Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Having both Byrne and Crowley on the bench is overkill.

Just pick one, probably Crowley, and go 6/2.

With Ireland, England, and France all having prop crises and with the news about Antonio today is it time that some effort was made to depower the scrum . It can't be good for these guys to absorb the massive forces they are asked to. Over half a ton of pressure on your calf and achilles is resulting in most props being constantly injured. Furlong has played a handful of games in the last 2 years.

Tin foil hats out in force today i see

The Aki suspension and Keenan injury just makes it more of a pox that Osborne has been out since November.

Could have gotten some game time into him at 12 or 15 in preparation for this tournament.

Yeah, he's a complete space cadet.

The officials are doing their best. It genuinely mystifies me how much abuse they get, especially the psychotic stuff about corruption. Is all this seeping in from soccer or what?

Mange tout Del Boy, mange tout.

Aki-gate certainly is causing a wild variety of opinions from the learned rugby scribes tonight.

Rud O'Connor in the Indo describing, more or less, how Aki had it coming, for a years-long record of insolence and insubordination, to both officials and coaches alike within the Irish system.

Mr Thornley, in the paper of record, crying foul, not just of the preemptive and anticipatory nature of the Union ban ahead of the League disciplinary, but that all of Connacht are entitled to be paranoid at how harshly their men are treated for complaining about how leniently Leinster, in particular, are treated in turn by officials on the pitch for high hits and what not.

Further, he says it would be bordering on a criminal way to end the international career of "the most popular player in Ireland" should he never be selected again.

All joking aside, its one of the worst pieces of Thornley's I have ever read, peevish and subjective, barely giving any weight to the grim record of Aki's conduct with officialdom on and off the field, which is well documented and unavoidable.

The interpretation of Thornley's article posted earlier is a bit biased.

It leaves out things like below which was just after saying a sad way to end the career

"Of course, by the same token, the IRFU has to defend its referees and match officials as well as its players, and there’s a line that the latter cannot cross. The game needs characters, it’s true, but it needs referees even more.

And on Connacht

"There has long been a widespread belief among supporters, players, coaches et al in Connacht that they receive an unfair crack of the whip from officialdom".

Sympathize with Aki he does as you say but he also makes it clear that the suspension is right.