Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

I agree. I suspect Razzmatazz will quietly shuffle his deck. No harm in given Casey/Bealham/Ahern the reins.

POM is still a huge leadership presence for Munster, he's still the guy everyone looks to for on field decisions and is apparently still the most vocal voice behind the scenes. His performances this season have been more understated but I never felt as if he was playing poorly, certainly for Munster I wouldn't dream of playing a knockout game with Ahern ahead of him who's still learning at this level.

We have to move on from POM at some stage but think he'd leave a big leadership void at present. The hope was probably for Doris to advance his claim as a leader and captain but that aspect seemed to be heavily criticised by BOD this week so it would appear he's not yet ready.

Last time we played Fiji, three players made their debuts, JOB and Deegan got their second caps, Timoney got his third, even Baloucoune got a start and there were plenty more fringe guys involved

Nothing breeds resentment like success

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This post, before the edit reminded me of PJ Mara's “Uno duce, una voce”

Mod: warned

Is there any indication where Ireland will tour in summer 2025 during the Lions tour? Some Tests against Argentina, Fiji or Japan would would be a good challenge for an Irish side probably missing nearly all of their first XV.

Jimmy O'Brien has returned at just the right time for Ireland. He's one of Leinster's best performers in recent weeks and the ideal replacement for Keenan. He's probably faster than the latter as well so that gives a boost to our backline which isn't the quickest.

JOB seems to have gotten faster. He's gassing defenders on the outside which we don't always see from Irish back three players.

Keenan is the best full back in the world. He's at least an 8/10 in every attribute you want from a 15. In terms of replacements, I think JOB is about the closest we can get to replicating what Keenan brings. Solid passing and kicking game, decent in the air and has speed to take on defenders. We'll lose a bit in line running ability and in defensive reads, but those are what sets Keenan apart from every other 15 in the world.

Seems to be obvious that SA are fearful of Ireland and want to play it out in the media before we get to the games.

Rassie was up to all sorts before and during the Lions and we seem to be getting the same now, losing the series at home is something SA don't want so expect a lot of this sh*t to come out over the next few weeks

It's standard fare from South Africa at this stage. Erasmus whips his players up to a frenzy and he generally gets the desired response on the pitch.

I prefer that the players are leading the media approach and only targeting the Irish media/player attitude in Etzebeth's case.

Erasmus attacking referees through the media a few years ago remains a low point in rugby's recent history. Wayne Barnes received death threats from South African fans after Erasmus lashed out at him. He really should have resulted in a much longer ban.

It does have to be said back in 2017 that SA sides wasnt THAT great. It looks amazing now ofcourse but it does need to be remembered alot of the players in that side didnt reach the levels we think of them now until Erasmus took over. I remember back then at the time I honestly would have only taken Marx & Etzebeth in an Irish XV and at that time it wasnt even a wild statement to make when you consider how SA had been playing, obviously ask that same question 2 years later and you'd get a very different response if I picked a combined side.

I'd say this for the SA players though - There is generally no BS with them on the field. They seem like straight up great competitors.

I also cant stand seeing them win, but only for one reason. Erasmus.

I don't recall any of the Springbok players talking nonsense about Ireland before.