Changes for Ireland v France match

Quint2010

What changes would you make to the team? I think a good bit of surgery needs to be done to the pack. My team would be:

Fitzgerald
McFadden
O'Driscoll
D'Arcy
Earls
Sexton
Reddan/Stringer
Court
Best
Ross
Cullen
Either POC or DOC
Ruddock
Wallace
O'Brien

We badly need height at the back of the line out. The french will expose us there

stephen_n

Depends on injuries or rather returns from them! If fit backrow should be SOB, Heaslip and Ferris if not then either Wallace to start with SOB at blind or else maybe McLoughlin at blind with SOB at open but Ruddock shouldn't start against the french actually come to think of it if Heaslip and Ferris are still injured starting back row should be Jennings SOB and McLoughlin. Healy shouldn't be dropped, getting mullered yesterday has as much to do with Poite as his ability in the tight and court offers nothing in any other aspect of his game. Backs to stay the same apart from TOL going out.

However the actual team bar returns from injuries is more likely to be the exact same as started yesterday!

BoarHunter

Nobody sees Paddy Wallace instead of Darcy ?

Jack Sheehan

BoarHunter wrote: »

Nobody sees Paddy Wallace instead of Darcy ?

I wouldn't dump Darcy on the basis of one shocker, his form has been fantastic otherwise this year. I would however, take him ashore a lot quicker if he has a similar game next week.

Kannon

BoarHunter wrote: »

Nobody sees Paddy Wallace instead of Darcy ?

In all my years watching rugby I don't think I ever saw D'arcy having two bad games in a row

TheHighRoad

Quint2010 wrote: »

What changes would you make to the team? I think a good bit of surgery needs to be done to the pack. My team would be:

Fitzgerald
McFadden
O'Driscoll
D'Arcy
Earls
Sexton
Reddan/Stringer
Court
Best
Ross
Cullen
Either POC or DOC
Ruddock
Wallace
O'Brien

We badly need height at the back of the line out. The french will expose us there

There is absolutely no way Wallace deserves to be there. He made 5 tackles for 80 minutes and is a backrow. He made the least number of yards in the backrow and was completely ineffective. If Jennings doesn't start now he never will. I would go for something like this
1.Healy
2.Cronin/Best (hmmm too inexperienced a front row to have Cronin?
3.Ross
4.Cullen
5.O'Callaghan
6.Leamy (on form I'd want Dominic Ryan but too inexperienced for France)
7.Jennings
8.O'Brien
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Earls
12.D'arcy
13.O'Driscoll
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald.

Ian_K

Jennings in for Leamy & Reddan in for Leary would do just fine. No need to panic lads

Quint2010

BoarHunter wrote: »

Nobody sees Paddy Wallace instead of Darcy ?

No. Paddy Wallace is too small for inside centre.

BoarHunter

I don't see heaslip. Won't he be fit for next week ?

Dr.Evil

If Heaslip is fit they need a Leinster back row for the game. O'Brien, Jennings, Heaslip. Wallace had a very poor game and was largely anonymous, he doesn't deserve to be picked ahead of Jennings at this stage. I'd prefer to see Reddan in for O'Leary also, and would consider Tom Court for Healy maybe? Not too sure on that one, is food for thought though. Especially considering the power of the French scrum and the penalties given away by Healy yesterday. Although thankfully Romain Poite won't be referring..

Cypher_sounds

Quint2010 wrote: »

No. Paddy Wallace is too small for inside centre.

Especially against the very physical French side.

BoarHunter

Dr.Evil wrote: »

If Heaslip is fit they need a Leinster back row for the game. O'Brien, Jennings, Heaslip. Wallace had a very poor game and was largely anonymous, he doesn't deserve to be picked ahead of Jennings at this stage. I'd prefer to see Reddan in for O'Leary also, and would consider Tom Court for Healy maybe? Not too sure on that one, is food for thought though. Especially considering the power of the French scrum and the penalties given away by Healy yesterday. Although thankfully Romain Poite won't be referring..

On the same note i hope it's not Nigel "Paddy" Owens

thomond2006

Although it may be harsh to drop a player after one game, D'Arcy was so bad yesterday that if he isn't dropped/punished for his terrible performance it would seriously damage squad morale IMO.

BoarHunter

actually it ill be Dave Pearson. wasn't he refereing Toulon - Munster ?

blackdog2

The Irish back row needs wholesale changes, other than Parisse the Italian backrow is average at best and yet they came out on top against Wally and Leamy.

Imagine how Harinordiquay, Dusatoir and the rest of the french pack(who showed how they can throw it about yesterday) will run rings around us if the pack isn't shuffled!

Quint2010

thomond2006 wrote: »

Although it may be harsh to drop a player after one game, D'Arcy was so bad yesterday that if he isn't dropped/punished for his terrible performance it would seriously damage squad morale IMO.

He should be dropped but who would you put in there? Wallace will never be an inside centre-he is simply too small and would be swamped by the french midfield. Darcy cant be as bad again and has a decent record against the french

Podge_irl

Wallace was perfectly well able to defend against Nonu. This idea that he's too small is nonsense.

D'Arcy was awful - it begs the question as to what the **** Wallace was doing on the bench if he wasn't brought on. His form for the rest of the season is good so I wouldn't object to him getting another shot at it, but nor would I mind Wallace coming in.

Would like to see Court start at LH with Healy on the bench. Backrow needs serious work, but it depends who is available.

The most important change is getting someone else in at scrum half.

trackguy

Quint2010 wrote: »

He should be dropped but who would you put in there? Wallace will never be an inside centre-he is simply too small and would be swamped by the french midfield. Darcy cant be as bad again and has a decent record against the french

Starting Wallace against France and bringing D'Arcy on worked well in 2009.

JustinDee

Possibly a change in backrow and at halfback maybe. Outside of two shirt nrs at most, I don't see anyone else being nudged.

funky penguin

trackguy wrote: »

Starting Wallace against France and bringing D'Arcy on worked well in 2009.

It did, but both the starting of Wallace and the bringing on of D'Arcy were forced.

D'Arcy was just coming back from that horrific arm injury and Wallace's face got smashed. Point is, while it did work, it was forced and Kidney probably won't play Wallace.

I'd imagine the team we'll see won't be too different. If Bowe proves his fitness, he'll be back, most likely pushing McFadden from the team. The only other change MIGHT be at scrum-half but I sincerely doubt it.

Hippo

BoarHunter wrote: »

On the same note i hope it's not Nigel "Paddy" Owens

This is a myth. The last couple of matches Owens reffed Leinster he gave them a really hard time.

trackguy

funky penguin wrote: »

It did, but both the starting of Wallace and the bringing on of D'Arcy were forced.

D'Arcy was just coming back from that horrific arm injury and Wallace's face got smashed. Point is, while it did work, it was forced and Kidney probably won't play Wallace.

I'd imagine the team we'll see won't be too different. If Bowe proves his fitness, he'll be back, most likely pushing McFadden from the team. The only other change MIGHT be at scrum-half but I sincerely doubt it.

I think you're right. Kidney is not going to make wholesale changes, just not his style. The absolute most we will see is 3 and one of those will probably be Heaslip/ Bowe coming back in.

Kidney will probably pick D'Arcy for France on the same basis as he picked DOC for the this game. The same argument could be made for Cian Healy and Tomas O'Leary.

My problem with such an approach is that it fails to address the shortcomings of the individual. Giving a player another chance will almost without fail cause the player in question to up their work-rate but it won't turn them into a better carrier, improve their passing etc

TOL is a poor passer, Healy is a poor scrummager - players who can do these things better should be picked. Ultimately, this will bring all the players on, improve their skills, build the squad and so on.

Podge_irl

trackguy wrote: »

Kidney will probably pick D'Arcy for France on the same basis as he picked DOC for the this game. The same argument could be made for Cian Healy and Tomas O'Leary.

What argument exactly is that? Unless his argument is "I didn't watch the game", then there isn't one that would see TOL start the next time.

trackguy

Podge_irl wrote: »

What argument exactly is that? Unless his argument is "I didn't watch the game", then there isn't one that would see TOL start the next time.

The argument, which I don't agree with, goes something like - 'he's a well established member of our team, he's been a great player for us, he deserves another chance to prove his quality'

maddness

Whoever he picks need to play better rugby or we are in big trouble. i would like to see Stringer or Reddan at nine and Jennings at seven. I would not be his biggest fan but I thought that D O'Callaghan had a better game and would pick him with Cullen and drop POC to the bench.
Also Deccie needs to realise that rugby is a 22/23 man game now and using his bench with five or ten mins left is pointless.

Podge_irl

trackguy wrote: »

The argument, which I don't agree with, goes something like - 'he's a well established member of our team, he's been a great player for us, he deserves another chance to prove his quality'

The problem is, while at least that argument rings true for DOC, it doesn't for TOL. He hasn't been a great player for us - he has been consistently poor since that ankle injury.

Hippo

Hippo wrote: »

This is a myth. The last couple of matches Owens reffed Leinster he gave them a really hard time.

ha, the games were v Welsh opposition!

Owens is one of my favourite referees. I am a Leinster fan, I reckon he might be too!

Owens has some blindspots for Irish "technicality" offences alright, he's an Irish backrowers dream.

BoarHunter

Mermoz is out. Yannick Jauzion is back to play against Ireland. He might get paired with poitrenaud at centre.

Podge_irl

BoarHunter wrote: »

Mermoz is out. Yannick Jauzion is back to play against Ireland. He might get paired with poitrenaud at centre.

I don't care who plays as long as Clerc stays the **** away from the pitch.

jolley123

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Ross
4.DOC
5.Cullen
6.McLaughlin
7.Jennings
8.SOB
9.Boss
10.Sexton
11.Earls
12.Darcy
13.BOD
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald

16.Cronin
17.Court
18.POC
19.Wallace
20.Reddan/Stringer
21.ROG
22.? Wallace only covers 12 and 10, it seems pointless to have him there if Fergus covers 12 and ROG covers 10. Duffy only covers 15. I would go out on a limb here(and I'm ready for the stick I'll take) Spence/O'Malley.

That would be the team I would pick. Alas I don't see the important changes being made. The vital thing though, is that we get the substitutions right.

managerman

TheHighRoad wrote: »

There is absolutely no way Wallace deserves to be there. He made 5 tackles for 80 minutes and is a backrow. He made the least number of yards in the backrow and was completely ineffective. If Jennings doesn't start now he never will. I would go for something like this
1.Healy
2.Cronin/Best (hmmm too inexperienced a front row to have Cronin?
3.Ross
4.Cullen
5.O'Callaghan
6.Leamy (on form I'd want Dominic Ryan but too inexperienced for France)
7.Jennings
8.O'Brien
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Earls
12.D'arcy
13.O'Driscoll
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald.

id totally agree with you there on that one, thought he had a shocker

jolley123

jolley123 wrote: »

1.Healy
2.Best
3.Ross
4.DOC
5.Cullen
6.McLaughlin
7.Jennings
8.Heaslip
9.Boss
10.Sexton
11.Earls
12.Darcy
13.BOD
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald

16.Cronin
17.Court
18.POC
19.Wallace
20.Reddan/Stringer
21.ROG
22.? Wallace only covers 12 and 10, it seems pointless to have him there if Fergus covers 12 and ROG covers 10. Duffy only covers 15. I would go out on a limb here(and I'm ready for the stick I'll take) Spence/O'Malley.

That would be the team I would pick. Alas I don't see the important changes being made. The vital thing though, is that we get the substitutions right.

Sean O'Brien would be pretty pissed to have you as a coach

managerman

1.court
2.cronin
3.Ross
4.DOC
5.Cullen
6.obrien
7.Jennings
8.Heaslip
9.o'leary
10.rog
11.Earls
12.Darcy
13.BOD
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald

i know darcy had a shocker yesterday but he is a quality player and will bring his a-game against france

i gonna go for rog instead of sexy, but only because i think we will need to slow the game down from the start as the french will come flying at us, kicking to the corners etc, only thing is with rog, he is lightweight and jannick will power through the 10/12 axis,then if all is going wrong id bring sexy and redden on to hurry things up, i hope heaslip is back so we can have a leinster back row, but we are gonna have major problems with the scrum, scotland got thrashed yesterday there, murray is a brilliant prop but will have nightmares about that and im sure he was hoping the game was on a sunday!!! leo cullen instead of poc is a must too


but france will concede trys by us but i just hope they dont score many!!

Podge_irl

managerman wrote: »

i gonna go for rog instead of sexy, but only because i think we will need to slow the game down from the start

Well with TOL there, there is no risk of a fast game from Ireland.

jolley123

Deleted User wrote: »

Sean O'Brien would be pretty pissed to have you as a coach

SH*T! I meant SOB, force of habit. When I see the number 8 I immediatly think Heaslip haha.

managerman

Podge_irl wrote: »

Well with TOL there, there is no risk of a fast game from Ireland.

ha ha... yea i forgot to put that in there! but you know what i mean..

Cpt_Blackbeard

TheHighRoad wrote: »

There is absolutely no way Wallace deserves to be there. He made 5 tackles for 80 minutes and is a backrow. He made the least number of yards in the backrow and was completely ineffective. If Jennings doesn't start now he never will. I would go for something like this
1.Healy
2.Cronin/Best (hmmm too inexperienced a front row to have Cronin?
3.Ross
4.Cullen
5.O'Callaghan
6.Leamy (on form I'd want Dominic Ryan but too inexperienced for France)
7.Jennings
8.O'Brien
9.Reddan
10.Sexton
11.Earls
12.D'arcy
13.O'Driscoll
14.McFadden
15.Fitzgerald.

You can't call for Wallace to be droppped for having a poor game and still play Healy, D'Arcy and even BOD. Jennings does deserve a shot though, although he has never performed well for Ireland so France might be too big a risk.

I'd play:
1. Court (Healy would get eaten alive)
2. Cronin (Best offers nothing Cronin doesn't, well besides his "scrummaging ability" and "leadership")
3. Ross (He needs to work on is scrummaging because he is in for a big test)
4. DOC (Shouldn't be dropped after yesterday's performance)
5. POC (Not fully fit, but still a better player than Cullen)
6. Leamy (Ferris is out)
7. SOB/Wallace (I think that Jennings is too big a risk to start against France)
8. Heaslip/SOB (Hopefully he'll be back)
9. Pick your choice, they're all sh*t
10. Sexton (Hopefully he won't be too upset when ROG is called to close out/save the game again)
11. Earls (Dangerous player and looks to be regaining confidence)
12. Wallace (D'Arcy should be shot)
13. BOD (Mr Undroppable, we've no alternatives. He needs to play like a captain or lose the band)
14. McFadden (Would drop him if anyone else is fit as he doesn't have the workrate of an international winger)
15. Fitz (He was brilliant against Italy, he still doesn't inspire confidence at 15 though, I've a feeling that he'll get caught out for poor positioning)

tolosenc

What's the story with Heaslip and Bowe for next week?

CouchSmart

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

10. Sexton (Hopefully he won't be too upset when ROG is called to close out/save the game again)

Upset? Once the game was over Sexton was one of, if not the first, players to congratulate ROG (he may have even hugged him), hardly the actions of upset man. You seem to constantly take digs at Sexton through-out your posts, which in itself is fine but you rarely back any of it up.

Podge_irl

tolosenc wrote: »

What's the story with Heaslip and Bowe for next week?

Bowe is out. Heaslip is 50/50

PhatPiggins

Podge_irl wrote: »

Bowe is out. Heaslip is 50/50

We need Heaslip more then Bowe at the mo. I thought the back 3 did fine considering the muck they had to work with.

Podge_irl

PhatPiggins wrote: »

We need Heaslip more then Bowe at the mo. I thought the back 3 did fine considering the muck they had to work with.

They couldn't do much wrong considering they didn't really have anything to do full stop. Fitz seemed comfortable at fullback and he was the only one I was seriously worried about. Think that back 3 will be fine against France - Bowe would be a bonus obviously but even he will be able to do jack all unless other issues are fixed. Think Heaslip would be a HUGE bonus.

CatFromHue

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

You can't call for Wallace to be droppped for having a poor game and still play Healy, D'Arcy and even BOD. Jennings does deserve a shot though, although he has never performed well for Ireland so France might be too big a risk.

I'd play:
1. Court (Healy would get eaten alive)
2. Cronin (Best offers nothing Cronin doesn't, well besides his "scrummaging ability" and "leadership")
3. Ross (He needs to work on is scrummaging because he is in for a big test)
4. DOC (Shouldn't be dropped after yesterday's performance)
5. POC (Not fully fit, but still a better player than Cullen)
6. Leamy (Ferris is out)
7. SOB/Wallace (I think that Jennings is too big a risk to start against France)
8. Heaslip/SOB (Hopefully he'll be back)
9. Pick your choice, they're all sh*t
10. Sexton (Hopefully he won't be too upset when ROG is called to close out/save the game again)
11. Earls (Dangerous player and looks to be regaining confidence)
12. Wallace (D'Arcy should be shot)
13. BOD (Mr Undroppable, we've no alternatives. He needs to play like a captain or lose the band)
14. McFadden (Would drop him if anyone else is fit as he doesn't have the workrate of an international winger)
15. Fitz (He was brilliant against Italy, he still doesn't inspire confidence at 15 though, I've a feeling that he'll get caught out for poor positioning)

luke fitz should have done better for their try. he was our last defender and came out of the line leaving the guy who scored it with an easy run in.

he did the same in the home game against saracens.

he hasnt put to bed the argument over whether he should be our full back. id put duffy in there next week.

both the centres made some big errors yesterday, but we cant drop bod!! i would like wallace to start next week at 12.

id like to see jennings in the back row too and after leamy's stupid yellow he should be dropped.

wixfjord

CouchSmart wrote: »

Upset? Once the game was over Sexton was one of, if not the first, players to congratulate ROG (he may have even hugged him), hardly the actions of upset man. You seem to constantly take digs at Sexton through-out your posts, which in itself is fine but you rarely back any of it up.

Aye it's hilarious!

Same as the tabloid newspapers and Munster Rugby site today (and O Gara aswell, from his quotes yesterday)!

The man came on after one of Sexton's best games in an Irish jersey, and kicked a DG from under the sticks, that John Hayes would have got!!

Monty Burnz

wixfjord wrote: »

The man came on after one of Sexton's best games in an Irish jersey, and kicked a DG from under the sticks, that John Hayes would have got!!

That only proves that Hayes should be ahead of Sexton for the number 10 jersey.

Quint2010

Monty Burnz wrote: »

That only proves that Hayes should be ahead of Sexton for the number 10 jersey.

Sexton will definately start ahead of Hayes next week..:D

Am very worried about our scrum tho. I think Court may start at LH..

TheHighRoad

Cpt_Blackbeard wrote: »

You can't call for Wallace to be droppped for having a poor game and still play Healy, D'Arcy and even BOD.

As stated already I am not calling for him to be dropped after a one off game. As you rightly said that would mean dropping most of the Irish team from yesterday. The difference is Wallace has been anonymous all season and continued that form yesterday. He had his chance and continued his poor form against Italy. Thats enough for me, hes had a season of chances. Meanwhile Healy, D'arcy and BOD have been excellent all season and dont deserve to be dropped after one game.

"dropped" has a negative connotation which we must move away from.

Changes are made/should be made from match to match to preserve freshness within the team, to account for slightly different gameplans to do with who we're against, to reward good form, to allow players a chance to get gametime with each other, to check what combinations work/don't work.

Starting a match week1 of 6N and not starting the next doesn't mean you've necessarily done anything wrong.

corny

Ian_K wrote: »

Jennings in for Leamy & Reddan in for Leary would do just fine. No need to panic lads

I'd echo that. The amount of people willing to drop Darcy on the strength of one game is amazing.

For me, to a certain extent, it doesn't really matter who's playing. The gameplan makes it hard for them to shine. We lose ugly and we win ugly under Kidney. Been like that for a couple of years now and 10 fresh new faces won't change a thing.

Redsock

If healy starts he will get taken apart in the scrum. All this talk of what a good ball player he is is nonsense. He is a prop and a props primary role is to squat and push. Court is a better scrummager and must start.

Redsock

Redsock wrote: »

If healy starts he will get taken apart in the scrum. All this talk of what a good ball player he is is nonsense. He is a prop and a props primary role is to squat and push. Court is a better scrummager and must start.

Healy was against possibly the Worlds #1 TH yesterday.
Healy had no power or support from his flanker, follow the images linked elsewhere.
Healy is a good ball player, ridiculous to say it is nonsense.