Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

The frontline internationals would normally be back around this time anyway, so I wouldn't consider it early. I imagine the timing is done pretty much for that specific reason. Though I would wager the LvM game would normally be their first one back, they might be in a round early I guess.

Ultimately though, for me it doesn't depend on the results. I don't like that they are doing it. I'm aware it is an essentially emotional viewpoint, but it is essentially dragging a large chunk of players out of the provinces because the IRFU just don't think the games are that important. And I think that attitude stinks.

Well there was no EI tour this year for one. But that also doesn't really change anything.

No, the frontline internationals in a non-RWC year typically didn't return before Weeks 6-7, whereas now the impacted weeks are weeks 2-4 of the URC season here, so that's definitely a little earlier than usual.

The season has been shoved a bit later though. Round 6 is October 26th and the last week before the AI window. Pretty sure they'd be back well before then regardless.

The squad looks reasonable. Personally I'd rather Prendergast was establishing himself at Leinster, and I'm sure some Ulster supporters would think the same about Izzy and McCann. I think all 3 are likely to get capped at the least against Fiji anyway.

At least from my perspective I have very little else to complain about re the IRFU and I didn't like the EI tour the first time round either.

It absolutely objectively had successes and I think it massively contributed to Crowley being picked against Australia. I just wish everyone took the domestic league more seriously.

Players who in reality like the last time would at best maybe have a slot on a bench

This is simply untrue. Just for Munster alone, there were lots of players selected last time who were in and around our start 15/23.

Happy to hear arguments for who else might be in the mix, but it doesn't look like it'll overly weaken Leinster or Munster IMO.

Even then it'll depend on injuries. Munster notionally had Conway and Earls back but both were injured while Nash and Daly were on the EI tour.

Then, iirc, Haley was injured and Zebo (and Liam Coombes) got injured.

It left us with Carbery at FB and 2 academy wingers. In total, I think our entire back 3 had ~2 starts in their respective positions for Munster.

Maybe that was an outlier of injuries concentrated in one position/area, but it's always a possibility.

None of the players that went on that tour or the tour itself affected any of the provinces and how they finished up at the end of the season

Munster lost 5 of their first 7 matches last season and I 100% think the EI tour had a part to play in that. That they came back to win the tournament is testament to the province and coaching (and some luck) but it doesn't override the impact it had.

Playing the EI tour during a European window would in some ways make more sense, except they would never do it because of the slim possibility the provinces would need to rely on these players. But they don't care about the URC.

Is it a reasonable trade-off to weaken the provinces for a couple of URC games?

I think this is a fair question (no is my answer obviously) but I don't think it is fair to suggest they weren't weakened. Apart from anything else it creates massive disruption in the training and preparation.

I lament the loss of the full 6N A Championship, and in an ideal world that would be a better avenue but that's not something the IRFU can conjure up on their own. I think claiming it gives the next tier an opportunity is stretching to minimise the impact.

Ultimately this will always come down to squad selection. I dislike the concept but depending on who is selected the impact is variable.

The Provincial coaches chose who played there based on players they didn't want in their first choice teams. It could not be less relevant to an EI tour which is a top down selection approach. It is meaningless and I don't know why you are trying to conflate them.

You are fighting against arguments I am not making and casting rather broad aspersions to do so.