Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

As a Leinster fan I would start Aki over Henshaw. As I’m sure many others would. But I can see past blue jerseys, so maybe that’s just me.

What kind of nonsense is this!? You made it provincial and yet you’re calling someone else out for doing so. Podge made a valid point about JGP without mentioning anyone else and you replied with something about Munster players.

This is exactly the sort of behaviour that is turning this place into a dumpster fire. People arguing in bad faith, being incredibly parochial and then pointing the finger at others for doing (or in this case not doing) the same thing. Clsmooth very much didn’t turn this into provincial crap. You did.

Right. Because Murray and Sexton don't have cohesion...

The only reason a Leinster player can be selected is because of "cohesion". Not because the coaches just rate him higher or because the team functions better with him. I don't have the figures but I'd say there's a good chance Sexton has actually started more games of rugby with Murray than he has with JGP.

Also, "cohesion". A good old TRK buzzword

It’s as well that nobody said it did. And this kind of conflation has been rampant (not just by pro-Crowley supporters) and is a massive issue that is just not being dealt with. It’s almost impossible to come in here any more and just have a reasonable, rational discussion. And this post does clearly show that. Taking something saying one thing and turning it into something else entirely. And then people wonder why rows break out.

What I said. That I have seen some crazy posts about Crowley and some mental gymnastics about his season that are hyping him up beyond where he should be hyped. That is not the same thing as saying that if you like Crowley you’re going overboard. It’s that some people who do are, not all. If that’s what I wanted to say I’d have just said it.

There is a post a few pages back, I don't have a photographic memory so this is probably paraphrasing, but it said something along the lines of "there is no more he can do to prove himself at club level".

This about an outhalf who has never started a game at 10 in Europe.

he has

I see where @phog is coming from tbh.

The main concerns voiced around Crowley is that he is impulsive and risks turning over the ball (voiced by myself among others). But nowhere (that I can recall) did anyone offer the reward side of that argument, i.e., that it's a risk you take to play at a higher tempo.

So if you're going to qualify any similar criticism of JGP (essentially weighing up risk and reward, and not just risk), it's only fair you do the same for Crowley.

Which for me brings it back to the current state we're in at backup 10, i.e., that it's possibly a horses-for-courses decision, as opposed to one guy being ahead outright. If we can manage the risk, we seek the reward (Crowley). If we can't, we play it safe (Byrne).

Ask for example

Get example

Dismiss example as just an example

Shrug

Rooks lack ngl

Honestly, I’ve no interest in going back and picking out things to go “look what this poster said, look what that poster said”. That’s hardly helping matters. I mentioned examples in the post you quoted (where you ignored them). It’s clear the standard of posting here has gone down the toilet, and been allowed to.

Maybe I’m crankier about some of this stuff as a result but this used to be a worthwhile place for discussion. Now it’s a forum for hyperbole, provincialism and people taking the piss with their behaviour. And then posters who try to post in good faith end up on the receiving end of crap. It’s maddening, because almost all of us here are adults. We should be capable of more.