Schmidt should release the terrier earlier

kieranwaldron

Ireland put in a workmanlike display on Saturday against Canada earning themselves a bonus point. I expect them to do likewise against Romania. After that in this year's RWC, the opposition gets stiffer in which the best attributes of all of the 23 players selected for a game will be required. In crucial games, I think Sean Cronin should be given more time to do his stuff at replacement hooker rather than just a token 10 or 15 minutes at the end of a game. My affectionate nickname for Cronin is * the terrier " - his attributes reminds me of a small aggressive dog. Cronin should be given sufficient time on the field to aggressively drive into the opposition, or better still run between them, and score tries from short range.

thomond2006

Smithers, release the hounds?

MikeCork2009

thomond2006 wrote: »

Smithers, release the hounds?

You mean Schmidters :P

Robbo

thomond2006 wrote: »

Smithers, release the hounds?

Or the dogs with bees in their mouth and when they bark they shoot bees at you?

awec

Cronin's problem is that Rory Best is so crucial to Ireland's breakdown and defensive work. The man is like having an extra flanker on the field. He's also solid in the scrum and can actually hook the ball.

Cronin can run with the ball but we have other players who can do that. I don't think Ireland have anyone as good at turning the ball over as Best so he's going to play at least 60 minutes, especially the big games.

rrpc

awec wrote: »

Cronin's problem is that Rory Best is so crucial to Ireland's breakdown and defensive work. The man is like having an extra flanker on the field. He's also solid in the scrum and can actually hook the ball.

Cronin can run with the ball but we have other players who can do that. I don't think Ireland have anyone as good at turning the ball over as Best so he's going to play at least 60 minutes, especially the big games.

Yep, Cronin's the ideal bench player. He's no longer a liability at the lineout, scrummages well and is a very good ball carrier. Inevitably when the subs come on, some of our ball carriers come off so Cronin is essential when that happens.

Redgirl82

Cronin is one of the most capped Ireland hookers but has only started 8 games was it? was made on TV3, pretty amazing how Best has held onto jersey for so long....

awec

Best is one of the best hookers in the NH, maybe even the best, and if he could throw consistently he'd be among the best in the world. No surprise that he is hard to displace in the team. He's a decent carrier too, though obviously not a speed merchant like Cronin.

He's a bit of an unsung hero to be honest.

Big fan of our Rory so I am.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Redgirl82 wrote: »

Cronin is one of the most capped Ireland hookers but has only started 8 games was it? was made on TV3, pretty amazing how Best has held onto jersey for so long....

8 starts 38 sub appearances no more than 2 starts in a single season

Noopti

I think he will be doing well to even get a bench spot. Strauss was in very good form in the warm up games, and is a steadier hand than Cronin.

I guess it just depends on what Schmidt wants against the big guns. Will he want a stead hand to come on, and play a similar game to Best, or will he want something different in terms of faster tempo (although Strauss wasn't too bad in this regard in the warm ups either)?

Losty Dublin

Having read this thread several times I feel that all Irish player with bizarrely irrelevant nicknames should get a start next weekend.

stephen_n

awec wrote: »

Cronin's problem is that Rory Best is so crucial to Ireland's breakdown and defensive work. The man is like having an extra flanker on the field. He's also solid in the scrum and can actually hook the ball.

Cronin can run with the ball but we have other players who can do that. I don't think Ireland have anyone as good at turning the ball over as Best so he's going to play at least 60 minutes, especially the big games.

He does a lot of less flashy yet vital work, he'll never be a dynamic carrier, but even looking at Henderson's try on Saturday and how big a part Best's support play helped in that, shows you need players like Best to back up our carriers.

Redgirl82

Noopti wrote: »

I think he will be doing well to even get a bench spot. Strauss was in very good form in the warm up games, and is a steadier hand than Cronin.

I guess it just depends on what Schmidt wants against the big guns. Will he want a stead hand to come on, and play a similar game to Best, or will he want something different in terms of faster tempo (although Strauss wasn't too bad in this regard in the warm ups either)?

Cronin impact off the bench is huge for Ireland. Teams are tiring and last thing they want to see is him coming running at them at full tilt...

.ak

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Having read this thread several times I feel that all Irish player with bizarrely irrelevant nicknames should get a start next weekend.

They should start releasing the squads with odd nicknames just to wind people up...

1. Church
2. Nugget
3. Tiger
4. Llama
5. Big Red
6. ???
7. Tullow Tank
8. Jimbo
9. Bieber
10. Noulders
11. Ginger Lomu
12. Iceman
13. Killers
14. Dreamboat
15. Robnoxious

fill in the blanks?

total former

.ak wrote: »

fill in the blanks?

Dave Kearney is known as "Dreamboat" in the Leinster squad, according to BOD's book. Apparently they wind Rob up by telling him Dave is better looking...

rrpc

Rob Kearney's nickname is 'Kearns'. Suitably boring I suppose

.ak

rrpc wrote: »

Rob Kearney's nickname is 'Kearns'. Suitably boring I suppose

Looking for the more outlandish ones rather than the 'Kearns' or 'Fitzy's

Stheno

Murray used be Spock or bieber due to the hair

Stheno

Rob k apparently is slug, robnoxious, or robnoxious kearndashian

POC was nicknamed big red in the lions squad, and pom is just pom allegedly due to Stuart Barnes calling him oh-mahonne-ee in 2011

Thanks to the munsterfans forum

Losty Dublin

There was a fella who coached the seconds for Athy years ago who went by the name of Ginger. Few people knew his real name; he'd even appear in team sheets as Ginger.

One day his wife went into labour several weeks on match day (Self centred bitch lol!). Knowing that he was playing and that the mobile was off, she scooted the kids off to her mums house and phoned the club house to leave word for him that she was in labour. Trouble was that nobody knew who she was talking about as she used his proper name.

Unaware of the excitement, he had a few scoops after the game and arrived home that evening to a cold and deserted house and a missing bag of clothes. Poor Ginger feared the worst, reckoned she had left him and bailed off to his brother in London first thing in the Morning!

It took the Gardaí a week to track him down :-)

And the moral of the story?

Ginger, Beer!

Dravokivich

kieranwaldron wrote: »

My affectionate nickname for Cronin is * the terrier " -

As mentioned by .AK earlier, he's already called Nugget.

Noopti

Redgirl82 wrote: »

Cronin impact off the bench is huge for Ireland. Teams are tiring and last thing they want to see is him coming running at them at full tilt...

Agreed, he can have a big impact, but I think Schmidt looks for more to be honest. He will want someone coming on who can basically continue what someone like Best has done all game, and a bonus if they add to that (eg: hard running & great lines in Cronin's case). In my mind, based on the warm-up games and their skill sets, Strauss is in pole position to bench based on this.

Depends on the game also. If we are playing France in the 60th minute and are winning by 3 points, or losing by 3-5 points, I think Schmidt would rather bring on Strauss. But if we are losing by 10+ I think he would prefer Cronin as he offers a change of pace and impact which might be needed to turn the game for us.

Might be all crap of course, just my thoughts! But I think we could see Strauss start on Sunday, and if he continues his performance levels from the warm ups can see him benching for Italy and France.

flutered

that is what makes any team, competition for places, no complacency during training or games, otherwise your arse is grass

LorMal

I actually prefer Cronin to Best. Best is a decent hooker and his throw has improved for our line out thankfully. He also does good work at the breakdown. But he is a bit pedestrian. I think Cronin is more dynamic and has the ability to change pace and run in tries.

kieranwaldron

Thanks for all your comments on my original post advocating the better use of Sean Cronin.

Noopti

LorMal wrote: »

I actually prefer Cronin to Best. Best is a decent hooker and his throw has improved for our line out thankfully. He also does good work at the breakdown. But he is a bit pedestrian. I think Cronin is more dynamic and has the ability to change pace and run in tries.

I think you are seriously underestimating how important Best is to this team. Pedestrian??

There is a lot more to rugby than running nice lines and making yards. I would have Best starting against France, England, New Zealand etc over Cronin, every single day of the week.

kieranwaldron

Sunday's game with Romania is further proof that Sean Cronin is a valuable asset at hooker. When he came on, it was his good throw to the back of the lineout and follow-up at the rear of the maul that led to Ireland's pushover try.