Irish Squad/Ireland XV for Six Nations?

finlma

Brewster wrote: »

Lads, relax. Dowling wont be near the 22 nor should he best. Trimble, Cave, Earls, Fitz to name a few are better options....

If you watch what Dowling does on the pitch he has a far greater input than any of the above in the overall game. His game is much much more than the Fitzgerald sidestep. Dowling never ever coughs up turnovers like all the others too - he has fantastic strength and always gets the ball back at the breakdown. I've seen the others cough up a lot of turnovers. Added to that Dowling plays like a flanker and has won his fair share of turnovers from the opposition. Not one of Trimble, Cave, Earls or Fitz do this. Dowling gets the team moving forward and his overall input to the team has greater results.

He does not have the same speed and flair as the others but if we want to win games we have Bowe and Kearney to finish and let Dowling add to the work ethic of the team. BOD is our only back who can creat turnovers and a 2nd man to do this would be great.

Dowling and Bowe to start as our 2 wingers with Kearney at full back

sock puppet

finlma wrote: »

If you watch what Dowling does on the pitch he has a far greater input than any of the above in the overall game. His game is much much more than the Fitzgerald sidestep. Dowling never ever coughs up turnovers like all the others too - he has fantastic strength and always gets the ball back at the breakdown. I've seen the others cough up a lot of turnovers. Added to that Dowling plays like a flanker and has won his fair share of turnovers from the opposition. Not one of Trimble, Cave, Earls or Fitz do this. Dowling gets the team moving forward and his overall input to the team has greater results.

Brilliant.....



Except he's a winger not a flanker.

Stev_o

finlma wrote: »

If you watch what Dowling does on the pitch he has a far greater input than any of the above in the overall game. His game is much much more than the Fitzgerald sidestep. Dowling never ever coughs up turnovers like all the others too - he has fantastic strength and always gets the ball back at the breakdown. I've seen the others cough up a lot of turnovers. Added to that Dowling plays like a flanker and has won his fair share of turnovers from the opposition. Not one of Trimble, Cave, Earls or Fitz do this. Dowling gets the team moving forward and his overall input to the team has greater results.

He does not have the same speed and flair as the others but if we want to win games we have Bowe and Kearney to finish and let Dowling add to the work ethic of the team. BOD is our only back who can creat turnovers and a 2nd man to do this would be great.

Dowling and Bowe to start as our 2 wingers with Kearney at full back

Having Dowling on the wing is pointless we arent looking for a hammer we are looking for a knife. Our midfield is going to be based completely on BOD taking a crash ball with D'Arcy (I just know Kidney will have P. Wallace on the bench:mad:). The ball goes to Dowling he's going to do feck all with it i highly doubt he's going to cut a whole in any of the other teams defences.

Our best back on that squad is Bowe and i doubt he ll end up seeing any ball and good ball at that =/

finlma

sock puppet wrote: »

Brilliant.....



Except he's a winger not a flanker.

He's a winger/flanker all in one package. He does many a job and can finish off tries too. Definitely think he's earned his place.

Stev_o

finlma wrote: »

He's a winger/flanker all in one package. He does many a job and can finish off tries too. Definitely think he's earned his place.

Finishing tries from 2 meters out you mean..... No one doubts his commitment but most people will agree he's simply not the winger we are looking for. He is Girve on the wing with more hair..

sock puppet

finlma wrote: »

He's a winger/flanker all in one package. He does many a job and can finish off tries too. Definitely think he's earned his place.

He doesn't score that many tries. Not the amount that Fitz, Trimble or Earls would. We need a winger who is more dangerous in attack. Though with our backline I doubt any of them will be scoring many tries.

Goose81

finlma wrote: »

He's a winger/flanker all in one package. He does many a job and can finish off tries too. Definitely think he's earned his place.

Ahead of who?
What has he done?

He has scored less tries than Bowe,Fitzgerald,kearney and I would imagine Earls.

He is an average player that plays for a brilliant winning team but in reality the only other province he would see gametime with would be Connacht.

Your forgetting how different international rugby is.
played on huge pitches,lovely surfaces with lots of space where you usually get quick ball because of the best players/combos being available.

Once its passed out wide to Bowe,Fitz or Earls with space you know they will try to beat their man and they will at least be jinky enough to beat a man and hold up for backup to arrive and will commit defenders.

Dowlings game is based on rugby league where he crashes into players and makes hard yards,quite effective but predictable.

Very similar to Horgans game except Horgan is huge,so is more effective in this regard.

Other International team will not be fearing Dowling as they would with the others.

Considering Munsters backline have been on fire,I would seriously question Dowlings try scoring record.He seems to be a fans favourite because he always gives 100% but thats not enough when you get to the top.

Would Munster Fans here think that Dowling would start in a HC final?
Cause I dont think he would ,
Earls,Howlett on the wings and Warwick at FB.

rugbymat21

What about this for a starting XV:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Fitzgerald
11. Andrew Trimble
10. Ronan O'Gara

9. Redden/Boss

1. Marcus Horan
2. Rory Best
3. John Hayes
4. Ryan Caldwell
5. Paul O'Connell (Captain)
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Shane Jennings
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. Tom Court
17. Jerry Flannery
18. Bob Casey
19. David Wallace
20. Brian O'Driscoll
21. Ian Humphreys
22. Geordan Murphy

This would make a very interesting selection of which i cant see happening in a million years...............

For once we would have a very good attacking backline which we have lacked in recent matches

Goose81

Intresting team.
I might put paddy wallace at 12 and Fitzgerald instead of trimble but apart from that I think its good.

Stev_o

rugbymat21 wrote: »

What about this for a starting XV:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Fitzgerald
11. Andrew Trimble
10. Ronan O'Gara

9. Redden/Boss

1. Marcus Horan
2. Rory Best
3. John Hayes
4. Ryan Caldwell
5. Paul O'Connell (Captain)
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Shane Jennings
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. Tom Court
17. Jerry Flannery
18. Bob Casey
19. David Wallace
20. Brian O'Driscoll
21. Ian Humphreys
22. Geordan Murphy

This would make a very interesting selection of which i cant see happening in a million years...............

For once we would have a very good attacking backline which we have lacked in recent matches

Fitzgerald at 12??? :eek: How many balls would be thrown into touch

sock puppet

rugbymat21 wrote: »

What about this for a starting XV:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Fitzgerald
11. Andrew Trimble
10. Ronan O'Gara

9. Redden/Boss

1. Marcus Horan
2. Rory Best
3. John Hayes
4. Ryan Caldwell
5. Paul O'Connell (Captain)
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Shane Jennings
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. Tom Court
17. Jerry Flannery
18. Bob Casey
19. David Wallace
20. Brian O'Driscoll
21. Ian Humphreys
22. Geordan Murphy

This would make a very interesting selection of which i cant see happening in a million years...............

For once we would have a very good attacking backline which we have lacked in recent matches

Not so sure about BOD's ability to play at scrumhalf.

rugbymat21

Forgot about wallace there, trimble hasnt been in the best of form for Ulster wheras swapping him with Fitzgerald and wallace into 12 would be a good choice.

Can never see this team appearing on an Ireland XV.

You would need to have BOD in the 22

Podge_irl

premierstone wrote: »

Its a pity Cheika didnt show the same faith when he went and signed Howell back, that cant have done Sextons confidence much good

Holwell never started ahead of Sexton. Leinster already had to go through a period when all our fly-halves were injured, I imagine Cheika didn't want that to happen again. Reasonable decision.

thehighground wrote: »

And do you really think its wise that Humphreys or Keatley's first cap could be against France in a full-blown international in front of 82K people? Their confidence could be shattered and it could take years to come back from it (think Tommy Bowe against France)

Bowe's first cap was against Italy was it not? And France wasn't his fault, it was Murphy's. He didn't lose confidence, Eddie just scape-goated him.
I think the concern about giving a player a debut in front of 80K people is nonsense. Yes, its a risk, but he's going to have to do it eventually anyway. Very few international games these days aren't important in some way, and I question the usefulness of playing aganist the likes of Pacific Islanders anyway.

finlma wrote: »

BOD is our only back who can creat turnovers and a 2nd man to do this would be great.

Since when the hell has it been a winger's job to win turnovers. A winger should be ready to exploit turnover ball. BOD spends too much time in rucks as it is.



As regards the squad, I'm annoyed that Toner hasn't found a place in it somewhere (seriously, what the hell is M O'Driscoll going to contribute at this stage). Dowling should be given a shot with the A team, which I imagine is where he will end up. Really annoyed that Boss is in the A team behind Stringer - he has been playing very well for ulster of late. No idea how Sexton has ended up in the senior squad when he's not even benching for Leinster at the moment.

Naming such a large squad is just bloody pointless.

bleg

meh it's a fine squad in fairness. i wasn't really expecting much different to be honest. humphries out and sexton in is the only complaint i have really.

having veterans like o kelly, mick o driscoll, d'arcy, stringer, dempsey, casey and quinlan who probably won't get near the squad (maybe dempsey, stringer only through injury) is good for the development of the younger guys coming through.

could have selected toner instead of o kelly or o driscoll though.


all the same there are only a few names in there that people can complain about in fairness. where's the "revolution" going to come from? humphreys? toner? don't think so.
all the players who have been performing for the provinces (granted with one or two exceptions) have been included. prophecies of doom, gloom and depression are without foundation.
the squad is picked, it won't be undone, let's get behind the players and the new coaching team in their first 6 nations campaign.

Goose81

Maybe instead of a revolution he might actually play a nice mixture of youth an experience.

Actually give us a chance and blood at the same time.No reason it couldnt be done.

Would be better then what France did and throw a load of youngsters,although they still beat us .

conf101

bleg wrote: »

the squad is picked, it won't be undone, let's get behind the players and the new coaching team in their first 6 nations campaign.

Exactly! Regardless of whether it's the best possible squad or not these are the guys we're gonna be cheering on over the next 2 months so let's get behind them and support them!!!

thehighground

Stev_o wrote: »

This is going to be a depressing 6N.

Kidneys selections dont make sense at all and i fail how they will spark a revolution come the opening with France. Oh well come on Wales yeah...woo....defence....*sigh*

This is where Ian Dowling comes in - start watching at 1.5 mins in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIryvfUKnkE

Then you have your Tomas O'Leary for this:

O'Leary's tackle on Benoit Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VUgWHDSjYI&feature=related

PS - I presume you noticed that Shane Williams, World Player of the Year, didn't get much change from these two, 2 weeks ago!

Hope that cheers you up a bit

Goose81

thehighground wrote: »

This is where Ian Dowling comes in - start watching at 1.5 mins in

What?

Where he goes up for the ball,makes no attempt to catch it and knocks it on and into NZ hands.
They boot the ball up the field and he has to run back and cover the ball to stop Donald and Toeava(I think) scoring,all stemming from the mistake he made up the pitch.;)

thomond2006

No Connacht players *sigh*. Frank Murphy, John Muldoon and Ian Keatley should have been given a shot. Would prefer Keatley or Humphreys to Sexton any day.

Goose81

Jesus,I didnt even think of Frank Murphy.


At least Keatley,Murphy deserved a shot.

Bordering on ridiculous tbh.

I reckon though,now that hes called Sexton up hes gona have to use him at some stage.You cant call him up ahead of Humphries and then not use him.

bleg

any news on the captaincy, didn't see it mentioned in the press release and only thought about it now

twinytwo

rugbymat21 wrote: »

What about this for a starting XV:

15. Rob Kearney
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Darren Cave
12. Luke Fitzgerald
11. Andrew Trimble
10. Ronan O'Gara

9. Redden/Boss

1. Marcus Horan
2. Rory Best
3. John Hayes
4. Ryan Caldwell
5. Paul O'Connell (Captain)
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Shane Jennings
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. Tom Court
17. Jerry Flannery
18. Bob Casey
19. David Wallace
20. Brian O'Driscoll
21. Ian Humphreys
22. Geordan Murphy

This would make a very interesting selection of which i cant see happening in a million years...............

For once we would have a very good attacking backline which we have lacked in recent matches

only problem with this is that BOD will not be on the bench..... and im sorry now but you must really be taking the piss DAVID WALLACE on the bench?????????? a way better 7 than jennings and prob one of the best 8's in the world and u have him on the bench??

thehighground

Goose81 wrote: »

What?

Where he goes up for the ball,makes no attempt to catch it and knocks it on and into NZ hands.
They boot the ball up the field and he has to run back and cover the ball to stop Donald and Toeava(I think) scoring,all stemming from the mistake he made up the pitch.;)

They were the ABs - the Irish wings didn't do too well against them, now did they? If you like when I get time, I can put together a few vids of the Irish backs who made mistakes and did nothing about trying to get the ball back

Dowling really had some pace and scored a good try at the weekend against a top Premiership side

thehighground

thomond2006 wrote: »

No Connacht players *sigh*. Frank Murphy, John Muldoon and Ian Keatley should have been given a shot. Would prefer Keatley or Humphreys to Sexton any day.

I read on Musterfans that Keatly & Pollock are going to play in the 7s Tournament in Dubai - which Earls, Cave etc were involved in qualifying for, its a good idea if someone turned up to play in it, wouldn't you think?

Much better for them anyway than 2 months of splinter collecting.

Muldoon is in the squad isn't he? (you know they can, if they are good enough, play their way onto first XV). Do you honestly think any of them are ready for France in 2.5 weeks time?

Goose81

thehighground wrote: »

They were the ABs - the Irish wings didn't do too well against them, now did they? If you like when I get time, I can put together a few vids of the Irish backs who made mistakes and did nothing about trying to get the ball back

The Irish backs played the Proper all blacks

bleg

from thornley

Whether significant or not, no captain was named yesterday. Were the management intent on naming Brian O’Driscoll as captain, presumably they would have done so yesterday, whereas were they intent on changing, presumably they wouldn’t have announced it yesterday. Most likely though, as with last November, it is a decision they are not rushing into it and will await the events of this weekend.

Crash

Is it just me or does that Thornley quote take 66 words to say "maybe they're changing, maybe they're not, we don't know."

I think I should become a journalist if thats all he has to do

Podge_irl

Going Waterforward wrote: »

Is it just me or does that Thornley quote take 66 words to say "maybe they're changing, maybe they're not, we don't know."

I think I should become a journalist if thats all he has to do

You counted the words?

Crash

Pff, I don't have enough time to moderate AND count words all in the one day.

http://www.wordcounttool.com/

il gatto

thehighground wrote: »

Sexton isn't necessarily ahead of Humphreys. It looks to me as if Humphreys will start in the 'As' against the Saxons and the 'A's will need a back-up fly-half which will probably be Sexton (well, its unlikely to be ROG as he will have France the next day ).

And do you really think its wise that Humphreys or Keatley's first cap could be against France in a full-blown international in front of 82K people? Their confidence could be shattered and it could take years to come back from it (think Tommy Bowe against France). In fairness as well, you are exagerating about Humphreys' season - he only started about the last 5 games and up to that Niall O'Connor was first choice. :rolleyes:

I take your point but surely form coming into the 6Ns is the most important factor? On that basis, Humphreys is a shoe in opposed to Sexton. I don't think I'm exagerating his season. He has stepped up to everything being asked of him and has nailed down the 10 shirt for the forseeable at Ulster. Half a dozen starts with excellent performances leading into the 6N has to be worth more than Sexton's scratchy start to the season followed up by not getting near a starting place since.
I wouldn't suggest that his first cap would be against France, but in the event of ROG getting injured, I would be much happier to see Humphreys off the bench rather than Sexton or Paddy Wallace.
Realistically, most people want ROG on the pitch until either the game is already won or he falls apart. And if we don't give a shot to in form players, that puts us back where we were a year and a half ago.:(