Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread

Quint2010

Deano7788 wrote: »

Foley's the defence coach, not forwards.

Ah right. So the forwards coach for Munster is the defence coach for Ireland? I see.

irishbucsfan

Quint2010 wrote: »

Ah right. So the forwards coach for Munster is the defence coach for Ireland? I see.

The defence coach for Munster is the Defense coach for Ireland.

Deano7788

Quint2010 wrote: »

Ah right. So the forwards coach for Munster is the defence coach for Ireland? I see.

He does the defence for Munster as well.

Wexfordboy89

jm08 wrote: »

The stuff I read said his grandfather was a pilot with the New Zealand airforce (so presumably a kiwi) who met his grandmother from Rathmines while stationed in Wales.

ya thats what i read but thought i read somewhere that he could play for wales too maybe im wrong.wonder will he be on the bench on sunday for leinster???

Swiwi

jm08 wrote: »

The stuff I read said his grandfather was a pilot with the New Zealand airforce (so presumably a kiwi) who met his grandmother from Rathmines while stationed in Wales.

TBH the only "true" NZers are the Maori folk. All us whities are of Irish & British descent (Irish [Galway, Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone] & Welsh on me Ma's side, Scottish & English on me Da's).

Throw in those of Pacific Island descent, and the relatively recent arrivals from Asia, and that gives you Kiwis...

JRant

Swiwi wrote: »

TBH the only "true" NZers are the Maori folk. All us whities are of Irish & British descent (Irish [Galway, Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone] & Welsh on me Ma's side, Scottish & English on me Da's).

Throw in those of Pacific Island descent, and the relatively recent arrivals from Asia, and that gives you Kiwis...

And as nice a bunch of people you'd hope to meet.

jacothelad

Quint2010 wrote: »

If Foley is coaching the forwards-what is Gert Small doing? He is still listed as forwards coach on the Irish Rugby site?..

Perhaps he's there to translate Kidneyspeak into some semblance of rational organisation. This one is small. That one is faaaaaar away.

irishbucsfan

jacothelad wrote: »

Perhaps he's there to translate Kidneyspeak into some semblance of rational organisation. This one is small. That one is faaaaaar away.

This must be Kidney deciding who to call up between Stringer and O'Leary

Lelantos

irishbucsfan wrote: »

This must be Kidney deciding who to call up between Stringer and O'Leary

That's not half bad, we'll make a comedian out of you yet!

Fireball07

irishbucsfan wrote: »

This must be Kidney deciding who to call up between Stringer and O'Leary

Ardillaun

Does Gloucester's Dan Murphy have any Irish connections?

leftleg

Earls at 13 according to the indo

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/kidney-opens-the-door-for-sexton-to-captain-ireland-3280430.html

"Kidney indicated that Keith Earls would be the man to fill O'Driscoll's No 13 jersey next week, while he left the door open for Felix Jones to force his way into contention for the full-back berth,"

leftleg

Also McFadden hasnt been able to train because of stitches in his ear

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/1102/1224326033662.html

GerM

Interesting that Sexton is emerging as a likely captain according to the article. Whilst he obviously has leadership qualities, I really don't find myself being particularly comfortable with the notion of an outhalf being captain. He has more than enough to worry about without the added responsibilities that captaincy brings. I think that the man who is deciding to go for the posts or not needs to be somewhat more detached from the decision at hand. They need to focus on an important penalty or communicating with the back line rather than remonstrating with the referee over something that occurred in the previous passage of play.

All the best to him as captain if and when he is announced. It might turn out to be an inspiration to him.

irishbucsfan

If the strongest leader on the team is your out half then there's nothing you can do.

I've played on a team with a 10 as captain and I can't say there were any issues at all. So long as there is a strong pack leader (and there is plenty of leadership in the pack anyway) then I don't see the problem.

bilston

irishbucsfan wrote: »

If the strongest leader on the team is your out half then there's nothing you can do.

I've played on a team with a 10 as captain and I can't say there were any issues at all. So long as there is a strong pack leader (and there is plenty of leadership in the pack anyway) then I don't see the problem.

I've done it as well (albeit at a much lower level than test rugby!), I think the key part of your post is having the strong pack leader and pack. I've captained teams with and without this and when you don't have leaders in the pack it can be a very long day at the office because you are basically making every single decision on the pitch with the exception of the lineout calls. Fortunately for Sexton if he does get the nod he'll have the likes of Heaslip, Ferris and Henry/O'Mahony who can take on a leadership role.

Who knows it could be the making of Sexton as captain. I've generally been of the opinion that the next Irish captain will be Rory Best but with his injury and Strauss on the scene that may not be the case anymore. Kearney would be an option but FB is a very hard place to skipper from so yeah Sexton could well be the man.

GerM

It's all well and good at amateur level folks but I would have thought it's a very different level of pressure and responsibility when captaining and being an outhalf in front of 50,000 people. However, as stated, if there's a pack leader, then that makes it more appealing. Not just a pack leader as such but someone that will take on some of the captain's responsibilities in terms of dealing with the referee etc. such as POC does now that Howlett is captain. I do think Sexton could bring some massive qualities to the role as long as it doesn't affect his focus on his primary duty under such scrutiny. With the usual leaders in the pack missing, it will be a serious baptism of fire to the role.

If announced, he'll have his work cut out for him as national team outhalf, national captain (with all the media and sponsorship dealings that come with it), chairman of the IRUPA along with the additional training that he has to go through for place kicking. Busy boy this November!

If Sexton is Captain that means that he wont be substituted when DK decides to ask himself to give us a masterclass in "closing out the game".

Which means we'll see Sexton at 12.

sigh

leftleg

Deleted User wrote: »

If Sexton is Captain that means that he wont be substituted when DK decides to as himself to give us a masterclass in "closing out the game".

Which means we'll see Sexton at 12.

sigh

thats a bit of an assumption, he may be left on to "close the game out" as well.

More likely Earls to 13, Zebo to 15, Trimble and Bowe on the wings, Court at 1, ROS at 2 and Ross at 3 with Kilcoyne,Bent Cronin and Cave on the pine.

Foxtrol

leftleg wrote: »

thats a bit of an assumption, he may be left on to "close the game out" as well.

It's a solid assumption based on previous DK decisions.

leftleg

Foxtrol wrote: »

It's a solid assumption based on previous DK decisions.

no such thing as a solid assumption

Foxtrol

leftleg wrote: »

no such thing as a solid assumption

There are assumptions based on facts and then there are assumptions with very little foundation. The above post about Kidney moving Sexton to 12 to bring on ROG is the former. Im sure there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change", "he'll learn from his mistakes" boat but I jumped off that about 2 years ago and am much happier for it.

Fishooks12

I'd be very excited to Zebo at 15. Don't think a test against the saffers is the place to be blooding him but he's the kind of guy who would rise to the occasion

Winters

Foxtrol wrote: »

Im sure there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change", "he'll learn from his mistakes" boat but I jumped off that about 2 years ago and am much happier for it.

Ive stopped hoping he'll change too and Ive stopped watching interviews with Kidney.

I'm not a fan of his demeanor on TV at all. Really doesn't make it easy on fans to get excited for a game.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/player/734/343977/

leftleg

Foxtrol wrote: »

There are assumptions based on facts and then there are assumptions with very little foundation. The above post about Kidney moving Sexton to 12 to bring on ROG is the former. Im sure there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change", "he'll learn from his mistakes" boat but I jumped off that about 2 years ago and am much happier for it.

All the article in the indo said was Sexton MAY be captain and Earls MAY be 13 and nothing about ROG coming on to "close the game out". Lets just deal with facts and not "solid assumptions". What Kidney has done previous is previous. The guy treats every game like the new dawn of his tenure. And please stop with the "there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change" he'll learn from his mistakes" Im talking about selections here not Kidneys previous mistakes.

bilston

Fishooks12 wrote: »

I'd be very excited to Zebo at 15. Don't think a test against the saffers is the place to be blooding him but he's the kind of guy who would rise to the occasion

The Saffer tactics will be interesting. Steyn might put up garryowen after garryowen and we know how good Pienaar's box kicks are and this will be a test not just for the FB but for the back three in general. However they'll also want to send the likes of Alberts down our centre channels. I'm not expecting too much flair from them either way.

clsmooth

I'm a big fan on Sexton but don't think he should be captain. I'd have Heaslip ahead of him. Along with the burden of calling all the shots along with managing the game and kicking, I think he might be too snappy with the referee. When he plays he's a bit of a spiky character as it is and the referee needs be spoken to with care. For the same reason I wouldn't have POM as captain either at the moment (that and he isn't up to international level as yet IMO)

leftleg

leftleg wrote: »

All the article in the indo said was Sexton MAY be captain and Earls MAY be 13 and nothing about ROG coming on to "close the game out". Lets just deal with facts and not "solid assumptions". What Kidney has done previous is previous. The guy treats every game like the new dawn of his tenure. And please stop with the "there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change" he'll learn from his mistakes" Im talking about selections here not Kidneys previous mistakes.

All I said was that IF Sexton is captain, that I can easily envisage the Kidney-call that is "60mins gone, time for ROG off the bench, Johnny, move to 12".

I think if we are bringing on an out half replacement, I'd rather see us replace the outhalf with him.

The statement that is "there is no such thing as a solid assumption" is fairly ridiculous. We assume that there will be a game next weekend. You don't know that there will be one. That is how time works.

Fishooks12

bilston wrote: »

The Saffer tactics will be interesting. Steyn might put up garryowen after garryowen and we know how good Pienaar's box kicks are and this will be a test not just for the FB but for the back three in general. However they'll also want to send the likes of Alberts down our centre channels. I'm not expecting too much flair from them either way.

I'd expect them to kick a lot but I doubt Steyn will be playing given he lost his place in the rugby championship

molloyjh

leftleg wrote: »

All the article in the indo said was Sexton MAY be captain and Earls MAY be 13 and nothing about ROG coming on to "close the game out". Lets just deal with facts and not "solid assumptions". What Kidney has done previous is previous. The guy treats every game like the new dawn of his tenure. And please stop with the "there will be some who are still in the "wait and see", "Kidney can change" he'll learn from his mistakes" Im talking about selections here not Kidneys previous mistakes.

But Kidneys previous mistakes give us an insight into how he operates. You can't talk about upcoming selection without looking at what he has done previously.