Canada vs Ireland, 12:40, TG4

thomond2006

trouttrout wrote: »

Basically everything in the above post is incorrect, but the highlighted takes the biscuit

Statistically in terms of tries scored he's had his best ever season for Ulster: http://www.ulsterrugby.com/rugby/ulster_first_team.php?player=5817&includeref=dynamic

Of course he's playing with a better team than previous seasons.

trouttrout

thomond2006 wrote: »

Statistically in terms of tries scored he's had his best ever season for Ulster: http://www.ulsterrugby.com/rugby/ulster_first_team.php?player=5817&includeref=dynamic

Of course he's playing with a better team than previous seasons.

He even played really well last night, bizarre to say he's in bad form

Buer

We certainly don't have excellent depth at scrum half. We've Conor Murray. After that, we've two guys who are 33 and have to share game time with the younger of the two currently recovering from a major injury. The only other capped player in the country is Paul Marshall who has never been and never will be trusted to start a big game unless there are a couple of injuries.

We've some promising youngsters but that's about it. If Conor Murray tore his cruciate tomorrow, we'd have a serious problem.

deisedude

Buer wrote: »

We certainly don't have excellent depth at scrum half. We've Conor Murray. After that, we've two guys who are 33 and have to share game time with the younger of the two currently recovering from a major injury. The only other capped player in the country is Paul Marshall who has never been and never will be trusted to start a big game unless there are a couple of injuries.

We've some promising youngsters but that's about it. If Conor Murray tore his cruciate tomorrow, we'd have a serious problem.

I think Marmion at Connacht was great last year in his first full season. Could be the answer

Lightbulb Sun

Peter Stringer seems to have been forgotten about but he's still an emergency option.

Buer

deisedude wrote: »

I think Marmion at Connacht was great last year in his first full season. Could be the answer

Could well be. Unfortunately, we declined to ask the question this tour!

thomond2006

Buer wrote: »

We certainly don't have excellent depth at scrum half. We've Conor Murray. After that, we've two guys who are 33 and have to share game time with the younger of the two currently recovering from a major injury. The only other capped player in the country is Paul Marshall who has never been and never will be trusted to start a big game unless there are a couple of injuries.

We've some promising youngsters but that's about it. If Conor Murray tore his cruciate tomorrow, we'd have a serious problem.

When you put it like that, it is a bit of a crisis position. Of the current scrumhalves, here will be their ages come World Cup (September 2015).

Connacht:
Marmion (23)
O'Donohue (28)
Murphy (33)

Leinster:
Reddan (34)
Boss (35)
Cooney (25)
McGrath (22)

Munster:
Murray (26)
Sheridan (26)
Williams (29)

Ulster:
Pienaar (NIQ, probably leaving Ulster in Summer 2014)
Marshall (30)
Heaney (24)

Buer

thomond2006 wrote: »

Marmion (23)
O'Donohue (28)
Murphy (33)
Cooney (25)
McGrath (22)
Sheridan (26)
Williams (29)
Heaney (24)

And taking those who are capped out of the equation, I think Marmion and McGrath are the only guys I'd be genuinely hopeful of making the step up to international level. Others have shown flashes but not nearly enough or on a consistent basis to make me think they'll be genuine options for the senior team.

Fireball07

Murray will be there, Marshall will still be a good bench option. And I'd hope that Marmion will be given plenty of gametime and will be a genuine challenger to Murray.


If Reddan/Boss are still playing for Leinster, one of them might go, if they've been usurped by McGrath/Cooney, then that's also good news.

lurtz

I wouldnt have said that scrum half is one to be worrying about in terms of depth. Id be much more wary of locking stocks

bamboozle

Found pom's chip shop hardman antics very very annoying from our captain, though he played ok, decent game, good to see a bit of off loading.

19543261

bamboozle wrote: »

Found pom's chip shop hardman antics very very annoying from our captain, though he played ok, decent game, good to see a bit of off loading.

I think he just genuinely blows his fuse now and again. I never got the impression its been a GRRR INTIMIDATION tactic from him.

bamboozle

19543261 wrote: »

I think he just genuinely blows his fuse now and again. I never got the impression its been a GRRR INTIMIDATION tactic from him.

You're probably right, he needs to reign it in though, teams will start to target him.

trouttrout

bamboozle wrote: »

Found pom's chip shop hardman antics very very annoying from our captain, though he played ok, decent game, good to see a bit of off loading.

He was certainly a lot better than ok. He carried for brilliantly, made 15 tackles and beat 4 defenders

It was his best performance in green

Buer

lurtz wrote: »

I wouldnt have said that scrum half is one to be worrying about in terms of depth. Id be much more wary of locking stocks

We've options at lock and should be alright there for a few years yet. McCarthy is 31. Ryan is 29. That's us covered for 3 years. POC should still have another 2 years anyway. Toner has performed very well on this tour and stepped up this year. Then we've Tuohy who is solid and has started a tour against NZ and did quite well. Then we've guys like Iain Henderson coming through who will surely be a lock in the long term and has looked a class act in waiting.

POC can never be replaced with as good a player but, at lock, we've several players who have been tried and have stepped up to the mark. I wouldn't worry hugely about it.

Buer

trouttrout wrote: »

He was certainly a lot better than ok. He carried for brilliantly, made 15 tackles and beat 4 defenders

It was his best performance in green

You're reading TOD's stats, TT.

trouttrout

Buer wrote: »

You're reading TOD's stats, TT.

haha, so I am

POM still had a top drawer performance though, and it seems I've underrated TOD's shift

shuffol

trouttrout wrote: »

He was certainly a lot better than ok. He carried for brilliantly, made 15 tackles and beat 4 defenders

It was his best performance in green

I'd like to see a bit more variation in his carrying, he tends to throw himself into contact in a bid to get through tackles, its quite effective but invariably results in him going to ground, I'd like to see him try to keep his feet and get his hands free more.

Buer

Thought POM was very good but not outstanding. Actually thought he was better against the USA though when he was a one man attack up front. He was shut down more effectively last night by a smarter side.

Buer

shuffol wrote: »

I'd like to see a bit more variation in his carrying, he tends to throw himself into contact in a bid to get through tackles, its quite effective but invariably results in him going to ground, I'd like to see him try to keep his feet and get his hands free more.

Would agree with that. He's still young though and hasn't been playing at this level long. He has the talent and skills to develop more strings to his bow though. If he changed the point of attack a bit more, he'd make even more yards and be able to offload more effectively too. His carrying is bloody good though. For an international flanker, he looks relatively willowy but makes more yards than you ever expect.

lurtz

Buer wrote: »

We've options at lock and should be alright there for a few years yet. McCarthy is 31. Ryan is 29. That's us covered for 3 years. POC should still have another 2 years anyway. Toner has performed very well on this tour and stepped up this year. Then we've Tuohy who is solid and has started a tour against NZ and did quite well. Then we've guys like Iain Henderson coming through who will surely be a lock in the long term and has looked a class act in waiting.

POC can never be replaced with as good a player but, at lock, we've several players who have been tried and have stepped up to the mark. I wouldn't worry hugely about it.

in that vain Id be happy enough that we have murray,marshall and marmion as our scrum halves for the coming year. Boss is 33 but still playing well. obviously murray is first choice but marshall and marmion are both fantastic players who offer their own different styles. Then mcgrath heaney and cooney coming through,think it looks alright!

Podge_irl

lurtz wrote: »

Boss is 33 but still playing well.

I thought Boss's form was one of the main factors in Leinster's occasionally stuttering performances towards the end of the season. He's very good at a certain type of game, but being tasked with playing high tempo rugby and staying on for more than 60 minutes bring out the worst in him.

Lyaiera

Buer wrote: »

You're reading TOD's stats, TT.

It should have been pretty obvious from watching the match that POM did not make 15 tackles and the only likely person to have done so was TOD.

FrannoFan

The Media love in of POM is ridiculous! not questioning is performances in the two games but the way he is portrayed you would swear he was Ferris,SOB and POC roled into a mobile martin Johnson!

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/peter-o-mahony-steps-up-when-his-country-calls-1.1431096

"The Peter O'Mahony Tour"
"O’Mahony’s willpower, that quiet leadership of his, allied by a ferocity and calmness under pressure kept the wolves from the door on countless occasions during these Houston and Toronto battles."
"It’s his controlled ferocity that makes the Cork man such an intimidating figure in the trenches. Just ask Canadian scrumhalf Phil Mack."
"With so many absentees, this so easily could have become a depressing journey that ended with severely damaged confidence levels.
One man’s deeds, more than anyone else, refused to allow that to happen."

trouttrout

FrannoFan wrote: »

The Media love in of POM is ridiculous! not questioning is performances in the two games but the way he is portrayed you would swear he was Ferris,SOB and POC roled into a mobile martin Johnson!

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/peter-o-mahony-steps-up-when-his-country-calls-1.1431096

"The Peter O'Mahony Tour"
"O’Mahony’s willpower, that quiet leadership of his, allied by a ferocity and calmness under pressure kept the wolves from the door on countless occasions during these Houston and Toronto battles."
"It’s his controlled ferocity that makes the Cork man such an intimidating figure in the trenches. Just ask Canadian scrumhalf Phil Mack."
"With so many absentees, this so easily could have become a depressing journey that ended with severely damaged confidence levels.
One man’s deeds, more than anyone else, refused to allow that to happen."

Sure it's a giant conspiracy don't ya know:rolleyes:

Amazing how bitter some people can be

trouttrout

trouttrout wrote: »

Sure it's a giant conspiracy don't ya know:rolleyes:

Amazing how bitter some people can be

calling for perspective is not bitter.

trouttrout

Deleted User wrote: »

calling for perspective is not bitter.

If it was anyone other than POM you can bet no one would be "calling for perspective"

Plus it's ironic considering the lack of any perspective from a few posters surrounding any POM performance

Buer

trouttrout wrote: »

If it was anyone other than POM you can bet no one would be "calling for perspective"

In fairness, TT, whilst I'm a fan of POM, that extract reads like the tag line to a cringeworthy film.

"One man’s deeds, more than anyone else, refused to allow that to happen".

Peter O'Mahony is The Flanker.

totallegend

lurtz wrote: »

in that vain Id be happy enough that we have murray,marshall and marmion as our scrum halves for the coming year. Boss is 33 but still playing well. obviously murray is first choice but marshall and marmion are both fantastic players who offer their own different styles. Then mcgrath heaney and cooney coming through,think it looks alright!

Aren't you forgetting someone?

trouttrout

Buer wrote: »

In fairness, TT, whilst I'm a fan of POM, that extract reads like the tag line to a cringeworthy film.

"One man’s deeds, more than anyone else, refused to allow that to happen".

Peter O'Mahony is The Flanker.

Ah, don't get me wrong it's soaked in hyperbole, but I don't think it would have been highlighted in that kind of a manner if it was written about someone like Locky