Your Team this Coming Season

First topic message reminder :

Hey all,

Bored on Monday so thought I'd do a little table thing to see how people think their team is shaping up for the season coming. So copy and paste the yoke below and then I am sure that will create some discussion!!!

TEAM:

Scrum: /10
Lineout: /10
Kicking game: /10
Breakdown: /10
Defence: /10
Attack: /10
Squad Depth: /10
Coaching: /10

Expectations this season:

Players to watch:

New signings:

Other:



Ok so type it in and see if people think your team should be better or worse at certain things and you can do the same to other teams. Obviously be respectful.

10 - Absolute perfection
09 - Excellent
08 - Very Good
07- Good
06 - Above Average
05 - Average
04 - Below Average
03 - Bad
02 - Very Bad
01 - Apalling

Meas....you've given 5/10 for the coaching?! I didn't know Johnson and Holley had returned....

Tandy did well but has hardly had time to prove himself.

What did you give him Bread?

For what Tandy Ress, and Humph achieved last season with the same players in the short space of time, a 10!

If the new signings had a score it'd be 2/10...

Well lets hope they turn the five into a ten...

Have you posted your ratings Breadvan?

Predicion scores for next season

TEAM: Wasps

Scrum: 6/10
Lineout: 8/10
Kicking game: 5/10
Breakdown: 6/10
Defence: 5/10
Attack:5 /10
Squad Depth: 5/10
Coaching: 5/10

Expectations this season: Absolutely no idea with a much changed squad & a lot of first team players back from injury.
5-10th in Jeff. Good run in Amlin

Players to watch: Launchbury, Poff, Wade, Wentzel , Joe Simpson(to come good again!)

New signings:

Eliot Daly, Joe,Launchbury,Sam Jones & Billy Vunipola all academy

James Haskell,Tom Palmer, Stephen Jones,Andrea Massi,Ashley Johnston, Fabio Stalibano, Phil Swainston, Will Taylor,Tommy Bell, Tenus de Plessis,James Bailey, Lee Thomas,Lewis Thielde

Other: Interesting to see if new backs/attack coach Shane Howarth can get the creation in attack to release Varndell & Wade on the wings.

I'm very excited to see a good mixture of young and experienced players in a squad which looks to have some depth at last. Possibly could do with more cover on the wing.
If we click we could be unstoppable ( well I am a Wasps fan!)

TEAM: Harlequins FC

Scrum:7.5 /10- last season started as a serious weakness. Now surprisingly strong, and when the full 8 are out very good indeed. Anything less than the full pack is vulnerable though
Lineout: 7/10- consistent, Robson is a good leader here
Kicking game: 8/10- Nev's form last season dropped off at the end but he is still class. No kicker at 12 normally, changing with Botica in the mix. Brown and Care good kicking out of hand too
Breakdown: 8/10- highly underrated, very canny with Easter (who epitomises canniness and being underrated), pacey Wallace, hard work across the pack and Robshaw being a FAR better fetcher than I thought he was or many still think
Defence: 8/10- miss front up tackles, but up it in the big moments and scramble defence is great
Attack: 8.5/10- no sure fire unstoppable attackers but good across the board and the attack works together very well.
Squad Depth: 5/10- hard to guage but I worry that a few injuries will leave us struggling to compete in both Europe and the League. At the moment, Kohn and Nev and Brown seem irreplaceable.
Coaching:10 /10- I have nothing but faith in Connor O'Shea. How England or Ireland didn't snatch him up, I've no idea.

Expectations this season: Make playoffs, make HEC semis, find/blood/improve long term replacements at 10 and 4/5, win every home game in Europe. Preferably win either League or HEC but we will see if that's possible.

Players to watch: Ross Chisholm, Charlie Matthews, Charlie Walker, Ben Botica

New signings: Ben Botica, Dave Ward

Other:



Ok so type it in and see if people think your team should be better or worse at certain things and you can do the same to other teams. Obviously be respectful.

10 - Absolute perfection
09 - Excellent
08 - Very Good
07- Good
06 - Above Average
05 - Average
04 - Below Average
03 - Bad
02 - Very Bad
01 - Apalling[/quote]

Maestegmafia how can you give Ospreys only a 6 in defence? I think you conceded 22 tries in the Pro12 which is brilliant. Different story in the HC I know - 16 conceded.

Pete you are right some ratings are high but it has to be in relation to your competitors.

I feel that I could put some of my ratings down by a tiny bit but then others would have to do likewise.

Also I have added blurb to my ratings to justify it.

Think you're being very generous with Wasps there Bigtrev. As they're the team that finished 11th in the league wouldn't you say that there were more 4's and maybe some threes? An average team would be like LI perhaps, or Bath.

Squad depth though would be a 6, a lot of other teams would have done a lot worse in your position.

Yappy I presume he's factoring in the improvements that the new signings will bring. Wasps have recruited very well this off season.

Yeah, he does say it is predicted. I thought we were doing ratings for the new season, not ratings of the last season. That's why for Bath i've stepped up scrummaging and coaching to reflect off season recruitment

yappysnap wrote:Think you're being very generous with Wasps there Bigtrev. As they're the team that finished 11th in the league wouldn't you say that there were more 4's and maybe some threes? An average team would be like LI perhaps, or Bath.

Squad depth though would be a 6, a lot of other teams would have done a lot worse in your position.

Yes Yappy I agree if I was assessing the team for last season.

I think there is a bit of confusion on this thread as the OP Title refers to the upcoming season & this is what I am basing my ratings on.

Chequeredjersey how is Easter underrated? Your breakdown isn't underrated either.

Your defence is underrated though, it's very good.

I wouldn't say Quins are as close to Leinster as your stats suggest!

I don't think bigtrevsmac's ratings are bad actually. Though I would rate their scrum 4.

Based on next season I would probably up their attack to 6 too. Breakdown could be an area of strength too.

I think the 6/10 for scrummaging is based on the work done by Dai Young last season which took the scrum from being an opposition penalty waiting to happen to actually being reliably average. An off season of further work with some carefully picked tighthead signings seems to be being viewed as a positive.

My bad, I seem to have glossed over the title and gone for last season.

I still think my ratings are pretty much correct...

Wasps could be that good I suppose, infact if the new signings click then they could be better then that. I just don't see them managing to be consistent across the whole season, def a team to be feared in a one off game though.

Beshocked remember that 7 and 8 is only good and very good, which i'd say is fitting. Leinster in a lot of areas could be called excellent so we still have a long way to go. Plus there's no rating for consistency which is something Leinster would get a 9 in but we'd get maybe a 6.

I suppose with all the 9s and 10s being thrown about by overzealous fans - 6 is actually a 4 on these threads.

Sam it's after all personal opinions. I just don't look at the Wasps props with any fear at all. I would be very disappointed if my team's scrum don't get the upper hand. I rated my side's scrum a 6 but I think it's a lot stronger than the Wasps one.

In comparison I think the Wasps 2nd row and backrow options for next season look pretty good.

That's fair I suppose, I wouldn't have given the Wasps scrum higher than a 4 last season despite the improvements but then again I can't remember who the new tightheads are and if they are any good. I take it Big Trev has more on an inside track on that and has scored accordingly.

Sarries have a serious weakness at the scrum that you must really be hoping gets solved by the new Italian tighthead, getting Vunipolo more action at loosehead is also a must for you guys this season as I feel Stevens is only maintained in the squad as a ball carrier and if that can be offered elsewhere a more technical tighthead can be fielded and you'll be stronger.

beshocked wrote:I suppose with all the 9s and 10s being thrown about by overzealous fans - 6 is actually a 4 on these threads.

Sam it's after all personal opinions. I just don't look at the Wasps props with any fear at all. I would be very disappointed if my team's scrum don't get the upper hand. I rated my side's scrum a 6 but I think it's a lot stronger than the Wasps one.

In comparison I think the Wasps 2nd row and backrow options for next season look pretty good.

Totally agree with this. It's a little hard for me to put it out there because I'm a Leinster man and being one of the best "teams" in the history of the game we are going to have some very good scores. Even so I don't think out lineout is excellent (9) or our scrum is excellent (9).

I suppose it boils down to this......5 is not a bad score.

Simple as. Everyone should read that a few times I think.

I would have thought 6 would be about right for the O's defence as it is the whole package not just domestic or Europe but both.

Who have wasps signed again this season do you mind me asking?

Also:
for the London Irish guys, do you reckon Humphreys or Geraghty will be first choice 10 or will Geraghty move to 12? If he moves to 12 is that 10-12 axis a bit light weight in defence?

Sam yes it is a weakness but Gill still managed to get in the Welsh squad. Basically he's one of Wales' best loosehead props. He had a pretty good season actually.

Carlos Nieto may be getting on now but still can do a job.

If Stevens doesn't buck up he'll be overtaken.

I have heard good things about the young Italian Lorenzo Romano.

Ideally I want Saracens to use Cobus Visagie to help advise the frontrowers.

The blog below is an insightful look at the frontrow.

http://www.ruckingball.com/2011/05/guest-blog-tighthead-masterclass-by-cobus-visagie/

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

beshocked wrote:I suppose with all the 9s and 10s being thrown about by overzealous fans - 6 is actually a 4 on these threads.

Sam it's after all personal opinions. I just don't look at the Wasps props with any fear at all. I would be very disappointed if my team's scrum don't get the upper hand. I rated my side's scrum a 6 but I think it's a lot stronger than the Wasps one.

In comparison I think the Wasps 2nd row and backrow options for next season look pretty good.

Totally agree with this. It's a little hard for me to put it out there because I'm a Leinster man and being one of the best "teams" in the history of the game we are going to have some very good scores. Even so I don't think out lineout is excellent (9) or our scrum is excellent (9).

I suppose it boils down to this......5 is not a bad score.

Simple as. Everyone should read that a few times I think.

I would have thought 6 would be about right for the O's defence as it is the whole package not just domestic or Europe but both.

Who have wasps signed again this season do you mind me asking?

Wasps have made some good signings. The likes of Haskell,Palmer, S.Jones and Masi should strengthen their side.

With promising youngsters like Elliot,Wade and Launchbury the Wasps side on paper shouldn't look too shabby at all!

I just have reservations about their scrum. Even when Wasps were at the peak of their powers their scrum was average at best. Wasps have not historically been a strong scrummaging side and nothing has changed in my opinion.

Pete you probably think my ratings are too high as well but as we are one of the best sides in England I believe we can justify it. I have marked my side down noticeably in the scrum and attack though.

do you reckon Humphreys or Geraghty will be first choice 10 or will Geraghty move to 12? If he moves to 12 is that 10-12 axis a bit light weight in defence?

I'm not an LI guy Pete so don't have the inside track on which of them will start but I'd probably put good money on the centre partnership being Sa (the massive former RL IC) and Joseph (young England centre). Those two will offer a good deal in defence and attack for either Geraghty or Humphreys, both of whom will be able to concentrate on their pviot skills as Tom Homer at 15 has probably the best points kicking boot in the AP.

Sam yes it is a weakness but Gill still managed to get in the Welsh squad. Basically he's one of Wales' best loosehead props. He had a pretty good season actually

Gill is a good scrummager at loosehead if his tighthead can get some stability, that would not be a problem at all if Nieto was a couple of years younger but based on last season Nieto won't last more than 40 mins. I proposed Vunipola over Gill at loosehead as Vunipola is a better carrier which is the main strength of Stevens and with a better ball carrier at 1 you could afford a more technical 3 over Stevens. Gill also tends to get himself into trouble with needless off the ball antics, he offers a good deal in the tight though.

No Beshocked I wouldn't actually. Some ratings are just silly though, some Ulster and Scarlets ones I've seen are a bit mad. Do you reckon you guys will win next year or be there a bouts?

That's a good point, either Geraghty or Humph would make a good impact sub also either coming on at 10 or 12 to open the game up more

I would say Wasps scrum was better than that Beshocked in their hayday. Any side that has Craig Dowd is always going to be more than just average!

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Again thanks to everyone for getting involved, am about to run out of quota time in work but will pop back in to this later on and see what mischief you guys have been up to.

Lastly, I think Dom Ryan will be a 7. Think he could be a great one too.

Totally agree, Pete. Said it from the 1st time I saw him play. Jennings could teach him his craft. He is an animal. It would also release SOB to his best position. 6. (Cue Rory G. going mental. :8 ) Although it would be a fight with Mclaughlin. We'll need them all this year.

Don't agree on Cullen. I agree he should be spared. And with the HC Final in Dublin(if we make it), I don't think Joe will take the Captaincy off him just yet. Next season yes.

BOD should also be wound down/protected more this year, to let O Malley or Macken through. Lions or no Lions. Darcy should make way for McFadden. Macken, Conway, O Malley, Carr, Ryan, Toner and Madigan, will get lots of game-time, due to the IRFU player-management downtime anyway. All good.

My Leinster ratings:

Scrum: 8.5/10 – With Healy getting even stronger, VDM a more than able replacement, Strauss & Cronin fighting it out at Hooker, Ross solid as a rock, – we have one of the best in Europe. Need to bring on a strong replacement for Ross this year. Hagan & McGrath? I'm not so sure. And how do your replace the influence of Thorn? Hence the 8.5 instead of a 9.

Lineout: 8/10 – Cullen is slowing up, but still Mr Lineout. Toner is excellent there. Hard to miss or compete with, at 2.11 metres. Mclaughlin is a great foil here too. It's the arrows that have cost us at times. Strauss needs to work on that side more. He is excellent otherwise. Same with Cronin.

Kicking game: 9/10 – Sexton would rather run with it than kick it. But when he does kick it, he's sharp. See the 2nd Test v NZ. And HC Final. Was imperious. Place-kicking was near 90%. Madigan looks as good, but needs more game-time. Kearney aint too shabby either. Huge boot on him.

Breakdown: 10/10 – this is where we really excel. And we have 5 or 6 players who can achieve it consistently in the backrow. Healy and Strauss are animals at it also. As is BOD, as always.

Defence: 10/10 – won us the HC last year. Every bit as much as our attack. See v ASM in the HC SF and the Final itself.

Attack:10/10 – Its like watching yer fav porn movie. Makes me wet.

Squad Depth: 9/10 – 49 players used last year. For most of them, they will have learned a lot and will improve again this season on the back of it. 2nd string won us the PRO12 league proper, by a mile – least we forget. Need to see how Denton, Bent and Roux shape up. If they do - watch out Yurop.

Coaching: 10/10 – Joe Schmidt is the best club coach on the Planet right now. Ask Vern Cotter. Jonno Gibbes, the main reason we have won 3 x HC's

Expectations this Season: HC Final. PRO12 Final.

Players to watch: Ryan, Macken, O Malley, Madigan.

beshocked wrote:Chequeredjersey how is Easter underrated? Your breakdown isn't underrated either.

Your defence is underrated though, it's very good.

I wouldn't say Quins are as close to Leinster as your stats suggest!

I don't think bigtrevsmac's ratings are bad actually. Though I would rate their scrum 4.

Based on next season I would probably up their attack to 6 too. Breakdown could be an area of strength too.

I think Leinster should give their team higher stats then

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:No Beshocked I wouldn't actually. Some ratings are just silly though, some Ulster and Scarlets ones I've seen are a bit mad. Do you reckon you guys will win next year or be there a bouts?

You've said that about kingshu's Ulster ratings several times now (he's the only posters who has answered for Ulster) If you don't rate the Ulster scrum as 'excellent', which is what Kingshu give it (a 9) how would you rate it? Bare in mind a Tigers fan above has given them 9.5 in the scrum and we battered their scrum at Ravenhill. I think we have potentially the best scrum in Europe, certainly on a par with any other team.

Dom Ryan must be some player with the hype he gets!

I'd have given Ulster

Scrum: 8/10
Lineout: 8/10
Kicking game: 7.5/10 -will miss Terblanch hugely here I think
Breakdown: 7.5/10
Defence: 8/10
Attack: 8/10
Squad Depth: 6/10
Coaching: 8.5/10

That's what I would give myself.

I agree with Artful, the Ulster scrum is excellent and the only downside to it is that there may be a lack of depth. Tigers scrum only struggled twice last year (outside of the RWC/LV Cup none first teamers periods), once was against Ulster at Ravenhill (I think the weight of the Ulster scrum was just to much, our engine room lacked power) and the other was against Quins where Barnes let Johnson repeatedly bind illegally. A fully fit Tigers scrum that shoved the Clermont scrum all over the Marcel Michelin and WR.

I'm hopeful the Tigers scrum will be better next season as there is more grunt added to the engine room with Deacon fit again (having not played since December last year), Slater fit again and new beefy Bok lock Andrew joining from France. Add to that Mulipola having a pre season with us and Brookes being fit again. Things are looking up, particularly if Tom Youngs starts as he puts on more of a shove, though his lineout arrows are sometimes wayaward.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:No Beshocked I wouldn't actually. Some ratings are just silly though, some Ulster and Scarlets ones I've seen are a bit mad. Do you reckon you guys will win next year or be there a bouts?

Do you mean me or the Ulster and Scarlets fans? I cant say i have ever heard Scarlets being perceived as scrummaging juggernauts.

The good thing is about giving low ratings is that there's room for improvement.

I agree with that some of the stats I am expecting big things from a lot of teams.

It sounds like to Quins fans Conor O Shea has reached the summit. There is no more he needs to do.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:No Beshocked I wouldn't actually. Some ratings are just silly though, some Ulster and Scarlets ones I've seen are a bit mad. Do you reckon you guys will win next year or be there a bouts?

Why are the Scarlets ones mad? I've made it clear that I've rated them if we get the new players in that we are expected, and IF they are as good as promised.

If we do get the forwards in that are expected/rumoured then instead of a player who couldn't get into the Welsh squad and stuggled with consistency (Day) we'll have a hardened SA player who looks very, very physical. To go along with him, instead of Reed who was on the fringes of the Wales squad and not well thought of in comparison to the other Welsh props we'll have Eaton a battle hardened SXV player on the fringes of the NZ squad with lots of experience. We've also replaced Welch with Vallejos Cinalli who played most of the Quins HEC games so again much better.

If we get Cilliers then we will have a very promising SA prop who has been in the SXV team of the week and looks very strong in the scrum, he will be replacing Rhys Thomas - who was showing some good form before his injury/heart problems, and we weren't getting mullered in the scrum, but again Cilliers looks much better.

In the front row we would have an improving Rhodri Jones who looks very good at LH, Owens/Rees at Hooker and Cilliers at TH, behind that we'd have two strong SXV locks (with two other good locks behind them).

Our backs are very exciting, and we could field an all Welsh international backline, with plenty of very promising youngsters pushing them.

Of course if we don't get these signings then we'll be in deep trouble, but my scores are based on if we do get them. I have also only given the Scarlets Good and Very Good ratings, no Excellent or Perfect scores

Apologies I gave one Excellent for our attack, based on some of the scinillating tries we've scored last season - even with being without most of our internationals last season and for our style of play, which is attacking with lots of offloading out of the tackle and good link up play, even from the front row

Maybe I am being harsh on them. But Kingsu had Ulster attack at 10 which is just silly IMO

TEAM: Cardiff Blues

Scrum: 6/10
Lineout: 8/10
Kicking game: Place - 9/10 Tactical 6/10
Breakdown: 8/10
Defence: 6/10
Attack: 6/10
Squad Depth: 6/10
Coaching: 4/10

Expectations this season:

Players to watch: Andreus Pretorious, Jason Tovey

New signings: https://www.606v2.com/t24805-cardiff-blues-squad-and-off-field-updates

I never knew Scarlets were well known in the Pro12 as one of the finest scrummagers.

You learn something new every day.

No just that we don't feel that any other coach would be able to do a better job with our team. That's actually what the score measures, not what he has achieved

Well they haven't been in previous seasons, but have improved each season so they could hold their own (most of the time) with most teams. But this thread is about next season, not previous seasons and the Scarlets have/are going to strengthen considerably for the new season.

So your comment seems a little odd Beshocked

wales606 wrote:TEAM: Cardiff Blues

Scrum: 6/10
Lineout: 8/10
Kicking game: Place - 9/10 Tactical 6/10
Breakdown: 8/10
Defence: 6/10
Attack: 6/10
Squad Depth: 6/10
Coaching: 4/10

Expectations this season:

Players to watch: Andreus Pretorious, Jason Tovey

New signings: https://www.606v2.com/t24805-cardiff-blues-squad-and-off-field-updates

I like that you don't have any expectations for this season LOL

You don't seem to think much of Phil Davies either...

It could be a tough season for the Blues, but it could be quite good with a decent FH, and if the new Front row can perform, you've certainly got some very good locks and backrow players (I think Patterson if very good as well), and an exciting back 3 (when they are available).

If wouldn't trade COS for any coach in the world, de facto he must be a 10 to me, or else I must rate all other coaches as "good" at best. Also, in my eyes the scoring system has to represent that an attack of 5 is half as good as one of 10. That's why ratings will be high and small differentials will mean a lot

Smirnoffpriest you can't predict how well your new players will do.

From your description it sounds like your scrum is a 6 not an 8.

A 8 would suggest you are one of the best in the Pro12. I suppose every man and his dog could give themselves a rating of 8 but a little bit of realism is needed.

TEAM: Cardiff Blues

Scrum: 5/10
Lineout: 6/10
Kicking game: Place - 8/10 Tactical 5/10
Breakdown: 7/10
Defence: 7/10
Attack: 5/10
Squad Depth: 4/10
Coaching: 6/10

Expectations this season: A front row that can secure its own ball, a pivot that knows how to use his back division with said ball

Players to watch: Andreus Pretorious, Josh Navidi, Corey Allen

Thats as realistic as i could be

No, I am sticking to the scoring points, maybe I could have given a 7 instead - but I fail to see how a scrum that didn't get mullered against any team in the Rabo, and competed well, and should be significantly improved (and if you're saying I don't know how well the signings will do, then you're right but you would then need to lower most teams scores, like Wasps, to reflect their score last season) by the signings they've made/will make.

This scrum (which you seem to think is powder puff) won a few penalty tries towards the end of last season while missing their two best props.

No offence but sounds like you don't watch much Rabo, and haven't read my explainations about the quality of the forwards that have left, and the ones incoming.

Smirnoffpriest wrote:

wales606 wrote:TEAM: Cardiff Blues

Scrum: 6/10
Lineout: 8/10
Kicking game: Place - 9/10 Tactical 6/10
Breakdown: 8/10
Defence: 6/10
Attack: 6/10
Squad Depth: 6/10
Coaching: 4/10

Expectations this season:

Players to watch: Andreus Pretorious, Jason Tovey

New signings: https://www.606v2.com/t24805-cardiff-blues-squad-and-off-field-updates

I like that you don't have any expectations for this season LOL

You don't seem to think much of Phil Davies either...

It could be a tough season for the Blues, but it could be quite good with a decent FH, and if the new Front row can perform, you've certainly got some very good locks and backrow players (I think Patterson if very good as well), and an exciting back 3 (when they are available).

I rate Davies, and I think he is going to do a decent job, potentially a 7/8 out of 10. But Gareth Baber is still there, he get a 0/10, and there are a few unknowns promoted into the coaching setup.

I missed expectations - Top 2 in HC group, top 6 in Pro12 realistically - Topping the group or top 4 in pro12 is the hope.

Ignoring all the extras about in and outs etc. THis is how I see the Scarlets

TEAM:

Scrum: 7/10
Lineout: ?/10 (have to wait to see who the locks are)
Kicking game: 7/10 (when Internationals are out 5)
Breakdown: 7/10
Defence: 6/10
Attack: 8/10 (when internationals are away 6)
Squad Depth: 7/10 (based on us signing a lock and tighthead)
Coaching: 7/10

To be honest without any extra signings our scrum depth and front 5 will be quite shaky and probably give us a scrum of 6, which is why I've left it out. And depth would be 5 (at least for the forwards)

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:HongKong-

Didnt realise that Glaws recruited so many either! Cowen should be good. Is there something of an unknown quality due to the amount of change in personel? Could there be a need for some bedding in time?

Sorry Pete, completely missed this! It could well be a building year with so many new players joining, especially when you think we'll have a new starting 8, 9 and 12. I was delighted when Glaws signed Nigel Davies as I always rated him. He seems intent on returning to the old Gloucester ethos, we've had a few old players give talks to the squad and signed people like Tony Windo to really preach what it means to play for the side. Whilst I was very disappointed when Redpath left, I feel this may well be a blessing in disguise.

I too am really looking forward to seeing Cowan play. I know a few people don't rate him, but you don't get 50 AB caps for being rubbish. He's the type of SH we've not had since Pete Richards, one who is really capable of making breaks. Under Rory Lawson defences were able to go wide as they knew he would never, ever make a break, whereas Cowan should keep them guessing. He should also act as a great mentor for Dan Robson who looks to be a class player in the making.

I would hope by January we'll really start building momentum and I fully expect a top 6 finish, but you never know we may sneak the top 4...

Leinster

Scrum: 6.5/10
Lineout: 7/10
Kicking game: 8/10
Breakdown: 8.5/10
Defence: 8.5/10
Attack: 9/10
Squad Depth: 8/10
Coaching: 9.5/10

Expectations this season: At least a HC semi final or final, depending on the semi final draw. And win the PRO12

Players to watch: Conway

New signings: Nothing very inspiring at all.

Other: Fairly strong across the board. I gave no mark less than 6.5. Slightly worried about our grunt in the 2nd row and our depth at tighthead. I thought Ross declined slightly last season, and the 10/11 season may have been his peak. As always I'm excited about Leinsters young academy players. I think we may have the best academy in Europe to be honest.

Is our scrum really only slightly above average? I can only think of two games where we were under pressure in the scrum last season, the O's home game in the league (when Jack McGrath went to TH) and the first 20 mins of the HC SF against Clermont.