Trimble or Earls Against Italy

TheHighRoad

Just as interesting as the ROG-Sexton discussion. I think on form you have to go with Trimble, Earls has had numerous opportunities and just hasnt impressed like Trimble has.

danthefan

I'd be happy enough with either. It would be unfair on Trimble to not get a game in the RWC in a full strength team but I guess where does fairness come into it?

Otacon

Earls

I'd probably go with Trimble too, but I would not complain if Earls starts. The current form player is Trimble but the difference between him and Earls is a lot less than that between ROG and Sexton currently.

I would be more aggrieved if ROG isn't rewarded for his form TBH.

TheHighRoad

Earls

Otacon wrote: »

I'd probably go with Trimble too, but I would not complain if Earls starts. The current form player is Trimble but the difference between him and Earls is a lot less than that between ROG and Sexton currently.

I would be more aggrieved if ROG isn't rewarded for his form TBH.

I don't think ROG should be rewarded for having a good game against Russia (people are aware they are the worst team in the tournament right??) when he was so poor against Australia when he came on. But thats another argument.

I think Trimble is still our most dangerous back, he also gets involved in a lot more work off the ball. He needs to start now and for the remaining games.

phog

There's no either option and as I rate both I'll go for Earls as he has done enough not to lose the jersey.

GerM

Earls, on form, is quality. As said elsewhere, we should beat Italy with either of them. If today has ignited his confidence then I'd stick with him. An on form Earls is a game breaker for when the likes of the Wales game arrives.

thomond2006

Either but picked Earls on poll. He had a bit of spark today (albeit against easy opposition), if he has got back his confidence he will be a devastating player for Ireland.

Fireball07

I can't decide. To be honest Trimble deserves the place after his performances in the warm-up games. But Kidney did pick Earls...and he did look more lively today, so it'd be weird to drop him at this stage. But at the same time, Trimble was excellent today.

I'd be happy with either to be honest...the winning or the losing of the game against Italy won't be decided (or it shouldn't be) on who starts between the 2 of them while it might on who starts at out-half...so Earls gets a bit more leeway. He did score 2 tries today and on form is the best finisher in the squad. Trimble is probably more rounded, not as good a finisher but better defensively imo. And he is on form.

I can't call...either will do. I think Earls will start against Italy but if he doesn't produce then bring Trimble in for the next game (assuming there is one). Earls is good cover to have on the bench anyway if he does have to be dropped...theoretically covering full-back, wing and centre.

MLC61

Not sure about Earls being the best finisher in the squad. Before todays tries he hadn't scored in his previous 14 test matches.

Either way - I don't think that Kidney should change a winning team. Hard on Trimble I know.

Podge_irl

Earls

Trimble shouldn't really have been dropped in the first place. Very harsh on him. Wouldn't be too unhappy either way though I like the directness Trimble can bring to the team. Unlikely to see Earls lose his place at this stage though.

hokeypokey

Earls

Earls does some good things, but he is always likely to do something stupid or miss a tackle, which could be the winning or losing of a game. Trimble is more rounded and has more than just pace...

.ak

Earls

Denis Hickie.

yimrsg

Against a team like Italy where Ireland are favourites; Earls as he is such a threat with his pace.

When up against a bigger side where everyone will be making buckets of tackles or one that has physical backs like England; Trimble.

chippers

Earls

Trimble all the way for me. He is our number 1 winger on current form. I agree with the above poster who says he is a more rounded player and while Earls can produce magic he is also equally liable to make a mistake. Earls played very well today and he stands out when playing against weak opposition, however, better teams figure him out and he can look quite one dimensional at times.

cgpg5

Earls

Want Trimble.. will be Earls, of that there's little doubt

redved

Earls all day long....despite the common perception that Trimble is a better defender.
He let himself down badly for the second Russian try, simply fell off the winger.

Trimble is playing well but I feel Earls offers more

irishbucsfan

Earls

I feel bad that Trimble played so well in the warm-ups and was then discarded, and so I picked him in the poll.

Truthfully I think they're both good players and I'd be happy with either.

tolosenc

Earls

Trimble is a better rounded player, and in far better form. He played in every warm up, and was the only player to perform consistantly in August, only to be dropped when the business begins. Don't want anyone there for what the might do.

phog wrote: »

Earls (...) has done enough not to lose the jersey.

In fairness, he did SFA to earn it in the first place.

Cypher_sounds

Earls, I think Trimble is more prone to handling errors.

Ardillaun

Before the Russia match, I was in the Trimble camp but now I think Earls shades it. Trimble had a bad game. He's never been the most aware player and can be really be caught cold by a surprise move like a short kick but this time, on top of that, he looked sluggish in defence.

Podge_irl

Earls

redved wrote: »

Earls all day long....despite the common perception that Trimble is a better defender.
He let himself down badly for the second Russian try, simply fell off the winger.

Trimble is playing well but I feel Earls offers more

I thought that was mostly McFadden's fault?

MungBean

Earls

Podge_irl wrote: »

I thought that was mostly McFadden's fault?

It was entirely McFaddens fault. Opened the gap, got handed off then missed the tackle completely. Trimble stood off thinking McFadden would take him on his third attempt and to help push him into touch. McFadden looked extremely bad in that passage of play.

MungBean

Earls

Ardillaun wrote: »

Before the Russia match, I was in the Trimble camp but now I think Earls shades it. Trimble had a bad game. He's never been the most aware player and can be really be caught cold by a surprise move like a short kick but this time, on top of that, he looked sluggish in defence.

Trimble had a great game I thought, he is an extremely aware player as he showed with his try. What short kick are you referring to ? If its ROG's cross field kick then its ROG you blame. The kick should have been put in behind the defender to allow Trimble run onto it. You dont hang the ball so as to make your own player wait while the defence comes up to claim. And he didnt appear sluggish to me at any point in the game whether it was defence or attack.

LifesaverNiall

Earls

Yes Earls was good against Russia.. but Trimble has been consistantly good for the past few games hes played in now.. he needs to be in a full strength side so we can see what he can realy do!

Sport101

Ardillaun wrote: »

Trimble had a bad game.

??? Trimble once again had a great game. You know Trimble was the player wearing 11, right?

phog

tolosenc wrote: »

Trimble is a better rounded player, and in far better form. He played in every warm up, and was the only player to perform consistantly in August, only to be dropped when the business begins. Don't want anyone there for what the might do.



In fairness, he did SFA to earn it in the first place.

Earls like most of the backs had a poor Autumn run in but he was one of our best backs in the 6Ns and has done enough in the W/C to retain his place.

If we picked our W/C squad on the basis of what we saw during the warm up games I serioulsy doubt we'd have been able to field a team not mind bring 30 of a squad to NZ.

Fishooks12

We have to look at the opposition, Earls has more pace and is probably suited more to playing a side like Italy where we will need to go out wide to beat them.

That being said, Trimble deserved to start against Australia and had a great game against Russia, as did Earls

axel the red

Surprised there isn't a "Both" option! Bowe is the winger who should be concerned with keeping his place in my opinion. Didn't see enough against the Aussies for him to be keeping either Trimble or Earls on the bench.

bamboozle

Earls

yimrsg wrote: »

Against a team like Italy where Ireland are favourites; Earls as he is such a threat with his pace.

When up against a bigger side where everyone will be making buckets of tackles or one that has physical backs like England; Trimble.

my thoughts exactly

Fishooks12

axel the red wrote: »

Surprised there isn't a "Both" option! Bowe is the winger who should be concerned with keeping his place in my opinion. Didn't see enough against the Aussies for him to be keeping either Trimble or Earls on the bench.

Bowe was a lot more threatening with ball in hand against Aus than Earls was, not to mention when on form he's world class

peterako

Argh!! Trigger happy me pressed Earls...I meant Trimble....

Hey! Could this explain some selections???

Used to think Trimble was useless, but he has been a revelation to me of late!

Earls on the other hand.......though wing that finish on Sunday was top notch!

In the end....if we win...I don't mind who's on the wing!

Buckley maybe?

Fishooks12

peterako wrote: »

Argh!! Trigger happy me pressed Earls...I meant Trimble....

Hey! Could this explain some selections???

Used to think Trimble was useless, but he has been a revelation to me of late!

Earls on the other hand.......though wing that finish on Sunday was top notch!

In the end....if we win...I don't mind who's on the wing!

Buckley maybe?

He'd be more use there than in a scrum

footie_fanatic

Earls

my shout is for trimble, as i know earls is established in the team but he's not enuf of a threat, like with Bowe you know he will score if given half a chance, and earls just doesnt, I see Trimble as deserving a chance to see if he will threat more ( which i think he will)

Wheeker

Earls

It just HAS to be Trimble. I think it sends out a very bad message to the squad if DK does not reward consistent good form with selection. Trimble is in the form of his life & for some bizarre reason can't get on the starting XV.

IMO Earls has done nothing special & in fact has played poorly in some matches. As regards doing nothing wrong to lose his place, I genuinely don't think he even earned his place anyhow! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that DK has a blind-spot for Earls & will continue to pick him regardless of his or anyone else's form :mad:

Fishooks12

Wheeker wrote: »

It just HAS to be Trimble. I think it sends out a very bad message to the squad if DK does not reward consistent good form with selection. Trimble is in the form of his life & for some bizarre reason can't get on the starting XV.

IMO Earls has done nothing special & in fact has played poorly in some matches. As regards doing nothing wrong to lose his place, I genuinely don't think he even earned his place anyhow! Unfortunately, I have a feeling that DK has a blind-spot for Earls & will continue to pick him regardless of his or anyone else's form :mad:

Earls scored two very good tries yesterday and looked dangerous throughout, he has more pace than Trimble (which is what we'll need against a physical Italian team)

Trimble is in very good form and should have started against Australia but Earls has done more than enough to justify selection

davegrohl48

Trimble for me as well. I think we need another guy in there like Kearney who is both big and fast. It might be simplistic but you can over analyze these things. Just think we need to have those two runners settled in if we are to take on the bigger defences left in the tournament.
Just think defensively/offensively he is more useful to our gainline.
Kearney/Bowe/Trimble is a solid back three.

little173

I think Earls is a better all round player and does offer that spark that we miss.

The issue we have is our lack of physicality in the backs is starting to show, BOD cannot hit like he used to, indeed he is lost bulk to prolongue his career and the opposition are just getting bigger in the midfield, and the option of D'arcy/Wallace/ Sexton doesnt help here. Not even looking at Downey as some sort of an option, albeit short term is looking a bit silly.

So to that end, the case for Trimble is more compelling as he adds real physicality in there, especially to take ball up the middle.

JustinDee

I'd start Earls. He's hitting form and played well against the Aussies too.
Trimble would be my bench option.

Having tough competition for places from quality players is a nice position to be in at this stage of the RWC.

Podge_irl

Earls

I'm not sure Earls really is that much quicker then Trimble, if at all. Trimble can fair shift.

MungBean

Earls

Podge_irl wrote: »

I'm not sure Earls really is that much quicker then Trimble, if at all. Trimble can fair shift.

Have been expecting blinding pace from Earls for years now and havent seen it. No question that he's fast but if he's faster than Trimble it isnt by much.

thomond2006

Actually I can't see this selection being very important tbh (unlike who starts at 10). I envisage Italy being able to make this game a dogfight between both packs and the back three seeing very little ball.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

Actually I can't see this selection being very important tbh (unlike who starts at 10). I envisage Italy being able to make this game a dogfight between both packs and the back three seeing very little ball.

The weather will have a big effect on this game, I'm hoping for good conditions.

I think we're playing in a covered stadium.

Leslie91

Earls

I'd go for Trimble because he is playing very well and looks confident. Earls can be a very good player but doesn't seem to be firing on all cylinders for me, in any event I think he should be a full back.

MungBean

Earls

thomond2006 wrote: »

Actually I can't see this selection being very important tbh (unlike who starts at 10). I envisage Italy being able to make this game a dogfight between both packs and the back three seeing very little ball.

The weather will have a big effect on this game, I'm hoping for good conditions.

For the first 40 perhaps but unless Italy can use the set piece as a platform to score points they wont be in the game come 50 minute mark and thats when the game opens up. I dont think they will be able to do that, and I think it will go the same as the Italy Australia match with the backs getting a lot of ball with lots of space in the latter part of the game.

I wouldnt see the Earls/Trimble thing as very important as they are both extremely capable on the wing so in that respect I'd start Trimble seeing as he's the better player at the moment.

thomond2006

phog wrote: »

I think we're playing in a covered stadium.

Oops, you're right. Forget what I said above!

dreamer_ire

I arugued against Earls' inclusion over Trimble, but since the weekend I've started to change my mind. The try he scored was so well executed, and a perfect wingers try, that I'd now give Earls the nod over Trimble... and I'm quite surprised at saying that. Trimble to bench and get 30 mins for either Earls or Bowe.

MungBean

Earls

dreamer_ire wrote: »

I arugued against Earls' inclusion over Trimble, but since the weekend I've started to change my mind. The try he scored was so well executed, and a perfect wingers try, that I'd now give Earls the nod over Trimble... and I'm quite surprised at saying that. Trimble to bench and get 30 mins for either Earls or Bowe.

At the same time though it was an incredibly poor tackle by the Russian. He pushed him as he past rather than trying to tackle him to touch. I'm not trying to diminish Earls's score because he did everything right and it was a great try. I'm just saying that against Italy that same situation probably wouldnt be a try as the covering tackler wouldnt let him go.

Trimble also had a great game and showed great initiative in setting up that try and scoring his own. Earls is a great player but while everyone has been waiting for him to find form Trimble has been consistently performing against much better opposition. I think that Russia game will do Earls the world of good but I dont think it puts him ahead of Trimble.

Wont be upset if Earls does start again because I think he'll do excellently but I just feel Trimble is the better player currently and should be in the starting 15. Perhaps Kidney knows that Trimble will perform and is giving Earls the opportunity to catch up and find confidence because both will be needed in the knockout stages who knows.

Skunkle

Skunkle wrote: »

At the same time though it was an incredibly poor tackle by the Russian. He pushed him as he past rather than trying to tackle him to touch. I'm not trying to diminish Earls's score because he did everything right and it was a great try. I'm just saying that against Italy that same situation probably wouldnt be a try as the covering tackler wouldnt let him go.

Trimble also had a great game and showed great initiative in setting up that try and scoring his own. Earls is a great player but while everyone has been waiting for him to find form Trimble has been consistently performing against much better opposition. I think that Russia game will do Earls the world of good but I dont think it puts him ahead of Trimble.

Wont be upset if Earls does start again because I think he'll do excellently but I just feel Trimble is the better player currently and should be in the starting 15. Perhaps Kidney knows that Trimble will perform and is giving Earls the opportunity to catch up and find confidence because both will be needed in the knockout stages who knows.

Just regarding Earls try on the wing - the guy chasing him down has exceptional speed and Earls did extremely well to stay in front of him. Earls is faster than Trimble and can change direction with a little more ease.

Trimble has been running better lines and breaking more tackles.

The difference between the two in the last couple of games is that Trimble has been consistent and safe, taken his chances and been opportunistic where as Earls has been impatient and forcing things too much.

The game against Australia saw Earls calm down somewhat - got the basics working and contributed to the result with some nice runs and a competent display.

For me - Earls is probably the better choice as he is rounding into form and will do more with space against Italy. Trimble is a great impact sub to harass a tired Italy in the second half. Either starting will be fine, but I think Earls in the next (hopfully) 2 or 3 games is going to shine.

Two great hard working players regardless and whoever starts will do well no doubt.

Ardillaun

Skunkle wrote: »

Trimble had a great game I thought, he is an extremely aware player as he showed with his try. What short kick are you referring to ? If its ROG's cross field kick then its ROG you blame. The kick should have been put in behind the defender to allow Trimble run onto it. You dont hang the ball so as to make your own player wait while the defence comes up to claim. And he didnt appear sluggish to me at any point in the game whether it was defence or attack.

Sorry, the short kick I'm referring to was not in this game. There was one against France I believe when the French guy kicked it over him and Trimble just stood there stunned - he didn't move at all. I think he was at fault for one of the tries as well as McFadden.

I guess I expect more from Trimble than Earls but he certainly lacks something in the guile department. OTOH the Earls-Darcy axis is very wobbly in defence.

AtItAllDayRef

Something I saw on another board was that Trimble's try against Russia was his first try for Ireland in four years. His last try was in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

bamboozle

Earls

AtItAllDayRef wrote: »

Something I saw on another board was that Trimble's try against Russia was his first try for Ireland in four years. His last try was in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

he has started very few games since the '07 WC. I'd have thought he's scored as many trys for Ulster in the HC as Bowe or Earls last season.