Yup. Andy Farrell doesn't give a shite about Munster's tour to SA. I have heard variations of this in the past, but the Irish coach will pull in whoever he wants and that's it.
I had to laugh to myself watching Ger Gilroy on OTB this morning worrying about England going after Farrell to take over from Eddie Jones. How the narrative has changed!
Ah I can't see that being a factor Molloy.
Ireland will always take priority over the provinces. If Carty had been selected then I'd say there is little doubt he is next on the list. If Harry Byrne or Joey Carbery get injured in training then Ireland will want the next best option available.
Thrilled with Carty call up ,think he is a great player ,as a Leinster fan I think he should be num 2 to Sexton and wud imagine he would be if he enjoyed the number of armchair rides the Leinster pack provides.I think Carbery has flattered to deceive and potential was confused with the finished article.R Byrne is too static and all the rest are unproven or in Burns case not as good as Carty.
A few players seem to have taken their game to a new level when they pulled on the green shirt lately.
JGP being one, Conway being another, Lowe hasn't been setting the world alight for Leinster of late, neither have Ryan and Ringrose yet they've been excellent. Carbery looked way more confident than he's been for Munster the last 8 months.
Farrell by all accounts is a great man-manager and seems to be getting the best out of a lot of players.
With Munster heading out to SA this week then Healy was never going to be called up. Maybe Carty is the next cab off the rank, but maybe not. I don’t know how much his selection this week really tells us.
I think the huge jump we seen in JGP started long before he played for Ireland, for a long time he was never playing competitive games with Sexton, once he got a run of games with Sexton having a word in his ear his performance took a huge jump
We're yet to see how Harry Byrne responds to Farrell's pulsating manliness. Does he up his game like JGP?
I don't think there is an issue with HB getting ahead of RB at international level without it happening at Leinster level first. Its not ideal, but RB's shortcomings just aren't such a big issue at provincial level. But to become a solid starter at international he will have to do so alright.
We really should not be hopeful that Healy gets more playing time. He must take it. I believe he can and will. Same goes for HB at Leinster. He has got to get past his brother. I guess we can hope and wish lads were better.
I rate Healy! I really like him as a possible star. He is in a decent position right now. He should get Munsters next 2 starts. Then there's Flannery and Crowley! Munster are loaded at 10.
Byrne and Burns at this stage are not in the picture unless injury
Hopefully Healy etc get more game time with Munster and start to push. We should be the following going into the WC
Sexton/Carbery
H Byrne/Healy/Crowley/Flannary(in whichever order depending on progress)
Then
Burns/Carty/R Byrne
If Sexton drops out then one of the others to step up, ideal would be a Crowley or H Byrne to jump everyone and push Sexton out of the starting position
Probably the best way of putting it. We now get a clearer picture of the 10 depth chart.
Sexton, Carbery, Harry Byrne, Carty, Ross Byrne/Burns/Healy/etc.
We can see how far away Carbery is from catching Sexton (far!) and how far away Carbery is from everyone else (pretty far).
We have no idea how the rest rank in Farrell's eyes but Carty getting called up is significant to the conversation. It's also worth mentioning that, Jack Carty and Dave Heffernan were on the pitch with the team on Saturday but didn't take part in drills so the conversation. I wouldn't read too much into it because it's probably covid related but if we're trying to read Farrell's mind, it's interesting.
eidt
The fact he is called up means he definitely is still in the picture and that the decision to leave him out for Harry Byrne was probably closer than we guessed.
Well, no, it doesn't - but it does tell us that he's (currently) ahead of Ross Byrne and Billy Burns.
He's probably relying on an injury to Carbery or Harry to be involved this weekend but he gets another chance to show the coaches what he can do in training.
That is true and all things being fair, I shouldn't have included him on that list, for that reason.
Farrell and co deserve a lot of credit for sticking with JGB. When most of us were scratching our heads over his selection, Farrell said "he's our man". It shows confidence in a coach to ignore the hyped provisional first choice players (Cooney, McGrath) and trust your own judgment. The same can be said for Lowe.
It could be leveled at Ross Byrne, if you had never seen him play and knew nothing about him. Other than that, no you couldn’t say he has any issues with consistency. He is too slow and offers no gain line threat. That’s a very different issue though.
"Carty will not be in the mix to replace him and that is the truth"
Apparently, it's not the truth, despite what you or I think about him. If Farrell called him up, he's in the mix.
My point is not to ignore Carty issues, it's to put them in the context of out half competition. The same criticism of not being consistent can be leveled at Carbery, Healy, Burns and R.Byrne (H.Byrne hasn't played enough to even be criticized).
Don't get me wrong, I think it's mixed messages not to give Carbery and H.Byrne minutes against Argentina, so we won't see Carty (unless Byrne was **** in training). But until someone else puts in a serious game (and I hope Joey does on Sunday) then Carty is definitely still in the mix with some promising young lads.
Larmour:
He's a talented player, but it's hard to see where he fits in exactly. Maybe on the bench.
I didn't see anything that would concern me v NZ. I have to say the only time i saw him "turned around in defence" is when he had to cover across Havili after he broke free from POM tackle and stepped Carbery and then Ringrose.
He is never going to be a Sexton defensively, but he can tackle (e.g. Havili full bore first phase off scrum).
I feel he has proven his pedigree whenever he's been asked. From day one when he came off the bench on his debut v NZ in 2016, to coming off the bench (twice) in Twickenham in 2018 and again coming off the bench in Edinburgh in 2019, he has never let the side down.
His only starting appearances against "Tier 1" was in Aus in 2018 (Ireland were winning until replaced by Sexton) and Japan in the summer.
I would have started him in all these games and i would hold no fear of him getting a long overdue run at 10.
Ye all have forgot Larmour? I reckon he starts this week.
Argentina will be a good test, so it's a good shout to get new lads up to speed.
I hope HB starts! But, Carberry most likely will.
Sexton has been flying! I want to see another 10 push past him, but he's clearly the best option!
Zebo will be involved. AF needs to give us something to piss and moan about!
I don't want to be relying on someone worse than a 38-year old flyhalf, but we are where we are.
It will make little practical difference to Ireland. Leinster can manage without him.
Yes don't mention Carty issues, we should just ignore them. 😂
We are in the AI's and we should be trying out new players. If Sexton is dropped at the end of the season Carty will not be in the mix to replace him and that is the truth. So we should be looking at the players who potentially can, Healy etc
It's a waste of a spot in my eyes. If Carty wasn't good enough to make the squad in the first place they should have used the spot to give someone else experience
I don't think there's much benefit at all to changing most of the team for next week. It should be a select few changes for them to get proper game time in a near first choice 15. Changing 10 or 11 players just ends up being a mess
And don't bring up the consistency muck about Jack again because the exact same can be said about any of the other out halves (bar Sexton). For better or worse, Carty is very much in the mix.
Yeah good point. I guess I'm wondering is there a chance Sexton takes an injury and doesn't come back from it. He's not getting any yournger.
If we have any grand designs on the world cup, we need to keep trying any of those players you mentioned. I don't want to be relying on a 38 year old outhalf.
Why is it time to move on? he had another incredible game and was by a distance the best 10 on the pitch across both teams.
Not sure why they are calling up Carty, he is clearly not in the picture and they would be better bringing in Healy or some of the other young lads
how is sexton being out for 4-6 weeks in anyway a chance to move on?
ireland have one more game for the next 3 months, and sexton is unlikely to have played in it regardless
Wouldn't wish harm on anyone but it's time to move on. Blessing in disguise.
Think I'd go for:
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w8.vanillicon.com/v2/8a022abb175d445f2b5b8a1c545f3d3f.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wd.vanillicon.com/v2/d3e92925f7bde702415f91ea088d4f7a.svg)
