Former Former wrote: » Agree with all of this. Stander is our best 6 and (I think) is better there than at 8. I don't think Conan is a long-term answer so I'd love to see Doris get another run after his Six Nations didn't pan out. At 7, I think VDF is a lot more secure than people here think, Leavy has a lot of ground to make up but if he does it will be awesome to have two very good and quite different options. I don't think Beirne will rise above the 19/20 jersey tbh. He might not even be starting for Munster (in any position) this season.
Shefwedfan wrote: » Beirne will start at club level but at International I dont see it against the top teams. Hopefully he proves me wrong. Not that I have said it before but I want to see Conan, VDF, Stander as a backrow. Doris has to be the backup at the moment to Conan. The Scotland team are poor, the Welsh had a nightmare against us. We beat them at home which to be fair most of us expected. The big game was England and it was telling again the backrow as a unit got hammered again. When Ireland are playing well the backrow are playing well, it is critical to the team. I know options limited with Conan out and then Doris taking a hit on head but we need to switch it up, if we play Stander/VDF/POM v Italy we will win. If we play them against France we won't. It is as simple as that. Against the top teams it is not good enough. Pointing back to 2018 is useless at this stage.
Wegians89 wrote: » 6 stander 7 vdf 8 Doris 20 leavy Impact from leavy could be a game changer, assuming he gets back to his best
salmocab wrote: » For me Leavy is the best player in the back row, obviously this is based on pre injury but if he gets back there I think he’ll start.
Eod100 wrote: » Reckon the November series will go ahead at all? Know global calendar was meant to be sorted by end of last month and apparently is meant to be sorted by end of this month. If it goes on much longer wonder does that mean less chance it will
Former Former wrote: » Maybe this is harsh, but Leavy's last game for Ireland was nearly two years ago and at a time when Ireland were on an incredible run of form. Now, he had a great 6N that year, but maybe if he'd been around for the malaise of 2019, who knows? I don't think we really know where his true level is yet.
salmocab wrote: » For me Leavy is the best player in the back row, obviously this is based on pre injury but if he gets back there I think he’ll start. Not sure of where but he brings something the others don’t, he’s actually incredibly strong over the ball in defence and must be an enormous pain the hole to play against. He’s also surprisingly quick although his strange run makes him look slower as he seems to run from the knee down. I’ve mentioned this before but a mate of mine reckons if he was a kiwi he’d have been crowned the new Richie Mc Caw.
Shefwedfan wrote: » Which November series? the original one is now gone. The new one which seems to throw up new dates and combinations every week will happen in some sort of capacity unless a large outbreak in Ireland
Eod100 wrote: » Ah I kinda assumed that about original one but didn't know it had been cancelled. Is the new one this season's 6N games with other test games thrown in?
salmocab wrote: » He was excellent up to then I think, for both Leinster and Ireland. Obviously he might have got dragged down when the team went south a bit but I think the Leavy who got injured is the best back row in the country.
Former Former wrote: » VM2 showing England v Ireland from 2006. What a cracking game. The speed of Stringer's service is something else. D'Arcy was unbelievable. And if you put Geordan Murphy in a position to make a decision, he's going to make the wrong one. Good times.
thomond2006 wrote: » I found clips on Youtube. David Wallace at the 55:30 mark is something to behold.
TomsOnTheRoof wrote: » However his ability to run a back line, especially considering his lack of any real threat with the ball in hand, was second to none and something he doesn't get much credit for outside of Munster.
Richie_Rich89 wrote: » I don't really see it with van der Flier. You'd be looking for someone who doesn't make a substantial impact physically to really excel when it comes to reading the game and being in the right place at the right time to support play. I don't really get that sense with van der Flier, and his link play doesn't really stand out either. Connors could give you tackle count like JvdF, but make more of an impact with more dominant tackles. Then Leinster and Ireland also have Leavy and Penny for openside, and Moloney and O'Brien in the academy - who are perhaps suited to openside best of all out of the three backrow positions (Moloney due to his relative lack of size and O'Brien due to his smarts and handling skill). This might sound very, very harsh right now, but if Leavy can get back near his best I think Leinster should maybe be thinking about moving van der Flier on when his contract is next up for renewal. All that said, it's probably unfair to judge him from playing in such an unbalanced backrow.
Paul Smeenus wrote: » Interesting selections - lots I'd agree with. From an Ulster perspective, wouldn't have Timoney in the Ireland team and would have Rea Jr ahead of McCann on the Ulster bench. You've also forgotten about Michael Lowry, who'd be at FB for Ulster or possibly back-up out-half. If you want 23s with the Most Potential, that's one thing. But while Ciaran Frawley could well turn out better in the long term than Billy Burns, he is currently not better than either Burns or Hanrahan. Burns was in the Six Nations squad.
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