Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Tommybojangles

A few people suggesting Beirne should play in the second row... fair enough he's done well there but surely himself, Ryan and Henderson are impossible to leave out at the moment? For me the only positions up for grabs at the moment are 1, 7 and 8.

Biggest positive for me from the 6 Nations is that both full back and hooker seem to be solved, our 2 biggest problem positions this time last year. Herring has been very solid all over and Kelleher is more of an athlete, should be a good battle between them going forward. Now it's a case of finding someone to put pressure on Keenan, instead of finding someone, anyone to play full back

Burkie1203

We did loads of this yesterday. Running at space. The difference is unreal


https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1373629479097106435?s=19

joseywhales

Burkie1203 wrote: »

We did loads of this yesterday. Running at space. The difference is unreal


https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1373629479097106435?s=19

I can tell you one thing, I would absolutely hate to tackle him all elbows and knees with surprising speed and power too.

OneLungDavy

Burkie1203 wrote: »

We did loads of this yesterday. Running at space. The difference is unreal


https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1373629479097106435?s=19

Straight through Sinkler too, no nicer fella.

OneLungDavy

Full match: https://fullmatchtv.com/other-sports/rugby/six-nations-ireland-vs-england-20-03-2021/

UAEguy2020

Burkie1203 wrote: »

We did loads of this yesterday. Running at space. The difference is unreal


https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1373629479097106435?s=19

That’s the difference between yesterday and Ireland in 2019, in 2019 we just ran into 2 England players for instance and got double teamed.

Neil3030

If Itoje doesn't come from the other side of the ruck and trip his ankle, Hendy likely gets an awful lot closer to the line. Itoje is such an infuriatingly excellent player.

Crush On You

Rather like Sinkler myself. Then again, I like Farrell the Younger also.

Downlinz

Tommybojangles wrote: »

A few people suggesting Beirne should play in the second row... fair enough he's done well there but surely himself, Ryan and Henderson are impossible to leave out at the moment? For me the only positions up for grabs at the moment are 1, 7 and 8.

Ryan's position is under threat at the moment, his form hasn't been fantastic and both Henderson and Beirne undoubtedly outperformed him this 6N.

pickarooney

Burkie1203 wrote: »

We did loads of this yesterday. Running at space. The difference is unreal


https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1373629479097106435?s=19

Furlong got bumped on his dummy run, probably the only time he went backwards all day.

pickarooney

Downlinz wrote: »

Ryan's position is under threat at the moment, his form hasn't been fantastic and both Henderson and Beirne undoubtedly outperformed him this 6N.

It's true and it's fantastic. We need everyone's place to be under threat!

Former Former Former

Downlinz wrote: »

Ryan's position is under threat at the moment, his form hasn't been fantastic and both Henderson and Beirne undoubtedly outperformed him this 6N.

No, it's not. Ryan is as safe as he ever was.

If everyone is fit, Beirne will play at 6.

clsmooth

Ryan played about 160 minutes in total and had the most lineout steals in the tournament despite playing 40% of the games. That’s impressive in itself. Most important thing for him is to get himself 100%. Wouldn’t mind him having a bit of time off.

almostover

eagle eye wrote: »

No Max Deegan? I know he's injured but Doris is out as well. I'd have Deegan ahead of Conan.

Forgot about him, we have serious depth in the backrow at the moment. Not sure about having him ahead of Conan. But before yesterday's game I was still a little unsure of Conan at international level. If he can perform like that consistently then Doris isnt guaranteed to be straight back in the team. Good problems for Farrell to have going forward.

Water John

Neil3030 wrote: »

If Itoje doesn't come from the other side of the ruck and trip his ankle, Hendy likely gets an awful lot closer to the line. Itoje is such an infuriatingly excellent player.

Someone said Itoje is today's McCaw, gets away with so much.

All_in_Flynn

Strange oul tournament in the end.

Wales are an odd team. Better than the sum of their parts but I still think they are the 4th best team in the hemisphere. 15 men and I think we would have beaten them fairly soundly in Cardiff.

Hard to pin point where exactly we are. Interesting listening to Johnny who seems fairly adamant that we are on the right path. Up until yesterday I found it hard to see where he was coming from but there were definitely green shoots.

I thought Murray was finished at this level. I didn't think he could play the quick game anymore and his box kicking wasn't what it used to be. Bar a couple of sloppy passes into the ground, I thought he was excellent. Whether or not he can maintain that form now is another question. Missing the lions squad would probably be good for him.

I have to admit, I have never been impressed with Beirne. I still don't think he's an international lock but he's got the number 6 jersey now and he's a certainty for the Lions. He's been incredible this 6 nations.

Henshaw back to the player he was a couple of years ago. I'd say he's a nightmare to play against.

Our pack looks like its in a very good place again. Contentious opinion, but I would really like to see porter switch back to the other side. I know people say we need depth but I think he would be a world class loose head.

eagle eye

Water John wrote:

Someone said Itoje is today's McCaw, gets away with so much.

He's just a great player and great players get away with more.
Thing is he has never been as bad for his club, this is an England thing and it's rife in that team at the moment.

ionadnapokot

TRC10 wrote: »

To be fair, Doris is perfectly comfortable at 6 or 8 and has played very well at both. However his concussion troubles are a real worry. Hopefully he gets over it but it's a tricky one.

Beirne has well and truly put to bed the notion that he's "too small for 2nd row". I'm happy for him to be an option at 6, but I think we really gain something from having him in the engine room. We basically have an extra back rower, which we don't if he's at 6.

Fingers crossed on Dorris. He can take this team on another level.
Beirne just has to play & it really doesn't matter where.

Excuse the long list but there was allot of positives from yesterday and some reasons for future hope after this 6N.

1. Forward pack & O’Connell – The biggest area of improvement from last year. Lineout, maul, ruck and scrum all look like weapons.
2. Furlong - Great to have him back. Irreplaceable in tight and loose.
3. Beirne – Irreplaceable now. Must play in BRow or SRow.
4. Henderson – Finally realising his potential and consistently.
5. Connors – Brings balance to the pack. Big potential
6. Ryan – Added defensive LO steals.
7. Baird – Ideal No. 19 for impact. Huge potential.
8. Conan – Coming of age 80min performance.
9. Herring - Throwing accuracy improved.
10. Kelleher – Ideal No. 16 for impact. Big potential
11. Earls – Bright spark! His best performance… ever? His performance gave me hope with what Catt wants from his wingers.
12. Sexton - His best performance since NZ 2018? One of best ever 80min 6N performance’s.
13. Henshaw – Form of his life. Workrate, leadership, & defense make him an essential axis at 12/13
14. Conan’s try – The best rugby under Farrell. Good lineout, phase play structure and execution.
15. Keenan – World class catch in the air from Sexton’s Garryowen type kick.

I haven’t enjoyed an Irish win as much as this since the last win against England in 2018!!
Loved the way Ireland hung on for the first 15 mins. Henshaw lead by example. A massive effort again.

Still have lots of concerns for the next 6N but hopefully that was the performance to ignite Andy Farrell’s reign.

ujjjjjjjjj

Downlinz wrote: »

Ryan's position is under threat at the moment, his form hasn't been fantastic and both Henderson and Beirne undoubtedly outperformed him this 6N.

Sorry no it's not. Ryan is world class and one-of the first names on a sheet. Our best second row comfortably.

Beirne is rapidly making the 6 Jersey his.

OneLungDavy

ionadnapokot wrote: »

Fingers crossed on Dorris. He can take this team on another level.
Beirne just has to play & it really doesn't matter where.

Excuse the long list but there was allot of positives from yesterday and some reasons for future hope after this 6N.

1. Forward pack & O’Connell – The biggest area of improvement from last year. Lineout, maul, ruck and scrum all look like weapons.
2. Furlong - Great to have him back. Irreplaceable in tight and loose.
3. Beirne – Irreplaceable now. Must play in BRow or SRow.
4. Henderson – Finally realising his potential and consistently.
5. Connors – Brings balance to the pack. Big potential
6. Ryan – Added defensive LO steals.
7. Baird – Ideal No. 19 for impact. Huge potential.
8. Conan – Coming of age 80min performance.
9. Herring - Throwing accuracy improved.
10. Kelleher – Ideal No. 16 for impact. Big potential
11. Earls – Bright spark! His best performance… ever? His performance gave me hope with what Catt wants from his wingers.
12. Sexton - His best performance since NZ 2018? One of best ever 80min 6N performance’s.
13. Henshaw – Form of his life. Workrate, leadership, & defense make him an essential axis at 12/13
14. Conan’s try – The best rugby under Farrell. Good lineout, phase play structure and execution.
15. Keenan – World class catch in the air from Sexton’s Garryowen type kick.

I haven’t enjoyed an Irish win as much as this since the last win against England in 2018!!
Loved the way Ireland hung on for the first 15 mins. Henshaw lead by example. A massive effort again.

Still have lots of concerns for the next 6N but hopefully that was the performance to ignite Andy Farrell’s reign.

I didn't think this team was capable of beating England playing this kind of rugby. I really started to question the quality of our players, this just shows what they are capable of.


We have Carbery to come back into the next squad. H.Byrne will have more experience by then and will probably be included. Thomas Ahern got MoTM the other night and looks quality already, I expect him to be involved soon. I foresee big things from Cormac Isuchukwu who already has a few senior Ulster games and looks comfortable. We all know how good Coombes and Scott Penny are, it's only a matter of time before they get capped. I'm always impressed by Dan Sheehan, he just needs to play more. Balacoune will probably be involved in the next squad too. Maybe Will Addison gets fit again and offers another option.


I'm probably leaving out loads of lads, but there's plenty to be enthusiastic about.

Bazzo

I see a good bit of deserved praise for Cormac Izuchukwu on here but not a peep about Niall Murray who is the same age, also came late to rugby, and has looked just as comfortable at any level he's been thrown into this season. Even physically dominant at times.

Paul Smeenus

Bazzo wrote: »

I see a good bit of deserved praise for Cormac Izuchukwu on here but not a peep about Niall Murray who is the same age, also came late to rugby, and has looked just as comfortable at any level he's been thrown into this season. Even physically dominant at times.

I'd say part of the delight around Izzy starting to feature is that certain Posters In The Know confidently asserted that Izzy would never make it at second row.

joficeduns1

You really like Henshaw dragged the rest of the lads up to his level after the first 10 minutes or so. I'd been hoping for a performance like that all week, great to cap off the tournament.

TRC10

Potential Irish summer tour squad
Assuming Furlong,Porter,Henderson,Beirne,Ryan,Stander,Murray,Sexton and Henshaw are all on the Lions tour
I went with the new 33-man RWC squad format + 1.
Gave Healy the summer off as he's 33 and we desperately need to build our options at LH.
Also gave Earls the summer off but you could throw him in there.

Hookers:
Herring
Kelleher
Sheehan*

Props:
Kilcoyne
O’Sullivan
Milne*
O’Toole*
Bealham
Knox*

Locks:
Dillane
Baird
Thornbury*
Ahern*

Back Rows:
O'Mahony
Coombes*
Connors
van der Flier
Penny*
Conan

Scrum Halves:
Casey
Gibson-Park
L.McGrath

Fly Halves:
Carbery
H.Byrne*
Lowry*

Centres:
Frawley*
Aki
Hume*
Ringrose (Stewart Moore*, if on Lions Tour)

Outside Backs:
Lowe
Stockdale
Baloucoune*
Jamie Osbourne*
Keenan

Wegians89

TRC10 wrote: »

Potential Irish summer tour squad
Assuming Furlong,Porter,Henderson,Beirne,Ryan,Stander,Murray,Sexton and Henshaw are all on the Lions tour
I went with the new 33-man RWC squad format.
Gave Healy the summer off as he's 33 and we desperately need to build our options at LH.
Also gave Earls the summer off but you could throw him in there.

Hookers:
Herring
Kelleher
Sheehan*

Props:
Kilcoyne
O’Sullivan
Milne*
O’Toole*
Bealham
Knox*

Locks:
Dillane
Baird
Thornbury*
Ahern*

Back Rows:
O'Mahony
Coombes*
Connors
van der Flier
Penny*
Conan

Scrum Halves:
Casey
Gibson-Park
L.McGrath

Fly Halves:
Carbery
H.Byrne*
Lowry*

Centres:
Frawley*
Aki
Hume*
Ringrose (Stewart Moore*, if on Lions Tour)

Outside Backs:
Lowe
Stockdale
Baloucoune*
Jamie Osbourne*
Keenan

Won’t bring that many players who are so raw.

kilns

Dubinusa wrote: »

I think we are in a place now where we are loaded in several areas and are possibly weak in others. Take the centers. It's Aki, Henshaw and Ringrose. The drop to Farrell and McCloskey is fairly small, but it's noticeable. After those lads there's nobody really in the picture. The younger players are not demanding inclusion like Ringrose did or Henshaw or Aki.
Outhalf is similar. It's Sexton, Carberry if he returns to fitness and then it falls off substantially. At this point, I think RB has reached his ceiling and Burns is probably reached his. HB and Healy are not near the level required yet.
But, we are finally looking good at fb. Keenan is a good find. Addison a possible solution as is Haley. I think J.O.B will at some point come into the conversation too.
Overall, the squad whilst not firing on all cylinders, is looking fairly good. Then, the question of coaching! Is anyone convinced that Catt can get the backline firing. I would guess that his impact so far has been negative. There's no rhyme or reason for the constant poor play. I would think it's coaching.
If there is a summer tour, I think we really do need one, I would expect a vastly improved backline unit. If not, the coaching is the problem. Would Farrell dump an underperforming friend? I think he should and I think he should now. We have seen nothing that would alarm any top side. It's quite strange really, the pack suddenly appear to be seal team 6 and the back line look like the Derry girls!
Delighted to have stuffed EJ. He certainly got his clock cleaned this year. England look worse than we did. They had no answer to anything except v France and their effort v Scotland was probably the worst England performance in years. We got over on them and strangled the snot out of them. Awesome

Fairly interesting that two separate sources who know Mike Catts coaching have now have said that they don't see any of his influence on the attack and claim it's actually Farrell who is dictating the attack

TRC10

Wegians89 wrote: »

Won’t bring that many players who are so raw.

Possibly. But England brought 17 uncapped on their tour in 2017.

I actually forgot about Chris Farrell, he'd probably go ahead of Moore. But I really like Hume and I'd like to see him go.

Former Former Former

TRC10 wrote: »

Possibly. But England brought 17 uncapped on their tour in 2017.

I actually forgot about Chris Farrell, he'd probably go ahead of Moore. But I really like Hume and I'd like to see him go.

If a) Connacht don't progress in Europe and b) the Rainbow Cup doesn't happen, Aki may end up serving his suspension during the summer tour, so there may yet be room for another centre.

On the other hand, I can't see how a summer tour is going to happen in the first place so it's probably moot.

sydthebeat

any thoughts that there might be some kind of bokke A team (or even available to play summer games against the likes of ireland etc?

theres gonna be about 100 south african players at a loose end in europe come the end of june

theVersatile

TRC10 wrote: »

Potential Irish summer tour squad
Assuming Furlong,Porter,Henderson,Beirne,Ryan,Stander,Murray,Sexton and Henshaw are all on the Lions tour
I went with the new 33-man RWC squad format + 1.
Gave Healy the summer off as he's 33 and we desperately need to build our options at LH.
Also gave Earls the summer off but you could throw him in there.

Hookers:
Herring
Kelleher
Sheehan*

Props:
Kilcoyne
O’Sullivan
Milne*
O’Toole*
Bealham
Knox*

Locks:
Dillane
Baird
Thornbury*
Ahern*

Back Rows:
O'Mahony
Coombes*
Connors
van der Flier
Penny*
Conan

Scrum Halves:
Casey
Gibson-Park
L.McGrath

Fly Halves:
Carbery
H.Byrne*
Lowry*

Centres:
Frawley*
Aki
Hume*
Ringrose (Stewart Moore*, if on Lions Tour)

Outside Backs:
Lowe
Stockdale
Baloucoune*
Jamie Osbourne*
Keenan

Osborne doesn't even have a Leinster academy contract - never mind calling him up to the Irish squad. I'd say move Lowry back to the OB category and bring in Carty or Ross.

Some nice selections aside from that though. The bias in me would have a Munster booker ahead of Sheehan, probably KOB, but maybe Farrell thinks he's past his sell by date. Maybe if O'Mahony has a long Munster campaign he's replaced by Paul Boyle in the squad too. Don't know many young tight heads so wouldn't know anyone to come in for Knox (perhaps Aungier?)

McCloskey is another centre option as well as Chris Farrell. Tom Daly might also be worth a look