Leinster vs Edinburgh, Friday 15th April

[hugonaut]

With the guts of two weeks between the Munster game and the next match against Edinburgh, outside test windows and in the unusual position of not being involved in the knock-out stages of any other tournaments [either ECC or B&I Cup], we've got a solid block of preparation time together before facing into a home game ... an ideal set-up.

From my point of view, selection should definitely be geared at getting our strongest 23 out in every game, building familiarity, continuity and confidence and doing what we can to establish something of a fear-factor about facing us.

I think the toughest selections for Leo will be in the front row and at scrum-half.

Jack McGrath is absolutely locked in, but there are question marks over the other positions, both starters and benchmen. Sean Cronin had a stinker against Munster and our lineout performance was obviously poor. Given that there were some botched calls, they weren't all his fault, but it was a terrible time to have such a bad game. Richardt is a lower key player but the better scrummager and, on the basis of the most recent match, the better thrower. James Tracy has probably produced as many highlights as either hooker this season, but it's difficult to pick him ahead of players with so much more experience and plenty of life left in them.

Mike Ross is at his best starting and is probably still the best tighthead scrummager in the Six Nations for my money. Many would give the nod to Slimani, but he had the luxury of Maestri behind him; Ireland didn't have a recognised tighthead second row in their team once Mike McCarthy was injured, and Ross was able to secure a solid scrum. I'm not sure that we'll be facing many big-scrummaging teams after Edinburgh though.

Even though Marty Moore is coming back to fitness, his lack of gametime and the fact that he's f*cking off to Wasps next season tips the balance to Tadhg Furlong as Ross' tag-team partner. Kurt McQuilkin's defensive system is much more water-tight than Joe Schmidt's, so I don't expect that we'll see Rossy defending in midfield as often as we did with Ireland. I think Ross for 50 mins and Furlong for 30 is the best split for us.

Cian Healy is way out of form at the moment, and personally speaking, I can't tell what the best way to handle him is. He's worked bloody hard to get back on the pitch, but he's just not playing well – trying too hard, making too many handling errors, giving away too many penalties.

I think our best combination at lock [with Mike McCarthy out] is Dev and Mick Kearney. Dev scrummaged a lot on the tighthead side for Ireland during the Six Nations, which should have pushed his scrummaging skills up a notch, and I think if we can get him in there with Mick Kearney, Jack, Rossy and Richardt, we should be able to build a punishing scrum that can work for penalties.

Rhys and Jamie should be locked in at No6 and No8 respectively; personally, I think there's a good bit to play for at No7 with SOB still out. I expect JVDF to start there against Edinburgh, although I would like to see Dan Leavy given the shot because I think he's better over the ball.

I would like to see Luke McGrath get the nod for the Edinburgh game. He wasn't good against Connacht in horrible conditions, but there's a huge upside for him, Leinster and even Ireland [down the line] if he can grab the chance and establish himself as first choice for Leinster in big games.

I think the midfield of Sexton, Te'o and Ringrose picks itself. Sexton has only played one game this season [the 13-0 win over Connacht on New Year's Day] with that centre combo, and I think that they will definitely improve on the performance against Munster if they get a run of games together.

Luke and Isa on the wings for me, and I have to say I'm very keen to see Rob Kearney back and see how he does. I would be a bigger fan of RK than many on the board, and I think he'll come back with something to prove given the amount of criticism he has taken in his absence.

EDIT: Apologies for the total f*cking essay.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Argree about Mick Kearney but apparently he was injured for the Munster game, no idea what the injury was or how long he's out for though.

Thought it was very noticeable that Strauss and VDF made a big difference to the breakdown yesterday. They were so much more competitive there than Cronin and Jordi. I don't really get the criticism of VDF in that department. He's no Pocock but he's good at slowing ball down and fighting to get over the ball. Munster had to tie in more players when he was on the pitch meaning that they were short of numbers elsewhere. We let them off the hook by not being strong enough around the fingers or punishing them when they were sent backwards but hopefully that will be better next time out.

I really want to see us play flatter and with more options off the ball carrier before we go for that pass out the back. We were really deep and then invariably went sideways, could do with the blindside wingers working harder to give an inside option.

[riocard911]

Good summary, Hugonaut, all of which I agree with. IMO Leo needs to bite the bullet and replace Healy and Cronin on the bench with Dooley and Tracy at least for the match against Edinburgh - one, 'cos the former deserve dropping, and, two, in order to send a signal to the group as a whole than standards must be maintained and that he intends on enforcing this - even in the case of internationals.

[wixfjord]

Completely agree on Mick Kearney. He's a big player for the rest of the season, and we need his best Mike McCarthy impression. When Triggs (who I thought did ok yesterday) or Molony partner Dev our pack is a little lightweight.

The argument for Cronin over Strauss is over for me for the moment.

If we can get SOB back anytime soon, a pack of McGrath, Strauss, Ross, Dev, M. Kearney, Ruddock, SOB, Heaslip might be too good for the rest of the league.

I was impressed by Furlong's scrummaging yesterday I must say.

[leinsterforever]

Leinster need to improve the attack. I think a team with a sharp attacking game could have scored three or four tries against that Munster defence. Munster were hardly stretched at all. I suppose some continuity in selection over the coming weeks will help but I sometimes wonder whether the coaches have it in them to instigate the necessary improvements. Is Dempsey good enough? Does Cullen allow Dempsey enough freedom? I guess they're rookies and have to be given more time to sort things out. The bottom line is that the backplay has to do more to stress the opposition defence.

The run in from now is interesting. Presumably there are enough breaks for Euro competition to allow pretty much full-strength teams to be fielded for the remaining five (hopefully) games. It's almost like the situation in Super Rugby where the smaller number of games allows the picking of full-strength sides week-in week-out more.

I agree with the sentiment that Dooley and Tracy should come in on the bench. What kind of message would it send to retain an underperforming Cronin?

[Oldschoolsocks]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

[neiliog93]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

He hasn't been making as many breaks, probably because he has less room, but his defence has been excellent.

[curates_egg]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

He hasn't been making as many breaks, probably because he has less room, but his defence has been excellent.

Has it? He certainly brings lots of energy but I am not sure I would describe his defence as excellent.
He is lucky to get away with some of the hits he makes (the illegal hit at the end of the game yesterday is a classic Teo tackle). He shoots a lot and it doesn't always work out. Don't get me wrong: he certainly can't be faulted for trying.

Going forward, he was again doing a lot of crabbing yesterday and threw a couple of shocking passes. He is such a powerful carrier that it is probably impossible to leave him out but I think he has been pretty poor at 12. If he is not taking on crash ball, he seems to be putting the offensive line on the back foot.

All things being equal, I'd prefer Fitz (if fit). However, given we have serious carrying deficiencies (unless you start Cronin and that poses a host of other problems), I guess we need Teo somewhere and that where seems to be 12 at the moment, warts and all.

[RoboProp]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

I would agree with you here

[Dave Cahill]

According to Leo both Luke and Rob K should be back in two weeks, so this game will be on the cusp of their potentially being available

[COYBIB]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

Certainly not performing as well as he did at 13, but it's more a case of getting the best combinations on the field. The only other real options at 12 would be Reid, he's not good enough for top level unfortunately, but very handy squad player for Pro12, then there's Fitzgerald, who I think adds much more value in an area where we required much more quality - out on the wing, or Madigan, who has some merits at 12, but Te'o is probably the better option due to the physicality and defensive power he brings, especially with Ringrose being the man at 13 now, I think he's better served with Te'o on his inside - although I would be intrigued to see Ringrose play off of Madigan breaks and passing from 12, but with both those lads gone, it might as well be Te'o playing a Henshaw role.

I'd certainly look to use Te'o / Ringrose as the 12/13 combo and have the option off the bench of putting Madigan outside Sexton to liven up the back-line or just as 10 cover for Johnny for one of the many, many knocks he takes.

I'd go with:

1. J.McGrath 2. Strauss 3. Ross 4. Moloney 5.Toner 6. Ruddock 7. Van Der Flier 8. Heaslip
9. Reddan 10. Sexton 11. Fitzgerald 12. Te'o 13. Ringrose 14. Nacewa 15. R.Kearney
16. Cronin 17. Healy (one more chance?) 18. Furlong 19. M.Kearney (Triggs if not fit) 20. Murphy 21. L.McGrath 22. Madigan 23. Kirchner

[riocard911]

COYBIB:

I'd go with:

1. J.McGrath 2. Strauss 3. Ross 4. Moloney 5.Toner 6. Ruddock 7. Van Der Flier 8. Heaslip
9. Reddan 10. Sexton 11. Fitzgerald 12. Te'o 13. Ringrose 14. Nacewa 15. R.Kearney
16. Cronin 17. Healy (one more chance?) 18. Furlong 19. M.Kearney (Triggs if not fit) 20. Murphy 21. L.McGrath 22. Madigan 23. Kirchner

Agree except for two positions. I'd go for 16. Tracy 17. Dooley. I'd drop Cronin and Healy for the Edinburgh match, see how the two young guns get on and take it from there.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Am I the only one thinking Ben T'eo is not really performing that well at 12.

Certainly not performing as well as he did at 13, but it's more a case of getting the best combinations on the field. The only other real options at 12 would be Reid, he's not good enough for top level unfortunately, but very handy squad player for Pro12, then there's Fitzgerald, who I think adds much more value in an area where we required much more quality - out on the wing, or Madigan, who has some merits at 12, but Te'o is probably the better option due to the physicality and defensive power he brings, especially with Ringrose being the man at 13 now, I think he's better served with Te'o on his inside - although I would be intrigued to see Ringrose play off of Madigan breaks and passing from 12, but with both those lads gone, it might as well be Te'o playing a Henshaw role.

I'd certainly look to use Te'o / Ringrose as the 12/13 combo and have the option off the bench of putting Madigan outside Sexton to liven up the back-line or just as 10 cover for Johnny for one of the many, many knocks he takes.

I'd go with:

1. J.McGrath 2. Strauss 3. Ross 4. Moloney 5.Toner 6. Ruddock 7. Van Der Flier 8. Heaslip
9. Reddan 10. Sexton 11. Fitzgerald 12. Te'o 13. Ringrose 14. Nacewa 15. R.Kearney
16. Cronin 17. Healy (one more chance?) 18. Furlong 19. M.Kearney (Triggs if not fit) 20. Murphy 21. L.McGrath 22. Madigan 23. Kirchner

Rather have henshaw at 15 tbh, we're gonna need another 12 for the bulk of the season anyway, any chance Nucifora will give us Scannell?

[paddyor]

I think Cronin will bench ahead of Tracy. Not sure Cullen trusts him enough at this point as he's always seemed very quick to take him off when he does start. Only mitigating factor for Cronin might be is he's barely played with Toner calling the lineout since before the 6N. Not every mistake out of touch on Saturday was his.

Healy is becoming difficult to watch. I think he got a bye with Ireland because he busted himself to get back for the world cup. Schmidt backed him on past form. It's been a while since he's had anything like his past form. For Ireland there are better options for Leinster not so much. Dooley looks a great prospect but Healy at his best is another level. Jack McGrath has been playing brilliantly the past year and a bit and only now are people starting to say he should be number one. IMO the temptation to play him back into form will be too great for Cullen.

[neiliog93]

Hopefully with a full pre-season behind him next season Healy will be back to his best.

[jimbobjoe]

Hopefully with a full pre-season behind him next season Healy will be back to his best.

Yep - I think he needs the summer off too. On current form he'll do nothing in SA and there's better options in one of Kilcoyne/Cronin/Buckley as back up.

[curates_egg]

Hopefully with a full pre-season behind him next season Healy will be back to his best.

Yep - I think he needs the summer off too. On current form he'll do nothing in SA and there's better options in one of Kilcoyne/Cronin/Buckley as back up.

Buckley is a cracking player. That is one bandwagon I am now firmly on.

[jimbobjoe]

Hopefully with a full pre-season behind him next season Healy will be back to his best.

Yep - I think he needs the summer off too. On current form he'll do nothing in SA and there's better options in one of Kilcoyne/Cronin/Buckley as back up.

Buckley is a cracking player. That is one bandwagon I am now firmly on.

Agreed. If Healy is to be left at home though, I'm not sure Joe will bring an uncapped prop to SA. Hopefully he'll be brought in for the Canada game in November and on to the 6N after that.

[molloyjh]

Apparently the guys are getting the week off (could just be the internationals) so they'll only have 1 weeks preparation leading into this one.

As for selections I don't think we'll see too much change, but for me I'd like to see the below assuming all are fit:

McGrath Strauss Ross
Toner Kearney
Ruddock Heaslip VDF

McGrath Sexton
Te'o Ringrose
Fitz Rob Nacewa

Cronin, Dooley, Furlong, Molony, Murphy, Reddan, Marsh, D Kearney

The pack picks itself I reckon. Healy doesn't deserve to be in the 23 but I wouldn't completely blame Cronin for the issues with the line-out the other day. He adds a lot around the park and is a good option to have coming on against tiring defences. I'd have Marsh over Sexton because I don't think Madigan has done anything to demand a place in the squad. Sexton will be playing the vast majority of each game from here on out and giving Marsh 5-10 in each is better for us in the long run than giving the time to a guy heading off.

We have the scope to rotate to a degree but we should be looking to keep that to a minimum so that we can build some form over the next month. We'll need to if we're going to have a shot at the trophy.

[ribs]

What way do Edinburgh play?