Ireland Team Talk XI: Team of nervoUS MOD warning Post 1

salmocab

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Of course. That was implied by my "good thing I'm not kiwi or Aussie" comment.



They would, but can you see many of us heading over at the minute? I'm just hopeful I can make it to Paris in October at this rate.

They don’t need to travel there is no shortage of Irish punters in Australia

BonnieSituation

salmocab wrote: »

They don’t need to travel there is no shortage of Irish punters in Australia

:D:D:D

Even as a former punter who lived in Oz I completely discounted that.

Moving swiftly on...

troyzer

salmocab wrote: »

I said before I think next season will start early to give extra weeks for things like this.

This is the only sensible thing left to do.

Just declare the current season null and void, start the off season and come back early in July.

Shefwedfan

troyzer wrote: »

This is the only sensible thing left to do.

Just declare the current season null and void, start the off season and come back early in July.

This season will not be null and void based on what sextonhas said

irishbucsfan

Shefwedfan wrote: »

This season will not be null and void based on what sextonhas said

The players won't want it to be null and void because they'll lose out, but its not really up to them

Paul Smeenus

Rugbypass' Ireland U23 team.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-future-of-rugby-ireland-u23/

15 Jordan Larmour
14 Calvin Nash
13 Hayden Hyde
12 Dan Kelly
11 Robert Baloucoune
10 Harry Byrne
9 Craig Casey
8 Caelan Doris
7 Scott Penny
6 Max Deegan
5 Fineen Wycherly
4 James Ryan
3 Tom O'Toole
2 Ronan Kelleher
1 Josh Wycherly

Leaving aside the fact that Ryan is 23 and will be 24 in July, the forwards are fair enough (Baird is a straighforward swap for Ryan).

The backs are a mess. I'd have Hume and Moore ahead of Hyde and Kelly, and Rob Lyttle ahead of Nash. I'm sure Leinster lads would make the case for an O'Brien or two.

salmocab

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

The backs are a mess. I'd have Hume and Moore ahead of Hyde and Kelly, and Rob Lyttle ahead of Nash. I'm sure Leinster lads would make the case for an O'Brien or two.

We’ve so many O Briens we don’t know who’s who

Squidgy Black

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

Rugbypass' Ireland U23 team.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-future-of-rugby-ireland-u23/

15 Jordan Larmour
14 Calvin Nash
13 Hayden Hyde
12 Dan Kelly
11 Robert Baloucoune
10 Harry Byrne
9 Craig Casey
8 Caelan Doris
7 Scott Penny
6 Max Deegan
5 Fineen Wycherly
4 James Ryan
3 Tom O'Toole
2 Ronan Kelleher
1 Josh Wycherly

Leaving aside the fact that Ryan is 23 and will be 24 in July, the forwards are fair enough (Baird is a straighforward swap for Ryan).

The backs are a mess. I'd have Hume and Moore ahead of Hyde and Kelly, and Rob Lyttle ahead of Nash. I'm sure Leinster lads would make the case for an O'Brien or two.

In fairness I'd have Hume and Moore over Tommy O'Brien at the moment, both have been impressive when they've made appearances. COB is 24, and Jimmy is 23 going 24 this year too.

The two lads they've picked are prospects but neither of them have played senior rugby yet, bit of a head scratcher given the options available.

Paul Smeenus

Squidgy Black wrote: »

In fairness I'd have Hume and Moore over Tommy O'Brien at the moment, both have been impressive when they've made appearances. COB is 24, and Jimmy is 23 going 24 this year too.

The two lads they've picked are prospects but neither of them have played senior rugby yet, bit of a head scratcher given the options available.

I assume they're just not too familiar with our young bucks, just looked at the U20s team list for this season. Googled them, stuck it in the article.

aloooof

Shane Daly worth a shout (albeit just about age-wise), had been having a very good season.

bilston

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

Rugbypass' Ireland U23 team.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/the-future-of-rugby-ireland-u23/

15 Jordan Larmour
14 Calvin Nash
13 Hayden Hyde
12 Dan Kelly
11 Robert Baloucoune
10 Harry Byrne
9 Craig Casey
8 Caelan Doris
7 Scott Penny
6 Max Deegan
5 Fineen Wycherly
4 James Ryan
3 Tom O'Toole
2 Ronan Kelleher
1 Josh Wycherly

Leaving aside the fact that Ryan is 23 and will be 24 in July, the forwards are fair enough (Baird is a straighforward swap for Ryan).

The backs are a mess. I'd have Hume and Moore ahead of Hyde and Kelly, and Rob Lyttle ahead of Nash. I'm sure Leinster lads would make the case for an O'Brien or two.

Yeah, good point, how on earth is Hume not in that side? The way he was playing for Ulster at the start of the season before he got injured I thought he was going to give McCloskey a run for his money. Unfortunately he got injured, but he looked really sharp on his comeback against the Cheetahs just before the season stopped.

Is Kelly not the bloke who has just signed for Leicester? Presumably he is lost to Irish rugby now?

Hyde has looked decent for the U20s, but how does that put him ahead of guys who have had effective minutes in the Pro 14?!

I wouldn't argue with much else. Is Eric O'Sullivan still U23?

Paul Smeenus

Think EOS is 24?

Clegg

You know Irish rugby is in a good state when quality player like Ciaran Frawley can't make a best 15 of U23 players.

salmocab

Clegg wrote: »

You know Irish rugby is in a good state when quality player like Ciaran Frawley can't make a best 15 of U23 players.

I know a man that could fill the team with Frawley and O Briens. He wouldn’t even stop at u23s.

bilston

Clegg wrote: »

You know Irish rugby is in a good state when quality player like Ciaran Frawley can't make a best 15 of U23 players.

Who would you rather see lining out for Leinster in a game of consequence? Frawley or Harry Byrne?

Clegg

bilston wrote: »

Who would you rather see lining out for Leinster in a game of consequence? Frawley or Harry Byrne?

Frawley. Harry Byrne might have greater potential as a player but the former has more experience.

I think Frawley might be better off switching to 12 in the long run. Sometimes his control at 10 lets him down. He loses concentration sometimes and flings passes to teh ground. Give him a bit more time to get his head up and he'll do damage to the opposition. Technically excellent passer and kicker.

troyzer

Clegg wrote: »

Frawley. Harry Byrne might have greater potential as a player but the former has more experience.

I think Frawley might be better off switching to 12 in the long run. Sometimes his control at 10 lets him down. He loses concentration sometimes and flings passes to teh ground. Give him a bit more time to get his head up and he'll do damage to the opposition. Technically excellent passer and kicker.

I think he's a better fullback than centre, he's played well there a few times for Leinster. Just needs to improve his aerial game.

Buer

I think Harry Byrne has more than outperformed Frawley in their Pro14 appearances this season. Frawley is obviously a very talented guy but I think he'd be better off concentrating on another position. His passing is just far too erratic to be an outhalf unless there's a very significant change.

Byrne just looks a far calmer, more assured performer.

clsmooth

Clegg wrote: »

Frawley. Harry Byrne might have greater potential as a player but the former has more experience.

I think Frawley might be better off switching to 12 in the long run. Sometimes his control at 10 lets him down. He loses concentration sometimes and flings passes to teh ground. Give him a bit more time to get his head up and he'll do damage to the opposition. Technically excellent passer and kicker.

troyzer wrote: »

I think he's a better fullback than centre, he's played well there a few times for Leinster. Just needs to improve his aerial game.

I think he could be a very useful option at 12. He has the size and physical edge required and think he would be a good ball playing option. He’s looked decent at 15 too. Agree he should be looking to nail down another position and that’s not criticism of him. More to do with getting the best out of the resources we have. The two Byrnes are/will be great options to have at 10 going forward for the next 7/8 years+.

Shefwedfan

Buer wrote: »

I think Harry Byrne has more than outperformed Frawley in their Pro14 appearances this season. Frawley is obviously a very talented guy but I think he'd be better off concentrating on another position. His passing is just far too erratic to be an outhalf unless there's a very significant change.

Byrne just looks a far calmer, more assured performer.

TO be fair to Frawley, after Byrne initial burst into the team Frawley really came back into the picture and was the 3rd 10 in Leinster behind Sexton/Byrne.



Now i think long term Sexton will move on, you will be left with the two Byrnes fighting it out and Frawley need to review his options. Didnt he play at 15 for some games for Leinster>

troyzer

clsmooth wrote: »

I think he could be a very useful option at 12. He has the size and physical edge required and think he would be a good ball playing option. He’s looked decent at 15 too. Agree he should be looking to nail down another position and that’s not criticism of him. More to do with getting the best out of the resources we have. The two Byrnes are/will be great options to have at 10 going forward for the next 7/8 years+.

Chris Cosgrave will be the real deal as well I'd say. There's going to be a real bottleneck at 10.

Buer

Shefwedfan wrote: »

TO be fair to Frawley, after Byrne initial burst into the team Frawley really came back into the picture and was the 3rd 10 in Leinster behind Sexton/Byrne.

He did but I think it's also fair to say that Byrne responded and moved ahead of him after that. Frawley looked tidy in his cameos against Northampton and started very nicely against Connacht but had a bad patch in the second half of that match and it appeared to be the catalyst to his form struggling thereafter.

Byrne had strong cameos off the bench coming on at 10 such as away to Ospreys where Frawley appeared to be really struggling with his confidence and passing. Byrne then got the nod at home to Glasgow where he was very good. I'd have expected Byrne to get more game time for the remainder of the season with Frawley providing a very good bench option.

I'd agree on the Byrne's taking over the fight for the jersey long term in the near future with Frawley having to rethink his career. He's a very good player. He can either look to establish himself in another position or at another team. There's potentially a spot in the 23 to be won in Munster or he'd go straight into the Connacht 23. T

Richie_Rich89

Frawley's definitely had a few teething problems at 10. But then again there are some things he does so well at outhalf that it makes you think it'd be a shame not to try to nurture him in the position.

Probably hard not to see Harry Bryne ultimately becoming first choice there, though.

Frawley could be very valuable in a WC squad with his ability to cover 10, 12 and 15. He could nominally go as a centre or fullback and be the guy who's covering 10. That'd allow you to take only two specialist 10s.

Neil3030

So the Romania match thread has been locked, but I still think we need to discuss O'Sullivan's conservatism in sticking with the same back row for New Zealand and Aus, and only giving Best a run against Romania. We sorely missed his dawg against the former two.

Podge_irl

Neil3030 wrote: »

So the Romania match thread has been locked, but I still think we need to discuss O'Sullivan's conservatism in sticking with the same back row for New Zealand and Aus, and only giving Best a run against Romania. We sorely missed his dawg against the former two.

MOD WAR!!!!!!

Podge_irl

That being said, Best was pretty amazing in that one AI session against Aus and SA. He then lost his place to Easterby - which was not a decision I was completely against, Easterby was a good player - but he never captured those heights again.

Richie_Rich89

I wonder might we see James Ryan at blindside flanker for the Lions in South Africa next year - to meet fire with fire when they come up against Pieter Steph du Toit. I think he has the athleticism for it and even though he'd be very tall for a backrower he's good at getting low in contact.

Itoje will probably be the main man when it comes to the lineout, so it would make more sense to keep him at lock. Stander is a bit of a stump as a blindside if they're going up against the South Africans, and Curry probably lacks the physicality you'd want. I'm not sure the two opensides approach would work that well against SA.

Ryan and Vunipola in the backrow would go a long way to matching the Springboks' physicality anyway.

clsmooth

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

I wonder might we see James Ryan at blindside flanker for the Lions in South Africa next year - to meet fire with fire when they come up against Pieter Steph du Toit. I think he has the athleticism for it and even though he'd be very tall for a backrower he's good at getting low in contact.

Itoje will probably be the main man when it comes to the lineout, so it would make more sense to keep him at lock. Stander is a bit of a stump as a blindside if they're going up against the South Africans, and Curry probably lacks the physicality you'd want. I'm not sure the two opensides approach would work that well against SA.

Ryan and Vunipola in the backrow would go a long way to matching the Springboks' physicality anyway.

If you wanted to go down that route, why would you put Ryan at 6 when you could pick Lawes or Itoje who have actually played there at the top level? Itoje playing at 6 doesn’t mean he isn’t an option in the lineout. Also I’d disagree that Curry lacks physically. Super player.

Buer

Curry is incredibly physical and has shown that at test level where he has physically dominated top tier opponents.

Panda Killa

This is making for an interesting...and sobering read for the short-term financial stability of the IRFU
https://m.independent.ie/sport/rugby/world-rugby-restart-plan-to-hit-irfu-coffers-hard-39181219.html