Conveniently leaving out the game against Toulon though isnt he! He appears to be guilty of confirmation bias.
I too was talking to a French fan.
He said he once saw Doris knock the ball on.
So France are not afraid in this game because they have a great scrum and will win penalties if Doris knocks the ball on.
So pretty much if they win it will all be Doris's fault.
Just one person's opinion, etc.
No need to get so triggered over a fan from another country opinion.
Is it really a shock to see fans from other countries think the lack of Sexton and the introduction of Crowley will weaken Ireland?
By the way I wouldn't say Crowley lacks the size for a 10, so certainly he has that part wrong anyway. He is 1.85 according to google, Sexton was 1.88 and Ntamack is 1.86
So leave the best 9 on the bench?
I wouldn't say it is a shock so much as a redundant opinion. "Losing our best ever player weakens the team" is not a particularly interesting viewpoint.
Crowley's kicking in general in the two games mentioned were not great, but he has been better. His defence is fine for a 10.
Do we know for sure that we weren't talking to the same person?
I personally don’t think the gap at nine is that great especially since JGP is a bit erratic at 9 without a strong hand at 10. Crowley is a bit green to be a strong hand immediately.
People need to stop saying Sexton is "out". He's retired. You wouldn't say Brian O'Driscoll and Willie John McBride are "out".
If you think so, JGP has been playing with Harry/Predergast and Frawley at 10 all season and doing ok
Not sure who came up with the narrative he needs a strong 10? Or has this just been imagined up because he was playing a lot of rugby with Sexton?
if that’s the case wouldn’t Murray start who is the number 2 in Ireland most recently and played well for them during WC etc?
Calm down, I just though it was interesting to give a French fans view, no need to lose the run of yourself because he didn’t rate Crowley highly based on the games he seen him play
I would guess Casey has passed Murray by now but you are right that that might not be the case.
Casey is absolutely not ready to start a six Nations game away in France. Sorry but no, not even near ready. He's doing well to get ahead of Murray, but JPG is still the v front runner to start at 9, and by a distance in my opinion. I don't even think that for Farrell Casey is clearly ahead of Murray, despite their relevant roles with Munster.
My guy was called Pierre, anyway. Great hair. Same fella?
He’s been in the squad for a long time. He is obviously the guy after JGP is done. He already starts for his province and is playing extremely well. I’m kind of struggling to see the difference between him and McCarthy here. Well, except i’d consider all three of our veteran locks to be better players than JGP.
You don't need to see the difference between Casey and McCarty. You need to see the difference between Casey and JGP, and to most objective viewers Casey is still a bit behind JGP in the way they influence the Irish game plan.
JGP had a poor start to the season, but was excellent in Europe and on a completely different level to what Casey was providing. It might have been a discussion point a month ago, but it very much is not now.
Is that really how sports work? People become fundamentally different players over the course of a month?
I agree that JGP will start but i don’t really get that line of logic. I also really don’t think he’s a good fit with crowley but that is to be determined.
I dunno. I think JGP will start but over the course of the last year i feel we have become more and more ball dominant. Casey suits that better imo. However, that’s just a feeling. I haven’t looked into the stats behind it.
I think Doak might have a say in that
True. I love Doak but that type of 9 is very unfashionable right now. Not sure what he can do to change that narrative.
Sometimes wonder what could have been if he stuck at 10 all the way through.
Gunne might have something to say about it too. I also love Blade honestly. He should be in the mix .
JGP still has the 9 shirt for me. With a personnel-switch at outhalf, I'd actually apply your own logic against your point, @ulsteru20s, and argue that the Irish system should remain as consistent as possible elsewhere to facilitate the new man in such a pivotal position.
There's no denying that Casey is improving each year, however. And at only 24, I'd say he'll continue improving, and likely be starting 9 for Ireland in the coming years.
I’d love to have stats on this but has the system stayed consistent?
I feel like between NZ tour and the world cup, we started to be more ball dominant. I personally would say if that trend continues, JGP is no longer a perfect fit.
However that might reverse itself, or just have been a result of how games progressed.
Is that really how sports work?
Yes? In the highest level games of the season so far there was a clear difference between the two players. JGP controlled the games for Leinster and helped put them in the right parts of the pitch far better.
Also, at the end of the day, there is nothing Casey can do about his size which will always be an issue at the highest levels.
If his size was an issue he wouldn’t have been in Ireland squads at all. There is no point grooming a potential successor at 9 who is too small. Especially when Doak is available who has all the size in the world.
To be more clear about this, if they had doubts about his size they probably would have waited until he proved it at his province before calling him up. Everything about his career trajectory feels like he is annointed.
Doak = Murray 2.0
Oh plenty of players get "annointed" but it doesn't always happen that way
Absolutely, it might not. What i mean is that i doubt they would have poured all those resources into him if they had serious doubts about his size.
Who else is knocking around at the moment as a 9 in that age grade?
Doak is really the only one and has struggled to get past Cooney and is playing at a province who are not playing great.....
I have liked Casey from day 1 and love his speed in the game but we need others to step up and challenge him. Murray after all went past everyone in the space of a few months and still is class
Why would they need someone at that age range specifically? There are tons of positions in the squad with no developmental 21 year old hanging around.
Murray is one of the best scrum halves in history and emerged at a time when he was exactly what everyone wanted. Not exactly a fair comparison.
Why not a fair comparison?
One minute you say he is anointed and the next you are saying it's not fair to compare him to another player. All while saying he should start ahead of JGP? Not really adding up is it?
It make sense to have a mix of 9s in the team, they have done similar with 10s.....
Because there might never be another 9 as good as Murray in Ireland lol.
I really don’t get why this is a tough concept. You don’t call someone up that early, put that much time into them, 13 caps, if you aren’t sure about their size. People stop growing at like 19 generally, and there is very limited mass he can put on that frame. If he is possibly too small for international rugby now, that was also the case at 21. You don’t spend all those resources on a guy you have fundamental doubts about, when that doubt is impossible to change. It would be incredibly dumb.
He got his first cap before he even started a champions cup game. That’s pretty annointed.
Edit: maybe his size blinds fans to how many signs there have been that he is the next guy in the eyes of the coaches.
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