Who is next at Scrumhalf?

[enby]

Am I right in thinking that there are no NIQ 9s in Ireland now? Someone suggested in the thread for the Sharks match that we should try to sign Grant Williams. How great would that be? Maybe our new coach can pull some strings in that regard. Failing that, we could have a look at a short contract for Rhys Webb or Tomos Williams. Presumably we can offer them a better deal

[Oldschoolsocks]

Richie Murphy’s young lad looks handy anytime i’ve seen him

[leinster23]

Am I right in thinking that there are no NIQ 9s in Ireland now? Someone suggested in the thread for the Sharks match that we should try to sign Grant Williams. How great would that be? Maybe our new coach can pull some strings in that regard. Failing that, we could have a look at a short contract for Rhys Webb or Tomos Williams. Presumably we can offer them a better deal

Why do we need an outside 9? They're either going to push McGrath out of the 23, where he'll eat up every league minute and block any opportunities for development, or not make the 23 themselves, in which case we aren't going to be able to sign them and they won't want to come.

Obviously going into next season without an experienced third option isn't ideal, but it's a bullet we're probably going to have to bite. We're not going to find someone good enough to provide a marked improvement while also not being so good that they'll accept having practically no role in the biggest games and ultimately being just a placeholder for the younger guys behind them. We can really just hope Foley, Murphy and Gunne take advantage of the opportunity.

[enby]

Just looking at options to improve the squad

[ronk]

Just looking at options to improve the squad

Yeah, it's just about understanding how hard it is to make a signing.

The nearest we came to recruiting an outside scrumhalf in recent years was Casey from the Munster Academy.

We'd need to sign a rising player who's willing to play 3rd fiddle.

[GavinSydney]

Genuine question... could we see players like Harry Byrne potentially try to pivot? It is a new discipline and would be tough of course, but he must be looking at Prendergast coming through and the rest of the competition at 10 in the squad and this is his profession.

[Purist98]

The one thing I would say about Gunne is like most Michaels prospects he has at least one gaping shortcoming. When I saw him for the 20’s he would make a box kick and then miss the follow up tackle. It looked to me like he was struggling to make the transition to the next level in terms of physicality but it also spoke to me in terms of technical ability.

He wasn’t willing to make the tackle or at least put his body on the line physically. That can come from not believing in the cause or having familiarity with your teammates. His box kicking is very hit and miss also. I like his ability to get across the pitch in cover defence but this is a side note of the main areas of play.

There is also the depth of his passing skill. I’m not sure he can vary the length or snappiness of his pass beyond the first receiver. As we have seen is so important for Leinster recently, JGP can vary it from 1st to 2nd to 3rd receiver on a string and it can vary the point of attack to keep the defence guessing or even to biting in on the blind leaking tries. There are several areas he needs to improve on, the above two being the gaping ones right now.

It struck me like his follow up tackles were sub par and he needed to adapt physically. I hope he can make the next step. Hopefully he can fix this area of his game and seal off the apparent shortcomings which could be exposed at pro level.

Complete and utter waffle.

[leinsterforever]

The one thing I would say about Gunne is like most Michaels prospects he has at least one gaping shortcoming. When I saw him for the 20’s he would make a box kick and then miss the follow up tackle. It looked to me like he was struggling to make the transition to the next level in terms of physicality but it also spoke to me in terms of technical ability.

He wasn’t willing to make the tackle or at least put his body on the line physically. That can come from not believing in the cause or having familiarity with your teammates. His box kicking is very hit and miss also. I like his ability to get across the pitch in cover defence but this is a side note of the main areas of play.

There is also the depth of his passing skill. I’m not sure he can vary the length or snappiness of his pass beyond the first receiver. As we have seen is so important for Leinster recently, JGP can vary it from 1st to 2nd to 3rd receiver on a string and it can vary the point of attack to keep the defence guessing or even to biting in on the blind leaking tries. There are several areas he needs to improve on, the above two being the gaping ones right now.

It struck me like his follow up tackles were sub par and he needed to adapt physically. I hope he can make the next step. Hopefully he can fix this area of his game and seal off the apparent shortcomings which could be exposed at pro level.

Tell us more about this.

[FtD]

Genuine question... could we see players like Harry Byrne potentially try to pivot? It is a new discipline and would be tough of course, but he must be looking at Prendergast coming through and the rest of the competition at 10 in the squad and this is his profession.

No, there is zero chance of this happening, and if it were to happen, there is nothing in Harry Byrne's game, physique or style to suggest that he would be well suited to making the transition.

[Flash Gordon]

Bit concerning that the coaches left it so late to bring on Luke last Saturday. JGP was having a fairly average game and we were making poor choices with the ball at half back but they obviously didn't think Luke was going to switch it up.

[Plámásing]

The one thing I would say about Gunne is like most Michaels prospects he has at least one gaping shortcoming. When I saw him for the 20’s he would make a box kick and then miss the follow up tackle. It looked to me like he was struggling to make the transition to the next level in terms of physicality but it also spoke to me in terms of technical ability.

He wasn’t willing to make the tackle or at least put his body on the line physically. That can come from not believing in the cause or having familiarity with your teammates. His box kicking is very hit and miss also. I like his ability to get across the pitch in cover defence but this is a side note of the main areas of play.

There is also the depth of his passing skill. I’m not sure he can vary the length or snappiness of his pass beyond the first receiver. As we have seen is so important for Leinster recently, JGP can vary it from 1st to 2nd to 3rd receiver on a string and it can vary the point of attack to keep the defence guessing or even to biting in on the blind leaking tries. There are several areas he needs to improve on, the above two being the gaping ones right now.

It struck me like his follow up tackles were sub par and he needed to adapt physically. I hope he can make the next step. Hopefully he can fix this area of his game and seal off the apparent shortcomings which could be exposed at pro level.

Shots fired at Michaels haha

I have had twenty plus family members through Michaels. Furthermore, very few people from my school come on here and post, maybe Backrower8 and Mildly Interested. Go lookup the domestic section with the schools cup thread. You’ll see who I support. I feel I can point out areas my school needs to improve upon if it helps the player and the team.

[Plámásing]

The one thing I would say about Gunne is like most Michaels prospects he has at least one gaping shortcoming. When I saw him for the 20’s he would make a box kick and then miss the follow up tackle. It looked to me like he was struggling to make the transition to the next level in terms of physicality but it also spoke to me in terms of technical ability.

He wasn’t willing to make the tackle or at least put his body on the line physically. That can come from not believing in the cause or having familiarity with your teammates. His box kicking is very hit and miss also. I like his ability to get across the pitch in cover defence but this is a side note of the main areas of play.

There is also the depth of his passing skill. I’m not sure he can vary the length or snappiness of his pass beyond the first receiver. As we have seen is so important for Leinster recently, JGP can vary it from 1st to 2nd to 3rd receiver on a string and it can vary the point of attack to keep the defence guessing or even to biting in on the blind leaking tries. There are several areas he needs to improve on, the above two being the gaping ones right now.

It struck me like his follow up tackles were sub par and he needed to adapt physically. I hope he can make the next step. Hopefully he can fix this area of his game and seal off the apparent shortcomings which could be exposed at pro level.

Complete and utter waffle.

Let me guess you spend half days in work concocting posts for here and proof read them and double proof read them for grammatical errors? I don’t have time to do such things. I have a thought and convey it to the best of my ability in five mins. I’m not one of the saddos that straddles message boards daily for political point scoring in order to promote their own schools next big prospect.

[wixfjord]

Massive opportunity now for Cormac Foley to step up and graduate into the first 23 in the next 8 weeks.

JGP won't be back for a few games yet and will likely be lightly raced.

Foley is 24, has enough experience now to do it in big games and won't get a better chance at a clear run.

Thought he was good at the weekend. Clearly has a huge engine and his passing is generally good (better than McGrath from what we've seen).

Particularly like how he picks out guys close to the line (Russell & Larmour's tries are a good example).

He's also a good backfield defender based on some of his covering at the weekend.

Hard to tell what he's like under pressure and kicking game hasn't been hugely tested yet either.

I'd be starting him for the next three against Edinburgh, Dragons and Scarlets at least with Ben Murphy coming in for 20 min cameos.

He should be backing himself to be on the bench for Connacht/Munster/La Rochelle and try to put Luke under pressure to get back in. We need young guys to be stepping up at 9.

[the spoofer]

Massive opportunity now for Cormac Foley to step up and graduate into the first 23 in the next 8 weeks.

JGP won't be back for a few games yet and will likely be lightly raced.

Foley is 24, has enough experience now to do it in big games and won't get a better chance at a clear run.

Thought he was good at the weekend. Clearly has a huge engine and his passing is generally good (better than McGrath from what we've seen).

Particularly like how he picks out guys close to the line (Russell & Larmour's tries are a good example).

He's also a good backfield defender based on some of his covering at the weekend.

Hard to tell what he's like under pressure and kicking game hasn't been hugely tested yet either.

I'd be starting him for the next three against Edinburgh, Dragons and Scarlets at least with Ben Murphy coming in for 20 min cameos.

He should be backing himself to be on the bench for Connacht/Munster/La Rochelle and try to put Luke under pressure to get back in. We need young guys to be stepping up at 9.

I thought he had a super game. Perhaps I'm imagining it but the only little quibble was that he might not be as quick across the ground as JGP and McGrath.

[mildlyinterested]

hopefully Gunne gets his debut in the next few weeks, happy to see Foley given majority of the gametime though. impressed by what little i've seen of Murphy.

Both of Foley and Murphy have really benefited from playing a lot of AIL rugby.

[wixfjord]

Massive opportunity now for Cormac Foley to step up and graduate into the first 23 in the next 8 weeks.

JGP won't be back for a few games yet and will likely be lightly raced.

Foley is 24, has enough experience now to do it in big games and won't get a better chance at a clear run.

Thought he was good at the weekend. Clearly has a huge engine and his passing is generally good (better than McGrath from what we've seen).

Particularly like how he picks out guys close to the line (Russell & Larmour's tries are a good example).

He's also a good backfield defender based on some of his covering at the weekend.

Hard to tell what he's like under pressure and kicking game hasn't been hugely tested yet either.

I'd be starting him for the next three against Edinburgh, Dragons and Scarlets at least with Ben Murphy coming in for 20 min cameos.

He should be backing himself to be on the bench for Connacht/Munster/La Rochelle and try to put Luke under pressure to get back in. We need young guys to be stepping up at 9.

I thought he had a super game. Perhaps I'm imagining it but the only little quibble was that he might not be as quick across the ground as JGP and McGrath.

To my untrained eye he looks more of an endurance type athlete than a speedy sprinter. Probably partly down to his size compared to the other two and his history as an outside back.

I do think he's pretty quick too though, had a good sprint back at the weekend and remember that try against Munster in the Aviva?

[FtD]

I thought Foley was good on Saturday evening. Liked his composure and pass for Larmour's try, and generally feel he's assertive and a good kicking option.

As others have said, this is a big year for him in terms of stepping on to the next level hopefully. He hasn't shown anything to suggest he's international quality yet.

I quite like Ben Murphy, but he is error prone. Obviously that's to be expected given his youth.

Would be excited to see Fintan Gunne get some minutes off the bench if possible over the next few weeks too - I'm very high on him.

[the spoofer]

Massive opportunity now for Cormac Foley to step up and graduate into the first 23 in the next 8 weeks.

JGP won't be back for a few games yet and will likely be lightly raced.

Foley is 24, has enough experience now to do it in big games and won't get a better chance at a clear run.

Thought he was good at the weekend. Clearly has a huge engine and his passing is generally good (better than McGrath from what we've seen).

Particularly like how he picks out guys close to the line (Russell & Larmour's tries are a good example).

He's also a good backfield defender based on some of his covering at the weekend.

Hard to tell what he's like under pressure and kicking game hasn't been hugely tested yet either.

I'd be starting him for the next three against Edinburgh, Dragons and Scarlets at least with Ben Murphy coming in for 20 min cameos.

He should be backing himself to be on the bench for Connacht/Munster/La Rochelle and try to put Luke under pressure to get back in. We need young guys to be stepping up at 9.

I thought he had a super game. Perhaps I'm imagining it but the only little quibble was that he might not be as quick across the ground as JGP and McGrath.

To my untrained eye he looks more of an endurance type athlete than a speedy sprinter. Probably partly down to his size compared to the other two and his history as an outside back.

I do think he's pretty quick too though, had a good sprint back at the weekend and remember that try against Munster in the Aviva?

It's more his speed to get to the ruck that I'm thinking of. A lot of that comes with experience, knowing where the next ruck is likely to be and taking short cuts.

[jezzer]

Since the first time i saw Foley i thought he had the good stuff and its been a frustration to see so little of him since. Thought it was going to be Cooney 2.0 situation. Hopefully he'll get the shot his talent deserves and we'll see what he's got.

Id be surprised of he isnt at least URC starter quality.

[ronk]

Cutting McCarthy forces Leinster to play Foley. They've already backed him. He's playing well.

His blindside break was a good read. Sharks caused a lot of disruption on and around the breakdown. They knew he'd be starting a young scrumhalf with 4 starts and they went after him. It's been a productive tactic against us when we have inexperienced scrumhalves. Foley moved it on fast enough usually.