Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

100% agree. What gets me is the tries Leinster are conceding. One pass or a chip over the defense and the opposition seem to have more walk in tries.

Not sarcastic at all, just pointing out Soroka should lock in the #6 jersey for Leinster with Baird out with injury. Then he gets picked for the Ireland training camp. At this training camp he will tear up all the trees! I presume the camp will be near some sort of woods or something. He will get credit from the bank down the road at the training camp. And then the Ireland squad is next. Its a simple pathway really. The only other alternative I can think of is Max Deegan, super athlete and brings the right level of cohesion and familiarity. Exciting times lie ahead.

But this is how AF has been picking squads the last 12-18 months, the 3rd choice Leinster player like Gus Mc will get picked every time over the 1st choice Ulster player like Stewart.

Why?

Which player has come through Leinster schools cup? Brings familiarity and cohesion? As he knows the other FR/lineout Lads well. Now if Gus had come from Galway, no way would he have been dropped into the Ireland squad. He would have needed A LOT more minutes for Conancht and hoped the Leinster equivalent was nowhere near as good. Thats how some of the slection calls have gone the last 12-18months. It does nothing for the player if they are not ready (S Prendergast), nothing for the player cos they get so little game time (Boyle 0 mins the Last weeks) and nothing for Leinster losing so much cohesion and having to pick AIL players.

Its bonkers and this season its having an affect on both Leinster and Ireland, which is no good for no one.

That's why I fully expect Soroka to push through the next few weeks and get selected in 6Ns. I think we may see Cooney at center picked. And Ireland needs bulk in the SR, they should fast track Spicer, his an incredibly sized young player

"First choice Ulster player Tom Stewart" - he started one game in the 24/25 season for Ulster in totality (a loss to Zebre). Had he been healthy when Gus McCarthy was called up in November '24 then he would have been selected, but he wasn't.

There were plenty moaning about Paddy McCarthy's undeserved inclusion in the squad this November too, but we don't hear so much from them now that he's proven he's a viable option internationally there.

Straight up question, FFF.

Do you think there is a difference between claiming Leinster bias and the position that some selection decisions may go to way of the Leinster player because of cohesion / familiarity?

You'll note that "the current complaint" isn't my current complaint tho, so lets make that distinction at the outset.

The broader points are:

• You've accused me of rolling out "Leinster bias" in the past when I've never done so. I think there's an obvious difference between claiming a decision has went with cohesion in mind, rather than it being bias on behalf of the coaches.
• You often take umbrage as this being posters "having a dig at the Ireland coaches". But where does "a career of mediocrity" sit on the spectrum of "having a dig" at a player? The point being, you're more than happy, on occasion, to "have a dig" yourself.

Correct, my beef is that you accuse me of Leinster bias when I have never claimed as much.

If you want to believe that there are no mediocre players, that's fine.

Well, at least now you are admitting you did say "career of mediocrity". Progress.

My point is, on the one hand you seem to take umbrage almost any time there's criticism of Farrell, but on the other you're happy to dish out fairly hefty criticism yourself when it suits.

The message to Gus Mccarthy should be if you want to play for Ireland you need to be playing week in week out for your province. 

Minutes played for their respective province last season

Tom Stewart: 235

Gus McCarthy: 583

Look, I’m all for guys in form for their province playing for Ireland. But if you’re going to use that argument to fight a guys case. Then they have to be, you know, playing rugby.

McCarthy got in because Stewart was injured. Sure, they could have selected Rob Herring or Niall Scannell, but that would have been a bit regressive IMO. If Tom Stewart keeps playing and stays injury free, I’ve no doubt he’ll be back in as the third hooker.

I think one of P Mac or Boyle should not have been included. Obviously P Mac went very well. So now he should be #2 at Leinster for the rest of the season and by default #2 for Ireland. I have no issue with that, he looks very competent and promising. But now Boyle should not be picked for the 6Ns, he has very very little game time for Leinster and 0 minutes for Ireland this Autumn (which I think was an awful waste). So for the next 6Ns the #3 LHP has to come from a different province surely.

Now if both Porter and P Mac gets injured the next few months. Boyle will be #1 LHP for Leinster, therefore guaranteeing him being #1 for Ireland

There was an article in the Indo about calling for a couple of squad changes. At centre Hugh Cooney was mentioned. I see why he could get picked, he is familiar with Henshaw/Ringrose/Prend/Frawley/Osborne etc etc. He would bring more cohesion to an already cohesive unit. If AF took a chance and picked one of Kelly, Gavin, Forde, Posthletwaite, Hume it is very very risky, they would not bring the same level of cohesion and familiarity. Even though some of them have multiple more URC minutes played than Cooney. Perhaps at the last 6Ns training camp Cooney trained the Carton House down and pulled up aforementioned trees, I presume he did. Exciting times ahead

I'm surprised that Andy didn't come out and blame Leinster for the set piece. He picks the entire Leinster pack and probably only trains the set piece in so far as it launches strike plays. I feel he depends on the Leinster cohesion for the basics.

IMO if the replacement SA front row were available for selection, I'm not sure Andy would even pick them. He sees the set piece as an evil to be endured in order to launch attacks. He's playing League in Union. Somehow I think Andy would find these guys not mobile enough.

Andy now, because of rule changes, finds himself back playing Union, but still has the personnel for his original league-based game plan. He's now trying to squeeze round pegs into square holes. If Andy wants to kick the leather off the ball, he'll faster wingers and a bigger pack.

There's little doubt in my mind that Loughman and Jager are better in the scrum than Paddy McCarty and Bealham. I would put Paddy on par with Josh Wycherley, same size, but Josh is probably the better in the scrum.

I too was slightly critical of P Mac being picked. But he did very well, i stand corrected. But I don't think Boyle should be picked for the 6Ns, if he still #3 at Leinster.

I disagree on the other players mentioned above. I don't think Josh is at the same level as P Mac. He has had a few years in the Munster set up and has struggled at times against the bigger URC teams. Also you lose familiarity and cohesion, and tree pulling ability if you pick Josh. I suppose on the other hand the thing about Loughmam, Jager, Josh is that they all played Leinster schools rugby, they have come through a strong pipeline so in theory should be able to step up quicker in Ireland camp ahead of say Wilson at Ulster, he would find it very hard to step up to the camp