All Blacks v Ireland part II - July 9 8.05am Ireland time

Lucas44

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302763#Comment_119302763

Don’t forget La Rochelle too, he had two carries in 50/60 minutes last week. Imposing stuff from ur no8

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302561#Comment_119302561

AFAIK there was nothing flagged during the game, but he was diagnosed with delayed-onset concussion. Presumably he had some kind of symptoms showing up after the match.

TheRona

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302510#Comment_119302510

My understanding is that his HIA at the match was 'inconclusive' rather than positive. From what I've read, if he got positive in the first HIA, he would still have to do the Graduated Return To Play protocol, regardless of his subsequent passes of the HIA tests. This would mean his involvement in training this week would have been very limited.

I think it's pretty reckless, myself. NZ have a much more mobile loose forward trio for this test, he's going to be in for a tough time. It won't look good if something happens to him again.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302657#Comment_119302657

This was a massive opportunity to play Carberry,

Carbery played 50 minutes last weekend. Plus 20 at FB against the Maori.

sydthebeat

Papalii, while great around the field in open play, is a bit untested at 6. Hes played there at a pinch for the blues a few seasons ago, has about 12 starts in his career at 6.

i think this team (ireland) has been told, this is your second chance. Go perform or youre on the bench against maoris and the younger lads will be playing next saturday, i cant see us picking a full strength squad to pull off an unlikely prevention of a whitewash. A good first 40 for the likes of coombes and casey (maybe lowry) could see them force their way to the bench for next Saturday (injury not counting) but to be honest, thats about it. Its a pity Balacoune and Hume are injured as they are the closest to pushing for a jersey in my opinion. Timony and Prendergast need huge games versus the Maoris to show they can perform at test level, as they did themselves no favours in the previous game. Hopefully we'll have an out half back in at 10 an move Frawley to 12.

Clegg

That's probably the best team we can currently field. We weren't as bad as last weekends scoreline suggests. Cut out some of the needless turnovers and the game will be much tighter.

Porter, Sheehan and Furlong are getting flogged and will be wrecked by the third test. We're really missing Ronan Kelleher right now. Watched the November game against NZ a while ago and he was excellent. Offers that bit of extra power in the tighter areas which Sheehan doesn't get seem to have.

TRC10

The frustrating thing is, with the Mãori game midweek, there will be minimum changes again for the 3rd test. So if there was going to be any changes, it would have been for the 2nd test.

O'Toole being dropped for Bealham is really disappointing. Bealham is a good player, but he's 31 and we know what he can do. O'Toole is young, has a higher ceiling and is in very good form. I'd have really liked to have seen us stick with him and keep investing in him. Realistically, how much better is Bealham going to get? If we invest in O'Toole, he could be a solid backup for Furlong come the RWC.

Casey looks like he's locked in as our 3rd choice 9. But he's only started one test, a year ago v the USA. When is he going to start v a tier 1 team? I don't think there's much between him and JGP (who was poor last week). Yet JGP is the only 9 Farrell will trust.

The fact that Coombes only has two caps, both a year ago, is scandalous. Doris has done very little since November to justify his place. But such is the Irish way, he has a few good games 8 months ago and that's him locked in for the next few years and nobody else gets a look in.

I have no idea why Timoney never gets a shot.

And while I don't rate Carbery very highly, this was a perfect opportunity to simulate a scenario where Sexton is injured for a quarter final and we have to deal with him being absent.

Having very much taken the "win now" approach of picking an incredibly settled side with minimum rotation I think Farrell really needs to win a test now. You can't pick such a settled team with disregard for form and the RWC and get whitewashed 3-0.

starkid

So much for building depth.

No doubt after another hammering, the lads will be given one more chance to right the wrong and "make history"

A joke at this stage. The continued selection of Doris is just a 2 fingers to the squad. Is Irish rugby incapable of making decisions on performances and form.

Selecting Sexton gives out all the wrong messages, and if another injury occurs for him on Sat there will be absolute mayhem. AF needs to grow a pair now. His regime is just stumbling along. Honeymoon period is well and truly over, a 5-0 tour here will be the death knell as he limps onto a WC.

the fact we're heralding the return of Mack Hansen as some sort of great thing is showing where Irish rugby is at. after 1 and a half good performances the lad becomes undroppable.

the only positive for Farrell is the play is better to watch. however we still love an old hammering at the line and he's incapable of making hard decisions seemingly.

clsmooth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302833#Comment_119302833

Glad to see NZ deciding to sit Whitelock out this week. Judging by his face after the Super Rugby final it looked like he had taken a significant head contact just over 2 weeks ago. I wonder if this was the primary cause of the delayed onset concussion.

AdamD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119303203#Comment_119303203

The irony of giving out about no team changes but also giving out about Hansen being in the team based off few performances is surely not lost on you?

theboss80

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302134#Comment_119302134

Used Tunein radio last week and listened to local NZ radio commentary. Much preferred it and fairly unbiased compared to listening to Aussie commentators.

stephen_n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302493#Comment_119302493

Well he made 11 tackles which was the 4th highest of any player. Considering he was only on the pitch for just over 50 minutes and all the others were on for 80. That doesn’t appear to be nothing. Those things are pretty easy to see if you look.

AbusesToilets

Disappointing team. I think there are a number of players we could've brought in to strengthen things. Having Coombes to come on to exploit a tiring defense, Lowry or Larmour to take advantage.

Real missed opportunity

TRC10

Farrell seems to have adopted the approach of having 7/8 undropables that's worked so well for Irish coaches over the years. Ryan, Doris, JGP and Ringrose all very lucky to still be there.

Irish rugby shoots itself in the foot by not fully utilising the resources at it's disposal.

We talk about our reliance on Sexton, but I'd be concerned about our reliance on Gibson-Park, who seems to be the only scrum half Farrell trusts. I thought he was very poor last week and against France (our two toughest games this season), constantly playing into NZ's hands and gifting them opportunities. I don't think he's world class and I don't think he's any better than Casey, Cooney or Doak.

Former Former Former

All these guys who are being pimped up had their shot against the Maori.

I would genuinely question how anyone could have watched that game and thought that Casey, Timoney or whoever else deserved a shot at the ABs. They weren't bad but no one put their hand up. This is how test rugby works.

Farrell has proved time and again that he'll reward new players who can come in and do a job. The criticism of him being overly loyal is absolute bollocks. Absolute bollocks.

I think it's hilarious that we lose to the best team in the world in a ground where NO ONE has one in the pro era and lads are calling for a mass cull. It's lunacy, nothing more.

I did enjoy the comic relief of seeing John Cooney being mentioned in an Ireland thread after all this time. F**k me.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304069#Comment_119304069

Coombes and Timoney were Ireland's best players (read: Ireland's only two good players) against the Maori and both put in better performances than anything Doris has offered recently, so genuinely I'm struggling to see how you reached this conclusion.

Timoney obviously plays a different position, and VDF has been excellent, but Coombes for Doris is far from a ludicrous suggestion.

starkid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304069#Comment_119304069

did they? has he? they deserve a shot for the most part because the incumbent has been fairly shite. people like yourself will be saying the same thing next week if Saturday goes to the same script. but not surprising from somebody who for years on here insisted form isn't a yardstick of performance (what a laugh) its not progressive to pick a young guy (he didn't have much choice in some of the selections) if you persist with them despite performances.

what has Mack Hansen done to make him an undroppable? the only player so far that has fully backed the approach is Keenan, and even he looked poor on Saturday. but its likely he has played too much rugby like James Ryan.

its lunacy doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Doris, Ringrose, Ryan have been poorish for a good bit now. How many chances do you get?

If we ship another 20 point game will you still be advocating this approach?

you know whats luncacy ...professing this to be a tour of building depth as AF said, and then not doing that.

Cooney has been totally dicked over, the fact you can laugh at such profligacy, which is a constant of Irish rugby over decades is sad. Its too late for him clearly, however it would be a travesty if the same thing happened to Coombes or Lowry.

its clear as day we will have AF and people like you insisting that the lads deserve another crack after a defeat on Saturday and using the Maori game as a barometer of who doesn't deserve a spot.

AF has improved some issues. however his selection and use of squad is still questionable. and then picking injured players compounds that. The press will clean him up if this is another 20 point game, and the angle will be Sexton imo. he's made his bed. a 5 - 0 result from this tour on top of Leinster's woes will be a death blow for Irish rugby. at least for once there won't be hype before a wc.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302134#Comment_119302134

2fm had it last week.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304146#Comment_119304146

what has Mack Hansen done to make him an undroppable?

You’re criticising the “undroppable” nature of the squad and citing Mack Hansen, a player with 4 Ireland caps, as an example.

Do you see the contradiction there?

El_Duderino 09

This selection suggests a he will pick more or less the same team for the 2nd mauri match ad he picked for the first, and then the same team for the 3rd nz test as he picked for the first 2. That's disappointing. I hope there's some change for the third test. Coombs is surely worth a shot. He deserves the chance to play and grow and he's shown nothing but very high workrate and growth over the past couple of years.

I always think you'd be doing a favour to a player who's off form, by dropping them and letting them gather form again at their province. They must know they're struggling and it can't be good for them to keep being picked and keep underperforming.

Jump_In_Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119302134#Comment_119302134

Not sure if this will be of any use to you, but came across some live commentary on youtube the other day, if you have access to that instead of radio for example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYj4Huvnay8

starkid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304330#Comment_119304330

no its not a contradiction, he's become an undroppable due to the previous legend becoming 34 as well as being injured. he has done absolutely nothing to suggest that he's more deserving than Larmour. it was the same with RB.

I've no doubt we will be looking at Hansen in the next 20 tests. i can see what he's trying to do but i imagine it won't work.

ANyway we all know how you will bat for this thing ad infinitum no matter what happens.

another 20 point loss and i reckon we won't see any changes.

building depth was a lie and we will pay a heavy price.

sydthebeat

Surely "becoming undroppable" is an oxymoron??

So he's undroppable because his competition is injured..... And played 130 minutes in the previous two weeks.

Hummmmm .....

What's the word for extravagant exaggeration again??

Dubinusa

I don't think this N.Z team is as good as people think. They will improve, there's a lot of talent being utilized. I think NZ will be the force they were a few years ago.

Is a win down under the high that Farrell is looking for? Really is shocking that the selection is practically the same from last week! Where is the depth building? Surely, this tour is the place to test the fringe players.

Win or lose. If Farrell doesn't vary the XX111, we have learned sweet **** all. It's really disappointing.

starkid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304446#Comment_119304446

Larmour has been on fire last few games.

Hansen had a great debut season and did really well on deebut then was just grand. the idea he walks back into team is part of the systemic problem Irish rugby has.

its always been harder to get out of the team then on it. AF is just continuing a long tradition in Irish rugby and i thought he was going to be different. just another coach fearful of losing.

we won't win on Saturday so what is he doing? our best chance was last weekend and we blew it. we played well for about 25 minutes.

his biggest call has been JGP. Keenan has justified himself, but we really need to test out alternatives as well. and he was poor against NZ last Saturday.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304591#Comment_119304591

You have to take into account you're not seeing what these guys are doing on the training field. Pretty much everyone was shocked when Hansen was named to start during the 6N, but it was later revealed that he was tearing up trees on the training field and he more than justified his inclusion.

In general here, of late, there is not enough consideration being given to the fact that the coaches are better informed on the player's condition, state of mind, training form and how they fit into the system they're being coached to play under.

While your average punter might have a view on how players are performing in actual matches, there is no way to be well informed on those other points.

Dubinusa

Larmour would bring a lot of good recent form. He's been unplayable. Sure he's got weaknesses, but that Irish side has weakness all through!

Pudsy33

JGP made a few bad errors last week but he's also been instrumental to pretty much every impressive performance under Farrell. Calls to drop him are mad.

starkid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304646#Comment_119304646

of course. however when you haven't performed in a long while that becomes largely irrelevent. Hansen was fresh coming into a side needing a bit of spark. they were tearing up trees in 07, 15 and 18. didn't matter a **** jot.

Alot of these players must front up this coming Saturday otherwise points like yours mean nothing. you live and die by your test form.

but like i said even if we got an almighty thumping its likely we'd see the same squad.

we must be the most loyal selecters in World Sport.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304113#Comment_119304113

They were good, but they needed to be better to demand selection against the ABs. Like, there is a serious step up in quality of the opposition there and no one, those two guys included, played so well that we were saying he has to get a run in the tests.

As for Doris, well he seems to be flavour of the month for having a pop at Farrell but not only is he being picked, he's being picked at the expense of the guy we all thought was the first choice 8. He's obviously doing something right. He had a good Six Nations so I don't know why we're talking about not doing anything recently.

Bloer

Hansen is far from undroppable. The fact is that him and Lowe are our best available wingers this weekend. If Baloucoune and Conway were available it’s highly probable Hansen wouldn’t play, but for now his selection can’t be questioned.

JGP was erratic last week and tried to impose too much tempo last week and it played into the All Blacks hands. Let’s hope he keeps his composure this week and gives one of his better performances. I like Casey and would have liked to see him on the bench, but if the game goes down the wire I hope Murray can come on and see it out. His slower play might suit this.

Coombes deserves his chance and was undoubtedly our best player versus the Māoris. Pity he’s not in the 23 but hopefully he can see some impact from Conan when he comes on.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304781#Comment_119304781

The Six Nations was 4/5 months ago. But even at that, it's not like Saturday was a blip amongst a sea of stellar performances by Doris recently, it was just the latest in a disappointing trend of middling / average / anonymous outings. His end of season club form cannot simply be overlooked. Maybe he's fatigued, he's a lot better than what he has been showing of late.

But if your argument is Doris is being picked, therefore he's fine, then I think you're missing the point. Indeed, when we're down to "he must be doing something right" I think it's clear it's not a convincing selection.

It won't be the winning or losing of the game, it's just a selection that makes little sense to me when the alternatives are looked at. It's probably the only change I'd have made to the 23.

I think he needs a big game.

stephen_n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304925#Comment_119304925

I think you view performances as a fan. I would say there was very little difference in the level of performance of Timoney against the Māori and Doris against the all blacks.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119304925#Comment_119304925

To be clear, I don't think he's doing something right. I think he's doing lots of things right. I think he's our best 8 by a stretch. That's my argument. I think the criticism of him is way overblown.

The Six Nations may be 4 months ago but it's the last time Ireland played. Farrell has consistently shown that if a guy is delivering for him, provincial pecking order or performance isn't a big deal, and that's how it should be.

My point about selection is that the lazy accusation against Farrell is that he won't drop non-performers or reward form. But he's brought in POM on form and, if Doris is as shyte as you all say, the easy thing would be simply drop him, but he didn't, he dropped Conan and moved Doris over. So clearly Farrell doesn't agree that he's not performing.

They ALL need big performances on Saturday. I don't think Doris is particularly different from most of them in that regard.

molloyjh

Doris was very good vs Toulouse if memory serves. He was also very busy vs Bills but his impact was reduced. It’s hard to know whether that was his fault or the fact that the team as a whole were underperforming. His game relies more on clever carries, linking with guys around him and good support lines more than a direct physicality. So his performances will be impacted more than the likes of a Coombes when those around him aren’t delivering.

He was quiet vs LAR in a game where we were poor across the board. And he was poor against NZ. I think his recent form is being assessed with another healthy dose of decency bias. He’s had maybe 2 poor games and an average game in the last month. But prior to that he’d been going well.

Thet said, he could do with a performance this weekend. A couple of average to poor performances aren’t the end of the world, but if they continue then they become a problem.

AbusesToilets

I think there's case for not waiting for rotation to be forced upon us. We know Doris can deliver, but why not try out something else just to see. Same with Keenan and Lowry. It doesn't always have to be a player going out of form to justify bringing in someone else. Why not try Frawley at 12 with Henshaw or Ringrose.

That's the sort of healthy experimentation that's been lacking on this tour. Where you're not explicitly weakening the team to blood players. It's likely that the players not in the squad on Saturday will have to play the Maori, which in turns means they're less likely to get a shot in the 3rd test. That's a real missed opportunity imo.

Dubinusa

If the fringe lads don't play in a test, the tour was useless, imo. Whatever tier 2 side plays us in the autumn is not a good learning experience. There's a few lads that can add something different to the team.

We can win this weekend! But, it really doesn't mean much if it's the same players over and over.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305684#Comment_119305684

Your entire argument is based upon the premise that Andy Farrell is infallible. Literally that is what it boils down to in its entirety, the coach cannot possibly get it wrong, therefore anyone who suggests anything other than what the coach does is wrong.

Do you not believe it's possible that Doris is not playing well, but he is still being selected despite this? This does not mean that Farrell doesn't drop non-performers as a general statement.

I mean, do you believe it's beyond all possibility that Doris is being given time to try and play himself back into form? He wouldn't be the first Ireland player to be given this opportunity, we all remember how bad Sexton and Murray were in 2019, and I'm sure he won't be the last either.

IMO, I wouldn't give him the opportunity to play back into form when we have other excellent options, but Andy Farrell disagrees. That's fine, but let's not start pretending that he's actually been really good because he's being picked, or that he's doing things that us mere mortals just cannot see or understand.

As for Doris being out best 8 by a stretch? Maybe this is true when he's on his game (hard to know really, his handling is very suspect and how can you really compare him against Coombes), but he's not on his game now so it's kind of a moot point.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305915#Comment_119305915

Your entire argument is based upon the premise that Andy Farrell is infallible.

Nope. Not infallible. Just in a better position to judge.

My argument is that selection is based on a myriad of factors that we have no knowledge of but Farrell does.

Farrell is not subject to the grudges and provincial bias that so many of us have. He doesn't have years of simmering resentment about the Leinster bias of the IRFU, he isn't bitter about the non selection of second rate journeymen from his home province going back 15 years. Farrell does not watch a game only to pick out mistakes by certain players.

Neither you nor I have ever seen an Irish training session or tactical meeting in your life. We have no idea what the coaches want. We have no idea what Coombes or Timoney are like in terms of their attitude or application. Farrell does. All we know is that they look great against second rate teams.

If my entire argument is that Farrell is infallible, then your argument is that you are infallible, but based on much less information.

Dubinusa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119305915#Comment_119305915

I think Conan is better than Doris and Coombes. But I agree in part, Doris is being afforded an opportunity to play himself into form. His recent form has been poor, imo. Conan hasn't been great, but he's been good! I would start Conan and have Coombes on the bench.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306052#Comment_119306052

It's a discussion forum, where people discuss and give their opinions about rugby. Some people are going to have a different opinion to you, and some are going to have a different opinion to Andy Farrell.

If you believe this is a place where we can only discuss what we know for an absolute certainty we may as well close it down, because there'll be nothing left to discuss.

"We lost, but I won't say we played bad because I've never been to an Ireland training session so I'm not possibly qualified to give any sort of view on this sport". What absolute nonsense, no harm to you.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306095#Comment_119306095

Hang on hang on hang on.

We were discussing rugby.

You made it personal by accusing me of thinking that Farrell is infallible and being blind to everything else. You did that, knowing it is utter nonsense. That was your choice. That line may have made sense when Joe was in situ but quite why I'd have undying loyalty to a former League man from Salford isn't clear to me.

If you want a certain level of discourse, then by all means let's do that. But don't drag me into the mud and then criticise for having dirty shoes.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306178#Comment_119306178

If your reading of my post was that I made it personal then I apologise, that was not my intention at all. I am not accusing you of bias or having any particular loyalty here at all, for what it's worth.

TheRona

I think there's one thing we can all agree on. The best outcome for all concerned is for the All Black's to absolutely wallop Ireland on Saturday.

molloyjh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306095#Comment_119306095

I’m sure I’ll never figure it out, but it has always baffled me how on the internet so many people hear “I disagree with what you’ve said” and assume by default that it means the other person believes completely the polar opposite to the thing they disagreed with. Like there is no middle ground at all, it’s all or nothing.

You’re the one who, instead of acknowledging that there is a point to the logic that we don’t see it all, claimed that FFF thinks Farrell is infallible. It’s not something he ever said, but he did disagree with you so you just jumped to the opposite of “Farrell made a mistake” and ran with “Farrell can never make a mistake”. But that was something you conjured up.

What FFF did say was that there is plenty of evidence there to suggest Farrell will drop guys if he feels they aren’t performing and/or others could do better. Just ask POM, VDF (and Connors on the flip side), Murray or Lowe for example. I’m sure Larmour, Earls and Conan could attest to it as well. So it wasn’t an outlandish statement by any means. Farrell has dropped guys from the starting XV and the 23 entirely when he feels that it is warranted and there’s another decent option.

You disagree with Farrell on the Doris thing. That’s fine. But you disagree with a lot less information to hand than Farrell has. And that’s relevant. I could disagree with a diagnosis that a doctor gave someone. They’d be idiots not to consider the doctors diagnosis more likely to be true than mine. It doesn’t mean that the doctor has it right, but it’s certainly far more likely that he does. And even acknowledging that doesn’t mean we can’t have a conversation about it. It just means that we should be giving more weight to the expert opinion than the lay man’s. And that can be a valid part of the conversation.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306228#Comment_119306228

That's OK. As you know, I have never misconstrued or overreacted to a post.

Look, I think Farrell is very fallible. Very, very fallible.

But I also think that Irish fans are far too quick to say player X isn't up to it and player Y should be playing.

Most of the time, player Y turns out not to be nearly as good as he was made out to be, or that a brief run of form made him look.

I see guys in the Leinster thread saying Molony should be in NZ ahead of McCarthy or Baird and I absolutely despair.

The rubbishness of the URC means we rarely get a chance to see provincial guys really performing at a high level. The interpros have been devalued and now the European pools aren't worth a damn either.

So when we say that Coombes or Molony or Frawley or Lowry is deserving of a place in the national XV, we're basing it on very little real evidence. That's when the stuff that we don't see comes into play. How did Keenan, JGP, Hansen, Sheehan, etc breeze into the team at first time of asking when Baloucoune, Carty , Coombes etc can't "get a fair shot" after multiple callups? Because the former went into camp and showed the coaches something that the latter didn't . I don't know what it is but it obviously counts for a lot.

That's my take on it.

Teferi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119303203#Comment_119303203

So much for building depth

Farrell has capped more new players during his tenure than any other Irish coach in the same time period in the pro era. And probably the amateur era too but I'm not arsed checking that.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306519#Comment_119306519

You know what, I read this a few times and it's totally fair. I see what you are saying and it makes sense.

To be clear, I think Doris is a very good player, I don't think Coombes is a better player than him but I think Coombes might offer us something different. VDF is a good carrier but he's more athletic, Coombes should just bring some grunt into the equation. I think, given Doris is IMO not playing anywhere near his best, it's a good opportunity to try something different.

FWIW I would not have Moloney or Frawley or Lowry in the same bracket as Coombes. And Baird for me is over rated, as controversial as that may be.

aloooof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119306519#Comment_119306519

I absolutely see where you’re coming from with regards Farrell obviously having more information, FFF, but I’ll make one point of differentiation.

You said you think Doris is our best 8 “by a stretch”, right?

Farrell’s selection of Doris doesn’t necessarily mean he thinks Doris is our best 8 “by a stretch”.

It’s entirely possible he may think it’s far more marginal.

Akrasia

Farrells selection smacks of a guy trying to snatch a heroic defeat at the next world cup.

You cannot win a world cup with a squad of 26 players some of whom are not even trusted enough to bring on off the bench by their own provinces in important games...

a gameplan totally reliant on a single injury prone player being fit for every meaningful game between now and Paris 2023

You don't need to be Nostradamus to see where this is going