Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

hold my beer · 03-09-2021 1:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117794836#Comment_117794836

What is ARU's approach?

TomsOnTheRoof · 03-09-2021 1:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117841814#Comment_117841814

Sue the pants off them

hold my beer · 03-09-2021 2:21pm

Can't find anything online saying they're taking a case against them

TomsOnTheRoof · 03-09-2021 11:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117842277#Comment_117842277

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/p9wmz5/ras_5_million_dollar_threat_to_nzr/

That's where I saw it

phog · 08-09-2021 2:50pm

From the IRFU

Philip Browne, in conjunction with the Management Committee of the Irish Rugby Football Union, has announced that he is to retire as Chief Executive of the Irish Rugby Football Union, as and from December 31st, 2021.

Philip joined the IRFU in July 1992 and assumed the role of Chief Executive in 1998.

08-09-2021 3:31pm

He'll be missed. Did a good job transitioning the sport to professionalism and in comparison to other sporting bodies in Ireland the IRFU seems quite well run.

08-09-2021 3:46pm

My thoughts on the impending retirement of Philip Browne as IRFU CEO are mixed. Yes he brought in brilliant structures in place re transition from amateur to professional rugby. The central contract structure for our elite players is the darling of world rugby.

The negatives though are his contempt for free to air European club rugby. He along with the IRFU blazers, blatant attempt to dismantle Connacht rugby in the early naughties was unforgivable.

I doubt that this is the last time we will be hearing from Philip Browne, in the world of sporting administration. Even though I wasn’t his biggest fan, he has done quite a lot of good and has left Irish rugby in relatively good health when he leaves office come the end of the year, even withstanding the financial difficulties due to the covid pandemic that the IRFU are facing at present.

sydthebeat · 08-09-2021 3:52pm

Nucifora..??

:D

Lost Ormond · 08-09-2021 8:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117864059#Comment_117864059

where exactly is/was his contempt for free to air coverage of european games? The Sky/BT brought far more money for the provinces and better coverage than you would have got from any free to air coverage.

While i didnt agree with it then or ever i see why IRFU looked at closing connacht pro rugby then. theyve proved it was always wrong and that shouldnt be much reason to be criticial of him

Where do you think we will see Browne in Sports admin again then? Why were you not a big fan of Browne anyway?

leakyboots · 09-09-2021 12:27am

I think some of ye either didn't live through or have (mercifully, lucky ye!) forgotten the 90s... we were the absolute pits before Browne arrived. Not saying the success is all down to him but his tenure coincided with us moving levels above where we were. I'd agree with some of the criticisms above about Connacht especially but on the whole he handled the transition to professionalism and the growth of the game incredibly well. A job well done for me.

Former Former Former · 09-09-2021 6:46am

The rebuild of the Aviva and paying off the debt almost immediately was an incredible piece of business that will reap rewards for years to come.

You could criticise Browne for thinking about shutting down Connacht - or you could look at the changes that happened in Connacht under his watch and say that maybe he knew what he was doing.

I think he's done a fantastic job. He took on the role when IRFU was still essentially an amateur organisation run by volunteers and turned it into a very slick operation.

I guess you could question him about the decline of the AIL but I think that would have happened regardless.

phog · 09-09-2021 9:47am

It's hard to know how good or bad he was - we went from amateur to professional in his watch, we basically went from having the AIL to having Celtic League and Heineken Cup which resulted in huge incomes for the provinces and the IRFU, obviously huge outgoings too through a wage bill. Would someone else have achieved more? The Aviva while a million times better than the old LR is still a poor stadium and it was an expensive refit job but when you look over at the FAI and how they managed their organisation and their side of the deal for the stadium then you can see that Philip was by far better suited to being a CEO than John Delaney.

Someone has big shoes to fill and it's important that the IRFU get it right.

arsebiscuits1 · 09-09-2021 10:46am

Without meaning to fixate on the Connacht thing too much - I would consider that a positive of Brownes tenure.

Dissolving Connacht was not considered out of spite or pettiness. At the time it was felt it would be a good decision which ultimately was obviously wrong.

What he showed was a willingness to listen to the fans and those around them. Consider their view and learn from it.

A good leaders tenure is never going to be without tension among some parties under their remit. It's how one deals with that and learns from it I think that is a measure of them.

If ones metric of a leaders success is someone who never pissed anyone off, they're sentencing themselves to bitter disappointment.

Overall I think Browne has been an extremely calm influence which was needed in the emotional world of sport. His political shrewdness is obvious in how he manages to circumnavigate the minefield that is the countless IRFU committees and alickadoos and keep Irish Rugby moving forward amidst a factor of people unfamiliar with the concept of the modern game and change as a whole.

sprucemoose · 09-09-2021 10:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866707#Comment_117866707

in fairness, i think some of the problems with the aviva are down to planning and construction constraints (hence why it isnt an equal 'bowl'). suppose its not too bad though since we dont have an 80,000+ stadium that sits idle for large parts of the year and especially when the aviva would be mainly used.......

arsebiscuits1 · 09-09-2021 10:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866948#Comment_117866948

The residents of Havelock square end nixxed any idea of the stadium being properly developed on their end.

The IRFU have responded by buying property on that side of the road gradually over the years.

Watch this space. That end will be developed before long

Podge_irl · 09-09-2021 11:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866996#Comment_117866996

An IRFU employee who used to post here was fairly adamant that was impossible due to sewers or something underneath that end.

sprucemoose · 09-09-2021 12:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866996#Comment_117866996

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117867282#Comment_117867282

i vaguely remember it being something to do with powerlines, could easily be drainage too though

Cookiemunster · 09-09-2021 12:26pm

something like powerlines or sewers might put the kybosh on something like a new house, but a multi million euro development will simply reroute or find a way to work around them. The main reason it's unlikely that the ground will be expanded is that it's probably not worth the cost to add the extra seats.

salmocab · 09-09-2021 2:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117867403#Comment_117867403

A sewer put the Kybosh on part of the metro so I’d say it’s at least plausible

Cookiemunster · 09-09-2021 2:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117868158#Comment_117868158

Off topic, but no it didn't. The only part of the metro plan that was kyboshed was South of Charlemont and that was solely down to NIMBYs. Sewers can be moved. It's only a question of whether it's easier/cheaper to reroute the tram or to reroute the sewer. And this is referenced in the metro planning docs.

mark_way · 15-09-2021 2:22pm

If Porter does switch to loosehead, I'd be fairly confident in predicting that the two looseheads in the World Cup squad will be him and Josh Wycherley.

That would leave Furlong plus two others as tightheads.

It's interesting to think who the two other tightheads might be. Can Salanoa and/or Knox step up in time? Ulster have O'Toole and Moore. Leinster probably won't be developing anyone in time for the World Cup with their big-name NIQ signing in situ at tighthead. And then Connacht have Bealham, Aungier and McCoy.

O'Toole is probably on course to be in the squad anyway.

TRC10 · 15-09-2021 2:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117894874#Comment_117894874

Squads got increased to 33. So we can bring 6 props.

mark_way · 15-09-2021 4:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117895145#Comment_117895145

I was thinking it was 32, but okay.

It still might make more sense to take 10 back five of the pack players and 6 halves than 6 props.

TRC10 · 15-09-2021 5:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117895693#Comment_117895693

Ideally, in the ultra specialised positions (hooker, prop, scrum half, out half) you'd have 3 players for each of them.

mark_way · 15-09-2021 5:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117895763#Comment_117895763

Depends. Maybe there's a fullback or a 12 who can play 10 well enough to be third choice there. Equally, having the third-choice tighthead covering loosehead hasn't been an issue as far as I can remember.

Maybe if Ringrose makes the squad he'd be good enough relative to the likelihood of him actually being called upon to play scrumhalf to make only taking 2 specialist 9s a gamble worth taking.

Dubinusa · 15-09-2021 7:52pm

Tom Clarkson could also push on this season and next. He does have a long way to go, but the ability is there.

Knox and Salanoa are not making any international squad if they're sitting behind Archer and Ryan.

Bealham is probably in the driver's seat atm. O'Toole is progressing and I think he's going to become a more complete player over the next 18 months.

Aungier is my dark horse! I think his prospects are good. He is going to get lots of minutes this year. I believe he's going to be nipping at Bealhams feet soon enough!

phog · 17-09-2021 11:28am

50 Players called up for a one Irish Camp

Backs (23)

Will Addison (Ulster/Enniskillen) 5 caps

Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 31 caps

Robert Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen) 1 cap

Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) 1 cap

Billy Burns (Ulster) 7 caps

Harry Byrne (Leinster/Lansdowne) 1 cap

Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 24 caps

Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 3 caps

Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 25 caps

Shane Daly (Munster/Cork Constitution) 2 caps

Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster) 93 caps

Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 15 caps

Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 10 caps

Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers) 52 caps

James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap

Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 13 caps

Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 30 caps

James Lowe (Leinster) 6 caps

Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 5 caps

Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 89 caps

Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 34 caps

Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 99 caps

Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan) 35 caps

Forwards (27)

Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 5 caps

Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 16 caps

Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 22 caps

Paul Boyle (Connacht/Buccaneers) 1 cap

Ed Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 6 caps

Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 20 caps

Will Connors (Leinster/UCD) 9 caps

Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) 2 caps

Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 19 caps

Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 9 caps

Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 49 caps

Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 109 caps

Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) 6 caps

Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 63 caps

Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 22 caps

Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 13 caps

Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 45 caps

Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 76 caps

Eric O’Sullivan (Ulster/ Banbridge) 1 cap

Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 1 cap

Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps

Rhys Ruddock (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 27 caps

James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps

John Ryan (Munster/Cork Constitution) 24 caps

Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap

Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 32 caps

Fineen Wycherley (Munster/Young Munster) 1 cap

sydthebeat · 17-09-2021 11:35am

50 players and not one uncapped player amongst them

FARELL OUT !!!!

17-09-2021 11:50am

Ross Byrne came on for Leinster against Harlequins so presumably is uninjured, looks to be out of the frame along with Cooney.

b.gud · 17-09-2021 11:57am

Broken down by position

Prop: