The Luke Fitzgerald Thread

Co45

Felt compelled to make it after a poster stated that Fitzgerald will never get back into the Irish squad until Earls goes 13 and even then he will only be lucky to get into the 22.
It seems that many have forgetten just how good this guy is. The guy is younger than Kearney and a month older than Earls and has been a vital part of this Irish squad for the past 2-3 years. He has a vital part of both a HC and Grandslam winning team and played in the South Africa v Lions tests.
He went from being quite weak defensively to being absolutely solid and one of our hardest hitters and his work rate is phenominal. Do you think Fitzgerald will be lucky to even make the Irish 22 even after the WC 11?

Podge_irl

You have no option for returning to the 22 straight away but on the bench (unless that's what you meant by starting line-up).

It's impossible to know anyway. It depends on how he comes back from the injury and how Kearney/Bowe/Earls are playing.

dub_skav

He wouldn't stroll back onto the team - nobody should - he will have to prove himself. But, if he gets anywhere close to his best, he will be in ahead of earls

pappyodaniel

Co45 wrote: »

Felt compelled to make it after a poster stated that Fitzgerald will never get back into the Irish squad until Earls goes 13 and even then he will only be lucky to get into the 22.
It seems that many have forgetten just how good this guy is. The guy is younger than Kearney and a month older than Earls and has been a vital part of this Irish squad for the past 2-3 years. He has a vital part of both a HC and Grandslam winning team and played in the South Africa v Lions tests.
He went from being quite weak defensively to being absolutely solid and one of our hardest hitters and his work rate is phenominal. Do you think Fitzgerald will be lucky to even make the Irish 22 even after the WC 11?

This thread is just starting another silly Munster/Leinster slagging match.

toomevara

pappyodaniel wrote: »

This thread is just starting another silly Munster/Leinster slagging match.

Let me make it clear, zero tolerance will apply for provincial crap on this thread.

pickarooney

Will start on wing but only when BOD retires

Will get back into the 22 after injury - which option matches that?

For a while it looked like he'd be a nailed-on starter on teh wing and that Bowe would be lucky to get a game once Earls or whoever came of age. Bowe is undroppable now and teh longer Fitz stays injured the more time Earls has to cement a place on the wing. Fitzgerland could get back in the team if and when D'Arcy hangs up his boots and there's a reshuffle of the backs.

Hazys

Both Fitzgerald and Earls are young and have potential, very few people are that good a scout to be able to tell how each player will be in 5 years. I would not right off any young player, they have so much time to learn and grow.

I feel Earls is the much better player at the mo but his talent may stay where it is and Fitzgerald may do nothing now for the the next 2 years but will become world class player in 5 yrs or vica versa. Anything we say now, may be made to look ridiculous in 5 years time.

Loads of people where hyping up Ciprani to be the saviour of English rugby but his career has gone backward at the moment but that doesnt mean that he doesnt need the right situation down under to grow his talent.

Anyway its a good sitiuation for Ireland where a good young player cant make the 22 if he was fit.

Co45

pickarooney wrote: »

Will get back into the 22 after injury - which option matches that?

For a while it looked like he'd be a nailed-on starter on teh wing and that Bowe would be lucky to get a game once Earls or whoever came of age. Bowe is undroppable now and teh longer Fitz stays injured the more time Earls has to cement a place on the wing. Fitzgerland could get back in the team if and when D'Arcy hangs up his boots and there's a reshuffle of the backs.

I personally feel people are going over the top on the back of one very good game from Earls (Wales) and a solid game (England) after a very poor game (France) and a poor game (South Africa)
To say Earls is assured his spot until after the world cup and that Fitzgerald has no chance on the basis of the last 2 weeks is an incredible statement to make. If Fitzgerald returns in the same form he was in then I can't see Earls holding his place, unless he can play like he did against Wales every week.
Before his injury Fitzgerald was capped as a Lion and a vital part of Leinster's HC success and Ireland's Grand Slam win, its sad to see some posters drop him like that after Earls puts in one excellent performance.

Otacon

Talk about an over-reaction of a thread!

Earls is a young guy, with buckets of talent and even more potential. Now swap out Earls' name with Fitz and it allpies equally. We have two fantastic backs in these players. I couldn't give two sh!ts which one is better. My biggest hope for the two of them is they push each other to greatness.

Why does it always mean one or the other? Its the same with ROG versus Sexton. why can't we think 'ROG and Sexton'?

twinytwo

Co45 wrote: »

I personally feel people are going over the top on the back of one very good game from Earls (Wales) and a solid game (England) after a very poor game (France) and a poor game (South Africa)
To say Earls is assured his spot until after the world cup and that Fitzgerald has no chance on the basis of the last 2 weeks is an incredible statement to make. If Fitzgerald returns in the same form he was in then I can't see Earls holding his place, unless he can play like he did against Wales every week.
Before his injury Fitzgerald was capped as a Lion and a vital part of Leinster's HC success and Ireland's Grand Slam win, its sad to see some posters drop him like that after Earls puts in one excellent performance.

Why did you start this thread in the first place?..When all your doing is looking to have another go at Earls.

Chucky the tree

I'd like to see him take Kearneys place.

pappyodaniel

Co45 wrote: »

I personally feel people are going over the top on the back of one very good game from Earls (Wales) and a solid game (England) after a very poor game (France) and a poor game (South Africa)
To say Earls is assured his spot until after the world cup and that Fitzgerald has no chance on the basis of the last 2 weeks is an incredible statement to make. If Fitzgerald returns in the same form he was in then I can't see Earls holding his place, unless he can play like he did against Wales every week.
Before his injury Fitzgerald was capped as a Lion and a vital part of Leinster's HC success and Ireland's Grand Slam win, its sad to see some posters drop him like that after Earls puts in one excellent performance.

It's only right that. Tbh, it's not a case of dropping the guy, it's more of an onus for him to get back to full fitness, regain his form with Leinster (even to make the Leinster backline would be a start as it's so competitve for places) and start scoring tries.
There's no doubting the guys ability and I personally think Fitz offers the full package when it comes to being an international winger. He can kick, pass, tackle and sprint with the best of them. And for such a young guy. I think he has a good rugby brain allied with a ton of experience which defies his age. So overall with Fitz, it's hard to find even one flaw with the guy (maybe with the exception of sometimes over-running the ball carrier but that's easily fixed).
You'd be right in saying he's more well rounded than Earls, but it's only lately you can see Keith growing in confidence and looking like he belongs on the international stage. For any of the chinks in Earls' game, he makes up for them in spades with his speed and willingness to attack.
What I'd like to see some day is Fitz start in his natural position of full back.

Risteard

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I'd like to see him take Kearneys place.

I agree with that.

Fitz. is a lot more capable than forcing his way back into the team but at Wing? If Earls keeps up his form he will hard to displace at wing seeing as a winger's primary role is to score tries and Earls has a better strike rate and before anyone says that 'one was against Canada and Fiji...' and so on, Fitz's only two tries came against Italy.

Now, don't mistake that for having a go at Fitzgerald because I'm not, I think he's a fantastic player and as said above, I'd like to see him at fullback. He'd have a lot more space to work in than wing and I think he would be a better counter-attacker than Kearney.

Centre is also a possibility and he's very sound defensively and is a play maker type of player and one of those capable of creating something from nothing.

Tim Robbins

I'd play him at 15 ahead of Kearney. I don't rate Kearny as a tackler and I think that his great skill under the high ball won't matter as much as I think the powers that be will do whatever they can to get rid of ping pong.

I also think Fitz is a better line breaker.

davyjose

Love how this thread went from "Fitz Vs Earls" to "Fitz Vs Kearney" in about 3 posts.

corny

Earls plays like he did last week and he'll keep the jersey. Kidney likes the man in possession of the jersey and just like Kearney coming back from injury Fitz won't just walk back into the team. It's foolish to believe he isn't capable of forcing his way back though. Will he? Who knows what he'll be like after the injury, its a guessing game.

shawpower

corny wrote: »

Earls plays like he did last week and he'll keep the jersey. Kidney likes the man in possession of the jersey and just like Kearney coming back from injury Fitz won't just walk back into the team. It's foolish to believe he isn't capable of forcing his way back though. Will he? Who knows what he'll be like after the injury, its a guessing game.

Not really true. Everyone thought that Leo Cullen was playing very well, yet DOC got straight back into the team. Kidney has a habit of playing leftfield selections at times. Not always, but I seem to remember him parachuting in Denis Hurley for a big HEC game for Munster at Full back for his first cap.

Re Fitz/Earls, I think that we're blessed to have two great young players. Personally I think Fitz has shown a bit more over his career to date than Earls, but there isn't much in it, and Earls has played very well in the Wales game so he's in a strong position currently.

It's also impossible to say now whether Fitz would get into the team straightaway, as there are so many unknowns (how he recovers from injury, what other injuries are around when he's back, whether Earls can keep up his form).

If you look at it long term, it's possible he has an advantage over Earls, due to him being played predominantly on the Wing for Leinster, while Earls gets shifted around a lot more.

buck65

Fitzgerald is a super player and lets not forget , a capped Lion at 16 or something, he would walk into the Irish squad if anywhere near his best. Anyone that claims otherwise is actually blind.



PS
Have to agree Davyjose, now Kearney is a pariah!
Brittle in the extreme are some of the posts here, if Boards .ie was picking a team for the English and Welsh games we (as in the majority) would have benched O Leary and Earls, now Kearney feels the wrath. Thankfully we are keyboard warriors who don't pick teams. Bob Casey for president.

outwest

Originally Posted by outwest
ya but you must also note that earls is a lethal finisher, fitz isnt, ealrs will be at 11 till bod retirers, then go to 13, until then, fitz will have to be happy with a bench spot if lucky, ireland have exellent backs at this moment in time and all are playing very well



that was my orignal post,
what i mean is, who will get dropped to make way for fitz from the 22, trimble, bowe earls, kearney and murphy are all playing extremly well,

kearney was also a lion, but if a player is playing good then he will keep his jersey, you really took what i was saying the wrong way, fitz will have to come back to the level he was at before injury and then improve a bit more so he can force his way into 22,

nipps

Here, when is Fitzy back from injury anyway?

Co45

nipps wrote: »

Here, when is Fitzy back from injury anyway?

Heard from someone close to Fitzgerald that its a lot worse an injury than originally thought.

gcgirl

He should be ready at the end of the season he was talking to george hook the other day on his radio show and his rehab seems to be going to plan!

Chucky the tree

buck65 wrote: »

Fitzgerald is a super player and lets not forget , a capped Lion at 16 or something, he would walk into the Irish squad if anywhere near his best. Anyone that claims otherwise is actually blind.



PS
Have to agree Davyjose, now Kearney is a pariah!
Brittle in the extreme are some of the posts here, if Boards .ie was picking a team for the English and Welsh games we (as in the majority) would have benched O Leary and Earls, now Kearney feels the wrath. Thankfully we are keyboard warriors who don't pick teams. Bob Casey for president.

You're right. Lets keep playing Kearney and the same 15 forever.

Co45

Chucky the tree wrote: »

You're right. Lets keep playing Kearney and the same 15 forever.

Exactly. I've no doubt the fire that caused Earls and O'Leary to improve their performances after both had disasters in France was the threat of being dropped. Kidney probably told them as much.

phog

Co45 wrote: »

Heard from someone close to Fitzgerald that its a lot worse an injury than originally thought.

So when's he back from injury?

Co45

phog wrote: »

So when's he back from injury?

No idea.

Podge_irl

He's stated that he should be back somewhere near the start of next season.

sock puppet

buck65 wrote: »

Fitzgerald is a super player and lets not forget , a capped Lion at 16 or something, he would walk into the Irish squad if anywhere near his best. Anyone that claims otherwise is actually blind.



PS
Have to agree Davyjose, now Kearney is a pariah!
Brittle in the extreme are some of the posts here, if Boards .ie was picking a team for the English and Welsh games we (as in the majority) would have benched O Leary and Earls, now Kearney feels the wrath. Thankfully we are keyboard warriors who don't pick teams. Bob Casey for president.

It's not just that really. Realistically, assuming BOD, Bowe and Darcy stay fit and in form, Fitzgerald will be challenging for Earls' and Kearney's places. Leinster have a new coach next season who might try Fitzgerland at fullback too, so you never know what could happen.

edit: having said that I do agree that we don't need to have a set in stone first choice backline, with second choice players behind them. They could and should all get significant gametime.

conno16

phog wrote: »

So when's he back from injury?

start of next season.
will be fit around mayish

ozt9vdujny3srf

davyjose wrote: »

Love how this thread went from "Fitz Vs Earls" to "Fitz Vs Kearney" in about 3 posts.

This is a thread about Luke Fitzgeralds prospects of getting picked for Ireland, I'm not sure what's so odd about people comparing him with his various rivals for the Irish Jersey?

PhatPiggins

Your options are too BOD centric in my opinion Co45.

Fitz could realistically be challenging for a wing,centre or full back spot come WC time. Unless you're suggesting that Bowe will go 13 when BOD retires.

peterako

Pre injury Fitzgerald was a far superiour player. IF he can come back with his pre injury form he should make it back into the 22.

BUT....isn't it great that....coming up to a world cup year....we can be having discussions/debates/arguments about so many positions!

Riskymove

if Lukie is anyway back to his form he will be a starter for Ireland, I have no doubt..he is a top class player

interesting about the comments about Kearney...I have said before that I think Fitzgerald would be a great full back and that might be where he ends up

outwest

Co45 wrote: »

Exactly. I've no doubt the fire that caused Earls and O'Leary to improve their performances after both had disasters in France was the threat of being dropped. Kidney probably told them as much.

earls was the only back that played well v france, we all know who kept shooting up in defence leaving dog legging the defence line,

irishbucsfan

outwest wrote: »

earls was the only back that played well v france, we all know who kept shooting up in defence leaving dog legging the defence line,

Don't know what game you were watching. Earls was absolutely awful versus France. Offered little, and was physically outclassed. He was our worst player in that game, apart from O'Leary who was at least as crap (although O'Leary had the excuse of our back row being outclassed).

Earls v. Fitzgerald is a silly thread to start now. When Fitzgerald is back playing and actually has some form to consider we can compare the two. For now the jersey is Earls'

outwest

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 all had shocker v france, but of them all earls was solid, mainly because of fcuk all posesion

im going to say sometihng that hasnt been said about the france game, bod was the worst player, after france copped the defence plan of bod shooting up he should of held the line,

irishbucsfan

outwest wrote: »

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 all had shocker v france, but of them all earls was solid, mainly because of fcuk all posesion

im going to say sometihng that hasnt been said about the france game, bod was the worst player, after france copped the defence plan of bod shooting up he should of held the line,

Its not like BOD was caught out of the line more than two or maybe three times. I think you're being very harsh on him.

Earls' defence was awful in that game. I'm not going to judge him on his performance with the ball considering the fact that noone was impressive. Earls' defence was directly at fault for their first try (I think it was the first, my memory is a little hazy now... it was the one under the posts). I've never been satisfied that he's defensively proficient enough to deal with good oppostition (he wasn't that great against SA and he was very poor against France). Saying that, the only way we're going to find out is by testing him, so I'm happy for him to be in the team right now. Especially when we have players like Fitzgerald or Trimble waiting to try and take his jersey off him.

chupacabra

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Earls' defence was awful in that game. I'm not going to judge him on his performance with the ball considering the fact that noone was impressive. Earls' defence was directly at fault for their first try (I think it was the first, my memory is a little hazy now... it was the one under the posts).

uh what? How did you come to this conclusion exactly?

Amazotheamazing

Incredibly, with Conway on the verge of breaking into the Leinster side, it's possible Fitz won't even make the leinster starting line-up at first. We have no idea of just how long it will take for him to get back to where he was, if he ever does. Remember Geordan Murphy prior to breaking his leg? It would be wrong to place undue pressure on Fitz and to rush him back.

davyjose

Dorothy Damaged Wildfire wrote: »

This is a thread about Luke Fitzgeralds prospects of getting picked for Ireland, I'm not sure what's so odd about people comparing him with his various rivals for the Irish Jersey?

The thread seemed to be started as a reaction to people saying Fitz had no chance of getting his place back, because Earls had a few good games. Now, Kearney has a few bad games, and suddenly his place will be lost to Fitz.
Seems a bit reactionary.

d'Oracle

I'm kind of baffled by the poll options.
Why are 3 of 4 dependant on what Drico does, given that the lad plays 3 positions?

funky penguin

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Incredibly, with Conway on the verge of breaking into the Leinster side, it's possible Fitz won't even make the leinster starting line-up at first. We have no idea of just how long it will take for him to get back to where he was, if he ever does. Remember Geordan Murphy prior to breaking his leg? It would be wrong to place undue pressure on Fitz and to rush him back.

Conway is an excellent prospect but he's still only 18. Can't rush him!

funky penguin

funky penguin wrote: »

Conway is an excellent prospect but he's still only 18. Can't rush him!

Feck that. Warren Gatland approach - in the deep end

PhatPiggins

Deleted User wrote: »

Feck that. Warren Gatland approach - in the deep end

The oh sh*t I'm going to get sacked better make a few token changes so I'll have some one else to blame!

valleyoftheunos

Fitzy can play anywhere along the backline and if he recovers form his injury well, (as I'm sure he will, he's only a young fella) he offers more than Paddy Wallace or Trimble imo so he would certainly be in contention for at least a spot on the bench, with a good run f fomr for Leinster he could have his spot back off Earls.

slingerz

it'll go

15. kearney
14. fitzgerald
13. earls
12. o'driscoll
11. bowe
10. sexton
9. o'leary

for the world cup.

Ireland need to improve their options from 1-8 for the world cup especially numbers 1-3.

anonymous_joe

slingerz wrote: »

it'll go

15. kearney
14. fitzgerald
13. earls
12. o'driscoll
11. bowe
10. sexton
9. o'leary

for the world cup.

Ireland need to improve their options from 1-8 for the world cup especially numbers 1-3.

What about D'Arcy?

I think the biggest battle will be between Earls and Fitzgerald.

It would take a lot of for D'Arcy to be dropped.

valleyoftheunos

slingerz wrote: »

it'll go

15. kearney
14. fitzgerald
13. earls
12. o'driscoll
11. bowe
10. sexton
9. o'leary

for the world cup.

Ireland need to improve their options from 1-8 for the world cup especially numbers 1-3.

Bowe isn't going to move to 11 at any stage considering the 14 shirt is nailed to his back.

a fit Fitzy and Earls would both be in the 22, its just a matter of who starts at 11, Darcy or Wallace are our options at 12 between here and RWC.

We have lots of options in the pack, 3 top quality 2nd rows, and 6 backrowers, perhaps more. We've 2 LH props and 2 or 3 Hookers, the problem is at TH prop where we are still with a clue.

irishbucsfan

valleyoftheunos wrote: »

Bowe isn't going to move to 11 at any stage considering the 14 shirt is nailed to his back.

a fit Fitzy and Earls would both be in the 22, its just a matter of who starts at 11, Darcy or Wallace are our options at 12 between here and RWC.

We have lots of options in the pack, 3 top quality 2nd rows, and 6 backrowers, perhaps more. We've 2 LH props and 2 or 3 Hookers, the problem is at TH prop where we are still with a clue.

Exactly. The only problem area we have is tighthead (as long as Healy can sort out his discipline, thats starting to annoy me).

Maybe, and I say maybe, Wallace might slow up between now and the World Cup (acceptable given his age) although I don't expect that to happen.

twinytwo

slingerz wrote: »

it'll go

15. kearney
14. fitzgerald
13. earls
12. o'driscoll
11. bowe
10. sexton
9. o'leary

for the world cup.

Ireland need to improve their options from 1-8 for the world cup especially numbers 1-3.

Drico will play 13

Co45

outwest wrote: »

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 all had shocker v france, but of them all earls was solid, mainly because of fcuk all posesion

im going to say sometihng that hasnt been said about the france game, bod was the worst player, after france copped the defence plan of bod shooting up he should of held the line,

Really don't know what game you were watching but Earls was directly at fault for one try, was caught out defensively constantly, knocked on a quick tap in our 22 which France ended up scoring from and really looked out of his depth. I didn't think Bowe played badly nor did Murphy and D'arcy actually played well. O'Driscoll didn't have a shocker either.