riocard911 wrote: ↑May 29th, 2022, 6:48 pm
hugonaut wrote: ↑May 29th, 2022, 5:33 pm
riocard911 wrote: ↑May 29th, 2022, 1:33 pm
One thing you'll hear RO'G talking about more than any other is the mental side of the game. His lads - helped, of course, by playing in their home country with the majority of the 60,000 fans in the Velodrome up for La Rochelle - got that aspect right. They played their game and stuck at it, while we went into our shells and made uncharacteristic mistakes e.g. there was one phase BO'D pointed out during the match on the replay, where nearly every Leinster pass was at the receiving player's shoulder and not chest-height out in front of him to run into. Maybe Ireland and Leinster need a mental skills coach for the high pressure games e.g. RWC quarter-finals, Heino knock-out away matches etc.
I'm not too tough on that. La Rochelle had a lot of psychological cards in their favour for this game. They beat us last year, they were on home soil with massive support in the stadium and they were underdogs.
Those are all advantages when it comes to a one-off game. I've said it before, playing in France against a good French team makes it a hell of a lot tougher to play your best and to get a win. We've all seen plenty of examples of it.
Home advantage is a huge deal – look at Munster taking then-European champions Toulouse to penalties in the quarter-final. Munster are a decent team but no more than that, and they were able to hold a champion team full of internationals to ransom.
We were beaten on the last play of the game by a serious team. It's a huge sickener of course, but I'd rather get to the final than be watching from the couch. We've got a chance now to bounce back and knock out a whole bunch of teams in a row in our own patch and in front of our own fans. So let's go and ruin some seasons!
100%! Don't want to seem like I'm being too hard on the lads, as they are the ones I feel for more than myself. That defensive shift they put in the last 10 mins was magnificent. My heart goes out to each and every one of them. The question remains however, how do Leinster prepare for a such a huge pressure fixture away, when the rest of the season one they're to all extents and purposes blowing all and sundry away and rarely experiencing having to man the lifeboats i.e. dig out a win in the final quarter. Still think sending the front-liners down to Safferland to try and get a win in the regular URC season down there mightn'd be the worst possible prep.
Maybe it's partially because I've now spent more time on Touchlines and in training sessions than I did as a player, but my heart, and and admiration goes out to Leo, Stuart, Felipe, McBride, Leamy et al. How Leo can go out and contribute to a presser after such a loss; how Stuart, Felipe, etc can sit down this morning to start the prep for next weekend against Glasgow; how Physios, Docs, S&C guys cab start to re-assess injuries, fitness, and general damage in the Squad, all after the horror low of last night. That's the real persistence and dedication to the cause.
Last night takes a toll. But you walk the path because that's what's important to you and you believe that your contribution still matter. Yes, losing teaches lessons but it also erodes your spirit and resilience.
I hope somebody is taking care of all those people, emotionally but also physically.
Thanks to you all for the effort and dedication.