Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

It is a must win game if Ireland have aspirations of going anywhere in this tournament. This loser attitude that some Irish fans seem to have isnt present in the Irish players or coaching staff otherwise would go nowhere at the world cup.

SA are the ones who should worry about which game to prioritise their squad as they are the inferior side and have a squad with an average age of over 30, we dont have those concerns!

Technically they’ve only beaten us once in the last 10 years. The other time was in the 2013 6Ns which is now more than 10 years ago. I know there’s a level of pedantry there, but it probably reflects just how dominant we’ve been against them over the course of the last 2 coaching set-ups.

I mean if they couldn’t beat us in Murrayfield this year…..

To add to that, they’ve only beaten SA once in the last 20 years too. They’re in what is probably the worst pool they could be in.

In the 33

Kellher (if fit now) Sheehan (if likely available after 6 weeks) Herring

Then call Stewart if (and only if) Kellher injury comes again or Sheehan recovery isn't fast enough

Exactly

And VDF for the throws 😛

That goes against what you said earlier when you have Kelleher, Stewart and Herring all playing games.

If Sheehan doesn't make the 33, and I don't think he will if its 6-8 weeks, It's risky to bring him in for a player in a different position because it might leave us very short there for example half back

Coaches spoken in the past about optimum numbers in extended squads for 6n to have players to train against each other etc. I cannot see Sheehan travelling in the original 33 in that scenario

Imagine if Healy ends up as Hooker v South Africa as a result with VDF throwing into the lineout. We got away with it v Scotland in 6n but this is a RWC.

No Stewart plays (is called after) only in the case of Kelleher sadly gets injured again

And yes I absolutely don't care about having 1 hooker only for South Africa (which again is unlikely as Kelleher has to be fit to be in the 33, and it would be really bad luck he got injured less than 72h of S-A so we can't call Stewart)

The other issue here is a red card or citing. A player banned for say 1/2 matches cannot be replaced

So if Kelleher is picked and Herring gets banned (or vice versa) and Sheehan is the 3rd hooker, and it's SA up next in a few days time, what then.

Sheehan won't be in the 33. It carries way too much risk in pool stages. We may feel we will beat Scotland but the coaches won't think like we do.

I take your point about ban but it's hugely unlikely, again.

Sheehan has to play QF anyway. Would be a huge mistake if he doesn't.

I disagree with you it's worth the risk to have him in the 33, but at worse (not the best option IMO) we will have to call him back for another injured player whoever he is.

And yes coach knows this RWC start in QF as 1) we'll beat Scotand 2) finishing 1st or 2nd doesnt matter (sadly)

Your thinking as a fan, not as a coaching team who do this for their livelihood and have a responsibility not only to themselves, but to the squad in General and to the IRFU.

A ban is not highly unlikely. Any player can be guilty of a mis-timed tackle ar any stage. There's is hundreds of tackles in any game. Its very much will be part of the discussion when the 33 is picked. Sheehan won't be selected unless he will be guaranteed to be ready for SA which seems very unlikely given he is rumoured to be seeing a specialist.

The coaches will prepare the exact same for every game. They will not be taking Scotland lightly Just because you do. Its a test match in a world Cup, each opponent will be given full respect. Otherwise we won't have a QF

We don't know who may or may not be injured and when. There is far too many unknowns here and the coach will try to cover as many scenarios as possible in the 33. You may not agree with that but your not a coach.

you're not either, for the better.

Sheehan 6-8 weeks is yet to be seen, with a specialist today. If it's 6 max, meaning ready for Scotland on the bench, the coaching staff may be wise enough to select him in the 33.

And yes, red is highly unlikely, as hookers more so. Sheehan had none in his career for exemple. Herring has one yellow only each season (25 games), assuming one yellow out of 2 leads to a ban, Rob is hypotetically banned in 1 game out of 50. We're taling about 4 games with (potentially) an issue

You don't select a team based on a less than 4% statistical occurence. It's not about fan or staff. It's about balencing benifits/risks. And we disagree

As I said, there's a judgement to be made. It's less likely for a half back. Though if Frawley was in the squad as a centre/full back and we lose crowley or Byrne, then it might be worth thinking about rather than bringing in someone like Carberry out of the cold. I'd be more inclined to think it happens with a 2nd or back row.

By the time we're looking at him being ready anyway we're probably in the knockouts so it's not that many more games to manage guys for.

Yeah it just comes down to who is fit and available if we reach a QF. The coaches won't be thinking that far ahead though. For them job one is to get into the Knock out stage. Some on here think a win v Scotland is a foregone conclusion but AF won't be thinking that way.

Most except you and your consevative views as usual think he will be in the 33 if today diagnosis is reasonably confident for Scotland game, and certainly not South Africa as a deadline

Ireland's referees for RWC pool games:

v Romania - Nika Amashukeli

v Tonga - Wayne Barnes

v South Africa - Ben O'Keeffe

v Scotland - Nic Berry

I've said repeatedly that my point on SHs doesn't cover for front row as their positions that take on far more attritional in nature.

It isn't a gamble though. I'm talking about doing it for SHs for the first two matches, where we should be able to win either match with no specialist SH on the pitch from the start if both our SHs pull up during the captains run.