What do you think should be Ireland's starting 15 this coming Six Nations?

Hagz

.ak wrote: »

Could be wrong but I think Hagz meant loose as in ball-in-hand and not loose-head?

Yeh I did but still a mistake, had Owen as a loose in my head for some reason.

roycon

Hagz wrote: »

1. Healy is definitely first choice.
2. Healy is in the top 5 LH in world rugby, Court is not.

more than any other position on a rugby field a prop has one big and very important job and that is too scrummage. Healy is an unbelievable rugby player and could fit in easily at hooker or in the backrow and nobody would notice but purely as a prop his scrummaging at the moment would only get a b-. he still has a way to go before becoming a world class prop but he has time on his side. courts scrummaging has been exemplary recently and i can see no harm in starting him in at least 1 game as healy is a perfect impact sub with 30/35 to go. against wales in the world cup healy had a shocker in the 2nd half in the scrum and gave away a few penalties directly leading to points. he is the future though and his scrummaging is going to only get better

roycon

RoundBox11 wrote: »

I still believe Declan Kidney will make the right selection. He's not afraid to roll the dice every now and again. A perfect example is when he stuck a 21 year old Cian Healy into the front row to start against South Africa... Talk about a risk but it payed off big time.

Likewise when he brought in Murray during the world cup.

Im hoping to see the following team:

1. Healy
2. Best
3. Ross
4. Tuohy (Although i'd be happy enough to see Ryan or Toner)
5. O'Connell (CAPTAIN)
6. Ferris
7. O'Brien
8. Heaslip
9. Reddan (Still Irelands best SH imo. Also makes Sexton better)
10. Sexton
11. Trimble
12. McFadden
13. Cave
14. Bowe
15. Kearney


16. Cronin
17. Court
18. Ryan/Toner
19. O'Mahony (Possibly try Niall Ronin or Dominic Ryan (If fit) against Italy)
20. Murray
21. O'Gara
22. Fitzgerald/Earls


I think Cave is clearly the best 13 we have and why move someone else out of position, especially given Caves current form.

We might aswell get D'Arcy out now. He's out of form and we might aswell find a new centre partnership.

I'm a bit worried about who would step up as hooker if Best or Cronin get injured.... Varley isnt up to it in my opinion.

i agree with most of your post but the call on bringing in murray in the world cup didnt quite work out as murray was probably the worst player on the field in the quarter final and had a shocker. he is young but the time to experiment with youth isnt the biggest game of rugby for ireland in 25 years. the time for that is on the summer tour or against scotland and italy in the 6 nations. murray did play well in the other matches but he had a relatively easy ride

bamboozle

my team would be

Healy
Best
Ross
Touhy
POC
Ferris
SOB
Heaslip
Reddan/Murray
Sexton
Fitz
Darcy
Bowe
Trimble
Kearney

on current form i'd find it hard to omit any of Fitz, Bowe or Trimble.

Touhy, Trimble & Cave really stepped up on friday night, Ferris as always was awesome. Earls on Sat was woeful, i just wish he'd be left on the wing to develop into a top class winger, this chopping and changing is ruining him.

spear thrower

When is the squad announcement folks - I have looked through a few threads and cant seem to find it? Are we the last country to announce our squad?..

I'd love to see Toner given a shot at a starting spot beside POC but i cant see it happening.. Also i agree with many that Cave should be given a start at centre he has been in top form recently..

Trimble seems to be getting faster and stronger as the years go on he was truly awesome on Friday night.. Well i attack anyway!

profitius

What I'd like to see in this 6 nations is Ireland making more use of their squad. A bit of rotation would encourage even better performances as well as keep the team fresher. ROG and Sexton are definetly going to be rotated so why not other areas.


Some examples:
Give Cave and Griffin a run at 13.
Theres loads of wingers so rotate them a bit.
Give Henry and POM a run in the backrow.
Maybe give Paul Marshall a run out at 9.
Give Cronin, Court, Tuohy, Paddy Wallace some game time too.


Theres no excuses for sticking to the same team all the time. Its the one thing thats really annoying about Irish coaches. They pick the same team all the time and ignore things like form. Kidney is not as bad as EOS in this regard but even he is too conservative.

Tox56

profitius wrote: »

What I'd like to see in this 6 nations is Ireland making more use of their squad. A bit of rotation would encourage even better performances as well as keep the team fresher. ROG and Sexton are definetly going to be rotated so why not other areas.


Some examples:
Give Cave and Griffin a run at 13.
Theres loads of wingers so rotate them a bit.
Give Henry and POM a run in the backrow.
Maybe give Paul Marshall a run out at 9.
Give Cronin, Court, Tuohy, Paddy Wallace some game time too.


Theres no excuses for sticking to the same team all the time. Its the one thing thats really annoying about Irish coaches. They pick the same team all the time and ignore things like form. Kidney is not as bad as EOS in this regard but even he is too conservative.

Griffin had that hamstring injury, so I wouldn't imagine he will have much gametime before the 6N. I would rotate between Cave and EOM instead.

irishbucsfan

spear thrower wrote: »

When is the squad announcement folks - I have looked through a few threads and cant seem to find it? Are we the last country to announce our squad?..

I'd love to see Toner given a shot at a starting spot beside POC but i cant see it happening.. Also i agree with many that Cave should be given a start at centre he has been in top form recently..

Trimble seems to be getting faster and stronger as the years go on he was truly awesome on Friday night.. Well i attack anyway!

Squad was announced the Wednesday before H Cup Round 6 last year, so perhaps this Wednesday?

profitius

Tox56 wrote: »

Griffin had that hamstring injury, so I wouldn't imagine he will have much gametime before the 6N. I would rotate between Cave and EOM instead.

Indeed but until EOM breaks into the Leinster team as a starter I can't see him breaking into the Irish team. It looks like Schmidt doesn't fully trust his defense because you'd think he'd be the ideal player for Schmidt otherwise.

profitius

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Squad was announced the Wednesday before H Cup Round 6 last year, so perhaps this Wednesday?

Somebody said last week it'll be announced this wednesday. It should make interesting viewing!

totallegend

profitius wrote: »

Somebody said last week it'll be announced this wednesday. It should make interesting viewing!

Depends on how many players he names... If he comes out and announces a 35-man training squad, that's not going to tell us a whole lot.
Even so, you'd wonder why they don't delay it until next week, given that all the front-liners are going to be involved in HC action this weekend. An extra week would allow DK a) to get a better look at fringe players and b) to see who picks up injuries.

little173

profitius wrote: »

Indeed but until EOM breaks into the Leinster team as a starter I can't see him breaking into the Irish team. It looks like Schmidt doesn't fully trust his defense because you'd think he'd be the ideal player for Schmidt otherwise.

Agreed - I think he will come through - he runs more varied lines than McFadden and has a nice step and acceleration needed for 13, looks a really nice prospect. He probably needs another year to get a bit bigger as well - Davies, Rougerie, Tualagi all could bully him at the moment which prob points to Cave for this 6N.

d-gal

little173 wrote: »

Agreed - I think he will come through - he runs more varied lines than McFadden and has a nice step and acceleration needed for 13, looks a really nice prospect. He probably needs another year to get a bit bigger as well - Davies, Rougerie, Tualagi all could bully him at the moment which prob points to Cave for this 6N.

Being honest do you really think Cave will be picked? I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even make the 30.
Kidney has indicated time and time again he sees Earls as the next 13. Unfortunately I don't think his mind will change anytime soon. I can see himself and McFadden duelling it out with Wallace as back up 12 for Darcy. Kidney is not going to change his ways.
The only squad battles for the 14 backs are the 3rd choice SH and one more to contest the back 3.

profitius

d-gal wrote: »

Being honest do you really think Cave will be picked? I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even make the 30.
Kidney has indicated time and time again he sees Earls as the next 13. Unfortunately I don't think his mind will change anytime soon. I can see himself and McFadden duelling it out with Wallace as back up 12 for Darcy. Kidney is not going to change his ways.
The only squad battles for the 14 backs are the 3rd choice SH and one more to contest the back 3.

During the world cup though there was no other real contender for the 13 shirt than Earls. Cave was injured most of last season. Griffin had only a few games under his belt and EOM wasn't playing for Leinster. There are more options there now.

I'd be surprised now if Kidney plays Earls in the center.

padraig.od

profitius wrote: »

During the world cup though there was no other real contender for the 13 shirt than Earls. Cave was injured most of last season. Griffin had only a few games under his belt and EOM wasn't playing for Leinster. There are more options there now.

I'd be surprised now if Kidney plays Earls in the center.

Indeed. Cave has been on his radar for a while, he had a terrible run of injuries last season. Didn't Earls & Cave play 12 & 13 together at U20 level?

little173

d-gal wrote: »

Being honest do you really think Cave will be picked? I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even make the 30.
Kidney has indicated time and time again he sees Earls as the next 13. Unfortunately I don't think his mind will change anytime soon. I can see himself and McFadden duelling it out with Wallace as back up 12 for Darcy. Kidney is not going to change his ways.
The only squad battles for the 14 backs are the 3rd choice SH and one more to contest the back 3.

I think Cave is really pushing now - its a question of balance in the back line. I dont think you can have no Earls or Fitz in there at all - with Darcy & Cave in there it lacks a bit of dynamism and pace.
The form of Trimble is confusing things in that it will far more likely that Earls will play at 13 if he gets the nod there, as dropping Bowe is a no-no.

In this respect I would prefer more of a horses for courses selection - vs Wales if North plays, Trimble will be in there and Earls up against Davies - I actually think Sexton's expansive style could bring out the best in Earls at 13 and I can see DK going for that.

Dave6858

Well I think we all know now that Earls is not and never will be a centre!
But the fact that he will be picked before Trimble (as in the world cup when Trimble was on fire) is madness, yes he can finish from 10m but he has no awareness and his decision making and defence are very poor.
With the players that Kidney has at his disposal we should win the 6 Nations even with FRA and ENG away.

siltirocker

Dave6858 wrote: »

Well I think we all know now that Earls is not and never will be a centre!
But the fact that he will be picked before Trimble (as in the world cup when Trimble was on fire) is madness, yes he can finish from 10m but he has no awareness and his decision making and defence are very poor.
With the players that Kidney has at his disposal we should win the 6 Nations even with FRA and ENG away.

Hear, hear!

little173

siltirocker wrote: »

Hear, hear!

I think its a big ask to beat France in Paris, they have so many good players and now a decent coach - will be very tough.

England are certainly there for the taking - will all depend on that first game - the Welsh regions have struggled and a lot will depend on getting some of their players fit.

shuffol

Wouldnt be surprised to see us win in Paris, when this Irish side is really up for it they can beat almost anybody on their day, I can see them been particularly up for the French game. A win in Paris and victory over the ABs are the only big coups this group of players have yet to achieve. Would BOD if fit have been the only survivor from the side in 2000?

Podge_irl

shuffol wrote: »

Wouldnt be surprised to see us win in Paris

I'd be astonished.

siltirocker

shuffol wrote: »

Wouldnt be surprised to see us win in Paris, when this Irish side is really up for it they can beat almost anybody on their day, I can see them been particularly up for the French game. A win in Paris and victory over the ABs are the only big coups this group of players have yet to achieve. Would BOD if fit have been the only survivor from the side in 2000?

ROG

bm1993

Podge_irl wrote: »

I'd be astonished.

So would I. On our last few visits to Paris we have been absolutely annihalated. We did make good comebacks in 06 and 08 but the French had taken the foot off the gas at that stage. France just have our number for some reason, just like we have England's.

profitius

France is the Irish boogie team. We Ireland see the French jerseys they don't believe they can win and so performances drop automatically. I'd like to see the coaches stick the recent 13 losses to 1 win record against France on the dressing room wall. Get the players to play with fire in their bellies for once.

Dave6858

The golden generation hasnt gone,its only starting!
Lead by Johnny with O'Brien..Healy..Ferris..Bowe..Heaslip,these boys know how to win,the days of getting our arse handed to us by the French are over. Its time for ROG BOD and Darc to hang up the boots(thanks for the service lads)and the new boys to kick on....

only one slight problem...Kidney

Benny Cake

Dave6858 wrote: »

only one slight problem...Kidney

I thought heart was the problem...

leonard7

I'm sure someone has put this team up already but here would be my 15

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Ross
4.Touhy
5.POC (c)
6.Ferris
7.O'Brien
8.Heaslip
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Trimble
12.McFadden
13.Cave
14.Bowe
15.Kearney

16.Cronin
17.Court
18.Ryan
19.Henry
20.Boss
21.O'Gara
22.Fitzgerald

My only concern would be lack of experience in the centre partnership and therefore can understand a want to include d'arcy. I reckon fitz at a push can cover 11,13,14 and 15. McFadden can also cover a few positions if needs be. I dont think murray has shown anything to merit inclusion...here comes the abuse for saying that but its an opinion ive held since he came onto the scene

jasper11

anybody been on welsh forum gwlad? my advice dont. welsh reckon its going be easiest game of the 6 nations in aviva. nice to be back on here even if it does have inter provence negativity and kidney bashing overkill

oh and apparantly healy is the new rog character to hate and dismiss is awful. he must be doing something right then .

leonard7

jasper11 wrote: »

anybody been on welsh forum gwlad? my advice dont. welsh reckon its going be easiest game of the 6 nations in aviva. nice to be back on here even if it does have inter provence negativity and kidney bashing overkill

oh and apparantly healy is the new rog character to hate and dismiss is awful. he must be doing something right then .

any chance of a link, would be interested to see what they think

gally74

leonard7 wrote: »

I'm sure someone has put this team up already but here would be my 15

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Ross
4.Touhy
5.POC (c)
6.Ferris
7.O'Brien
8.Heaslip
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Trimble
12.McFadden
13.Cave
14.Bowe
15.Kearney

16.Cronin
17.Court
18.Ryan
19.Henry
20.Boss
21.O'Gara
22.Fitzgerald

My only concern would be lack of experience in the centre partnership and therefore can understand a want to include d'arcy. I reckon fitz at a push can cover 11,13,14 and 15. McFadden can also cover a few positions if needs be. I dont think murray has shown anything to merit inclusion...here comes the abuse for saying that but its an opinion ive held since he came onto the scene

Like the look of that team, well picked, some Munster supporters might fell aghast at only poc but it's a fair pick

jasper11

gwladrugby.com be warned they are generally morons and i was warned on a munster site to expect lots of paddy bashing. lots of kids on it it would appear but best prob to leave them to it .

Quint2010

leonard7 wrote: »

I'm sure someone has put this team up already but here would be my 15

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Ross
4.Touhy
5.POC (c)
6.Ferris
7.O'Brien
8.Heaslip
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Trimble
12.McFadden
13.Cave
14.Bowe
15.Kearney

16.Cronin
17.Court
18.Ryan
19.Henry
20.Boss
21.O'Gara
22.Fitzgerald

My only concern would be lack of experience in the centre partnership and therefore can understand a want to include d'arcy. I reckon fitz at a push can cover 11,13,14 and 15. McFadden can also cover a few positions if needs be. I dont think murray has shown anything to merit inclusion...here comes the abuse for saying that but its an opinion ive held since he came onto the scene

Yip I like that team. Though Kidney will obviously pick Earls at 13, Murray at 9, D'Arcy at 12 etc.

cgpg5

15. Kearney
14. Bowe
13. Cave
12. Darcy
11. Trimble
10. Sexton
9. Reddan
1. Healy
2. Best
3. Ross
4. Tuohy
5. POC
6. Ferris
7. Sob
8. Heaslip

Kidney will pick Earls, Fitz at 13,11 respectively he'll leave the pack the same except there's no way he'll pick Tuohy he'll probably bloody pick DOC

RoundBox11

Dave6858 wrote: »

The golden generation hasnt gone,its only starting!
Lead by Johnny with O'Brien..Healy..Ferris..Bowe..Heaslip,these boys know how to win,the days of getting our arse handed to us by the French are over. Its time for ROG BOD and Darc to hang up the boots(thanks for the service lads)and the new boys to kick on....

only one slight problem...Kidney

Have to say i agree that this generation has more talent.


One thing i dont understand is all the Kidney bashing on the forum. He's done a lot of good for irish rugby. He's put together a very good squad.

If we were having this conversation during the O'Sullivan/Gatland days we wouldnt have half the quality names floating around (flashbacks to having Neil Best, Mick O'Driscoll and Paddy Wallace (as our back up fly half) on the bench).

No coach is going to throw caution to the wind every week and put in players who aren't ready or good enough for international rugby. After all this is kidneys job which puts food on the table, he wouldnt want to lose it by throwing players in all the time!

Podge_irl

RoundBox11 wrote: »

One thing i dont understand is all the Kidney bashing on the forum. He's done a lot of good for irish rugby. He's put together a very good squad.

If we were having this conversation during the O'Sullivan/Gatland days we wouldnt have half the quality names floating around (flashbacks to having Neil Best, Mick O'Driscoll and Paddy Wallace (as our back up fly half) on the bench).

What nonsense. I suggest you look at who the provincial fly halves where when Paddy Wallace was the back-up flyhalf. There was no other option available for EOS. He can't magic a player out of thin air. MOD was still involved under Kidney. Neil Best was a good player.

There certainly is a wider pool of talent available but it has absolutely nothing to do with Kidney. He so utterly neglected the Munster academy that they are only just starting to play catch up to Ulster and Leinster.

As for the Kidney bashing. He has Ireland playing utterly dreadful rugby. More to the point, it's utterly dreadful unsuccessful rugby. I envision nothing other then a completely mediocre 6N coming up with Ireland playing mind-numbingly boring rugby. Even if he changes his myopic selections it's not really going to matter if he insists on such turgid tactics.

profitius

Podge_irl wrote: »

What nonsense. I suggest you look at who the provincial fly halves where when Paddy Wallace was the back-up flyhalf. There was no other option available for EOS. He can't magic a player out of thin air. MOD was still involved under Kidney. Neil Best was a good player.

There certainly is a wider pool of talent available but it has absolutely nothing to do with Kidney. He so utterly neglected the Munster academy that they are only just starting to play catch up to Ulster and Leinster.

As for the Kidney bashing. He has Ireland playing utterly dreadful rugby. More to the point, it's utterly dreadful unsuccessful rugby. I envision nothing other then a completely mediocre 6N coming up with Ireland playing mind-numbingly boring rugby.

I was thinking about Kidney and the academy. Maybe they couldn't afford to run a proper academy in those days? The provinces had small squads and smaller crowds, smaller sponsorship etc.

maybe the excuses have to stop eventually and the slow realism that DK has actually been terrible for the development of Irish Rugby as a hole can be achieved.

Podge_irl

profitius wrote: »

I was thinking about Kidney and the academy. Maybe they couldn't afford to run a proper academy in those days? The provinces had small squads and smaller crowds, smaller sponsorship etc.

It's certainly a possibility. Leinster seemed to manage to run one with smaller crowds and being all round less successful though (there is the argument that it was more vital in Leinster due to them being a bit useless as well).

Kayless

RoundBox11 wrote: »

Have to say i agree that this generation has more talent.


One thing i dont understand is all the Kidney bashing on the forum. He's done a lot of good for irish rugby. He's put together a very good squad.

If we were having this conversation during the O'Sullivan/Gatland days we wouldnt have half the quality names floating around (flashbacks to having Neil Best, Mick O'Driscoll and Paddy Wallace (as our back up fly half) on the bench).

No coach is going to throw caution to the wind every week and put in players who aren't ready or good enough for international rugby. After all this is kidneys job which puts food on the table, he wouldnt want to lose it by throwing players in all the time!

Would love to agree with you but Kidneys problem seems to be conservatism, take for example Andrew Trimble (who will end up on the bench again due to Kidneys typical player favouritism = Earls)
France, England, Italy and Scotland have all made changes, why can’t we?

jm08

profitius wrote: »

I was thinking about Kidney and the academy. Maybe they couldn't afford to run a proper academy in those days? The provinces had small squads and smaller crowds, smaller sponsorship etc.

Do you know when the provincial academies got going. There used to be a national academy as far as I know - seem to remember hearing that Shane Jennings & Denis Leamy were in it together.

First I can remember hearing of a provincial academy is when Luke Fitzgerald refused to go into it

Anyway, when were the various provincial academies set up?

gally74

Podge_irl wrote: »

What nonsense. I suggest you look at who the provincial fly halves where when Paddy Wallace was the back-up flyhalf. There was no other option available for EOS. He can't magic a player out of thin air. MOD was still involved under Kidney. Neil Best was a good player.

There certainly is a wider pool of talent available but it has absolutely nothing to do with Kidney. He so utterly neglected the Munster academy that they are only just starting to play catch up to Ulster and Leinster.

As for the Kidney bashing. He has Ireland playing utterly dreadful rugby. More to the point, it's utterly dreadful unsuccessful rugby. I envision nothing other then a completely mediocre 6N coming up with Ireland playing mind-numbingly boring rugby. Even if he changes his myopic selections it's not really going to matter if he insists on such turgid tactics.

I'd put the conn academy ahead of Munster too looking at this and last years u 20

leonard7

just look at the o2 challenge first match at the aviva leinster ulster versus munster connacht

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3bkmNv7Lns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTVyWRv8yfk&feature=related

jm08

Answering my own question here - but the national academy seems to have been abolished in 2004 (which would probably mean the Provincial ones were probably set up around the same time.

I came across a reference to Highfield setting up their own Rugby Academy in 2006 in conjunction with CIT and sponsored by BOC gases.

http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/10780.php

If the clubs were setting up their own academies, this would have made it very difficult for Munster Rugby to operate its own academy - no wonder they were a bit slow getting off the ground.

CiaranMT

jasper11 wrote: »

gwladrugby.com be warned they are generally morons and i was warned on a munster site to expect lots of paddy bashing. lots of kids on it it would appear but best prob to leave them to it .

Bit late to this, but yeah Gwlad is hilarious. Tbh I can only admire their turns of phrases and their sense of humour.

its_phil

Podge_irl wrote: »

It's certainly a possibility. Leinster seemed to manage to run one with smaller crowds and being all round less successful though (there is the argument that it was more vital in Leinster due to them being a bit useless as well).

They had wealthy donations to aid them too, but credit given where credit due they used that money to the greatest effect possible getting the right set up in place and the talent coming out of there is the standard bearer for Irish teams and on a par with Toulouse.

jasper11

ffs the squad hasnt even been named and people are non stop moaning bout DK selections. the world cup bar wales game was pretty dam good to be fair and this is sport and we were poor against wales but a lot better than previous world cups. kidney has won us a grand slam and to be fair he was successful with munster. i know we can all find faults with him but we could find faults with every manager in the world . I not even a fan of kidney but think the moaning here is so bloody tedious. Instead of saying kidney is going def do this and that, how bout saying lets hope kidney dont do what we all think. anyway earls i believe will not be 13 for ireland as its not worked for him in recent weeks but i can see why kidney wants him tried cos to be fair there is not one quality 13 putting his hand up wk in wk out. far to lightweight the options we have and could all be exploited by wales big time.

irishbucsfan

jasper11 wrote: »

there is not one quality 13 putting his hand up wk in wk out. far to lightweight the options we have and could all be exploited by wales big time.

That's rubbish. If Darren Cave is undersized, that makes ODriscoll a midget! He's 3 inches taller than Drico and about a stone heavier. And he is definitely putting hid hand up week in week out.

irishbucsfan

irishbucsfan wrote: »

That's rubbish. If Darren Cave is undersized, that makes ODriscoll a midget! He's 3 inches taller than Drico and about a stone heavier. And he is definitely putting hid hand up week in week out.

some people can't lift their heads to see that far north though.

Tis plain as day to the rest of us.

its_phil

jasper11 wrote: »

ffs the squad hasnt even been named and people are non stop moaning bout DK selections. the world cup bar wales game was pretty dam good to be fair and this is sport and we were poor against wales but a lot better than previous world cups. kidney has won us a grand slam and to be fair he was successful with munster. i know we can all find faults with him but we could find faults with every manager in the world . I not even a fan of kidney but think the moaning here is so bloody tedious. Instead of saying kidney is going def do this and that, how bout saying lets hope kidney dont do what we all think. anyway earls i believe will not be 13 for ireland as its not worked for him in recent weeks but i can see why kidney wants him tried cos to be fair there is not one quality 13 putting his hand up wk in wk out. far to lightweight the options we have and could all be exploited by wales big time.

Well you only have to look at how he played Luke Fitzgerald last year 4 games in a row when he was clearly out of form and not playing well. He's done it many times in the past picking a player not based on merit but reputation. So it's hard not to expect that he'll select him

With regard 13, we have many players in form for 13. Cave has been delivering week in week out for Ulster (namely Leicester, Edinburgh, Munster and the back to back games with Aironi) and is the form 13 in the country. Have you seen him play? While O'Malley when given a chance has performed and Griffin, when he's not injured, has always shown up for Connacht. McFadden has been decent too.

There's only 1 player out of form playing in the 13 jersey and he's with Munster and going on Kidney's history I'm not going to be surprised when he makes the choice. Btw I'd love to be wrong

bamboozle

its_phil wrote: »

Well you only have to look at how he played Luke Fitzgerald last year 4 games in a row when he was clearly out of form and not playing well. He's done it many times in the past picking a player not based on merit but reputation. So it's hard not to expect that he'll select him

With regard 13, we have many players in form for 13. Cave has been delivering week in week out for Ulster (namely Leicester, Edinburgh, Munster and the back to back games with Aironi) and is the form 13 in the country. Have you seen him play? While O'Malley when given a chance has performed and Griffin, when he's not injured, has always shown up for Connacht. McFadden has been decent too.

There's only 1 player out of form playing in the 13 jersey and he's with Munster and going on Kidney's history I'm not going to be surprised when he makes the choice. Btw I'd love to be wrong

unfortunately i share your concerns. Kidney is going to be trying to accommodate Bowe, Fitz, Trimble and Earls, on form Earls hasnt a hope of a spot on wing, and on form he hasnt a hope of a spot in the center ahead of Cave, EOM, Griffen or even Mcfadden.

Going by previous selections i'd be very suprised not to see Earls at either 11 or 13 with trimble and possibly Fitz not making the starting team.