Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread

irishbucsfan

What a disgrace/Great to see players speak their minds

Podge_irl

GerM wrote: »

Little bit ill judged. That comment will do him little good in the eyes of the coaching staff. Stops short of criticising the call but he's clearly and understandably p*ssed with the decision.

Little bit ill judged, but if he's not getting called up to the squad now then he probably figures he's never going to under the current management anyway.

JRant

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

JRant wrote: »

Think your on to something there. I wouldn't be surprised if Deccie named this team for Scotland

1-Healy
2-Best
3-Ross
4-DOC
5-Ryan
6-Ferris
7-POM
8-Heaslip

9-TOL
10-ROG

11-Zebo
12-McFadden
13-Earls
14-Bowe
15-Kearney

I honestly don't see much wrong with that team selection. TOL would obviously be a very contentious decision, but provided ROG starts his physicality would most likely be essential. Reddan has earned a start though.

Zebo too wouldn't be a very popular choice. I don't feel that he is ready for international rugby yet (we'll unlease him on NZ ), but he is in great form which deserves to be recognised. I'd worry about him, but it would be an issue of Kidney rewarding form. A lash from the #22 jersey would probably be the best choice.

Personally I'd have Ryan and Touhy in the second row.
Rest Ferris, let SOB go at 6 and see what POM can do at 7.
Reddan desrves a shot and I'd have Marshall/Boss on the bench. There's no way TOL should be in the squad.
Resting Sexton could be an option but I think he'll want to start. Then again ROG will want a game so it'll be close.
I'd also get Luke in somewhere as he can bring a bit of sparkle.
Is Zebo ready defensively? I don't think so and D. Kearney has been doing his stuff on a more consistant basis.

Having said that bar TOL and DOC I'd have no real problem if that was the team.

Teferi

Clegg wrote: »

Looks like Dan Tuohy isn't going to be involved with Ireland at all. He doesn't sound too happy about it either.

http://twitter.com/#!/dan_tuohy

Oof. Bad move by him. Should have just been magnanimous about it, at least in public. Wouldn't be surprised if he is told to take that down.

Clegg

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't blame him. Though Tweeting about it probably not the most productive approach.

He must but wondering what he has to do to get a chance with Ireland. I'd rate him higher than DOC and Mc Carthy.

I'm not sure what Kidney is thinking with his selections anymore.

Hype710

That's an absolute joke.

POC
Ryan
Tuohy
McCarthy
Toner
.
.
.
DOC
MOD
Cullen

Would be how I see the current crop of second rows. Anyone see it differently?

JRant

Podge_irl wrote: »

Little bit ill judged, but if he's not getting called up to the squad now then he probably figures he's never going to under the current management anyway.

Agree, it's not like they're going to be picking him any time soon either way.

d-gal

Clegg wrote: »

He must but wondering what he has to do to get a chance with Ireland. I'd rate him higher than DOC and Mc Carthy.

I'm not sure what Kidney is thinking with his selections anymore.

MCarthy over Tuohy is a very tight call. McCarthy has played unreal for Connacht and has deservingly got a call up. Him and Tuohy are different players but Mccarthy can operate a lineout much better and has a far superior engine. Tuohy shines as a ball carrier and a classy tackler. Against the Scots I wouldn't mind McCarthy and DOC starting and Ryan coming on late for impact. DOC offers nothing from the bench but can give a good half of hard graft.
DOC again is all about 'experience' for Kidney. I'd rate Tuohy better but it's not like DOC is a bad player. It is a position we have serious depth in. Hell even looks at the u20s of Qualter and Henderson, serious talent

questforfit

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't blame him. Though Tweeting about it probably not the most productive approach.

Why not?

Anyone with a bit of common sense can see that its a joke that this man isn't first choice. The fact that Kidney sees him as 5th choice beggers belief.

He is obviously fed up with Kidney alongside anyone else who isn't a Kidney fan-boy. His selections are becoming a bad joke.

O'Callaghan starting,
no Fitzgerald despite being form winger
no Touhy despite being form second row
Reddan not starting despite being form scrum half
Starting TOL for a year even though he was abysmal
Refusing to play Healy until Horan got injured
Refusing to play Ross before Hayes and Buckley got injured
Consistently starting Buckley and Hayes
Not starting O'Brien in any meaningful games until Ferris got injured
Putting the poorly performing Leamy ahead of O'Brien
His consistent selection of MOD for a long period
Dropping Cullen after being the stand out player against France and Italy for a poorly performing O'Callaghan
Starting Murray and O'Gara in the QF of the World Cup
Starting Earls over Trimble in the WC when Trimble was in sensational form.

This is a manager who doesn't start on form. This is a manager who has consistently started Munster players ahead of players from other provinces who are in better form. This is a manager who won't drop the likes of Hayes, Horan and Buckley until injury but who has no problem dropping Fitzgerald, Trimble, D'arcy, Sexton, Kearney, Cullen and Heaslip.

Kidney has only ever dropped 2 Munster players voluntarily (i.e not initially through injury) those players are O'Gara and O'Leary when both were playing atrocious and even then he did it kicking and screaming. (and now TOL is back in the squad ahead of Marshall)

Oh Kidney.

Benny Cake

Clegg wrote: »

Looks like Dan Tuohy isn't going to be involved with Ireland at all. He doesn't sound too happy about it either.

http://twitter.com/#!/dan_tuohy

Stupid, if understandable, from Tuohy. Not quite in Neil Bests league, but brainless carry-on nonetheless...

Benny Cake

Benny Cake wrote: »

Stupid, if understandable, from Tuohy. Not quite in Neil Bests league, but brainless carry-on nonetheless...

What are you on about?

Is he supposed to say "glad I wasn't picked, go get em Mike!"

Get a grip people

Benny Cake

Deleted User wrote: »

What are you on about?

Is he supposed to say "glad I wasn't picked, go get em Mike!"

Get a grip people

Tuohy obviously wants to play for his country so his frustration is understandable. However, going public in the manner he did is not the way to go about his business. It will do him no favours in the long run. He's involved in the extended Irish squad so he should have approached Kidney in private and questioned his decision one-to-one. That's my 2 cents anyway.

ongarite

Some nice highlights of the Ireland - Scotland game from 2004 on Against The Head. BOD's haircut was horrific.

Man we played some great flowing rugby then under EOS back then.

twinytwo

Why we cant do what the all blacks do

Someone looks like the can contribute to the national team.... give them a shot... if it dosent work out no real harm done.

There is no reason why the like of marshall and henry for example arnt played... we already know what every other half decent sh/8 in the country brings to the table.

Giving heaslip a rest for a game and playing henry( no need to jump down my throat becuase im using heaslip as an example) isnt exactly going to break the bank.

MLC61

Benny Cake wrote: »

Stupid, if understandable, from Tuohy. Not quite in Neil Bests league, but brainless carry-on nonetheless...

Is it no longer refreshing to have a player speak their mind rather than the normal run of the mill reaction?

twinytwo

ongarite wrote: »

Some nice highlights of the Ireland - Scotland game from 2004 on Against The Head. BOD's haircut was horrific.

Man we played some great flowing rugby then under EOS back then.

I reckon if we could get conor o shea as head, EOS as backs and axel as forwards we might finaly sort our sh!t out

evil_seed

All the people slighting Macca clearly have not seen him play.

He is consistently Connachts outstanding player every game.

He runs the lineout, is a good ball carrier and is great in defence. He is very good at the smother tackle that is the favoured defensive tactic in the Irish camp.

As a Connacht fan that might come across as biased but I have seen a lot of Tuohy as well. There is not much difference between the two lads in fairness. Tuohy is unlucky to not be there in the 1st place.

Benny Cake

MLC61 wrote: »

Is it no longer refreshing to have a player speak their mind rather than the normal run of the mill reaction?

Quite the opposite in fact. I posted here only yesterday in defence of another Irish player speaking his mind. Like I said above, I fail to see what good can come of Tuohys comment & would fear it can only further damage his chances.

RoundBox11

Tuohy's tweet is confusing me because as far as the public knows McCarthy has only been called up to the squad, which Tuohy is already in. So why would Tuohy suggest that McCarthy is being picked over him? I mean they had to call up a 2nd row either way so it was gona be McCarthy or Toner... Doesnt mean they are going to get picked against scotland.

This suggests that the players have been told whose playing this weekend and Tuohy isn't one of them. Just speculation but if this is true Tuohy would be in a lot of trouble for speaking out about the selection before the team has actually been announced....

evil_seed

evil_seed wrote: »

All the people slighting Macca clearly have not seen him play.

He is consistently Connachts outstanding player every game.

He runs the lineout, is a good ball carrier and is great in defence. He is very good at the smother tackle that is the favoured defensive tactic in the Irish camp.

As a Connacht fan that might come across as biased but I have seen a lot of Tuohy as well. There is not much difference between the two lads in fairness. Tuohy is unlucky to not be there in the 1st place.

They should both be involved. Definitely.

McCarthy's only cap so far saw him put in a really solid performance against Scotland last year. He'd be an ideal swap for POC as he marshalls a pack well. Ryan will grunt away for 60-80 minutes no problem, as would Tuohy. All three would be worth a start tbh.

DOC is an undroppable though. EOS legacy lives on

Redsock

Don't blame big dan. Hugely frustrating for him I am sure to have kidney continually overlook him when he is playing so well. Don't think it will harm his chances of getting picked by a coach who seems to have his own selection 'criteria', which he doesn't fit.

Zzippy

McCarthy was clearly in pole position as he was involved with the squad last week and wasn't released for Connacht's game, whereas Tuohy was released to play for Ulster. Not much between them but to me McCarthy has been playing at a very high level of performance for the last 2/3 seasons, Tuphy has emerged more recently as a serious prospect, so his experience probably shaded it.

Hagz

I just can't understand why you shun a 26yr old Dan Tuohy who is in the form of his life in favor of a 30yr old McCarthy who is arguably(apparently on this forum although not in my opinion) below him. It absolutely adds nothing to Ireland in the long run in my opinion.

CatFromHue

POC's tackling stats alone will be a huge loss to the team. According to ESPN over the three games he's made 39 tackles.

tolosenc

How exactly is Dan Tuohy tweeting that any worse than ROG's winge-fest for the cameras at the World Cup? At least Tuohy is comfortably better than guys who are being picked ahead of him!

MungBean

What did Tuohy say ? I think its been deleted because I dont see anything on his timeline worth talking about.

athtrasna

d-gal wrote: »

Well he is away in NZ and he was in the training squad so would be a bit odd if TOL just leapfrogged him for no reason. As I said TOL is not one of Kidney's favourites

I was told by a reliable source that his Dad is unwell and there's no confirmed return to Ireland date.

tolosenc

MungBean wrote: »

What did Tuohy say ? I think its been deleted because I dont see anything on his timeline worth talking about.

It's the fairly innocuous one about how he can't say what he wants.

Fireball07

tolosenc wrote: »

It's the fairly innocuous one about how he can't say what he wants.

Yeah, I thought it had been deleted tbh.


Probably shouldn't have said it, and just said something about how he's disappointed but it's hardly the end of the world.