Stormers v Leinster Sat 30 Apr KO 5:15pm RTE 2

[wixfjord]

Munster game is the weekend between the European semi and final so we may yet be very glad of not needing any points from that game.

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Yep, it's a big win because of that.

If we get past Leicester & Munster/Toulouse we'll be able to rest everyone.

Might not sell too many tickets albeit.

[hugonaut]

Another very gutsy performance from our lads. This machine has heart!

[Ray Donovan]

The lack of awareness of the league situation by the RTE commentary team was shocking.

You’re hardly surprised by that.

I only caught a snippet of Stephen Ferris on Premier Sports but I think the general gist was Leinster will be ultimately disappointed by the tour as they lost 2 games.

No awareness that top spot and number one seed was in general peril prior to going to SA considering the squad that was travelling.

To have the 1 seed sown up with a game to spare taking the last 2 weeks in context Is outstanding work.

[Theleinsterlad]

We have some more great talent coming through what a pair of games

Talent but lots of fight in them as well. Maybe I’m still scarred from the early 2000s but I think that’s just as important!

Agree with you, there were a number of points in the 2nd half where they could have dropped off but refused to do it. Christ osbornes last gasp tackle and hold up was a thing of beauty

[Laighin Break]

Im usually a fan of both comms but continuously thinking that Deeney had given away a penalty in the first half after a tackle by himself and Penny when it was actually Murphy and Russell was also really poor.

And Lenihan repeatedly saying Frawley was obstructed for the disallowed try at the beginning despite so many replays

They're watching it off a small screen in fairness.

I was watching it on my tablet. Even watching on the phone I can tell the two apart

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Talent but lots of fight in them as well. Maybe I’m still scarred from the early 2000s but I think that’s just as important!

Great article in the Guardian today comparing Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey, and Mark Ramprakash and other batsmen, about how hard work and fight trumps talent without it

https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... jo-shelvey

I’m too lazy to read that…

[Ruckedtobits]

And Lenihan repeatedly saying Frawley was obstructed for the disallowed try at the beginning despite so many replays

They're watching it off a small screen in fairness.

I was watching it on my tablet. Even watching on the phone I can tell the two apart

That's because you're interested and you care. Neither phrase apply to RTE commentators talking about Leinster.

[the spoofer]

Talent but lots of fight in them as well. Maybe I’m still scarred from the early 2000s but I think that’s just as important!

Great article in the Guardian today comparing Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey, and Mark Ramprakash and other batsmen, about how hard work and fight trumps talent without it

https://www.theguardian.com/football/bl ... jo-shelvey

I’m too lazy to read that…

You can win a championship with 15 good lads who work hard, you won’t with 15 talented lads who don’t

[hugonaut]

Lot of impressive performances out there, none more so than Rhys again. Another great example of him leading from the front.

It was another game where the players just poured the effort in until they were empty. I felt we played better against the Sharks and created more, but this was a weaker team and they hearted the f*ck out of the game. We got a bit of a sticky deal from the refereeing team, but in general they were the team playing more rugby and that can happen.

This was a team with seven academy players in the starting lineup [Max O'Reilly, Rob Russell, Jamie Osborne, Cormac Foley, John McKee, Brian Deeny and Alex Soroka]. You've got to give credit to the coaching team for preparing them so well that they could put in that competitive performance against the Stormers, but the players themselves deserve a huge amount of credit. It's a tough scene going down there devoid of so many senior players, but they got the job done and got the point that puts us top of the log.

Frawley was excellent, his kicking from hand is outstanding – he strikes the ball so purely and it travels so, so far! Cormac Foley did well. I'd like to see him be outwardly be more confident, but he played some good stuff. That's bloody impressive when you consider that we were a long way from home against one of the best teams in South Africa.

McKee was very good, even with his yellow card. Good rugby player. I was impressed with Sean O'Brien in his cameo ... really quick off the mark, explosive and a natural ball carrier. You put him and Soroka on either side of this year's U20 No8 Culhane and you've got a very impressive backrow.

We played these games with a lot of heart and a lot of cop on. We played very little rugby in our half and kicked very well. We were outmatched up front in both games but kept in tight on the board and got what we were looking for in both games. Well done the lads.

[Ruckedtobits]

So many good things from those too games. Really excited about some of the talent and all of the resistance. In absolute awe with Russell's try-saving tackle and his pace in closing down Sinalta. Osbourne's wrap tackle, on their flanker over the line was sensational.

In the past, I sometimes considered Soroka a little bit of a show pony. Never again, his heart is on his sleeve only because it's too big to hide. What a competitor. In 7 years time, he'll be playing the Rhys role for another bunch of Academy players.

Ed Byrne was also phenomenal and played himself to a standstill whilst conceding nothing to a Springbok World Cup winner. Milne & Vahk were great scrum finishers and really fought for every yard.

Agree with all the positive sentiments re McKee, Murphy, Dunne, Penny and Moloney & O'Brien. I hope Rhys only came off to rest before benching next week. What a fortnight he's put in.

Really proud of all the Squad that travelled to SA. They really represented us very well and gave our Club the best chance of beating Leicester.

[riocard911]

Agree with all the commendations above. Thought Harry gave a good showing in his little cameo today. The conversion was a serious pressure kick and he nailed it. Loved the nonchalance too with which he got the liathróid of the field of play at the end. Cool as a cucumber!!!

[Dave Cahill]

Mannix made a great point, that I think most of us overlooked, that this team spends their time training against what is essentially the fourth best side in international rugby so performances like the last two shouldn't really come as a surprise

[RoboProp]

So many good things from those too games. Really excited about some of the talent and all of the resistance. In absolute awe with Russell's try-saving tackle and his pace in closing down Sinalta. Osbourne's wrap tackle, on their flanker over the line was sensational.

In the past, I sometimes considered Soroka a little bit of a show pony. Never again, his heart is on his sleeve only because it's too big to hide. What a competitor. In 7 years time, he'll be playing the Rhys role for another bunch of Academy players.

Ed Byrne was also phenomenal and played himself to a standstill whilst conceding nothing to a Springbok World Cup winner. Milne & Vahk were great scrum finishers and really fought for every yard.

Agree with all the positive sentiments re McKee, Murphy, Dunne, Penny and Moloney & O'Brien. I hope Rhys only came off to rest before benching next week. What a fortnight he's put in.

Really proud of all the Squad that travelled to SA. They really represented us very well and gave our Club the best chance of beating Leicester.

There was one scrum in particular where I think Kitshoff was trying to get the screw on Vakh and the fricking power of the guy he just shunted it off. He's a f**king ox, and I mean that in the nicest way possible

[Laighin Break]

Just saw on Twitter that Soroka was awarded Player of the Match! Well deserved

[cormac]

A little surprised that, for the second week running, we didn't make full use of the bench.

[wixfjord]

What a legend. Hope this lad has a long Leinster career.

https://twitter.com/mickado15/status/15 ... 1528550400

[Barry]

What a legend. Hope this lad has a long Leinster career.

https://twitter.com/mickado15/status/15 ... 1528550400

If you were impressed by Soroka's efforts this evening, support his fund raising for a Ukrainian orphanage on "GoFundMe"

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[Dexter]

Just saw on Twitter that Soroka was awarded Player of the Match! Well deserved

Dunno how many people saw his full post game interview on Premier Sports, brilliant, he did a Dan Sheehan on it...
I didn't see RTE

[cormac]

Team that finished the match tonight

Milne, Barron, Abdaladze, Murphy, Dunne, S O'Brien, Moloney, Soroka; Foley, H Byrne, Russell, Frawley, Osborne, O'Loughlin, O'Reilly.

8 academy players.

[Oldschoolsocks]

What a legend. Hope this lad has a long Leinster career.

https://twitter.com/mickado15/status/15 ... 1528550400

Legend, spoken from the heart