Leinster V NG Dragons RDS Fri 2nd Oct 20:15

[riocard911]

I honestly think that side is at just as good as the side that played Saracens, and better in certain areas.
I also believe it is a side that would have been better equipped to beat Saracens.
The Keenan-Larmour switch should have happened before now.
JGP is the form scrum half.
Fardy would have given us what we were badly lacking in the pack: experience and scumbaggerry.
No way I would pick Frawley over Henshaw at present. But he gives us something different.

The scrum would have been mullered either way: Byrne and Kelleher give you something different outside of the scrum.
I have long believed Bent is a better scrummager than Porter. I have yet to see anything to convince me otherwise. Clearly, Porter is better in almost every other aspect of the game, apart from penalty count.

I reckon that NPHET told Leo that he had to throw the Saracens game because they didn't want a horde of supporters travelling abroad for the final
So better to nip things in the bud in case their SF got knocked out by COVID.
No mugs those NOPHET guys

+1 Mounting evidence for this, Leo took one for the green Jersey with Ronan Glynn tiktoking him all week about it so Leo told the lads to stop pushing in the scrum as everyone was expecting Sarries to muller us there. In hindsight the NITPHOT experts were proved right after the Poite cough incident which has now felled Racing. Rumours also that Saint Jacinta opened a back channel with James Lowe to further drive home the point and scare him witless about catching Covid from French Refs and he kept his distance from Garces. Garces took the hump apparently and said it was bad enough J10 not liking him and with Lowe now ignoring him and refusing to partake in the 3 kiss French greeting, decided he was going to Ping le Scrum off the park and kept giving penalties to the Roastbeefs.

In time this will all come out.....

Maybe we should ask Susan Denham to investigate for us ....

[leinsterforever]

I honestly think that side is at just as good as the side that played Saracens, and better in certain areas.
I also believe it is a side that would have been better equipped to beat Saracens.
The Keenan-Larmour switch should have happened before now.
JGP is the form scrum half.
Fardy would have given us what we were badly lacking in the pack: experience and scumbaggerry.
No way I would pick Frawley over Henshaw at present. But he gives us something different.

The scrum would have been mullered either way: Byrne and Kelleher give you something different outside of the scrum.
I have long believed Bent is a better scrummager than Porter. I have yet to see anything to convince me otherwise. Clearly, Porter is better in almost every other aspect of the game, apart from penalty count.

I reckon that NPHET told Leo that he had to throw the Saracens game because they didn't want a horde of supporters travelling abroad for the final
So better to nip things in the bud in case their SF got knocked out by COVID.
No mugs those NOPHET guys

+1 Mounting evidence for this, Leo took one for the green Jersey with Ronan Glynn tiktoking him all week about it so Leo told the lads to stop pushing in the scrum as everyone was expecting Sarries to muller us there. In hindsight the NITPHOT experts were proved right after the Poite cough incident which has now felled Racing. Rumours also that Saint Jacinta opened a back channel with James Lowe to further drive home the point and scare him witless about catching Covid from French Refs and he kept his distance from Garces. Garces took the hump apparently and said it was bad enough J10 not liking him and with Lowe now ignoring him and refusing to partake in the 3 kiss French greeting, decided he was going to Ping le Scrum off the park and kept giving penalties to the Roastbeefs.

In time this will all come out.....

Pascal Gaüzère was the referee.

[curates_egg]

Or so you thought...
He looks quite like that McGonagall clown. The plot thickens.
Oldschool is onto something.
Have you checked for 5G masts that went up during the quarter final?

[Theleinsterlad]

Christ the games can’t start quick enough for you lot to have something else to talk about other than whacky conspiracy theories!

[Oldschool]

Christ the games can’t start quick enough for you lot to have something else to talk about other than whacky conspiracy theories!

I used to think that they really did land a man on the moon until the conspiracy theories started saying it was all filmed in Paramount studios or somewhere. It seemed very plausible.
I think what actually happened was that they couldn't find a man brave enough to fly to the moon so when a woman volunteered they hadn't the balls to go public and say that the men were a bunch of wussies.

[Blueberry]

Christ the games can’t start quick enough for you lot to have something else to talk about other than whacky conspiracy theories!

Therapy after the Sarries loss.......and a coping mechanism for not being allowed into the RDS.............

God help the Dragons tonight, could get messy this one, Dragons will be a punchbag for post Sarries frustration.

[Xanthippe]

When was the last time Johnny played the Dragons? Or perhaps a better question. How many times has Johnny played v Dragons since he came back from France?

Sorry for the delay John - isn't it the pits when work gets in the way of social media time

The answer is he's played them once since he came home - in September 2018. It was our first home game of the season.

[hugonaut]

Very happy to see Keenan and Larmour swap positions. I think it's the best use of resources tbh. Frawley in an otherwise first choice backline is exciting to see. Looking forward to this.

Sent from my SM-G531F using Tapatalk

I agree, I think it's a good selection. I'm pleased that the coaches haven't been dogmatic about selecting Larmour at fullback to prove a point.

They [Cullen, Lancaster and Conepomi] are very good judges of players and they've seen Jordan have good games at fullback. It would have been easy to pick him at No15 against the Dragons, watch him perform well and consider their selection vindicated – i.e. that he was just one of quite a few players who underperformed against the Saracens, but that it was the right selection.

Instead, they've been flexible in their thinking and opened up a potential line of criticism from those commenting with hindsight – i.e. "Why didn't they pick Keenan at fullback against Saracens instead of the Dragons?" I think there's a bit of bravery in that.

I am very interested to see how Frawley does one-on-one with Jamie Roberts. I have an enormous amount of respect for Roberts. He has been a genuinely world class [in the top three in the world in his position] inside centre for a significant part of his career, and has always been able to flick the switch on big occasions.

He's also probably the best crash-ball merchant/gainline machine No12 of the professional era. That's not intended as a back-handed complement – that ability to time his run, take a line, take the ball at pace and win collisions against some of the best defenders in world rugby when they knew it was coming was incredibly important to Wales' success under Gatland. Plenty of other players have been tasked to do it and none have matched him.

You have to be really, really physical and abrasive to thrive at No12 on the defensive side of the ball at the highest level. It is genuinely a non-negotiable: you consistently have to make gainline tackles on big runners who have a head of steam. I feel that Henshaw's abilities in this area get taken for granted. So this will be a great game to see Frawley at No12 – he should have enough ball in hand to show what he can do, but he will also get a serious defensive workout from Ross Moriarty and especially Roberts.

[Dave Cahill]

I am very interested to see how Frawley does one-on-one with Jamie Roberts. I have an enormous amount of respect for Roberts. He has been a genuinely world class [in the top three in the world in his position] inside centre for a significant part of his career, and has always been able to flick the switch on big occasions.

He's also probably the best crash-ball merchant/gainline machine No12 of the professional era. That's not intended as a back-handed complement – that ability to time his run, take a line, take the ball at pace and win collisions against some of the best defenders in world rugby when they knew it was coming was incredibly important to Wales' success under Gatland. Plenty of other players have been tasked to do it and none have matched him.

You have to be really, really physical and abrasive to thrive at No12 on the defensive side of the ball at the highest level. It is genuinely a non-negotiable: you consistently have to make gainline tackles on big runners who have a head of steam. I feel that Henshaw's abilities in this area get taken for granted. So this will be a great game to see Frawley at No12 – he should have enough ball in hand to show what he can do, but he will also get a serious defensive workout from Ross Moriarty and especially Roberts.

Roberts historically put less effort into Rabodirect/Magners League games than Owen Finegan. I have really high hopes for Frawley, but getting one over on one of the laziest players to ever play in the league won't confirm them. However, with Leinster being a high profile team, it could be that Roberts attempts to 'flick the switch'.

[MarkyDeSad]

I am very interested to see how Frawley does one-on-one with Jamie Roberts. I have an enormous amount of respect for Roberts. He has been a genuinely world class [in the top three in the world in his position] inside centre for a significant part of his career, and has always been able to flick the switch on big occasions.

He's also probably the best crash-ball merchant/gainline machine No12 of the professional era. That's not intended as a back-handed complement – that ability to time his run, take a line, take the ball at pace and win collisions against some of the best defenders in world rugby when they knew it was coming was incredibly important to Wales' success under Gatland. Plenty of other players have been tasked to do it and none have matched him.

You have to be really, really physical and abrasive to thrive at No12 on the defensive side of the ball at the highest level. It is genuinely a non-negotiable: you consistently have to make gainline tackles on big runners who have a head of steam. I feel that Henshaw's abilities in this area get taken for granted. So this will be a great game to see Frawley at No12 – he should have enough ball in hand to show what he can do, but he will also get a serious defensive workout from Ross Moriarty and especially Roberts.

Roberts historically put less effort into Rabodirect/Magners League games than Owen Finegan. I have really high hopes for Frawley, but getting one over on one of the laziest players to ever play in the league won't confirm them. However, with Leinster being a high profile team, it could be that Roberts attempts to 'flick the switch'.

Brightened up my evening, thanks Dave.

Getting excited now. COYBIB

[hugonaut]

Roberts historically put less effort into Rabodirect/Magners League games than Owen Finegan. I have really high hopes for Frawley, but getting one over on one of the laziest players to ever play in the league won't confirm them. However, with Leinster being a high profile team, it could be that Roberts attempts to 'flick the switch'.

Fair point. Roberts certainly was known to coast in some of his Cardiff games. And this won't be a big game for him. With that said, I don't really expect it to be "Roberts vs Frawley: This Time It's For Money", but I am really interested to see how Frawley does when Roberts gets a straight run at him.

There has been a huge amount of talk since RWC19 about second playmakers in attack [both at No12 and No15] that the defensive duties of those positions get taken for granted or overlooked – i.e. RK's great positioning and exceptionally reliable catching, Robbie Henshaw's physicality, power and abrasiveness as an individual defender.

[ronk]

It’s the start of a Lions year and international places are up for grabs. Good time for Roberts to have a big game.

[Dave Cahill]

Tings wot we need to see tonight

• Solid and secure lineout

• Solid and secure scrum

• improved concentration at restarts

• a strategy to deal with the new reality around ruck time

[riocard911]

Tings wot we need to see tonight

• Solid and secure lineout

• Solid and secure scrum

• improved concentration at restarts

• a strategy to deal with the new reality around ruck time

And so say all of us!!!!

[Twist]

That kickoff certainly wouldnt be on the list. Not even close to the 10

[Twist]

That kickoff certainly wouldnt be on the list. Not even close to the 10

BUT THAT SCRUM WOULD!!!

[wixfjord]

Awful start. Again.

[Dave Cahill]

That was some lethal rugby for Larmours try

[fourthirtythree]

Has Dr. Roberts recited that Hippocratic oath thingy?

[fourthirtythree]

You beaut Ringer.