Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Yeah but Cooney knows it all and has done it all. It’s other people’s immaturity and lack of honesty that’s the problem. I mean, he fixed Cartys terrible attitude to other players so he must be great.

Cooney has def come across as a guy who externalises his issues almost entirely. That kind of attitude probably has been at least part of the reason he isn’t involved in Ireland camp.

That's a pretty bitter interpretation of the interview I read.

This is genuinely a fascinating aspect of modern sports media and fans. Fans complain that media interviews are bland and sports stars are too media savvy and only speak in clichés. But if there's one thing that will get more criticism than speaking in clichés (and apparently its reasonable to expect it will have you precluded form squads) is saying what you think if it involves even the slightest criticism of Johnny Sexton (may the Lord bless him and smile upon him) or the coach.

Farrell gets dogs abuse on these threads and lots of posters think he should be fired (the debate is usually around who should replace him) but we also seem the believe it's unthinkable for a player to utter a pretty bland criticism of him and still be picked for a 50 man squad.

Based on how he carries himself in games? That’s one of the more ridiculous comments I’ve seen on here about a player. Some might say it’s lacking in maturity. Others might just say is a pretty nasty opinion based on nothing other than your own little axe.

it’s amazing how he can be such good friends with other players, even ones he has played against given his lack of interpersonal maturity and generosity.

Ah look I’ve been through this before. I don’t doubt there’s truth behind some of what Cooney says. When it comes to Sexton it’s hardly news that he’s a difficult guy at times. But Cooney at this stage just has a record of having issues with how others have treated him and prevented him from getting what he feels he deserves. It’s not just one or two interviews. It’s a very real pattern of behaviour at this stage. I honestly couldn’t care what he says about Sexton really. It’s more about how he talks about his disappointments in ways that paint him a victim.

Disagreeing with my point would be to say that Sexton is not a dick and doesn't have a difficult personality. That's not what Stephen_n said though, rather it was that my comment was nasty, immature and ridiculous! I'd say that's nothing more than a confirmation that that poster doesn't like criticisms of JS. Im saying the same thing as you, that JS is crotchety. Im not saying he is difficult or impossible to play with, that's obviously not the case. But for some players he is a pain in the hole and Cooney seems to be one of those players. None of this is news.

I think he's a excellent player but I think he's probably as much of a bad influence as he is a good influence.

I've played with players who bollocked teammates when they made mistakes rather than actually trying to teach them what they did wrong. If someone teaches you what you did wrong and how you could have done it better, it's infinite more useful to making sure the mistake doesn't happen in the future. But some people prefer to just give out and not teach (either because they don't teach to or because they aren't able).

I have heard load of commentators say JS "drivea standards" but very few players say he actually teaches or coaches anything. I think the omissions speak volumes. And I'd be shocked if he goes on to have a coaching career.

I personally think he was an excellent influence when he was a young player barking at the older players and now he's a bad influence barking at the younger players and stifles creativity in the younger players.

I think it will be a mixed day when he retires. In one sense it will be sad but it will be like a forest fire which clears the way for new growth. There will be a dearth behind him but ulmately it would be worse if he stays on beyond this year.

Hang on.

No-one suggested the Sexton comments were in any way related to his exclusion. No-one had even brought them up, until a poster saw a reference to "those comments" and immediately assumed (wrongly) that we were referring to the Sexton comments, rather than his comments about Andy Farrell.

The only person who needs to get over anything is John Cooney. He needs to make peace with the fact that he is a very, very average rugby player and he's found his level. That's not Andy Farrell's fault, it wasn't Joe Schmidt's fault, certainly not Johnny Sexton's fault. The only reason he gets so much attention is because he can kick goals; as a scrum-half, he's nothing special at all. That has been reflected thoughout his career.

11 caps is a fair return for him.

Do you think "making nice" with the coach should Influence selection?

I didn't realise he had a track record though. What else has he done along these lines?

Yeah but I think the form players should be picked most of the time. I think that's a problem with irish rugby and I disagree with picking out of form players, waiting months for their form to return. Cooney was not picked we he was the better rplayer on form and he was shafted for that reason, in my opinion.

It was rumoured that he would start against Italy. He was the form player at the time and should have started all the games while that was the case. Murray was cruising on reputation at the time and that's a silly but too common situation for Ireland.

Top league and European performances should be the form that were using. Murray playing less well in the league and in Europe (and playing poorly for Ireland) wasn't enough to get him dropped. He was picked on reputation. That's not a good situation.