Leinster v Salarysins

[Blueberry]

Calm down all !! We are all piffed off.

Scrum got mullered we lost........

You can't win without close or better than parity at the scrum. Rugby is quite simple really.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

It’s just that it seems extremely relevant to you.

The point of our collective ego is relevant though right? I mean our first 40 clearly shows we got lulled in and believed our own hype. Fans, media, players all play a part in that.

Didn’t the second half also show what we were capable of?

I don’t think anyone overhyped us, but I also don’t think that if we had all decided we were the best team ever that that’s why Jack Conan dropped the kick off.

[OTT]

Tbh the only crowing I’ve seen is from your posts today. You seem determined to let everyone know that you’ve been warning about this for weeks and it’s a bit odd. Seems like that’s the most important thing to you today.

Nah man, the most important (and therefore disheartening) thing to me today is that the team I dedicate a disproportionate part of my life and wallet to to lost in a way that's both humiliating and could've been stopped.

Whether I've been warning about this for weeks (and I have) is irrelevant.

Yeah but in a couple of weeks we go again and chase some more trophies because we love this team and we all just want them to win.

I didn’t think the loss was humiliating, devastating for sure but Sarries were very disciplined and we were not on it at the start, we came back and should have won it( I thought) despite our scrum issues. We played a lot more rugby than Sarries. Scored 2 try’s to 1 and they didn’t come near getting another one, that’s maybe more disappointing that we closed them down around the field in general play well but coughed up a lot at set piece. I can’t wait to go again in a couple of weeks, just disappointing we can’t be in the RDS supporting.

Also Billy Vunipola was playing today, I forgot watching it, I’ve never seen him so quiet.

[wixfjord]

I don’t think anyone overhyped us, but I also don’t think that if we had all decided we were the best team ever that that’s why Jack Conan dropped the kick off.

But that's not what I said is it? Why resort to an auld strawman?

I think this convo has run its course now! We're all sore after that debacle, so probably best to leave it there.

[paddyor]

And sorry we did lose that game because of the scrum....simple.

Arguing anything else is nonsense.....

Parity in the scrum today and we would have won by half a dozen points.

Not everything will go perfectly but the scrum was an utter humiliation and cost us the game.

And our poor work in the air, which also led to lots of those scrums.

But it wasn’t generally out poor work in the air. We turned off in mauls and from a restart(wtf was Sexton thinking). It’s been a long time since I’ve seen our scrum set done like that. It was really bad.

[MylesNaGapoleen]

I blame ulster and munster lads, for not giving us a decent warm up contest in the pro 14 games

[Blueberry]

I blame ulster and munster lads, for not giving us a decent warm up contest in the pro 14 games

+1 Pathetic really, but what do you expect

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I don’t think anyone overhyped us, but I also don’t think that if we had all decided we were the best team ever that that’s why Jack Conan dropped the kick off.

But that's not what I said is it? Why resort to an auld strawman?

I think this convo has run its course now! We're all sore after that debacle, so probably best to leave it there.

Not a strawman in the slightest.

You seem to have been saying that we weren’t as good as we thought we were right?

But yeah, we disagree on everything and I hate your selective interpretations so best to leave it alright.

[RoboProp]

I don't think any of the regular posters though it would be a walkover. Sure their seconds dispatched Exeter last week.

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Exactly, Wixford calling them underdogs of all things. I'll have what he's smoking

[LeRouxIsPHat]

And sorry we did lose that game because of the scrum....simple.

Arguing anything else is nonsense.....

Parity in the scrum today and we would have won by half a dozen points.

Not everything will go perfectly but the scrum was an utter humiliation and cost us the game.

And our poor work in the air, which also led to lots of those scrums.

But it wasn’t generally out poor work in the air. We turned off in mauls and from a restart(wtf was Sexton thinking). It’s been a long time since I’ve seen our scrum set done like that. It was really bad.

Loads of elements really, I just thought they particularly targeted us in the air.

[wixfjord]

I don't think any of the regular posters though it would be a walkover. Sure their seconds dispatched Exeter last week.

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Exactly, Wixford calling them underdogs of all things. I'll have what he's smoking

Yeah madness eh?

I mean it's not as if we were 9 points favourites and tipped by almost every pundit.

(You know what 'underdog' means right?!)

[LeinsterLeader]

Interesting stats from ESPN (which may change, they usually do). But we were ahead on most of the attacking stats (63% position, 66% Territory; 245 metres vs 102). Yet crucially we had no players with tackles in double figures (3 players with eight) while they had 10 (half of that 10 had 15+).

Are we headed towards a game where the best teams let the opposition have the ball and just feed off their mistakes?

[backrower8]

Better side won. Men v boys in the pack. Ridiculously so.

Ryan, Doris and Baird (who totally exceeded my expectations in terms of his power at just 20/1) were the only ones to show some dog. Healy, Cronin and Dev looked like passengers and yesterday’s men all of a sudden.

Connors and VDF did their jobs. But Conan too anonymous even though he tried hard - but as a unit the forwards badly lacked cohesion. Reflects on PRO14 but surely also on Robin McBryde.

Impotent lineout and lineout maul.

Healy has aged 10 years in one game. I have never seen him mullered like that. Is that Porter’s ceiling scrummaging-wise? Poor to be done so comprehensively by Mako, himself not known as a devastating scrummager and lacking game time for a month.

Before the game I was concerned about how we had lost power in the front 5 since Newcastle with McGrath and Furlong not in the 23. We can get away with it against most packs, but not that lot.

Where were the learnings from last year’s final? Where/how did we check their line speed? Where was the smart kicking game?

Luke just brutal. Invited the Sarries line speed.

Jonny played well enough but we need to move on from him. He is too dominant a figure and too much goes through him and he powers are failing. As I said yesterday, Saracens and England have figured him out and therefore our teams out. I thought the referee boxed Jonny off in his captaincy role very early doors. He pinged him harshly in my view for not releasing the ball in a tackle on Billy V and gave him short shrift in their verbals throughout the game. He really doesn’t like Johnny!

Henshaw is very, very predictable. ROL had more spark about him.

Keenan did well but Lowe, who was ok, is not quite international standard. Too loose and not fast enough.

Time to clean house and recruit brute force externally at loose head and second row.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Interesting stats from ESPN (which may change, they usually do). But we were ahead on most of the attacking stats (63% position, 66% Territory; 245 metres vs 102). Yet crucially we had no players with tackles in double figures (3 players with eight) while they had 10 (half of that 10 had 15+).

Are we headed towards a game where the best teams let the opposition have the ball and just feed off their mistakes?

I was just thinking about this in terms of their kick chase. They weren’t really trying to win it, just making sure they put pressure on us, hence the number of balls that hit the deck and resulted in a bit of a scramble.

[RoboProp]

I don't think any of the regular posters though it would be a walkover. Sure their seconds dispatched Exeter last week.

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Exactly, Wixford calling them underdogs of all things. I'll have what he's smoking

Yeah madness eh?

I mean it's not as if we were 9 points favourites and tipped by almost every pundit.

(You know what 'underdog' means right?!)

Current champs

[wixfjord]

Current champs

Once again, you know what 'underdog' means right?

[RoboProp]

Current champs

Once again, you know what 'underdog' means right?

No, please enlighten me oh wise one

[fourthirtythree]

Yes. It actually isn't totally based on bookies odds which is based on a betting market not the actual contest.

[Theleinsterlad]

Love our team, love our style, love supporting Leinster. Today was hard and have took advice from whoever posted to step back from posting until the utter hurt of this loss started to lessen a bit so I can see through less hated eyes.

We had a bad 1st half and had too much to do in 2nd. Better team won on the day but that doesn’t make us suddenly not good enough to eat at the top table. We start again next season (2 weeks) and boy there were some good parts mainly seeing Hugo Keenan and Ryan Baird really step up in their first champs game. We will survive and will improve

[wixfjord]

No, please enlighten me oh wise one

Ok, well a quick Google tells me it's defined as:

'a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose.'

Now given we were 9 point favourites and generally expected to win by both fans and pundits against a side that has been massively weakened by departures...

I mean I don't even need to finish that.

QED - Yes, Sarries were the underdogs in that game.