Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

ionadnapokot wrote: »

I would like Ross to start and Harry to come off the bench.

Of course it will be Sexton starting and Ross on the bench. Yawn

Eric O'Sullivan might even make the bench this wk though!

Predicted team
Stockdale; Keenan, Henshaw, Aki, Earls; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Herring, Porter; Henderson, Ryan; CJ, Connors, Dorris.
Reps: Kelleher, Beahlam, Ryan, Roux, PO'M, JGP, RByrne, Daly

Viable alternative team that could have been selected or even for Georgia
(small bit of foresight required at the start by Farrell)
Daly; Conway, Henshaw, Frawley, Stockdale; RByrne, JGP; O'Sullivan, Kelleher, Porter; Henderson, Ryan; PO'M, Connors, Dorris
Reps: Heffernan, Buckley, Beahlam, Baird, Wycherley, Casey, HByrne, Lowry.

If we start Ross and bring Harry off the bench, we lose.

Not fond of Ross starting... But this is a nothing game at the same time so I'd rather this be his last chance saloon than an important 6N match

ionadnapokot wrote: »

Maybe!
But so what really?

We could well loose with Sexton starting.

While I get what you're saying - and I don't disagree about Sexton - if we lose this, I'd say confidence will be very, very low going into the Six Nations. And we will get zero benefit from starting Ross because we can already see that he isn't the answer.

Paul Smeenus wrote: »

A last opportunity for him to impress before we move on would be fair enough, I suppose.

Connors is out.

Injury?

Former Former Former wrote: »

I assume Sexton will be back, but if not I'd start Harry before I'd start Ross tbh. At this point, giving starts to Ross is a waste of game time.

And for jaysis' sake give a start to someone other than Porter. And give EOS a run too.

Edit: the release says H Byrne and EOS will 'train with' the squad this week. That probably means they're not in line for selection.
https://www.irishrugby.ie/2020/12/01/ireland-squad-update-burns-ruled-out-of-scotland-fixture/

Aye, that's the phrase they used about EOS last week as well. They're taking a look at them.

Niallof9 wrote: »

Yeah i hold my hand up in this regard. I've been proven wrong. The positives totally outweighed the negatives. I just thought the players were better than they were. His failure to adapt also was frustrating. But it was all in the detail.

The players he had got Ireland to first in the world, I think asking them to beat Japan isn’t asking that much of them or at least showing some pride against NZL instead of just rolling over and having their tummy tickled.

It wasn’t the lack of ability that was disheartening it was the lack of heart shown or desire, it was the equivalent of having a plan until you are punched in the face, all you had to do was smash a player and the entire team would roll over.

Solutionking wrote: »

Incorrect. 2015 we had a completely different game plan and a small squad of circa 20 players. After that it was light. Hence why picking up those injuries including one of the best players in the World meant we didn't really have a replacement. Sexton would have been a huge loss to any team as he was in his peak. His loss with POC etc we just couldn't take. Remember in 2015 we won the 6 nations and went in full of confidence. The group stage we walked it.

If Madigan had knocked over that kick I think we would have won that game.

2019 the team was completely shot of confidence going into the competition and never really played well. Maybe it was Schmidt announcing he was leaving, who knows.

Two completely different situations.

It wasn’t because I said in 2015 that the loss was deeper than just the players we lost but of course the blame was put all on the injuries and the real problem was never fixed, hence why when all those players were back fit for 2019 the same issues cropped up.

In 2015 we actually had some guts, in 2019 that was one of the most gutless Irish teams in history, no heart, no passion, no desire they had nothing inside them, they gave up the NZL game before a ball was kicked, you could see it in their body language.

I do believe Schmidt announcing he was leaving had an impact because we have seen it before have really bad effects on teams, Tony Mcgahan with Munster, topped the Heineken cup standings, announced he was leaving, ducked up our greatest chance in years to win a European cup, got smashed by 30+ points in the magners league SF. Someone like Harry redknapp at Spurs announced he was leaving, was 9 points clear in 3rd in the premier league and by the end of the season they failed to even make the top 4 and missed out on the champions league.

It can’t be a coincidence because the Irish performances were extremely sloppy and average in no time at all and the common denominator was that incident.

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Lets tease out your theory that doing away with central contracts is the best idea. Bear with me because I have no idea what money these guys get paid so I will be using figures just as an example to make my point.

Say the guys in bold were all offered provincial deals for 3 or 4 years of €200k pa. that would be topped up by performance bonuses and appearances for Ireland. That takes them to €500k pa. Now obviously loss of form or injury hits them in the pocket. Along comes a club from France, UK or Japan and says here is a contract for €500k pa guaranteed for 3 years. What would you do?

I don't know the marital/family status of any of the guys in bold but if they have a wife/partner and kids.... Their career is 10 to 15 years at best and it could end in a split second.

Surely that theoretical French team could make that offer regardless. Even if the Irish player was receiving the full value of central money in your scenario, he'd be weighing a guaranteed salary vs a variable one.

I think the IRFU should trust that players will want to stay at successful clubs and compete for an Irish jersey. If players choose to go overseas knowing the current selection restrictions, good luck to them.