Leinster Squad 19-20

[johng]

Rumour had it that he was after a year or two in Japan before covid but.... Rumours are frequently chyte.

[riocard911]

Pity they didn't in the tribute show reel include the try Barry Daly scored against the Cheetahs in Safferland, where he wiggled the hips and send two defenders off in the wrong direction - and on of them onto his behind, if my memory serves me correctly. One of his finest moments in a Leinster jersey.

[meathman3]

Were Rob Kearney and McFadden actively seeking longer contracts?

[They have both struck me as two guys who are leaving Leinster on their terms.]

Nobody ever wants to quit especially at a time of such uncertainty so that's not likely.

[Kearney has done loads of tv shows pre covid when he was not getting his game for Leinster where he seemed like the most content guy in the world.]

He has stated he wanted to play for another year - is settled in Dublin with his fiancée having a year left in RCSI and never got the send off he deserved at Ireland so I think he would have wanted to stay.

Anyway, two of the best guys to wear the jersey.

With all due respect to Fergus , I think Rob K is a lot more than that.

[mildlyinterested]

Were Rob Kearney and McFadden actively seeking longer contracts?

[They have both struck me as two guys who are leaving Leinster on their terms.]

Nobody ever wants to quit especially at a time of such uncertainty so that's not likely.

[Kearney has done loads of tv shows pre covid when he was not getting his game for Leinster where he seemed like the most content guy in the world.]

He has stated he wanted to play for another year - is settled in Dublin with his fiancée having a year left in RCSI and never got the send off he deserved at Ireland so I think he would have wanted to stay.

Anyway, two of the best guys to wear the jersey.

With all due respect to Fergus , I think Rob K is a lot more than that.

[Peg Leg]

Daly calling it a day with pro rugby afaik.

f%~king gutted
While I'm sure it's the right decision for him, I am gutted it didn't work out for him.

Leinster's quality quiff score takes a big hit today with the loss of Daly & Tomane.

[meathman3]

Were Rob Kearney and McFadden actively seeking longer contracts?

Purely speculation on my part, but I think that Rob was going to retire quietly at the end of this season. He has an autobiography coming out in the Autumn - now there's nothing to say that you can't have a book out and still play on, but you absolutely can't have a good book out and still play on unless you're a sociopath.

He told GT he wanted another year so unlikely.....

[alanair]

Delighted to see Scott & Dev still there - pure quality both & doubtless a semi coaching role to bring the younger Locks along

[hugonaut]

A lot of outside backs going.

R Kearney
McFadden
Tomane
Daly
Mullin

And only Tommy O'Brien coming in.

We were incredibly heavy in the back three this season.

1. Cian Kelleher - 4+3, 375 mins
2. Adam Byrne - 5+0, 375 mins
3. McFadden - 4+2, 344 mins
4. Rob Kearney - 3+5, 300 mins
5. Barry Daly - 0+0, 0 mins
Combined 16+10, 1394 mins

Five back-three players with less than 400 mins each after 19 games [1520 mins]. 375 minutes is less than 25% of the minutes available for the season to date.

If you split those combined games and minutes between two players, you'd be looking at a modest enough 8+5, 697 mins each.

Carrying so many players in the same position was sub-optimal at the best of times, and now with the lockdown severely damaging finances it's unsustainable.

[hugonaut]

Daly calling it a day with pro rugby afaik.

f%~king gutted
While I'm sure it's the right decision for him, I am gutted it didn't work out for him.

Leinster's quality quiff score takes a big hit today with the loss of Daly & Tomane.

In a lot of ways it did work out for him Peg Leg. He made it to the pros at a relatively late age, won a European cup and two league titles in three seasons and posted a seriously impressive try-scoring ratio of 19 in 36 games [17 in 25 starts]. He was a big contributor in 2017-18 especially - 13 tries in 17 games is an amazing strike-rate.

He played international rugby at U20, played a lot of amateur senior rugby, played international Sevens rugby, pro rugby ... he's had a pretty interesting and fulfilling career. He spent his periods out injured wisely [link: https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ ... -1.4194295 ] and he's got options. He knows what the working world is like outside rugby.

Rugby salaries are going to drop very significantly and it's a short career at the best of times. If he had anything to prove to himself as a player, he must have proved it by now. If you laid out his achievements in the pro game in front of him in January 2016 when he was turning out for UCD in the Belfield Bowl, I'm not sure he'd have believed it himself.

[Morf]

5. Gavin Mullin, 2 LC, 0 T

Any comment on this? I seem to remember you being relatively positive about his ability and prospects.

[meathman3]

A lot of outside backs going.

R Kearney
McFadden
Tomane
Daly
Mullin

And only Tommy O'Brien coming in.

We were incredibly heavy in the back three this season.

1. Cian Kelleher - 4+3, 375 mins
2. Adam Byrne - 5+0, 375 mins
3. McFadden - 4+2, 344 mins
4. Rob Kearney - 3+5, 300 mins
5. Barry Daly - 0+0, 0 mins
Combined 16+10, 1394 mins

Five back-three players with less than 400 mins each after 19 games [1520 mins]. 375 minutes is less than 25% of the minutes available for the season to date.

If you split those combined games and minutes between two players, you'd be looking at a modest enough 8+5, 697 mins each.

Carrying so many players in the same position was sub-optimal at the best of times, and now with the lockdown severely damaging finances it's unsustainable.

When I played rugby we never referred to it as the back 3:the FB was a role in itself and should be and we are very light in that. Larmour is a converted wing/centre and Keenan has no experience. I am stunned that Leinster have thrown away Kearney and even McFadden especially considering we are losing Tomanr and Daly....who plays HCup FB if Larmour gets injured?

[Oldschoolsocks]

...

[Oldschoolsocks]

A lot of outside backs going.

R Kearney
McFadden
Tomane
Daly
Mullin

And only Tommy O'Brien coming in.

We were incredibly heavy in the back three this season.

1. Cian Kelleher - 4+3, 375 mins
2. Adam Byrne - 5+0, 375 mins
3. McFadden - 4+2, 344 mins
4. Rob Kearney - 3+5, 300 mins
5. Barry Daly - 0+0, 0 mins
Combined 16+10, 1394 mins

Five back-three players with less than 400 mins each after 19 games [1520 mins]. 375 minutes is less than 25% of the minutes available for the season to date.

If you split those combined games and minutes between two players, you'd be looking at a modest enough 8+5, 697 mins each.

Carrying so many players in the same position was sub-optimal at the best of times, and now with the lockdown severely damaging finances it's unsustainable.

When I played rugby we never referred to it as the back 3:the FB was a role in itself and should be and we are very light in that. Larmour is a converted wing/centre and Keenan has no experience. I am stunned that Leinster have thrown away Kearney and even McFadden especially considering we are losing Tomanr and Daly....who plays HCup FB if Larmour gets injured?

When did you play rugby?

[johng]

Back when wingers threw the ball into the line out...... no. Wait. That was me actually...

[ronk]

When I played rugby we never referred to it as the back 3:the FB was a role in itself and should be and we are very light in that. Larmour is a converted wing/centre and Keenan has no experience. I am stunned that Leinster have thrown away Kearney and even McFadden especially considering we are losing Tomanr and Daly....who plays HCup FB if Larmour gets injured?

Larmour is a fullback who can play wing and got early game time there. It was always his long term destination. Keenan has shown enough and will get more experience now.

In Ireland we convert more fullbacks to wingers than vice versa. Guys like Kelleher and Dave Kearney fit this mould. We also have players like Henshaw and Frawley who can and want to play there.

Specialist wingers who don’t play fullback much have been rare in Leinster. Usually size or kicking game.

Those players were coming towards the end of their careers anyway, waiting a year makes it harder to replace them.

[hugonaut]

5. Gavin Mullin, 2 LC, 0 T

Any comment on this? I seem to remember you being relatively positive about his ability and prospects.

He's really an outside centre only, and we're quite heavy there.

1. Ringrose [b.1995]
2. O'Loughlin [b.1994]
3. Jimmy O'Brien [b.1996]

Jimmy O'Brien did well in the No13 jersey this season, which closed down Mullin's chances. Tommy O'Brien is also in the same space in terms of age and position and has always been tagged from a long way out as a really serious prospect. He is regarded as much more of a sure thing than Mullin – very well-regarded for his maturity, competitive mentality and leadership within the Academy, from what I have heard anecdotally.

[Morf]

5. Gavin Mullin, 2 LC, 0 T

Any comment on this? I seem to remember you being relatively positive about his ability and prospects.

He's really an outside centre only, and we're quite heavy there.

1. Ringrose [b.1995]
2. O'Loughlin [b.1994]
3. Jimmy O'Brien [b.1996]

Jimmy O'Brien did well in the No13 jersey this season, which closed down Mullin's chances. Tommy O'Brien is also in the same space in terms of age and position and has always been tagged from a long way out as a really serious prospect. He is regarded as much more of a sure thing than Mullin – very well-regarded for his maturity, competitive mentality and leadership within the Academy, from what I have heard anecdotally.

Thanks! Would you reckon he might turn up elsewhere?

[Workhorse]

Is Schmidt's tenure at Leinster and Ireland part of the issue with the likes of Conway being capped later?

They had to be dead solid on things that required practice, coaching and experience rather than mercurial talent e.g. shepherding lines, hitting rucks, sufficient animation in plays and multi-phase roles.

Am aware that Stockdale is the massive exception to that.

Considering Schmidt gave Adam Byrne his Leinster debut at 18 in short, no.
Conway was capped later because there were better players ahead of him, it's that simple really.
Comparisons to Ireland professional era caps pre 2010 and post in terms of age are impossible becethe levels of top quality depth in those periods are completely different.
Carbery, Ringrose, Stockdale, Larmour all capped before they were 22 under Schmidt.

[hugonaut]

Thanks! Would you reckon he might turn up elsewhere?

Who knows? It's a dreadful time to go into the market - the Championship clubs in England were clobbered by the RFU withdrawing funds a number of months ago and the Covid-19 lockdown has massively damaged the finances of every single professional rugby club in the NH.

[ronk]

The fact that he didn't get something earlier works against him.

Not many guys make a long career if they go down that route. You have to really want it to move. Sometimes it's a better option to turn ypur back on professional rugby than to scratch a living by your fingernails.