Oldschool wrote:LeinsterLeader wrote:goreyguy wrote:
a professional team needs to pass the ball a lot, together, at high pace and intensity in order to try and mimic game conditions as much as possible..
it's the coaches job to create said training environment, so the players train at a level as close as possible to a game.
Shane Horgan said it on a second captains podcast about leinster's skill level, the players aren't challenging their skillset often enough to keep it at a high enough level to execute on the field at a fast efficient pace.
and that work is done in training and in the gameplan, both are organized by MOC.
Yes, that's coaching. Tactics. strategy. I get all that. That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about the basics. Look at the lead up to the 3rd try tonight. All coming from two awful passes from Leinster players. They were simple passes. two under 13's could have executed it better. Are you telling me that was down to Matt O'Connor too?
The simpler question is to ask- Why have ALL of our players skill levels dropped. If it was just one or two then you might argue it's the individual.
The problem is a collective one and that comes back to the coach.
We get your point but you're not listening to the answers.
If your view was correct then we don't need a coach we just need to identify and select the right players and they'll look after everything themselves.
Even you don't believe that would work.
No I do get your point and I'm hearing you load and clear. And the points both you, GG and shane Horgan have made are valid, but I'm talking at a more basic level. Perhaps I'm not explaining myself well enough. Let me give you a "for instance"
Suppose Jack Charlton took over at Real Madrid and said "from nwo on lads no more of your passing we're gonna hoof the ball 80 metres whenever we can". If during the course of the game Ronaldo had to the pass the ball sideways 10 yards to one of his teammates I won't expect him to knock it two yards over his head just because he hasn't been doing it in training. Why? Because he's been doing it since he was a baby. It's part of his DNA. Call it muscle memory if you like, but it's a basic and its why he gets paid for doing something he loves. And if it did happen I'm pretty sure people won't be saying "Ronaldo can't pass now because of Jack Charlton", they'd be saying "er....theres' something wrong with Ronaldo". However, they also might say (and probably quite rightly) "actually it doesn't really matter if Ronaldo could pass or not because our tactics are shite". However that doesn't help the next manger in because Ronaldo still can't pass (for whatever reason).
Now, in the above story swap Jack Charlton for Matt and Ronaldo for, let's say Ian Madigan (could be a lot of people really).
Look maybe it is all down to Matt. Maybe he has so sucked the life and the confidence out of the players with his coaching style that they can't execute 4 passes in a row without someone having to take it at his ankles or at least one penalty a game doesn't find touch or they can't go through half a dozen phases without knocking the ball on. If that is the case, grand. That's an easy enough fix provided we get the right man in.
My fear is that in the haste to issue Matt out the door, people aren't looking around to see is there anything else going on that might be effecting Leinster rugby. That's it. That's my point. I'm not really expecting anyone to have the answer. I'm just sharing
I suppose we'll find out more when the next guy arrives.