Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

lawrencesummers · 22-01-2026 11:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171389#Comment_124171389

He may well be getting lumped in with the others
But he is 2026 Ringrose not 2020 Ringrose. He is in the autumn of his career no doubt.

aloooof · 22-01-2026 11:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171389#Comment_124171389

In Tom Farrell's case, I'd wager that is because he is often the player that gives the offload to the linebreak.

Farrell's been good this season; not quite as good as his stellar 24/25, but I honestly think if he was in the same form as last season, there'd be a real argument for him to be ahead of Ringrose for this 6 Nations.

With Hansen out, I think if Farrell was hitting the heights of last season, I'd have him starting for the extra creativity, that typically Farrell seems to look for in his wingers.

Having said that, as a bit of a curve-ball, I think there's a non-zero chance that Farrell starts Crowley at 15 at some stage during 5the 6 Nations, what with Hansen's injury.

lawrencesummers · 22-01-2026 11:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171598#Comment_124171598

i agree the squad is changing but disagree that it is progressing.

Looking at the 6N squad I don’t think anymore than 20 of they are at a competitive level for the business end of the RWC.

aloooof · 22-01-2026 11:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171598#Comment_124171598

I'm more upbeat, in terms of the squad, than I was at the start this season to be fair to Farrell, as there has been some decenty change, but I'm still off the belief last season (and the AI's in particular) was a missed opportunity.

I still think there are some key positions that need to start seeing more gametime e.g. Casey at 9, Boyle at LH, someone other than Lowe on the wing and Aki at centre, a real alternative to VdF, even if that is Doris.

We'll at least see some of that this 6 Nations, it feels like, whether thru injury or otherwise.

sydthebeat · 22-01-2026 11:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171791#Comment_124171791

Are we at the business end of a RWC?

clsmooth · 22-01-2026 11:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171791#Comment_124171791

Which players are at a competitive level for the business end of the RWC?

exiledawaynothere · 23-01-2026 03:09AM

I think we arw very much in transition this year and could be hitting our bottom in terms of results. What we need to see is the green shoots that things are on the up and that investments in certain players start to pay off. This is not make or break, but moving in the right direction with some new talent is probably the best to hope for.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 09:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171854#Comment_124171854

The thing with a campaign like a WC is you need to work for a few years in advance of it to be ready.

Something Irish rugby has never embraced.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 09:02AM

let’s be honest here on the squad.

The only really change to this squad on form / development that isn’t injury related is the omission of Henderson for Edogbo, and Henderson has not been an impactful international level player for a few seasons now.

the question is how much opportunity Edogbo will be to become one in this 6 nations.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 09:15AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124171880#Comment_124171880

Of the current squad, with their form this season and taking into account their age at the next RWC I would say if we were playing a RWC semi final tommorow outside of these 15 players I don’t think anyone is experienced enough or good enough to be considered at that level.

Finlay Bealham (Corinthians/Connacht)
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Caelan Doris (St. Mary's College/Leinster)(captain
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)
Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster)
Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)
Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster)
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)

There are a few others Frawley, OBrien Osbourne that could be if they had more experience but none of them have more than 10 caps. Osbourne has 2 starts against top level opposition.

Former Former Former · 23-01-2026 10:16AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172178#Comment_124172178

Osbourne has 2 starts against top level opposition.

Not sure where you're getting this from. Osborne has eight starts: South Africa x 2, France, New Zealand, Wales, Japan, Georgia and Fiji, and bench appearances against Argentina and NZ.

Osborne is exactly what people here claim to want. When Keenan got injured for the SA tour, a 'conservative' coach could have picked Frawley or JOB at full-back, and famously, people here were up in arms that Mike Haley didn't get the nod. Farrell saw something in a guy with zero caps who'd played most of his club rugby in the centre and threw him in, he got hammered for it here, but it worked out great.

Tommy O'Brien has six caps, all of which have come in the last six tests. I'm not sure Farrell could have done much else to accelerate him into the team given his injury profile prior to last year.

There's two players who've come from a long way back and absolutely will be options at the RWC. At this remove from the last RWC, four of the 23 who lined out against NZ in the QF had not even been capped. There is no panic.

Again, people only want to focus on who hasn't been cast aside rather than look at who actually is coming through.

And at some point, people just have to accept that a lot of our wider group simply isn't good enough for top-tier rugby and no amount of games will change that.

aloooof · 23-01-2026 10:34AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172303#Comment_124172303

This works both ways tho, FFF.

There are examples where Farrell hasn't been conservative. There are also plenty of examples where he has.

You say famously people were up in arms about Mike Haley. I could equally retort about your famous Jean Kleyn post.

The point being, there are legitimate criticisms in amongst everything here that you are also prepared to hand wave away.

It was the exact same last week, when you were claiming that JVG would've seen the light, and you certainly wished Crowley had gotten an opportunity sooner. But that wasn't at all your position at the time.

MayoSalmon · 23-01-2026 10:37AM

What's happening at 10?

Had that debate been settled?

Pudsy33 · 23-01-2026 10:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172359#Comment_124172359

I'd be shocked if it's not Prendergast, he's been outperforming the other albeit not by much.

CatInABox · 23-01-2026 10:50AM

If Farrell thinks the same as Leinster management, then the answer will be a combination of both.

What order all three tens come in is more interesting than who gets picked to start, I'm my view.

Former Former Former · 23-01-2026 10:53AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172359#Comment_124172359

I honestly think it's wide open. All three of them have been doing some stuff very well, other stuff not so well, and based on what we've seen since the last tests, I'd have Prendergast as narrow favourite to start but training camp will probably decide it.

aloooof · 23-01-2026 10:55AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172359#Comment_124172359

I think it'll be Prendergast and that's probably who I would go with too.

Place-kicking is a massive issue tho, regardless of who we go with. Interestingly, when Prendergast started having a few wobbles off the tee last season, my impression was that it was a temporary blip and something that would be easier for him to address (as opposed to his tackling for example).

But it has been going on long enough for it to be a real concern now. And that goes for all 3.

Podge_irl · 23-01-2026 11:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172398#Comment_124172398

Realistically, if they are in any way equal then by all accounts Farrell is going to go with Prendergast. I think that is clear from his comments and the comments of people like Murray. Which is not remotely to say he has it locked, but I think as of now when it seems much of a muchness from the outside that he has to be the favourite (though I actually also think he has been the best flyhalf in January).

Would be surprised if he didn't start in Paris. Wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't make it through the whole 6N though. It is such a glaring weak spot in the team no matter who is picked.

Tommybojangles · 23-01-2026 11:17AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172158#Comment_124172158

This pops up every year, or whenever people aren't happy with Ireland's form. It's professional rugby, there is a huge amount of injury turnover every year. If you never changed the squad at all barring injury or retirement you'd still have a lot of turnover. And when you have a huge amount of injuries / niggles as we do now, it makes sense that you want to keep as much continuity as possible. There's already enough chaos.

Some people it seems would be happier if we played a 15 selected fromt he Ireland XV and lost 60-0 in Paris (Which btw would do nothign for the players 'development')

Podge_irl · 23-01-2026 11:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172153#Comment_124172153

This is more or less exactly what they did last time.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 12:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172303#Comment_124172303

Osbourne - Still only ten caps, but probably the only player outside of the ones listed that will be up to speed by the time a RWC QF comes around.

If JOB can stay injury free and gets game time he could be there.

The issue people have is that these players getting time is by accident or injury not by design.

The biggest decision AF has made is EE over Hendon, and frankly hendo should not have made last years squad.

Podge_irl · 23-01-2026 12:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172684#Comment_124172684

and frankly hendo should not have made last years squad.

Ok. Who should have been there instead?

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 12:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172359#Comment_124172359

It’s become to complex for many since it became a three way race, so now people are waiting to see who starts against France and then blame them (when) if we lose and say they should never have been picked because of their kicking / defending / inexperience / hair colour / favourite TV show.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 12:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172685#Comment_124172685

That’s the problem isn’t it. There wasn’t any other second row fit and available with some club form.

Still doesn’t mean he was good enough, and the same can be said about a number of players in the current squad.

The base of the pyramid just isn’t wide enough and there is very little appetite for widening it.

Podge_irl · 23-01-2026 12:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172704#Comment_124172704

there is very little appetite for widening it.

I have no idea what this means?

As you say, Hendo was there last year due to a lack of other options. There is literally nothing that could realistically have been done about that. Like bringing in Fineen Wycherly instead of Henderson wouldn't have helped anyone - there was nothing to be done.

crossman47 · 23-01-2026 12:37PM

Here we go again. I know I'm in a minority but we are on the cusp of a new Six Nations campaign and all the discussion here is about the next WC. Forget it - concentrate on having the best possible season and development will follow. Start blooding players and have a bad campaign is no use to anyone.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 12:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172721#Comment_124172721

The base of the pyramid is to small in Ireland, the number of players contracted to the clubs we pick from - the base- is not big enough to ensure that the highest level of talent - (the top of the pyramid) has sufficient numbers to compete at the most prestigious competition in the sport.

Until that changes we have never and will never be able to close the gap and overtake those that are up there.

Let’s be honest with ourselves as Irish rugby supporters, the powers that be in Irish rugby don’t actually aspire to winning the greatest competition worth winning in the sport and are happy with Aviva matchday lunches and buying houses in Havelock square.

lawrencesummers · 23-01-2026 12:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172721#Comment_124172721

I could easily debate that it would have benefited finneen, it would have made him a better Munster player, but yes neither are International level.

sydthebeat · 23-01-2026 12:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172153#Comment_124172153

Rassie famously only has 18 months to configure a whole squad in 2018 and went on to win the RWC in 2019.

Ireland has a small playing pool. We simply cannot chop and change at a whim, and if that leads to conservativism so be it, thats not actually the bad thing that some posters think it may be.

I really believe that the only RWC where ireland were actually one of the top 4 teams in the world at the time of the RWC was in 2023, during which we beat the eventual winners and lost to the other finalists by 4 points.

i honestly dont believe that in any other RWC we were in the top 4 of the world at the time of the RWC, so not really surprised that we didnt make it to a semi final in any of them. In 2019 we may have been high in rankings but we had a jaded squad playing a highly attritional style with aging players and how to play against us was well advertised in advance (see wales v ireland in 6N)

so far in this cycle im seeing a far deeper exampination of our playing numbers than we have ever done before. unlike some other posters I do not believe that we need to see everyone playing against tier 1 nations in order to assess whether they have what it takes or not. I trust the coaches to be able to make up their minds from seeing games against georgia / portugal etc.

Former Former Former · 23-01-2026 12:47PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124172684#Comment_124172684

The issue people have is that these players getting time is by accident or injury not by design.

I never understand why this is an issue. As though game time only counts if the coach's motives are pure, or that he doesn't bother watching a guy if the first-choice is coming back in a month.

Modern rugby means that injuries are very common. Most players get their first opportunities (at province and national level) through injuries. Some players get a chance and make the most of it, others don't.

Jamie Osborne got his chance when Keenan got injured and he took it. Hansen got his when Conway got injured and he took it, then Tommy O'Brien took his when Hansen got injured. Conan benefited from Stander's early retirement. These players are not regarded as lesser because they got a chance due to injury.

Every player who's been 'badly treated' over the years has had his chances. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him be a test level rugby player.

Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

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