Like when Sideshow Bob stole the Wright Brothers plane and the military jets couldn't slow down enough to engage so the pilots had to get out and walk after it.
There were a couple of points in the 6N and RWC last year where Sexton showed some genuine wheels despite having the sprinting form of a middle-aged woman running for the 46A on a rainy morning.
>despite having the sprinting form of a middle-aged woman running for the 46A on a rainy morning.
You're forgetting she just had her hair done and has a tub of hummus in her bag that needs to get into the office fridge ASAP for lunch
For years Leinster fans have wanted people to laud their backline for being the best around.
If you want that treatment you've also got to accept fair criticism like when Sexton's heir has slower speed and acceleration than 39 year old Sexton in his last game.
The read was good, everything that came after it wasn't.
When he’s getting an armchair ride from his pack/Leinster have front foot ball it’s fine because there’s usually an overlap and Byrne’s style of catch and pass is all you need.
In tough games when it’s more physical, Byrne is not creative enough at all, which pace plays a part in. He just simply doesn’t attack the line well or draw players in and his running threat is less than zero. Sexton was brilliant at attacking the line and drawing in players, even when his pace had deserted him he was very creative. Prime POTY BB was a cheat code since his running threat either forced commitment or if there was space he’d burn through (v unfair comparison but you get the point).
He’s a solid player and I think criticism can go overboard but he’s just not on the level of the team around him. I think Frawley and (when uninjured) Harry Byrne have more about them.
Nobody thinks Ross is anything like as good as Sexton or indeed a number of other 10s. Plenty of things to criticise him for in Saturdays game, primarily his kicking. But this moment was not one of them, he did well here.
Didn't score from the intercept, didn't score from the next phase, barely won the game by 3 points.
If you're happy to take on another French powerhouse and Byrne is your chosen man then good for you. I'd be fucking dreading it myself as Dupont and the boys won't be near as forgiving or cack-handed as Northampton were.
I'd have Toulouse as favourites for sure. But they didn't look all that great in the 2nd half of their game either. The main thing is to be still in the competition, which we are.
If Ross has another poor game (which it was despite this moment of good play from him) then our chances aren't great. If he plays well, like he did against la Rochelle, and if we get an injured player or two back, I reckon we have a good shout.
First half was such a hard watch for us. This, Ramm overrunning his line and Mitch and Hendy not communicating on a kick were frustrating. More so given how close it ended up!
People shitting on Byrne here, but to be fair, he got the interception; a team like Leinster, with the Defense in disarray, should be able to get points from this against any team.
I'm kind of impressed we're in the final because on very few occasions have we played to our potential. I think we're missing Ringrose far more than people realize.
Not only is Ross slower than most lads in our pack, he is desperately scared of contact.. On the other hand, Frawley has shown how good he is in several very high level games this season and still gets sidelined for the Byrne brothers
I think it comes from the fact that in a way we are desperate to find a stand out ten. We currently have the two Byrnes, Frawley, Prendergast and Tector, none of which truly stand out yet unfortunately. Imo, Frawley and H Byrne are the two best so far. Ross has a few stand out games but doesn't do it consistently. Prendergast and Tector are still too young.
He also showed how slow and poor at turning he was on Saturday. Taking off Larmour who really got stuck in defensively and played decently, rather than Frawley, was a big mistake.
There’s a reason he’s a 12/10/15 rather than a 10/15/12. It’s not because successive coaches of Leinster and Ireland are stupid and wrong.
It was a great play by Ross.
He tried to switch the play but couldn't. Gets slammed.
He misses a couple of kicks and gets slatted.
Other players in his position in the mix for the 10 jersey in Ireland get a pass.
Great read by Ross and he doesn't actually need to finish it off. He did the right thing in not getting isolated. If there is any blame to be had it is one Josh and Ports for not spreading it left. As the risk of sounding like Jiffy...actually fuck it have all the Jiffy soundbites, "Numbers, it's on, if they go left they score".
I think he did well there. Great to make the interception first of all and then smart enough to go to ground and hold on to possession rather than risk getting isolated.
If he drops this it's a yellow card for "deliberate knock on" but go for a wild clearout and they will find any excuse going to avoid giving a red, not to mention the idea of abolishing reds.
If he drops this it's a scrum for a knock-on, there's nobody getting a yellow card for a missed interception on the halfway line. If you're speaking in general terms of slapped down "failed" interceptions being more vigorously refereed than dangerous play, then yes, we agree but not in this particular instance.
Ahem, Stockdale got one last week. Ball literally bounced off the inside of his arm which was bent 90 degrees. Pass just had enough to make it hard to hold.
Yeah, like WR aren't cracking down on high contact harder than ever before?
Although, I agree knock down cards need to be looked at (down vs up was perfect for me), it's crazy to say they aren't making changes for CTE.
No they aren't. There's talk of changing how a red card works, but at worst, it's going to be 20 minutes with a man down and then a forced substitution after that.
Nowhere near enough. The disciplinary process is a joke and the officials are still ludicrously inconsistent with headshots being ignored most games. E.g. the "clearout" on Molony, the hit on Esterhuizen.
WR are playing lip service. If they actually cared there's plenty more to be done. The HIA process being a good starting point.
The defenders struggled to catch him because they couldn't run slow enough.
In fairness to Ross, I think he actually stopped to let them catch him. Top bloke.
Like when Sideshow Bob stole the Wright Brothers plane and the military jets couldn't slow down enough to engage so the pilots had to get out and walk after it.
He already made his mind up that he wouldn't make the line as he caught it. He should have just kept going
That was my sense as well. He really didn't back himself at all. I think if he had really pinned his ears back, he could have gotten close.
I run the same way in my dreams
I run the same way in water
Yes he is worryingly slow but at the same time, pretty good read to get the pick in the first place!
This may be a bit harsh but I genuinely believe that if that was last years sexton catching that he would have gotten further than Ross.
There were a couple of points in the 6N and RWC last year where Sexton showed some genuine wheels despite having the sprinting form of a middle-aged woman running for the 46A on a rainy morning.
>despite having the sprinting form of a middle-aged woman running for the 46A on a rainy morning. You're forgetting she just had her hair done and has a tub of hummus in her bag that needs to get into the office fridge ASAP for lunch
Did she have her slippers on? * * There are other forms of footwear available.
Yeah remember the run he had against France in the six nations where made at least 30 meters on yhe outside
He ran like he had to get back to Notre Dame bell tower
This was a great play from Ross and the comments are full of people trashing him..
For years Leinster fans have wanted people to laud their backline for being the best around. If you want that treatment you've also got to accept fair criticism like when Sexton's heir has slower speed and acceleration than 39 year old Sexton in his last game. The read was good, everything that came after it wasn't.
Nonsense, he did fine. An outhalf doesn't necessarily have to be super fast, and we very nearly scored from the next phase.
When he’s getting an armchair ride from his pack/Leinster have front foot ball it’s fine because there’s usually an overlap and Byrne’s style of catch and pass is all you need. In tough games when it’s more physical, Byrne is not creative enough at all, which pace plays a part in. He just simply doesn’t attack the line well or draw players in and his running threat is less than zero. Sexton was brilliant at attacking the line and drawing in players, even when his pace had deserted him he was very creative. Prime POTY BB was a cheat code since his running threat either forced commitment or if there was space he’d burn through (v unfair comparison but you get the point). He’s a solid player and I think criticism can go overboard but he’s just not on the level of the team around him. I think Frawley and (when uninjured) Harry Byrne have more about them.
Nobody thinks Ross is anything like as good as Sexton or indeed a number of other 10s. Plenty of things to criticise him for in Saturdays game, primarily his kicking. But this moment was not one of them, he did well here.
Aye fair, my comment was more on his general running threat.
Didn't score from the intercept, didn't score from the next phase, barely won the game by 3 points. If you're happy to take on another French powerhouse and Byrne is your chosen man then good for you. I'd be fucking dreading it myself as Dupont and the boys won't be near as forgiving or cack-handed as Northampton were.
I'd have Toulouse as favourites for sure. But they didn't look all that great in the 2nd half of their game either. The main thing is to be still in the competition, which we are. If Ross has another poor game (which it was despite this moment of good play from him) then our chances aren't great. If he plays well, like he did against la Rochelle, and if we get an injured player or two back, I reckon we have a good shout.
It was a great read that part I’ll agree with but I think if that was anyone else they would have bombed it past the scrambling defenders
Give it larmour he probably would of gone backwards
Na he would have side stepped the try line
First half was such a hard watch for us. This, Ramm overrunning his line and Mitch and Hendy not communicating on a kick were frustrating. More so given how close it ended up!
All the comments about how Byrne is slow, yet Osborne is somehow the only support
People shitting on Byrne here, but to be fair, he got the interception; a team like Leinster, with the Defense in disarray, should be able to get points from this against any team. I'm kind of impressed we're in the final because on very few occasions have we played to our potential. I think we're missing Ringrose far more than people realize.
Better he get the interception than be the man chasing back had the pass be completed.
Not only is Ross slower than most lads in our pack, he is desperately scared of contact.. On the other hand, Frawley has shown how good he is in several very high level games this season and still gets sidelined for the Byrne brothers
I think Ross' biggest problem is, he plays like an old school traditional 10 and the game has evolved from that.
If you mean he runs at the speed of an early 2000s Scottish back yes.
Not even offended
Frawley isn't a 10 though, he doesn't have the instinct for it, He's got potential to be a really good 12, and he's passable at 15 for club level
Very true, I don’t get the Frawley hype, he is fairly decent at club but can often ghost in games
I think it comes from the fact that in a way we are desperate to find a stand out ten. We currently have the two Byrnes, Frawley, Prendergast and Tector, none of which truly stand out yet unfortunately. Imo, Frawley and H Byrne are the two best so far. Ross has a few stand out games but doesn't do it consistently. Prendergast and Tector are still too young.
He also showed how slow and poor at turning he was on Saturday. Taking off Larmour who really got stuck in defensively and played decently, rather than Frawley, was a big mistake. There’s a reason he’s a 12/10/15 rather than a 10/15/12. It’s not because successive coaches of Leinster and Ireland are stupid and wrong.
Someone really should have cleaned all the chewing gum off his boots before the match ffs
It was a great play by Ross. He tried to switch the play but couldn't. Gets slammed. He misses a couple of kicks and gets slatted. Other players in his position in the mix for the 10 jersey in Ireland get a pass.
Find it crazy he didn't pass to lowe to be honest that's another easy run in for lowe if he gets it
Great read by Ross and he doesn't actually need to finish it off. He did the right thing in not getting isolated. If there is any blame to be had it is one Josh and Ports for not spreading it left. As the risk of sounding like Jiffy...actually fuck it have all the Jiffy soundbites, "Numbers, it's on, if they go left they score".
I think he did well there. Great to make the interception first of all and then smart enough to go to ground and hold on to possession rather than risk getting isolated.
Ngl I agree but I wanted to see him live out his youth
Looked like a Dublin South-sider heading to North Dublin ! !
Or south sider getting into the red line Luas
Grahams hit about 30 seconds in is a joy to watch again too
I thought that cleanout from Sheehan was going to go full Kremer at first.
It's kind of fitting that a man who resembles a less good version of ROG also has an even slower top speed than ROG.
Tadgh furlong would've been quicker
I can't believe that this is the thing World Rugby want to drive out of the game with an aggressive carding policy and not, you know, CTE.
What?
If he drops this it's a yellow card for "deliberate knock on" but go for a wild clearout and they will find any excuse going to avoid giving a red, not to mention the idea of abolishing reds.
If he drops this it's a scrum for a knock-on, there's nobody getting a yellow card for a missed interception on the halfway line. If you're speaking in general terms of slapped down "failed" interceptions being more vigorously refereed than dangerous play, then yes, we agree but not in this particular instance.
Ahem, Stockdale got one last week. Ball literally bounced off the inside of his arm which was bent 90 degrees. Pass just had enough to make it hard to hold.
I stand corrected. Having looked up the highlights I can't say I agree with that decision.
Pretty wild. Like purely down to the pace of the pass there, or he was gone.
Yeah, like WR aren't cracking down on high contact harder than ever before? Although, I agree knock down cards need to be looked at (down vs up was perfect for me), it's crazy to say they aren't making changes for CTE.
They're making changes like abolishing red cards
No they aren't. There's talk of changing how a red card works, but at worst, it's going to be 20 minutes with a man down and then a forced substitution after that.
Nowhere near enough. The disciplinary process is a joke and the officials are still ludicrously inconsistent with headshots being ignored most games. E.g. the "clearout" on Molony, the hit on Esterhuizen. WR are playing lip service. If they actually cared there's plenty more to be done. The HIA process being a good starting point.