Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

BoardsMember · 07-11-2022 02:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844863#Comment_119844863

Don't get too upset, most informed and reasonable people don't hold that view.

Wegians89 · 07-11-2022 02:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844055#Comment_119844055

Coombes cut from the squad it seems with Deegan staying in

07-11-2022 02:52PM

Well there's the answer to the Coombes/Deegan question, Deegan in the wider squad for the weekend and Coombes out.

Wegians89 · 07-11-2022 02:58PM

Considering Munster are playing SA a’s it could have been planned for Coombes to play that, although you’d think he’d be better off playing Fiji

starkid · 07-11-2022 02:58PM

Deegan maybe fits better into the mobile game Ireland are playing, but he´s definitely not lived up to the hype. playing well enough this season.

Pretty harsh on Coombes, given the whole side had a shocker.

Doris is streets ahead now though.

Clegg · 07-11-2022 03:01PM

Murray is out for the rest of the series. Some good news on Sexton, Furlong and McCloskey, however. Henshaw as well.

Frawley, McCarthy and Baird all ruled out of the Fiji game. The only luck Frawley has is bad luck.

https://twitter.com/CianTracey1/status/1589611709727379456?t=VC0ufcXt3fdkluo7QGP_gQ&s=09

Shehal · 07-11-2022 03:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845114#Comment_119845114

You can probably see another reason none of the Irish 10s look up to it when they play...the only thing they are scared of is the injury reaper who appears to be targeting Irish 10s!

bilston · 07-11-2022 03:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843172#Comment_119843172

Another reason why these A games are s****. Players get written off. Such nonsense.

Edit - the above has nothing to do with O'Brien who was excellent on Saturday.

07-11-2022 04:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845049#Comment_119845049

That's quite disappointing. Obviously am happy for Deegan but really thought Coombes had buckets of potential. Maybe just a bit off form at the moment.

snotboogie · 07-11-2022 04:19PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845510#Comment_119845510

He’s been good for Munster when he’s been fit this year. Great chance for him to bounce back vs South Africa on Thursday.

snow mad · 07-11-2022 04:32PM

I think he might be released for the sa 15 game.

penny is still there too I don't think the A game would have that much effect on players standings when team didn't dhow up ad a whole.

And they all looked wrecked from the get go possibly over trained to prep the first 15 maybe short a rest day.

Shehal · 07-11-2022 04:36PM

Interesting that Nash has been retained considering the Munster XV are playing.

07-11-2022 04:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842895#Comment_119842895

I feel like Billy Burns is the name that jumps out to me there as possibly not getting enough of a shot.

awec · 07-11-2022 04:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845610#Comment_119845610

There's no chance Coombes was released to go play that Munster game, he has been dropped.

He was very poor on Friday, and there's a good chance he has just lost any chance of going to the World Cup. It is hard to see a road to it for Coombes at this stage given the competition for spots and the relatively few games between now and then.

07-11-2022 04:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844539#Comment_119844539

I feel like it's Aki he's competing with. Henshaw is more versatile than either. Aki has delivered some huge performances for Ireland on virtually all of our big days over recent years, but McCloskey also brings immense physicality and presence to the 12 channel.

Bundee's discipline has to be a legitimate concern. Three silly red cards (all completely warranted) since 2019, and probably got away with another one against NZ in the summer.

Wegians89 · 07-11-2022 05:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845715#Comment_119845715

Bundee’s durability is also a legitimate positive. He’s very rarely injured and thats A huge plus when you look at Ringrose and henshaws Injure record.

phily2002 · 07-11-2022 05:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845702#Comment_119845702

Yeah i think there were a lot calling for Coombes every time we have struggled physically. He had a big chance to show up in a struggling pack on Friday but unfortunately had a bit of a mare. I said before that Deegan has been playing better than him but the lack of European Cup rugby has kept him back.

This is Deegans chance now to get his foot in the door. He took his chance well Friday but will need to back it up if given the chance.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 07-11-2022 05:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845814#Comment_119845814

I'm not sure Deegan will feature.

I suspect he might be there because it's better for a Leinster player to be in camp not featuring holding tacklebags than a Munster player given the game in PUC.

theVersatile · 07-11-2022 05:33PM

People reading far too much into Coombes being released.

Yes, he had a poor game against a stronger pack which had his team under the cosh.

What better way to proof your worth than to turn it around against a South African pack which will likely have his team once again under the cosh?

Why would you keep him to play Fiji instead of giving him the opportunity to go flying into a South African pack after possibly having gotten a bollockong off Andy Farrell himself?

He'll be back for Australia, barring injury.

awec · 07-11-2022 05:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845883#Comment_119845883

Wishful thinking, I would say. If Andy Farrell wanted to see a Coombes redemption, then Coombes would be playing this weekend for Andy Farrell's team, among the rest of the Ireland squad.

He's being sent to play what's basically a URC team in a South African kit. The idea that they're going to release a fringe player to go play in a complete nothing fixture so he can prove his worth makes no sense.

Like, this Munster game, Coombes has tons of them under his belt already. Everyone already knows what he can do at that level, a good performance will mean little. Unfortunately for Coombes, Friday was a huge opportunity to step up and take the opportunity and he had a really bad day.

It's tough on him, but he has been dropped and it has cost him.

07-11-2022 05:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845883#Comment_119845883

My issues with him (and why I think he hasn't gotten as much recognition as some people feel he should have gotten for Ireland) is I don't think his style suits our way of playing at all. He's obviously a powerhouse and possibly the best player in Irish rugby 5m out from the try line, but I don't know if he is dynamic enough for what Andy Farrell seems to want in an 8.

snotboogie · 07-11-2022 05:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845923#Comment_119845923

He’s not the quickest but he has the size to make up for that. He’s hardly a brute either, he’s one of the best passing backrows in the country.

AbusesToilets · 07-11-2022 06:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119844863#Comment_119844863

We're not just talking about this game in isolation though, are we? Aki has struggled defensively repeatedly in the last few seasons, as was see both for Connacht and for Ireland. McCloskey has been playing really well, and is a better defender imo than Aki. It's not disrespect to say a player has better attributes than another, despite your typical hyperbole.

07-11-2022 06:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845958#Comment_119845958

Is he? I know he put in a nice pass a few weeks ago to set his cousin up against Leinster, but you wouldn't typically think of him as much of a ball handler.

07-11-2022 06:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119845883#Comment_119845883

Back for what? He has no chance of playing against Aus. If he was actually going to play international rugby in this series, this weekend was it. It truly is bizarre to suggest he's better off outside the squad than in.

starkid · 07-11-2022 06:08PM

Yeah Coombes was dropped, lets call it for what it is. He has the somewhat near consolation of a historic game for Munster. But missing out on caps in such a competitive backrow is a disaster for him.

No doubt Deegan, as a Leinster player, will get plaudits for doing normal things, and that will be that for Coombes.

Incredibly harsh given his performances in NZ were very good. Just one of those mysteries where a players face doesnt fit. we´ve seen it before with COoney, McCloskey etc. The latter, on Saturday, showed that up for what it was; nonsense.

Doris is fast becoming one of the best number 8s in the game.

A top class eight in international rugby needs all the attributes.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 07-11-2022 06:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846019#Comment_119846019

I'm willing to say that he is better off outside the squad than inside the squad.

That's because I don't feel he would have featured either way against Fiji. He would have been a tackle bag holder.

So I reckon he is better off playing against South Africa in the first rugby game ever in PUC. If Munster win its a game that will be talked about for a decade.

07-11-2022 06:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846049#Comment_119846049

There's no mystery to any of the guys you've named. Coombes has been in plenty of squads and hasn't shown the coaches enough. This narrative of "face doesn't fit" is a complete cop out. He had a big chance last Friday night to show something, and had an awful game.

On the other two guys you mentioned, I feel like Cooney has been discussed to death on here, and McCloskey, while definitely unlucky not have picked up some more caps, has been behind Henshaw and Aki for his position for the bulk of his career. Those two have been elite for us, so there just wasn't a huge need to look further than them. I do think it's a bit of a joke that Rory Scannell picked up more caps under Schmidt than McCloskey did, but he can't have many complaints about being behind two elite players like Henshaw and Aki.

aloooof · 07-11-2022 06:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846017#Comment_119846017

I strongly disagree tbh. He's a brilliant offloader as well, and absolutely has a pass in him as we saw from the assist v Leinster. (And jackaller too fwiw).

I don't think handling is what's kept him out of the squad.(And I’d be surprised if any regular watcher of Munster doesn’t see him as a quality ball handler, tbh).

TomsOnTheRoof · 07-11-2022 06:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846017#Comment_119846017

He showed great hands in the one international he's featured in so far. He has an excellent offload too. Coombes can feel very hard done by. He's had an excellent 18 months and one poor game (in which everyone was floundering) is seemingly enough to land him in selection limbo. That's incredibly harsh, especially when the selectors haven't always adopted a similar approach with other players.

Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

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