Castres v. Leinster

[wixfjord]

Fanning, underrated? no, he is a one dimensional player.. great that he got two scores yesterday though

Yeah you're right GoreyGuy, great performance yesterday to get a double, also played well against Munster. He's in good form eh?

[johng]

The more limited a player Fanning is in anyone's mind, the more impressive his achievements are.

No one would have predicted him playing every minute of every game this season. To score 2 tries in a Euro game is dream stuff from where he was a season ago. He has proved himself the best option available to us and I am glad we had him with no Fitz, DK and Ferg.

I am willing to bet that he trains very well and works his socks of to get where he is.

[All Blacks nil]

Fanning, underrated? no, he is a one dimensional player.. great that he got two scores yesterday though

Couple of questions

What does Dave Kearney do that Darragh Fanning doesn't?

and

What can Dave Kearney do that Darragh Fanning can't?

I can't figure out why Fanning is considered so much inferior to Dave Kearney.

Hence the underrated tag.

Is Dave Kearney multi-dimensional?
He also got 2 tries last season

Genuine questions from someone perplexed by Kearney's elevation and who has a genuine regard and respect for Fanning as a player

[johng]

Cue someone saying we should have given Sam Coughlan Murray a run instead. Or someone from the Academy. And they would have a point, if only just to give the guy a rest.

[goreyguy]

Fanning has played well in the last two games, He still shouldnt be near the starting team when everyone is healthy.

[All Blacks nil]

Fanning has played well in the last two games, He still shouldnt be near the starting team when everyone is healthy.

Fair enough
Though that doesn't answer either of the questions I asked

[wixfjord]

Fanning has played well in the last two games, He still shouldnt be near the starting team when everyone is healthy.

He's made a good start to the year, played well against Cardiff and Scarlets too, our reigning POTM if I'm not mistaken!

Nobody is saying he'd be starting if we had a full deck, but that isn't really the point.

You must feel a little silly after you rolleyes nonsense last week though eh? Two tries in a close European tie for the Fanj!

[goreyguy]

Fanning has played well in the last two games, He still shouldnt be near the starting team when everyone is healthy.

He's made a good start to the year, played well against Cardiff and Scarlets too, our reigning POTM if I'm not mistaken!

Nobody is saying he'd be starting if we had a full deck, but that isn't really the point.

You must feel a little silly after you rolleyes nonsense last week though eh? Two tries in a close European tie for the Fanj!

why would i feel silly? Fanning's tries were hardly moments of individual brilliance.
You'd hope a winger would be able to convert both the chances he got fairly easily.
I still standby what ive said, in an ideal situation we would have a player of much better quality starting in that position and we will once lads get back to full fitness.
Fair play to him, he works very hard and always give 100%.

[wixfjord]

Fanning has played well in the last two games, He still shouldnt be near the starting team when everyone is healthy.

He's made a good start to the year, played well against Cardiff and Scarlets too, our reigning POTM if I'm not mistaken!

Nobody is saying he'd be starting if we had a full deck, but that isn't really the point.

You must feel a little silly after you rolleyes nonsense last week though eh? Two tries in a close European tie for the Fanj!

why would i feel silly? Fanning's tries were hardly moments of individual brilliance.
You'd hope a winger would be able to convert both the chances he got fairly easily.
I still standby what ive said, in an ideal situation we would have a player of much better quality starting in that position and we will once lads get back to full fitness.

Oh we will indeed, but isn't it great to see lads like Fanj stepping up the plate and coming into such great form eh? Stroke of genius from MOC to start him at the weekend I'd say!

[goreyguy]

Oh we will indeed, but isn't it great to see lads like Fanj stepping up the plate and coming into such great form eh? Stroke of genius from MOC to start him at the weekend I'd say!

[molloyjh]

We had 2 Wasps fans with us on the terrace. They asked about Fanj because he was going to be opposite Wade. My reply was that he's not the most skillful of guys but he's a hard worker and puts in an honest shift. They looked at me and nodded "we have a few of those ourselves" like it was a bad thing. I think Fanj proved yesterday that it really isn't. There are plenty of players out there with bucket loads of talent who squander it because of a poor attitude. Darce was nearly one of them don't forget. I'd take a guy like Fanj over them any day. He's only ever going to be a squad/Pro12 player but I'm sure he's well aware of that himself. And the fact that he's willing to roll up his sleeves and work his arse off regardless is great.

[All Blacks nil]

What does Fanning have to do to be held in the same regard as D Kearney

What does DK do that Fanj doesn"t
What can DK do that Fanj can"t

Anyone

Tries were not pieces of individual brilliance but were examples
of clinical finishing, as was his try v Munster

[Xanthippe]

We had 2 Wasps fans with us on the terrace. They asked about Fanj because he was going to be opposite Wade. My reply was that he's not the most skillful of guys but he's a hard worker and puts in an honest shift. They looked at me and nodded "we have a few of those ourselves" like it was a bad thing. I think Fanj proved yesterday that it really isn't. There are plenty of players out there with bucket loads of talent who squander it because of a poor attitude. Darce was nearly one of them don't forget. I'd take a guy like Fanj over them any day. He's only ever going to be a squad/Pro12 player but I'm sure he's well aware of that himself. And the fact that he's willing to roll up his sleeves and work his arse off regardless is great.

That's really interesting because I had someone ask me what Christian Wade did all game - what they asked was 'does he just hang around on the wing waiting for the ball to come to him or does he actually do anything else' !

[Oldschool]

Fanning, underrated? no, he is a one dimensional player.. great that he got two scores yesterday though

Couple of questions

What does Dave Kearney do that Darragh Fanning doesn't?

and

What can Dave Kearney do that Darragh Fanning can't?

I can't figure out why Fanning is considered so much inferior to Dave Kearney.

Hence the underrated tag.

Is Dave Kearney multi-dimensional?
He also got 2 tries last season

Genuine questions from someone perplexed by Kearney's elevation and who has a genuine regard and respect for Fanning as a player

I'll make this simple for you.
Get selected for Ireland.
You can ask Joe Schmidt for the more detailed answer cos he's the one that selects him and you can bow to his superior wisdom.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I thought Fanj was alright yesterday but his positioning for Wade's try was awful. He left Wade with acres of space so Madigan pushed up to cover that space, and then Zane was really slow at getting across. Awful all round, but started by Fanj.

[artaneboy]

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we don't lose this one. We're a patently awful team.

Load of nonsense.

+1

[ceemec]

Dave Kearney is a far superior player and I say that as someone who wouldn't have DK in the Leinster 23 if everyone was fit.

Fanning is a one dimensional player based purely on direct power. It's a great trick and hard to stop but there's no subtlety to his game. He runs hard, he hits rucks hard, he works hard. DK can link with others around him, he's far better positionally, he has a solid left boot. You'll rarely see Fanning pass or kick.

[simonokeeffe]

Dave Kearney is a far superior player and I say that as someone who wouldn't have DK in the Leinster 23 if everyone was fit.

Fanning is a one dimensional player based purely on direct power. It's a great trick and hard to stop but there's no subtlety to his game. He runs hard, he hits rucks hard, he works hard. DK can link with others around him, he's far better positionally, he has a solid left boot. You'll rarely see Fanning pass or kick.

I'd say DK is just as powerful if not able to wield it better, he can roadkill opposition players whereas havent seen fanning do that. DK also quicker and more versatile

RE Castres didnt Kockott go off with a knock? Still think theyll rotate half the team for this one again

[bronxbull]

I would have thought that Dave Kearney was more right footed (he rarely kicks) but I do agree that he is a better footballer than Fanning.
Dave Kearney is, like Rob superb in the air and like Rob he is not exactly a brilliant tackler.

[ceemec]

I'd say DK is just as powerful if not able to wield it better, he can roadkill opposition players whereas havent seen fanning do that. DK also quicker and more versatile

DK is powerful and has an ability to bounce a player but I don't think he can make the hard yards that Fanning does repeatedly, tidying up messy ball in traffic after restarts etc. Fanning is superb at that aspect.

RE Castres didnt Kockott go off with a knock? Still think theyll rotate half the team for this one again

He went off and wasn't right starting. He walked off though so probably just needs another few days; I'd expect him to be available. Lamerat hasn't played for 2 weeks for them. If he's missing it's a big boost for us as we really struggled with him last season. He was able to waltz through BOD a few times.