Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread IV

Cosmo Kramer

Irish team for Canada game in tomorrow's IT apparently.

awec

Stheno, you think awec reads the indo?

Wang King

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Irish team for Canada game in tomorrow's IT apparently.

A leak?.....that's gas!!............ i'll get my coat

Stheno

awec wrote: »

Stheno, you think awec reads the indo?

Ah you're at the daily fail level? :pac:

sullivlo

awec wrote: »

Stheno, you think awec reads?

FYP :P

Stheno

sullivlo wrote: »

FYP :P

/snort

awec

I haven't read the indo since Conor George began gracing us with his insights.

Stheno

awec wrote: »

I haven't read the indo since Conor George began gracing us with his insights.

Just read it online, you can ignore him then

CatFromHue

awec wrote: »

I hope that was filmed a while ago and we don't have first choice players lifting gas canisters for the craic a few days before their first game!

I think it is as I have a memory of SOB wheeling Healy about in a wheel barrow from a while ago

thisyear

CatFromHue wrote: »

I think it is as I have a memory of SOB wheeling Healy about in a wheel barrow from a while ago

Wonder how many more of these little videos are coming??

Eoin

I hadn't heard that Henshaw was injured?

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/luke-fitzgerald-to-replace-injured-robbie-henshaw-for-ireland-opener-against-canada-1.2354472

Stheno

Eoin wrote: »

I hadn't heard that Henshaw was injured?

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/luke-fitzgerald-to-replace-injured-robbie-henshaw-for-ireland-opener-against-canada-1.2354472

True, they were all healthy Monday

Still better now than two weeks time, hopefully it's minor

Bigger news in that article is Hendo starting versus Toner. Will fuel the debate on here.

Ceadog

IRELAND (possible): R Kearney; D Kearney, J Payne, L Fitzgerald, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath/C Healy, R Best, M Ross; I Henderson, P O’Connell (capt); P O’Mahony, S O’Brien, J Heaslip.

Wang King

Stheno wrote: »

True, they were all healthy Monday

Still better now than two weeks time, hopefully it's minor

Bigger news in that article is Hendo starting versus Toner. Will fuel the debate on here.

There's 2 other firelighters to chuck in, 1 Bowe has been dropped....and 2....Reid is next in line !

Eoin

Indeed, though I'd have thought that the point of bringing Cave ahead of an extra prop or scrumhalf was for this kind of situation?

awec

Ceadog wrote: »

IRELAND (possible): R Kearney; D Kearney, J Payne, L Fitzgerald, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; J McGrath/C Healy, R Best, M Ross; I Henderson, P O’Connell (capt); P O’Mahony, S O’Brien, J Heaslip.

No way Fitzgerald plays 12.

Stheno

Wang King wrote: »

There's 2 other firelighters to chuck in, 1 Bowe has been dropped....and 2....Reid is next in line !

No surprise with Bowe tbh

Reid is a surprise

awec wrote: »

No way Fitzgerald plays 12.

That does sound weird

Wang King

Stheno wrote: »

No surprise with Bowe tbh

Reid is a surprise



That does sound weird

Ah, but there were a lot of people banging the "credit in the bank" drum with Bowe .....seems he's gone bust perhaps

Flipper22

Very strange to put fitz ahead of Cave?! Surely this is exactly the kind of situation we brought Cave for. If we don't play him against canada if Robbie is hurt then what's the point in bringing him ahead of Boss (or Kilcoyne in fact)

Stheno

Wang King wrote: »

Ah, but there were a lot of people banging the "credit in the bank" drum with Bowe .....seems he's gone bust perhaps

Training camp the last week or so may have been his undoing.

It was the making of Dave K, despite a lot of naysayers on here

CatFromHue

I would have thought Cave would get in there at 12 too.

Not surprised Reid is next in line though as D'arcy is injured/retired and has been in Ireland training squads before.

awec

Hadn't actually seen that article when I made that reply a few minutes ago.

Fitzgerald at 12 makes no sense whatsoever. Bring one less scrumhalf to give better coverage of the outside backs and then play someone at 12 who hasn't played that position for about 4 years ahead of someone who has played there semi regularly (to a good enough standard) in recent times. Going to call total nonsense on that, and if it's true then Darren Cave has wasted his time travelling to England. Bit of a boot in the balls for Darren if it's true.

kuang1

Has Henshaws right arm got a sling hanging off it in this photo? The blue yoke that looks like the velcro is undone? (for the sake of the photo?)

Edit: looking at it more closely, looks more like it was originally strapped to his left arm/hand. He's holding a bottle with his right hand, and supporting his left arm with his right.

Edit 2: nope...I think I was right the 1st time based on the way the velcro is facing.

So a minor right elbow/shoulder strain?

Stheno

kuang1 wrote: »

Has Henshaws right arm got a sling hanging off it in this photo? The blue yoke that looks like the velcro is undone? (for the sake of the photo?)

Does indeed.

I'd imagine that's minor enough

.ak

awec wrote: »

No way Fitzgerald plays 12.

Why not? He's played there before, and IMO he's better skill set at 12 than 13.

The positions are fairly interchangeable. People seem to have this idea of what a 12 is and what a 13 is. There are specialists out there but generally a centre is a centre... An inside centre will take more contact so generally an outside centre has more time or space to play with. Aside from that they're identical positions and any centre worth their salt needs to be able to step up as 1st or 2nd centre on any phase.

kuang1

kuang1 wrote: »

Has Henshaws right arm got a sling hanging off it in this photo? The blue yoke that looks like the velcro is undone? (for the sake of the photo?)

Edit: looking at it more closely, looks more like it was originally strapped to his left arm/hand. He's holding a bottle with his right hand, and supporting his left arm with his right.

Edit 2: nope...I think I was right the 1st time based on the way the velcro is facing.

So a minor right elbow/shoulder strain?

It looks like a backpack to me.

.ak

Ah they would've replaced henshaw by now if they don't think he'll make it.

Have to day that possible team excites me. Probably our most dynamic backs all on the field together. We won't need the brute strength of Robbie for this one anyway.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I don't think you can't read too much into the selection of the team for this match. Assuming that is the team. Henderson starting doesn't mean he's preferred to Toner in the long run, it just means Schmidt wants him to start against Canada. Likewise Bowe not starting might not mean anything other than Canada aren't likely to give us too much trouble so it's a good opportunity to give the likes of Earles a bit more playing time.

Obviously you can read as much as you like into it all or as little as you like.

Fitzgerald in the centre is an odd one though. I'm sure I kept hearing about him dropping weight because Schmidt didn't see him playing there and he was focusing on the wing and now he's in the centre?

I know it won't happen because he wasn't in the extended camp but if, God forbid, Henshaw had to go home, McCluskey should get the call up

Flipper22

.ak wrote: »

Why not? He's played there before, and IMO he's better skill set at 12 than 13.

The positions are fairly interchangeable. People seem to have this idea of what a 12 is and what a 13 is. There are specialists out there but generally a centre is a centre... An inside centre will take more contact so generally an outside centre has more time or space to play with. Aside from that they're identical positions and any centre worth their salt needs to be able to step up as 1st or 2nd centre on any phase.

Yeah this.

I'm not sure Fitz and Earls have ever really played together, have they? Our two most talented players with ball in hand imo.

The Rape of Lucretia

Henders is no surprise really. And it will be mix and match the 3 main locks through games anyway. And Ryan will get his little outing in the Romania game.

Luke is a bizarre one. Would have thought the 12 situation was Hench>Cave>MadDog. Either its some gametime/experientation for Fitz - its not as if we are going to lose the game whatever - or we have been reading Joe all wrong. Reid is even more bizarre. Does it mean that not only has he lost faith in Cave, but has also lost faith in Jackson benching which he would have to do if The Dog was starting at 12. So why the hell bring Cavey at all ? And even then, what's wrong with Trimbers ? Is he injured again ? McFadden also slipped of the radar ?

Confusing selection to wake up to. And I really dont understand it Joe.

Nevertheless, I have faith in Joe. Like an Operation Treadstone Jason Bourne :
"It's not a mistake. He doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't do random."

total former

The Cave/Fitzgerald thing is bananas if true, Fitzgerald is a good 12 but it just makes Cave's initial selection even more bewildering. The Indo has a "likely" team which includes Henshaw btw, so someone is going to have egg on their face.

Surprised by Henderson but if he's doing the business in training (or if Toner isn't), then fair play to him.

irishbucsfan

It probably just comes down to how they're looking to play and the strengths that the guys have shown in training. It could be that they want to play really uptempo and so Payne/Fitzgerald will both run directly off Sexton. It really doesn't mean anything in connection to Cave's selection in the squad.

sydthebeat

Id have no problem at all with henderson starting this game, we wont know joes preferred first 23 until the Italy game.
This is a game we need good go forward ball and Henderson practically guarantees that, giving the backs a silver platter to work with.
In my opinion the Canadians are the worst team in our group and once we match their endeavour we should be fine.
Fitz at 12 would be kick in the teeth for cave, unless cave is earmarked for the Romania game and both of them are playing for a bench spot in the last two games.

kuang1

If that is the team, then based on fitz's inclusion, and bowe's exclusion, I suspect we might not see us kick the ball very much...

aimee1

kuang1 wrote: »

If that is the team, then based on fitz's inclusion, and bowe's exclusion, I suspect we might not see us kick the ball very much...

Why would we kick a lot against canada?

kuang1

aimee1 wrote: »

Why would we kick a lot against canada?

Granted, what I said was a bit "the sky is blue!"

Don't mind me I'm all giddy...this time tomorrow will be enroute to Rosslare and the whole thing will be properly underway!

(I'll save myself further embarrassment and just get me coat now and wait outside)

aimee1

kuang1 wrote: »

Granted, what I said was a bit "the sky is blue!"

Don't mind me I'm all giddy...this time tomorrow will be enroute to Rosslare and the whole thing will be properly underway!

(I'll save myself further embarrassment and just get me coat now and wait outside)

Only One more sleep.... Understandable

Tox56

total former wrote: »

The Cave/Fitzgerald thing is bananas if true, Fitzgerald is a good 12 but it just makes Cave's initial selection even more bewildering. The Indo has a "likely" team which includes Henshaw btw, so someone is going to have egg on their face.

Surprised by Henderson but if he's doing the business in training (or if Toner isn't), then fair play to him.

It does seem a bit strange but it could be that Cave is in the squad in case of an injury at 12 before an important game and it was never the plan to play him against Canada. And since it is only Canada, it's not going to matter hugely who is playing 12, so they would rather take the chance to get a look at Fitzgerald with regards to the wing/23 selection

.ak

Could be horses for courses kind of thing also.

redmca2

A question which is probably well known to most:
Do the initial matches have bonus points for 4 tries, losing by less than 7 etc etc??

total former

Tox56 wrote: »

It does seem a bit strange but it could be that Cave is in the squad in case of an injury at 12 before an important game and it was never the plan to play him against Canada. And since it is only Canada, it's not going to matter hugely who is playing 12, so they would rather take the chance to get a look at Fitzgerald with regards to the wing/23 selection

I presume the plan was never to play Cave in this game, that Henshaw was supposed to play.

But maybe it depends on how bad Henshaw is; if he's definitely going to be back next week, then you might have it right, that they're using the game to give Fitz the run out. Could mean Cave won't see any game time at all though.

total former

redmca2 wrote: »

A question which is probably well known to most:
Do the initial matches have bonus points for 4 tries, losing by less than 7 etc etc??

Yes.

vienne86

When will the team be announced?

Fitz at 12 rather than Cave is hard to credit. Henderson inclusion doesn't overly surprist me.

HankSchrader

Re Henshaw injury I seen him in town yesterday walking around and looked fine. If he is injured it didn't look serious....no sling etc

awec

.ak wrote: »

Why not? He's played there before, and IMO he's better skill set at 12 than 13.

When did he last play there? Has he ever played there is any game of importance?

I would say the reason he shouldn't play at 12 is because we have Cave, a guy who has actually played 12 quite a bit recently.

This selection is pretty unjustifiable. The only reason can be that Joe hasn't got faith in all 31 players. In that case the decision to bring two 9s makes even less sense.

Awesomeness

Brillant. Joe is obviously going to completely bamboozle the other big teams. By the team we get to them they will have no idea who or how we are gonna play.

That is what is happening right?

redmca2

awec wrote: »

When did he last play there? Has he ever played there is any game of importance?

I would say the reason he shouldn't play at 12 is because we have Cave, a guy who has actually played 12 quite a bit recently.

This selection is pretty unjustifiable. The only reason can be that Joe hasn't got faith in all 31 players. In that case the decision to bring two 9s makes even less sense.

Agreed. Cave has been clearly identified as the selection that reduced us to only 2 No.9's as Joe wanted more cover in the centres.

Our faith in Joe is going to be tested yet again, tho' against Canada it's probably an academic test ....

rrpc

awec wrote: »

When did he last play there? Has he ever played there is any game of importance?

I would say the reason he shouldn't play at 12 is because we have Cave, a guy who has actually played 12 quite a bit recently.

This selection is pretty unjustifiable. The only reason can be that Joe hasn't got faith in all 31 players. In that case the decision to bring two 9s makes even less sense.

I'm sorry but Joe doesn't do the 'no faith' thing. If he's bringing players in a squad then he wants them there and will play them.

There are four pool matches to play, it's equally possible that Fitz was not due to figure until later in the pool matches and so can be spared to fill in for Henshaw whereas possibly Cave is due to play against Romania and Joe doesn't want him playing two matches in a row.

We can't look at one match in isolation, the squad needs to be managed and an injury has to be contained so that the least disruption is caused to the rest of the schedule.

For example I can see the point of not starting Toner against Canada who have an awful scrum so we don't need him in the engine room but conversely we could use Henderson to great effect in a hard running game.

awec

rrpc wrote: »

I'm sorry but Joe doesn't do the 'no faith' thing. If he's bringing players in a squad then he wants them there and will play them.

There are four pool matches to play, it's equally possible that Fitz was not due to figure until later in the pool matches and so can be spared to fill in for Henshaw whereas possibly Cave is due to play against Romania and Joe doesn't want him playing two matches in a row.

We can't look at one match in isolation, the squad needs to be managed and an injury has to be contained so that the least disruption is caused to the rest of the schedule.

For example I can see the point of not starting Toner against Canada who have an awful scrum so we don't need him in the engine room but conversely we could use Henderson to great effect in a hard running game.

There's no other reason to suddenly play a guy who never plays 12 ahead of the guy specifically brought to cover that position. If Henshaw is injured then play Cave against Canada and Romania, he can play two games like pretty much every other player selected for Saturday will.

Does he think Cave isn't fit enough to play two games 8 days apart or something?

Madigan is presumably on the bench but even he should be starting 12 ahead of Fitzgerald.

It's a world cup, we're not there to give players at wee runaround now and again.

Podge_irl

I'm with awec, I don't get it.