Committed foot-soldiers of the 12-county army convene once more to discuss the province’s fortunes…
Blue-Rinse & Hairspray
A public house, Friday afternoon, somewhere in south Dublin...
Z: So, Cardiff. What do you reckon?
RK: That was some performance from the boys. We've been waiting for something like that since pre-season.
Z: It was a great performance from ourselves and most importantly we looked sharp and passes went to hand, but Jesus the Blues were inept.
RK: Their defence was a complete shambles in the first half. It seemed to firm up in the last 30, but as we seemed to take the foot off the gas at that stage it's hard to say which was the cause & which was the effect.
Z: Exactly, and for a team with a purported shoe-in for Lions captain it was a disgrace
RK: It was as purposeless an effort as I ever remember watching in the first half. Have the Welsh given up on their club sides as anything more than national squad training? Anyway, besides a very positive team performance from the lads, a fair few individuals stepped up their game didn't they?
Z: Most definitely. I was very impressed with Jordi; nice to have good cover coming through.
RK: Absolutely. I was concerned about him before the match, with Cardiff's three opensides on the pitch, but we had no trouble at the breakdown and he was everywhere in the loose. He's really come along. Jenno's a great teacher obviously!
Z: Indeed it would appear that way. However let's not get ahead of ourselves. Carr would have looked like Shaggy in his prime against them. The Hairsprays will be a better test.
RK: Too true. Even at that they'll be stripped of their internationals. It's certainly an opportunity to poach an away game against them.
Z: Also worth noting that they still have decent depth in their squad so it's unlikely to be a total walkover. And that we still have Mad-dog. I suppose it's the one plus of Kidney's Munster love affair.
RK: We've got problems too of course.
Z: Oh there's no denying that there are problems there.
RK: No Drico, no Luke, no Kearney Sr, no Seanie, and no Isa!
Z: But Jenno should be back, & to be honest we have been playing for a while now without them anyway.
RK: And look at the season so far...
Z: True, true. But we have been hit harder by withdrawals for "training camps" than most of our opposition to date.
RK: Not as badly this year, except that they keep taking all our front row forwards. Even the ones who haven't even gotten their first cap with us yet.
Z: It's fucked up when you look at it, but it's also a good show of our strength in depth.
RK: It was great to see Dave Kearney get such a good run. He's looking sharp on the wing.
Z: I was delighted to see him back. The boy's got real class.
RK: We've been a little callow on the wing to be honest; it's a relief to see him hit the ground running.
Z: It's great to know that it won’t be as soft an area as it has been so far, but the real question is, who do we play at centre?
RK: Macken and O'Malley seem most likely for this weekend. Goodman may well get a run at centre off the bench.
Z: Yes most likely to start. We will need Mad-dog to be on form too for defensive backup.
RK: Absolutely. Jenno's been on top defensive form this season; he will be on for the full 80. It's a necessity! And as we speak here's the teamsheet for Sunday. So, Goodman right in there with a start, and no Bent! He has to be on the first team sheet for Ireland now.
Z: Most definitely, otherwise there will be uproar. Great to see Goodman getting a start also, he will be needed.
RK: I've heard great things about him as a playmaker down south. I hope he transitions quickly.
Z: Ditto. In his preferred position too. This is squaring up to be an intriguing match.
RK: It'll tell us an awful lot about the state of play with some of the younger players. It's an entirely untested centre pairing which makes me nervous, as does Carr starting on the wing. I'd put a tenner now on Jennings or Madser being Leinster MOTM.
Z: Carr makes me more nervous! [laughs] But definitely money on Jennings. Maybe Browne to double up!
RK: If it's tight & brutal all the way, then Jenno's a lock-in. But if they can open it up early on & get in a few scores it could well go Madigan's way. It would need to be an equivalent of last week's team-performance though.
Z: Indeed that would be impressive.
RK: I can see us having difficulties. Especially since Carr's marking Hanno Dirksen. He's a bit of a pocket rocket.
Z: Ugh; that’s not going to be pretty.
RK: He will get inside Carr with a step-in. Just better be sure we've got a covering tackler.
RK: Dave Kearney's at full back; quite happy with that actually. Madser's back at outhalf. I can see Madigan & Boss making quite an aggressive running partnership actually. Throw in a bit of Auva'a and you've got your gainline breaks there.
Z: Madigan & Boss would be a cracking partnership, especially at the breakdown. Mmm, tasty. And Van der Merwe for a bit of bosh if needed. I’m happy with Kearney at 15 too.
RK: Yep. Down to our 3rd choice hooker though. Still, good to have *a* Sexton on the pitch.
Z: [laughs] It is indeed. I’m more concerned with Conway at 14. We should be safe but who knows. Hagan and Sexton are going to have their work cut out at the scrum, but Van der Merwe should help them out. It will be watched with interest though, and will be great experience for the youth.
RK: Yes, but let's hope that it's not a sacrificed game. We need to keep up the wins at the moment, and this is going to be one of the trickiest of the season. I don't think it'll be much of a spectacle, but I'll be glued to it nonetheless.
Z: Again I keep going back to the top 4 mantra. As long as we are in it we are in with a chance. Not even half-way yet.
RK: If we lose this, Ospreys leapfrog us into 4th on the table. We need to keep the nose in.
Z: Yes, but I reckon we will have more in the tank over the season than them and I can't see Glasgow staying up there either.
RK: It remains to be seen I suppose, but I agree about Glasgow. They seem to be treading water, but the sharks are circling. Not Sale, metaphorical sharks.
Z: I would put this weekend down as a good learning curve but not a disaster if we were to lose. Maybe sneak a losing bonus if we don't click. I reckon we should beat them, but not by much.
RK: I think we've seen too little continuity this season, especially with the internationals away. I think it'll be a BP loss unless they can pull together an 80% team performance. Or a string of career defining individual performances. A mixture of the two would be lovely, and would probably get Schmidty a sainthood/knighthood/Ireland job.
Z: [laughs] He already has that bar the Ireland job!
RK: So what do you think of Michael Bent? Off the plane and onto the Irish squad. And probably the first bench. Not a provincial cap to his name.
Z: I have no problems with this at all. He is Irish qualified and has been playing at a high level. Just because it's not been in Ireland; I don't see the hoo-hah. I actually feel more for the guys who left to go play abroad and were snubbed by the IRFU blazers. I'm all for strengthening our squad with players who are qualified for us, regardless of where they play or come from. It's part and parcel of the modern game.
RK: Succinctly put. It must be slightly bizarre from his Bent's point of view though.
Z: It may also come as a kick in the ass for some provincial players that are sitting on their laurels. It definitely must be weird for Bent, but I do think it's a good thing also. He will get an up close look at the international setup and brought into the fold. I would have preferred if that happened at Leinster, but only if all the squad were together. In my opinion it could be quite disheartening to turn up for your first game and get hammered because 10-15 1st teamers are out. It would be very easy to let that head drop, especially as you would be under enormous pressure to deliver immediately.
RK: Very true. I suppose it's easier to deal with being beaten by the Boks than the Hairsprays.
Z: [laughs] There is that! Pint?
A transcript from @RugbyKino in conversation with Leinster supporters whose identities have been anonymised for their own protection. All opinions given are the individual’s own, almost definitely whilst under the influence.
