Sexton's last season? Outhalf going forward..

[jezzer]

With Johnny now gone, H Byrne, Tector, Prendergast and to a lesser extent Frawls will be at daggers drawn to beat the others out for the backup spot. Gonna be a dogfight.

[backrower8]

With Johnny now gone, H Byrne, Tector, Prendergast and to a lesser extent Frawls will be at daggers drawn to beat the others out for the backup spot. Gonna be a dogfight.

Chequebooks out!

[Ruckedtobits]

Line kicking and penos now need even further practice.

[Flash Gordon]

With Johnny now gone, H Byrne, Tector, Prendergast and to a lesser extent Frawls will be at daggers drawn to beat the others out for the backup spot. Gonna be a dogfight.

I've thought this for a while and still think it, Frawley is the real deal. Think he has it all distribution, running, kicking from hand, place kicking, size, rugby brain - and the Ireland coaches clearly rate him. If he can stay healthy I could see him as Leinster and Ireland' starting 10 in the next couple of years.

[mildlyinterested]

With Johnny now gone, H Byrne, Tector, Prendergast and to a lesser extent Frawls will be at daggers drawn to beat the others out for the backup spot. Gonna be a dogfight.

I've thought this for a while and still think it, Frawley is the real deal. Think he has it all distribution, running, kicking from hand, place kicking, size, rugby brain - and the Ireland coaches clearly rate him. If he can stay healthy I could see him as Leinster and Ireland' starting 10 in the next couple of years.

Leo has been very reluctant to trust him at 10.

[jezzer]

With Johnny now gone, H Byrne, Tector, Prendergast and to a lesser extent Frawls will be at daggers drawn to beat the others out for the backup spot. Gonna be a dogfight.

I've thought this for a while and still think it, Frawley is the real deal. Think he has it all distribution, running, kicking from hand, place kicking, size, rugby brain - and the Ireland coaches clearly rate him. If he can stay healthy I could see him as Leinster and Ireland' starting 10 in the next couple of years.

Leo has been very reluctant to trust him at 10.

I wonder if he's quiet for a 10 and that's why the Leinster brains trust prefer him at 12. Otherwise - other than the injury-enforced absences - I don't know why he hasn't had more burn at 10 in blue.

[Xanthippe]

Sexton did phenomenally well to play so much and so well during the Six Nations. If you remember, he first injured his groin in the French match after 47-48 minutes. Having missed the following game against Italy, I'd imagine he was playing hurt against the Scots and the English. He did great.

In terms of stepping into the breach, Ross has already played so many big games for us. We are as well prepared as any team could be in the circumstances.

I'm not sure I can pin the right words on it. Ross is being more Ross – being more confident, more demonstrative, not as bothered with external opinions or factors. He has had some very tough experiences coming off the bench in big games and making mistakes: against France in October 2020 for Ireland and in the last European Cup final. Nobody wants to go through those experiences. I'd say he felt like sh!t, but he got back to work and built himself back up.

I got that impression from a couple of interviews that he did earlier this year, where you could tell he was sort of throwing his eyes up to heaven when he was answering questions about playing 'flat to the line', that he has said to himself: "Whatever, pal. There's always going to be a lad who the journos and the below-the-line commenters want me dropped for. First it was Joey, then it was Harry, now it's Crowley. That used to bother me, now it doesn't. I'm the guy who plays outhalf for Leinster all the time ... and guess what? We win a f*cking sh*tload of games. I know what I can do."

I know for a fact that Leinster have been very supportive of Ross and have given him the comfort that they value him really highly, more highly than he might be viewed externally.

I don't think it'll ever get said explicitly, but i get the feeling Goodman has done a lot more for Ross Byrne's development as an attacking outhalf than Felipe managed. Goodie was probably closer to Ross as a player typenthan Felipe, maybe that helps. I suspect that Goodman is just a really good communicator about the small ways players can improve.

I'm sure Ross said it quite explicitly after a game earlier in the season - possibly after the away game to Racing. I remember his comments (if not the actual timing of them) because at the time I thought it was possibly a little bit unfair on Felipe to give so much credit to 'Goodie'

[Flash Gordon]

I've thought this for a while and still think it, Frawley is the real deal. Think he has it all distribution, running, kicking from hand, place kicking, size, rugby brain - and the Ireland coaches clearly rate him. If he can stay healthy I could see him as Leinster and Ireland' starting 10 in the next couple of years.

Leo has been very reluctant to trust him at 10.

I wonder if he's quiet for a 10 and that's why the Leinster brains trust prefer him at 12. Otherwise - other than the injury-enforced absences - I don't know why he hasn't had more burn at 10 in blue.

Not sure, he's still a kid really and communication is coachable. Henshaw and Ringrose were both said to be quiet but Ringer has developed well on that front to the point where he is a definite contender for club captain. I think he has more natural ability than Ross though it'll be a challenge to match Ross's work rate and coachability and he's more focus and discipline than Harry in my view.

Part of it might be the desire to play 2 distributors as a game plan option. We've seen Frawley play 12 to a Byrne at 10 and offer exceptional distribution and game management. Big danger is that he falls into the trap of being a good 10, 12 and 15 option like Madigan and end up up in the jack of all trades, master of none camp.

[ronk]

It's not just the end of the Sexton era. It's the end of a 23 year span where 2 players dominated the position for Ireland.

Both players shaped their teams to a huge extent.

Irish rugby did nothing at all to prepare a replacement for O'Gara. Sexton forced his way in by winning the Heineken Cup and had to fight every step of the way. IRFU took the total opposite approach with Sexton and have been trying to replace him for years. A smooth transition wasn't going to happen. Just like it couldn't happen for BOD.

I think we're in a good position going forward though I don't know which way we'll go. Possibly a phase of experimentation. Crowley was ahead of Byrne by the business end of this RWC and that may continue, we'll see how his development goes. The big decision is whether we play it safe to keep team momentum or we push to experiment.

For Leinster we have 5 outhalves, all of whom are possibly international standard. No point making much of a call now.

[Observingprop123]

It's not just the end of the Sexton era. It's the end of a 23 year span where 2 players dominated the position for Ireland.

Both players shaped their teams to a huge extent.

Irish rugby did nothing at all to prepare a replacement for O'Gara. Sexton forced his way in by winning the Heineken Cup and had to fight every step of the way. IRFU took the total opposite approach with Sexton and have been trying to replace him for years. A smooth transition wasn't going to happen. Just like it couldn't happen for BOD.

I think we're in a good position going forward though I don't know which way we'll go. Possibly a phase of experimentation. Crowley was ahead of Byrne by the business end of this RWC and that may continue, we'll see how his development goes. The big decision is whether we play it safe to keep team momentum or we push to experiment.

For Leinster we have 5 outhalves, all of whom are possibly international standard. No point making much of a call now.

I'd quite enjoy a dogfight for the position behind Byrne this season. I honestly can't see Prendergast not being Leinsters first choice outhalf in 2 years time. Just needs to keep fit but he seems to be very driven which should help.