Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

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The one thing we learned from the 6N is that Crowley should have been brought on after 60 mins vs NZ in the WC.

12 weeks later Crowley started v France and had a stormer of a game.

Not a popular opinion around here but Sexton was allowed live out his final games on his terms , to the detriment of the Irish team, much like BOD before him.

Andy Farrells biggest mistake .

I don't think that's quite accurate? He had a decent number of additional minutes off the bench coming on at 10, and moving there during games too (tho some of those mins at 10 he moved to 12 too admittedly).

It's fair to say he wasn't 1st choice 10 at Munster until later in the season, but in the context of how spent Sexton looked in the last 10-15 mins of the game, I definitely think there's an argument he should've been brought on.

I’ve gone by starts and minutes on this page. I agree it won’t be completely accurate as he will have moved around in games both to and from 10 but it gives a good idea of how much he played primarily at 10. Happy for someone to go through the games and come back with more accurate numbers but I think the general point stands.

Lots been made of Sexton looked in the final 10 mins but you could make that argument about the whole team. One instance of Beirne getting a pass and dropping to the ground immediately as he was out on his feet stands out to me. Subs struggling to keep up with the pace.

Anyway, don’t think we need to go over that game again 😅 I was just trying to make the point that I believe Crowley is a superior player now to what he was 6 months ago (and even 2 months ago) mainly due to exposure at 10 and whilst there is an argument as to whether that he could have created something there’s also a possibility he would have had a kick blocked down like he had in a couple of games in this 6N or speculative kicks to nothing like in the opening game.

There's an obvious difference here tho, in that we still had a replacement on the bench for Sexton. We didn't have one for Beirne or anyone else. All the other bench options were used.

In hindsight we probably shouldn't have started Hansen either. It's clear he wasn't fit and JOB made a much better impression against the New Zealand defence. Broke multiple tackles iirc

The same POM who himself was previously dropped under Farrell?

For the man himself I'm delighted POM got a chance to captain the team to a 6 nations, I'd much prefer we have moved on however with Baird starting and Thomas Ahern on the bench. Also at scrum half I'd prefer to see Murray dropped and Casey or an alternative on the bench. I think there are plenty examples to show that Andy is an very loyal & conservative selector whatever your provincial bias. Results have been on the whole very good, but it is very fair to ask what might have been had he subbed Sexton pure speculation I know but I think AF got it wrong or bottled the decision. I think Sexton's status, historic reaction to being subbed when not injured etc all contributed to that at least subconsciously.

As for Prendergast, when he makes a Leinster squad for a Champions Cup game with both Byrne brothers fit then we can consider him for Ireland squads other than that, he is not ready for it, the people who see him every day who's jobs are on the line when they put a team out will know first.

Jamie George too. Sure he's 33, there's no way he'll make it to the next World Cup!!!!

Same with Antonio in France. Imagine talking a 34 year old prop out of international retirement instead of bringing in new talent. It's inconceivable!!!

I still think he was right to keep the lads like POM in situ for this 6N. It could have been a disaster without sexton, we were missing a main playmaker in Mack, and he wanted to make one of our inexperienced locks part of the main team.

If it hadn't worked out the way it did, our new captain could easily have been in charge of a 3rd/4th place finish, and suddenly questions are getting asked about who's at fault and are the new guys really up for it. If that happened with a couple of older players still there, then we have the easy fix of moving them on.

I'd be confident that neither Murray or POM will be there by November (barring some daft injury crisis), and I could even see some of the changes happening by/during the SA tour.

Genuinely think it's just as likely Wales make the semis in 2027 as we do.