Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Way back, during a RWC, Munster played Ospreys in TP on the evening that Ireland played Wales in the RWC. Both Munster and Ireland lost. The Irish game could well have been a RWC QF.

Later that night Anthony Foley, a guy who I had huge respect for and who had more rugby knowledge than any other person I'd ever met was asked about POM who played for and possibly captained Munster that evening, Foley, replied he's the real deal and he'll captain every team he'll play for.

I'm delighted to see him get the role of captain for his country. An honour he truely deserves

How did I minimize it? I went out of my way to call it out as the key skill to be a captain, the only thing that people should care about:

You've provided zero examples different to my original statement that you replied 'WTF' to, outside of an incredibly rare scenario where the captain decides to overrule the other leaders on the pitch. Given that POM rarely lasts 80 minutes, it is unlikely he'll even be on the field for decisive decisions towards the end of the game so any positive he brings to this will be limited.

Who?

No, i meant who has to think that went a long way towards deciding he didnt get selected?

Shocking effort by Coombes.

Generally not the way to goes in Ireland though. There are many things that happen in France that just don't happen in Ireland, captaincy seems to be one of them. Sexton was captain far beyond his sell by date if you ask me, yet he retained the arm band. Rotating captaincy or campaign captaincy is attractive but its just very unlikely that Farrell will go for it, no more than provinces go for it. Leinster currently is an example with the comical dual captaincy stuff where refs are dismissing one captain in favour of another, not very alpha. That won't last long and they will revert to their norm of having a captain until he's carried out on his shield. Taking the captaincy off BOD was so rare that it was a major story.

POM as alpha rather than a number of others stretches credulity. This is an international rugby team, its comprised of 23 of the best rugby players in the country, many if not most have experience as captains. There is not a shortage of alpha personalities among the group. And I think you are overestimating how prominent the captains influence is within the group, there are many leaders who aren't captain but who are respected by virtue of their experience, their work ethic, their personality and ability as a mentor, etc etc. The captain in these sorts of environments is rarely if ever truly exceptional. The main job that matters to the team is the ability to squeeze a percentage point or two out of refs while decision making (penalties, corner, etc) is often by consultation. Communication is the beginning and end of it.

The captain leads the players out into the pitch, he gives the team talk before the game, at half time and after the game. It's a very important role. Aside from liaising with the referee

Great call by Farrell to make POM Ireland captain. Others have had their chance and sh1t the bed.

Agree with basically all of that, including POM's recent form (ignoring how little he has played since the WC).

POM has however gone through a number of periods during his career where his performance levels dropped significantly. He is plays a position where Ireland probably has the most depth, along with two of the most exciting young talents coming through in Ahern and Baird.

POM can be a natural leader that the team looks up to with having the captaincy.

AF has just boxed himself into a potential difficult future situation which I don't see as being smart for the Irish team (though obviously great for POM personally).

Actually forget about the lions tour only a year away. POM has to be favorite as captain for that , surely with Farrell as head coach. Be great to see it from an Ireland POV.

I agree about his passing, it's crisp and hits the target consistently. Kicking needs some more work. I agree re his age and his potential to improve. Hopefully he continues an upward trajectory.

I don't think he has reached a higher level than Murray, to make it into the 23. But he's not far off it. At this level all of these players are a very high standard and it's fine margins between them. We get the rare outstanding peerless players; Sexton, O'Driscoll, Wood, O'Connell but they are few and far between.

Most of the senior players can/do play the role of mentoring and could play the role associated with being available to the squad, not everyone but this rarely comes down to one individual being absolutely vital as others simply don't have the requisite skills. The exception to that is communication skills under pressure on the field when dealing with the ref. Ten or 12 years playing at the highest level prepares most players for most situations they come across but not that one. It's been glaringly obvious on a few occasions with Sexton and Ryan that they've simply ended up on the wrong side of the ref because they aren't great at that role. POC was a master at it and BOD was pretty good. Could the captain have done a better job in protecting Porter from the refs interpretation of what happened in the scrum last season?...I have no idea but its vital that the captain does that job well or he shouldn't be captain.