Very curious what the nature of the injuries for Conan and Sheehan are. Both were able walk off, Sheehan scrummaged before going off sure.
I once played on with a broken hand and was able to get through for a good bit, have a plate in it now but at the time it didn’t feel like a big deal, I assume the corresponding bones in your feet might be the same, especially strapped into place in the boot. Obviously not saying it’s definitely a broken bone.
It is only a knock to JGP that we'd need to worry about though. If a knock happens to whatever SH we take as the second string then we just bring in the one we left at home.
Literally any other position of a player who is likely to see more time on the pitch than cover for an unlikely scenario. More specifically, I'd far rather not leave at home any one of Prendergast, McCarthy, Baird, or an additional back 3 support beyond JOB than bring a third SH.
if jgp/murray gets injured in the captains run for example, who is the sub 9 then in that case?
It isnt really just a knock to Gibson Park alone. a knock to any scrum half especially in training to early games it would be stupid to risk only have 1 other scrum half.
theres the standdown period of 48 hours as well for call ups. so you cant just add a player immediately if you lose a player to injury so why run the risk?
I doubt the coaches consider Casey and Murray quite so interchangeable to be honest.
Ngatai did one for a Henshaw try against the Sharks last season if I'm not wrong. And Frawley at 12 did one for a Penny try against Munster here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxN85tZqnsA
I wouldn't be shocked to see Baird miss out; he might be behind McCarthy in the second row now, and Prendergast as back-up blindside has the advantage of being able to fill in at 8, which could be useful with the doubts around Conan.
Get madigan back! Blue sky thinking.
Isn’t there 2 days grace between call ups?
You’d be leaving yourself at risk of having 1 SH in the 23 and one in-game injury away from having none at all.
I don’t see it happening tbh.
Edit: what Lost Ormond said.
72 hours I think?
There is 7 weeks from the first game to the final, if JGP for instance picked up a knock in week 1 that kept him out for 4 weeks he’d still be available for the quarters, if there were only two 9s in the squad you would need to call up a replacement and he’s gone then. With the extra 2 squad places and the extra week in the groups I think it makes sense to bring 3 full front rows, 3 SH and 3 OH
Spotted Diarmuid Barron in the video of the Irish team arriving in France.
not with herrings throws on saturday he was awful , is kelleher just back from injury ?
Very concerning if true. With Kelleher and Sheehan we've the best hooker depth in world rugby, with neither we're a little exposed. Don't doubt Herring but he doesn't have the dynamism of the other pair.
We have VdF like...
Farrell seemed glum about it. Also Sheehan didn't travel to France.
We've been relatively lucky with injuries so far. Provided we don't lose anyone else we'll be ok. Realistically, we should be able to get out of the group without Sheehan. We only really need him to be right for the quarter finals.
That is the exact scenario where I said my idea would fall down.
I dont think it is likely Ireland do what I'm suggesting but as fans there is generally too much handwringing regarding the worst possible highly unlikely outcome happening when it comes to selections. I can only imagine how many heads would explode if Farrell picked a squad with the same mix as South Africa - a team that many here seem petrified by but have done what I'm advising for more than one position.
Farrell himself has shown he doesn't think the traditional way with his selections, like picking Aki on the bench rather than a back who can cover more positions. Rather than picking lesser players he instead tries to cover the unlikely scenarios by cross training players who will be on the pitch to cover if they happen.
So it doesn’t look good at all by the sounds of it. Potential out for the whole of the group stages.
Its not disastrous but it’s close enough
The selections will weighed by the relative downsides and upsides.
A scenario where we are 1 injury away from having 1 SH in the 23, and another in-game injury from having none at all, is way too big a downside for any relative upside for a guy who won't make the starting 23.
I never said that but now that you bring it up if they don't see them as somewhat interchangeable within the current Irish game plan it only adds weight to my suggestion.
In the scenario that there is an issue during a captains run, if they aren't interchangeable enough to step in easily at the last minute then there is no point in bringing both to the tournament
Quarter final against France. Murray finds a tweak in his calf during the warm up. Do you play the full game hoping JGP doesn't get injured?
Sheehan was equally awful.
You play a guy called Craig Casey...
Tell that to Rassie and Gatland and the other coaches in the past, including Ireland, who have taken only two specialists in a position.
In addition to upside and downside, there is also the likelihood of an event occurring.
How regularly do SHs get injured 72 hours before a match to the point where they can't make the bench for emergency cover? How often do you see an SH get injured during a match compared to Locks and Backrows?
I'd argue it is far more likely that the likes of POM/Beirne/Ryan/Doris/VdF pick up an injury in a match against Tonga or Romania that they might have to play in because we left Baird/McCarthy/Prendergast at home.
Yep. Ireland did it when there were 31 players in the squad. There's 33 now. There's no need to take the risk now.
Rassie and Gatland are doing it for this world cup.
this. its two extra spots so you always will have 3 scrum halves in 33 player squad. wouldnt make sense not to. far more reason to bring the 3 specialists when you have a full match day squad and 10 more players than run any risk of injury/messing around cover
And I think it's a mistake.
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