Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

You need to lay off the internet for a while

Didn't see this coming. Very interesting idea.

Hopefully the internationals are back for the provinces, otherwise they could struggle to field competitive teams.

I approve of the idea in principle, but it could be insanely disruptive for Ulster.

Despite the opposition, working and training as a group. Will be invaluable to them. It will also probably have a positive impact on those players when they return to their provinces. Short term pain, long term gain. Certainly a very different approach this time from Farrell.

How will playing against Currie Cup sides better "prepare" players for a big World Cup game than playing for their province in the URC?

I also don't think our squad depth was even in our top 5 biggest problems at the last world cup.

If we really want to "build depth", we should leave out the old heads against South Africa and Australia in November.

Gotta hand it to Faz, he doesn't shy away from work.

On some levels they do. Most teams in the world use pods, and so on. But it's an opportunity for players to get up to speed with exactly what the different Ireland coaches expect from them. It's about everyone singing off the same hymn sheet in attack and having as much cohesion as possible in defence.

We have a horde of lads who "can't get a fair shot", this should help on that front anyway.

Probably a more likely case might be for a 3rd or 4th choice prop or hooker who gets elevated to a bench role in a crucial RWC game might be more familiar and trusted in the Farrell system to give a solid 15 minutes off the bench.

We're probably fecked at this stage if anything happens to Sexton and Carberry, too much investment in both of them and next to nothing in everyone else over the past 3 years.

It's not ideal to call this tour but if the IRFU are insisting on first team selections in November then it's better than nothing for the coaches to have significant time with the backups and future players.

Irelands biggest findings from the last few world cups have been lack of depth - something that multiple people here frequently attest to about numerous positions.

The rule of thumb appears to be to be in genuine contention to win at the highest level you need a squad that is 3 deep in every position.

This doesn't have to mean "3 very good players who represent their province to the highest degree" it means 3 players who can fill in without a significant drop in performance.

As a result I don't buy in to "oh but they play for their provinces every week" or "they play similar styles of rugby" etc etc.

What we need for a 3 deep squad is players that are in the system, know the calls, know their roles, know the ethos, know every minute detail that us on the internet couldn't possibly comprehend or account for.

World Cup squads are 33 man. Meaning it's mathematically impossible to have appropriate cover in every position. So we're putting in place a process whereby players are properly equipped to come into the squad at a days notice and have no bedding in period. Or at least to minimize it.

We're mitigating against the fine margins that exist at the top.

This tour is a good thing for Ireland and people who don't think so I feel are being too short sighted. Or their priorities are with their province. Which is fair

I wonder if Farrell will be bringing 30 candidates who he is seriously looking at.

He might also be bringing 10-15 candidates he is seriously looking at and fill the squad out with young guns that would be in a provincial A squad if it had some competition.