The Irish Times’ Gerry Thornley and former Leinster coach Matt Williams join Joe Molloy to look ahead to Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup final between Leinster and holders La Rochelle.
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39 Comments
Annoyed we couldn't get the dream team gerry and Andy
And a big 25 stone prop…..DANGEROUS. MATT WILLIAMS …RUBBISH
Thanks Matt. Now my kids asking me if the Tooth Fairy is real!
La Rochelle score tries against them and 3-6-9-12 won't win finals
Matt, disrepectful to check your phone while the other 2 lads are chatting. It is also distracting for the viewer…if you are not interested we are less so.
😢 Sounds as if LR have already won
Williams afraid of OGara! Wtf!
Get off the f#+×ng fence, Matt. Both teams can't win.
😂😂
Ever since Leo Cullan told the media to stop bigging up Leinster they media have complied very well. The attempts to portray Leinster as the underdogs are wild.. Leinster are the best rugby team in the world. Not just club sides, they're Ireland with greater cohesion and familiarity. It's nice to see the media do their job for Leo, but it's laughable.
8:49 "It'll almost seem like a failure"
Wtf? It will seem like a failure because it WILL be a failure, catastrophic to lose a final at home after you rested players last week and lost that too.
Leinster are hardly going to change up their entire gameplan (Which has been working for them & to a lesser extent Ireland for the entire season) in their last match and biggest match of the season. This is not the same Leinster team as last year. You could see the aggression the forwards were bringing against Toulouse & Leicester. Two massive packs, similar to La Rochelles pack. They completely dominated them. Leinster are probably the fittest team in world rugby. I think everybodys going to witness this Leinster team to come out all guns blazing. They're hurting from last year. La Rochelle only beat Leinster by 3 points last year and the match was away in France which was a big advantage to them. I think the pressure is very much on La Rochelle this year. Leinster have been ticking away at their own game very well this entire season and it shows in their performances. Same for Ireland in the 6 nations and beating the Springboks & Australia last Autumn. Exeter showed when you move the ball quickly with high-tempo, that you can open holes in their backline. Toulouse are a very very good team with even more world class internationals than La Rochelle and Leinster put 20 points on them and that was without Sexton, Henshaw & Lowe. And Henshaw & Lowe will be back for this game!
Matt Williams is a hypocrate! He spend almost most of last year criticizing the Boks playing "boring, aweful" rugby by kicking a lot and putting the other teams under pressure, but now he says that is how Leinster must play! So he admits actually that in pressure games it is the best way to put strong opposition under pressure! Matt, now you suddenly are advocating for Springbok/Rassie's rugby!!! Very interesting!!!
Dear Off The Ball,
Please find enclosed herewith another FU and thumbs down for your corporate podcast shenanigans.
Regards.
If Leinster cant cope with the big guys then not looking good for Ireland in the world cup this is sicking if you were a natural you would go away from this one sided discussion with a forgone conclusion a French victory.
There’s a stark contrast between the Journalists and fans I see the journalists writing Leinster off and the Fans writing La rochelle off , surely there’s middle ground ?
If you actually listen to what is being said in this podcast you realise that Monty Python have made a comeback. Commentators on Leinster Rugby have jumped the shark. All hail the Leinster Cult.
Redmondbarry
Van der flier spends his time cheating;
Like McCow did.
You've been run over and that's what you're having a hard time swallowing.
We are stronger than last year and also a little more rested.
I hope the leinster has worked on his scrum.
Otherwise, they will have a bad afternoon.
You seem pretty worried to me, lol.
O'Gara replied to a French journalist yesterday….
Who and how can we beat Leinster?
Answer from ROG …and us who will fight and how.
We're not coming as a victim guys …… tell everyone.
Have to agree with Gerry unfortunately, it's been a problem for a long time that the stereotypical rugby fan has always been nearly embarrassed to be spontaneous and cheer towards a team.
Matt “ Jesus Christ sent me a text just before the last supper”.
Munster needs O'Gara back….
Decent referee this time round, barnsie played a blinder for Laroch last year 🎉….
Love listening to the talking heads beating themselves for points, however Leinster to win 🏆 with RoG to be red carded for attacking Leo after some hand bag shenanigans 😂😂😂.
Gogogo The Blues for victory this weekend and all the best tae Munster 🎉.
Make Ireland 🇮🇪 proud lads 🎉not like are lassies did 😢wooden spoon birds !!
They need the RoG to train them over the summer, after his loss to Leinster 🎉….
The narrative has flipped since Leinster beat Touolouse, bizarrely. Number 1 seeds at the end of the group stages, most of the team then win a Grand Slam, they proceed to dismantle Toulouse, everyone sings their praises and now they’re the underdogs.
weaksauce from matt williams, kick the ball! …no wonder he flopped as a coach. Stick to your ethos, culture and believe in yourself. Beautiful Leinster rugby will win the day!
fantastic Final this is going to be…two Top Teams…!!!
Allez le Stade Rochelais ! Tout le peuple jaune et noir est avec vous. On sera tous là cet après midi à l’aéroport pour votre départ à Dublin. Les dublinois semblent tellement sûrs de gagner qu’ils en oublient d’avoir un peu d’humilité.
Force et courage à vous rochelais.
On peut le faire !
I think also if there is a drop goal chance for leinster take it
It's better to see the Leinster favourite, we'll wait for you on your strengths and attack you on your weaknesses, because you have them…
We're going to start with the fact that he who excels at solving difficulties solves them before they arise. He who excels in defeating his enemies triumphs before their threats materialize. For it is when one is surrounded by all dangers that one should fear none.
C'est mieux de voir le Leinster favori, nous allons vous attendre sur vos points forts et vous attaquer sur vos points faibles, car vous en avez…
Nous allons partir sur le fait que, celui qui excelle à résoudre les difficultés les résout avant qu’elles ne surgissent. Celui qui excelle à vaincre ses ennemis triomphe avant que les menaces de ceux-ci ne se concrétisent. Car c'est lorsqu'on est environné de tous les dangers qu'il n'en faut redouter aucun.
as an NZ er , pick the LaRochelle team for France to take RWC in 2023
Talk about a pendulum swing. Clealry an emotional overreaction to last year, when the Irish media were downright incompetent in their ignorance of how good the previous year's finalists La Rochelle were and even who their key players were (see Gordon D'Arcy saying La Rochelle didn't have a 7, and were crap at the breakdown).
For me the two best teams this season were Toulouse and Leinster. La Rochelle have been underwhelming and shouldn't have even made it this far. Snuck past Ulster in the group (due to an Andy Warwick howler) and beat Gloucester due to Mike Adamson being an awful ref. They beat Sarries (who aren't elite anymore), and then beat an Exeter side in the semis that probably rank as the 6th/7th best English side and because they scored 40 points it's like "look, they're amazing".
If Peyper lets la Rochelle stop the game every 20 seconds for fake injuries and guys going down, they will win. If he enforces the mandate of speeding the game up that has come down from world rugby la Rochelle could be in big big trouble
Gerry, Andy, and Matt
May the best team win
I don't have a horse in this race. Even I wish Johhny was playing.
Why can't we get the full conversation on YouTube.
so let's get this straight, Leinster should play diffently because they were pipped last year in the closing moments of a game. Hogwash, play your game Leinster and win the cup
My God Joe 😢😢😢 Let someone else do the rugby please
no mention of the fact leinster scored no tries compared to LAR 3?
They did get their explosive start… To no avail. They finished weak, just like last year.
💛🖤⭐⭐ Good game from Leinster n' Stade Rochelais. Leinstermen started so strong.. but a match is 80 minutes.. second half kill them
Well done Matt !!!
Pathetic, Sexton and O'Brien during halftime.
Try to put pressure on the referees!
Bad luck ROG and Will were passing by.
Sexton also verbally attacked the referee at the end of the match.
It would be that he retires and treats his multiple concussions which obviously left traces!!! lol
Stade Rochelais beat the Irish team at home.
Hard to swallow for the Leinster man.
The poor relatives of Munster, Ulster, Connach must have a good laugh today.
Pathetic, Sexton and O'Brien during halftime.
Try to put pressure on the referees!
Bad luck ROG and Will were passing by.
Sexton also verbally attacked the referee at the end of the match.