Babbling 'brook

Two prop calls are interesting - is Milne ahead of Byrne, or just a reflection of Byrne just back from injury? Interesting to see Abdaladze ahead of Clarkson. I think this is Vakh's first ever Leinster start? At 27 years old, following 30 substitute appearances (27 for Leinster and 3 for Georgia), ...

The whole panel of experts thing in rugby, especially, is absolutely ridiculous these days. On RTE on Friday, we had a former Ireland coach on the left. On the right, a 100-cap number 8 commonly regarded as the best ever in his position for Ireland (plus decorated). In the middle, we had a person w...

Listened to that interview with Conan last night, really interesting and very good interview from the Second Captains lads. Clearly Conan wanted to talk about it but didn't want to get into explicit detail. Between that interview and the Baird one they had last week, there's definitely a lot of hig...

Id be very happy if Ruddock started at 6, he is an absolute Rolls Royce of a 6 and is tailor made for this game. Baird would be a better option off the bench either at 6 or lock. Absolutely, there is a comfort blanket element to his presence, especially in Sexton's absence. Yes he is now an elder l...

From Ulster fans forum There was a fella called Josh van der Flier Who was named the best player of the year Sure it’s all very well To tackle a Lionel But against Ulster he couldn’t get near This really only works in a posh Belfast accent where words like "year" and "cake" have...

I hate, absolutely hate, Interpro European games, there is such great opportunity for so much to go so badly wrong! There was a time, not all that long ago, when we were the ones hoping that things would go wrong for the favourites. That niggly doubt about an interpro in Europe is the price/privile...

Malcolm Gladwell addressed this in Outliers in relation to Canadian ice hockey. Player born in the first half of the year were over-represented in professional setups. This derived from older, bigger, stronger players getting into special camps, etc at age grade levels. The relevant authorities cre...

Irish 20s, profiles online, no height/weight yet: https://www.irishrugby.ie/ireland/under20/profiles/ Matthew Lynch: 23/01/2003 Sam Prendergast: 12/02/2003 Ronan Foxe: 13/02/2003 George Hadden: 20/02/2003 Diarmuid Mangan: 06/03/2003 Conor O’Tighearnaigh: 02/04/2003 Oscar Cawley: 01/05/2003 James Ni...

Foley kicked on last season as he was playing regularly at AIL level, he wasnt doing that this season prior to injury and his play suffered for it. Young 9s need to play lots of games to develop. I think this has stunted the development of a few Leinster 9s in recent years. The game time doesn't ne...

15. Ciarán Frawley (60) 14. Jordan Larmour (84) 13. Liam Turner (14) 12. Jamie Osborne (30) 11. Dave Kearney (178) 10. Harry Byrne (44) 9. Luke McGrath (188) 1. Michael Milne (26) 2. John McKee (13) 3. Michael Ala’alatoa (40) 4. Ross Molony (156) 5. Jason Jenkins (10) 6. Rhys Ruddock (218) CAPTAIN ...

Quite concerned about Tadhg in the last 3 years how much game time has he actually played, he seems to be having a nightmare with constant injuries The Lions tour really broke him. Cautionary tale for players when the lure of profile and cash that comes with the Lions is waved around. The Lions is ...

JJ Hanrahan on the bench for a depleted Dragons side in the URC during the 6N. Still only 30. That was some fall from grace. A fine rugby player who has an eye for a gap, he can pass, tackle, kick to a high standard. He just isn't a European Cup level or International level 10. He probably stayed a...

Good luck to Jack in all his ventures. A great guy who really served Leinster and Ireland superbly but another, like SO'B, who was ultimately mullered by a Lions Tour. It can't be long before a player turns down a Lions call-up, recognising that it has ended or seriously curtailed the careers of so...

Yeah poor Morgan didn't really fancy it. Playing away in the pissing rain with high balls raining down on him is not his game. Hard to believe he's 30, always see him as a young up and comer! He and the sub winger who came on were wearing tights and short sleeve jerseys. They looked a bit silly. Cl...

Luke McGrath has now gone ahead of Sean Cronin and level with Isa Nacewa on the list of all time Leinster try scorers on 47. He turns 30 this week.

There are 4 clubs in the playoff/qualification picture between -27 and -47 points difference. 5/6 games out is early to be worrying about small differences. But if you play the percentages right over the season you end up with 2 things: playing smart is a habit and you came out ahead a few times an...

I see the42 is going behind a pay wall. I don't know about you all but I won't be paying for it. Their rugby content is fine and worth purchasing if they have offers available on a sport by sport basis. As in, paying, say, €15 a year for only rugby. But I'm not gonna pay 60 euro a year so the42 can...

Apologies if this has been asked already but when can we expect fixture details to be announced for this (kick off time and confirmation of venue)? Last para of an email sent to Season Ticket holders this morning: Tickets for knock-out games are not included as part of your Season Ticket and furthe...

Ulster is a good draw for Leinster to get. You have to admire the persistence of their fans on the42 and elsewhere to portray Ulster as "the team no one wanted" and "the nightmare" draw for Leinster. Even in the midst of a terrible run of form (and they were dreadful v Sale) the...

Apologies if this has been asked already but when can we expect fixture details to be announced for this (kick off time and confirmation of venue)?