Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

ah come on, i get the world cup is still a sore topic

but are we really thread banning folk for a joke?

There's been way worse Said about other teams that is let fly

For me, I'd say Forde has a great chance. He seems to have it all and if he continues this form, should be in training camps before too long.

As far as 2nd rows go, Ahern looks to be highly rated. Emerging Ireland tour last year.

An under thae radar pick, Russell at Leinster. Still early in his development of course and he needs to force his way into the 2st xx111. From what I've seen of him, he's got serious potential.

I don't know that any young Ulster lads will break into the squad anytime soon. If McCann performs well in Europe then he may well get there eventually, but he's probably a season away. Harry Sheridan, along with Jude Postlethwaite, might interest the selectors down the line, but not anytime soon.

For now it will be the likes of Tom Stewart, Jacob Stockdale, James Hume and Rob Baloucoune who still have the best chance of getting into the squad IMO.

Not sure about left footed wings, but Russell and T.O.B from Leinster are viable options. Shane Daly and Nash are both very good players.

It's a shame that Larmour hasn't improved. If anything, he's stood still if he hasn't regressed. I find it hard to believe that after all this time the same problems exist for him. What exactly are the coaching team doing that these problems can't be fixed?

As mad as it sounds, in the near future we could be looking at Brian Gleeson at 8, Ruadhán Quinn at 7, and Beirne or Coombes fighting it out for 6. Gleeson is already the same size as Coombes but a bit more mobile and room to fill out more, Ruadhan just turned 20 in October, and Gleeson will turn 20 in February.

O'Connell (will turn 20 in May), Ahern (will turn 24 in Feb) and Edogbo (will turn 21 next month) fighting out for lock positions. Plus Kleyn if still around.

And that's not even considering the other talented guys.

Kendellen may find himself like Scott Penny, a very good all-round player, but stuck behind bigger and better athletes. Hodnett is quicker than the others, but I could see Ruadhán passing him out this season, his size and speed are phenomenal and seems to be a good player also. If they are good enough they are old enough. One thing Kendellen offers is good cover across the back row, he is capable of being a fantastic back row sub, and could perhaps cover centre too if going for a 6-2 split.

I believe Quinn had his final year this year as he turned 20 in 2023, I think U20 is if you turn 20 in the calendar year.

Hodnett is a fantastic player, but that's why I think it's mad, he will be under a lot of pressure to nail down the 7 jersey with Quinn's ability.

They will need to break into the first xv at province level and perform in big games. The standard to get into the Ireland back row is extremely high. We mainly need a back up to Andrew Porter and an out half to replace Johnny proving themselves consistently at the top levels and staying injury free.

In retrospect I think Doris belongs in that group of elite young talent too, but he was in a poor u20 side and didn't get the recognition he probably deserved.

He's the biggest success story of Ireland's player pathways in recent years imo. He's a top 3 player in the world in his position and included in multiple World best XVs. Moved very swiftly from u20 to provincial debut to test debut.

If i was looking for a proto VdF in one of the provinces, that’s Kendellan body and athleticism wise to me. Especially when you have a ton of carrying in your pack, that can be extremely useful.

I see Van der Flier as a super mobile player, he can play 80 and cover every blade of grass, and pop up on the wing at pace in broken play. However, I don't think he does enough at the breakdown, and carrying, he did show some improvement in 2022 I thought but didn't reach those levels recently.

I don't think Kendellen is as athletic, I think he's actually brilliant at the breakdown and probably similar at carrying. They are both 6'2" and around 103-105kg. But I would think they are different types of players. Kendellen's strengths are different though in my opinion.

Could say the same about McGrath, has everything you could want in a SH, bar consistent passing. Worry about Porter too, 3 seasons in at LH and still has the same fundamental issues with his scrummaging.

He's played a fair amount for Leinster in those years but if you believe his omission from the Irish team is exclusively to do with injuries Ill disagree with you without going through every season to compare the timings of his injuries with the selections for Ireland.

The fact that Larmour still has the same weaknesses as he had a few years ago is surely a reflection on the coaching?