He was playing with a first choice backline v Fiji, bar O'Brien
Frawley was different in that he was selected as a 12 and him playing 10 was a fairly last minute selection with H.Byrne getting injured and there wasn't time to fly someone to NZ for the first game.
But yes, you could find many posts of me saying that Burns and Carty are the two best 10s in Ireland behind Sexton and should be involved.
Fair enough. Personally, I think the coaches have earned the benefit of the doubt.
The biggest hype is probably coming from in camp - the soundbites about how impressed they've been with him. He's there ahead of the likes of Ross Byrne and Burns, and with it being preferable if there was a bit more depth behind Sexton some are saying it would be good if the next cab off the rank got an opportunity. Hardly that extreme.
If Sexton wasn't available it would be good to see it, but, personally, I'll be glad to see Sexton in there if he's good to go. Him pulling the strings will probably increase the chances of the likes of McCloskey and Baloucoune having good games.
Sexton shouldn't start against Oz, or even be involved in the squad. We'll learn nothing.
I don't care if it's Burns/Carty/Crowley/Ben Healy/Joey/Eric Elwood... we should use this as a chance for an incumbent to try their hand against Tier 1 opposition.
Again, I'm not having a go at the coaches.
This is a completely redundant point. Frawley was ahead of Crowley because he played 10 in NZ in an emergency and did okay. Crowley wasn’t a live option at that point. Let’s not forget that Munster had dropped him from their match day squads entirely once the internationals were back after the 6Ns. So going to NZ was never on the cards for Crowley.
The EI tour was then seen as a chance to give one of the few remaining live options at 10 (Frawley) some time to see if he was a runner. He got injured and Crowley got his shot. He played okay in SA. But Frawley had played okay against better opposition and you can’t just go chasing the latest shiney thing as a coach. You’ve got to give players at least some time before discarding them. So Frawley remained ahead of Crowley. That will almost certainly change now as Crowley gets more exposure and Frawley is injured.
So what had Frawley done to deserve being ahead of Crowley? Been lucky enough to be in NZ when he became the only option at 10 for the Maori games. And then stepped up when he had that chance. Crowley has only gotten a look in because Frawley got injured. And nobody was complaining that Crowley wasn’t in NZ so it’s not like there was some big injustice there at all. Now that Crowley is getting his chance (also due to injury) he will likely leapfrog Frawley.
Both the Times and Indo saying that JOB will displace Baloucoune on the wing and that McCloskey will keep his spot.
Presume Mack to the right wing then. Some rise for JOB
Thats harsh on Baloucoune. It's very harsh if its a direct swap for JOB and Hansen is kept on the LW.
Wright and Kellaway are pretty good players, not particularly flash but very solid.
So Sexton seems to be playing coy about retirement.
How much longer could he actually go. He will be 38.
That said one of the hardest parts of a rugby season is preseason imo. I always wonder why players retire after a world cup. Maybe there's an option there to finish the season.
In the same interview he mentions that he hasn't been to South Africa yet in his life. That's a very interesting fact for an international rugby player. Maybe Leinster should send him on a tour there.
Lions in 10 years.
I think Balacoune is a class player but I think it's fair to say he hasn't played as well for Ireland as he does for Ulster. I don't really know why and I don't even think he's played badly for Ireland but he doesn't have the same impact. After JOB's performance against SA I think this was probably coming.
The real World Player of the year
Lol.
Frawley did 'ok' against NZ Maori, 6 months ago, (Ok, as in he didn't completely sh1t the bed) but he started against the NZ A squad 2 weeks ago and was pretty poor. When he was on the pitch, Ireland essentially had 2 12s and no 10 and we got dominated.
When Crowley came on at 50 minutes he definitely looked like a better 10, but the game was lost at that stage and the team were playing in completely disjointed way
Crowley has been much more impressive than Frawley in the chances he has been given, but whatever, he plays in the wrong coloured jersey so he has to do way more to make the cut than the 4th choice 10 for Leinster.
Also, all the people saying Crowley is the 3rd choice Munster out half don't know what they're talking about.
He would have started most of those games when he was away on the EI tour, he did start the Ulster game even though Healy was available and he did very well.
He is currently about even with Carbery in the Munster Depth chart, only because of pressure from the IRFU to keep giving him more minutes.
If it turns out to be true, I wouldn't be shocked tbh. Probably a reflection of what different coaches want from their players.
Lowe and Hansen get involved all over the park, always popping up and making plays, whereas Balocoune seems to be more of a "classic" winger. JOB seems to have really impressed Farrell and might be more in the mould of what Ireland want.
The other point is that the gaps in defence and wide open spaces that Baloucoune is so good at exploiting simply don't arise as much at test level, so he won't get the chance to show what he can do with ball in hand as much as he does with Ulster.
Or it could be that the team that plays the likes of Fiji is made up of players who have never played together before and is thrown together the week before the game, while the '# team of us' is the same core 23 players that are only rotated due to injury, and even then they usually are rotated with Leinster players because of 'cohesion' so the likes of Balacoune never get a proper chance because nobody tends to look good when the whole team are struggling
I've been underwhelmed by Baloucoune as well. It's notable that Lowe and Hansen both come off their wing a lot to act as first receiver to spread the play or as a lone breaker. Baloucoune didn't seem to come off his wing that often to offer the same threat.
It could be that the coaches want Baloucoune to stay on his wing and act as more if a finisher. But the ball just doesn't come his way often enough. In those circumstances he needs to make himself more. If JOB is selected selected ahead if him, I don't think he can really complain.
Mmm-hmmm.
Sort of overlooks the fact that Balocoune also played against SA.
Or it could be that the team that plays the likes of Fiji is made up of players who have never played together before
Aside from this being just nonsense, did you forget the bit where Balacoune started against SA as well?
I can see a good case for Jimmy o Brien in the 23 as he covers a few spots. Balcoune may miss out on that basis.
I think balcoune has done well with limited opportunity to impress. What we've seen is a player who can perform at this level and he's in the mix now. Doesn't mean he will start every game.
Sexton should start if fit and Crowley should get the last 20 mins at least, irrespective of how the game is going. That's my opinion. If Crowley is good enough he should be able to steer the ship home if we're ahead. If we're behind, there's no point persisting with Sexton in the hope of rescuing a win in a somewhat meaningless game. We need to know if Crowley can manage the team in a pressure situation now, not go and find out for the 1st time next September. If Crowley does well when he comes off the bench that should be the impetus for him to go back to Munster and take the no.10 jersey with two hands. If he sinks, then it's back to the drawing board for the next 9-10 months. There is a big chance that Sexton won't make it through all the games in the WC, especially if we need him to play 75+ mins in the big games to secure a win. All we need to find is a guy who can do the job for 20-30mins per game so that Sexton is only needed for 50-60 mins. The heir to the throne stuff can come after the WC when Sexton hangs up his boots.
Maybe Munster just aren't very good, as their current league table position shows.
Also there is zero evidence to suggest Crowley is 'about even' with Carbery in the Munster depth charts.
I think it's actually Aki that might squeeze Balacoune out more than anything.
They'll want to give Aki a run , but having him on the bench limits the cover options so they need to have a player like JOB in the 23.
So if the bench is going to be Casey covering 9 , Byrne/Crowley covering 10 and then Aki in the 23 shirt , you have to have an all-rounder somewhere in the starting 15 and Balacoune is the one that is most likely to lose out to make that accommodation.
That's a young exciting backline with some serious pace. Very light on international experience though. That's my take any way.
JOB for Baloucoune wouldn't be a massive shock as JOB went well against SA but honestly the Leinster dominance of the Ireland team is getting a bit depressing. It's becoming harder and harder to get emotionally invested in this team when it's basically just Leinster playing in a green kit.
If O'Brien goes well is he going to take Hansen's spot when Lowe is inevitably parachuted back into the team? We'll have a backline consisting entirely of Leinster players, on top of a pack that's pretty much Leinster with a guest.
"Team of Us" my arse. 😔
I'd say there is zero chance JOB ousts Hansen. He'll be number 23 if Lowe is fit, imo.
You can see the impact of this on boards.ie every day. More and more posters are far more invested in their province and a smaller minority actively want Ireland as selected to lose so players from their province will get a chance.
Not sure what you do about it though. Go back to the quotas of the 80s and 90s and play inferior players just to balance it up?
JOB won't take Hansen's spot. He's a middling all rounder who fits in cause he sort of like a poor man's Keenan. He's an all rounder, he's grand.
we need to stop hyping certain lads.
Baloucoune seems far more tentaive than last season, you can just see it in his body language. Even take a look at training photos. i think missing the NZ tour really knocked something out of him. He's been fairly poor in comparison. But he also got **** all ball in what has been two fairly poor games for outside backs.
Lowe and Hansen two roving wings will be a very interesting proposition.
this is the biggest game of the series imo. Its the game we are meant to win. We don't do well in those types of situations traditionally. its a nothing Australia team, and if we lose its two steps back.
in the grand scheme of things losing this and say not winning the 6 nations will be better for our WC chances.
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