Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Crowley over Byrne obviously imo.

With Coombes, he doesnt fit ireland’s game plan imo. I noticed in the ireland maori game, they emphasized what he does well for munster. In the A game, he seemed to be meant to be mirroring doris more… and honestly i think deegan is better at that.

We have a set system and you have to fit.

Very surprised by Ross Byrne's call up. He's probably the out half who least suits the way Ireland are trying to play. I'd have Carty or Burns over him personally.

Also don't think having him in camp is good for Crowley. He's supposed to be quite a loud, dominant personality like Sexton. And if they're trying to bed Crowley in, grow his confidence, get him calling the shots etc, I don't think having Ross Byrne in camp is a good thing for him. It could undermine Crowley.

If Sexton is fit, I don't see why they needed to call up another out half. A Lowry or O'Brien may have to act as 3rd choice 10 at the RWC, so why not use this game week as a dry run for that?

Henshaw is out AFAIK

The result means alot actually, the aim needs to be continuing our momentum going in 2023. Handing out caps just to test people out is the wrong approach, these players need to earn their caps as they are more likely to step up and perform.

I think we seriously need to calm it down on the Jack Crowley hype. Like, he's only started a handful of games at 10 for Munster, and hasn't really shone in any of them. He's never scored a try. He's 2nd choice (at best) at Munster. Granted he was good on the EI tour. But that was against Currie Cup B-Teams. He had a fairly mixed 30 minutes against NZ XV and an "ok" 30 minutes against Fiji. And people are now talking about him starting v Australia. Like, let's calm it down a bit. Maybe he will be great. He does seem to have the skills and athleticism, and he looks like a natural 10. The coaches seem to really rate him and I'd trust their judgement. But he's done nothing to warrant a start v Australia. Is he really ready to have Hooper, Valetini, Tupou, Samu, Arnold and Skelton running at him? I don't think so. I want to see him go and nail down the Munster 10 jersey and put an outstanding run of form together there before I get giddy about him.

Most of those guys play for leinster. That makes it different. I’m not even being funny, that’s the mindset.

Farrell goes down provincial depth charts all the time. This is no different.

I think this coaching staff thinks that there is no chance of winning a world cup without sexton, so why bother developing back ups. It’s cynical but logical.

So, why not just try your hardest to beat australia? It makes sense to me.

Carbery, Ringrose and Doris had all started and excelled in European Cup games, MOTM performances etc. and were fixtures in the Leinster 23. Sheehan had a fairly substantial body of work for Leinster behind him when he made his Ireland debut. James Ryan is the exception, not the rule. If Jack Cowley starts on Saturday and has the impact James Ryan had when he first broke in, I'll be the first one on here admitting I was wrong.

Who said anything about 50 caps for Munster. If he was to have 5 very good games for Munster between now and the 6N, I'd be all for throwing him in there. But he hasn't done that yet. He's had one pretty good game at 15, a about 4 ok to decent games at 10. He hasn't even nailed down the 22 jersey.

As I said, I'm a fan. I think he could be great. But we've been here before with the latest new 3rd choice 10. We know there's a dearth behind Sexton, so we really want them to be great, therefore we hype them up to be more than they are.

How come there isn't so much hype around Jamie Osborne. He's younger than Crowley, and has done a lot more at provincial level? Because we're stacked at centre. We aren't as desperate for someone the come through

Was that the knee injury that warranted a HIA so they could bring someone back on?

If McCloskey (as opposed to Henshaw) is in the 12 shirt I think O'Brien makes more sense in the #23 shirt than Aki. Henshaw moving out to 13 with Aki coming on arguably strengthens the side, but I don't think you could say the same if McCloskey had to move out or Aki played 13. O'Brien is probably a better 13 than Aki or McCloskey, and Ringrose can do a fine job at 12. So, given JOB also covers the back three, I think he's the man for the bench spot.

I suppose Stockdale could also be in the mix, but he hasn't played centre in ages, as far as I'm aware.

He wasn't "excellent" against Ulster. He was grand. I agree he was very good against Leinster at 15, but I specified that was "at 15". So unless he's picked by Ireland at 15, that's irrelevant. He's there as a 10, so I'm judging him as a 10.

Again, he was grand v Castres. I wouldn't say "very good". And personally, if I was try to make a case for a player's inclusion, I'd try not to mention losses against the Ospreys.

I like Crowley. I think he's very good. I just don't think he's put together the body of work to justify the hype he's getting. His recent "rise" (as it's been called) is almost entirely a result of injuries to others, rather than anything he's done. He hasn't had one game at 10 for Munster that's made you say "woah this guy is special". If he's as good as people say he is, he'll have no trouble ousting Carbery and Healy.

The difference is, nobody is calling for Joe McCarthy (who has played in a European Cup final) to start against Australia

Ok I stand corrected, I'll give you Sheehan. So if Crowley starts on Saturday, he'll be one of the best out halfs in the world within 12 months then, yes?

Maybe there would be those calls if McCarthy had got a few opportunities due to others being unavailable the way Crowley has.

Potentially, who would have said Sheehan would be one of the best hookers in the world this time last year? Obviously he was going to be class but among the best in the world?