Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread III

molloyjh · 22-01-2015 5:26pm

Fireball07 wrote: »

Killer would make it ahead of Bent, I'd imagine. Or Cronin.
Hard to know with Varley, he was mentioned in the update, but I don't think he's as good as Casey.
Both Tuohy & Ryan would probably be ahead of McCarthy & Foley.
Henry would surely be ahead of Ryan or Diack first?
Jackson would possibly be in there as well as those named.
Olding would definitely have been there ahead of Reid/Cave, hard to know about Marshall or McCloskey.
Trimble would probably be there for Gilroy.

Not saying the numbers would have changed much... but it does show badly Ulster are currently hit. And Leinster are actually approaching a stage where they possibility have no internationals injured... which considering their horrible luck recently is amazing :eek:

Woah, easy up on that there FB there's still 1 game left. Be mindful of the Mocker Gods...

.ak · 22-01-2015 5:27pm

Also, SOB, Ruddock, Healy all still have to prove their fitness.

S12b · 22-01-2015 5:27pm

Fireball07 wrote: »

And players ruled out through injury:

Leinster- ?
Munster- Sherry, Varley, Kilcoyne, Ryan, Copeland
Ulster- Tuohy, Henry, Jackson, Olding, Marshall, McCloskey, Trimble
Connacht- ?

Ya it's a good point although Killer and Ryan are the only two Munster players who I'd say would definitely be in.....I'd take Casey over both hookers and while Copeland has a lot of potential, I don't think he has delivered on it yet.

dtpc191991 · 22-01-2015 5:31pm

That looks like a squad with real potential.

Healy
Best
Ross
Toner
POC
POM
SOB
Heaslip
Murray
Sexton
Zebo
Henshaw
Fitzgerald
Bowe
Kearney

McGrath
Cronin
Moore
Henderson
Conan
Reddan
Madigan
Payne

That is a seriously good team all things going well (touch wood).

case885 · 22-01-2015 5:33pm

dtpc191991 wrote: »

That looks like a squad with real potential.

Healy
Best
Ross
Toner
POC
POM
SOB
Heaslip
Murray
Sexton
Zebo
Henshaw
Fitzgerald
Bowe
Kearney

McGrath
Cronin
Moore
Henderson
Conan Ruddock
Reddan
Madigan
Payne Earls

That is a seriously good team all things going well (touch wood).

A few personal tweaks

.ak · 22-01-2015 5:34pm

Personally I'd swap Ruddock in there and put Earls to start on the wing, zebo or payne at 23.

aimee1 · 22-01-2015 5:34pm

Mahatma Geansai wrote: »

Strauss hasn't been playing very well, and Cronin's basics as a hooker are terrible; hes a great rugby player though. Best is nailed on at 2.

Cronin has been very good lately in all aspects but I would expect best to get selected.

The Lost Sheep · 22-01-2015 5:35pm

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Just looking at the the list on the IRFU site. Does anyone know why Bent, McCarthy and Payne only have their province next to their name? All the other players have a club and province.

Dravokivich wrote: »

Something came up a short while back with players from abroad not registering with clubs. Is only a recent thing.

All players are still registered with a senior club who they could line out for if they had to(very unlikely for most players). The likes of Payne would have been an NIE until recently so would not have been allowed play AIL under rules put in place several seasons ago. The likes of Bent may simply never have been assigned a club when he came to Leinster

Fireball07 · 22-01-2015 5:35pm

.ak wrote: »

Personally I'd swap Ruddock in there and put Earls to start on the wing, zebo or payne at 23.

Aye, sounds good.

Conan's been going well, but there's no way I'd have him ahead of Ruddock.

aimee1 · 22-01-2015 5:39pm

S12b wrote: »

Ah Here!! :D

Few thoughts:

1) Furlong must be disappointed, not even involved with the Wolfhounds but his time will come.

2) Even as a Connacht fan, I have no issues with Bent over Buckley. Denis was brilliant for us at the start of the season but his form has been average for the past while. Plus I still think he's a bit too small to compete at the very highest level. Bent is a very solid operator who never lets Leinster down and he deserves his spot, even if he is 4th choice.

3) What in the name of jaysus is Boss doing in that squad? He's old and disimproving at a steady rate. McGrath, on the other hand, is young and steadily improving. I'd expect Marmion to get 60 minutes for the Wolfhounds, what's to be gained by bringing Boss on for the last 20????

4) Surprised there isn't a fourth 10 in the squad. Both Madigan and Keatley have played a lot of rugby this season and with the injury crisis at 10, I didn't expect either to be risked in the Wolfhounds game. My guess would have been JJ to start with Keatley on bench as emergency cover

Bent could be included for live scrum practice to play both sides?

Boss must have some serious blackmail material on JS to get selected

As for the 10s, I am surprised there is just 3, I thought JJ might get the 10 for wolfhounds game to save Keatley and Madigan [assuming they get through this weekend without injury] being risked with Sexton and Jackson out of the Italy game.

If Murray's injury keeps him out of the 6n then Reddan/Marmion or will JS opt for Boss? Interesting.

Zzippy · 22-01-2015 5:49pm

.ak wrote: »

Personally I'd swap Ruddock in there and put Earls to start on the wing, zebo or payne at 23.

Zebo either starts or doesn't make the squad IMO. He doesn't cover other positions from the bench as well as Payne/Earls/Fitz so no point having him on the bench unless all 3 of those are starting. Even then I'd have McFadden on the bench ahead of him.

b.gud · 22-01-2015 6:23pm

Looking at the squad I think that we can all agree there has been one clear winner...

...the mods on this thread

CatFromHue · 22-01-2015 6:28pm

Boss is being picked ahead of Williams, Marshall, and McGrath. Nothing crazy there really.

thomond2006 · 22-01-2015 6:30pm

Morf wrote: »

Less hassle when Luke F is selected as a wing/centre/FB for example afterwards.

Or Henderson is lock or 6 etc.

They could at least put it in a hooker-prop-back five forward-9-10-outside back order.

/pedantic

Podge_irl · 22-01-2015 6:30pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

Boss is being picked ahead of Williams, Marshall, and McGrath. Nothing crazy there really.

It's just completely pointless though. He is no longer good enough for international rugby and never will be again. At least McGrath can/will improve.

.ak · 22-01-2015 6:31pm

b.gud wrote: »

Looking at the squad I think that we can all agree there has been one clear winner...

...the mods on this thread

I rang my man Joe and ensured you know who made the cut.

Tox56 · 22-01-2015 6:31pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

Boss is being picked ahead of Williams, Marshall, and McGrath. Nothing crazy there really.

It's not crazy but depending on what happens this weekend he could be being picked ahead of a guy he's behind for his province. Its not particularly surprising but it's still frustrating to see him making Ireland squads these days

salmocab · 22-01-2015 6:31pm

I think Conan could bench v Italy, with JH and POM its two from Conan TOD Ryan and Murphy I would say, he could well get the 20 shirt.

thomond2006 · 22-01-2015 6:32pm

Someone with Caolin Blade or Luke McGrath could benefit from the experience.

Remember when Kidney named 8-10 additional players to train with the team?

total former · 22-01-2015 6:50pm

CatFromHue wrote: »

Boss is being picked ahead of Williams, Marshall, and McGrath. Nothing crazy there really.

Totally agree. He's there to bench for the Wolfhounds. The scrum half pecking order is set in stone and if the Boss/McGrath issue is a live one for an actual Six Nations game then we're f**ked either way.

total former · 22-01-2015 6:53pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

Someone with Caolin Blade or Luke McGrath could benefit from the experience.

Remember when Kidney named 8-10 additional players to train with the team?

I'm not being a smart arse here, but there are 46 players named already. Bringing in more would be utter chaos.

Podge_irl · 22-01-2015 6:58pm

total former wrote: »

Totally agree. He's there to bench for the Wolfhounds. The scrum half pecking order is set in stone and if the Boss/McGrath issue is a live one for an actual Six Nations game then we're f**ked either way.

Yes we are, but what the hell is the point in having Boss on the bench for the Wolfhounds?

I know its an incredibly minor issue but it's just stupid.

thomond2006 · 22-01-2015 6:59pm

total former wrote: »

I'm not being a smart arse here, but there are 46 players named already. Bringing in more would be utter chaos.

My bad TF, I'm basically echoing podge below.

Podge_irl wrote: »

Yes we are, but what the hell is the point in having Boss on the bench for the Wolfhounds?

I know its an incredibly minor issue but it's just stupid.

bilston · 22-01-2015 7:02pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

Yes we are, but what the hell is the point in having Boss on the bench for the Wolfhounds?

I know its an incredibly minor issue but it's just stupid.

I was wondering whether Boss would be a horses for courses selection in Rome if Murray is out. We know they will be physical at the breakdown.

There are two ways of looking at it I suppose. Either a physical 9 to combat the Italians niggly play or a 9 who gets the ball the hell.out of the breakdown area.

b.gud · 22-01-2015 7:04pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

Yes we are, but what the hell is the point in having Boss on the bench for the Wolfhounds?

I know its an incredibly minor issue but it's just stupid.

The best guess that I could come up with is that Joe knows Boss/Blade/McGrath are going to get very minimal playing time but just in case something he needs a 4th choice scrum half who has some familiarity with the current squad and training methods, so he probably went for the one who has some proven international experience.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but it's the only way I can think of that justifies the selection of Boss, other than in Joe we trust obviously

total former · 22-01-2015 7:06pm

Podge_irl wrote: »

Yes we are, but what the hell is the point in having Boss on the bench for the Wolfhounds?

I know its an incredibly minor issue but it's just stupid.

The Saxons team is very experienced with some quality players in the back row and at scrum half, maybe Joe felt that Marmion and McGrath would be too raw a pairing? Maybe Joe feels that Boss still has something to offer?

Or most likely he thinks McGrath just isn't ready for this level.

bilston · 22-01-2015 7:09pm

Right am I the only person who has never heard of this Blade bloke?!

The Lost Sheep · 22-01-2015 7:16pm

bilston wrote: »

Right am I the only person who has never heard of this Blade bloke?!

2nd year of academy. Made pro12 debut this season. Played about 5 games for the main team in Connacht but got 2 trys is his 1st start for senior side against Bayonne in December

22-01-2015 7:16pm

If the worst happened to both Murray and Redden, I think Boss edges it ahead of all other competition.

Podge_irl · 22-01-2015 7:17pm

bilston wrote: »

I was wondering whether Boss would be a horses for courses selection in Rome if Murray is out.

Just no.

Obviously Schmidt knows better than me and maybe Boss still does have something to deliver. I just struggle to see what.

Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread III

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