2015 or 2023 yeah. Was thinking I'd go 2015 for sure cause of Heaslip and SOB, but Doris and VdF....
Thomas Clarkson pictured training with the squad today
That’s surprising. He is an absolute liability in the scrum and not as good in the loose as Salanoa.
I guess he’s close to the squad and handy to call up to hold tackle bags and so on and so on .
It's a mistake. Caption says Clarkson but picture is actually Tom Stewart.
Autocomplete lol.
That makes far more sense, they look very similar
Anyone else notice that there doesn’t seem to be any pics of furlong in any training session pics released over last few weeks? Not that I’m constantly checking , just haven’t noticed any in IRFU social media feeds that I follow.
Wonder is he been giving some time off to give the calf a proper chance to recover after the injuries the last year or so.
This place would have been fun if it were true hahaha
My FDA-approved testing procedure: "how many would get into the 2015 All-Blacks RWC squad"
Two from 2023 (Doris and vdF)*
None from 2019.
MAYBE one from 2015 (SOB).
*Damn near 3, the form POM is in....
here he is yesterday.
I think he might have been missing for the first week back….& wasn’t Tadgh another one of them that got married in June?
The extended break and preseason will definitely help in getting over the ankle, hamstring and calf injuries of this season
i think the injury accumulation started after he seemingly got a back injury v Eng Feb ‘20.
he didn’t play again until Jan ‘21 because he then picked up a calf injury.
I forget he still did have some outstanding games in the 21/22 season (Nov ‘21 v NZ and 2nd & 3rd Tests v NZ Jul ‘22)
Furlong must start v SA
Imagine the amount of spuds for that wedding
I'm playing catch-up on this thread so apologies if someone has mentioned him already, but there's a case to be made that AJ McGinty could have made the choice to try to represent Ireland. If you looked back to late 2019-early 2020, then i think a reasonable person could have found a place for him in Ireland's succession planning at 10.
He's played for the US since and picked up some bad injuries but I think if he was IQ (or at least potentially) then he'd be worth a contract at a province. He only lost his place at Connacht because of the IQ rules.
he was capped by the USA in 2015 before he'd even joined connacht.
He was always NIQ when he was in ireland.
Yeah, but they signed a south african 10 during the 2015-2016 season. McGinty was on a 1 year contract and really came into his own towards the end of the year when they had some injuries.
When it came to the renewals they found out that they weren't allowed to keep McGinty. They admitted it was an oversight in that they hadn't considered the idea that an Irish guy would be ineligible and would cause that conflict.
It's a pity because the signing, Boshof(?) was very unlucky with injuries all season, and then a family member passed away back home, and so he left after one year. Meanwhile AJ kept improving at Sale.
I would say that given the performances of Bealham and Tom O'Toole this year the gap to Furlong has definitely shrunk. He's still our number 1 when fit, but i'm less panicked if I hear that he's out.
Not sure I’d like to see O Toole start a big one yet but wouldn’t have any real worries about Bealham.
Same. That's pretty much the pecking order anyway so assuming all are fit, I can't see why O'Toole would start anything. He did great off the bench during the 6N though. Particularly in the France game.
im not sure what youre getting at... you said
"If you looked back to late 2019-early 2020, then i think a reasonable person could have found a place for him in Ireland's succession planning at 10."
the point im making is, that was impossible, as he was NIQ because he was capped by the USA in 2015, and the change in residency rules didn't come in until december 2020.. at which point McGinty had played for the US as recently as october 2019... and continued to be selected through 2021 and 2022
McGintey was capped while still playing his rugby in the USA. In the context of the post that you quoted, at this stage McGintey couldn't play for ireland until 2025 at which 35 years old.
unless of course youre just making the generic point that at one stage irish born AJ Mcgintey could have played for ireland, had he not been capped for teh USA. Which is correct of course, but not really what was being discussed
Oh right. What I was getting at is that had we known that the new rules around switching countries would come into effect, then just after the 2019 WC, it wouldn't have been a bad move by the IRFU to offer him a contract with a province with the stipulation that he stands down from the USA. Basically treat him like a project player.
Lets say they put the agreement in place in january after the WC, and began playing with a province in 2020. He'd have had plenty of time to earn his place in a squad and would have been eligible for this year's 6N.
(Edit: I realise the rules changed in 2020. I do wonder though how many caps did he pick up between the WC and when this change was made)
(Edit to the edit: None! http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/player/262799.html?class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match)
I was responding to a post asking about irish born players who had been capped abroad (among other things). He was about the best that came to mind.
" it wouldn't have been a bad move by the IRFU to offer him a contract with a province with the stipulation that he stands down from the USA. "
I would honestly find that shocking behaviour and I'd be really disappointed with the IRFU if they tried to pull something like that.
by the IRFU to offer him a contract with a province with the stipulation that he stands down from the USA
not sure if that would actually be legal?
plus, the move has to be sanctioned by World Rugby, and the spirit of the law change was designed for players to go from tier 1 to lower ranked teams really. Kleyn is certainly an outlier so far, so a move like that for McGintey would absolutely open a can of worms (going from tier 2 to tier 1, cue claims of tier 1 teams harvesting better players from tier 2), so there would be no guarantee at all that a move that would be given the green light.
the players that would be similar for a move like Kleyn (lets say sideways rather than up or down) and really only kieran Brooks, as suggested by buer, is comparable. Possibly calum sheedy as well, if he stays out of favour for wales (would be elligible in 2025)
really? It doesn't feel hugely different to what happens with this rule in general.
Is it the forethought that makes it more objectionable?
I guess the other way of looking at it is that we don't have any other NIQ 10 in the country right now (right?) so you could offer him a contract, explain that he has a chance at representing Ireland but it involves standing down from the USA. It's then his choice.
Also, fwiw, I did say a few pages ago that I don't like the idea of Tier 1 countries benefiting from this rule. This is exactly the kind of thing I would have been worried about. However IF the rule is there and we were looking at potential benefits for Ireland from it, this is one that came to mind.
This is very much the point I made a few days ago. I hope that World Rugby will use their approval to prevent the "uphill" movement of players.
As for the contract legality. You're probably right. Though you could give him a contract with the understanding that his chances for a renewal are far higher if he becomes IQ.
https://www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/ireland-world-cup-jersey-rugby-290132
This looks like the mocked up Ireland gear you see in the kids clothes section in Dunnes.
I hope that World Rugby will use their approval to prevent the "uphill" movement of players.
I think this was implied when they announced it, but it's very hard to see how they can implement it.
Kids sleepwear section!
I feel like the design brief was something like this:
Main Jersey: Green
Alt Jersey: White
Sexton hearing today.
I already know what his defence is. The assistant ref thinks he heard "you're an absolute disgrace" but what Sexton actually said was "watch out your shoelace".
Big misunderstanding.
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