Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

I disagree with everything in your original post, but picking up on calling him a bully. It is very well known that he is very very far from that and has brought families into camp, allowed players to stay with their partners the night before a game in certain circumstances, is massive on culture. Something his predecessors certainly didn’t do.

Owen Farrell is a winner, will go down as one of England’s best ever 10s, is a previous Lions tour winner etc etc etc. I wanted him in the original squad ahead of Marcus Smith due to what he would bring to the Lions camp.

You’re wrong (in my opinion) in just about everything you’ve said but to call him a bully is way off.

disagree entirely , he is a phenomenal coach and human being , he doesn’t get everything right , neither do any of us

I’ve been as critical of him in some aspects as anyone on here, but this “bully” stuff is an awful load of rubbish.

Now with all due respect, you're probably the one who should be embarrassed with this "effort".

Firstly, there's nothing wrong with criticising the D4 mejia for giving AF a free pass on overplaying his top players at the RWC , especially since Rassie Erasmus did their analysis work for them showing how SA players were kept fresh versus Irish players in particular, being over played & flogged by the QF stage.... I kid you not, Google it FYI.

Secondly, Ireland with Crowley at 10 won a super 6 Ns playing both France & RWC runners up England away from home. That's a far harder 6Ns to win than when facing the big 2 in Dublin. Even 12 yr old school kids realise that!!

So with all due respect to you, you're not comparing apples v apples. But sure you knew that surely!?

P.s. finally it was a fit & fresh Sexton who was on the pitch with Ireland, who helped win that GS in 2023. The 38 yo spent outhalf was a shadow of his former self in the last quarter v NZ in the QF imho. That's why a fresh Crowley would have been a much better option in the last quarter of the RWC QF match v NZ, when Sexton was clearly gassed.... and when Ireland needed an injection of pace & ideas to try to seal the game. They didn't use Crowley, & a tired Ireland with a jaded 10 came up short.

https://www.the42.ie/rassie-springboks-ireland-6199607-Oct2023/

Google will even tell you this:

According to Rassie Erasmus, the average player for the South African Springboks was on the field for 162 minutes during the Rugby World Cup 2023, due to a strategy of rotating players, particularly during the pool stages. This was in contrast to teams like Ireland, which played most of their matches with their full-strength team.

South Africa's average: 162 minutes per player, achieved through a rotation strategy that aimed to manage player workload and prevent injury.

Contrast with other teams: This was significantly lower than other teams, such as Ireland, which used a more consistent lineup and had a higher average player minutes....

Ffs let O'Brien play can't be resting lads for a match in 2 weeks

Autumn is going to be a disaster isn’t it. Loyalty over performance. WC is looking like another shitshow in two years unless poor performance is not continuously rewarded with caps