I'd have no problem with him playing a test match in an international window, I doubt anyone would, so you can stand your straw man down.
I think, given the context surrounding this, both the nature of the match he is playing in and the squad situation he is leaving behind, it is fair enough for eyebrows to be raised. Mine are.
It's possibly not as bad as Vermeulen lining out with the BaaBaas though, I'll grant you that.
No I have it right, it’s treating Samoa and our Samoan player extremely disrespectfully to have any issue with this.
If his country comes calling and he wants to play with them then there shouldn’t really be an issue. And certainly the issue shouldn’t be with him, it should be with the game being organised for now.
Another straw man. It doesn't matter what country he is from: it's not a test match. It's fluff. It's a half-assed BaaBaas team.
I am very happy if the match gets Samoa some badly-needed finance. I'd have no problem with him sitting on the bench if it were held within the test window.
You are deliberately twisting the legitimate points that people have raised and are now veering towards Godwin's law with your straw men.
What a load of b*%&!cks, the Godwin’s law reference is off the wall!
There’s no straw man at all, I’m just saying that you’re belittling Samoa. Interesting that you haven’t given out about Jack Dunne’s involvement btw, almost like your first instinct was that Samoa aren’t important.
Pretty callous of people who've never represented their country to weigh in on the perceived importance of playing a game for their country.
Not only is the begrudgery absolutely mortifying to read..... doubling down on it is even worse.
He's a Samoan player representing Samoa and will do so with pride. Anyone who thinks he would be better suited playing here this weekend can jog on and support the French clubs who exploit their islander players like that.
Also Vakh and Clarkson are well able to handle O'Sullivan, Reid or Warwick all of whom are incredibly average scrummagers at best
arsebiscuits1 wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 2:37 pm
Pretty callous of people who've never represented their country to weigh in on the perceived importance of playing a game for their country.
Not only is the begrudgery absolutely mortifying to read..... doubling down on it is even worse.
He's a Samoan player representing Samoa and will do so with pride. Anyone who thinks he would be better suited playing here this weekend can jog on and support the French clubs who exploit their islander players like that.
Since he has come into the club, he has put in great effort in the games he’s played so I see nothing so far to suggest he will give us anything other than his best when he puts on the jersey
I am very happy for him to play for his country and it annoys me how badly treated generally the 2nd tier nations (in particular the island teams) are by world rugby in general. I hope he has a great game and would 2nd whoever mentioned jack dunne, that AO has caused ire but no one seemed to be miffed that JD is technically not even playing for his country and is unavailable for the Ulster game.
Theleinsterlad wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 3:47 pm
Since he has come into the club, he has put in great effort in the games he’s played so I see nothing so far to suggest he will give us anything other than his best when he puts on the jersey
I am very happy for him to play for his country and it annoys me how badly treated generally the 2nd tier nations (in particular the island teams) are by world rugby in general. I hope he has a great game and would 2nd whoever mentioned jack dunne, that AO has caused ire but no one seemed to be miffed that JD is technically not even playing for his country and is unavailable for the Ulster game.
I see that Dunne isn't in the squad now. Hopefully he's playing for us and not injured, he only turned 23 the other day but could do with getting a wriggle on if he's going to reach the top level. It's a decent squad actually, could be a good game. The women's team has plenty of Irish interest too, hopefully it'll be a good send off for Peat and Griffin.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 11:20 am
How can this Samoan guy have the temerity to want to play one game for Samoa? How dare he!
I'd have no problem with him playing a test match in an international window, I doubt anyone would, so you can stand your straw man down.
I think, given the context surrounding this, both the nature of the match he is playing in and the squad situation he is leaving behind, it is fair enough for eyebrows to be raised. Mine are.
It's possibly not as bad as Vermeulen lining out with the BaaBaas though, I'll grant you that.
He must be treated differently to Jack Dunne?
I think there's still space for the BaaBaas in the mdoern game. We have a deep bench and we need to get the young'uns a game against stiff opposition.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014 Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 1:30 pm
This might be coloured by my interest in the URC but it seems like there’s never been a better time to have a four week international window considering the break in the URC and the European games not starting until December. Particularly when you factor in that the international game is the cash cow and unions are desperate for money, which I’d imagine is a big part of the reason the Samoa game is happening. I know some people will kick up a fuss and I don’t want players being flogged but it does seem a simple enough solution right now.
We were supposed to play USA in Vegas. It was a 4 week window
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 1:30 pm
This might be coloured by my interest in the URC but it seems like there’s never been a better time to have a four week international window considering the break in the URC and the European games not starting until December. Particularly when you factor in that the international game is the cash cow and unions are desperate for money, which I’d imagine is a big part of the reason the Samoa game is happening. I know some people will kick up a fuss and I don’t want players being flogged but it does seem a simple enough solution right now.
We were supposed to play USA in Vegas. It was a 4 week window
Don't think so, hence why Wales had to play a weakened team against NZ.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 1:30 pm
This might be coloured by my interest in the URC but it seems like there’s never been a better time to have a four week international window considering the break in the URC and the European games not starting until December. Particularly when you factor in that the international game is the cash cow and unions are desperate for money, which I’d imagine is a big part of the reason the Samoa game is happening. I know some people will kick up a fuss and I don’t want players being flogged but it does seem a simple enough solution right now.
We were supposed to play USA in Vegas. It was a 4 week window
The planned Vegas test was outside the 4 week test window. It began on the weekend when Ireland played Japan.
Last edited by neill_m on November 25th, 2021, 6:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 1:30 pm
This might be coloured by my interest in the URC but it seems like there’s never been a better time to have a four week international window considering the break in the URC and the European games not starting until December. Particularly when you factor in that the international game is the cash cow and unions are desperate for money, which I’d imagine is a big part of the reason the Samoa game is happening. I know some people will kick up a fuss and I don’t want players being flogged but it does seem a simple enough solution right now.
We were supposed to play USA in Vegas. It was a 4 week window
It's not offically but URC teams appear to be moving in that direction with their calendar.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014 Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles
Let's not put our feet in the stirrups of our high horses about French teams and how they treat Pacific Islanders next time shall we?
Or show our sympathy for the Samoan players stranded in Dubai because their union and government couldn't afford to get them home when this game is created a way to effectively prevent that situation again.
arsebiscuits1 wrote: ↑November 25th, 2021, 2:37 pm
Pretty callous of people who've never represented their country to weigh in on the perceived importance of playing a game for their country.
Not only is the begrudgery absolutely mortifying to read..... doubling down on it is even worse.
He's a Samoan player representing Samoa and will do so with pride. Anyone who thinks he would be better suited playing here this weekend can jog on and support the French clubs who exploit their islander players like that.
Also Vakh and Clarkson are well able to handle O'Sullivan, Reid or Warwick all of whom are incredibly average scrummagers at best
THIS!!!
I am in especially violent agreement with regad to the points highlighted
Samoa struggle for survival and I am sure that the revenue and publicity of this fixture, imperfect though it may be, is very important to their nation, let alone the rugby community of that nation.
The Leinster Rugby team, proudly sponsored by Bank of Ireland, to face Ulster Rugby in the RDS Arena tomorrow in Round 6 of the United Rugby Championship has been named by head coach Leo Cullen (KO 8pm – live on RTÉ Sport, Premier Sports and URC TV – 50 per cent off URC TV if you sign up now).
Tickets for the first interprovincial game of the season for Leo Cullen’s side are still on sale HERE and supporters are being reminded that the wearing of masks at all times is advised for everyone’s safety at the game.
To team news, Cullen has been able to call upon the services of a number of players that featured during the recent Autumn internationals.
In the backs, Jimmy O’Brien starts at full back, with Adam Byrne on the right wing and Jordan Larmour on the left.
Robbie Henshaw lines up in the 13 jersey outside Ciarán Frawley in midfield.
Luke McGrath captains the side, alongside Ross Byrne at out-half.
In the pack, Ed Byrne makes his 75th appearance in a senior Leinster jersey at loosehead with Tadhg Furlong at tighthead prop. James Tracy makes his first start of the campaign from hooker.
In the second row, it’s the hugely experienced duo of Ross Molony and Devin Toner, while in the back row, Dan Leavy, Scott Penny and Rhys Ruddock start.
Vakh Abdaladze and Will Connors are both named on the bench and will hope to make their first appearances of the season.
Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets):
15. Jimmy O’Brien (36)
14. Adam Byrne (59)
13. Robbie Henshaw (57)
12. Ciarán Frawley (40)
11. Jordan Larmour (64)
10. Ross Byrne (108)
9. Luke McGrath (155) CAPTAIN
1. Ed Byrne (74)
2. James Tracy (131)
3. Tadhg Furlong (116)
4. Ross Molony (121)
5. Devin Toner (268)
6. Dan Leavy (75)
7. Scott Penny (30)
8. Rhys Ruddock (193)
Replacements:
16. Seán Cronin (196)
17. Peter Dooley (94)
18. Vakh Abdaladze (12)
19. Max Deegan (68)
20. Will Connors (23)
21. Nick McCarthy (38)
22. Harry Byrne (25)
23. Tommy O’Brien (10)
Max in the second row bench spot is interesting. That would've been Dunne surely if he wasn't on Baa Baas duty.
Basically we had to play Tadhg, who has started three AIs in a row at TH because Big Mike isn't around. Looks like Leo et al don't have same faith in Vakh/Clarkson as some above.
