Leinster v Connacht Sat 2nd 19.35 Eir Sport

[Blueberry]

I would assume the reason was because JOB had deputised for the last few training sessions as sub outhalf, and Hawkshaw came in late.

But still, if a guy is good enough to sit on the bench he's good enough to play his position.

Okay better than the condensation theory....

[Dexter]

We've now lost 100% of our games in 2021. What a disastrous year.

[Keith]

We've now lost 100% of our games in 2021. What a disastrous year.

Need to offload some backrows quick. They're not good enough!

[neiliog93]

Looking at the maths, we'll probably still have a shot at toppling Ulster in the last domestic round of the season (probably same weekend as final game of Six Nations, or 20 March)..

[Blueberry]

I think we need to look at bringing in some of the surplus Munster and Ulster talent.

[Gearzbox2]

Bad bad day at the office
Way off the pace from minute one and gave them a sniff they needed and in fairness to them they were excellent in all departments especially in that first 40
Our front 5 were bossed, back row dominated and our back line was so stagnant
J10 needs to have a hard look at himself imo, could be controversial on here but he seemed disinterested

Line out was a shambles but I did think Cronin and Moloney changed it around, only lost one I think when it was that combo and they had us under big pressure
Our bench brought impact, Cronin’s carry and pass was great and Conan was making yards but the damage was done in that first 40

New debutants looked shaky unfortunately but I like the look of Smith, one for the future

All or nothing next week but review could be brutal

[wixfjord]

Have seen two people blaming Sexton now.

I mean talk about confirmation bias. The lad was barely on the pitch.

[Blueberry]

Have seen two people blaming Sexton now.

I mean talk about confirmation bias. The lad was barely on the pitch.

+1 Our best ever outhalf and a machine for Leinster and the most competitive demanding b*locks and he is being slated on here tonight. Crazy.

Come on baby and bathwater stuff.

Leinster camp dealing with Covid, did well to get a team on the pitch in this farcical season , we lose to the Westies in an empty RDS with kids on the pitch and a rag taggle team and we are going nuts.

Next we will be calling for Leo to resign.

I am off to watch George Lee, will be a cheery respite from the doom and gloom on here.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Have seen two people blaming Sexton now.

I mean talk about confirmation bias. The lad was barely on the pitch.

I’m guessing I’m one of the two, what confirmation bias is this?

[backrower8]

P**s poor, can't see with the backline we have on the pitch how we can come back from this.

Absolute shambles.

Cannot understand the Turner for Sexton sub in any shape or form. Could Leo not see who went off due to the condensation in the box ? It is the only reason I can come up with.

We were bad, but this decision condemned us. An extraordinary brain fart from Leo.

[Gearzbox2]

Cue the attackers on my suggestions about Sexton

He was on for a short time yes, we looked utterly rudderless when he was on, playing in our around our 22 non stop,not clearing properly and forcing things
Poor decision making and then cried off

I thought he was bad when he was on and like I said in my earlier post that first 15 minutes set the tone
So am I blaming him for the full 80, no of course I’m not but I’m entitled to give my opinion on what I saw him pitch up with that first 15/20 mins

[Blueberry]

Think we can cut Leo a bit of slack, suspect he was been dealing with a pile of sh1te recently. But yes it deffo was a brain fart !!

Winning streaks always come to an end and let's face it, nothing exactly normal about rugby atm so let's not get too stressed about it. Even Munster lost tonight.....

[Blueberry]

Cue the attackers on my suggestions about Sexton

He was on for a short time yes, we looked utterly rudderless when he was on, playing in our around our 22 non stop,not clearing properly and forcing things
Poor decision making and then cried off

I thought he was bad when he was on and like I said in my earlier post that first 15 minutes set the tone
So am I blaming him for the full 80, no of course I’m not but I’m entitled to give my opinion on what I saw him pitch up with that first 15/20 mins

Cried off ?

[backrower8]

Cue the attackers on my suggestions about Sexton

He was on for a short time yes, we looked utterly rudderless when he was on, playing in our around our 22 non stop,not clearing properly and forcing things
Poor decision making and then cried off

I thought he was bad when he was on and like I said in my earlier post that first 15 minutes set the tone
So am I blaming him for the full 80, no of course I’m not but I’m entitled to give my opinion on what I saw him pitch up with that first 15/20 mins

A rational, mature assessment. Not welcomed by the protectionists here. Not sure why he left the field if not for a HIA.

Not the end of the world, but not a performance worthy of Leinster, including the 23 selected.

[riocard911]

Think we can cut Leo a bit of slack, suspect he was been dealing with a pile of sh1te recently. But yes it deffo was a brain fart !!

Winning streaks always come to an end and let's face it, nothing exactly normal about rugby atm so let's not get too stressed about it. Even Munster lost tonight.....

And if it's any consolation, it took them the full 80 minutes to get over the whitewash and score a try.

[Bosley]

How many games has Johnny played for Leinster in the last 12 months and how long on the pitch?
Truth is he is an aging player past his best. He is also a Leinster Legend but he can't go on forever.

[Blueberry]

Think we can cut Leo a bit of slack, suspect he was been dealing with a pile of sh1te recently. But yes it deffo was a brain fart !!

Winning streaks always come to an end and let's face it, nothing exactly normal about rugby atm so let's not get too stressed about it. Even Munster lost tonight.....

And if it's any consolation, it took them the full 80 minutes to get over the whitewash and score a try.

And it was an awful error strewn game from both sides....at least our game had a stack of interesting tries !!

On the Sexton stuff, yes he is past his best and yes he is aging but if tomorrow was the HEC final v Munster in a packed stadium he would still be the first name on the teamsheet for me anyway. He is still worldclass and one of the finest passers of a rugby ball on the planet. His playing time will inevitably be managed carefully and he may well have more injuries to deal with. Lets not throw him on the dustbin just yet and let Leo and Stu squeeze whatever bit of rugby brilliance is left from him.

[Dave Cahill]

Leinster camp dealing with Covid, did well to get a team on the pitch in this farcical season , we lose to the Westies in an empty RDS with kids on the pitch and a rag taggle team and we are going nuts.

Our starting front five had over 700 Leinster caps, our starting half backs over 300, we brought on 4 Irish Internationals. Win or lose - whatever, there is no excuse for that performance. If we played our academy side there would be no excuse for that performance.

[Dave Cahill]

If we don't get a competant hooker from somewhere, and quickly, we can forget Europe

[Blueberry]

Leinster camp dealing with Covid, did well to get a team on the pitch in this farcical season , we lose to the Westies in an empty RDS with kids on the pitch and a rag taggle team and we are going nuts.

Our starting front five had over 700 Leinster caps, our starting half backs over 300, we brought on 4 Irish Internationals. Win or lose - whatever, there is no excuse for that performance. If we played our academy side there would be no excuse for that performance.

Stats like this sound great but only tell part of the story, we had two kids at 14 and 15 who played like kids, potential sure but they need more time and crazy to have two inexperienced kids starting in the same backfield but perhaps they were the only bodies available, another newbie coming in very late at prop, played a chunk of the second half with HOS covering some backfield position think it was 13, a 13 ish playing 10 for a chunk of the game, lost J10 after 20 odd mins, Luke kicking at goal for goodness sake and really none of us know how disruptive training and the usual match build up was due to the Covid mess and in all honesty it has to be hard rolling out week after week in empty stadiums especially when trying to come from behind and you need your home crowd. Yes we were pants in the first half but they rallied well in the second and some of the youngsters like Hawkshaw and Turner showed good fight.

Just look at reality and perhaps consider cutting them all a bit of slack. I personally can see plenty of excuses for that type of performance. Considering the consistency and standards this side has shown in recent years it ain't unreasonable to maybe look at external factors....