Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

phog · 27-10-2023 11:45AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121289680#Comment_121289680

Great news for Ireland and Connacht

ScissorPaperRock · 27-10-2023 12:07PM

Excellent news.

pickarooney · 27-10-2023 12:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121289568#Comment_121289568

ROG praising Aki for dealing with the ref... Not sure what expression best covers that.

Mr Tickle · 27-10-2023 01:09PM

Probably no harm keeping Aki in place, assuming his form stays up, to help settle in the new 10s. For this season anyway. After that assess again based on whether his performance outweighs the benefits of developing new partnerships.

EDIT: Accidentally quoted someone rather than just adding a new post

OldRio · 27-10-2023 01:24PM

Brilliant for Ireland and Connacht. I was amazed by the number of posters wanting to get rid of him after the World Cup.

bilston · 27-10-2023 01:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121289680#Comment_121289680

Excellent news for all parties

TRC10 · 27-10-2023 01:59PM

Absolutely ridiculous that a 33 year old who'll be 37 at the next World Cup is getting a 2 year extension at the start of a World Cup cycle. We need to be ruthless.

Brilliant player, fantastic servant to Irish rugby, but time to move on the old guard. No other serious rugby nation would be doing this.

sydthebeat · 27-10-2023 02:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290358#Comment_121290358

hes not been given the extension to get him to the next RWC (obviously) so any mention of that as a reason NOT to give him an extension is a complete waste of breath.

He has just put in his best season so far, and (again obviously) the finances are working to keep him staying on, so it is overwhelmingly positive that he is.

New Zealand are showing that (again, obviously) you do not need 4 years to plan for a RWC. South Africa in 2019 planned from 16 months out. it can be argued that NZ this year have planned from less than 12 months out.

Rugby does not stop for 3 years between every RWC competition so making decisions now on what may happen in 4 years is not good business sense.

But hey, way to go for trying to turn a (very obvious) positive story into a miserable one. You do you boo.

TRC10 · 27-10-2023 02:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290415#Comment_121290415

hes not been given the extension to get him to the next RWC (obviously) so any mention of that as a reason NOT to give him an extension is a complete waste of breath.

It's 2 years of development for other centres thrown away. It shows once again that the IRFU's priority is to try to squeeze out every possible win at the expense of building towards a World Cup. It's such a small time mentality.

SA and NZ have lost plenty of matches over the last few years, while Ireland have been on an unbelievable winning run (think we only lost 2 games since February 2021). Yet, SA and NZ are in a World Cup final. I know who's position I'd rather be in.

sydthebeat · 27-10-2023 02:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290468#Comment_121290468

It's 2 years of development for other centres thrown away.

prove it?

your argument is based on this simple opinion... so.. prove it?

TRC10 · 27-10-2023 02:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290479#Comment_121290479

The proof is that he's just been given a 2 year central contract, which means he's going to be starting basically every game, except maybe one test a year against a tier 2 nation.

That's at least twenty games that could be going to say Frawley, Osborne or Forde, who will actually be available at the next World Cup.

Clegg · 27-10-2023 02:27PM

Andy Farrell has repeatedly demonstrated that if he thinks a player is good enough to break into the Ireland squad then he'll select him. Happened with Doris, Kelleher, Sheehan, Baird, Lowe, Keenan, Hansen, JGP, Crowley and even Harry Byrne and Ciaran Frawley. The latter didn't pan out, but he's not afraid of giving opportunities.

He doesn't care about contractual status or pecking orders. I don't see how you can look at the last three years of his tenure and think he'll select a player that he thinks isn't the best available.

sydthebeat · 27-10-2023 02:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290511#Comment_121290511

hummm... i wonder why all those games given to Joey Carbery, Jack Carty, Billy Burns and Ross Byrne didnt actually make them better test rugby players... seeing as your clear factor for making a test rugby player is minutes playing at test level. strange one that, its almost as if it disproves your opinion.

or maybe, just maybe, someone like forde might actually become a better rugby player by training and playing alongside Bundee for the next 2 years? could that be possible? Could it actually be possible that someone like Osbourne might actually benefit from training and playing outside of a player like bundee for a couple of season should the situation arise?

your opinion that older players should be cut would have had sexton in the trash heap in 2020.

27-10-2023 02:59PM

I'd say the IRFU get a lot of ROI on any contract given to Bundee, he's a big draw in Galway.

phog · 27-10-2023 03:54PM

It is mad to suggest that this is anything but a good thing for Irish Rugby.

Augme · 27-10-2023 03:55PM

I've no real issue with Aki getting a contract extension but I would have an issue if he starts the vast majority of games for the next two years. There's needs to be a focus on trying to transition between the old timers and their potential replacements.

OldRio · 27-10-2023 03:59PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290614#Comment_121290614

For goodness sake don't bring common sense into it. Things like logic have no place here.

Nigzcurran · 27-10-2023 04:13PM

So let's get this straight,you want to dump one of our best players who's just been nominated for world player of the year? For an unproven youngster who may or may not come good in time for 2027? More complete nonsense from you

Podge_irl · 27-10-2023 04:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290511#Comment_121290511

Planning today around what will be taking place 4 years from now is just the height of folly. None of those players might be anywhere near the squad (I highly doubt Frawley will for one).

There is not a team on the planet that essentially fires all their 30+ old players the day after a world cup, the obsession among some that Ireland should do it is ridiculous.

TRC10 · 27-10-2023 04:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291037#Comment_121291037

Absolutely. He's 37 at the World Cup

TRC10 · 27-10-2023 04:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291156#Comment_121291156

Because what we've been doing has worked so well

sydthebeat · 27-10-2023 04:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291159#Comment_121291159

like i said, mentioning RWC 27 is a complete waste of breath. it is not a factor to be considered at all.

Podge_irl · 27-10-2023 05:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291163#Comment_121291163

Ah, this classic trope.

We haven't succeeded, therefore by definition anything we do differently is the right move. This is, obviously, not correct. You also haven't countered the point that this is not something any of the other successful teams does either.

sydthebeat · 27-10-2023 05:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291241#Comment_121291241

yep, every country bar the world cup winners are doing everything wrong every single year. sure why bother even playing the game at all?

aloooof · 27-10-2023 05:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291159#Comment_121291159

If the World Cup is all that matters (and that’s what you seem to be heavily implying here), I presume we won’t hear any criticism or negativity from you around performances / results etc in the meantime.

Right?

sprucemoose · 27-10-2023 05:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291159#Comment_121291159

while i would agree in theory, it also is a good idea to keep him around for the first year/two years of this cycle while the 10(s) gain further experience, given the unfortunate injury profiles that GR and RH have

aloooof · 27-10-2023 05:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121290358#Comment_121290358

No other serious rugby nation would be doing this.

I’d wager the exact opposite of this is true.

There isn’t a serious rugby nation in the world who would discard a player playing the best rugby of their career, to the point they’ve been nominated for World Player of the Year, even if they are 33.