Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104731#Comment_118104731

I don’t see how you figure that, tbh. For starters, Coombes is 23, Lowe is 29; they’re at very different points in their international careers.

And Lowe has been given plenty of opportunities by Farrell, and was dropped. Again, a very different situation to Coombes.

phily2002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104819#Comment_118104819

I was pointing out they are currently in a similar position in that they both offer a huge amount going forward but are not strong defenders. Hence putting them in against the best attacking team in the world(NZ) is taking a huge risk.

leakyboots

Didn't think Coombes misses too many tackles (haven't looked at stats so maybe he does).

Not sure what else he can do to put his hand up - jackals, good hands, workrate and has a ridiculous try scoring record.

There's a lot of competition in the backrow granted

bilston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104687#Comment_118104687

To be fair Herring has been good for Ulster this season. I would still pick Kelleher who despite the odd lineout wobble offers a lot more dynamism, but of course coaches will be looking for all sorts of things when it comes to selection.

As for Murray Kinsella's selection. It is a "possible XV", and therefore I reckon is more guesswork than anything, but we'll see.

Dubinusa

I think it's bonkers if Sexton starts. Surely he can bench? He most likely will get the nod v NZ. What will we learn about Carberry or HB, if they are warming the bench! This serves no purpose. Either Carberry or HB should start this match. Sexton can come in from the bench if needed.

V Japan, I would definitely play more of the young players. The result doesn't affect anything!

ersatz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105090#Comment_118105090

Yeah, I understand Farrell being conservative and picking his ideal team with the ABs coming right up but still, I’d be disappointed if we don’t get 1 or 2 of Casey, Frawley, Baloucoune, HB, Carbery, Coombes, etc starting with Sexton on the bench.

UAEguy2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104245#Comment_118104245

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104245#Comment_118104245

Except I don’t see Scotland and Wales who play in the same league having the same problem. We aren’t exactly getting the best out of our resources are we and we seemingly have given up trying to get the best out of the players at our disposal also which is a tad worrying, the only resource we seem to be getting the best out of is the excuse pile.

UAEguy2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104215#Comment_118104215

Christ on a bike talk about uninspiring and safe…

Also from this point on I don’t want to hear a dicky bird about the situation at 10, if this is the work being done to fix the problem then I’ll have no sympathy when it inevitably blows up in our face like it’s done every RWC cycle.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105239#Comment_118105239

Honestly, if you don't want to hear about it then stop bringing it up every few pages.

This is a possible team. I don't think kinsella has the same contacts he used to and has got a few teams wrong recently as far as I remember.

I'll be disappointed if sexton starts against Japan and NZ, but maybe another player wil get the NZ game. Carberry already got the start against Japan in the summer.

UAEguy2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105254#Comment_118105254

I’m not the only one bringing up though, every message about the situation from me has been in response to someone else making the point.

I sure as hell hope he’s wrong, if this isn’t a game to look at other options the when is? This was put up on Monday and I doubt the team would be known this early in the week so that’s my only bit of hope but if this is the team I’ll be extremely disappointed.

No one else will though, maybe if it was someone other than NZL but there is no chance Sexton wouldn’t be playing if he was fit versus NZL, he definitely wouldn’t want to. I’ve no issue us going back to what is considered our best team against NZL whatsoever but against Japan it’s just a waste of 80 minutes as we’ll learn nothing from it and if anything the only outcome out of it could be negative if we struggle as weather we like it or not the Irish players subconsciously will have an eye on NZL whereas younger players with a point to prove will be more dangerous for Japan.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105261#Comment_118105261

What's your team to start against Japan?

Former Former Former

Again, it's not a leaked team, it's not a probable team, it's Murray Kinsella thinking out loud. Relax the cacks.

pickarooney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104592#Comment_118104592

Ireland using an AI match against Japan for squad development.... yayyy!

...for a meaningless match against NZ the following week... booo!

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105327#Comment_118105327

No one learns by putting the kids out to be slaughtered by the all blacks. Did Wales learn anything last weekend when they shipped 54 points?

We can learn lots about seasoned pros when they face they all blacks.

So putting your best team out to face the Abs is still very much squad development

nerd69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105337#Comment_118105337

Basham looks a cracking player from that game to be fair

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105344#Comment_118105344

Anyone following Welsh rugby for the last 3 years knows Basham is a class player and would shine at test level. The only thing holding him back till now was his size

TRC10

I think it's crazy to start Sexton this weekend.

Give him 30 minutes off the bench and he'll be more than sharp enough for next week.

We beat Japan with Joey at 10 in the summer without our Lions. We can beat them with Joey at 10 with our Lions.

This is a perfect opportunity for Farrell to give his no.2 a run in a settled team against a good side.

Beirne not in the team is quite baffling considering he was one of our best players last season

As for Herring starting, jesus christ.

sydthebeat

my preferred starting team

porter kelleher furlong

henderson ryan

doris conan VDF

JGP H Byrne

Zebo aki ringrose Bloucoune

Keenan

bench: Killer bealham herring beirne Baird murray sexton larmour

irelandrover

kilcoyne, kelleher, furlong

beirne, henderson

doris, VDF, coombes

JGP and Byrne or Sexton and casey

Balacoune Aki Hume Conway

Keenan

Porter Bealhem Herring Ryan O Mahoney Zebo and the half back pairing that isnt starting

For the first test i would try mix up the provincial pairing. the leinster front row gets a lot of opportunity to play together, giving Killer time in that front row is more beneficial than porter. Its why Coombes is starting ahead of Conan, the backup half back should pair with the starting half back, they need to learn to play together, what ever pair starts against Japan id start the other against NZ. O Mahoney on the bench as then the entire back row is covered.

stephen_n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105460#Comment_118105460

I would imagine they’re going to want to give Porter as many minutes as possible at LH to bed him in.

AbusesToilets

I'd like to see Frawley and Hume get proper run outs. Frawley with Ringrose, and Aki and Hume. Centers are an area we're really struggling to get a return on the talent there.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105527#Comment_118105527

That's fair. But you could always bench Furlong instead for the start and play Porter at LH. Thats probably more beneficial. Playing Porter at LH with a familiar hooker.

molloyjh

This is Murray Kinsellas guess at the team. It hasn’t been announced yet so could be wrong. Yet people are still losing their sh!t over it. It’s almost like people want to lose their sh!t and moan.

But the simple fact is that this team hasn’t been together in over 7 months. They are going to need to play ahead of the NZ game. You can’t just expect them to come back after 7 1/2 months and just click against the best team in the world. That’s utterly unrealistic. And no doubt those same people whinging about selection now would, in many cases, be the same ones losing their sh!t if we were to perform badly against NZ regardless of selection against Japan.

And let’s not also forget that we were due to play the US last week. That and the Argentina game would have been games looked at to develop players. It’s also entirely possible that the plan was to mix and match vs the USA and Japan with a view to getting a wide selection of the squad up to speed ahead of the NZ game. That would mean that we’d have used 3 of 4 games for squad development. That option is gone now though.

I don’t know if some people just live to be miserable and are more than happy to ignore any bit of context that could reduce that misery. But if you find yourself getting wound up by a guesswork 23 then maybe you need to take a step back and breath. Personally I like to enjoy rugby. I do not in any way get the need to constantly whine about it. Where is the enjoyment in that? Why bother with something that makes you so unhappy? It’s bizarre.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105657#Comment_118105657

We had the exact same before the USA game in the summer. Some of the self-same posters complaining. About a single selection decision. Before the team was even named. That, in the end, didn't go the way they feared.

And Farrell proceeded to give out 8 new caps.

aloooof

Incidentally, when is the team being announced? I remember at the start of his tenure, Farrell named the team early in the week (on the Tuesday I think), but went back to naming it later in the week?

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105657#Comment_118105657

People are allowed to have opinions. That's the whole point of a forum.

How boring would the world be if people were only allowed to be happy about things and we all just applauded no matter what.

What if we get pumped at the weekend? Are we allowed to be unhappy or do we have to "enjoy" it.

There's a lot about that team I like. Baloucoune getting a shot against a good team. Zebo back in. No Murray. Porter at LH.

At the same time, there's some things I find strange. Herring at hooker. No Beirne. Sexton starting.

Maybe it is the official team, maybe it's not. People can still discuss it and have opinions on it.

Honestly, calling people miserable and unhappy for having opinions on a rugby forum comes across as a bit distasteful

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105837#Comment_118105837

But you're getting annoyed before the actual team has even been announced. It's the equivalent of getting annoyed about "getting pumped" this weekend before the game is even played.

And you've history for this as well. Getting annoyed that Baloucoune wouldn't be selected vs USA. "You just know Farrell will....". But Farrell then picked Baloucoune.

By all means discuss it. But discuss it in the context that it's a pundit's "possible" team. Saying "As for Herring, Jesus christ" just doesn't seem proportionate.

bilston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105090#Comment_118105090

None of the results affect anything. If you want to learn about the young players play one or two of them against NZ and not Japan. It might be a learning experience for them, but if one of them performs like Tane Basham did the other day then it might well be worth it.

bilston

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118105657#Comment_118105657

Yeah I think there is a lot of pent up frustration out there! People complaining about Farrell and Catt on the back of 4 convincing wins on the bounce where we hammered our biggest rivals and beat a decent Japan team with basically our entire 1st XV missing.

The narrative a few months ago was that we were making good progress, but for some reason that has all been forgotten.

Must love hardship

My team for japan:

Porter kelleher furlong

Ryan Henderson

Doris Conan Timoney

Murray Carberry

Frawley Hume

Larmour keenan Ringrose (wing)

Bench.

Sheehan Healy o toole bierne o'mahony casey byrne zebo

Let Johnny get his 100 cap from the start in a full house v nz.