He was injured as far as i know. Injured in december and returned to action in April.
I’m looking forward to pages of another imaginary selection choice and people presenting opinions as proof.
Milne is obviously "closing in" on the Irish squad cause he was training with them during the 6N.
Was Loughman injured at the time?
I don't actually think there'll be much complaints if Milne is called in due to injury. If he is called in ahead of Loughman I think you will hear a lot of complaints.
Look, Loughman's ahead of him, but I've no doubt Milne is closing in on the Ireland squad in his current form. I assume we'll bring 6 props, so if you've Porter/Healy/Loughman, who's challenging in case of an injury?
Kilcoyne on paper but he's nowhere near the player he used to be
..despite giving out about their own provinces front row strength most weekends..
… a large part of which was because we were missing Loughman thru injury.
As soon as he returned vs the Stormers he was roundly praised for the difference he made.
There’s no contradiction here.
I'd say if he gets minutes in the next few weeks, he'll be next in line after Loughman. Boards will go mental of course, despite giving out about their own provinces front row strength most weekends..
This is obviously simplistic tho.
It’s not about the level of coaching a player gets tho; it’s about how that translates into how good the player is.
At the moment, Loughman is ahead of Milne in that regard imo.
Like, Vakh has been in a system that coaches those traits very well. Absolutely nobody would argue he should be near the Ireland setup.
If he's a capable scrummager, and demonstrates a similar ability around the park to the starters, then it makes sense. He has the benefit of playing in a set up that coaches those traits very well also. If the choice is between him and Loughman, who isn't getting that same level of coaching, I think it's an obvious choice.
Yep.
To be fair, he's been in impressive form since well before the SA tour. Think he's scored 6 tries this season, which is just stupid for a 3rd choice LH prop. He's also scored 5 in his last 4 games. He's strong, dynamic and has excellent skills.
So Michael Milne, with his 31 Leinster caps, 12 starts and approx. 18' of Heineken Cup rugby off the bench is now our 3rd choice/going to the RWC...?
Promising performances (49 mins in one game, 6 in the other) in SA elevates him that quick?
thats not a good comparison though. there is definitely an argument that in previous tournaments selection was based on past performances and current form was ignored. the difference there was that the players in question were starters for their provinces (or club in the case of geordan murphy) rather than players down the pecking order
That's the mindset of little old Ireland that bombed at every RWC previously. If a player is 3rd choice at Leinster is the best option then he's the best option, once you start going down the route of taking other factors into place it wont end well. The difference is Loughman is competing with Wycherley & Kilcoyne whereas Milne is competing with Porter & Healy...if Loughman was in Milne's shoes he'd be 3rd choice also.
That's a bit OTT in my view. He was never top class, but he was a serviceable international player for a period. He was never a destructive scrummager, but was never as much of a liability in the scrums as he's been this year either. There was a window where he was probably Ireland's best LHP briefly, post Jack McGrath's injury issues, while Cian Healy was going through a poor spell and Porter was still a THP, but it probably reflected how poor the other options were as much as anything else.
At his best he was a good carrier and a good 'high energy' player in terms of his carrying (coming off the bench etc), who was a solid defender.
Kilcoyne has only ever been bang average. Very limited player and poor in the scrum.
Although, come to think of it, maybe saying Kilcoyne's ball-handling is poor could be putting the wrong emphasis on it; he's capable of catching and passing. It's more that he doesn't really have any vision, or understanding of how to make the ball do the work.
Yeah, I agree.
Could be. But neither are.
Far from it in Loughman’s case, at least.
A better ball-handler than Kilcoyne could still be absolutely terrible in this regard.
Kilcoyne was better than Milne, but I think Kilcoyne has regressed a fair bit this season. His scrummaging has been abject this season. He still is a good carrier in attack, but Milne has that option as well, whereas both Loughman and Milne are better ball handlers than Kilcoyne.
I'd be extremely surprised if Kilcoyne made the RWC.
I agree. I'd have Loughman ahead and Milne more or less on a level with Kilcoyne.
I think Kilcoyne is better than Milne but I think Milne fits Ireland's style better so it would be a toss for me.
I suppose the question is, where would he be in the depth chart if he was with another province. I still think Loughman is ahead of him and will travel as third choice ahead of Kilcoyne.
not really. as small a playing pool as ireland has with having only 4 professional teams, i dont think its crazy to expect to have at least one of the other teams to have a first (or second) choice player that is as good or better than the leinster third choice option. having said that, the majority of farrell's choices have been good so it thats the way he goes then fair enough
for clarity, i mean to say international rwc squad rather than just in general. id still have some reservations for most squads but i could understand brining in players for international exposure etc,.
With that mindset you are really limiting you're potential playing pool.
probably, but also that the early pool games are 'easy' (debatable) and will be used as more warm up games due to a week off during the pool stage
i know its leinster so its different, but doesnt really sit right with me about a third-choice player being in an international squad. theres only so far down the pecking order you should go imo
We will need plenty of back up players on standby for potential injuries. Guys like Milne and Stewart are vital
I think Loughman is well ahead of Milne as things stand for the RWC. Though I think In another years time, especially if Healy stands down. That Milne will be in contention for Ireland as there aren’t a lot of LH’s coming through.
I edited before you replied as I had remembered the champions cup. Point still stands though, he's hardy played against top opposition, although I've liked what I've seen on the SA tour
Im not sure if Ireland are planning any more warm ups but part of me think's if the ones scheduled are the final ones (along with the Samoa game rumoured in Bordeaux) the lack of games probably indicates that Farrell has seen enough on the field and its unlikely someone from the outside is going to force their way into the squad.
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