LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑May 3rd, 2021, 4:16 pm
Important to remember that we lost for multiple reasons. Power was the big one for me and it’s not just a case of them rumbling forward and us not being able to stop them, it obviously has the knock on effect of tiring us out and trying to do things on the back foot etc etc.
But we didn’t help ourselves in lots of ways. Luke’s kicking was shite and even allowing for the pressure we were under, it annoyed me that even if that was the tactic we had to use that we didn’t then let Ross kick more or move it out to a Ringrose etc. Their lineout was poor so why not kick to touch more often instead of putting ourselves under pressure when they won kicks back? Even when we won them (Josh tapping back to Conan) we got turned over because we weren’t organised.
And as I said yesterday I don’t understand why we went away from the close in carrying/latching. Ryan got turned over twice because he went on his own (although Conan made a brilliant clearout and was so unlucky that Ringrose went off his feet), why was that happening instead of showing more patience and staying organised? We just didn’t help ourselves.
But just in terms of trying to sign some power, in an ideal world I think we’d sign a big lump in the second row but it’s not going to happen. The good news is that IMO we could look a lot better this time next year if we have Porter and Furlong both starting with Alaalatoa on the bench, Sheehan on the bench, Baird a year older, Ryan fitter and sharper, proper depth in the back row again, someone like Soroka breaking through etc etc.
I think we need to focus on developing some of the young second rows in particular. I’m a huge fan of Molony but I think yesterday’s game should mean that someone like him loses out on some game time next season to try and get the likes of Dunne or even McCarthy up to speed.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑May 3rd, 2021, 4:20 pm
We don’t need him to be our version of Skelton though. If he was able to stop guys like Skelton and Antonio dead and make 20 tackles in the first 50 minutes before we unleash someone more mobile like Baird then we’d be laughing.
Personally I think we need to stop thinking of signing the likes of Skelton or Snyman and think more about someone being Damian Browne 2.0, and I think we can achieve that.
Two good rational posts. If we threw a Skelton 2.0 against their Skelton yesterday maybe it would have made a difference to the scores but that is just speculation and it also allows the other 14 lads on both teams away with not being important.
As you rightly say we kicked the ball to them through poor box kicking in the second half which gave them attacking field position. Their lineout was under a lot of pressure when we competed for it why not kick the ball to touch around half way and let them continue to throw crooked or continue to compete up the pitch where their maul would not have been as dangerous. We basically invited continuous pressure the whole of the second half. I’ve loved the way Luke has managed our young 10s in the Pro 14 but I was crying out for him to trust his 100 Leinster cap international half back partner yesterday to have a bigger role in our decision making and tactical kicking.
James Ryan can be a lot better than he was yesterday he looked like he was trying to do to much, we have a host of top quality back rows to come back in and compete, Ruddock was a big loss (my player of the season) Baird who excels at the loose stuff dropped the one that would have made him a hero yesterday 7 points gone he will catch the next one, Luke takes Larmour’s pass and it’s probably another 7 pointer in the first half. Robbie who has been brilliant for Leinster and Ireland had his quietest game all year, it happens I didn’t think it would because he has been so brilliant but maybe that expectation was unfair. We managed the ref poorly, I don’t like that you have to manage refs but that’s the way of the game and we kept doing things he was hot on. Loads of things in the game that were within our control that we did badly or were made to do badly because they were so good.
And on Skelton they have Skelton even better than he was at Saracens a 30-50 minute man, now he’s an 80 minute player. Well done La Rochelle that’s how you make use of one of your weapons.
I understand the physicality thing, Toulouse have it I hear, we beat Toulouse well twice a couple of seasons ago and somehow contrived to lose the away match that season by a point that we played brilliantly in after a slow start. Exeter win Europe last year with physicality, we beat them a few weeks ago, ran them off the pitch. We have to play well, we have to be better than we were yesterday with or without a beast of a second row.
"Horrocks went one way, Taylor the other and I was left holding the bloody hyphen!"
~The Late Great Mick English