RugbyLover123 wrote: » Should Leinster and Ireland not be looking at getting Baird to play at 6 ala PSDT? The game is all about power these days and at 6’5 Baird is small for a modern day 2nd Row. A 4,5,6 of Ryan, Ahern/Henderson, Baird come 2023 would be better able to handle that power game that the likes of South Africa and England bring.
shootermacg wrote: » No, England have often tried to stick second rows into the back row Courtney Lawes etc. Bigger is not always better. Great players emerge in the cauldron, Sean o' Brien, Ferris, Wallace etc. When these guys came on the scene there was no argument of them not starting. The problem is with the current crop you really do not have any real stand outs, plenty of good solid players around. You could probably play Deegan, Dorris, PoM, Conan etc and not see much difference. It's just one of those things with small player populations, sometimes you just don't have world class breaking through. But be in no doubt, when they do, you'll notice. Ryan was the last truly great player we've produced, hopefully some more will come through soon.
Heres Johnny wrote: » I think I'm alone in this but I don't see in Ryan what others do. Good player of course he deserves Irish starting spot but I don't see him as superior to other Irish first choice players at the moment. I don't see him as a great. Would have Henderson as his equal to be honest.
Clegg wrote: » Stockdale's having a bit of a mare at fullback. Very slim pickings if Farrell is looking to select on form.
Synode wrote: » Lowry is at full back
bilston wrote: » Lowry is at out half. Burns went off injured after 20 minutes.
bilston wrote: » He has been humiliated by Kolbe twice and there was one really poor drop. I think getting beaten one on one by Kolbe is something that will happen to pretty much anyone. Still he hasn't had a great 40 minutes. The IRFU may offer Kearney a new central contract!!
sydthebeat wrote: » Maybe it's time Ireland and leinster got some "outside the box" scrum coaching help from someone like Shin Hasegawa. There will always be days when you come up against a better scrum, so you'd need to have all the tricks up your sleeve just in case. I don't remember at any stage yesterday leinster tried a channel one ball. I don't recall any scrum having the ball out within one second, and I can only recall one scrum where it was out fast enough to say it was a quick ball. No scrum, no win. Its quite simple. We will never be the biggest pack in the world, so we should have more upstairs when our comes to competing with bigger packs
Clegg wrote: » He hasn't just struggled against Kolbe though. He had a defensive mare against Edinburgh and another against Leinster. The Leinster one was particularly bad as Larnour didn't even step him. Just ran right at him at Stockdale flapped at a tackle. On form he doesn't make Ireland's 23.
Clegg wrote: » This has been one of the worst weekends for Irish rugby in a good while. These are our two best provinces and both were dismantled by their opposition. Some very big selection calls will have to be made rather soon. Italy next month is a gimme, but we've France a week after that. It's clear that most of Ireland's problems lie in the pack, but the backs are a concern too. We've problems at loose head, hooker, back row, half backs and back three. Healy is on the wane and Kilcoyne has never been particularly good. At least not test standard good. Dunno who to select there. Maybe give O'Sullivan a go? Jack McGrath isn't the answer. He's still young for a prop, but he's not half as good as he was when he was selected for the Lions. Ronan Kelleher will be Ireland's long term hooker, but only when he can be trusted at the lineout. Every other facet of his game is strong. For now Herring is probably first choice, but again that's not particularly inspiring. Doris and Stander must start in the backrow. Only decision to make is in which position. On the strength of recent performances I'd give VDF the 7 jersey. Connors is a better tackler but the former has the more rounded game. Half backs are a mess. Murray isn't the player he was in 2018. It's been two years now and I'm comfortable saying he'll never be that player again. Time to move on, but every other option underwhelming. Sexton can still be great in his day, but he's just old now. His ability to think when his team is under pressure has deserted him too. Harry Byrne is the long term replacement but he isn't ready yet. In the back three Larmour is struggling with his positioning at 15 and Stockdale when it comes to defending. At least we have some decent options available to us. Conway should be a starter at 14 or 15 and Earls can still do a job. Bring in Lowe when qualified and Balacoune as soon as he's fit and things aren't so bad. Larmour and Stockdale are both brilliant when in form too. Just need time back with their provinces to build confidence.
Burkie1203 wrote: » JGP at 9. He has been very good IMO
shootermacg wrote: » There's a lot more to being a back 3 player than just the act of jumping and catching. It's 99% positioning. If you look at all Kearny's catches, he's almost always jumping into the ball along it's path. His positioning and nous are reason for this. Then there's the skill of claiming the ball at the highest possible point, DK and Conway are also great at this. If they don't catch the ball, they're moving forward in the air at such pace as to milk the penalty. They land going forward and make yards allowing support to be on the front foot. They take a pressure situation and turn it into an advantage. Larmour and Lowe are competent fielders, but when they come up against top class opposition, the weaknesses in their game shows through and they become a liability. I'd be looking to get Henshaw working with Kearny and give him another crack at FB. He's a strong, tall, athletic player who just needs time to settle and some coaching from one of the best fielders in rugby.
Guinness RFC wrote: » Don’t expect Kearney to divulge his excellence about fielding any time soon. His brother and him are great at doing the job when it’s asked of them but they want themselves and only themselves to shine. Does Larmour look like he’s been imparted with the knowledge about body position and positioning around the park? Nope. He hasn’t shown that he’s been taught by one of the greatest fielders that ever existed.
mfceiling wrote: » Please tell me you're joking right? You think that in training when Leo and Lancaster get individual players to work together in pods that RK has said "nope"... I'm the only player with the nous and skill to be fullback and I'm not divulging any of that to any of these young upstarts. Go away out of that.
Guinness RFC wrote: » Don’t expect Kearney to divulge his excellence about fielding any time soon. His brother and him are great at doing the job when it’s asked of them but they want themselves and only themselves to shine. Does Larmour look like he’s been imparted with the knowledge about body position and positioning around the park? Nope. He hasn’t shown that he’s been taught by one of the greatest fielders that ever existed. Keenan has shown somewhat that skill but he often mistimes his run up to the ball and arrives when it hits the ground. It’s all about timing and not accepting being sheparded out of the line necessary to take the ball. Firstly you look at the trajectory of the ball and you judge where you are going to contest for it. Then you look back to the players on the park and you make a hay line for it and push the opposing players out of your way if necessary but a good fielder will just sidestep opposing players blocking them and take the line for the place the ball will land. Then you time your jump and you jump sideways with your leading leg up. Sideways. If you spill it goes backwards. If you jump with your body facing the opposition you will spill forwards. Then it’s about jump technique, trajectory and power off the ground. With your Tighe leading into the contact you shield your body from impact another advantage of taking the ball sideways. Why these players coming through haven’t shown glimpses of these fundamentals are anyone’s guess. Keenan the only one with some glimpses of it. The most important attribute Is total commitment to put your body on the line to secure the ball in the air even if it results in landing on your neck. Total commitment breeds confidence and it’s not showing in our players when they contest. They’re not willing to collide with opposition in the air and land on their neck. That’s sometimes what it takes
Jump_In_Jack wrote: » IMO we would do better with a powerful 120+kg tight-head lock. Kleyn or Roux are the closest we have but neither are brilliant. John Madigan was potentially such a player before he moved to France. Kieran Treadwell has potential to be that type of player. Ryan, Henderson and Beirne are all loose-head locks, and could probably all do a job at blind-side flanker. There might be a few in the academies that might have potential to be moulded into that type of player.
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