Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120063982#Comment_120063982

You're right; we are flogging Carbery

TRC10

It always annoys me when I hear people say "Ireland are reliant on Sexton"

We're not reliant on Sexton. We're reliant on having a good out half. Just like literally every team in the history of rugby. And the reality is, Sexton is the only good out half in Ireland by international standards.

Without Sexton, barring some insane improvement from a Crowley or someone between now and then, we haven't a hope in hell of winning a 6N or winning a RWC 1/4 final.

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062775#Comment_120062775

I wonder how many people are saying that now vs 6 weeks ago though.

Also, Crowley wasn’t great vs Ulster. The POTM award was bizarre when you look at the work that someone like Coombes got through.

Rigor Mortis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064583#Comment_120064583

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064583#Comment_120064583

So what you're saying is we're reliant on Sexton

Rigor Mortis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064431#Comment_120064431

How has Frawley lost his opportunity.

Dave_The_Sheep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064318#Comment_120064318

So you're saying...

Dubinusa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064824#Comment_120064824

He's been out! No opportunity to make an impact and won't feature in the 6nations. Long way off the squad atm.

ScissorPaperRock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064583#Comment_120064583

"We're not reliant on Sexton"

"Without Sexton... we haven't a hope in hell..."

Talk about a contradiction 😂

TRC10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064818#Comment_120064818

No. What I'm saying is, this notion that we've screwed ourselves over by "building our game around Sexton" is rubbish.

johnnyskeleton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064583#Comment_120064583

Ireland have built their team around their outhalf, specifically sexton. France dont build their team around Ntamack, Jalibert, Lopez etc. In fact when they announce the French team no one bats an eyelid about no. 10.

Willhelmse is a good outhalf. But hes not an amazing out half. And yet South Africa managed to win the world cup.

Even twice world rugby player of the year Beauden Barrett isnt the be all and end all of New Zealand rugby, when hes even played at 10.

Even if we look at Ireland's best ever Outhalf (by points scored, which may not be the only metric, but its the best one), he wasnt the best player on the team and the team was instead lead by its no. 13!

The point is that its great to have a great no.10. But its also great to have 15 great players.

The problem with building the team around Sexton is.....2019. He was playing badly and the team suffered. Schmidt had to start him because not to do so would lead to a crisis of faith and would highlight the absence of a plan B. He dragged them all down, but there was nothing they could do to change the plan.

I think, or at least hope that Farrell is recognising that Ringrose can be captain / first receiver when Sexton isnt playing. I think or at least hope that Sexton understands that if he allows Ringrose to do this they are a double threat and it makes it harder for opposition to defend against. But mostly I think, and very much hope that Ireland joins the ranks of teams like NZ, ZA and France who have several star players who work together for the good of the team and dont let their egos get in the way.

Or we can just continue to mindlessly build the team around Sexton and have another year of glorious underperforming. Thats also an option

Must love hardship

After all that sexton claims he will be fit for the 6 nations... as per Bernard Jackman who interviewed him earlier when sexton was given life membership of the rds.

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120066965#Comment_120066965

Oh now 2019 was Sextons fault. Interesting. Him playing badly caused everyone to play badly. It wasn’t at all that the squad as a whole failed to deliver. Nope, it was Sextons fault. Just that one guy. Nobody else. Oh, well other than Schmidt obviously. Bad Guy Johnny and Bad Guy Joe. Boo!

We don’t build out game around Sexton at all FWIW. In fact under Farrell we have actively looked to put less emphasis on Sexton. Sexton just happens to be one of the best 10s in decades. Not just in Ireland. He’s a truly world class player who makes any team he plays on better, like all world class players do. And so when he plays, Ireland are better. I’ll never understand what some Irish people have against a guy who has represented Ireland so successfully over his career. It truly is bizarre.

naughtyboy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067347#Comment_120067347

When did he unlock his special abilities,

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067379#Comment_120067379

Over a number of glorious years in the late 00s and early 10s, like when he came off the bench in the 2009 HEC SF. Obviously. We thought he had unlocked them all by 2012 but there was a hidden ability that he unlocked in 2018 called “Balls Of Steel” which enabled him to attempt a variety of kicks in scenarios most wouldn’t dare. 😁

stephen_n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120066965#Comment_120066965

No France don’t build their team around 10. They do it around 9. When you have Dupont there that’s an easy choice.

Willemse wasn’t the 10 when SA won the RWC Pollard was. If Willemse had been, I pretty much guarantee they wouldn’t have won.

Sexton not playing well in 2019 was a small part of a much bigger problem. The entire team was playing poorly, were low on confidence and our pack was getting destroyed. Him not playing well didn’t make the rest of the team poor.

Akrasia

I think, or at least hope that Farrell is recognising that Ringrose can be captain / first receiver when Sexton isnt playing. I think or at least hope that Sexton understands that if he allows Ringrose to do this they are a double threat and it makes it harder for opposition to defend against. But mostly I think, and very much hope that Ireland joins the ranks of teams like NZ, ZA and France who have several star players who work together for the good of the team and dont let their egos get in the way.

Johnny Sexton's ego is a big problem. By all accounts he runs Leinster, and he dominates Irish training camps.

The fact that he's insisting that he will still play in the 6 nations despite having a broken face means he feels he is irreplaceable.

He did the same thing in the Autumn internationals he insisted he was playing against Australia all week despite being unfit, then pulled out at the very last minute and left Crowley to start having not had any time to prepare. (everyone was shocked that Sexton was named that week given his injury in the previous game)

If Crowley was named 10 earlier in the week, he would have had a chance to prepare the team and get them more familiar with his patterns, to train as the starting 10, then maybe then JGP wouldn't have 'protected him' by refusing to pass to him for most of the game.

Sexton will lead all of the prep for the 6 nations, everything will be based around him, he'll then play 20 minutes in the first game, break his face again, and we'll be left stranded again for the rest of the 6 nations.

Its not all about game time, it's also the preparations for the games. Is Sexton mentoring his replacements, or is he undermining them?

This is a man who still believes he will be the starting 10 for Ireland in the 2024 6 nations.

We can rebuild him

crisco10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067973#Comment_120067973

Wowza, Not a sexton fan?

Small fact check about the Autumn, he had a dead leg from SA game (which you could see at that time with all the strapping on his thigh). But then hurt his calf in the warmup for Australia game - i.e. a different injury. So unless the squad had a clairvoyant in the camp, nobody could have predicted Crowley would be needed.

Former Former Former

It's mad to see the levels of contempt and hatred that some people have for their own national team.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067973#Comment_120067973

haha thats actually quite funny.

yeah, Sexton is irelands 'problem'.... sure nothing hes done in the last 15 years as irish out half has made us any better as a rugby team.

youd have to wonder sometimes why certain players, playing in certain jerseys, get under "fans" skin.....

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120067973#Comment_120067973

Do you honestly, genuinely believe this stuff?

Do you think Andy Farrell is the shy retiring character who is going to be "dominated" by a player?

Where, anywhere are you getting it that he's "insisting" he'll play in the 6N?!

Some of the tinfoil-hat IRFU conspiracy theories on this site in recent weeks are nothing short of farcical.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068040#Comment_120068040

Its like the guy at work who 'does everything' He knows all the passwords for everything, he knows how to fix things when they break and then he goes out sick for 2 weeks and the place falls apart because everything is in that guys head and he never trained anyone else to cover for him.

Sexton is a problem for because he's that guy for both Ireland and Leinster.

sydthebeat

Yeah, Leinster and Ireland are SOOOO bad at rugby :D

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068106#Comment_120068106

He told Jackman he would be fit for the 6 nations in an interview yesterday

It's a 6 week recovery time for a broken cheekbone

The fact that they're even speculating about playing him in 4 weeks is nuts

clsmooth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068144#Comment_120068144

So Sexton is the IT guy? It’s a ridiculous argument. Things don’t fall apart for Leinster when he doesn’t play. Have a look at Leinster's record this year without him.

I think you’re trying to say in a round about way that Ross Byrne has to start as backup IT guy if Sexton is out for the first game of the 6 Nations as he’s the guy who has stepped in for him before at provincial level?

Podge_irl

One suspects he knows his fitness better than we do.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068195#Comment_120068195

So him saying when he'll be fit is the equivalent of him "insisting" he'll play?

You don't know exactly what injury he has, what prognosis or specific treatment he's received, and what the doctors have told him in terms of when he'll be fit to play.

The notion that he is such a powerful presence that he can insist he'll play and overrule the coaching staff and medical staff is nonsense.

The idea that the coaches will just accept the idea now that "oh i guess Johnny will be good to go after all, no need to worry about that" and not have contingency plans in place is equally nonsense.

AdamD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068144#Comment_120068144

Sexton plays for Leinster every 3rd full moon, they do fine without him.

stephen_n

Looks like someone never got over the ROG v Sexton thing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120068144#Comment_120068144

I thought the original post was a wind up but if you're posting this nonsense in all seriousness it's actually embarrassing.

Every team in the world would love to have a Sexton type character. Lancaster talked about having a second coach on the pitch in Sexton and has huge praise for his character and mindset. You have a massive and incredibly juvenile chip on your shoulder.