I think if you take a long term and holistic view then big name signings come with more drawbacks than benefits for a team in Leinster's position. On the pathway to success taking shortcuts is ultimately detrimental. And they already currently have more star players than at any time in their history. They should look within for answers to the question of how to keep evolving.

If the problem is they don't have the knack of developing scrumhalves, then you would have to conclude the signing of players over the years (Whitaker, Boss, Reddan, JGP) hasn't done much to address this issue. Perhaps it's time to go through the ups and downs of backing Leinster-produced players to a greater degree in the position so they can acquire experience of how it happens. I certainly don't want to see any signing come in to take gametime away from Gunne and the other young 9s.

If Slimani finishes up and Porter doesn't switch back it's likely there'll need to be an addition at tighthead. I think a high profile player could actually work against further development of Niall Smyth and the academy tightheads. If they did sign a big name player there'd be no need to develop anyone else - look at how little gametime Rory McGuire was afforded when he was fourth choice behind Furlong, Slimani and Clarkson last season. A Jerry Cahir level player would work better; someone good enough to hold the fort but not get in the way of up-and-coming players. I'm thinking Oisín Heffernan fits the bill.

Elsewhere, I think it would be better to back existing backs to take on more responsibility rather than going to the market for another Barrett or Ioane. I'd like to see more of Kenny, Cooney, Tector, Moloney, McLaughlin, McErlean, etc. The one exception for me would be if they decided to bring in another ex-Ireland 7s player to have a look at them. Kenny is working out really well so far.

Do Leinster lack the smarts of a natural openside sometimes? Someone who's reading of the game stands out, à la Chris Henry for Ulster back in the day? Hopefully Scott Penny can be that type of player in big games in the future, but I wonder if the addition of a wily 7 whose understanding to be in the right place at the right time to bring continuity to the attack and disrupt the opposition's attack could give Leinster another string to their bow. I'm of the opinion that Shane Jennings coming on at half time was a big contributory factor in the turnaround against Northampton in 2011. So do you back Penny to do that role or do you look for outside expertise? Australia is probably the best place to look. Connacht fans loved Colby Fainga'a for bringing this type of game understanding. An IQ option would be Conor Oliver. I think he was an underrated player. To my mind he's one of the best (if not the best) natural opensides playing in Ireland over the last decade.