On the flip side - the amount of Carkies pulling the stomach off themselves at any mention of him in the last couple of days is amusing. You lot do go all in on the hero worship 
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But the second stringers are winning! Itās hard to criticise sending weakened teams when theyāre still good enough and it exposes more players to high end competition. Plenty of emerging players in recent years have been properly validated through such games.
Also - international duty and the restrictions on game time make it trickier.
I think the URC offers few proper tests but the real issue is that the H Cup rarely offers them anymore either
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Dry your eyes mate
They need to forget about being underprepared then though. Itās a choiceā¦just donāt think itās working ā¦building a squad yes winning comps no
All roads lead back to Gatland for Irish lads. Rent free.
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Wait and see my friend wait and see
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Ireland would be a much better rugby country had they not shafted Gatland.
Thereāll be some level of seethe when Rog comes home to manage Munster.
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Be gasā¦ROG and POC and Flannery as a good vibes man
Will he be able to manage them from Cork?
Iām more surprised a Cork man has stayed away out of Cork for as long as he has. Could be he wasnāt born in Cork.
And tae in their mugs. Wonderful, the fucking fannies
Is there a rugby board anywhere? Is there a Leinster one? Iād say the seethe there is off the charts.
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That motorway will need to be built for ROG
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Well based upon the result itās not working but honestly I donāt see the answer in the URC. Bottom line is that none of the teams in the URC are close to the level that La Rochelle or Leinster are at. Throw any of them into that final against either of those two on Sat and itās a landslide.
Itās encouraging that Munster are showing some level of resurgence but on the other hand Ulster have dropped off this year after threatening to get to that level. The Welsh are a rabble and the Scots always flatter to deceive. The SA teams have been hampered by the logistics to be honest but they have been a good addition - if the travel/schedule can be improved maybe in time theyāll bring that level.
Where Leinster would hope to get that test would be in the Heineken Cup. Tough away games should test you. This year Leinster blew Racing away and Gloucester away. Toulouse should have been another test but were emptied.
That group of Leinster players have gotten that test though in the Irish jersey and theyāve come through it.
Who knows. Sometimes one team is just kryptonite. Maybe they want it too much or now have a block when it comes to La Rochelle.
Ultimately though it could be that itās just sport and that narrative follows the result. The amount of nuclear hot takes this week is off the charts ā¦
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The last thing the IRFU want is a full strength Leinster team travelling to Ravenhill or Thomond and putting 50 points on the locals. Sending the 2nd string and having a competitive game is much better for everyone, just look at the optimism from Munster fans after last weeks Urc victory.
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Iād say it after last years final. Cullen and Lancaster are overrated. O gara and Farrell are miles ahead of them.
2nd half was practically all played in leinsters half, fucking draining. Looked clueless as to how and get out of it too, how bad was Lowe though?
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Weāre Leinster not beaten at home in the semi last year (and this)
With weakened sides maybe but thatās just the schedule bro
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Shocking altogether