Ireland Team Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread

GerM

TheHighRoad wrote: »

1.Court
2.Cronin
3.Buckley
4.Cullen
5.O'Callaghan
6.Leamy
7.Jennings
8.Heaslip
9.Boss
10.O'Gara
11.Earls
12.McFadden
13.Bowe
14.Trimble
15.Kearney

would be my team.

Think the only possible difference I would have is Wallace in there at 12 and McFadden on the wing. Give Earls a chance to come into it off the bench when the game opens up and see if he can get a score or two which will do him a world of good. Agree with everything else. With Flannery now out, Best's stock has rocketed. We cannot risk him picking up a knock at all. Cronin is a good player but he's not a test level hooker yet.

marco_polo

GerM wrote: »

Think the only possible difference I would have is Wallace in there at 12 and McFadden on the wing. Give Earls a chance to come into it off the bench when the game opens up and see if he can get a score or two which will do him a world of good. Agree with everything else. With Flannery now out, Best's stock has rocketed. We cannot risk him picking up a knock at all. Cronin is a good player but he's not a test level hooker yet.

Plus Russian lineout was pretty bad against the USA , so Cronin starting this one shouldn't be an issue at all.

I do hope he improves signifigantly this year at Leinster, as unless he sort out his throwing it is only a matter of time before someone else emerges and overtakes him in the international pecking order. Which given the mans undoubted talent in every other part of his game, would be a real shame.

onlyrocknroll

1.Court
2.Cronin
3.Buckley
4.DOC
5.Cullen
6.Ryan
7.Jennings
8.Leamy
9.Boss
10.Wallace
11.Earls
12.McFadden
13.Bowe
14.Trimble
15.Murphy

16. Varley
17. Healy
18. POC
19. Heaslip
20. Murray
21. ROG
22. Kearney


Front line players need to be rested, and the others seriously need game time. Regardless of what we think of Buckley or Wallace at 10 we're only ever an injury or two away from depending on them. I've heard it said on here that if ROG or Sexton get injured we may as well just pack our bags. Nonsense!

Say if Sexton gets injured on the morning of the Quarter Finals against Wales for instance. I know that I'd rather have Wallace sitting on the bench with some recent experience at ten in case ROG hobbles off the pitch after 70 minutes. Ditto Buckley and the others.

Heaslip to be brought on to find form. Varley to be blooded at some stage. SOB, Ferris and BOD to be wrapped in cotton wool. Earls no longer to be considered at 13.

profitius

They should make as many changes as possible against Russia and give the first teamers a rest. They won't go far by playing the same players in every game.

tayto lover

Is the game with Italy a big banana skin ? They are not a bad team and should not be taken lightly.

danthefan

I'll be disappointed if we field anything like a first choice team against Russia tbh.

The reasons are, we cannot hope to get to the later stages of the competition without resting the first choice players, there is always the risk of an important player getting injured, and thirdly the backup players will have no gametime under their belt if they are called upon. I was hoping for a virtual second XV with a very strong bench, though that seems out of the question now.

padser

danthefan wrote: »

I'll be disappointed if we field anything like a first choice team against Russia tbh.

The reasons are, we cannot hope to get to the later stages of the competition without resting the first choice players, there is always the risk of an important player getting injured, and thirdly the backup players will have no gametime under their belt if they are called upon. I was hoping for a virtual second XV with a very strong bench, though that seems out of the question now.

Agree completely - good sum up of why we should play second string.

Also tbh if we can't trust a second string to put away what's likely to be either a depleted or not fully recovered Russian side we don't deserve to go any further anyway

.ak

danthefan wrote: »

I'll be disappointed if we field anything like a first choice team against Russia tbh.

The reasons are, we cannot hope to get to the later stages of the competition without resting the first choice players, there is always the risk of an important player getting injured, and thirdly the backup players will have no gametime under their belt if they are called upon. I was hoping for a virtual second XV with a very strong bench, though that seems out of the question now.

I think balance is key. A bonus point is needed against Russia. If you throw an entire B team out there who knows, they might not click on the day and we could lose out on a bonus point. We need to be clinical here and extract a big score against russia, not only to secure a BP but also to help the team get some more momentum and coming off a big score match vs Italy will do us a bit of good (especially if the backs get some scores...)

GerM

Saw there that Varley's nickname is now Suz as he looks like Susan Boyle. Apparently ROG christened him, the bad b*stard!

CIARAN_BOYLE

.ak wrote: »

A bonus point is needed against Russia.

Mission accomplished

.ak

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Mission accomplished

To the bar!

Cpt_Blackbeard

GerM wrote: »

Saw there that Varley's nickname is now Suz as he looks like Susan Boyle. Apparently ROG christened him, the bad b*stard!

I can't remember where I saw this but, Pro12Tweets.com is a very handy way to keep an eye on what's going on in the camp.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Interesting point on the breakdown every game when court comes off the bench for Ireland he gives a penalty in the first scrum

thomond2006

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Interesting point on the breakdown every game when court comes off the bench for Ireland he gives a penalty in the first scrum

Brilliant show, always picks up interesting facts like that.

CIARAN_BOYLE

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Interesting point on the breakdown every game when court comes off the bench for Ireland he gives a penalty in the first scrum

I don't know if it was a "point" more so than his own observation and thoughts.

I agree that Court does find it tough to get into the game level straight away, but I don't think every time is correct

thomond2006

thomond2006 wrote: »

Brilliant show, always picks up interesting facts like that.

woah.. not a fact. Just Williams talking about Buckley missing his chance.

.ak

From BOD's blog:

Brians Blog: Octopus For Dinner And Varls Star Turn wrote:

After Queenstown, New Plymouth, Auckland, Taupo and Rotorua, the Ireland squad and management have now moved on to their latest Rugby World Cup base of Dunedin. Brian O'Driscoll fills us in on the players' travels in his latest O2 Rugby blog.

Share
The move to Dunedin has seen the weather get a little colder but no one is complaining. One thing that has struck me is the difference in the weather in New Zealand in June and September/October: it's been a pleasant surprise.
We went to an authentic Japanese restaurant - about 10 of us - and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. We traded old war stories and ate octopus amongst other things.

I played cards with Sexto (Jonathan Sexton), ROG (Ronan O'Gara) and Leo (Cullen) and managed to win a few bob, which balances things nicely on the financial scale.

The support we have received in New Zealand has been incredible and a journey from the team room to the lifts has taken about 15 or 20 minutes as we sign autographs. People have spent an awful lot of money and invested time to cheer us on, so it is the least we can do.

On the bus journey Sean O'Brien was very excited by the landscape, particularly the size of the farms and the number of cattle in the fields. It's fair to say that he's the only one who has declared this interest. He's taken over the John Hayes mantle in this respect!

We had a Maori lady play guitar and sing for us at Rotorua Airport as we boarded our flight to Dunedin. Damien Varley asked if she would lend him the guitar and immediately and impressively belted out a couple of Christy Moore numbers.

He was immediately fined for upstaging the lady! Denis Leamy is very disgruntled about being usurped having been our go-to man in the past for singing.

There's only so many times you can listen to 'Ride On'! Given Varley's star turn, there is an undertaking to purchase a guitar with some of the fines' money.

Hahah, the SOB bit had me in stitches. Ye can just him and his big farmer head staring hard out the bus window and getting worked up about it trying to explain it to the lads and just getting grief. Hahah, legend.

.ak

.ak wrote: »

From BOD's blog:

Hahah, the SOB bit had me in stitches. Ye can just him and his big farmer head staring hard out the bus window and getting worked up about it trying to explain it to the lads and just getting grief. Hahah, legend.

try and find the piece written about him in his first Ireland the Leinster camp putting up the sign for fresh homemade bread.
Found it

Not your conventional Leinster rugby player
Cal Gray

I love rugby. It mixes the fast with the strong and the skilled with the well-built, and hasn’t been infected by the disease made famous by soccer, ‘diving’, also known as being a pure p***y. You can hit, dodge, pass, kick and jink when the occasion suits, and if it results in a try you don’t have a trademark celebration like soccer players. The game celebrates the modest, whilst still worshipping the gifted. If ever there were a better example of this than Sean O’Brien, then I haven’t seen it.

The story starts as a fight breaks out between Leinster A and Saracens A at the grounds of Old Albanians RFC. Humble to the bone, O’Brien looked on as other players scuffled. Whist being a spectator, Dan ‘Twat’ Scarborough ran over to him looking to intimidate the 21 year-old Irish flanker. Scarborough, according to Sean, said “get off back to Ireland, Paddy, and eat some spuds.” Clearly not a keen anthropologist that Dan, but he was soon educated. “I told him, ‘I’ll show you spuds.’ And then I hit him on the jaw with a right hook, so I did.” Sean chuckled as he told the press.

Are you in love with the man yet?

Born in Ardristan in County Carlow, the quiet town fits the man. Even when you ask the locals about their new favourite son, they’ll reply with things like “He sold me turf once.” or “Ah yeah he’s great, and his father makes a lovely cup of tea.” The town bleeds typical Irish blood.

This background has been well documented by Leinster marketing. We all know the typecast of a Leinster player; Blackrock jersey, Dubarry shoes and Canterbury tracksuit trousers, born in Ballsbridge and given a BMW for his 17th birthday from daddy. Leinster needs a new image, reaching out beyond South Dublin, and if you have ever had a conversation with Sean O’Brien, you’d soon guess that the only thing he got for his 17th birthday from mummy and daddy was a day off cutting silage. The last time someone destroyed a well-known stereotype so thoroughly, a UCD graduate was promoted above a Trinity graduate (vital cage rattling.)

Sean doesn’t drink espressos, he doesn’t get his haircut somewhere with photos of celebrity customers on the walls, and he most certainly doesn’t use Twitter. Blunt as ever, he once told a reporter that he “doesn’t tweet, and never will either.” This is a man who gets on with the job at hand, leaving the tweeting to the birds (and Jamie Heaslip. #overlyactiveonTwitter)

Besides the indifference to social networking, you have to wonder where he would find the time! Having already helped Tullow’s Gaelic footballers with their fitness training, O’Brien set up fitness boot camps in Carlow town, then after roaring success, more boot camps were added in Newbridge and Portlaoise. He is also head coach of Tullow RFC, never missing a match, which requires a 100-mile trip at least twice a week following his own training. The players and staff simply state, “Sean O’Brien is Tullow RFC”.

Meanwhile, he has 25 suckling cows, Belgian Blues to be precise, on the family farm. “I actually sold a few of them recently. I’ll let my father look after them now, ‘cause they’re a full-time job. But myself and John Hayes are always talking about cattle and stuff,” reported Sean.

Leo Cullen also told the press about one morning in March when a notice was pinned up in the Leinster dressing room prior to a Heineken Cup match, advertising home-made seeded bread, baked by Sean O’Brien’s granny, Evelyn O’Toole.

Are you in love with the man yet?

Sean O’Brien is a different type of sports celebrity; he lets his rugby do the talking. He clearly made a big first impression on Joe Schmidt when he was first appointed, as he was captain against Wasps in pre-season, having turned down French and English contract offers just to be able to continue his commitment to Leinster, and of course, Tullow.

O’Brien’s game is centered around breaking the gain line. At least it is these days. When you compare the Sean O’Brien that played rugby before the Leinster Academy to the Sean O’Brien of today, you see a stark difference. Quite often, budding rugby players feel the best way to get further up the pitch is running through your opponent, but a good coach will show you it’s better to run around them. O’Brien picks great lines and shrugs off the last gasp tackles of opposing players better than any flanker I watched in the 2010/11 season. He does this so well that you think he’s coated in grease. Besides reading the game well, he also has blistering pace for a man weighing 110kg, and unbelievable strength. But possibly the best part of his game, is that he’s not bound to any one tactic. His training consists of massive sled runs, extremely heavy squat lifts, dead lifts as well as the usual upper bodywork which a professional rugby player does everyday. I once saw a comment on the internet where O’Brien was said to be the “offspring of a chance encounter between Chuck Norris and a Rhinoceros.” Apt.

His team mates will tell you that he has unmatched strength you only earn on a farm (see David Pocock and Rocky Elsom for proof.) Sean also trains his mind. Still a young player, his coaches say that the most impressive display from him is seen when he comes off the pitch. No one is said to assess their own game better, regularly being critical, but never losing his modesty. He will regale the dressing room with how he should have “hit that ruck at a different angle” or “run at the fly-half instead of the first centre.” Nathan Hines once congratulated Sean after scoring two tries in a Magners League match, to which O’Brien replied “Arah thanks yeah but sure I could’ve got three.” If other players knew that O’Brien was looking to improve his game this much, they would **** a metaphorical brick, especially Ronan O’Gara, whom O’Brien has twice given concussion.

O’Brien is 24 years old (born on Valentine’s Day, which isn’t relevant at all) and I can safely say he has another 11 years at the top level left in him. When he does retire, you can bet there will be no massive fanfare, no hero’s send-off, no cash-cow autobiography written, and no lengthy TV news piece. He will pick up his gear bag, salute the lads in the dressing room, shake a hand or two, say “G’luck to ya” and go back to the cows, forever to sit on his tractor and remember the days when won he the Heineken Cup on his own.

If ever we wanted an ambassador for Irish sport, it’s Sean O’Brien.

G’man Sean, g’man.

What a man

He's an incredibly likeable guy. I reckon he's a serious model for how to approach your own abilities and increasing performance.

trackguy

Sexto and ROG playing cards together? I wonder who has the better poker face? I can see ROG playing tight game, giving nothing away.... Sexton being more expansive................card playing analogies are deserting me!:p

durkadurka

Sean o brien is Irishness at its greatest.
Powerful belligerent talented modest honest

Hes an absolute legend.

circos

durkadurka wrote: »

Sean o brien is Irishness at its greatest.
Powerful belligerent talented modest honest

Hes an absolute legend.

Met him out in a pub a few years back, seems like a nice guy, he just had a decent season at Leinster and seemed genuinely happy when i told him that.

Nice guy all round.

He was out with big Mal, who made me at 6'2 look like a midget.

durkadurka

I had a night on the tear with mal recently - it's absurd how huge he is

irishbucsfan

I remember once telling Mal that I had played 2nd Row that day, he just looked down at me (I'm 6 foot, normally a back row) and laughed. It was brilliant.

.ak

Ah yeah, total gent and what I really like about him is he'll never lose his 'humbleness', not because he's naive or anything, but rather the opposite, he seems to be very intelligent and knows how to keep his head on his shoulders.

One thing that really stands out was when he ran into the crowd after the HEC final to grab the Tullow flag. That must've been something for the Tullow RFC watching.

thomond2006

Ireland centre Gordon D'Arcy is set to be fit for the World Cup Pool C clash against Italy in Dunedin on Sunday.

D'Arcy missed Sunday's win over Russia with a hamstring injury but he took a full part in Tuesday's training.

Tommy Bowe (calf) and Paul O'Connell (hamstring) took part in light training and will step up their training levels on Wednesday.

Rob Kearney, Keith Earls and Sean O'Brien sat out the session as they recovered from bruises.

Kearney (knee), Earls (leg) and O'Brien (arm) picked up their injuries in the 62-12 victory over the Russians and all three are expected to return to training on Wednesday.

"We're hopeful that everyone will be fit," said Ireland manager Paul McNaughton on Monday.

From BBC

davegrohl48

Great Sean O'Brien article.
Can you imagine if he was an active tweeter
"Home for the weekend, 25 cattle to test. Wont bother with cattle crush just use headlock, quicker and good training"
Seems like he is a real active hungry guy given the amount of activity he gets up to between homemade bread and Tullow RFC.
Future captain I would say.

TheHighRoad

.ak wrote: »

From BOD's blog:



Hahah, the SOB bit had me in stitches. Ye can just him and his big farmer head staring hard out the bus window and getting worked up about it trying to explain it to the lads and just getting grief. Hahah, legend.

My friend said he was out one night and bumped into Sean O'Brien. He was surrounded by all these randomers trying to chat with him and some toe-rag came up to see what all the fuss was about. the toe-rag asked someone and the person told him he was a Leinster rugby player. The toe-rag then goes up to Sean O'Brien and goes "Are you a Daddys boy?", and O'Brien replies "Dairy and beef actually"

He thought yer man had said "are you a dairy boy"

WeeBushy

I love that such a large man is breeding such a large breed of cattle like Belgian Blues, its fitting really.

davegrohl48

Was thinking that too about the Belgian Blues, double muscled all the way very fitting.
European player of the year but probably has to "stand in a gap" for the neighbours when they have to round up cattle.
Maybe it's why he has no fear of large beefs of men on the pitch?

[Jackass]

davegrohl48 wrote: »

Great Sean O'Brien article.
Can you imagine if he was an active tweeter
"Home for the weekend, 25 cattle to test. Wont bother with cattle crush just use headlock, quicker and good training"
Seems like he is a real active hungry guy given the amount of activity he gets up to between homemade bread and Tullow RFC.
Future captain I would say.

There are a few future captains putting their hands up imo.

It'll be two more seasons before there is a new Irish captain, but I'd say at a very early stage Heaslip, O'Brien & even Sexton have their hands up (assuming he continues his rate of improvement and has cemented the jersey). No provincial bias, but no one else immediately springs to mind.