Next Leinster Coach

First topic message reminder :

Assuming Joe Schmidt takes on the Ireland job who do Leinster fans want to see installed as coach?

Mike Ruddock is a former Leinster coach who has just led Landowne to be AIL Champions. Bernard Jackman is doing very well as defence coach for Grenoble and Jono Gibbes has been a superb forwards coach since joining Leinster way back under Cheika.

Any other names come to mind? Les Kiss could find himself out of a job. Would he be welcome?

Nope not yet fly but he's massive favourite. He better not get rid of Gibbes.

Don't you think Jono Gibbes will be coaching the Ireland pack this time next season?

Could well be Notch. Didn't think of that.

I think thats probably the only thing holding up an announcement of Schmidt. I would say he's signed on and we're waiting on his backroom team to get firmed up. Doubtless there's plenty of horsetrading going on between Leinster and the IRFU right now.

I hope the rest of you appreicate the sacrifices Leinster are making for the Irish cause!

What next? Another Province comes up with the bright idea of calling the RDS their home??? Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating there; that'd never happen. But these a trying times for the selfless Ladyboys.....

Notch wrote:Good for Leinster. Not that there is any difference in the quality the two sides require.

We tend to exaggerate our importance in the grand scheme of things. We don't get the big names in the provinces, never have- what we do do is get guys on the way up. O'Connor actually has a similar profile and reputation to Schmidt when he started at Leinster.

You want a coach of Joe Schmidts quality in 2013- universally respected and sought after in the test arena. But you got Schmidt when he was a talented coach without much experience and reputation. I remember well the legions of Leinster fans queueing up to say "Who the f*ck is this guy?" when you lost a few games to start with. In terms of the budget you have to spend and the candidates you have the ability to attract your best bet is to look for someone like Schmidt in 2010- technically solid and knowledgable, talented and hungry to make his name.

I think thats much smarter than going after a marquee coach who will demand much, much, much more money, treat the job as a chance to put his methods in the shop window rather than working with the players to develop a style that suits the team and drop you like yesterdays news the second a vacancy for a test side comes up.

Well the important thing for me is that you didn't hear me say that So...free from the shame of that episode... I'll continue.

The important thing about Schmidt was that the desire to get him on board was player led. The players head-hunted him. They knew the way they wanted to play, they obviously looked to him as the guy to do it...and they promised him that if he came onboard, they'd knuckle down and he wouldn't have to be motivator - just teacher. Sexton himself told him that he and some of the other senior players would handle motivation and disciplin. They wanted him and they guided his choice to eventually give in and come.

This is possibly rushed. According to Sam (and others I've heard this morning), O'Connor isn't all that great, or all that popular, or all that easy a character to deal with. I think it's true to say Schmidt didn't come into Leinster with that reputation back at Clermont.

So it's dicey and ...a little bit into the unknown in just how much time constraints is guiding the choice now rather than the continuation with a standard of rugby Leinster has always set itself. You want a side that is losing a coach to be annoyed that he's leaving, not packing his bags for him.

Notch wrote:Good for Leinster. Not that there is any difference in the quality the two sides require.

We tend to exaggerate our importance in the grand scheme of things. We don't get the big names in the provinces, never have- what we do do is get guys on the way up. O'Connor actually has a similar profile and reputation to Schmidt when he started at Leinster.

You want a coach of Joe Schmidts quality in 2013- universally respected and sought after in the test arena. But you got Schmidt when he was a talented coach without much experience and reputation. I remember well the legions of Leinster fans queueing up to say "Who the f*ck is this guy?" when you lost a few games to start with. In terms of the budget you have to spend and the candidates you have the ability to attract your best bet is to look for someone like Schmidt in 2010- technically solid and knowledgable, talented and hungry to make his name.

I think thats much smarter than going after a marquee coach who will demand much, much, much more money, treat the job as a chance to put his methods in the shop window rather than working with the players to develop a style that suits the team and drop you like yesterdays news the second a vacancy for a test side comes up.

I think he means that if he is a poor coach he might weaken Leinster thus making it easier for Ulster to win things.

You're not doing a very good job selling him to us, Sam

Yeah, about that Secretfly, I want a change. MOC introduced some good things when he first came in and worked with Cockers (Meyer didn't really use the backs). There's been no development in the last couple of seasons. We just need to freshen things up.

At Leinster I think he'll do some good things, your backs will certainly be well drilled. You may well move him on about three seasons once he's run out of ideas and you look to maintain development. He's certainly been linked with several Super 15 franchises.