Heaslip in decline since '09?

[Heaslipped]

There isn't clearer evidence of his lack of power in contact than the GIF below. Maybe he is right to look after his body and not end up crocked like Ferris, BOD, Leamy, and SOB. But it is a sad state of affairs when your 8 gets driven back 10 yards when you are in the try scoring zone. Brad Thorne saw through him within a matter of weeks, as did Gatland, and it's time the rest of the province did too. His abject performances have been glossed over by the quality of the Leinster squad since '09.

[Peg Leg]

Idiotic post! I don't know what it takes for people to understand the quality of this man.
That gif shows an exceptional tackle 2 man tackle (that almost KO'd the hitter) and a great follow up leg drive.

A more consistently good player we have never had.

EDIT: apologies all for feeding

[Heaslipped]

It is hardly WUMing if it is just an opinion you don't share.

The excuses that come out for Heaslip are incredible at times. So now this is an exceptional tackle, as opposed to a very poor carry from a number 8? If any other player from another team got rag-dolled like this they would be the laughing stock.

Do you disagree that he now slows up when coming into contact as opposed to driving through like he once did?

[fourthirtythree]

He hasn't a hope once Robin "brainless" Copeland gets to play for Munster regularly.

I mean he only played ahead of Callin' for Ireland, who was clearly the best 8 on the Ireland for some years despite the fact that Munster kept on buying in players to replace him, due to bias from Kidney and then Schmidt. Treated dreadfully he was.

[Heaslipped]

Coughlan isn't fit to lace an international 8's boots. I like where you are going though; just because I have an opinion on Heaslip that automatically means I am a disgruntled Munster fan. Copeland on the other hand has had a number of fairly decent MOTM performances in the HEC this year, but still has a lot to prove.
Murphy will have passed Heaslip out at Leinster by the middle of next season, and then he can concentrate on expanding the Bear franchise.

[the spoofer]

I wonder which of Munster Fans finest this is? It's a really poor effort.

I'm sure Zebo got a good roasting after coming in off his wing last week.

[Heaslipped]

I wonder which of Munster Fans finest this is? It's a really poor effort.

I'm sure Zebo got a good roasting after coming in off his wing last week.

The only roasting Zebo gets involved in is of the 'spit' variety with one Conor Murray.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

You could have at least said since 2010 given that his best season was 09-10 when he was arguably the best 8 in the world at that point.

You can count the number of bad games he's had in his entire career on one hand. Wales at the World Cup and a couple of bad games as Irish captain last year (even if he said himself that he was happy with his performances) come to mind, struggling to think of many more.

[paddyor]

I wonder which of Munster Fans finest this is? It's a really poor effort.

I'm sure Zebo got a good roasting after coming in off his wing last week.

The only roasting Zebo gets involved in is of the 'spit' variety with one Conor Murray.

He's still a sh*t defender.

[Heaslipped]

He's still a sh*t defender.[/quote]


Let's not deviate from the thread title too much there Patrick. We're talking about Heaslip's lack of power here, not Zebo's sh*t defending, which I am more than happy to discuss in the "Zebo's a sh*t defender" thread.

[jimbobjoe]

One example...care to provide some more??

[OTT]

What would you think of Ruddock as an international blindside with special reference to his tackling stats?

[Heaslipped]

What would you think of Ruddock as an international blindside with special reference to his tackling stats?

No issue with Ruddock. Young player on the rise.

I do have an issue with a senior player that was once referred to as "world class" getting an armchair ride from the rest of the team. All the talk of stats. Where is the tenacity in his play? Call me old fashioned but I like my number 8 punching holes.

[the spoofer]

What would you think of Ruddock as an international blindside with special reference to his tackling stats?

No issue with Ruddock. Young player on the rise.

I do have an issue with a senior player that was once referred to as "world class" getting an armchair ride from the rest of the team. All the talk of stats. Where is the tenacity in his play? Call me old fashioned but I like my number 8 punching holes.

I'd say you just love Billy V where I think he's useless. Similarily Picamoles.

[goreyguy]

jesus what utter shite..

[jezzer]

Well, in 2010/11, Sean O'Brien was a human wrecking ball. Couldn't be tackled, rarely failed to break the gainline and often offloaded in contact.

He's still an effective carrier, but he's not the linebreaker he was then.

Richardt Strauss was Leinster's most regular ball-carrier in the pack around 2009-2011. He's considerably less prominent in carrying stats since then, from well before the heart op.

Defences are better, players change their bodies to take on different roles, players tendencies get studied ad nauseum and chinks in the armour are found....

Heaslip is definitely not the open-field runner he was before. He has lost power in favour of mobility. What you're saying is you like the old Heaslip, when he would bullock into some poor defender, fend him backwards 5m and rampage for another 10m. To be honest, I liked the old Heaslip too and I sometimes wish we had more classic sevens on the island that could then let 8s be 8s. But we don't and Heaslip isn't an out-and-out 8. He's a "7.5" who makes more tackles and hits far more rucks and jackals far more ball than he ever did as a 24 year old.

To you , that's not progress. Fair enough. But it isn't decline either. It's transition.

[Oldschool]

There isn't clearer evidence of his lack of power in contact than the GIF below. Maybe he is right to look after his body and not end up crocked like Ferris, BOD, Leamy, and SOB. But it is a sad state of affairs when your 8 gets driven back 10 yards when you are in the try scoring zone. Brad Thorne saw through him within a matter of weeks, as did Gatland, and it's time the rest of the province did too. His abject performances have been glossed over by the quality of the Leinster squad since '09.

I wonder has it something to do with his hair cut.
A bit like what happened to Samson all those years ago.
Or perhaps he's spending too much time with Derlilar and just can't perform come match day.
Either way his hair will regrow and like Samson he'll have the last laugh on his detractors.

[simonokeeffe]

Heaslip is terrible
same way ROG was a terrible player based on my avatar

I mean he barely started 2 Lions tests last summer, barely captained us to a league title this season, list of things he barely achieved goes on

[ichabodscrane]

More fear mongering, it is well known that Heaslip has had to adapt his role because as jezzer has said is due to the lack of an out and out 7 in the mould of Pockock, Hooper & McCaw.

Heaslip works extremely hard on his mobility & flexibility. I read an interview with him where he explains how he prepares for his role. He subscribed to Kelly Staretts 'becoming a supple leopard' which he does every day, he also sleeps in an oxygen tent one month prior to the start of the season.

He may not be the most likeable of blokes in the media. He is cocky and has a persona that would allow us to believe that he's a 'go with the flow' type of guy but I suspect he's not. I think he hasn't always lived up to our huge expectations of him, but he's still world class, only bettered by Kieran Read, and even at that the differences are quite small.

Once we get a back row that plays together on a regular basis (unlike this season just gone) I suspect we'll see him play his own game instead of having two back rows in Ruddock & Murphy who need a level of guidance and security.

[paddyor]

What would you think of Ruddock as an international blindside with special reference to his tackling stats?

I see a new signature by Saturday.....of course it won't count as the 6N doesn't count only that tackle counts.