is exceptional, he picks his moments brilliantly with those offloads of his and the weather doesn't stymie him in the slightest.

[cormac]

I think the best things you can say about the game are that a) we won, b) we got 5 pts and iii) no injuries.

[Logorrhea]

.......... and its over.

The highlight for me was watching the South Stand peasants scurry out of the rain.

[CiaranIrl]

Fair play to everyone who was there but I'm very glad I wasn't. A very lethargic performance but I think the weather and the number of frustrating stoppages made it seem worse than it was. Once the weather improved a bit and the game flowed a little better we improved a fair bit. Once Dev didn't catch the kick off I expected the worst.

Leavy was very good and Furlong was pretty good as well without either of them getting out of second gear. Bryan Byrne continued his good form off the bench and Vakh was excellent. I was disappointed with him in the A game last week but he was brilliant today.

I don't think anyone was that bad individually, more of a collective lethargy. JGP did make errors but did some good things as well. Ross Byrne certainly isn't in top form but don't think he played badly by any means, and had some lovely moments like the clearance kick off his left, a great pick up off his laces, the break for Lowe's try, and some good kicking (his kicks to touch are superb). I don't think it helped that COB looked nervous beside him. I felt he played within himself once he had that horror kick early on. He made half breaks and could have off loaded but think he was afraid of making more errors. I was always off the opinion that Tom Daly was too one paced for pro rugby but don't think that's the case with COB, reckon he could be a slow burner and will really improve with games. Lowe was excellent and offered a lot of energy when we really needed it. ROL was lively and I thought he was smart to hold onto the ball a few times when there were men outside him, forcing it could have been a disaster in those conditions.

Deegan head and shoulders above everyone else though IMO. He reads the game so well and has the athleticism to get where he needs to be, like when he took the quick tap for his try but then finishes it off on the far side of the pitch. He did brilliantly to get to the ball for his first try, but how can a guy his size pick it up and spin away like that? Just brilliant. His handling is exceptional, he picks his moments brilliantly with those offloads of his and the weather doesn't stymie him in the slightest.

Very good, balanced assessment. Some people are never happy. It was a shite day weather wise, and it must be impossible to rise for the occassion when you know we beat them by 60 odd points the previous season.

I really am excited about Deegan. When you remember that he's only a 21 year old in his first real season as a pro, it's hard not to be excited. He's so much better now than the likes of Conan & Leavy were at the same stage. He could become absolutely world class. The future is bright.

[wixfjord]

ROL has come into a bit of form in the last while after being fairly poor for much of the first half of the year. Good to see.

A possible battle between him and Larmour to bench for Scarlets.

[ronk]

Zebre are much improved. Don’t have that cutting edge, they got to our line a few times but struggled to break through. They had a few chances but couldn’t convert and it probably wouldn’t have changed the result.

Deegan was great. JGP had a good game, Daly did well and had some electric breaks. Lowe is a star. Ross Byrne is doing lots of good things, Adam Byrne wasn’t sharp and the game passed him by a bit. I liked O’Brien and think we’ll be seeing more of him. Subs did well.

[wwed]

Thought Adam Byrne looked very short of confidence yesterday - not having the impact we used to expect. O'Brien has the strength and pace for pro rugby, but haven't seen the passing or offloads you'd expect from a top 12. Big impact from Vakh off the bench, and B Byrne must be close to second choice hooker by now. Ross Byrne's inability to take the ball on the move and threaten the line really limits his impact, despite many good parts of his game. Deegan continues to develop well, and while I don't think he's a natural fullback, Daly really looks the part now at this level. Above all, Lowe was brilliant - class above everyone else on the pitch!

[riocard911]

Thought JGP and RO'L put in very good defensive shifts.

[curates_egg]

Pornographic footage from the match:
https://twitter.com/Murray_Kinsella/sta ... 3319404544

More skilful than Scannell's pass and offload for Shelbyville, but not in the highlights (as not linked to a try).

[Logorrhea]

x-factor

[the spoofer]

Leavy and Lowe were the only two who turned up out of the lads who featured against Sarries. I thought the rest were well off the pace with our front row mullered.

Dev tried but everything he did was fairly poor.

JGP had a fine game. I really wanted COB to play well but thought it just didn't go for him. Kicks, missed cleanout and numerous missed tackles. These are basics and he needs to nail them.

[mildlyinterested]

COB needs to take advantage of his chances.. he has been mixed.

lots of competition at that spot next season with him, JOB returning from 7's and Frawley.

[Dave Cahill]

JGP had a fine game.

Two things in particular - or rather the same thing twice - caught the eye for me. Zebre locks broke the line and both times JGP ran them down tracking back. On the first occasion the zebre player lost the ball just before tackle and on the second JGP brought him down with a fine tackle - classic scrum half sweeper play.

[the spoofer]

JGP had a fine game.

Two things in particular - or rather the same thing twice - caught the eye for me. Zebre locks broke the line and both times JGP ran them down tracking back. On the first occasion the zebre player lost the ball just before tackle and on the second JGP brought him down with a fine tackle - classic scrum half sweeper play.

He collected a lot of kicks, he's a fine all round player. I assume that the relative slowness in moving the ball away from ruck is a Leinster tactical play as it seems to be the case regardless of personnel.