Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Harsh on Prendergast but seems like the WC he’s unfortunately in a line behind the best depth we have had at 6

100% anything is possible but France have to be favorites for the grand slam, get have everything on paper.

congratulations to Peter O'Mahony , Ireland Captain. well deserved, a special player and a legend of the Irish game.

The garden will have to wait.

POM as Captain is a mistake.

I've all the respect in the World for him, but he isn't going to make the next WC. He won't be on the Lions in 2025, even with Farrell in the chair. Unless Farrell does end up bringing him to justify his Captaincy now in some fashion. Which would compound the mistake.

Peter is a Munster and Ireland great. But right now we are suffering the loss of a another player that stayed on too long, and was certainly kept on as Captain waaaaaay too long.

And while it is right that greats like O'Mahony and Healy are in this squad to set the example of what it is to be a Test player, the commitment and the work ethic and just everything about the culture, I suspect if you asked Healy if either of them should be Captain, he'd say no.

To my mind, the Captain shortlist should have been:

Furlong, Beirne, Ryan, Henderson, VdF, Henshaw, Ringrose and Keenan.

From that, I would have made Ringrose Captain, Beirne Vice-Captain and pack leader and Van Der Flier as Third, if needed on field and for leadership duties in Camp.

Shayne Bolton is another player that should be high up on the Radar.

He would benefit from being included on the Irish Summer tour

Hes 24 and has the speed of a winger and the frame of a 12. He could be an international level player.

France selected a panel of minnows. Nothing to worry about!

Hes from SA so kicking shouldnt be a massive problem, plus Lowe is prone to some wayward kicking from time to time.

I think this squad makes a lot of sense. We're losing a vital part of what made our team tick in Sexton, and are without Hansen, who is a very important part of our attack. Given that we'll have a very new 10 stepping into such a big hole, of course we want some stability around them.

The main thing this team needs is to regain some momentum and confidence. Throwing out everyone over 33 and hoping that the replacements gel immediately is madness. A couple of shaky performances and the public would be writing them off. And if that happened on the watch of a new less experienced captain, then their leadership will immediately be questioned. If it happens with POM, who cares, he's only going to be there for a year or so.

Personally I'd pick him as captain for the 6N and probably the Summer tour. Across those 8 games, I could see 3 where he either isn't involved, or is on the bench. Come November I'd move onto whoever captained those as the long term successor.

The squad is pretty consistent, but I expect to see some of the pecking order being rotated. Casey overtaking Murray, Loughman overtaking Healy (that one might need to be enforced a little bit) and McCarthy squeezing into the 23 more regularly etc. Then by next November the Murrays and Healys can be swapped out for the new blood

Farrell has built a very good team with an effective game plan. Our style has been developing steadily and I see no reason that'll stop now.

Honestly it's his reliability that we could potentially use at the moment. Everyone after Keenan at this stage is playing their 2nd or 3rd choice position.

It's a fairly straightforward decision. We've lost our talisman and captain in Sexton. POM is the defacto leader of the pack and naming him captain keeps an element of leadership continuity for the 6N. It's up to the other 22 players to step up to the leadership plate and take over from POM. He's unlikely to be captain for next year's 6N so this is a transition plan. Someone needs to take the bull by the horns and show they're ready to take over.

I can't see POM playing much more than 50 mins in any game and not at all v Italy. Ryan Baird will get plenty of scope to prove he's the future at no. 6. If he doesn't take his chance that's on him, not POM.

POM has already 'ticked the box' of being Ireland captain. 10 times if I'm not mistaken. Plus he captained the Lions in 2 test matches. His leadership credentials are as good as any out there. What will catch him eventually is his aging body and ability to operate at the highest level. Lots of competition for the 6 jersey but POMs captaincy is the right decision for this 6N.

Pretty sure POM and/or Sexton had the Netflix crew thrown out of the changing room last year.

Even if it wasn't; can you think of anyone else in the squad who would dare to do that?

If you can, he'll be the captain when POM retires.

Problem is, I can't think of anyone who comes close.... maybe Ryan.... maybe some day Crowley....

I don't see the downside to including Zebo. I'd prefer him filling in for Keenan than Larmour or Frawley.

Captaincy is earned, not given out for trials. POM is hardly past his prime. First game back for Munster last weekend, away in Toulon. Leads the team to a vital BP victory. If we had more on field leadership v Bayonne and Exeter we may have won both of those too. Snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as we looked leaderless in the last quarter of both games. POM isn't going to tear it up for the 6N. But if he can glue the team together, be workmanlike in his performances and shore up our disastrous linout post WC he'll have earned the captaincy.

Who would you have picked as captain? Not many obvious choices in my mind.