The Anti Rugby Football Thread Pt 2

Sure they’d have already paid for a return flight in case they lost or Leicester won.

So they made a financial choice rather than trying to win the comp. This is something they need to plan its not that complicated

Ah here that’s logistically a fair auld ask. It would cost an absolute fortune.

It was the most likely outcome by a country mile

There is an offshoot of paddy power insures against all these types of things

Are La Rochelle big spenders? Heard somewhere that they’re a moneyball type club and snap up overlooked players. They seem to have emerged from nowhere. Not one of the traditional French clubs at all.

Come on ffs

They’ve got money but not as much as many other French sides and they don’t have huge depth either. They’ve definitely made some astute signings alright.

You’d have to give ROG huge credit in that case. No real tradition of European success there at all and he’s moulded them into a side who’ve won the European Cup. It’s slightly concerning to hear that England are eyeing him up as Eddie Jones successor.

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No tradition of any success. Never won the french championship either

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Ah here :rofl:

They only got promoted in 2015 I think.

He deserves massive credit in fairness. They lost both finals last year and I’d have assumed they’d have a hangover from that and possibly struggle.

What they’ve done is remarkable enough. Like their half backs on Saturday wouldn’t be any great shakes.

He’s smart too tactically. He took leinsters winger out of the game by dropping his winger inside and pushing up very quickly to stop ringrose from getting the ball outside him.

Nobody has tried this in years Because sexton used to be so good on the overlap but he doesn’t have the legs anymore. I’m surprised Leinster didn’t try a few cross field kicks to exploit how narrow La Rochelle defended.

La Rochelle were absolutely brilliant in the last 15 minutes. Leinster hardly got out of their 22 during that period. Most of that achieved while they had a player in the bin too.

From a Leinster perspective it must really grate to have gone 4 seasons without winning it when there’s 11 or 12 definite starters for Ireland in that team and a plethora of decent reserves. They developed a mental block around Saracens and now La Rochelle.

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For all the talk Cullen and Lancaster just aren’t that smart tactically.

They’ve created a great ethos and built a huge squad but when teams stop them they’ve no plan B.

They were quarter of an inch away from winning that game and everyone calling them tactical geniuses (which they’ve never been really, just created a harmonious environment for a deep pool of talent).

Well La Rochelle were rank outsiders tbf.

Terrible assessment. They got beat by a team that executed a game plan to kill the last 15 mins and bully over the line. Leinster were runners up in europe and best in theor league clearly the tatics of their coaches is terrible as they set up a team to play in a way to put them in that position. Considering there is little a coach can do to influence change in a 15 minute period in a cup final at the end of the season.

There’s only 3 or 4 teams who were ever going to get close to Leinster. They’ve been beaten the exact same way the last four times. They’ve never come up with an answer.

They were blessed to win it in 2018 as well.

Its a battle between a handful of teams. They literally lost in the last minute. LRs tatics won out in the 80th min but yet in your expert opinion the Leinster coaches arent up to it. Typical munster supporter comments on a leinster loss, yet leinsters third team hosed munster but your getting joy that o gara outsmarted them. Bizarre behaviour

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Sure what has Munster got to do with it? They weren’t playing Munster.

Leinster were heavy favourites. He didn’t have the players Leinster had and he outsmarted them. It was 2018 the last time they didn’t score a try in a European game.

Cullen had no answer.

It was clear what was going to happen and arguably Leinster probably would have been better off letting La Rochelle over around the 72nd minute and trying to win it when La Rochelle would have been down for another four or so minutes.

So, just to be clear, your tactical genius would be to “let them take the lead lads” with six minutes left

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