With regards to Kearney his childhood allegiances are only mildly relevant, this is professional rugby. But I fear if he thinks after one season of being a key squad member he's better served going to Leinster, I'd have to say let him go. He's not a Robbie Henshaw standard player for us, not even close to it so he can be replaced handy enough..

I really think unless he absolutely hits the ground running that he'll be a bit part player for Leinster given his size and their depth, and could even find himself behind the like of promising academy players likes of Gavin Thornbury fora second row slot handy enough...

On the topic of McCarthy/Roux/Douglas..

McCarthy is a good lock but not a top tier player. He was in his peak when at Connacht and now as he slows down he isn't as consistent. Still a good player and probably coming off his strongest stretch at leinster in the last month or so.

Roux was simply a poor player for Leinster and rarely showed he had what it would take to be a top level player, no one bemoaned him leaving but everyone is happy that getting consistent playing time at Connacht has helped him improve.

Douglas is adapting to NH rugby, which is quite different to playing Super 14 rugby especially if you are a member of the tight 5. I wouldn't be writing him off so soon and generally i've been happy enough with his contribution so far.

phatguerilla wrote:

rossie wrote: Define home province?
Yes he is a dub but he didn't come through a recognised leinster school so you couldn't say he came through the 'school system' and he is a graduate of the connacht academy. If he knows which side his bread is buttered he will stay put and continue to grow his partnership with quin roux. He has seen enough evidence in roux and Mccarthy to stay put.

100% agree there, I have seen many refer to him as being from Dublin but Leinster never took a look in the past, and as you say he was developed here, working side by side with Roux who has obviously jumped at the chance to stay with Connacht rather than returning to a team that is more likely to win silverware should tell Kearney something imo.

Leinster never took a look?
Were they not looking when they had him playing Leinster u18/u19/u20 or when he was in the Leinter sub-academy?
He was offered a Leinster academy position after the Junior World Cup but had already committed to joining the Connacht academy.

Now it appears a few years later he has been given the choice of staying in Connacht or returning to Leinster.

rossie wrote: Define home province?
Yes he is a dub but he didn't come through a recognised leinster school so you couldn't say he came through the 'school system' and he is a graduate of the connacht academy. If he knows which side his bread is buttered he will stay put and continue to grow his partnership with quin roux. He has seen enough evidence in roux and Mccarthy to stay put.

Grew up in Dublin, considers himself to be from Leinster.
Played for Leinster u17, u18, u19 & u20.
Came through the leinster "club youth system"
Was a member of the Leinster sub-academy.

rossie wrote: Define home province?
Yes he is a dub but he didn't come through a recognised leinster school so you couldn't say he came through the 'school system' and he is a graduate of the connacht academy. If he knows which side his bread is buttered he will stay put and continue to grow his partnership with quin roux. He has seen enough evidence in roux and Mccarthy to stay put.

100% agree there, I have seen many refer to him as being from Dublin but Leinster never took a look in the past, and as you say he was developed here, working side by side with Roux who has obviously jumped at the chance to stay with Connacht rather than returning to a team that is more likely to win silverware should tell Kearney something imo.

Define home province?
Yes he is a dub but he didn't come through a recognised leinster school so you couldn't say he came through the 'school system' and he is a graduate of the connacht academy. If he knows which side his bread is buttered he will stay put and continue to grow his partnership with quin roux. He has seen enough evidence in roux and Mccarthy to stay put.

Douglas won't be at the World Cup, Australia don't select players who aren't contracted in Australia.

However Toner will and McCarthy may be, depending on injury. so he'll be straight into in the game-day squad if not the starting XV. He hasn't kicked on for us this season between competition for places and injuries, it's his home province, and I'm sure it's more money too. As a lock he can play the long game - and I'm sure McCarthy won't be kept at Leinster after next year, he certainly hasn't justified the outlay on him.

He'll be missed, but it'd be a good move for him I reckon, while for us there are a large number of players (White, Heffernan, McKeon, Carty, Poolman, Muliaina) that are a higher priority to keep.

There are obviously still plenty of rumours about a Kearney to Leinster move. With it being a world cup year its obvious why Leinster would want cover with Toner and probably Douglas away for portions of the year. To make the move work they might have to shift on either/both Denton and Marshall, the former a decent journeyman and the latter a young prospect who has not pushed on.

According to many on babbling brook McCarthy has not delivered on his swashbuckling performances for Connacht and Ireland since his move. This is partly down to injury I feel as last season was very disrupted for him, but otherwise, could it be that there is something wrong with the Leinster system when it comes to second rows?

Quinn Roux looked frankly quite poor in his time there and I was not keen on the move at all, but a few months with Connacht and he's tearing up trees. This isn't an isolated incident, Leinster's history with second row recruitment and development is terrible. The only lock of note that they have developed is Toner and it took well over 100 caps, several years and lots of patience to get him where he is. Doubtless they would not have persisted if he was not the size he is.

Personally I feel there's a real danger Kearney will slip in terms of playing time and playing standards if he moves to Leinster, and I don't believe its a good move for him at all, home town benefits or no. But if he was to go I would be keen to get McCarthy and even Marshall to Connacht, I think there's enough evidence in the recent past to show that Lam and McFarland could get the best out of both of them.

Thoughts?