I literally quoted RugbyPass (owned by world rugby) which said Coombes was the best Irish player that day.
Coombes does i feel and yeah balance is key but attributes Coombes brings makes him very handy in a swuad.
I think you are greatly overestimating prendergast.
Dont see what the point of mentioning Deegan being world u20 player of the year 6 years ago has with his rugby ability now.
Prendergast has not been "insanely good" for Ireland, he's been grand and loves to give away a few stupid penalties every game, I wouldn't be surprised if he's not involved in the 6N squad.
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If we all reacted like you did where would the thread end up??????????
Did you read what I was responding to? No comment on that no?
I genuinely thought you were better than this but I suppose the mask finally slipped
Coombes was a non entity in the first Maori game. You are the one trying to conveniently forget or perhaps re-write history. He was good in the second game. Maybe you should look closer to home for the blind provincialism.
That's all fair enough, and sure who am I to argue with Planet Rugby... but following the NZ XV game, Coombes was cut completely from the squad and his direct rivals, Prendergast and Deegan, were capped against Fiji the following week.
So if it wasn't his performance against NZ, then something else went awry for him, but the simplest explanation is usually correct in these things.
He's playing well and I hope he's named in the 6N squad but he absolutely has some ground to make up.
Does Coombes fit the team? Really playing well is one thing but, if coaches are looking for other things like mobility and speed, it doesn't matter. Back row balance is key. What is the make up of our best back row? Obviously, VDF is miles above the others. Doris is ahead of his competition and there's only one other up for grabs. Injuries will adapt the players and schemes. I.E, if VDF is out who's next up? I think it would be POM or Timoney. If Doris goes down? It's most likely Conan at the moment, he fits the structures and has been in the system.
Provincialism is one thing and yes, we're all guilty. The blindside position is likely POM; Doris (if Conan is at 8) and Prendergast. Prendergast has been insanely good since his debut. But, he's likely going to earn caps after the world cup. Saying that Conan has fallen off the edge is insane. He's fallen behind Doris and has Deegan (world u20 player of the year) to contend with. So, yea the standards are ridiculous. Coombes has no real contender to supplant him at Munster. At least until Gleeson and Quinn come through.
Basically, Farrell decides who fits the style and does the best job. JGP has nailed down the 9 jersey. I think there's others who could be better 9's but don't meet the requirements for that role.
Ultimately the only relevant question is whether he has done enough to be brought back into the squad. You'd have to think yes.
Whether he can overtake Conan will be decided then, definitely not now.
Coombes played 5 times with Ireland including Twice in NZ against the Maoris where he scored 2 tries and 1 time with Ireland A
(ratings from rugbypass when available so not biased towards any province)
First game was 10 mins off the bench against a Beaten Japan - No ratings as he was not on long enough
2nd Game was starting against the USA in 2021
He scored a try
https://www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/ireland-usa-player-ratings-231935
1st Maori game where Ireland Lost - Coombes scored a try and assisted another
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-player-ratings-vs-maori-all-blacks/
2nd Maori all blacks game where Ireland won and Gav scored a try
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-player-ratings-vs-maori-all-blacks-2/
The only other game he has played was for the Ireland A team against the NZ XV. Everyone played badly that day and the whole team was dominated, but even still, Rugby Pass gave Coombes a 6
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-a-player-ratings-vs-all-blacks-xv-autumn-nations-series/
It’s not outrageous to point that out.
It’s also not outrageous to point out he’s been in brilliant form since then.
It's apt because Lady Gaga is probably older than you'd think
It wasn't just that Coombes wasn't picked for the Fiji match, it's that he was dropped from the squad entirely, the only person to be so dropped. And what should have been his jersey for that game went to Max Deegan, a man for whom "international wilderness" was an understatement at the time. That tells me that it wasn't just the NZ XV game that was the problem.
This was absolutely not a good outcome for Coombes and I don't think it's outrageous to point that out.
He’s pretty much doing everything he possibly can to play his way back into contention.
He’s been pretty outstanding since being dropped (maybe SA game excepting).
It’s not unreasonable for a poster to have that opinion and think he should be ahead of Conan.
It’s also not unreasonable to think Conan has produced more for Ireland in the past and deserves his spot.
But too often, aaaaany hint of criticism gets written off as provincialism. (And it’s not just the last few days. The Munster thread has been a nightmare for ages now).
Coombes was dropped after that performance against the New Zealand 15. That's what we have to go on right now. He clearly hasn't impressed Farrell and the wider coaching staff. He could play his way back into contention for the Six Nations, but he's running out of time.
As for the usage of this forum, that's an entire site wide issue. Boards isn't as popular as it used to be. There's still enough activity on this particular subforum.
WRT provincialism, there is some of that. And it's been particularly bad, or rather focused, in the last few days.
Coombes also had a very good performance in his first senior cap and was one of the best players to feature in the Maori games on the NZ tour. However all that is conveniently forgotten in order that some posters can dismiss him due to a poor performance two months ago (where everyone stunk up the place), despite the fact that he's been one of the best performing back rowers since.
This place really is a midden. It's no wonder it doesn't get anywhere near the same amount of traffic it used to. Blind provincialism masquerading as informed opinion.
Had high hopes for Coombes ahead of the Autumn, but he massively disappointed. Deegan was levels above him coming off the bench. I'd be very surprised if Coombes comes back into a 23 this side of the WC. Far too many other backrows in form competing with him.
Funny how you haven't been coming into the Ireland thread to lay into Ulster players after their poor performances of late, or Munster players after their losses this season (of which there have many).
Yet when Leinster have an off day but still win, you go to town on a young guy who is realistically nowhere near the Ireland squad.
I was quite a nifty player myself in school. Had trials for Leinster u18 when I was 15 (wasn't selected). They should call me up for the 6N.
Coombes isn't athletic enough. He's strong and powerful but lacks the pace of Conan. Coombes is a good player but, it's Doris who's the title holder.
Kendellen is a fantastic player for the future. He'll amass a lot of caps, imo. But remember, there's a mass of others who will be challenging him. Lads like Culhane, McNabney and Quinn. Lots of potential on the way.
As far as I can see, Farrell selects quicker more athletic players. I'm not sure if Coombes fits the bill.
My point is that talking about "form" is a bit pointless when most of the games the provinces play are light years from test level.
Maybe good form has less relevance. But bad form, at a lower level, would seem entirely relevant.
He clearly has plenty to offer Ireland but so does Conan. At this point in time Conan has proven that he can do it at the very top levels. People might want to imagine he’s been off form but I would say it’s more that he’s being compared to and competing with Doris. Who is in another level than anyone else at present.
Coombes offers something that the others don’t but we still don’t know if he can translate that to International. His showings so far suggest he struggles to do so.
Agreed, but he has had chances with Ireland since those games and (apparently) not taken them.
So he's back to square one to some extent. I would expect him to be named in the 6N squad but he'll only get ahead of Conan and whoever else based on what he does in camp.
Here’s the thing tho… Coombes has also done it a number of times at European level against the likes of Toulouse, Clermont etc. as well.
There’s plenty of reason to believe he has something to offer Ireland.
Conan has been nowhere near his Lions standard for the last 2 seasons, maybe yesterday was the catalyst to get back there, as it is he's not the form player.
The fundamental error that so many posters make is thinking that URC performances are reflective of test level ability. They 100% are not.
Then when people can't fathom why their pets aren't picked for Ireland, they invent outandish theories to explain it away, and then turn against Ireland and IRFU on that basis.
It's a bit mad, but TLDR someone like Coombes who has underperformed for Ireland isn't going to be picked again on the basis of displays against the Emirates Lions second string. He needs to get into the wider 6N squad, do the business in training and probably hope for an injury or two.
Sure he did
The sheer cheek of me
Yet when Coombes came up to international level, he stunk the place out so badly, they had to fumigate the RDS after.
Conan made over 100 meters yesterday, not too shabby. Coombes got smashed back a lot against a Lions 2nd team.
Conan was one of the Lions best players and started 3 tests but in fairness that doesn't stand up to Kendellen been good in school...
