im looking on a desktop and it still doesnt show Conan
Bad look putting Nash back out after the wallop he got, HIA protocols bedamned
Ireland (possible) v Scotland: Keenan; Nash, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Crowley, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; McCarthy, Beirne; O’Mahony (capt), van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Bealham, Baird, Conan, Murray, H Byrne, Ringrose.
Anytime I've watched Ulster play Leinster, he's stood out far more than Stockdale, for example. Like a lot of Ulster players, I think he's suffered in the general malaise under MacFarland.
I appreciate you should reflect form, but I think there's a few lads, like Doak, Lowry and Hume, who would probably benefit massively from being in a better run camp.
Feels a bit like Loughman passing his HIA test in NZ in 2022 or the Nic White debacle. I don’t like it one bit. We owe our players a duty of care higher than playing a test 7 days after being sparked.
No it wasn't. It was a really stupid decision. You can't defend that even if you are a Murray fan.
The coaches made that decision by the way simon easterby said it during the week it was fed down during the break beforehand
It was the correct play. If you think it wasnt you dont know what your talking about. The springboks did the same in the world cup final
A top team would certainly be good enough to play the time down by going through the phases and see the game out. Ireland have a bottlers tag and it certainly doesn't help them in tight games where they are trying desperately to hold out. They just can't do it, they are too full of nerves and no confidence in the situation. I don't like saying it but it's true until we proof it otherwise.
Andy Farrell gives Calvin Nash every chance to be ready for title decider
Nash was forced off with a head injury in the early stages of last weekend’s Twickenham defeat, but the Munster winger took some part in training earlier this week, as he works his way through the return-to-play protocols.
Should Nash be deemed fit enough to play, then Andy Farrell may stick with him on the right wing, although Garry Ringrose and Jordan Larmour are alternative options, with the latter Leinster man perhaps ahead in that particular pecking order given he is an out-and-out winger.
The fit-again Ringrose is, however, pushing strongly for a place in the match-day squad, having been left out last weekend.
Farrell is weighing up whether to stick or twist in terms of giving those who underperformed in the loss to England a chance to bounce back by winning the country’s sixth Six Nations title.
Like Ringrose, Iain Henderson is hoping for inclusion, as Farrell contemplates going with a 6/2 bench again, or reverting to the more traditional split of five forwards and three backs.
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Ciarán Frawley is expected to miss out following his head injury, which would mean at least one change to the bench, with Harry Byrne the remaining fit back-up out-half to Jack Crowley.
Despite coming under increasing pressure for his place in the team from Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony is likely to be retained as captain when Farrell publicly names his team at 2.0 this afternoon.
The Ireland head coach has been boosted by confirmation that Connacht winger Mack Hansen is set to be available for this summer’s tour to South Africa.
Hansen, who spent two days in Ireland camp earlier this week, will remain sidelined for another two months following shoulder surgery, but he confirmed that he is on track to feature for Connacht before the end of the season, with a view to taking on the Springboks in July’s two Tests.
“I’m about just over halfway, so I still have like another two months or so,” Hansen said. “Aiming for around May, I think. Still a little bit to go, but all tracking in the right place.
“Just back with Connacht, get a couple of games together and then if I can play well in that, hopefully make the tour. But I just want to start playing footy again really, I’m not thinking too far ahead.”
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Why are you trying to imply that those that defend the decision to kick are Murray fans. I've seen former players, coaches and fans from across the divide say the decision was correct. Just because you believe it wasn't the correct decision doesn't mean everyone else is wrong or a Murray fan.
It's done to death, it almost seems like a few posters are looking for mileage our of this.
Pure joke fielding the same team again, rewarding failure is all he is doing, what about freshening things up as any combination would beat the Scots at home, like the old saying its harder to get off the team than on it
Well if claims on a recent podcast are to be believed (pinch of salt, I know), Jack Crowley had to make contact with Mike Catt himself to find out about what he had to do/improve on to be considered for selection
What's this ?
It's fairly obvious, Crowley had to go to one of the Irish Coaches to find out what he needed to do to try and break into the training squad, rather than one of them make contact with the player.
We're often told here on Boards that player X would have been told on "work ons" for them to improve but the Crowley story doesn't back this up. The fact that he is now the starting Outhalf would make you wonder what the management team are actually doing outside the International Window.
That would be Crowley contacting Catt back in 2021 when he was third choice at his province and just left the academy for the sake of clarity.
Shame on the Irish coaching team.
I hope they've learned their lesson and are in regular contact with Tony Butler now.
It's this story;
'He phoned me up a year ago' - The call that says it all about Jack Crowley (the42.ie)
It's actually a very positive story that reflects well on both Crowley and Catt.
It's exactly what Andy Farrell did after the 1st test loss to NZL in 2022 and they came back to win the series. It's backing the players to fix their errors.
In the short term it worked out but ultimately our lack of depth cost us dearly at the World Cup so I'd argue it turned out to be the wrong decision. Winning that 3rd test was good but I'd much rather we beat them in the quarter final.
Our depth wasn't what cost us at the RWC. You're replies are so predictable now that they just make me yawn.
We should throw the baby out with the bath water everyone. Get rid of the whole lot of them. And I hope the coaches have given personalised training plans for the next 3 years to the U20s squad so that they can be called up tomorrow. And then we’ll win the RWC because we’ll have reacted just right and regularly. Recipe for success.
At last, someone with a balanced, sensible approach that's absolutely guaranteed to work.
That might have been true of previous world cups but not the 2023, we had depth but Farrell chose not to use that depth to rotate players.
Ireland have lost so infrequently that there should be no issues if Farrell selects the same side for the Scotland game. Picking as close to an unchanged team as possible with the view to redeeming themselves after a loss is a tried and tested motivator.
They kind of have. Sam prendergast was in the training panel
Sssssh, where are you going with facts like that.
When was the last provincial game that an Irish coach (other than POC at a Munster game) attended that wasn't played in Dublin.
Scotland make two changes for Six Nations finale against Ireland
The 26-year-old, who made his debut against Italy in a World Cup warm-up match last summer, takes the place of Cam Redpath as one of two changes to the starting XV from the team that kicked off last weekend’s damaging defeat to Italy in Rome.
The other alteration sees first-choice scrum-half Ben White return in place of George Horne after being rested for the trip to Rome.
Horne and Redpath both drop to the bench, where they are joined by veteran prop Rory Sutherland, who was a late addition to the Six Nations squad in the week leading up to the Italy game.
Scotland: B Kinghorn, K Steyn, H Jones, S McDowall, D van der Merwe, F Russell, B White, P Schoeman, G Turner, Z Fagerson, G Gilchrist, S Cummings, A Christie, R Darge, J Dempsey.
Replacements: E Ashman, R Sutherland, E Millar-Mills, S Skinner, M Fagerson, G Horne, C Redpath, K Rowe.
You're insinuating it doesn't happen but in reality you haven't a clue if it does or doesn't, correct? Like we're talking no idea, yes?
Is Ben Healy injured ?
Tom Ahern and Jamie Osborne were both in the Irish squad as development players a few years back with less game time than Sam Prendergast had.
It's something they've done in the past and I'm sure they'll do in the future. I doubt they've changed their approach at all and it will be based on the needs of the team and on a case by case basis.
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