Then the mystery of why the squad isn't 44 players will continue.
Yes he is but he is not as good as Keenan or Haley.
I'm just idly speculating, I don't *actually* think I know how international rugby teams train.
If he named a 43, 44 or 45 man squad would you have been saying this bullshit about lessening the quality of the pre RWC training?
Or did this size squad only become the optimum number after we heard Farrell opted for 42.
Jimmy O Brien is a fabulous player who will probably make the 33 man squad
I think Haley should be in the training camp to replace Keenan only if he gets injured
I'd be saying the same thing I said above, that the squad was the size the coaches think it needs to be.
And then when people whinge endlessly about certain omissions I'd make the same observations that they're obviously surplus to needs and would dilute the existing squad.
Then I'd put my anorak on and wonder to myself how some folks get so wound up over chat.
And post RWC unless we win, there will be plenty of receipts to cash in
Fun fact, this time four years ago we named 44 players, only two uncapped... Mike Haley and Jean Kleyn
Ireland have the players to win this RWC.
We've dominated club rugby in the best leagues with mostly home qualified players
Not making a final should be seen as a failure
It's that simple.
Ah yes, the auld moaning jibe.
Brilliant
Once the 6N came and went, Haley and others had an uphill battle to force their way in.
Unfortunately for Haley, Farrell just doesn't rate him and even more unfortunately, post the 6N, Farrell would have seen a few games which might have confirmed his opinion.
So basically Farrell picked the team last year and nothing will change his mind in 2023
Ok.
Has that ever actually worked?
Unfortunately for Haley,and also Ireland
I didn't say that at all.
You've seen guys like Crowley, Stewart, TOT, McCarthy and Osborne earn their places in the last few months alone. Equally squad regulars like Timoney, Larmour, Hume, Baloucoune and Lowry got the chop. This squad has absolutely not been locked down at all.
Farrell isn't one to show excessive loyalty and he's not afraid to bring in new guys from the provincial depth charts.
If Haley can't do what the coach wants of him, then that's on him.
If Farrell is picking on merit, then why is Kilcoyne in the squad?
Come on. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 13 at east are inherently specialist roles (some legally). No coach in their right mind is bringing 2 players who only play 15 to the World Cup.
Yep! Why indeed.
Specialist or not, if VDF is unavailable, I'd still prefer POM over Hodnett at this point in time. To be quite honest I don't think there's much traditionally specialist about VDF. If he played 6 and POM 7 I doubt it would make any substantial difference.
For a full back, 'specialist' has both positive and negative connotations. Someone with a complete FB skillset should really have no problem playing on the wing and should have most of the tools to play 10 or centre.
FWIW I would have picked both Haley and Hodnett (or Connors or Penny or Timoney*) and just had a slightly larger training squad but I can see the logic in forcing the players to adapt to a situation where positional changes are forced.
*He seems to be able to play any back row position but is nominally a 7
I don't have an anorak, but France will be announcing their 42-player squad on the 21st of June.
If Melvyn Jaminet makes it, calls for Mike Haley will be vindicated. If Brice Dulin makes it, Galthié may have finally copped on that he's the best (specialist) FB in France.
I never said he should
Kleyn or Haley aren’t going to offer a huge amount at international level although they’re fine players at provincial level.
Loughman and Hodnett are a bit unlucky as are Larmour and Baloucoune. Stockdale and Kilcoyne on the other hand are lucky to get in.
Earls is also fortunate to get in (due to age and recent injury profile) but we know Farrell has a huge amount of time for him and he’ll bring some more experience to the training squad.
Overall I’d be happy with the training squad.
Its all about roles in the back row. With that in mind, Hodnett does kind of resemble VdF on defense as he’s a bit of a work rate demon, but he is more like Conan in phase play (lots of carrying in wide channels). He also does not seem to have much lineout involvement kind of like VdF. So, constructing a hypothetical back row that works really well would be interesting.
Baird, Doris, Hodnett would have a lot of balance. Conan, Doris, Hodnett doesn’t really work for me. POM, Doris, Hodnett would work although POM’s role in phase play would change. The first one with baird and hodnett i think would be extremely interesting. They complement each other really well.
No, but the corner you've argued yourself into suggests that certain roles aren't easily covered by a non specialist player, and that's true but not for the likes of full back. That position has plenty of cover in the selected squad and doesn't ever need a specialist who only plays that position as backup.
I literally said that Haley wouldn't make the 33 man squad unless Keenan got an injury that ruled him out. I said this multiple times. Same with Hodnett. The other players cover multiple positions and could slot in at full back if we're stuck, so are valuable in a tournament squad, but none of them would be as good at full back as Haley.
You can't cover every position from the bench. But in the RWC we should start our best players in their position, especially later in the tournament when the stakes are higher
Peter O Mahony can play 7 to a very high standard but he's a 50 min player these days, so an injury to VDF would still cause issues
They would be as good as Haley
Edit: replied to wrong person.
How many times have you watched him play this season?
Plenty of cover? Who other than JOB?
Stockdale hasn’t played there for a long while. He’s the only one who would seem close to a credible cover option other than JOB.
How many times have you watched Hansen, JOB, Frawley and Osbourne? They all must possess a higher level of rugby nous and ability, that they can play to high level across the entire backline. I'd have zero doubt they can manage to play FB competently, especially if they're surrounded by other experienced heads.
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