Your Sqaud for the Summer Tours

Stev_o

Well considering at this point in time it's unlikely to see new players come from nowhere and suddenly make a grab for a Irish shirt i wondered why not see what team they want to go on tour.

So there's 3 matches the first being the Barbarians, now ill make a guess and say this will be a very second rate Baa Baa's side since the Home Unions are all heading off on tour meaning that there wont be many great players to select form this gives us a chance to experiment with our side.

15.J Murphy
14.R Kearney
13.L Fitzgerald
12.A Trimble
11.T Bowe
10.J Sexton
9.E Reddan
8.J Healsip
7.J O'Connor
6.A Quinlan
5.D O'Callaghan
4.L Cullen (C)
3.M Ross
2.J Flannery
1.M Horan

Yup i might get stick with this selection but we have nothing to loose and everything to learn about these players.

Test Australia

15.G Murphy
14.R Kearney
13.A Trimble
12. ???????
11.L Fitzgerald
10.R O'Gara *
9.E Reddan
8.J Healsip
7.????
6.D Leamy
5. B Casey
4.D O'Callaghan
3.T Buckley
2.J Flannery
1.M Horan

*Sexton to come on at half time

I really really dont want BOD to go on this tour he desperately needs time off and if your picking people on form including him is just contradicting yourself. That leaves a combo of either Wallace and Trimble which no one will like or 12.Darcy 13.Trimble or 12.Trimble 13. Darcy and baring in mind D'Arcy hasnt played a match since the 6N and his form is also terrible.

We need a in and out 7 and Wallace just isnt one, his form has been dipping but that said Jennings isnt up for it and no one will want JOC because he plays for Connaught.

Test vs New Zealand

15.R Kearney
14.T Bowe
13.A Trimble
12.????
11.L Fitzgerald
10. R O'Gara
9. E Reddan
8.J Healsip
7.????
6.D Leamy
5. P O'Connell
4.L Cullen
3.T Buckley
2.R Best
1.M Horan

zAbbo

I'd rather take an experienced team plus some potential youngsters, and leave the leftovers to the Churchill Cup.

So here goes, 33 man squad

Props:
Mike Ross, Cian Healy, Stephen Knoop, Tony Buckley, Marcus Horan ,Darragh Hurley
Hookers:
Jerry Flannery, Rory Best
Locks:
Paul O'Connel, Donnacha O'Callaghan, Leo Cullen, Donnacha Ryan, Mick O'Driscoll
Flankers:
Denis Leamy, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Shane Jennings
Number 8:
Jamie Heaslip, Ferris
Scrum Half:
Tomás O'Leary, Eoin Reddan
Fly Half:
Ronan O'Gara, Jonathan Sexton
Centres:
Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald, Andy Trimble
Backs:
Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Tommy Bowe, Denis Hurley, Johne Murphy, Gavin Duffy

Everyone to get at least 40 mins of game time, but that will never happen

Sangre

wouldn't disagree too much zabbo, although i think bob casey has to go on this tour.

edit - might find yourself short though with only 2 hookers/SHs, hmmm.

toomevara

Sangre wrote: »

wouldn't disagree too much zabbo, although i think bob casey has to go on this tour.

+1

zAbbo

I knew I forgot someone! Bob Casey should certainly be in there.

The idea behind 2 HK/SH is to give meaningful game time to players in both squads.

It is after all, only 2 matches we're playing, you could add Jackman and Stringer to the squad to cover those positions.

I've also left out John Hayes, I think we need to look at blooding another prop or two as well as looking at second row options.

Of course the time for this was during the last 2-3 years, It's not ideal blooding lots of new players at once.

remus808

Just thought I'd be annoying and nitpick your selections....

Stev_o wrote: »

15.J Murphy
14.R Kearney

Other way around? We've seen Kearneys potential at FB.. Noone other than the two experienced heads (Girv and Geordan) should be getting a game at FB other than him over the next few years IMO.

3.M Horan

Not a tight-head?? Who's Ross btw?

3.M Horan
1.T Buckley

Other way around? Buckely is a great tighthead but a rubbish loosehead.

Jennings isnt up for it

Since when? has had a great season at Leinster. Niall Ronan is another great prospect for 7 btw

I'l post in this thread with my own ideas at some point

figs86

the guy is playing out of his skin, is integral part of the best lineout in the premiership - statistical fact according to sky sports with 91% of own ball retained

paul o connell isnt back to his best
donncha o'c playing consistently well, sometimes great
big mal - on the way out surely
mick o driscoll - not terrible but not very safe hands, not great really
donncha ryan - one for the future
Leo Cullen - playing pretty damn well
SURELY our top 4 2nd rows are O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Cullen and Casey?

Mix of old and new definitely needed on the tour - best for all involved

Props: Healy, Buckley, Hayes, Ross, Knoop, Horan
Hookers: Jackman, Flannery, Best
2nd Rows: O'Connell, O'Callaghan (maybe give Donncha a rest?), Casey, Cullen, Ryan
Flankers: Leamy, Quinlan, Wallace, Jennings, Best
No. 8: Heaslip, Ferris
SH: Reddan, Stringer, O Leary
outhalf: O'Gara, Sexton, surely someone else! back in the day Geordie was our 3rd choice out half - i believe at the 2003 World Cup
Centres: BOD, Darcy, Duffy, Trimble
Wingers: Horgan, Dowling, Fitzgerald, Bowe, Hurley?
FB: Kearney, dempsey, G Murphy

That makes 38/39 odd - too many probably

I really think we should leave some of the warhorses like Hayes, Horan, Wallace, Dempsey at home and let the guys we're bringing actually PLAY and in the meantime giving these guys time to rest up which would leave them fresher for next season
Also, players like B O'D and O'Connell will then get enough time in a smaller squad to return to match fitness

Stev_o

zAbbo wrote: »

I knew I forgot someone! Bob Casey should certainly be in there.

The idea behind 2 HK/SH is to give meaningful game time to players in both squads.

It is after all, only 2 matches we're playing, you could add Jackman and Stringer to the squad to cover those positions.

I've also left out John Hayes, I think we need to look at blooding another prop or two as well as looking at second row options.

Of course the time for this was during the last 2-3 years, It's not ideal blooding lots of new players at once.

We have the Barbarians first so thats 3 matches

Stev_o

karmabass wrote: »

Just thought I'd be annoying and nitpick your selections....



Other way around? We've seen Kearneys potential at FB.. Noone other than the two experienced heads (Girv and Geordan) should be getting a game at FB other than him over the next few years IMO.



Not a tight-head?? Who's Ross btw?



Other way around? Buckely is a great tighthead but a rubbish loosehead.



Since when? has had a great season at Leinster. Niall Ronan is another great prospect for 7 btw

I'l post in this thread with my own ideas at some point

1. This tour is about learning what players are like in positions J.Murphy deserves a shot whether on the wing or at fullback i dunno but at FB lately he has been very strong and i dont think he has the pace for a international winger.

2. My bad i always get my numbers mixed with props :P Mike Ross plays for Harlequins and has been in great form this season deserves to either start the Baa Baa's match to see what he's like or make the bench for the other tests.

3. Jennings has been in dire form this season compared to last sure he isnt consistently taking the number 7 shirt. I like him but seriously he needs to find form first to warrant a start.

Podge_irl

There's no point bringing Healy, he'd be far better served playing in the Churchill Cup. If he had to come on against NZ (or even Australia) we'd be well ****ed.

Not a tight-head?? Who's Ross btw?

I imagine he just got TH and LH mixed up. Ross is a TH playing for Quins, was on the fringes of the Munster set-up for a bit. By all accounts is doing quite well for himself and is a pretty good in the scrum. Went to the Churchill Cup last year, possibly worth a punt as little point in bringing Hayes along to this trip.

2nd Rows: O'Connell, O'Callaghan (maybe give Donncha a rest?), Casey, Cullen, Ryan
Flankers: Leamy, Quinlan, Wallace, Jennings, Best
No. 8: Heaslip, Ferris

I imagine there will only be 4 locks and 6 back-rows (at most). Would only pick one of Quinlan or Wallace myself (likely Quinlan, Wallace ain't the player he used to be). Ryan might be better served playing in the Churchill given his comparative lack of game-time for Munster. He wouldn't be near the starting XV anyway with those other three there.

Podge_irl

Stev_o wrote: »

sure he isnt consistently taking the number 7 shirt. I like him but seriously he needs to find form first to warrant a start.

Not managing to oust Gleeson is not exactly indicative of terrible form, especially considering how key he is to how Leinster play.

J.Murphy deserves a shot whether on the wing or at fullback i dunno but at FB lately he has been very strong and i dont think he has the pace for a international winger.

He was quite poor in the A game. He looks at least as fast as Kearney to me though (who's no slouch but not exactly the fastest around). Don't think anyone available has the kind of pace you'd want on the wing at the moment though.

remus808

Ideas of varied XV's with a mixture of new players (e.g. Healy, Earls), established ones (e.g. Heaslip, Reddan) and older players yet to shine in green (e.g. Cullen, Quinlan) (basically 'Ireland A'). Wouldn't be a fan of sending any of the longer-standing senior squad.

15. R.Kearney
14. K. Earls
13. L. Fitzgerald
12. A. Trimble
11. T.Bowe
10. J. Sexton
9. T. O'Leary
8. S. Ferris
7. S. Jennings
6. A. Quinlan
5. D. Ryan
4. L. Cullen
3. T. Buckley
2. B. Jackman
1. C. Healy

15. D. Hurley
14. K. Lewis
13. G. Duffy
12. P. Wallace
11. I. Dowling
10. A. Dunne
9. E. Reddan
8. J. Heaslip
7. N. Ronan
6. S. Keogh
5. R.Caldwell
4. B. Casey
3. S. Knoop
2. B. Jackman (i really like Jackman, determined to see him capture his Leinster form in green)
1. D. Hurley

figs86

Podge_irl wrote: »

There's no point bringing Healy, he'd be far better served playing in the Churchill Cup. If he had to come on against NZ (or even Australia) we'd be well ****ed.

Plenty of people said the same thing of Kearney and Fitzgerald but theyve worked out pretty well, especially Kearney

I know playing prop is very different but only one way to learn and he's physically capable of taking on guys at least the size of Marcus Horan if not bigger

Even if he plays for ten minutes and is massacred in scrums, he's excellent in the loose and for us to develop an international prop who would be good enough in his early 20s, making him 5 years ahead of most others, would be a massive coup

a lot of people said he couldn't hack it for Leinster but he took on international props there and held his own

figs86

karmabass wrote: »

Ideas of varied XV's with a mixture of new players (e.g. Healy, Earls), established ones (e.g. Heaslip, Reddan) and older players yet to shine in green (e.g. Cullen, Quinlan) (basically 'Ireland A'). Wouldn't be a fan of sending any of the longer-standing senior squad.


5. D. Ryan

5. R.Caldwell
4. T. Hogan
[endquote]

I hate to repeat myself but you'd play these guys ahead of Casey?
if we dont use him now, at his peak for next 3/4 seasons its a terrible waste of a HUGE (pun intended) talent

remus808

I hate to repeat myself but you'd play these guys ahead of Casey?
if we dont use him now, at his peak for next 3/4 seasons its a terrible waste of a HUGE (pun intended) talent

I actually edited him in before your post! Had forgotten about him, saw him mentioned up above and stuck him in instead of Hogan.. I'v never seen Casey play but heard good things!

Al_Fernz

Stev_o wrote: »

So there's 3 matches the first being the Barbarians, now ill make a guess and say this will be a very second rate Baa Baa's side since the Home Unions are all heading off on tour meaning that there wont be many great players to select form this gives us a chance to experiment with our side.

Who is going to be coaching the Baa Baa's? And would anybody know what players they will be picking given that the Top 14 will still be going on?

Podge_irl

figs86 wrote: »

Plenty of people said the same thing of Kearney and Fitzgerald but theyve worked out pretty well, especially Kearney

I know playing prop is very different but only one way to learn and he's physically capable of taking on guys at least the size of Marcus Horan if not bigger

Even if he plays for ten minutes and is massacred in scrums, he's excellent in the loose and for us to develop an international prop who would be good enough in his early 20s, making him 5 years ahead of most others, would be a massive coup

a lot of people said he couldn't hack it for Leinster but he took on international props there and held his own

Playing prop is very different and the guy is younger than both Kearney and Fitz! He's not capable of taking on experienced props yet, I can tell you that now. The Leinster scrum has generally been in trouble when he's been on the pitch.

He'll be far far better off actually playing all three games in the Churchill Cup then maybe getting a couple minutes down under (and I stand by the point that our scrum will be a disaster if he has to play).

Ideas of varied XV's with a mixture of new players (e.g. Healy, Earls), established ones (e.g. Heaslip, Reddan) and older players yet to shine in green (e.g. Cullen, Quinlan) (basically 'Ireland A')

We do actually have to send an Ireland A side to America as well.


I find this whole idea of sending development sides on these tours to be a bit stupid and its ruining test rugby. By all means, send some new players and try things out, but its not an A tour and it shouldn't be treated as one. It would be fantastic to beat these teams in their own back yard and a 50 point pummelling will do no one any good.

Chucky the tree

zAbbo wrote: »

I'd rather take an experienced team plus some potential youngsters, and leave the leftovers to the Churchill Cup.

So here goes, 33 man squad

Props:
Mike Ross, Cian Healy, Stephen Knoop, Tony Buckley, Marcus Horan ,Darragh Hurley
Hookers:
Jerry Flannery, Rory Best
Locks:
Paul O'Connel, Donnacha O'Callaghan, Leo Cullen, Donnacha Ryan, Mick O'Driscoll
Flankers:
Denis Leamy, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Shane Jennings
Number 8:
Jamie Heaslip, Ferris
Scrum Half:
Tomás O'Leary, Eoin Reddan
Fly Half:
Ronan O'Gara, Jonathan Sexton
Centres:
Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald, Andy Trimble
Backs:
Rob Kearney, Shane Horgan, Tommy Bowe, Denis Hurley, Johne Murphy, Gavin Duffy

Everyone to get at least 40 mins of game time, but that will never happen

Take Healy out from prop and add either Murphy or Dempsey at full back.


Also, why are people saying BOd should be rested? He's been resting the last few weeks. Time for him to get the finger out and prove he's still up to it.

Sending a A squad down under is bad idea as Podge says. Irish rugby is at a low enough point as it is, sending a bunch of kids down under to get murdered while our supposed superstar who have done jack all in an Irish jersey in years stay at home and put there feet up is crazy.

Stev_o

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Take Healy out from prop and add either Murphy or Dempsey at full back.


Also, why are people saying BOd should be rested? He's been resting the last few weeks. Time for him to get the finger out and prove he's still up to it.

Sending a A squad down under is bad idea as Podge says. Irish rugby is at a low enough point as it is, sending a bunch of kids down under to get murdered while our supposed superstar who have done jack all in an Irish jersey in years stay at home and put there feet up is crazy.

I agree that they should send a mixed squad of youth and experience and thats what i tired to do in my squad. But the problem is that those superstars who'v done jack all dont warrant a place in the squad let alone the starting XV until they can prove they are up for it. Look at BOD over the past while truly awful so why should he get another crack at the whip?

[Jackass]

Would like to see a combonation of the following players get a good run and game time:

1. Healy / Horan
2. Jackman / Flannery
3. Buckley
4. Cullen (C)
5. Casey
6. Ferris / Keogh
7. Jennings
8. Heaslip

9. O'Leary / Reddan
10. Sexton / O'Connor * - Can't believe no one has mentioned O'Connor yet, excellent talent
11. Dowling
12. Trimble
13. Fitzgerald
14. Kearney
15. Hurley / Duffy

*I think by far the most important blooding of players in that whole seletion is Sexton and O'Connor. We all saw what happend Ireland when O'Gara lost the plot and we had no options. These 2 guys look really promising and could be a future O'Gara / Humphries rivalry. Both have great attributes and over the past season have developed into really good players and need to give them game time at a higher level.

Looking towards the next few years and the next world cup in particular, if we use these tours to develop these players along with what we've already got we'd have a much bigger pool of players as the above team is packed full of unproven talent, the sooner we give it a chance to get experience on the big stage the quicker they will develop into more confident, experienced and proven players. (And obviously there are 1 or 2 regulars in there but I think these are the guys we need in there to help develop the players and who we wouldn't be looking at replacing any time soon.)

thehighground

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Also, why are people saying BOd should be rested? He's been resting the last few weeks. Time for him to get the finger out and prove he's still up to it.
.

The guy is getting injury after injury - for someone like him this must be killing and probably comes back too quickly every time. It must also be very frustrating that he is just not at his best and then everyone's expectation of him. No harm for this team to learn how to get on without him as well.

For all of you who think its a great idea to play kids at a young age - look at BOD (Jonny Wilkinson is another one) - forever getting injured now.

toomevara

thehighground wrote: »

For all of you who think its a great idea to play kids at a young age - look at BOD (Jonny Wilkinson is another one) - forever getting injured now.

Just announced that Wilkinson out of NZ tour for (yet more) shoulder surgery

rockman15

depending on what the tour management want to do....my personal opinion would be to give several players...ie BOD, d'arcy, o'connell et al. an oppurtunity to prove they still want to play for ireland.

then bring in younger lads a chance to step up to the mark...defo use the baa baa's game as an oppurtunity to see some boarderline players ie Ferris, Duffy, Dunne, healy, sexton an oppurtunity in green....but letting loose the big inform players on OZ and NZ

but whatever happens...BOB CASEY MUST GO ON THIS TOUR...no question about his ability, form or confidence....he is possibly irelands worst kept secret

remus808

rockman15 wrote: »

.ie BOD, d'arcy, o'connell et al.

letting loose the big in-form players

ERROR: DOES NOT COMPUTE

rockman15

considering BOD hasnt played much over the last 6 weeks, and d'arcy not at all thanks to their injuries. POC hasnt put in a what many would call a good irish performance in over a year now and he hasnt been the only one...i think its a fair statement to make

apologies for the typo in that earlier one "big" shouldnt have been in there....for clarity: in form players i would consider to be Casey Fitzgerald Cullen and possibly Jennings....admitadly alot of Leinster players but thye have been playing well over the past few weeks...picking players on form should be the priority for the bigger Tour games

Stev_o

rockman15 wrote: »

considering BOD hasnt played much over the last 6 weeks, and d'arcy not at all thanks to their injuries. POC hasnt put in a what many would call a good irish performance in over a year now and he hasnt been the only one...i think its a fair statement to make

When was D'Acry's, BOD's and POC's last match in Irish colours when they lived up to their name

Chucky the tree

Stev_o wrote: »

I agree that they should send a mixed squad of youth and experience and thats what i tired to do in my squad. But the problem is that those superstars who'v done jack all dont warrant a place in the squad let alone the starting XV until they can prove they are up for it. Look at BOD over the past while truly awful so why should he get another crack at the whip?

lol. Yea, lets drop him and never play him again.


What has Healy, Sexton even kearney and fitz done for Ireland?

rockman15

Chucky the tree wrote: »

lol. Yea, lets drop him and never play him again.


What has Healy, Sexton even kearney and fitz done for Ireland?

they havent done anything...

but we're never going to find out what they can do if they cant get onto the pitch cause a recently out of form superstar's reputation is keeping them out of the game.

im not advocating not never having him play again but make him earn his spot

Stev_o

rockman15 wrote: »

they havent done anything...

but we're never going to find out what they can do if they cant get onto the pitch cause a recently out of form superstar's reputation is keeping them out of the game.

im not advocating not never having him play again but make him earn his spot

Exactly well said

quagmire69

There is no point in bringing anyboody who aint gonna be in the frame for the next world cup. That means:

dempsey
quinlan
hayes

We're gonna have a terrible time replacing hayes, but we're gonna be even worse off if we keep on pickin him all the time. It may be a case of takin one step backwards and two steps forward (hopefully in a year or two).

remus808

quagmire69 wrote: »

We're gonna have a terrible time replacing hayes

You wha? Buckely is just waiting to take his place. Mushy is without doubt the Bull v2.0.. absolutely no worries there, he is a monster!

Podge_irl

quagmire69 wrote: »

There is no point in bringing anyboody who aint gonna be in the frame for the next world cup.

Ah, world cups be damned. I don't disagree that Hayes, and possibly Quinlan and Dempsey shouldn't travel, but its more to do with either better/younger replacements that need gametime, or that they will be retiring well before the next world cup. I don't much care about the world cup at the best of times, but certainly not when its so far away. We should be looking, first and foremost, at getting the odd new player in (there is absolutely no need for a raft of changes) while still ensuring we have a shot at victory. I'd take a win over NZ and Aus down under and a good 6N next year over doing slightly better in the WC.

Chucky the tree

rockman15 wrote: »

they havent done anything...

but we're never going to find out what they can do if they cant get onto the pitch cause a recently out of form superstar's reputation is keeping them out of the game.

im not advocating not never having him play again but make him earn his spot

Fair enough, fitz can have the 13 spot.

The rest can piss off to America. Sexton doesnt even kick goals for leinster but he should play against Aus and NZ? Healy should be anywheren ear the squad let alot starting or even given game time.

If we are picking on irish form trimble should be even further behind BOD in the pecking order.

9. Reddan
10. ROG
11. Bowe
12. BOD
13. Fitz
14. Murphy
15. Kearney

The wings/FB slot is very interchangalbe.

Outside of D'arcy we are ****'d at 12. Considering people biggest cricitism of BOd has been he has lost his pace and attacking skills I think a switch to 12 would be interesting since he is still excellent in defense.

Podge_irl

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Sexton doesnt even kick goals for leinster but he should play against Aus and NZ?

I'd be almost certain that he will tour (what are the other options?) but I certainly wouldn't start him in any of the games. I'd sooner have him playing than Paddy Wallace though.

O'Connor will go to America and play in all the games there I'd say (possibly along with Keatley).

Chucky the tree

I'd rather wallace went and bench warmed and Sexton went to America and actually got some game time.

remus808

Chucky the tree wrote: »

The wings/FB slot is very interchangalbe.

As good a FB as Kearney is, if Murphy is playing I'd rather have Kearney on the wing rather than playing Geordan out of position.

Outside of D'arcy we are ****'d at 12. Considering people biggest cricitism of BOd has been he has lost his pace and attacking skills I think a switch to 12 would be interesting since he is still excellent in defense.

Agreed.. I'v been advocating a move to 12 for him since last season. That said, I would be happy with either Trimble (bad winger, great centre) or Wallace (controversial I know.. bad flyhalf, good centre) at 12 either.

figs86

Podge_irl wrote: »

Playing prop is very different and the guy is younger than both Kearney and Fitz! He's not capable of taking on experienced props yet, I can tell you that now. The Leinster scrum has generally been in trouble when he's been on the pitch.

He'll be far far better off actually playing all three games in the Churchill Cup then maybe getting a couple minutes down under (and I stand by the point that our scrum will be a disaster if he has to play).

Healy is 3 weeks younger than Fitzgerald, same year in school, Kearney a year and a bit older than both of them

I understand your point on him playing Ireland A - my opinion is such that we could make Healy into a superstar prop very young because he has the physical capability already, he just needs the skillset and experience bolted on - so I think we should take a punt at surpassing mediocrity and letting him play with the big boys and learn from it

I also think he and others should get a decent amount of time on senior tour - but being realistic they won't because whoever is in charge is unlikely to rock the boat and post potentially large losses as first game in charge

Podge_irl

figs86 wrote: »

I understand your point on him playing Ireland A - my opinion is such that we could make Healy into a superstar prop very young because he has the physical capability already, he just needs the skillset and experience bolted on - so I think we should take a punt at surpassing mediocrity and letting him play with the big boys and learn from it

I don't particularly think he'd learn all that much from having his arse handed to him. He was under a fair pressure in the England A game recently, and its not as if playing against (possibly) Argentina A and England A won't test him somewhat. There's no harm in taking time with him, he's a prop, he'll be around for a while. Also, again, if he goes to America he will actually play for most of the games, which is more beneficial at this stage. He's still not even close to being first choice at Leinster, both Wright and LeRoux would (rightly) be ahead of him.

That said, we aren't overflowing with LHs.

Pinetree Boy

With the talk of blooding young players it is interesting to look at the test schedule which from Irelands point of view seems bloody awful to me. You have the three SH games in literally weeks and no coach yet so there is no way any big changes will happen. In fact got to wonder what is the benefit in these games. Suprisingly, Ireland only plays ten games this year compared to ABs (16- if munster is confrimed), Aus (15), SA (12) and Eng (12). Of the three SH heavyweights touring in Nov, Ireland only plays NZ compared to Wales and Eng who play all three. Really not much opportunity to work on player development at this level.

d-gal

Healy shud definintly not go, he still playin a lot of club rugby, buckley shud be a given a full 80. Knoop should be nowhere near it either

Jennings has been shocking so johnny o'connor needs sum deserved game time, played amazingly well with a bad team this year, same with duffy, o'riordan and muldoon.

FB slot hurley should get at least sum gametime along with kearney.

I say in america the likes of chris keane and andy dunne need to develop, perhaps sum1 like sean cronin aswell, great prospect of hooker, also earls and fionn carr maybe.

Here is an interesting one, will mafi be eligible to play with ireland? that is exactly what we need!!!

zAbbo

No Mafi isn't Irish or Irish qualified.

figs86

d-gal wrote: »

Healy shud definintly not go, he still playin a lot of club rugby
FB slot hurley should get at least sum gametime along with kearney.

sean cronin aswell, great prospect of hooker, also earls and fionn carr maybe.

now im not defendin what i said about bringin healy (the newcomer of the year) or other young guns, cos i stated in the post it was taking a punt on them being able to step up a level in play - and its deffo a gamble, i know

but all the players you named there played way more club time than healy or way less for province if you prefer!

hurley - still in academy, only a few games under his belt - but played great admittedly

sean cronin - has he made a provincial debut? - i know he's movin to connacht so he certainly will, good for him

earls - not played much provincial - if at all?

carr - hasnt played any provincial, loads of club

i just don't like the supposed logic behind not bringin one guy cos he ''plays too much club rugby'' - then bring others who play more?????

Snickers Man

REgardless of who is or isn't in charge we should send a significantly changed team, shake things up a bit and COMPETE. The current crop of supposed galacticos got the runaround from a bunch of English kids, as George Hook famously pointed out. We need a transfusion of new blood, not necessarily young blood, just different.

I would love to see Bob Casey given a go. It's scandalous the way he and Trevor Brennan were frozen out for most of the decade. OK, we had good locks here but they were frequently injured, out of form or both. Casey won caps as a lock when he was 20-21, hardly peak time for a position that requires physical as well as mental maturity.

Quinlan too, could still do a job. We've got to start introducing Healy and Buckley as well, although Kidney substituting Buckley in Kingsholm in the first half(?) suggests he needs to toughen up a lot more in the scrums.

In the backs we have loads of promising kids, who should be given a run. Fitzgerald, Kearney, Bowe, Sexton but what about that Keith Earls who came on for Munster against the Ospreys? He looks seriously promising and could be the exception to the general rule about NEVER EVER playing a Munsterman who wears a number greater than 10 on his back on the Irish team.

Like Fitzgerald he is the son of a former bruising forward. He looks like the stocky tough fast winger that would do really well in New Zealand.

We've got to mix it up a bit. Our core squad is just too predictable at the moment.

Podge_irl

Snickers Man wrote: »

Quinlan too, could still do a job. We've got to start introducing Healy and Buckley as well, although Kidney substituting Buckley in Kingsholm in the first half(?) suggests he needs to toughen up a lot more in the scrums.

In fairness, Buckley was playing loosehead in that game, and he has shown that he is only really comfortable at tighthead.

Snickers Man wrote: »

but what about that Keith Earls who came on for Munster against the Ospreys? He looks seriously promising and could be the exception to the general rule about NEVER EVER playing a Munsterman who wears a number greater than 10 on his back on the Irish team.

Except that that appearance has been pretty much his only gametime for Munster. Not a hope he'll travel, and rightly so. He'll probably go to America again.

Stev_o

People be somewhat realistic! Infact look at England just to see what happens when you start putting under 20's against the big nations. Remember the Andy Robinson period where he put out boys against men and it cost him his job and England alot of matches. Be realistic guys sending a under age team will do more harm then good what needs to be sent is a mix of experience and youth

Snickers Man

Stev_o wrote: »

People be somewhat realistic! Infact look at England just to see what happens when you start putting under 20's against the big nations. Remember the Andy Robinson period where he put out boys against men and it cost him his job and England alot of matches. Be realistic guys sending a under age team will do more harm then good what needs to be sent is a mix of experience and youth

Oh I agree with you. In fact, I already have done.

Snickers Man wrote:

We need a transfusion of new blood, not necessarily young blood, just different.

Bob Casy is no spring chicken. But he's far from being over the hill either. He's only 28, which is young for a lock.

zAbbo

Leo Cullen will miss this summers tour, he's having surgery on his shoulder instead.

Stev_o

zAbbo wrote: »

Leo Cullen will miss this summers tour, he's having surgery on his shoulder instead.

Thats sad news looks like he's cursed when it comes to internationals

escobar

Podge_irl wrote: »

I'd be almost certain that he will tour (what are the other options?) but I certainly wouldn't start him in any of the games. I'd sooner have him playing than Paddy Wallace though.

O'Connor will go to America and play in all the games there I'd say (possibly along with Keatley).

I'd love to see sexton play. He's a brilliant up and coming talent. Lets hope Kidney gives some of the young guns a chance this summer