Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

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.

He's not onethe same page as JoB in any facet of his game & more importantly Farrell clearly thinks he's a stick

He started ahead of Ryan at the RWC on form.

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.

Looking at Aldritt last weekend I saw a guy who really needed a break. He 's being flogged to death.

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.

friendlies that’s edgy stuff

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?