If they took three 10s in 2015 and 2019 when it was a 31-man squad it'd be a bit strange to only take two now you're allowed 33 in the squad.
Maybe they'd do it if they had two players who could cover whose primary positions were elsewhere - like Doak at 9 and Frawley at 12. Probably only room for 4 centres, though, so Frawley at 12 would only happen if one of Henshaw and Aki was unavailable.
Who thinks Leo will give Frawley time at oh? It's a leap to suggest that he's going to be in the mix for the rwc squad, as a 10!
I can't see him getting past RB or HB, unless there's a glut of injuries.
alot of people seem to think so. i dont see it personally but stranger things have happened. ngatai joining is seen as a reason but he does cover most of the backline
I'd pretty much agree with this, but would add that, even leaving aside the Aki vs Henshaw vs Ringrose debate, there's absolutely no question Aki's in our top 3 centres. Hume has shown a lot of promise, but I don't see any scenario, outside of injury, where Aki doesn't travel.
Regarding centre Aki, Ringrose and Henshaw are imo the top 3 centres in Ireland. I don't think there is necessarily a top pair. Injuries and form can separate them.
It's pretty clear that Farrell prefers Henshaw-Ringrose; when all three are fit, that is the first-choice pairing.
That does seem to be the case. I'd wager more often than not, one has been injured. (I'd actually be really interested in an in-depth article breaking that down tbh).
And we know Farrell likes to rewards form; it's possible Aki was on a low ebb of form during the few periods when all 3 were available. That was certainly the case at the start of the Summer tour, say.
One interesting point tho is that, in the biggest wins (and performances) in Farrell's tenure, Aki has had a pretty central role. He:
You can add the 2nd test v NZ to that list. Aki played most of that game at 12.
Edit: Apologies, you already included it.
I do. I think the question of who is leinster's next 10 after sexton retires, isn't settled. I'd say (and i hope) Frawley will get some gametime early in this season at 10.
One for the Munster thread but that’s an interesting point about Zebo largely playing 15 under Prendergast at Racing. Huge boot too which is an asset there.
I see Oli Jager has signed on for 2 more years with the Crusaders.
With Fletcher Newell leapfrogging him from club level to getting international minutes you'll have to imagine he will find it extremely tough to get those all black minutes he has ambitions on .
Fair play to him for following the dream however..
Couldn't get past Mike Ala'alatoa in the Crusaders team.
Can't make the extended squad of a team we're currently better than and beat in their own backyard.
You'd have to think he's just not that good, and if he didn't happen to play in NZ, most people wouldn't even know his name.
True enough. Fair play to him for trying. I think he will never be capped by the kiwis.
He just had his first season as a Super Rugby starter.
I reckon he has a good chance of being capped but it might only be sneaking when there is a few injuries.
Being in a country with 4-5 professional teams means that if you hang around for long enough as top 1-2 in your province means you can sneak through and be capped. As a prop he probably has 7-10 years left as a first line professional.
https://www.itsrugby.co.uk/players/oliver-jager-38379.html
I argue at this stage it's highly unlikely b he'll get capped. He's been over taken at crusaders level by Newell, and also had Williams as the next great kiwi prop hope coming as well.
He hasn't stood out for Canterbury either, starting one game from the bench
Ireland A vs New Zealand XV
Friday November 4th in the RDS
Great idea from the Union. More development for the second tier is a good thing and a game vs New Zealand definitely won't hurt.
Hopefully they are in talks for a possible game or two against A sides during the six nations too.
Emerging Ireland Squad to tour in South Africa to be named this week.
That’s another good move I think, great to see them trying things.
Injuries aside is Kelleher still 1st choice hooker? Sheehan didn't do much wrong in his absence.
I think this is brilliant, and I love the amount of gametime we'll be getting into developmental players this season, between this fixture, the Emerging Ireland tour, and even the Munster fixture against the Springboks. Plus, a full November test series on top of that.
Will force all of the provinces to dig a little deeper, and give game time to some recent or current U20s and some AIL talent in certain circumstances.
Most important thing I think for Irish rugby is to keep working to expand our player pool.
Sheehan had a very good Summer tour. I don't think there is really anything between them albeit I think the scrum is a bit more solid with Kelleher.
It's great depth to have and I very much rate Herring also.
When he broke through (in 2020?) I thought he was as good, if not better than Kelleher.
RK had the year or two headstart on DS in school and then in the leinster academy anf then experience with the Leinster and Ireland forst teams. But that will balance out as they reach their physical maturity and DS gets his experience.
I honestly don't have a huge preference between the 2 but I think DS's size is a big help. Whichever one is better and deserves the position should be picked. It's an excellent position for both Ireland and leinster to have such excellent options at hooker.
The Ireland A fixture is good news. And hopefully Farrell takes performances in that game into consideration for the Fiji and Australia games.
But you can understand why a lot of people are annoyed about it being in The RDS. The Dublin people have hardly been deprived of matches over the last decade. Would seem a perfect opportunity to spread international (mens) rugby around the island to Limerick or Belfast for the first time in god knows how long. The IRFU really don't help themselves sometimes.
Totally agree. A game in Thomond or Ravenhill would have been great, We need to spread our internationals around and as mens seniors cant play outside Dublin the rest should be played elsewhere
While generally I agree with you I would have a slight reservation.
If Ireland A are sharing a camp and coaches with the senior team dublin makes a degree of sense to save travel.
I do agree it's not ideal though.
I think they usually leave camp the day or two before the match and move into a Dublin hotel do it makes sense to be playing nearby.
Yeah. Seems like missed opportunity. They're contractually obliged to play Tests in Lansdowne Road, so a non-Test game is a rare opportunity to take it outside Dublin. With Munster hosting the Springboks XV the obvious option is Ravenhill.
What's the anthem protocol for games in Northern Ireland? Ireland's Call and the Londonderry Air? I've heard God Save the Queen/King mentioned sometimes, but it's never quite made sense to me that one jurisdiction of the Commonwealth when facing another would use the anthem of them all. I think it would make more sense for England to use Land of Hope and Glory or Jerusalem as their anthem - especially when they're playing Scotland or Wales.
It's a 2 hour drive from Limerick or Belfast back to Dublin. I think for the benefits of bringing a rare international match to Ireland fans in Limerick or Belfast, the squad and coaches can suffer a 2 hour bus journey.
Just comes across as the IRFU being lazy and doing what's most convenient for them, rather than doing what's best for rugby fans in Ireland.
NZ, Aus, SA and Arg move every international across their respective countries. And France have started doing it now aswell. I know the sponsorship deal prevents the IRFU from playing full internationals outside the Aviva. But you'd think they'd make an effort to play A internationals in cities other than Dublin.
And it just further feeds into the Leinster/South Dublin driven IRFU narrative.
'A' team might look something like:
Can we move on from Harry Byrne until he at least proves he can string 3 games together.
No!
Maybe NZ wanted to play in Dublin?
Their senior team is playing in Cardiff the following day, maybe they want their guys to be available if needed.
Sick of the Ireland hating tbh.
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