Pro14 R3: Leinster v Edinburgh Fri 11th Oct KO 19:35

[wixfjord]

Kelleher having a bit of a mare.

Big second half for him, a test now to dig himself out of it.

Might sound a bit harsh based on his age, but I do wonder whether Penny has the size to play at the top level. Really looks undersized out there and I can't think he's too effective in the scrum either.

Michael hooper doing alright for himself

He's a great player and if Penny can be as good as him we're laughing.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

That's an absolutely ridiculous decision. Tomane had pulled out because try had been scored and momentum took him into the player.

Ben Shitehouse.

Jaysus, I know you like to praise Tomane at every opportunity but not sure how you can defend him there. He led with his knees and could have seriously injured the guy, it's a really scummy thing to do and personally I think that kind of thing should be a red, but there wasn't that much force so thought a yellow was fair enough. He had a really good game overall but had a mare in that passage of play, he should never have gone to the openside in the first place and that's why there was a gap for the try.

Edit to add: Tomane even apologised after he did it.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Really enjoyed the second half. I couldn't see what was happening in the scrum but my guess is that Whitehouse hadn't a clue.

Unbelievable effort to survive with 13 men and go in ahead at the break, and then a brilliant start to the second half and some great rugby later on.

It was a pity about Kelleher's throwing (that's the kind of dodgy throwing I was worried about before, it just looks awkward as much as anything else) but I thought it was great that he was accurate with an important throw before half time having just lost a couple in a row.

DK made a couple of errors but a lot of good things as well and I thought everyone played well really. Fardy would have been my MOTM (if he wasn't foreign ), his work rate was off the charts in the first half.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

.

[blockhead]

That's an absolutely ridiculous decision. Tomane had pulled out because try had been scored and momentum took him into the player.

Ben Shitehouse.

Jaysus, I know you like to praise Tomane at every opportunity but not sure how you can defend him there. He led with his knees and could have seriously injured the guy, it's a really scummy thing to do and personally I think that kind of thing should be a red, but there wasn't that much force so thought a yellow was fair enough. He had a really good game overall but had a mare in that passage of play, he should never have gone to the openside in the first place and that's why there was a gap for the try.

Edit to add: Tomane even apologised after he did it.

The contact after the try thing is one of my pet peeves. It's the first time I've seen it penalised. But Tomane's one was on the lighter scale. He did look like he was pulling out.
Calling Tomane's mistake/misjudgement as "scummy" is quite frankly scummy.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Nah, I'm pretty happy that the guy leading with his knees and hitting a prone player is the one in the wrong.

Darce came back from France in a wheelchair because of something like that, and Conway had his Australian tour ended because of it last year. Just because Tomane is a nice guy and plays for Leinster doesn't mean he should be defended on that one. I don't want to make a big deal of it though, didn't like it and happy he got carded, was just surprised anyone could defend it.

[alanair]

Nah, I'm pretty happy that the guy leading with his knees and hitting a prone player is the one in the wrong.

Darce came back from France in a wheelchair because of something like that, and Conway had his Australian tour ended because of it last year. Just because Tomane is a nice guy and plays for Leinster doesn't mean he should be defended on that one. I don't want to make a big deal of it though, didn't like it and happy he got carded, was just surprised anyone could defend it.

You are correct re scrum- Whitehouse had no clue what was going on- Bent was probably unlucky to get YC - he could just as easily given it to Edinburgh LH - whose elbow was hovering just above the ground on every scrum - and when he did push - it was never straight - mind you I was equally bemused as to why we got a couple of scrum penalties later on- we need former props as referees - anyone out there ??

[blockhead]

Nah, I'm pretty happy that the guy leading with his knees and hitting a prone player is the one in the wrong.

Darce came back from France in a wheelchair because of something like that, and Conway had his Australian tour ended because of it last year. Just because Tomane is a nice guy and plays for Leinster doesn't mean he should be defended on that one. I don't want to make a big deal of it though, didn't like it and happy he got carded, was just surprised anyone could defend it.

I never defended it. I just thought it was on the lighter side compared to previous instances of which I've been annoyed that they have not paid more attention to.
Calling Tomane "scummy" is not nice.
You wouldn't use that particular word when it comes to your beloved Munster.

[nc6000]

That's an absolutely ridiculous decision. Tomane had pulled out because try had been scored and momentum took him into the player.

Ben Shitehouse.

I couldn't tell you the last time I've seen a penalty given for foul play while a try was being scored. Is that even still a rule?

Ah it's definitely a rule and rightly so. It can be very dangerous.
Clumsy from Tomane but no malice at all, he was actually trying to pull out and momentum took him into the player.

I mean the rule where the team who score the try are awarded a penalty for the foul play as the try is scored.

I'm sure I haven't seen a penalty being awarded to restart the game in years.

Whatever about yellows or reds being given for efforts to stop tries, they happen every so often but the penalty awarded to you for when you've taken the conversion is pretty rare.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Nah, I'm pretty happy that the guy leading with his knees and hitting a prone player is the one in the wrong.

Darce came back from France in a wheelchair because of something like that, and Conway had his Australian tour ended because of it last year. Just because Tomane is a nice guy and plays for Leinster doesn't mean he should be defended on that one. I don't want to make a big deal of it though, didn't like it and happy he got carded, was just surprised anyone could defend it.

I never defended it. I just thought it was on the lighter side compared to previous instances of which I've been annoyed that they have not paid more attention to.
Calling Tomane "scummy" is not nice.
You wouldn't use that particular word when it comes to your beloved Munster.

I didn't say you defended it, I said my response was to someone else who did.

Beloved Munster? What are you on about?

But yes I would use that word for any situation where I thought it was apt. In future I'll use "despicable" or "contemptible" so that you're not offended even though they mean the same thing.

[Dave Cahill]

I don't like knee slides, I didn't like it when it was David Bory, didn't like it when it was Ben Cohen, Liam Williams or Simon Zebo and I don't like to see a Leinster player do it. I have no doubt it was careless rather than spiteful, but it's still a yellow card and if it happened to one of our players I know we'd be roaring, because we have been

[Pilotman123]

Cian Kelleher should have gotten a red card in the Senior Cup final in 2013, when Garry Ringrose scored a try, Cian slides in with his knees to Garrys face. Should have been a red card

[D4surfer]

Cian Kelleher should have gotten a red card in the Senior Cup final in 2013, when Garry Ringrose scored a try, Cian slides in with his knees to Garrys face. Should have been a red card

You must be an archaeologist because that’s certainly digging up the past.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Cian Kelleher should have gotten a red card in the Senior Cup final in 2013, when Garry Ringrose scored a try, Cian slides in with his knees to Garrys face. Should have been a red card

Is that why Leo won't pick him?

[hugonaut]

So, Edinburgh at home. Any thoughts on the match since page 2 of this thread?

(Mods might consider moving the bulk of this stuff to another thread?)

I'm interested in keeping an eye on how Max Deegan plays No6. The only element of the game where No8 has to be a fundamentally different position to No6 is at the scrum; neither have fixed roles at lineout or any restarts [taking/receiving kickoffs or 22s]. There were 17 scrums in our last game against the Ospreys [source: http://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/match/302740.html ] so it is not inconsequential, but I'm interested as to where he stations himself in general play when we have the ball, off short lineouts, in counter-attack or kick return etc. in comparison to Doris.

What do you yourself expect from both of them?

I appreciate that he will play what’s in front of him to a fair extent but I presume he will largely be told what is required of him as one third of the back row. None of them have free reign.

I was wondering if Lancaster wanted him to play a wider role, like in a 1-3-3-1 set-up. I think that he's got the speed, size and handling ability to be very effective in the tramlines, especially given the emphasis in recent law interpretations with regards to tackling. Lower tackling should translate to more offloads, and Deegan is going to outpower a very high percentage of backs, win the contacts and be able to get his hands through. He's very tall, has long levers and great hands. Even if he gets tackled, as long as he wins the contact and can fall forward, his support runners can be pretty flat to him to take an offload.

From watching him in last night's game, I think it's pretty apparent that he wants to play No8 more – very keen to pick from the base of the scrum. To be frank, I think that's where we should be playing him as well.

[Logorrhea]

I never defended it. I just thought it was on the lighter side compared to previous instances of which I've been annoyed that they have not paid more attention to.

It was. He clearly tried to full out of it and the contact was minimal. Was not a card in my eyes.

[cormac]

That was Michael Bent's first try since Feb 2014.

[johng]

That was Michael Bent's first try since Feb 2014.

Wow!

[ronk]

That was Michael Bent's first try since Feb 2014.

Wow!

Seemed like a response to the card. He'll have been angry over that decision.

[Pilotman123]

Kelleher having a bit of a mare.

Big second half for him, a test now to dig himself out of it.

Might sound a bit harsh based on his age, but I do wonder whether Penny has the size to play at the top level. Really looks undersized out there and I can't think he's too effective in the scrum either.

Michael hooper doing alright for himself

He's a great player and if Penny can be as good as him we're laughing.

Penny is an unbelievable player, I think he’s gonna be as good as Michael Hooper in the future