Leinster v Salarysins

[Blue not red blood]

Sure someone has to get this started.
Has to be the 5.15 Sat game.
As Mr Thornley would say , conducive to a loud athmosphere.
COYBIB

[Twist]

I’m going to start drinking now in order to be in the proper frame of mind at kick off

Honestly I’ve no idea how this will go. Think we need to see who’s left standing after the Six Nations - look at what happened to Vunipola today

I’d love to know whether the coaches and playing group wanted this draw. I’ve a feeling they did, but it’s objectively the toughest QF we had any chance of getting

[kermischocolate]

Good luck Leinster.

I suspect many many many neutrals will be supporting you.

[Icarus]

Have just listened to Birch describing it as a 'disaster' for Leinster: the cap busters can now concentrate on this one match to the exclusion of everything else.

[mildlyinterested]

Not ideal.

[bargepole]

Good luck Leinster.

I suspect many many many neutrals will be supporting you.

+1

You will be doing English Rugby, and the sport in general, a massive favour by dumping the arrogant, cheating, lying feckers out of the Cup, and condemning them to at least 2 years of meaningless fixtures watched by three men and a dog.

Meanwhile, I wouldn't be at all surprised if their major sponsors, Allianz, sit down next week and decide that they no longer wish to be associated with these shenanigans, and pull the financial rug from under them.

[outcast eddie]

Oh sweet baby Jesus nailed to the cross this is an absolute humdinger! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait.

The Aviva will be buzzing for this but what an inconvenience the 6N seems now.

Dan Leavy and Jack Conan can time their return to perfection here.

Plus it remains to be seen who's left standing in Saracens' squad by then.

[wixfjord]

The run ins to this definitely favour Sarries.

They've nothing to play for now in the league so can rest as many guys as they want during and after the 6N.

We've to head to SA the week before, but I'd imagine this will be a skeleton side with Lancaster and the starting 23 left behind.

Vunipola out would be a huge blow albeit. He was the difference in Newcastle. Williams gone is another loss for them albeit Goode will be back by then.

Impossible to tell who will come out of the 6N in better stead in terms of injuries.

Do Saracens now need to get rid of more players to come in under the cap, or can they just continue as is since they've already gotten the punishment?

[blockhead]

So it falls on Leinster to strike the final blow and send the beast into the abyss.

Id imagine nearly all English fans will be supporting Leinster and the rest of Ireland will be cheering on Saracens.

[Oldschool]

Leinster are so far ahead in their conference that we will have the same facility to rest players as Saracens.
The tour to SA is a bigger issue.
In hindsight the HCC qualified teams shouldn't have been scheduled for these games just prior to the HCC QFs.
As a result of the scheduling Leinster won't have a warm up game before the QF.

[wixfjord]

Leinster are so far ahead in their conference that we will have the same facility to rest players as Saracens.
The tour to SA is a bigger issue.
In hindsight the HCC qualified teams shouldn't have been scheduled for these games just prior to the HCC QFs.
As a result of the scheduling Leinster won't have a warm up game before the QF.

The warm up game isn't the issue I think, we didn't use the game before last year's QF to warm up the starters - https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/rep ... einster-11

It's the fact the coaches and potentially some of the guys that could start/bench (Rhys, Cronin, RK) will be in SA for a week.

[carlow man]

Does anyone know when this week the times and dates are confirmed for the qf?

[FLIP]

Meanwhile, I wouldn't be at all surprised if their major sponsors, Allianz, sit down next week and decide that they no longer wish to be associated with these shenanigans, and pull the financial rug from under them.

I'm certainly aware that Ranstad were in line to be a minor kit sponsor and no longer are.

[Oldschool]

Leinster are so far ahead in their conference that we will have the same facility to rest players as Saracens.
The tour to SA is a bigger issue.
In hindsight the HCC qualified teams shouldn't have been scheduled for these games just prior to the HCC QFs.
As a result of the scheduling Leinster won't have a warm up game before the QF.

The warm up game isn't the issue I think, we didn't use the game before last year's QF to warm up the starters - https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/report/rep ... einster-11

It's the fact the coaches and potentially some of the guys that could start/bench (Rhys, Cronin, RK) will be in SA for a week.

Thanks for the reminder on the warmup.
+1 on the coaches etc comment, wonder if all the coaches will travel.

[curates_egg]

Does anyone know when this week the times and dates are confirmed for the qf?

"In the coming days" - https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby/statu ... 1469147136.
I already booked my flight home for the Friday. I'll book the return once it's confirmed.

This could be the last trophy the club of Saracens ever has a chance of winning.
If the players are all still there, they’ll surely be up for it.
I'm sure the French clubs are already sniffing around the cadaver though. Saracens might be happy to have a few players bought out of contracts. The players might be happy to have a lucrative future. A club like Lyon could use a bit of reinforcement for the playoffs...it could be a win-win-win.

[curates_egg]

The other factor is that we have often been quite rusty in this fixture. Ulster last season, Bath. We get the internationals back with no integration, and it shows.

[Ruckedtobits]

Does anyone know when this week the times and dates are confirmed for the qf?

"In the coming days" - https://twitter.com/leinsterrugby/statu ... 1469147136.
I already booked my flight home for the Friday. I'll book the return once it's confirmed.

This could be the last trophy the club of Saracens ever has a chance of winning.
If the players are all still there, they’ll surely be up for it.
I'm sure the French clubs are already sniffing around the cadaver though. Saracens might be happy to have a few players bought out of contracts. The players might be happy to have a lucrative future. A club like Lyon could use a bit of reinforcement for the playoffs...it could be a win-win-win.

Next Season in the Top 14 has already been ear-marked as the JIFF Year by which date French Clubs will have a strict limitation on their Squad content of players who are not eligible to play for France. Much planning has already gone into this and France Top 14 will not be an easy location to get a serious Contract in Season 2020-1. The French Club owners are already in discussion with the FFR about the eligibility of Saracens to continue in this year's EPRC Competition 'as they qualified illegally'. Watch this space.

[TrapperChamonix]

Sure someone has to get this started.
Has to be the 5.15 Sat game.
As Mr Thornley would say , conducive to a loud athmosphere.
COYBIB

Could we rename the title to Leinster v Saracens? Their issue was in the Premiership and nothing to do with us.

[curates_egg]

The French Club owners are already in discussion with the FFR about the eligibility of Saracens to continue in this year's EPRC Competition 'as they qualified illegally'. Watch this space.

Where did you read that?

I think the only thing worse than actually having drawn them, would be getting a bye. (a) We need to play tough games at some point; and (b) it would put an asterisk beside our season in the eventuality we managed to go all the way.

On the other part: I thought the non-JIFF limit was 16? Plenty of Top 14 clubs are under that. Also, you could bring in better non-JIFF players.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I'm very much of the opinion that they're the kind of people who'll be determined to throw everything into this game but there's a lot of time for things to come out in the wash and upset their plans.

Firstly, when will the players get sorted with new clubs? I actually think a lot of their non internationals will end up sticking around but even if they do you're looking at at least 15 players trying to find new clubs. Imagine the carnage of trying to get that sorted out between now and this game, I'd say a lot of it will be done after the 6N so it could be a messy couple of weeks for them before they play us. That goes for the coaches as well. McCall seemed to indicate that he's sticking around but who knows what'll happen really.

Secondly, the blame game will surely start becoming quite nasty soon. If the players/staff discover that they were properly screwed over or have just had to sign a deal with a big pay cut then how loyal are they going to feel? Or if they go to pick up their tickets for a game and the office staff have been told that half of them are being let go then what's that going to do for morale? Will someone like Billy V rush back from his arm injury and put a move at risk?

Interesting times.