You do realise this isn't an either or situation? We can win this series and blood players, we can leave the blooding of players to the autumn, this weekend a series and trophy is on the line.
Any win will put us 1st in the world.
Briefly in 2019, just before world cup, we were number 1.
It doesn't matter that much but if we win next weekend I'm pretty sure we'll be ranked #1 in the world.
Did we get to #1 briefly under Schmidt or am I making that up?
We will have injuries though, both before and during the World Cup. Hopefully Baloucoune and Coombes at least will get a run in the Autumn and 6N. Stockdale might even make a comeback.
Long term a series win could really set the mentality going into a World Cup. Our match day 23 is not going to change massively in the next 18 months bar injury. Or perhaps a massive loss of form in Sextons case. The depth to cover into that 23 is coming from the Māori games.
Putting in back to back winning performances against a top 4 team away is a pretty big learning and will be needed to progress in the World Cup. Agree with others, there will be no changes that aren't enforced given its a tie now.
True! But the long term is more important, imo. Imagine if at the world cup we're down 4 or 5 lads...., best to develop alternatives.
We are now playing for a series win in NZ. There will be very little unforced changes.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Frawley at 10 during the week and the fact that it's on Tuesday rather than Wednesday probably makes it more feasible to get guys who impress involved at the weekend.
Our best available 23 will be named for next weekend.
Everyone else has Tuesday to impress
As great as this win was, I would like to see a few changes next week. I think solidified depth will help at the world cup. I hope to see Casey in the 23 along with Coombes and/ or Timoney.
Carberry got 8 minutes. His tackling is dire! In saying that, I hope to see him start! I know. Wtf! Fcuk it, let j10 bench and give Joey Swisscheese a go.
Think I saw McCloskey on the pitch at full time talking to Henshaw and Ringrose, he must have been one of the extra men for today, which suggests he'll probably end up getting a game this week.
Been out the whole so havent been able to comment
There arent words out there for how incredible and significant a result this is for this team, the only thing more impressive than the result is the manner we got the result, it wasnt even close! Farrell's selection vindicated!
I do think Ireland without question should save the celebrations to next week as the next step this team needs to make is try seal the series next week!
There's always next week
Pretty sure that without Joey Carbery's late turnstile impression, and with Wale's win over SA, we'd be World Number 1 this evening.
We needed a win by 15+ and for SA to lose.
I didn't see a head knock or anything like that, but he was down multiple times throughout the game with knocks to what seemed to be his neck and an unspecified lower leg injury.
Edit: Sorry I got this wrong, supposedly it was a HIA he was taken off for. I didn't notice a specific incident.
Missed the match but saw what happened to Ringrose (definitely should not play next week), but what happened to POM?
You'd expect coombes and Timoney to be doing 80 minutes on Tuesday and I really don't fancy pendergast benching for the 3rd test. Or Baird as backrow cover if I'm honest.
Coombes and Timoney are already there along with Baird too.
Mccloskey is already out there.
Would be surprised to ever see Ruddock in green again tbh
If pom and ringrose are out for test 3 surely players need to be flown out in order to fight on two fronts next week, step forward McCloskey and Ruddock.
Lots and lots and lots of egg on face here.
Love to see it.
Ireland are a genuinely good team with some issues imposing their game plan. Sometimes we lack accuracy in attack and make panicked decisions. But the skills required to win matches are there. Solid rucking and tackle technique as well as good discipline sees us dominate possession and territory in most games.
I think I'd be in favour of IQ players at any URC team being considered for Ireland selection, and maybe come World Cup time players in England and France as well (maybe NZ too, who knows).
Yeah, that's fair, and over recent years there has typically been at least one player gone to a relatively long term injury at any given time.
That said though, you can't argue that guys like Scott Penny or Max Deegan, to name just two examples are maximising their potential. It's not unfair or unjustified, they're both behind top class players, but for Penny he's not playing big European games already, and it just gets worse if Will Connors is back and back to his best.
Yeah, Penny is just turning 23 this year and has already played a respectable 41 times for Leinster, but he has to feel in the next season that he's seriously in contention for the big European or interpro XVs, otherwise he surely won't renew again.
Flannery is another example of a guy who's wasted his key development years. He's 23 now and has barely developed at all since 20s because he's hardly played any rugby since. He's leaving now because he's 23 and 4th choice but he should have done it years ago. He's not now going to go to Ulster and suddenly develop into a class player and take over from Burns, his key development years are behind him.
And I just feel like Prendergast will go down the exact same path as Flannery and Crowley. He needs to be playing senior rugby next season week in, week out, wherever that may be. Not wasting his key development years sitting in the stands and playing the odd A game.
Maybe it shows something that a guy is willing to back himself at a place with more competition. There are posters who move half the backrows in Leinster out every year and the players more often than not don’t actually go, something is keeping them there and I doubt it’s the promise of 2 or 3 URC run outs.
Flannery is moving to Ulster this summer from Munster. I assume Sam Prendergast's focus next year will be the Irish under 20s, I believe he has another year.
Yeah, it kind of echoes the situation O'Gara talked about a few years ago with Jack Crowley. If a situation like that was on the table for guys like Tector or Prendergast, you'd think it would work well, but it seems the IRFU would oppose such a move.
I never like seeing talented players leave Leinster, but realistically it benefits no one to stock them up either and not have guys developing.
Notwithstanding the huge level of attrition we experience in the back row, I'm genuinely a little baffled why Max Deegan signed a new contract in Feb. I know guys feel they're developing better under the Leinster coaching ticket, but there is just such a huge queue of talent there and he's already been hopscotched by a younger Caelan Doris. I think the likes of James Culhane will be pushing a couple of years too. Deegan would have been better off moving to another Irish province and playing more regularly.
You'd have hoped he'd have had better people advising him.
Ulster would have made a tonne of sense. They don't have any real prospects at 10 coming through (AFAIK). Madigan has never been a very good 10 and is getting on a bit now. Burns is good at URC level and ok at European level. But with regular game time you could definitely see Prendergast challenging him within one or two seasons playing 2nd fiddle.
At Leinster, realistically he probably won't make an appearance until 23/24. Prendergast is a year younger than Fin Smith, who is Worcester's starting 10. And Prendergast looks a better player. Yet Smith will have 100 appearances before Prendergast has 20. I just don't get it. He's basically setting his career back 3 years. He should be playing regularly next season. And it's no wonder we've f*ck all options at 10 the way we do things.
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