JM2K6 wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:27 pm
PornDog wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:14 pm
You buying into the whole "everything is so unfair" narrative as well then?
No, I'm responding to the "will make the task a lot more difficult" post which made it sound like a disaster. Ngatai is a superb player with a load of Champions Cup experience.
Fair enough, though there's no question that losing Henshaw is a loss, no matter who you're bringing in. The fact Ngatai hasn't played since January adds to that loss. So while I would absolutely agree that the task is made more difficult, maybe I wouldn't have added the "a lot" to the statement.
Tichtheid wrote: Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:47 pm
Professional team sport isn't fair, to the victor go the spoils etc. Success brings in extra money via prize money. It also attracts more coverage and exposure which brings in the better players and sponsorship etc.
When you have a team like Leinster underpinned by a schools system that looks like it rivals that in South Africa, it makes it all the easier.
It's not unfair, but it's not a level playing field either.
Just as an aside, and apopros of nowt, I seem to recall from the old New Year's Day sprints in Edinburgh, before Athletics went open they used to handicap professional races by having different starting points.
Success does most definitely bring more money, but Leinster's success amounts to one European title in 11 years. The Celtic/Magners/Pro whatever has hardly been a huge money generator (especially compared to the Premiership and Top14s income generating ability) - hence its yet another transformation into the URC, which Leinster again have not yet won.
While not meaning to undermine the great work done in the Leinster Schools system, I think it is also massively over stated and frankly used as an excuse to explain away failures in other teams/regions/provinces. If kids were coming out of it as 'ready made professionals' then our underage teams would be dominated by Leinster players (they're not - least not by much more than demographics would ordinarily suggest) and our underage teams would be wiping the floor with our rivals - instead of shipping huge losses to both England and France which our u18s recently did.
It also does a huge disservice to the development officers and coaches that take these promising young players and mould them into the players that come out of the other side of the Leinster production line. It is at this stage where the real difference is and where much fo the credit deserves to be placed. It is also the most easily replicable for other sides (as easy as getting great development officers and coaches is, that is).
The primary source of Leinster's 'unfair advantage' though has nothing to do with schools, home advantage or overall budget, but lies in the fact that we pay our players significantly less than what the top players earn elsewhere - so we can invest those funds in better squads. Including England payments Itoje and Farrell earn over £1M per year, while our very top players are earning around €650k.
Development. Coaching. Management.
Leinstertainment!
Lemsip.
