Yeah I thought the same straight away.
Also has a knock on where Doris is less likely to cover 7 if Conan is not there to play 8?
Deegan could be called up.
Or maybe Penny just for the craic. Get the hodnett/penny/Timoney chat going again...
I think there are a number of examples used in that MK article that show the unique dynamism and power of McCarthy. That combination of power, dynamism and bulk is clearly a separating factor for POC and Farrell over the other Irish locks. Particularly as a TH Lock.
I'd agree that there are some reservations about his game (esp his discipline) but I would gladly take what he offers coming off the bench in a big game. He has the faith of the coaches and his attributes suit the mobility required to play the Irish game.
I really think Ryan, Beirne, Henderson, McCarthy could be the best 'group of four' Locks at the tournament with NZ. With a clear gap to the rest.
I’d like to see Deegan. I’ve always rated him. I can’t really say the same about Penny. Or Timoney tbh.
It would be interesting to see if Farrell wants someone similar to Conan, like Deegan, or would he back one of Prendergast or Coombes. Deegan was unlucky to not get get a call up imo, but hard to force your way into that Leinster 23
He was the player failing to roll out of the way for Michael A’s poach which allowed La Rochelle a penalty advantage to score and take the lead with the clock in the red denying the fifth star and wining their first star.
I think if that was the case then Deegan would just be in the squad. However, yea Deegan is by far the most like for like. Better in maul defense i think and maybe better in the lineout than conan? But not as good a wide carrier. Better defensively i think.
This has always been the issue with your Kleyn argument, FFF.
That's a great thing for those of us who want Ireland to win
You’re painting those who wanted Kleyn picked as also wanting Ireland to lose.
Where the reality is the opposite; those of us who wanted Kleyn picked did so because they thought he’d give us a better chance at winning (than having Treadwell, say).
For one, that was a bullshit call by Barnes, as McCarthy was in no way impacting the contest for the ball. For two, it does nothing to dispute the fact that he has been trusted to play at the highest level.
I understand why Farrell picked McCarthy, but 4 mins off the bench in a HC final is hardly the ringing endorsement you seem to think it is.
I'm hoping to see Coombes in a more full strength team, where he can be judged fairly, as it pertains to Ireland's playing style. Deegan is yet another quality backrower on the wrong side of injury enforced selections.
You pick players in a 23 that you can trust to perform. A bench player has to be capable of playing the full game, in the event of injury. Given his age profile, making the 23 for the HC final is a pretty massive endorsement imo, regardless of how long he saw the field for.
Could be the next game. I feel like farrell might give coombes and treadwell a full chance vs england.
I wish deegan would move to ulster lol. Love his game.
The funniest thing to me is that if Kleyn was just Irish, the idea that he would make a south african squad but not make the irish one at lock would get you laughed out of here. You’d be called delusional.
I would love to see POM, VDF, Coombes.
Go relatively full strengths with one or two experimental picks (Hansen at 15 with Earls and Lowe on the wings, Keenan to come off the bench with Earls or Crowley/Frawley acting as centre cover)
Something like Porter Sheahan Furlong Treadwell Ryan POM VDF Coombes Murray Crowley Earls Aki Ringrose Lowe Hansen
Kelleher Healy Bealham Beirne Doris JGP Byrne Keenan
(Keeping provincial halfbacks together, could easily start JGP Byrne).
In reality, probably more likely to see Doris start instead of Coombes, Keenan instead of Earls, and Beirne instead of Treadwell
You do, and then if injuries don’t happen, you sub them on to influence the game.
Whatever way you slice it, McCarthy was trusted with 4 mins, in a game where Leinster could’ve done with some freshness off the bench.
I understand why. He’s plenty young, he’s got huge potential.
But you’re overstating his levels participation in that final.
No, what I said was that he has already been trusted to play in a high stakes game, in response to another poster claiming he couldn't be. As his performance on Sat showed, he's absolutely capable at this level, and is going to get better.
Should Ireland bother with Portugal for training with those temperatures and the likelihood of fires close by with respiratory issues. They should stay in Ireland with Conan’s foot.
The point is “he was trusted in a HC final” sounds a lot different when you clarify it to “he was trusted for 4 minutes in a HC final”.
That's your interpretation. He was trusted to play, period. His omission for this year's final, brought on by his injury, was a terrible call in retrospect.
If you don’t think the amount of time he got off the bench is in any way related to how much he was trusted, I don’t know what to tell ya…
It's a whole lot more than not making the team in the first place.
Fair. But why would you want to move the best openside in the world to 8?
This place would explode if we picked a squad as unbalanced as that South African one
It certainly is. But equally 4 mins is an awful lot less that you’re making out.
If only we had the deluded optimism that some of those SA fans have. They could get knocked out in the pool stage and still claim it's some sort of Rassie masterplan...
”Quite a drop off”… absolute nonsense. Henderson is a fantastic player when he is fit and finds some form, which he may well be and have judging by last weekend. One of Ireland’s best players in the run up to the last Lion’s tour (although Beirne was arguably Ireland’s very best during that period). Rightly picked ahead of him when Ryan wasn’t playing well, who was the 3rd best lock at that time. Thankfully Ryan is back in fine form but if he was the one coming back from consistent injuries, he’d be given the respect he deserves. Henderson will have a fantastic World Cup and play a big role if we go far.
The best openside in the world already plays at 8.....for NZ 😂
Your 24 hour exile begins now. Enjoy the day off, chat tomorrow.
”Quite a drop off”
Yep. Beirne was the best lock in world rugby in 2022 and was named in the World Rugby team of the year. He put in the best performance I've ever seen from an Irish lock in the 3rd test v NZ. Ryan has been outstanding and one of the form locks in world rugby so far this year. Henderson isn't at that level and hasn't been in form for about 2 years and it remains to be seen whether he'll get back to his best. I hope he does because he's top class when he's playing well.
I mean, after Kleyn got picked for SA, there we're literally people saying they would be supporting South Africa at the World Cup. South Africa who are in Ireland's group. Kind of makes one think that they never really had Ireland's interests at heart.
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