Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Is that really how sports work? People become fundamentally different players over the course of a month?

I agree that JGP will start but i don’t really get that line of logic. I also really don’t think he’s a good fit with crowley but that is to be determined.

I think Doak might have a say in that

JGP still has the 9 shirt for me. With a personnel-switch at outhalf, I'd actually apply your own logic against your point, @ulsteru20s, and argue that the Irish system should remain as consistent as possible elsewhere to facilitate the new man in such a pivotal position.

There's no denying that Casey is improving each year, however. And at only 24, I'd say he'll continue improving, and likely be starting 9 for Ireland in the coming years.

Doak = Murray 2.0

Absolutely, it might not. What i mean is that i doubt they would have poured all those resources into him if they had serious doubts about his size.

Why would they need someone at that age range specifically? There are tons of positions in the squad with no developmental 21 year old hanging around.

Murray is one of the best scrum halves in history and emerged at a time when he was exactly what everyone wanted. Not exactly a fair comparison.

Because there might never be another 9 as good as Murray in Ireland lol.

I really don’t get why this is a tough concept. You don’t call someone up that early, put that much time into them, 13 caps, if you aren’t sure about their size. People stop growing at like 19 generally, and there is very limited mass he can put on that frame. If he is possibly too small for international rugby now, that was also the case at 21. You don’t spend all those resources on a guy you have fundamental doubts about, when that doubt is impossible to change. It would be incredibly dumb.

He got his first cap before he even started a champions cup game. That’s pretty annointed.

Edit: maybe his size blinds fans to how many signs there have been that he is the next guy in the eyes of the coaches.

There is no way in hell he was the third best scrum half in ireland when he was first called up. That’s nonsense. You call guys up and play them that early when they have significant upside.

Are there even any other examples of guys called up that early who were thought to be just potential squad players? Or had clear limitations that they are unsure about?

Yea, that’s a good one. He has been done by injuries. Other than his injuries though he doesn’t have clear limitations.

I wouldn't say there's much difference in size between Casey and Park. A couple of inches? I'm at work and concave time to look up the bios! They're similar players. Casey has a bright future, imo.

JGP is 5'9" and 83kg vs 5'5" and 75kg. Not night and day but one of them stands out as very small even in comparison to other outhalves.

I think Casey can still be a little headless in his play and his kicking continues to need work but he's a really good player. I don't think there's much doubt over who will be starting in the 6N but time is going to catch up with JGP in the next 1-2 seasons and maybe sooner. But his fitness is still superb. On the Larmour try last weekend, he clears the ball from the ruck on the far side of the field in his own half and three passes later, he's being taken down on the sideline on the opposite inside the 22. He's ahead of any other option in terms of how he reads the game and supports play.

Casey's kicking game has come along hugely from a few years ago but is still inconsistent also which is going to be a factor in test selection. I think if he made the 23 it would be a good step for him and then potentially get a start at home against Italy and/or Wales.

I think in at least one of those games they were purposely kicking them non contestable most of the time. Maybe didn’t want scrums.

Edit: based on them always being long by similar amounts.

Yeah Blade is unfortunate in that Casey is a similar player who came on the scene at the same time as Blade was really stepping up a few gears.

Imo it's only this year that Casey has actually become a the better player of the two. I'd have thought Blade was a few percent better, and had more experience. Casey had the benefit of being almost as good and looking like he has room to grow considering his age. Farrell was only going to have a few game to put mins into either of them before the WC so Blade loses out completely.

If Farrell had taken over a few years earlier I really think Marmion or Blade would be fairly well established in the Irish setup.