5 Players to watch in 2014

PlayerTrader13

Chris Henry - 29, 6ft3 107kg
With Sean O'Brien missing the 6 nations, Henry who is expected to return from injury this weekend against Munster, can stake his claim on the seven jersey for Ireland. He has been outstanding for Ulster over recent seasons, will he be able to show that form for Ireland?



Tommy O'Donnell - 26, 6ft1 107kg
O'Donnell will also have a great opportunity with Sean O'Brien out, a talented but often injured flanker, O'Donnell showed his class last season for Munster. Can he jump Henry and become Ireland's first choice 7 for the 6 nations?



James Cronin - 23, 6ft 118kg
A virtual unknown at the start of the season, Cronin has emerged as a huge threat to Dave Kilcoyne's hold on the number 1 jersey at Munster. Can he become first choice at Munster and possibly the main backup for Ireland?



Kieran Marmion 21, 6ft 83kg
The star player at Connacht this season, his form has been excellent and the dropoff from him to the other options at Connacht is stark. A surprise absentee during the Autumn internationals, will Marmion emerge as a viable option of Ireland in 2014?



Rhys Ruddock 23, 6ft3 111kg
Ruddock has had a very impressive start to the season where he has possibly usurped Kevin McLaughlin as Leinster's first choice blindside flanker. Can he continue this into 2014 and possibly push for on for Ireland?

sdowling04

Think JJ could also be put down for a spot he's been playing really well recently.

its_phil

Not sure why Chris Henry is in this list. He's 29 and been around the block

PlayerTrader13

its_phil wrote: »

Not sure why Chris Henry is in this list. He's 29 and been around the block

And he has a massive opportunity with SOB out.. age doesn't matter he could be a huge factor for Ireland over the next two seasons.

bilston

PlayerTrader13 wrote: »

And he has a massive opportunity with SOB out.. age doesn't matter he could be a huge factor for Ireland over the next two seasons.

I think Schmidt is a big fan of his as well, I've said it before but it was noticeable how Henry was always name checked by Leinster during Joe's reign as a threat. His injury came at completely the wrong time.

Could we see Henry and O'Donnell up against each other tomorrow night? Could be interesting albeit Henry may be a bit rusty.

Of all the players above Kieron Marmion is the one we really need to kick on. We may get away with it this season but in a years time we'll be one injury away from disaster if Murray doesn't get back up.

Buer

I'd like to see Marmion get some sort of involvement in the 6N but I don't think it will happen. I do think he might get a start in a summer test though in Argentina and, from there, could be a fixture in the Irish 23.

jamiedav2011

In terms of younger players, would add Tadhg Furlong, Jack Carty, Dan Leavy and worldwide, Jack Nowell could have a huge year.

.ak

Olding for the 2nd half imo.

bilston

jamiedav2011 wrote: »

In terms of younger players, would add Tadhg Furlong, Jack Carty, Dan Leavy and worldwide, Jack Nowell could have a huge year.

I've only seen bits of Nowell in Europe, but what I have seen has struck me as being very untypically English which as far as backs are concerned can only be a good thing for him.

bilston

I'd add Iain Henderson to the list, if he stays fit watch him have an explosive year, although maybe the fact he already has 5 or 6 caps excludes him?

its_phil

PlayerTrader13 wrote: »

And he has a massive opportunity with SOB out.. age doesn't matter he could be a huge factor for Ireland over the next two seasons.

Traditionally these lists are made about up and coming players. I know who Henry is and I know what he is about. Tell me about someone I don't know .

Ihaia West is a player I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

jamiedav2011

bilston wrote: »

I've only seen bits of Nowell in Europe, but what I have seen has struck me as being very untypically English which as far as backs are concerned can only be a good thing for him.

Yeah that's a good way of describing him. More of a Gio Aplon than a Matt Banahan, can play centre and FB too so might be a good shout for a 6N bench.

Tox56

Was going to say Moore but ridiculously he already seems to be a player everyone is talking about. I suppose he could come to more widespread attention if he starts for Ireland and performs well, but part of me wonders if it would all be too much too soon. That said if he starts for Leinster this weekend he is basically certain to start in the H Cup, and if he is starting for Leinster ahead of Mike Ross, why wouldn't he do the same for Ireland. Will be get interesting to see where he is by December 2014 anyway

bilston

its_phil wrote: »

Traditionally these lists are made about up and coming players. I know who Henry is and I know what he is about. Tell me about someone I don't know .

Ihaia West is a player I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

Well I can honestly say I have never heard of Ihaia West so tell me more!

PlayerTrader13

Obviously you could add a few more players, all my players have less than 10 caps and will all have serious shouts at adding to them this year imo.

PlayerTrader13

its_phil wrote: »

Traditionally these lists are made about up and coming players. I know who Henry is and I know what he is about. Tell me about someone I don't know .

i'd be shocked if most posters didn't know who those 5 players are, i was listing 5 players who have major opportunities ahead of them this season.. of course there are far more than 5 players who have massive opportunities this season.

bilston

The Indo has listed four to watch this year, one from each province, and all good shouts to be fair.

Ulster - Jared Payne - actually surprised no one has mentioned him on this thread yet!

Munster - JJ Hanrahan

Leinster - Jordi Murphy

Connacht - Kieron Marmion

Zzippy

bilston wrote: »

The Indo has listed four to watch this year, one from each province, and all good shouts to be fair.

Ulster - Jared Payne - actually surprised no one has mentioned him on this thread yet!

Munster - JJ Hanrahan

Leinster - Jordi Murphy

Connacht - Kieron Marmion

4 good calls there. I expect Payne to be the 13 in RWC2015. I will be very disappointed if Marmion isn't in the WC matchday 23 as backup for Murray. Hanrahan and Murphy should be there or thereabouts, although JJ has serious competition with Madigan and Jackson.

Bridge93

Jordi Murphy perhaps? Probably the second number 8 in the country now to Heaslip.

jamiedav2011

bilston wrote: »

The Indo has listed four to watch this year, one from each province, and all good shouts to be fair.

Ulster - Jared Payne - actually surprised no one has mentioned him on this thread yet!

Munster - JJ Hanrahan

Leinster - Jordi Murphy

Connacht - Kieron Marmion

I think we're all aware of how good Jared Payne could be. Cannot freaking wait to see him in a green jersey.

mfceiling

Could James Hart be one to watch?

justsomebloke

Bridge93 wrote: »

Jordi Murphy perhaps? Probably the second number 8 in the country now to Heaslip.

No he's not. He has 2 sub appearances in the HC so far, both last year. He hasn't been tested yet at a level where anyone can put him as the second best 8 in the country.

.ak

Yeah Coughlan would be 2nd best imo.

EDIT: But I would defo have Murphy on the one-to-watch list.

Larbre34

justsomebloke wrote: »

No he's not. He has 2 sub appearances in the HC so far, both last year. He hasn't been tested yet at a level where anyone can put him as the second best 8 in the country.

Still one to watch big time, I suspect he's going to be very tested for the next 5 months.

bilston

.ak wrote: »

Olding for the 2nd half imo.

The only concern I have about Olding is his injury. What impact will it have on his ability to step past defenders. I've still never learned whether it was his right knee or left knee that he hurt but it's predominantly his left leg that he steps off.

That apart then yes, hopefully he will be back and ready to stake a claim for the AIs in November.

PlayerTrader13

mfceiling wrote: »

Could James Hart be one to watch?

hopefully, would love to see him involved with the wolfhounds next month.

thomond2006

PlayerTrader13 wrote: »

hopefully, would love to see him involved with the wolfhounds next month.

Since it's outside the international window Grenoble will have to give their permission for his release. They host Perpignan on the same day as the A match.

gosullivan89

Zzippy wrote: »

4 good calls there. I expect Payne to be the 13 in RWC2015. I will be very disappointed if Marmion isn't in the WC matchday 23 as backup for Murray. Hanrahan and Murphy should be there or thereabouts, although JJ has serious competition with Madigan and Jackson.

Yeah there is a lot of contention for the 10 which is great to see. Hanrahan is the youngest of them and looks to have the most potential. his last to games he played fantastically Irish Rugby looks like it is making a comeback (hopefully )

the perfect ten

thomond2006 wrote: »

Since it's outside the international window Grenoble will have to give their permission for his release. They host Perpignan on the same day as the A match.

That would be a "must win" match for Grenoble so I couldn't see them releasing Hart.

A good article about him in last week's Sunday Times.

former legend

I'd agree with the OP that the players he names, while not all of them are spring chickens, are "ones to watch" in that they have a good shot at really improving their profiles and importance within the game and cracking the national squad.

I'll add a couple of my own suggestions of less heralded players who might make a mark:
- Noel Reid; he's 23 now so would probably have hoped to be further along in his progression but being stuck behind D'Arcy hasn't helped. O'Connor seems to view him as the next-best 12 at Leinster and I think his performances have really improved with more game time, if he can eliminate the occasional calamitous errors he'll be a great player.
- Rob Herring; this might be a long-shot but the upcoming games against Montpellier and Leicester will be his biggest tests to date and I think he's a useful player, he's Irish-qualified and still quite young so who knows? With long-term injuries to Strauss and Sherry, Best's return date uncertain, he might find himself in the 6N training squad.
- Ivan Dineen; should be the starting 12 for Munster ahead of Downey already so hopefully he can claim the jersey and show us if he's up to bigger games.

gaius c

Chris Farrell if he ever gets back from injury. Big brute of a lad who can actually play a bit of rugby too.

Swiwi.

its_phil wrote: »

Traditionally these lists are made about up and coming players. I know who Henry is and I know what he is about. Tell me about someone I don't know .

Ihaia West is a player I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

bilston wrote: »

Well I can honestly say I have never heard of Ihaia West so tell me more!

Well, that's a left field pick if ever I saw one! As a flyhalf, Ihaia West tore up the ITM cup 2013 for Hawke's Bay, but couldn't get a SXV contract at any of the NZ franchises. However, as far as I'm aware he's sticking with NZ rugby for the moment, but who knows maybe he joins his mate Jake at Connacht...

Buer

Eamon Sheridan, despite him playing outside of Ireland/Pro12 which seems to equate to not existing to some.

All things being equal, he should be involved with the Wolfhounds in a few weeks but being outside of Ireland hurts him. We have struggled to produce inside centres in this country for long periods. We've a bloke who is bigger than any other centre playing in Ireland, significantly heavier than Farrell or Downey but has had the pace to play on the wing in the past and is still only 24.

He's played every minute of the Premiership this season for LI and been named player of the month for them.

I think he'll be one to watch because I'd be confident that, before the end of 2014, he'll have put pen to paper to join Leinster or Munster for the following season.

Tox56

Buer wrote: »

Eamon Sheridan, despite him playing outside of Ireland/Pro12 which seems to equate to not existing to some.

All things being equal, he should be involved with the Wolfhounds in a few weeks but being outside of Ireland hurts him. We have struggled to produce inside centres in this country for long periods. We've a bloke who is bigger than any other centre playing in Ireland, significantly heavier than Farrell or Downey but has had the pace to play on the wing in the past and is still only 24.

He's played every minute of the Premiership this season for LI and been named player of the month for them.

I think he'll be one to watch because I'd be confident that, before the end of 2014, he'll have put pen to paper to join Leinster or Munster for the following season.

Remember looking at the stats and he was the same size or bigger than the Irish backrow. Has good awareness and decent hands, particularly offloading. Schmidt seemed to be a massive fan of his when he was at Leinster, he gave him every chance but he just couldn't get him fit. Surely now that he is fulfilling that potential Schmidt will look to get him involved

Buer

Tox56 wrote: »

Remember looking at the stats and he was the same size or bigger than the Irish backrow. Has good awareness and decent hands, particularly offloading. Schmidt seemed to be a massive fan of his when he was at Leinster, he gave him every chance but he just couldn't get him fit. Surely now that he is fulfilling that potential Schmidt will look to get him involved

He had three massive injuries in his time in the Leinster academy. Schmidt was supposedly a big fan but simply could not play him. He tore cruciate ligaments and badly broke a leg as well which basically ruled out two entire seasons and suffered another serious ligament injury, I seem to recall. Schmidt gave him an extra year in the academy but he was injured again and couldn't get a break.

Since he went to England though, he has been really, really good. Has played a lot of rugby and managing 80 minutes most games and shown his capabilities. This is a guy who is in the elite club of having been a starter in two consecutive seasons for the Irish U20 side which very few have managed.

He's still only 24 so plenty of time to have an impact on Irish rugby.

gaius c

What's his contract status?

PlayerTrader13

gaius c wrote: »

What's his contract status?

contracted upto 2015.

WinnyThePoo

Martin Moore's has had a fantastic start to the season aswell. I hope he continues doing what hes doing.

[Jackass]

My players to watch in 2014

LH: Cronin, McGrath
HK: Harris-Wright
TH: Moore, Furlong
SR: Henderson, Nagle, Toner
FLANKER: Henry, O'Donnell, Ruddock
EIGHT: Murphy
SH: Marmiom, Harte
OH: Hanrahan
CENTRE: Reid, Macken, Payne, Olding, Dineen
BACK THREE: Fitzgerald (is back!), O'Mahony, Henshaw

freyners

Was about to mention JHW alright, brilliant hooker and plays like an extra flanker in the loose. Did well to edge henry so quickly after returning from injury.

May I make a suggestion in Eoin McKeon? Has established himself as our 8 at last and was a beast in both Toulouse games. Well able to stake a claim for thw WH squad

Journeyman_1

[Jackass] wrote: »

My players to watch in 2014

LH: Cronin, McGrath
HK: Harris-Wright
TH: Moore, Furlong
SR: Henderson, Nagle, Toner
FLANKER: Henry, O'Donnell, Ruddock
EIGHT: Murphy
SH: Marmiom, Harte
OH: Hanrahan
CENTRE: Reid, Macken, Payne, Olding, Dineen
BACK THREE: Fitzgerald (is back!), O'Mahony, Henshaw

*cliffs: every young exciting prospect

chupacabra

Luke McGrath

offyourfeet

5 to watch for Ireland :

Henderson, Payne, Henshaw, Marmion, & Cronin

5 to watch at provincial level :

Furlong, Leavy, Luke McGrath, Olding, & Scholes

5 good outside bets:

Cian Bohane, Daly, Tom Farrell, Chris Farrell, John Madigan

Fireball07

Players I'm looking out for this year:

Denis Buckley- A really bright prospect for Connacht for a couple of years, few discipline issues, he really needs to kick on now. Make the LH slot his own there, and maybe come into Ireland contention.

James Cronin- Possible Ireland debut this year. Could become Munster's first-choice and maybe Ireland 2nd choice. We'll see.

Martin Moore- Big chance to become Ireland's main TH. Really impressed for Leinster.

Rhys Ruddock- Some people were beginning to write him off last year (maybe due to the progress of Murphy) but he's come back in a big way now and looks to be starting 6 for Leinster... can he make an Ireland 23?

Paddy Butler- A great underage prospect, he's had injury problems, I really think he should be laying down a marker soon. He's still young but with Copeland coming in next year, I think he's got to be putting in big performances when he gets the chance if he doesn't want to fall down the pecking order.

Kieran Marmion- IMO, the 2nd best 9 in Ireland. Reddan and Boss coming to the end of their careers, Marshall is not the answer, time for Marmion to step up.

JJ Hanrahan- Could take the Munster 10 jersey from Keatley if he continues to progress. From there, it's only a small step to making Ireland squads imo. Madigan isn't certain of the Leinster jersey, and Jackson is the same age... JJ was arguably better at U-20 level. Has the skills to be a truly top player. He's a bit behind the others atm, 2014 could be his year to make up the gap.

Jack Carty- Connacht need a new 10... Ronaldson is good, but I really like the look of Carty tbh.

Ivan Dineen- Already good enough to be Munster 12, really interested to see how he progresses this year. Seems to be a very intelligent player. He reminds me a bit of Eoin Griffin for some reason.

Darren Cave- 2014 marks the end of the BOD, Cave will have a small window to nail down that Irish 13 jersey for himself before the arrival of Payne.

Buer

Sheridan linked with move to Ireland and specifically Munster in paper this morning. Sooner than I imagined!

CowboyTed

The player I am hoping to watch is Stephen Ferris. Ferris and O'Brien in the same backrow on top form, I fear for the opposition.

I also think McFadden could be the dark horse for 13, it is his favoured position and when he got injured he was looking to put a serious marker on some Ireland Jersey.

Saying that Andrew Conroy could be another one if he got a good run... He should find it easier to get game time against top quality in the Heineken.

No one new there but seems

.ak

CowboyTed wrote: »

The player I am hoping to watch is Stephen Ferris. Ferris and O'Brien in the same backrow on top form, I fear for the opposition.

I also think McFadden could be the dark horse for 13, it is his favoured position and when he got injured he was looking to put a serious marker on some Ireland Jersey.

Saying that Andrew Conroy could be another one if he got a good run... He should find it easier to get game time against top quality in the Heineken.

No one new there but seems

Just on the bolded part, he actually said 12 is his preferred position. Now I think wing is his strongest position going on the AIs though.

sydthebeat

Tom Daly anyone? I expect to see much more of him as darcy plays less. Whether he makes a senior break through with reid there is another story but definitely one for the future.

PlayerTrader13

sydthebeat wrote: »

Tom Daly anyone? I expect to see much more of him as darcy plays less. Whether he makes a senior break through with reid there is another story but definitely one for the future.

don't see it this year, maybe 2015.

RosConn13

Think Mick Kearney at Connacht could be one to watch, good carrrier, calls his share of ball in the line out, has a hardened edge to him and can only learn playing beside Clarke!

Thekidneybean

Dominic Ryan?