It's a rule of thumb, not saying it's universal!
I also keep forgetting that Haley actually has a cap. Nonetheless, I guess the point is that he is fairly old to be integrating into the squad. I don't think it definitively rules him out or anything, but it is a factor going against him.
I do like Haley. Good fb. I prefer him to Frawley/Larmour. O'Brien does good work at 15 and is also a good wing. Haley would do the job for us.
Henderson is out for 3 months after surgery yesterday according to Ulster Rugby - who will get his place on the plane to South Africa ?
He's not onethe same page as JoB in any facet of his game & more importantly Farrell clearly thinks he's a stick
You'd have to assume Ahern, or else Baird moves to lock and Prendergast or Coombes come in.
Would be even have made the squad? Locks for the test likely to be Ryan and McCarthy/ Beirne, with Baird at 6. It's a 2 test series and he's been in poor form for awhile.
Beirne should not be going on the summer tour, he has enough rugby player this year.
He started ahead of Ryan at the RWC on form.
Was Ryan not carrying a knock, hence him missing the QF. The same QF that saw Henderson give away a number penalties that led to points for NZ iirc
he is paid to play for ireland.. he is going
If he needs to play two fewer games he can skip two of Munster's remaining games. The international team brings in 80% of the revenue, and, up against the World Cup winners in their own backyard, Ireland need one of their best players.
No. He was on the bench for the Scotland game, Farrell said Henderson was starting because he deserved it. If Ryan was carrying a knock, McCarthy could absolutely have played.
Why would Ryan have been risked against a team like Scotland if he was carrying a knock?
He's simply not as vital as some fans think he is. I remember the confident posts "well, Ryan obviously starts, the question is who starts with him, McCarthy or Beirne?" before the French game in the Six Nations. And lo and behold, McCarthy and Bernie started, with Ryan on the bench.
I know he's immensely important to Leinster and if he doesn't go off you don't lose that final yadda yadda yah. He's simply not nearly as crucial to Ireland.
Not sure how Munster got away with giving Beirne so many minutes this year. Even if the IRFU count the CC knockout weekends as resting weekends, when he has been watching most from home, he still has a lot of miles on the clock.
Funny after all the moaning about central contracts, we're now claims that Munster's central contracted player should be rested by Ireland.
I'd be shocked if they rest anyone not going for off season surgery. All the moreso in Beirne's case now with Henderson doing just that.
1 poster suggested it, calm down dear.
We had about 20 injuries at 1 stage this year, 1 functioning second row. Not suprised Beirne played so much. Warrior.
I'd be shocked too but if we're building a squad for the next RWC we should not be bringing players like Beirne on tour.
Not sure Henderson would have even gotten into the SA tour squad if fit. He’s been in poor form for quite a while now. Ryan Beirne McCarthy Ahern the obvious 4 now to travel.
Looking at Aldritt last weekend I saw a guy who really needed a break. He 's being flogged to death.
He took a few months off but either the fatigue built up over a long period or his head is not where it was after the WC failure.
He really hasn't. He has about 1,000 minutes of rugby since returning from his post-RWC sabbatical which is a significant amount in approximately 5 months but not really flogged to death territory. For context, Doris has roughly the same number of minutes in the same timeframe and is performing well.
It was also his choice to come back from his sabbatical early; he was due to be absence until late/end of January but returned for their game against Toulouse at the end of December.
Alldritt still made more carries and metres than any forward on the field at the weekend. The issues there seem to be more a matter of focus and motivation across the board as opposed to any particular issues with game time with the possible exception of Botia who is playing a lot given he's 35 years old.
Yeah this is exactly why we have a player welfare system, it’s not really for the player’s welfare, it’s to make sure they’re fit for Ireland games.
If any test player has played more club games than others, it’s far more likely he’ll be stood down for the remaining URC games than stood down for the SA tour
The next world cup is 3 years away and I'm not sure what it has to do with this tour. You don't leave your best lock behind when going to play the World Champions in their back yard.
The Irish players get absolutely plenty of time off compared to their peers.
I guess that's the problem with Irish Rugby, we want to win all our friendlies and use our core players when playing tier one nations in nothing games and then wonder why, when it comes to the World Cups.
friendlies that’s edgy stuff
We have Fiji coming in November and probably a Wolfhounds game, then next summer we'll have second-tier tests with a weaker squad while the Lions tour is on. Loads of scope for trying out new guys.
There’s already been mumblings in the media about lack of non Leinster representation in the Irish squad and how other province’s fans are struggling to get invested with the current Irish squad. If you take out Beirne and POM (probably should be left at home at this stage), you’re left with Crowley as the only starter from Munster. Ulster will have no one and Connacht will have Hansen and Aki. What other players should be rested? Doris? VDF? Porter and Furlong? Don’t think that’s going to help us win a series down there which has to be the priority as opposed to a World Cup in 3 years. And as said previously, what’s the point in having someone like Beirne on a central contract if you’re not going to play him when available?
Yippee, we win a series, everyone feeling great again.
Then out at the next RWC QF, we need to try something different
Are you expecting South Africa to just randomly leave fit players out of this series or something?
A 2 tour series over 3 years out from a World Cup is irrelevant to that event. We sent quite an understrength squad to South Africa following the 2015 World Cup and it did piss all use in 2019. It's a ridiculous argument.
It'd be nice if the coaches came to some kind of agreement on the strength of the teams they're playing. Nobody wants to see B sides but if each team had a couple of new caps and a few low-capped players that'd be great.
I've very little interest in a 2 game series with full-strength teams, personally.
Yes, exactly, Yippee !.
Because winning a test series against the World champions in S.A. would put bums on seats for every other international, which pays for all professional rugby. Sending an understrenght squad & losing badly would not help any RWC '27 squad progress past a 1/4 final. Asking seasoned internationals to perform at their best for their country against the best in the world while telling them that a group (in which they are not included) of the best players are not involved (but are being replaced by developement players) may be less likely to inspire their performance.
How would you feel, if in your professional life, you were selected to deal with the most prestigious market in the world, but that half the senior sales & marketing team were'nt going to be there (in order to give the young lads an opputunity) ?.
