Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

I agree to a point the way the Hansen incident was handled was poor. But I don’t see the point in putting up a post like that on LinkedIn. In my opinion it just comes across as pathetic and looking for attention.

While the game obviously needs referees to function, I don’t believe referees of his standard should be involved at the top level. I think the general consensus from most people was he was not good at his job so why keep assigning him to referee URC and Champions Cup games. While the incident definitely wasn’t good and was handled pretty poorly, I personally won’t miss him refereeing games.

it's that he went to the effort of putting it a filter on it as well……

Harry McNulty was effectively sacked. Busby decided to walk away himself. It just comes across as pathetic to me to be honest. Why not say it at the time if he had anything about him? He was leaving the IRFU anyway.

As someone said above, no doubt he will make a few quid from speaking at rugby clubs off the back of this, which I assume is what the real objective is here.

Conor Murray was on the Alex Payne and Mike Tindall podcast that came out yesterday. I didn’t listen to it in its entirety but he said the love had gone slightly with Munster in the last few seasons. How he was trusted with Farrell and Ireland but not with Munster when he went back.

It’s well documented but Farrell really is an excellent man manager of the players it seems.

it's always decent without Haskell

I didnt bring up the player - another poster did lamenting him not making an expected breakthrough at international level and I pointed out he has also failed to make the breakthrough at provincial level too and that one cant really be excused by recent injury, despite how you still tried and failed to.

The fact that you are trying to use Ahern missing out on Irish developmental tour caps as an argument is actually great evidence that he hasn't developed as expected/hoped. The guy looked destined in the short term to at minimum challenge to be an Irish starter at full strength and is instead struggling to get starts at his province in big games or even into the Irish full training panel.

What metric do you want? The obvious one is game time at his province: Ahern went from playing at 20 years old to being involved in CC rugby the next season, including a QF against Toulouse, to find himself this year benching in big games, not being able to push out the starters and having JOD being picked to start ahead of him.

I'm sure that quote from Leamy makes Ahern feel great while Leamy and the coaching ticket keep picking other guys ahead of him. Actions matter more than words.

I really don't understand the defensiveness about this.

,.

I much prefer Osborne at 12 or 15 where he can use his offloading and kicking game to greater lengths. He was excellent at outside centre during the URC knockouts though. Bang in form so makes sense to select him there I suppose.

Hope Baird keeps up his high level. Next in line to succeed POM if he does.

Prendergast is a significantly better 10 than Frawley. The latter is a good player, but has never been trusted by Leinster to run the backline. In his sporadic starts at 10 he's been pretty poor this season.

Yeah this is a development squad really so there's a real chance it's just a case of rotating through the whole group.

Reallly is an achievent for Leinster to have 20 players away with Ireland and the Lions

Max Deegan would be much closer to Ahern’s situation, tipped for great things, yet to happen. Baloucoune another, Hume, etc.

Larmour is the polar opposite.