Leinster v Cardiff

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Gavin Henson - wrist
Kristian Dacey - shoulder

I'd say Rob Andrew get's that a lot too.

[ronk]

Nice to see rotation in the form of a strong bench rather than just giving guys shorter games.

[johng]

I wonder will Sykes be able for the full 80? If not Leo will go way above his allowed IRFU pitch time. (Or only play a half in each Bath game) I would suspect that there is major latitude for a player like him who gets very few minutes for Ireland, so he should be fine.

Echo the sentiments on the squad.

I have always said White would be ahead of Hagan for the big games. I think he and Berquist were brought in for a year until Hagan and Madigan were ready to take over. Seems to be going pretty good there.

Hope Sykes can start delivering on his potential. The 4 guys we have in our HC squad will get us by barring injuries, but we really need him in the mix, rather than in Ed O'D territory.

Great blend of a team with 9 IQ starters under 26. (OK one will not be IQ for a few months yet)

Our bench is very strong and blows theirs out of the water, so if we need the boost at the hour mark, we have it in spades.

[johng]

Would have liked to see Toner kept on in there to partner Leo but yeah strong team. Loving the rotational selection policy as everyone seems to be putting their hands up when given the chance. Granted some players haven't maybe set the world alight but no-ones had a howler either and the squad really is building nicely.

On the rotation and full use of squad - is Conway injured or just not getting picked does anyone know?

Really like the look of that team

Got hurt in the A game, I think.

[borders]

HI,

Will we be able to watch this on TV in the UK? Thank you

[Apocrypha]

Looking forward to seeing Isa back at 15, DKx2 on the wing and EO'M & Ferg in the centre. Will also be interesting to see how Sykes plays. Lock really is Leinster's achilles heel. Imo, Leo seems to be on a downward curve and I have been pretty unimpressed with Toner & Browne. Irrespective of individual brilliance, Leinster really need a lock combination with ballast that clicks.

[Scott]

HI,

Will we be able to watch this on TV in the UK? Thank you

BBCW
this is a handy link http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/schedule.php

[Scott]

On the rotation and full use of squad - is Conway injured or just not getting picked does anyone know?

Really like the look of that team

Got hurt in the A game, I think.

Yeah had a look on LR and he was replaced after 27 mins in the last B&I game against Melrose. No mention of what is was mind & have seen nothing in the very detailed weekly Leinster Squad Updates!!

[Leinster Lout]

Yeah really liking this selection. Hopefully the rain stays off, because there are bags of tries in that team. Cardiff team is dangerous enough. Czekai, Laulala and 'ubiquitous talented Welsh scrumhalf' are threats but I'm arrogantly predicting us by 20+ if we click.

[johng]

HI,

Will we be able to watch this on TV in the UK? Thank you

BBCW
this is a handy link http://www.rabodirectpro12.com/matchcentre/schedule.php

Yeah It's BBC2 Wales. Great option for English commentary over here too.

I will be setting my DVD recorder before I leave the house.

[suisse]

Robert Kitson's selection for the Lions number 2 test jersey starts on the bench for Leinster. Not sure how much he really knows about Strauss, but, you never know, both of these lads could be Australia bound in two years.

[molloyjh]

Would have liked to see Toner kept on in there to partner Leo but yeah strong team. Loving the rotational selection policy as everyone seems to be putting their hands up when given the chance. Granted some players haven't maybe set the world alight but no-ones had a howler either and the squad really is building nicely.

On the rotation and full use of squad - is Conway injured or just not getting picked does anyone know?

Really like the look of that team

Injured in the A game 2 weeks ago. He's been tearing teams apart whenever he's been on the pitch for the As seemingly - only saw the Ulster Ravens warm-up game a while back and they were all at it then. Hope he gets a run injury free and we get to see him in the RDS soon.

As for the team for this game, I'm quite happy with it. The starting XV alone should be able to get the win, but that bench is a great one to have too. A Leinster win with a strong possibility of a bonus point I reckon.

[Donny B.]

More nice squad management by Joe. Retains most of the young guys who did well but also nice to be able to get some of the big guns some game-time off the bench to keep their eye in for next week.

Wonder if Isa or Ferg will do the kicking?

[cormac]

On the rotation and full use of squad - is Conway injured or just not getting picked does anyone know?

Really like the look of that team

Got hurt in the A game, I think.

Yeah had a look on LR and he was replaced after 27 mins in the last B&I game against Melrose. No mention of what is was mind & have seen nothing in the very detailed weekly Leinster Squad Updates!!

He took a knock to the head and neck when colliding with a Melrose player. Played on for a short while after receiving the knock but never quite seemed right.

[Donny B.]

I wonder will Sykes be able for the full 80? If not Leo will go way above his allowed IRFU pitch time. (Or only play a half in each Bath game) I would suspect that there is major latitude for a player like him who gets very few minutes for Ireland, so he should be fine.

Ah Jaysus John, will you stop trying to make sense of how the IRFU player welfare programme works! You'll only drive yourself mad! (well.....madder )

[Scott]

On the rotation and full use of squad - is Conway injured or just not getting picked

He took a knock to the head and neck when colliding with a Melrose player. Played on for a short while after receiving the knock but never quite seemed right.

Cheers. Well hopefully it just concussion he is back in the mix soon

[Degz]

Could be an open game this one, seeing as they've picked sweeney at ten. That should very much be to our advantage.

[[Jackass]]

Exciting line up, but always get nervous when the kids are starting, not that they aren't good enough, but just hoping they're ready to carry the team. I don't doubt they'll do extremely well, but just gives me the jitters still. Got to learn to trust these lads! Madigan has been the revelation of the season so far imo, Carr has underwhelmed (but still convinced he will come good if he gets a run).

Real shame that Conway isn't getting a look in, such a missed oppertunity for him. Dave Kearney benefitting though.

Excited to see O'Brien at 8 again, his best position imo.

Should be a good game, hope the lads do well and get the win.

On a side note, as much as I love the rotation and giving the young lads a run, it worries me at the lack of clinicalness of the team in terms of bonus points. The wins are worthless if you lose the advantage by not being clinical and getting BPs in games you should. Treviso a good example, they're a damn tough team to go to, but after the 2 early tries, we really should have been in a position to control the game and manufactour a BP out of it.

It would be a big ask against Cardiff, any kind of win will do me, but it's just something I think we should always have in the back of our mind if we have a couple of tries on the board, and not be afraid to take chances and go for it.

[[Jackass]]

On a side note, should mention that I'm very happy to see McFadden at 12 (where I think his future lies) and O'Malley outside of him. That, imo, is the centre pairing of the future for Leinster, with possible rotation of Luke in there, but doesn't look like that's going to happen (which is a shame, as having himself, Macken, O'Malley & Fitzgerald as centres going forward would be a couple of extremely strong pairings, pending Mackens expected rise, and would open up spaces in back 3 for the Kearneys, Conway, Carr & Nacewa).

Any word on Horgan? Growing more concerned by the day, seems completely off the radar and had been playing the best rugby of his career. Seems forgotten about this season. Will be amazing if we can get our mits on silverware with players like himself and BOD on the recovery table.

Also, any word on the condition of Conway and Ryan? Lots of injuries when you think about it, just hidden behind the depth of the squad.

[Sauvignon Blank]

Looking forward to seeing Sykes again, hope he and Ruddock put in a barnstormer and O'Malley keeps up his good form.

Backing Kearney to score 1st try.

Leinster by +10.