Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

It’s on virgin media player

You might want to try reading that again. Never said I wouldn't be posting at all

A very promising development for Ireland (as we enter into the post-Sexton era) is Crowley's vastly superior athleticism, and how it allows him move laterally across the pitch when we're on attack, and join a lot of phases at the back if the pod, i.e., the option out the back door. Sexton was no slouch athletically, to be clear. A lot of this is simply due to age. As Sexton got older, he was an option in fewer pods, but compensated by assuming the role of a general, dictating where play should happen. Porter's try in the (I think second) test in NZ is my favourite example of how effective this was.

But at the same time, the more phases you can play with the 10 at the back of the pod, the more chaos you can cause. This means that the option out the back door has a kick, run and pass threat. Subtle difference, but at the top level, a defending team keeping tabs on three things will leave more gaps than a defending team keeping tabs on one or two. I can't imagine it's a coincidence that our forwards absolutely beasted the French pack in the carry, when our pods more frequently fixed them to multiple threats.

To be clear, this is not to diminish the great carrying performances by McCarthy and Doris. Nor is it to re-open the can of worms of the decision to keep Sexton on in the QF. It's just to say that we are moving into an uncertain era, following Sexton's retirement, and that the initial signs are that it might have some degree of upside.

Has a team ever won a 25 point Grand Slam?

Didn't see this anywhere else..maybe I missed it but it seems all the players in the France Ire game were wearing new gumshields with an embedded microchip for testing impacts and concussions. A few of the French weren't happy it seems with a short run in for wearing them.

https://www.ladepeche.fr/2024/02/01/france-irlande-au-tournoi-des-vi-nations-cest-complique-on-nous-limpose-cette-nouveaute-qui-fait-pester-les-bleus-11737975.php

Negri out injured for Ireland game , really doesn't help Italys slim slim hopes

The Italy game is a perfect opportunity to bring in the likes of O'Toole, Baird and Casey to start. The win on Saturday was great but the age profile of the team is worryingly high for the start of a WC cycle with lots of guys in their mid 30s.. If we're going for the evolution rather than revolution approach that's fine, but we need to start gradually integrating the next generation in, and the Italy game is the perfect game to start that process, with us continuing it on during the summer tour and Nov tests.