Leinster 2014-15

First topic message reminder :

Haven't seen a 14-15 thread for Leinster so thought I'd set one up.  What are peoples predictions for the current year?

Preseason Games wrote:
23/08  14:30  Northampton Saints (33) v (21) Leinster Rugby  Franklin's Gardens
30/08  16:00  Leinster Rugby         v  Ulster Rugby     Tallaght Stadium

Pro12 Games (September) wrote:
05/09  PRO12  Glasgow Warriors  v  Leinster Rugby  Scotstoun Stadium
12/09  PRO12  Leinster Rugby     v  Scarlets            RDS Arena
19/09  PRO12  Connacht Rugby   v  Leinster Rugby   Sportsground
26/09  PRO12  Leinster Rugby    v  Cardiff Blues      RDS Arena

European Pool 2 wrote:
Leinster
Castres
Harlequins
Wasps

The Squad wrote:
The Squad
Loosehead
Michael Bent[28][2016]
Cian Healy[26][2016] Central Contract
Jack McGrath[24][2016]
Sean McCarthy[23][2015]

Ed Byrne[20][Year 3]
Peter Dooley[20][Year 2]

Hooker
Aaron Dundon[32][2015]
Richardt Strauss[28][2015]
Sean Cronin[28][2015]
James Tracy[23][2015]

Bryan Byrne[20][Year 3]

Tighthead
Mike Ross[34][2015] Central Contract
Martin Moore[23][2015]
Tadhg Furlong[21][2016]

Second Row
Mike McCarthy[32][2016]
Devin Toner[28][2015]
Tom Denton[26][2015]
Kane Douglas[25][2017]
Ben Marshall[24][2015]

Tadhg Beirne[22][Year 3]
Gavin Thornbury[20][Year 3]
Ross Molony[20][Year 2]

Backrow
Shane Jennings[33][2015]
Jamie Heaslip[30][2017] Central Contract
Kevin McLaughlin[29][2015]
Sean O'Brien[27][2016] Central Contract
Dominic Ryan[24][2015]
Rhys Ruddock[23][2016]
Jordi Murphy[23][2015]
Jack Conan[22][2016]

Josh Van Der Flier[21][Year 3]
Dan Leavy[20][Year 3]
Peadar Timmins[20][Year 1]

Scrumhalf
Isaac Boss[34][2015]
Eoin Reddan[33][2015]
Luke McGrath[21][2016]

Nick McCarthy[19][Year 1]

Outhalf
Jimmy Gopperth[31][2015]
Ian Madigan[25][2016]

Cathal Marsh[21][Year 3]
Steve Crosbie[21][Year 2]
Ross Byrne[19][Year 1]

Centre
Gordon Darcy[34][2015]
Noel Reid[24][2016]
Colm O'Shea[23][2015]
Brendan Macken[23][2015]

Jordan Coghlan[21][Year 3]
Tom Daly[21][Year 2]
Tom Farrell[20][Year 2]
Rory O'Loughlin[20][Year 1]
Harrison Brewer[19][Year 1]
Gary Ringrose[19][Year 1]

Back Three
Zane Kirchner[30][2015]
Rob Kearney[28][2015] Central Contract
Fergus McFadden[28][2015]
Darragh Fanning[28][2015]
Luke Fitzgerald[26][2015]
Dave Kearney[25][2016]
Sam Coghlan Murray[22][2015]

Adam Byrne[20][Year 2]
Billy Dardis[19][Year 2]
Cian Kelleher[20][Year 1]
Ian Fitzpatrick[20][Year 1]

Elsewhere
John Cooney[24][2015] - Loaned to Connacht
Quinn Roux[23][2015] - Loaned to Connacht

What are your thoughts?

[P.S. all the leagues are entertaining and have their positive and negative aspects.  Of course money is an issue but it is an issue for discussion on other threads.]

Okay, even though the result over the weekend was a victory MOC has officially burnt up the last bit of credit given to him.
- Our skill levels have regressed.
- The number of injuries during training have gone up. (I do put this on coaching when it becomes more than one-off occurrences)
- Our tactics are narrow minded.
- He has stuck with Gopperth, but then instead of trying to improve the player the tactics and pressure he puts on Jimmy has made him regress.
- There are far too many rejigs of starting lineups week on week. How many times have we seen bench players 'promoted' to starting line ups the day of games with noo minutes invested in getting the player to perform in that position during the week.
- He is destroying our backline.
- The pressure is mounting on him, and as it mounts he gets more nervous, more defensive, more pack rugby and kick the ball away.
- He uses the ready-made excuse that the internationals are away. That doesn't cut it in the Pro12, if anyone checked the minutes that the 'internationals' would play in pro12 any season they were always down and the job of the coach coming in the door is to turn the next level of players into 'internationals'. He has failed miserably at this.

I'd agree as well Fly that Cullen has been very poor. He was a lead by example player though, not a motivational guy. He would have more impact on the game if he was handing out the water during stoppages.

The production line is still there, the foundations are still there, but MOC demolished everything that had been build on those foundations by the Province prior to his arrival and I don't see anything good in what he is looking to build in it's place.

+1

The last two games against Treviso and Ospreys have been the most depressing i've ever seen in many years watching Leinster. I only picked up the second half of Connacht's game against Scarlets and the contrast was stark. Lam has got a bunch of mainly journeymen players augmented by a couple of Irish internationals and a couple of very smart imports (Aki, Muliaina) playing with confidence and belief. O'Connor has had the opposite effect - a team with far more internationals and fewer journeymen playing with fear and an apparent total lack of confidence.

The Gopperth situation is simply not acceptable - he has become a liability with a total lack of confidence in either a running or kicking game and O'Connor's refusal to start Madigan is yet another reason for him to walk the plant at the end of the season. Cullen's impact on the forwards has beenn non-existent and the question has to be asked is whether a legend of a player should be automatically parachuted into a senior coaching position without an iota of coaching experience. Love Leo and all that, but this is a professional game.

When Healy, O'Brien, Rob K, Ross, Heaslip are back things will probably improve but not to an extent that Leinster are going to be playing for silver at the end of the season. We might be in 3rd place among the Irish teams, in the Pro12 but if we played a confident Connacht or a resurgent Munster tomorrow home or away we would struggle. Ulster misfired badly at the weekend against Munster, but when they have all their internationals back then I would also back them to beat us.

Maybe Connacht will run out of steam with their fewer playing resources as the season progresses but if Lam can maintain the intensity, passion and honesty in his team then there is no reason why they can't be one of the maximum three Irish teams that will qualify for next year's champions cup. If Leinster don't improve then we could be the Irish team to lose out - and deservedly so.

Maybe losing out on next year's champions cup would be the reality check and kick in the arse that Leinster needs - to get rid of O'Connor, send Leo off to a lower level team to learn his trade and get in a better and technically superior coaching team - try and pry Lam away from Connacht or Jackman away from Grenoble.

Sitting in the RDS last Saturday and in the bar afterwards, there still seems to be a huge amount of complacency among many Leinster fans with a belief that ah sure things will work themselves out. We're lucky to have a relatively benign draw in the champions cup and should make the knockouts, I don't think we have much chance of winning the Pro12 and will struggle to make the playoffs. But getting to the knockout stage of the champions cup will only be papering over the cracks of a team in decline and with a management team incapable of getting the best out of what is supposed to be the best academy systems in the country.

God, I hate to be such a bleeding gloomy guts, but that's the way I see it.

As a neutral I think you've been dire so don't think you are being gloomy - apart from some gritty stuff up front from the likes of Ryan, Douglas, Ruddock, Heaslip and the odd flash of inspiration from Madigan and Cronin out wide its been grim viewing - amazed you squeezed out some of the results you have.

Mind you Ulster have been in free fall since Kiss checked out and Toulon crushed the european dream so it could be worse... the men in west are showing the way at the minute...

I'm delighted for the men in the West.  And if they take on some of the burden of representing Ireland in Pro12 or Europe, I'll be behind them all the way...all over their Playboy shirt-tails.

But back at the ranch.  I repeat the question I put a while back: What were Leinster looking for when they bounced from Mr SlickWillSchmidt to O'Connor?   I know it is part of the Leinster mythology that they take on board young coaches that haven't yet proved themselves and give them some players to toy around with.  They seem to think that it's a habit that works.

It didn't this time and maybe that's how smug Leinster became, thinking not only that each new coach would keep Leinster going up and up, but that Leinster themselves would help mould such coaches - more kudos to the boys in blue!

The writing was on the wall when Leicester fans didn't care to see O'Connor go though.  Leinster bosses didn't read the signs or do enough study and perhaps even Schmidt himself *bowing as I mention his name* maybe had a hand in advising wrongly before departure.

Leinster flourish more with a driven, impatient coach.  We need that new guy that coaches waterbottles at the Hurricanes, Joe Cheikaschmidt is his name I think.

I agree. O'Connor is so unbelievably laid back when he was on Against the Head I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. Munsters intensity is there no matter what coach is at the helm because it comes from the players. It's the Munster way. Leinster have only really thrived when they're being driven by a driven coach. And even more so when they're coached to play without fear and believe they're the best. I don't think O'Connor believes they're the best. In fact I think he publicly said he can't win the European Cup without making 8 signings or something (you've got the guts of a test team MOC). The Gopperth/Madigan thing is just ridiculous and damaging to Irish rugby. I never thought about the increase in bad injuries, I wonder is it to do with training methods?

Imagine how many points to prove EOS would have if he came? Actually he's gotten a job in France. Although I never thought the French would take to well to his analytical and detailed style to be honest. What about Deans or McKenzie or Jackman or O'Shea, or anyone rather than than O'Connor. I know. What about ROG?

McKenzie is someone I've been thinking about if he wanted to head back to a day job.  Although he ain't totally popular for a pseudo snub when mentioned in relation to the Ireland job.  But I'm willing to forgive and forget

And ROG is actually a good call.  I've  thought about ROG.  Maybe early for him but damn, he'd love the energy of the challenge and he's a driver, and whilst hating Leinster he'd still love that they were almost Irish   - and he's already done quite a bit with Sexton as regards kicking confidence.  And Sexton is coming back.  Some good coaches around him for support and he could very well be Leinster's man.

And the bonus would be that DOD and Sin would love the idea................. I think