Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Yea and then that means 6 consecutive games for Sexton if they are to play in a WC final!

They didnt even try to push him in 2019 v Jap because he was nursing a groin injury. He's out injured again with another groin injury.

Looks like the back-ups start v Romania and full strength thereafter.

If I recall correctly you said the something similar at the last WC. Deriding that I even suggested that we would have a battle on our hands v Japan!

Make no mistake this time.

We may not need the complete starting XV but it will have to be very close to it for the Tonga match.

The big question is of course Sexton. How he recovers from his injury and how Farrell can manage him.

Who would you select at 10 and 22 v Tonga?

I think that Ulster selection procedures have reverted to putting all the names on bits of paper and throw them all down the stairs. The top 15 start, the bottom 8 are on the bench...or perhaps they have dug the Ouija Board of Selection beloved of Les Kiss and his back up of reading chicken entrails. No one really comprehends what goes on. The entire abandonment of developing promising academy players over the last 5 or 6 years is shocking. They never get a chance. Rarely or never get a game with the team and then are deemed surplus and failures, a status with which we have no proof one way or another.

Treadwell to me is a very skilled, athletic lock despite the very casually negative dismissal of him on Boards. Henderson is a sicknote. O'Connor is very average but a trier. Izzy has been injured and then ignored. Despite this negativity and everyone agrees that Ulster had a poor season, yet they still fimished the normal league in second place ahead of everyone but Leinster. A few other second rows over the years were basically sidelined. The greatest 'crime' however is the bizarre scheme that seems to be 'ignore some very talented backs and something will turn up.' Give it to McCloskey only works when there are actual plays. Mickey Mouse could coach those guys to more success.

I think this season, in which they have been poorly coached, has really coloured your take on the last five or six years. There's been issues with Rea this season, but Stewart and Sheridan have broke through, McCann really kicked on the last few months, Postlethwaite has started to surface. NOt brilliant, but not the litany of doom that has been suggested,

Ok! Fair enough. I do agree it is unlikely. It's a risky strategy one way or the other.

And prob within the pack there is scope to pick outside the starting 1-8.

For the record:

I dont like the idea of Sexton starting v Tonga. Or the idea of Byrne starting v Tonga. And right now I also don't like the idea of Crowley starting!

I'm intrigued with only one thing for the warm up matches. Who Farrell selects at 10 in each of them.

Samoa could well be the dress rehearsal for Tonga. Personally I hope he starts Crowley v Samoa and he has a stormer.

Gun to head - Sexton v Tonga but hopefully Crowley is the magic bullet.

You've given me an idea for the match thread. Rainbow - Zippy, George and the gang

We won't be full strength for the Tongan game but I don't think we'll be a million miles off. I'd say we could see very close to our first choice 23 with some lads rotating to the bench.

This will be Tonga's tournament opener and they're going to be coming out of the traps as hard as they can. They've spent the last few years building everything up to this tournament, bringing multiple players in who were capped by Australia/NZ.

Something along the lines of Porter, Sheehan, Bealham, Ryan, Henderson, Doris, VDF, Conan, Murray, Crowley, JOB, Aki, Ringrose, Hansen, Keenan wouldn't surprise me at all.

Realistically, if they're to get out of the group they'll have to beat two of us, South Africa and Scotland

Cause our pool wasn't enough of a knife fight to begin with

That would be sensible but there's also a PR element where they'll have a big occasion against the potential top ranked side in the world to open their account.

They also then have an 8 day break until Scotland which works out nicely for them (for once) so I'd expect them to go pretty full strength in both. They'll be eliminated by the time they face Romania in their final game but will probably still be able to rotate and win that one.

Jean "The Kilometre" Kleyn