Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

McCloskey is ideal against the Boks, great opportunity for him if he plays next week. I thought Nash was a bit slow for the kind of pace they have out wide as we need impeccable winger defense against these guys. And I thought we missed a trick not playing more wide ball ourselves in their red zone, very hard to bish bosh through this SA team. Lots of people have pointed to how little joy Beirne got carrying but that's predictable, I guess missing JGP/Mack means we lack some of the attacking patterns that we saw during this teams peak but that's what we need now. Ireland did well given the altitude and how well prepped SA were. Very interesting how little they kicked, we looked more like the boks in the regard. I can see us taking them next week.

yeah I’d love to see that and McCloskey deserves it. Give me Cormac Izuchukwu at 6 too please! 🙏🏻 Imagine the balance of 6. Izuchukwu 8. Doris 7. VDF, with Timoney off the bench. It’ll never happen but I’d love to see it.

Is a Coombes call up a possibility?

Timoney is probably ahead of Prendergast due to his versatility to play anywhere in the back row. Although Farrell loves Prendergasts attributes as a player so hard to know. I still can’t understand how POM makes this team.

Spilling a ball on their line in the opening minutes, losing a 5m lineout in the second half, Beirne dropping a pass on their 22, Casey getting caught by Snyman at the base (our advantage being called as over literally as he was picking the ball up) and Ryan getting turned over well inside their 22.

Five instances of where we were in scoring positions and gave them possession back. There were other errors but when you look at those five moments plus the fact that we gave them what are two absolutely gift wrapped tries, there aren't going to be wholesale changes to personnel or tactics and nor does there need to be.

Lowe doesn't have that moment of insanity and we've a scrum on halfway in a one score game, 4 minutes on the clock and they're down to 14 men.

Although judging by what happened in the last scrum we probably would have coughed up a penalty on half way which they would have kicked to put us 10 behind, or if missed pinned us back in our 22 with 2 mins to go. The could also have gone to the corner and made us defend in our 22 to close out the game.

The bigger moments were the lack of reaction when Lowe kept the ball in (Kolbe was excellent) and the Lowe try being called back.

I'd like to see Bierne go at 6. With Ryan and Mccarthy in the back row. And Baird and Pendergast on the bench for impact.

That scrum penalty try at the end was a thing of nightmares. Can't get much worse than that..

Maybe jager and o toole to bench over healy and beadhlam.. if o toole is going to be longterm option at loose head where better to test him than south Africa.

Poms been amazing for Ireland and has come up with big moments for us time and time again. Although I think your being a little harsh it does feel like these big moments are becoming less and less frequent. If next week is his last in green I hope he has an absolute stormer.

Regardless I hope we look past a few of these senior players next November. Its time to move on from a few.