What is the point of C Jowett etc?

[SkibRed]

This post is not a wind up for any lurking Leinster supporters but what on earth is point of Jowett and Finnegan? They are abosolutely appalling players and its kills me to think they IRFU are paying these gimps to play in this country. I do not believe there are no up and coming young players in Leinster who are any worse then this pair of wasters. With the exception of Contepomi, Leinsters foreign players are a joke. How can it benefit Irish rugby that Willis has now been forgotton to make way for the semi-retired Whitaker? That lad from the Cooke Islands is a joke aswell. Recruited to help with the scrum?? You have to laugh.

On another note, how on earth did Jowett get a work permit to work here. Disgraceful.

The Kearney and Lewis situation is also absolutely ridiculous.

[Cathal]

Willis is injured, some shoulder problem I think and out till the summer.

[SkibRed]

Thats a shame, to be honest he looks a better player then Whitaker.

[i_like_cake]

Willis is some player alright.. great prospect... good luck with the rehab buddy...

@@@@SPAN ="post">As for poor Rob Kearney - the kid's confidence must be shot by now. Dreadful performance.
ROG really targeted him successfully... maybe we can lure him down to Munster next year or the year after when Keogh returns home...smileys/wink.gif@@@@/SPAN>

[Paulie Walnuts]

That backpacker is truly shocking. Finnegan is even worse, and older.While they did well with Contepomi ,when they eventually found an adult who couldfill out the forms for them, the other ones are brutal, with the possible exception of Whittaker, who has yet to fully show what he did in Super 12/14. Whilst we may have had a few that were not so succesful we can point to Payne, Halstead, Freddie , Langford and Jim Williams being resounding successes. I feel another gratutious gloating session coming on.

[thecoolfreak]

That backpacker is truly shocking. Finnegan is even worse, and older.While they did well with Contepomi ,when they eventually found an adult who couldfill out the forms for them, the other ones are brutal, with the possible exception of Whittaker, who has yet to fully show what he did in Super 12/14. Whilst we may have had a few that were not so succesful we can point to Payne, Halstead, Freddie , Langford and Jim Williams being resounding successes. I feel another gratutious gloating session coming on.


Jowitt was great last season. Infortunately he has hardly got a full game of rugby this season through injury. Remember he kept Miller out of the side last season. Agree on Finegan though. But you guys can't say too much considering you have Cullen, the biggest waste of IRFU money

[SkibRed]

Cullen has been unlucky with injuries. When fit his form suggests he's worth persisting with. That is completely different to being crap, unfit, over the hill and just here for the money.

[thecoolfreak]

Cullen has been unlucky with injuries. When fit his form suggests he's worth persisting with. That is completely different to being crap, unfit, over the hill and just here for the money.




The exact same thing can be said about Jowitt. He's played inabout 3 or 4 games this season and most of them have been small cameo appearances.

[epaddy]

That backpacker is truly
shocking. Finnegan is even worse, and older.While they did well
with Contepomi ,when they eventually found an adult who couldfill
out the forms for them, the other ones are brutal, with the possible
exception of Whittaker, who has yet to fully show what he did in Super
12/14. Whilst we may have had a few that were not so succesful we can
point to Payne, Halstead, Freddie , Langford and Jim Williams being
resounding successes. I feel another gratutious gloating session coming
on.


Jowitt was great last season. Infortunately he has hardly got a full
game of rugby this season through injury. Remember he kept Miller out
of the side last season. Agree on Finegan though. But you guys can't
say too much considering you have Cullen, the biggest waste of IRFU
money



Yes he kept Miller out of the side but that was just for the lineout,
if Miller was still around he would be way ahead of that show pony.
Lads you are right on Finnegan and Jowitt but I would keep your mouths
shut on crap mercenaries, your lot have had more then their fair share.

[Cathal]

Some of the mercenaries are there because the IRFU/Branches/players didn't seem to have much of an interest in transfering from one province to another - something I'd hope will become a bit more common with the success of the Hogan and Keogh move to Leinster.

[Old Dog]

The IRFU should have a cast iron law that no overseas player over the age of (say)30 is to be signed - ever.


That would get rid of the golden handshake brigade.

[JoeyFantastic]

Luckily Jowitt still reckons he has a shot at an All Black jersey and has
no interest in playing for Ireland (in interview with G. Thornley) then,
isn't it?

[cud_]

Jowitt is a good player, who had an excellent debut season. This year he has been blighted by injuries. I don't see any problem in keeping him around. He's only 23 and word is that if he got the chance eventuallyhe would be willing to declare for Ireland. Finnegan is a fair pont, can't see a logical reason for his presence. Do think that you guys should look at some of your own donkeys before having a go at us. Clinton Huppert, Christian Cullen, Pusey, the Storeys,Wyattetc are/were all pretty dire.

[JoeyFantastic]

Do you think he's anywhere near good enough for Ireland though? Not
as a second row, not as backrow, imo.

[SkibRed]

Jowett playing for Ireland?!! Good one!

Its a shame for Leinster as its obvious the clowns mentioned in this post are costing them games when it matters.

[Justtoby]

Owen Finegan, Stan Wright, Will Green (I've never been a fan), Harry Vermass, Fosi Pola'amo, Mick Berne and to a lesser extent Christian Warner and Adam Byrnes are doing nothing to improve Irish rugby. The only imports who are deserving of squad places are Chris Whitaker (who has been okay) and Cameron Jowitt as a backup.

All the players listed above are easily replaceable. Finegan is a joke; Devin Toner or David Gannon (Leinster man at Connacht) would do a better job. One of the foreign tightheads is more than enough. Vermass isn't as good as either Jackman or Blaney while Cian Healy is playing hooker for Clontarf and could do a better job. Mick Berne is an average AIL player; give Fergus McFadden a run instead. Warner isn't as good as Andy Dunne or Jonathan Sexton any more. Byrnes is okay but, again, no better than Toner or Gannon.

[SkibRed]

Jowitt is a good player, who had an excellent debut season. This year he has been blighted by injuries. I don't see any problem in keeping him around. He's only 23 and word is that if he got the chance eventuallyhe would be willing to declare for Ireland. Finnegan is a fair pont, can't see a logical reason for his presence. Do think that you guys should look at some of your own donkeys before having a go at us. Clinton Huppert, Christian Cullen, Pusey, the Storeys,Wyattetc are/were all pretty dire.

Including Cullen is ridiculous, we'd all have him in the first team if he was fit. Fair enough with the rest of the dodgy signings but the difference is they do not appear for Munster in important games. I agree that Wyatt is up there with the very very worst of all signings.

[thecoolfreak]

Jowitt is a good player, who had an excellent debut season. This year he has been blighted by injuries. I don't see any problem in keeping him around. He's only 23 and word is that if he got the chance eventuallyhe would be willing to declare for Ireland. Finnegan is a fair pont, can't see a logical reason for his presence. Do think that you guys should look at some of your own donkeys before having a go at us. Clinton Huppert, Christian Cullen, Pusey, the Storeys,Wyattetc are/were all pretty dire.

Including Cullen is ridiculous, we'd all have him in the first team if he was fit. Fair enough with the rest of the dodgy signings but the difference is they do not appear for Munster in important games. I agree that Wyatt is up there with the very very worst of all signings.






We'd be playing Jowitt if it wasn't for injury. Therefore by your own analysis he's not a waste!smileys/wink.gif

[The Word Is Born]

Qwalliteee Bambi, qwalliteee.

[Cathal]

Jowitt ahead of Keogh? I would doubt it based on the kudos he seems to be getting for his performances in blue.

[blackadder]

Jowitt is alright, he's hardly the worst overseas player to play here, i can of some terrible overseas players that are much much much worse than Cameron Jowitt.


What you need to ask is whether there are any Leinster U21 or academy players who are worth Jowitt's spot in the squad? Perhpas some Ladyboy supporters can fill us in on that.

[The Word Is Born]

Niall Ronan appears to have dropped off the radar completely.

[JoeyFantastic]

Ronan has played a few games for leinster A, but yeah, he seems to
have stalled a bit. Plays for Lansdowne in the AIL I think.

The big question is are there better players than the imports sitting on
benches in other provinces?

[dropkick]

Cheika is a good coach but the signings he has made are mainlystupid. Finnegan couldn't even get a game with Newcastle last year! Newcastle! They were delighted to get rid of him. He was a great player but is about 3-4 years too old.


Cheika prefers to bring players from downunder even when there are better players in Ireland.

[Justtoby]

What you need to ask is whether there are any Leinster U21 or academy players who are worth Jowitt's spot in the squad? Perhpas some Ladyboy supporters can fill us in on that.
I think Jowitt is alright but there are options if he left. Sean O'Brien (a fantastic prospect), Niall Ronan and Ciaran Potts could all come in and not weaken the squad. Add in Des Dillon, Kevin McLoughlin and perhaps Diarmuid Laffan and Leinster have some quality backup.

I did feel sorry for Kearney though the tactics were absolutely perfect from a Munster point of view. I'm sure he will regain his confidence, that's the sign of a class act and I think he can be one.

[sewa]

Leinster should have tried harder to keep on to Shane Jennings. He is a quality back row.

[Old Dog]

Leinster should have tried harder to keep on to Shane Jennings. He is a quality back row.





smileys/biggrin.gif

[epaddy]

Leinster should have tried harder to keep on to Shane Jennings. He is a quality back row.






If only he would come back

[danthefan]

Pitout and Connolly were 2 more excellent imports.

Basically, neither province can moan about eithers imports, we both have our share of crap ones, so shush.

[toomey]

Finnegan & Wright are in your first 22 on a constant basis though. They are so bad it`s unreal. Half the east terrace wre actually pissing themselves at Finnegan on Wednesday. He didn`t have the legs to retreat from a kick and just looked lost for the time he was on.


Fat Boy Wright just can`t scrummage. The problem with Leinster is they don`t try to develop props from around the province. peter Bracken from Tullamore,paraic Brennan fro carlow are two decent players who could have done a job given the chance. A tough hard nosed prop won`t be unearthed in dublin but could be in Tullow,Delvin or Tullamore given the right support.

[Cathal]

We've learned from our poor imports in previous years, Connolly was here on a 6 month contract and Pitout was only here on a year contact.

That being said, I understand the reasoning behind signing Finnegan (and Wyatt in our case) but neither has worked out. In our case he's only involved now because MOD is injured, would rather see DR or Madigan get a go.

[Point]

Finnegan & Wright are in your first 22 on a constant basis though. They are so bad it`s unreal. Half the east terrace wre actually pissing themselves at Finnegan on Wednesday. He didn`t have the legs to retreat from a kick and just looked lost for the time he was on.


Fat Boy Wright just can`t scrummage. The problem with Leinster is they don`t try to develop props from around the province. peter Bracken from Tullamore,paraic Brennan fro carlow are two decent players who could have done a job given the chance. A tough hard nosed prop won`t be unearthed in dublin but could be in Tullow,Delvin or Tullamore given the right support.





Brennan looked to have good potential in his brief appearances for Munster. I was surprised he disappeared from the scene.

[neiljung]

Pitout and Connolly were 2 more excellent imports.

Basically, neither province can moan about eithers imports, we both have our share of crap ones, so shush.



Not forgetting Bowman the 2 Storeys etc. etc. I would say in fairness to Kidney though that Pitout & Connolly were bought to fill gaps in the squad rather than to beome 1st teamers. Something that Connolly didn't too bad a job for the first half of last season.
Another thing I do have a lot of respect for with Kidney is his willingness to drop a foreign import/ new signingwho isn't performing. It's something Cheika could prob learn from judging by the ongoing playing of Finnegan ahead of Keogh.

[danthefan]

Wright is certainly on a short term contract, Finnegan is 1 year too I think, and Jowitt was on either a 1 or 2 year contract but he certainly justified getting it renewed to play this season with his performances last year. He's been poor this season I'll admit, but he's been injured and had little game time. Hopefully Finnegan will pass his experience onto the younger players, and I also know he is (was at least) doing some caoching for someone or other.

And as for filling gaps, exactly what is Stan Wright doing? I'm sure Munster could have thrown some completely inexperienced youngster into the positions Pitout and Connolly were playing in too.

[Cathal]

I recall reading that Newcastle are paying a chunk of Finnegan's wages so, at the time at least, it was a decent enough signing.

[danthefan]

I recall reading that Newcastle are paying a chunk of Finnegan's wages so, at the time at least, it was a decent enough signing.


I don't have too big a problem with the actual signing, especially if Newcastle were paying to get rid of him, but I do have issues with the way he's being used now. He should never start a game, unless the need is absolutely dire.

[Cathal]

Agreed, by all means have him around and passing on skills etc. but he's not a good enough player now (due to age/condition/whatever) to start, certainly not when you have Keogh there.

[dropkick]

Finnegan had a good game when he came on, onSunday. He can only last 40 min though.

The IRFU should have a cast iron law that no overseas player over the age of (say)30 is to be signed - ever.


That would get rid of the golden handshake brigade.





Oh crap I agree with the old git on something, even the age he's said. It should be set in stone.

The problem with Finnegan is he wasn't a true great player. Very good at his style at international standard but I wouldn't look at him as a Jim Williams who can pass on and coach experience and skills. I also think he's on a retirement tour and his legs are shot. To be honest (andit's not a dig) watching MOK running around (and in many cases I've seen having to stop for breath and amble slowly) he looks like his legs are going the same way.

[cud_]

The problem with Finnegan is he wasn't a true great player. Very good at his style at international standard but I wouldn't look at him as a Jim Williams who can pass on and coach experience and skills. I also think he's on a retirement tour and his legs are shot. To be honest (andit's not a dig) watching MOK running around (and in many cases I've seen having to stop for breath and amble slowly) he looks like his legs are going the same way.


Did you watch the last stand? Charged down 3 kicks. First on several chases. I thought Keogh was excellent, but in my opinion, O'Kelly was man of the match.


As for Finnegan, at one time he was the best 6 in the world. Maybe he won't be coach material, and his value to Leinster is still questionable. But his credentials as a one time world class player are surelyindisputable.

[cud_]

The problem with Finnegan is he wasn't a true great player. Very good at his style at international standard but I wouldn't look at him as a Jim Williams who can pass on and coach experience and skills. I also think he's on a retirement tour and his legs are shot. To be honest (andit's not a dig) watching MOK running around (and in many cases I've seen having to stop for breath and amble slowly) he looks like his legs are going the same way.


Did you watch the last stand? Charged down 3 kicks. First up on several chases. Tackled loads and carried well. I thought Keogh was excellent, but in my opinion, O'Kelly was man of the match.


As for Finnegan, at one time he was the best 6 in the world. Maybe he won't be coach material, and his value to Leinster is still questionable. But his credentials as a one time world class player are surelyindisputable.

Cud, I didn't say MOK was completely gone I just said that at times he's looked as shot in the legs in his running as Finnegan.


I had this argument before about Finnegan, I didn't rate him as world class. Top international fair enough. But I would rate Richard Hill as a better player from the same period. Hill was world class, Finnegan wasn't as versatile or cerebral a player - just my opinion.

[SkibRed]

The reviews of O'Kelly's performances on this site are way off the mark most times. You'd have to wonder what goes on in some peoples heads sometimes.

I also think Dempsey gets treated very unfairly here. There is very little between himself and Payne if we are all honest.

[danthefan]

cud that's exactly what I was thinking too around the end of the game, MOK was my man of the match. He made plenty of hard yards too.

[spinner]

The IRFU should have a cast iron law that no overseas player over the age of (say)30 is to be signed - ever.


That would get rid of the golden handshake brigade.





Oh crap I agree with the old git on something, even the age he's said. It should be set in stone.





smileys/lol.gifsmileys/lol.gifsmileys/lol.gif

[RobbieG]

The reviews of O'Kelly's performances on this site are way off the mark most times. You'd have to wonder what goes on in some peoples heads sometimes.

I also think Dempsey gets treated very unfairly here. There is very little between himself and Payne if we are all honest.



Post of the year...smileys/thumb-up.gifsmileys/lol.gif

[sewa]

I've always rated Dempsey so would agree with that part but Mal has been in decline for years now. Look at the half arsed attempted tacklesin the semi and the england game last year. He was out on his legs and TBH having been their myself many times I am in a good position to judge smileys/wink.gif.

I'm with Sewa on both counts. I've been supporting Dempsey on here and other sites so no issue with anyone saying he doesn't get a fair go. I've also no problem saying MOK has been a top notch player over the years. What I'm saying is that his legs look heavy at times, he looks like he's blowing at times. This may be more at international level and it may be he's coming to a Cracker stage of not being up to full 80 for every game, especially the faster pace of international and HEC matches, and gradually he's going to become a 60 minute man, then a bench man. At his age, at this stage in his career etc that's not a surprise. As with Sewa I'm not making this up I'm going purely on the performances I've seen and comparing to the performances I've seen from him over the years (I've seen a lot of MOK for Ireland and quite a bit for Leinster over past 10 years or so).


He looks like he struggles with faster paced games and has looked heavy legged at times. That's not to say he's finished just the signs are there that he may be coming to the end of being able to do 80 minutes week in week out at top level.