Scarlets v Leinster Sat 8 Sep 19:35 (Eir/TG4)

[cormac]

I'm guessing it'll be a similar squad for next week with one or two adjustments. Barry Daly will probably be unavailable, didn't look great going off so early in the game. Looked like a knee injury.

We could well get Sean Cronin back for this one and possibly Jack Conan.

Of our 3 non-EU/Kolpak players I wouldn't be surprised if we went with Fardy and LPG again. Can't imagine them giving O'Sullivan his debut in this game and, assuming neither Toner nor Ryan will be available, we'll need Fardy more than Lowe.

Scarlets defended well against Ulster this evening, but lost a couple more players this evening with both Patchell and Dan Jones going off injured.

[Theleinsterlad]

Will be a tougher match now that they lost their opener to Ulster. Ross Byrne’s ankle is my main concern for the team
Next week

[wixfjord]

I think we'll be up against it in this one. Scarlets are missing a good few, but still have a lot of quality.

Lack of a 7 could really hurt us too. Rhys was great on Fri but he's not an openside. Davies could make hay here.

Hopefully we'll get Cronin back. I think we have to stick with Tomane/ROL at the moment to give them time together.

Will be a good early season test!

Team I'd go for:

Byrne, Cronin, Porter, Molony, Fardy, Murphy, Rhys, Deegan, McGrath, Byrne, MCF, Tomane, ROL, Byrne, DK.
Dooley, Tracey, Bent, Kearney, Doris, JGP, Reid, Keenan

[COYBIB]

Yeah it's bare bones stuff alright. It's a shame that a game of such implication is played under these circumstances, it's the last major flaw of the competition, I'm not sure it's possible to overcome in terms of scheduling, but it is what it is. I'd like to think we'd have a few more names back in contention, I'm not sure what to make of the Tomane situation, I mean he has a couple of dozen Ozzie caps and he was a major cog in a formidable Montpelier outfit, so he's going to be pretty good, I'm just wondering if we've grossly overestimated his versatility, sort of how we did with Nacewa, I think we originally saw him as a 10/12 signing. It doesn't make it a bad signing, but let's just make sure we're getting the most out of the player. How much of his game time was at centre with Montpelier? I feel like he was primarily a centre there, no? That's what's confusing. Maybe I should stop way over analyzing one performance and give him another run.

I'm also not sold on O'Loughlin as a centre given his superb attacking ability and his scoring record on the wing when he originally came through - we're just as light on back three options, is there anything to be said for giving an academy centre a run alongside Tomane? Maybe push Tomane out to 13? O'Loughlin on the left, Adam Byrne on the right, McFadden on the bench, Lowe at 15 if he's available, with Hugh O'Sullivan on the bench. I'd also have Bryan Byrne ahead of Tracy on the bench if Cronin is available.

There's a large Jordi Murphy sized hole in that back-row, I'm not really sure what the answer is, Ruddock at 7 is probably the best solution for now. Similar to the Joey Carbery sized hole in the back line.

Who needs medical jokers for players who aren't available anyway? We'll solider on as usual, and as usual it will stand to us in a season or two.

[blockhead]

It's a shame that a game of such implication is played under these circumstances, it's the last major flaw of the competition, I'm not sure it's possible to overcome in terms of scheduling, but it is what it is.

Yes more thought needs to go into this. Last season we played Scarlets during the 6N for example, silly.
Having it as game 2 this year is a good idea, you want the new season to start with a bang and a few big head-to-heads is good.
Keep the xmas derby's.
No obvious big game during the international windows.

[riocard911]

Re our poor backline defence vs Newcastle and Cardiff. I think we should abandon the Tomane at 12 option and stick Ferg in there. He tackles like a lion and has in recent years been Joe's go to guy for plugging holes in the the backline. Currently if anyone can hope to replace Isa I think it's more likely to be McFadden than our latest signing.

[wixfjord]

I think we have to at least give Tomane a fair crack at 12. Switching him now would be too knee jerk imo. However, he doesn't look in any way agile. Might be partly due to slimming down so much. He's fine going in a straight line but his turning speed is like an oil tanker!

[jimbobjoe]

I think we have to at least give Tomane a fair crack at 12. Switching him now would be too knee jerk imo. However, he doesn't look in any way agile. Might be partly due to slimming down so much. He's fine going in a straight line but his turning speed is like an oil tanker!

Agreed. Trust in the coaches and environment too - He'll be rinsed in the video reviews so he'll know that he's got to shape up to be in with a chance to get a game once the Ireland players are back or keep his spot when they're not.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Cian Tracey saying that VDF is back training and available for selection this week. Brilliant news, wasn't expecting that at all!

[Theleinsterlad]

Cian Tracey saying that VDF is back training and available for selection this week. Brilliant news, wasn't expecting that at all!

Been announced in media as well, massive for our backrow

[cormac]

http://www.the42.ie/josh-van-der-flier- ... =shortlink

JVDF "available for selection". Barry Daly out injured. Hugh O'Sullivan in the mix. May have some other internationals available this week.

[wixfjord]

That's a huge boost and allows us to move Rhys to 6 too.

Murray K also reporting that 'more Ireland internationals will return to the fold'.

Ulster have had Hendo and Murphy is available for the weekend, so we should at least get Cronin back.

Larmour would be a good one to have as well.

I also wonder if we'll ask for either Ryan or Toner to be made available to get Lowe into the side.
Dev is doing media this week, if you want to put 2+2 together - https://www.sportsfile.com/more-images/775219096/

[molloyjh]

That's a huge boost and allows us to move Rhys to 6 too.

Murray K also reporting that 'more Ireland internationals will return to the fold'.

Ulster have had Hendo and Murphy is available for the weekend, so we should at least get Cronin back.

Larmour would be a good one to have as well.

I also wonder if we'll ask for either Ryan or Toner to be made available to get Lowe into the side.
Dev is doing media this week, if you want to put 2+2 together - https://www.sportsfile.com/more-images/775219096/

So possibly something like this???

Byrne Tracy Porter
Molony Toner
Ruddock Conan VDF

McGrath Byrne
Tomane ROL
Lowe Dave Byrne

Cronin, Byrne, Bent, Kearney, Doris, JGP, Reid, McFadden

[hugonaut]

I think we have to at least give Tomane a fair crack at 12. Switching him now would be too knee jerk imo. However, he doesn't look in any way agile. Might be partly due to slimming down so much. He's fine going in a straight line but his turning speed is like an oil tanker!

Absolutely agree. There's been a significant overreaction here [in my opinion] to one bad performance. It was his first competitive game, and he was playing outside an outhalf with whom he has played exactly 0 minutes in preseason. In fact, the outhalf position in preseason has been in complete flux, with Tom Daly [an inside centre] playing the most minutes there in preseason out of himself, Reid and Frawley.

Leinster play a pretty sophisticated style of rugby and you need to become familiar with the systems in place so that they become second nature before you can start playing with real brio. There's a learning curve to adhere to, especially when you're playing in the midfield knuckle.

This guy is a good player – we've played against him in the past and he has caused us problems. He has been an international. I'd be far more in favour of giving him a run of games and a chance to excel rather than bin him after 65 minutes.

[molloyjh]

I think we have to at least give Tomane a fair crack at 12. Switching him now would be too knee jerk imo. However, he doesn't look in any way agile. Might be partly due to slimming down so much. He's fine going in a straight line but his turning speed is like an oil tanker!

Absolutely agree. There's been a significant overreaction here [in my opinion] to one bad performance. It was his first competitive game, and he was playing outside an outhalf with whom he has played exactly 0 minutes in preseason. In fact, the outhalf position in preseason has been in complete flux, with Tom Daly [an inside centre] playing the most minutes there in preseason out of himself, Reid and Frawley.

Leinster play a pretty sophisticated style of rugby and you need to become familiar with the systems in place so that they become second nature before you can start playing with real brio. There's a learning curve to adhere to, especially when you're playing in the midfield knuckle.

This guy is a good player – we've played against him in the past and he has caused us problems. He has been an international. I'd be far more in favour of giving him a run of games and a chance to excel rather than bin him after 65 minutes.

If you include the Newcastle game it's actually 2 games, but that aside you're spot on. Also, it's a completely new league with a completely different emphasis on how to play the game. The guy has had to slim down a fair bit and will almost certainly need to work on his fitness too. Add that to the above point re systems etc and we simply aren't in a position to judge the guy right now. He was really poor, but weren't people questioning the signing of Isa when he first joined? Those first few games aren't a good yardstick.

[wixfjord]

That's a huge boost and allows us to move Rhys to 6 too.

Murray K also reporting that 'more Ireland internationals will return to the fold'.

Ulster have had Hendo and Murphy is available for the weekend, so we should at least get Cronin back.

Larmour would be a good one to have as well.

I also wonder if we'll ask for either Ryan or Toner to be made available to get Lowe into the side.
Dev is doing media this week, if you want to put 2+2 together - https://www.sportsfile.com/more-images/775219096/

So possibly something like this???

Byrne Tracy Porter
Molony Toner
Ruddock Conan VDF

McGrath Byrne
Tomane ROL
Lowe Dave Byrne

Cronin, Byrne, Bent, Kearney, Doris, JGP, Reid, McFadden

I wouldn't be starting Byrne against the Scarlets, but that looks like a good team otherwise!

Haven't seen Conan in training pics so not sure if he's back in full work yet?

[curates_egg]

That's a huge boost and allows us to move Rhys to 6 too.

Murray K also reporting that 'more Ireland internationals will return to the fold'.

Ulster have had Hendo and Murphy is available for the weekend, so we should at least get Cronin back.

Larmour would be a good one to have as well.

I also wonder if we'll ask for either Ryan or Toner to be made available to get Lowe into the side.
Dev is doing media this week, if you want to put 2+2 together - https://www.sportsfile.com/more-images/775219096/

So possibly something like this???

Byrne Tracy Porter
Molony Toner
Ruddock Conan VDF

McGrath Byrne
Tomane ROL
Lowe Dave Byrne

Cronin, Byrne, Bent, Kearney, Doris, JGP, Reid, McFadden

We all dream of a team of Byrnes...but you're missing a loosehead (and have three hookers).

[rooster]

We have Nordi and Herring back in this week so you are bound to have some returning.

[curates_egg]

Sexton is pictured in full training and he is our only fit outhalf. I'm not putting 2 and 2 together there though.

[Peg Leg]

We have Nordi and Herring back in this week so you are bound to have some returning.

I just got sick in my own mouth