There isnt a lot of mid 30s players in the starting team here. Props is about the only worry here where there isnt a young player that could step in now.
There's a two week gap between the Italy game and the next fixture. There's no need to make any changes as far as I can see. Any rotation will be injury enforced and the next two weeks will be to recuperate.
Ireland have selected a squad to win the competition. They won't make sweeping changes for the sake of it.
I think Italy will be more about giving Crowley every chance to settle in and succeed. That means JGP starting and a largely unchanged side around them.
The first mass trial was at the Women's World Cup in 2023 and the feedback from players was pretty much the same. They're a very precise fit based on a 3D dental scan and they're still a bit bigger than the various mouth guards that players are accustomed to. Some players already wear similar mount guards and barely notice the change whereas others find them uncomfortable to wear and will take a long time to adjust.
Have to agree. Crowley did really well on Friday. His passing was good, he most often picked the right option and he made some stuff happen. He also had at least 4 howlers by my count. Didn’t matter because France were beaten all over the field. last seasons French team would have scored off one or two of them, Nz certainly would. I can see why Farrell left him on the bench in the 1/4. Not to be harsh on Crowley, he proved he’s the man for the job but he has the temperament and skills to iron out the mistakes and thrive in this set up.
The average age of the 23 on Friday was 29. We have essentially the same squad we had at the World Cup which was the 3rd oldest at that tournament. It's factual that we have an ageing team/squad, and we've decided to prioritise short term results. We did give 3 guys their first starts last week, but two of those were enforced and 8 starters were over also 30. I just don't want us to get to a position in a few years where we have an old team in decline coming into the World Cup with the likes of Furlong, Beirne, POM, VDF, JGP, Aki and Lowe all past their best yet still indispensable because we haven't given enough game time to their replacements. Thankfully, I think Andy Farrell is smart enough to not put us in that position.
Disagree with Calvin Nash being a young player. He's 26!
I'd think there will be a gradual turnover. The summer tour will be an opportunity.
Except syd didnt say he was a young player and 26 is coming into a players prime. Ideal age to come in. Would only be 30 if he was involved in next world cup which is perfect age....
Why change the team? They played Friday and not till Sunday and isn’t the weekend after the break week?
With a number of new players in the team and a brand new 9/10 combination they need minutes together in rugby, not switched every match
26 is young. He still could play for another 8+ years as top level
It's about a year off retirement if you're an AB winger!
THe World Cup is over and the next one is 4 years away. Time to move on
Jordan is 25 and Mark Tele'a was 27 in World Cup
If AB want to dump wingers that is their decision but we shouldn't be trying to replicate
26 is not young! No matter how it's spun.
26 is not young in rugby terms. Its basically prime. Doesn't mean he can't have a great international career of course.
No that can of worms needs to be opened regularly, the template is there built by SA which is a heavy reliance on rotating and that you trust in the players that come in and in a physical and mentally draining tournament you need that. I heard the excuse that we had to go with out first team in every game but that clearly was a myth. No sign of any change in the approach from Farrell when even in the 6 nations it could be tested.
Agreed! He's a really good player.
I would say Sexton being suspended threw a wrench in the works. But yea, there could have been more rotation.
We did give 3 guys their first starts last week, but two of those were enforced
They weren't enforced, tho. He could've played, say, James Ryan, Jacob Stockdale and Billy Burns ahead of them. He decided not to.
Agreed, but even regardless of injuries or not... It's STILL three new six Nations starts away in France.
Some people can't see the forest for the trees
100%. There's always a natural churn that happens after RWC. "enforced" or otherwise, it's still new caps. Just like with Kearney and Best after the last RWC.
One of the things in the Irish system, is players are slow coming into provincial teams from under age. Every year there'll be comment how the French or English U20's have much more senior experience than the Irish players. Whether that's from the limited number of pro teams or what. Players only establishing themselves on provincial teams at 23 or 24 or more is common.
We have 4 provinces, in France they have 14 teams in the Top 14 and 16 in Pro D2. French players do get more game time quicker, this was shown in the U20 game but we have to work with what we have
"Johnny who?? Crowley is excellent"
"Ireland's new 10 looked pretty good. He didn't wilt under the spotlight."
Texts from some nonIrish friends of mine. It's interesting to me how less equivocal their praise is of Crowley, while the narrative in Ireland (from Nugent's closing thoughts on commentary, through to posts on here, through to broadsheet coverage) is defining him in a much different tone, i.e., "in spite of his mistakes", or "showed character to rebound", etc.
I don't know whether there is a disproportionate anxiety around replacing Sexton that is causing this. But in contrast, Joe McCarthy had at least two turnovers, but the narrative is only focusing on the positives. Rightly in my opinion.
For me, two young players had excellent games. McCarthy had the greater impact and was deservedly MOTM.
But in one case, Irish people are defining a player's contribution around his mistakes. In the other case, they simply praising how good a game he had.
Is it because McCarthy, in many respects, is a bonus? I.e., we already have very good depth at lock.
But the very existential issue of Ireland replacing its 10 is perhaps leading to scrutiny on Crowley that is perhaps not entirely fair.
A 23-year-old out-half just went to Marseille, played 80 minutes, and we beat France scoring five tries. Something, I feel, we should be a lot more excited about (positively) than we seem to be....
I think a lot of people are praising his courage through highlighting the mistakes he shrugged off before putting in some great passes and kicks.
It would be very easy for a young player coming out of Sexton's shadow to play it extremely safe, especially after a couple of misfires but Crowley just seems to be able to put the odd glitch to one side and keep playing his game. It's exciting to watch and will only further speed up his development.
McCarthy is not dissimilar, his propensity to give away dumb penalties is always highlighted to temper his gung-ho heroics.
You'd want to take this up with Farrell also who highlighted some of his poor decision making. That he didn't wilt under the spotlight despite the mistakes is credit to him.
It's completely to be expected but it also clearly did happen. I expect he'll learn from it and improve.
As great as Farrell may be, no man who has ever used the phrase "We are taking them boys to the hurt arena" should be considered the sole authority on a narrative.
Really? The media for the last 24 months are gushing about Crowley at every opportunity. Not sure the narrative that he isn’t getting praise holds water to be honest
Remember the majority of the media telling everyone for the last 10 years that Sexton had to be replaced and should be dropped
I presume its because he had a pretty rough start to the game and his first half was a mixed bag at best. We don't have to go overboard and call it brilliant if it wasn't. His second half was very promising and he's unlikely to be that nervous again, so overall its a positive performance.
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