What did JGP do against France that Doak couldn’t do?
Doak is only 24. Seems to be around for yonks. Bits I've seen of him this year he's been impressive for sure.
In the wider Ireland squad but not getting a sniff. If Casey doesn't perform no harm trying Doak against Wales...
Not a lot. If we are to stick with that gameplan I could see a role for him. He is a polar opposite to Casey (in both good and bad ways) though, so it really depends on what they are aiming for.
If we're reverting to a kicking game then Doak might actually be more suitable than many think.
That said when I look at the back row we've selected for tomorrow, added to Casey at 9, then I can only conclude that we're going to play more ball in hand.
Nathan Doak has hit a new level this season and I honestly think the fact that he now knows he is the undisputed Ulster No.9 has helped significantly.
So it got me thinking. If Farrell said to Casey, the jersey is yours for the rest of the Championship I wonder whether that would liberate him a bit.
Maybe the same theory should apply to 10.
Ireland are aiming for exactly the same thing as Paris. Which was exactly the same thing as November.
It worked against Australia, and It'll work against Italy and like always the Irish pack will pulverise the Italians.
It is interesting to see Casey get the start. Personally, I am not a big fan, I just don't see it with him. I also think that he's just too small, he's brave but the laws of physics are unbeatable.
But JGP hasn't been good, and it would be very unlikely to see another 9 parachuted in. Doak will have to work his way into the squad. Doak is actually very like Conor Murray, he even has the same issue with ruck speed that Murray suffered with earlier in his career.
It's up to him to progress now. With JGPs age and Casey's obvious limitations he shouldn't suffer from a lack of clear motivation!
My only real gripe with the team is Lowe coming back in. Think it's harsh on Stockdale to drop him after Paris, particularly when you factor in how long Lowe was able to put in middling performances before he finally lost his spot. Italy at home is obviously a much different task than France away, and it's a much easier opportunity for players to try find their mojo, I think Stockdale had done enough to earn that shot.
I don't get the Casey isn't up to it at this level viewpoint.
He hasn't really gotten a proper crack at it & when you get tne token 10-15mins here & there then the main objective is to keep the ship steady...its all you can do in limited minutes realistically
I'd like him to get a proper run of starting 6N's games before making the judgement that he is not up to test standard.
He’s played 27 games for Ireland with 10 of them as a starter . That’s a decent amount of starts considering he’s been behind arguably the second best scrum half in the world over the last 4 years.
I think he's had a good amount of caps and minutes - I get there is some complaint that he hasn't played enough against Tier 1 sides arguably, but I think the counterpoint to that is he hasn't blown the lights out in the other opportunities he's gotten.
He's really unfortunate with the timing of the injury in SA in 2024, as he played well that day and would have had a chance to build on that in the second test.
I like him as a player - and still think he's clearly the second best scrum half on the island, but it does appear as though Farrell doesn't wholly trust him as of yet. He could do with a good showing tomorrow.
To be fair, if you look at this Tier 1 minutes going back to the last RWC, it looks as follows:
Season
Comp
Opp
Tier
Mins
2025/26
6N
France
1
8
AI
SA
Aus
10
NZ
13
2024/25
15
Argentina
7
2023/24
Summer
63
Italy
72
RWC WU
44
You're really not giving a guy much of an opportunity to come on and influence the game when they're getting such scant minutes off the bench.
The last time he started was vs SA where he was going well JGP's absence, and was unfortunate with his injury. (And unfortunate at the timing of his injury for the 2024/25 6N).
He's spoken about really well by guys in camp, I'm hopeful we'll see a performance from him here.
The last time he started was vs SA where he was going well JGP's absence
This is the issue for himself and Crowley, they're getting a few minutes here and a few minutes there but will be expected to be able to start in the event the regular starter is not available.
Crowley is even a worse position since Farrell started using a 6/2 bench as he's now being used as a utility back.
The last time Crowley played at outhalf was a month ago.
Ok, which ones? The ones where he did a perfect wrap and dropped his man, or the ones where he was effectively tackling 3 people? Presume you're not going to hold it against him getting stepped covering across in open play.
As @alooof pointed out its the minutes v Tier 1 what really counts, also I agree that Farrell just doesnt trust him enough & he has JGP in front of him.
Even if he has a stormer 2mor he won't be starting v England or Scotland imo.
Coaches call, just would like a proper look at him, don't see any other 9 getting meaningful minutes this 6 Nations & then we are fast approaching RWC time re games left.
Given some of the reactions I've gotten on here in the last week, I don't see any value in going into this a week after the game has passed.
But based on this, I think it's fair to say we'd have some disagreements; imo, it wasn't close to a "pretty solid display of tackling".
I'm not looking to have a go at you, just like to know your perspective on how you assess that. For me, it was a marked improvement from previous games. He wasn't run over, a la ROG. He got stuck in, actually looked to "hit" lads in the tackle, like for LBB's 1st where he buries Ramos, and he didn't require the team to compromise the defensive structure.
"The eye's dont see what the mind don't know"
A lot of that going on with the analysis of his tackling.
He got stuck in, actually looked to "hit" lads in the tackle
As per my comment on Joe McCarthy yesterday, if Farrell came out after the game spitting fire about lack of commitment, then the out-half who attempted 20 tackles is not the guy getting the hair-dryer treatment.
Also worth remembering that ankle taps and rip attempts go down as missed tackles.
We saw the same in the La Rochelle game a few weeks ago. You can question is efficacy for sure but he was right in the thick of the physical stuff.
Also worth remembering - for those who were drawing comparisons between Prendergast and Crowley's tackle completion %'s - that Crowley's 2 missed tackles were 1) his 2-on-1 and 2) his ankle tap scrambling back after Sam threw his intercept.
You're not wrong unfortunately. The problem stems back to this stupid idea of central contracts which has been the bane of Irish rugby since it's inception. It has insured that coaches have very limited choice in squad selections and given us this feeling of deja vu year after year. This is not to say there has not been good years, by nature this will happen. But it limits possible change when times are not so good
There is literally nothing supporting this nonsensical argument.
We probably don't even have a full quota of central contracts at the moment because we simply don't have enough players worthy of one.
Farrell isn't picking Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne and Caelan Doris over the likes of Dylan Tierney Martin, Fineen Wycherley and Gavin Coombes because of their contractual status.
That’s fair, minutes against Tier 1 teams are important but it’s hard to find when you have a better player in front of you. Comparing his numbers with Maxine Lucu who has been behind Dupont for the last few years is interesting. Lucu played 33 games for France and started 12. He’s racked up 986 minutes averaging 30mins per game. Casey by comparison has played 27 games and started 10, racking up 824 minutes for an average of 31 mins per game.
Casey hasn’t had as many minutes as hoped as he’s been behind JGP and Murray and had ill timed injuries but he’s still racked up a decent amount of game time regardless.
People do realise that the reason Prendergast is attempting more tackles and is in the thick of the physical stuff is because teams want to run down his channel and want him to be the tackler, right?
It's not an effort thing, he is being targeted as the weak link.
And if he wasn’t attempting tackles would it be because teams are avoiding his channel or he’s hiding?
Are you still banging on about this? I never disputed anything you said. You seem to want to put words in my mouth in an attempt to gaslight me.
Move on.
Teams have been running down the out half channel since time began, but it’s very rare that an out half attempts 20 tackles.
Yes, but this is because it's very rare to have an out half who is as bad at defending as Prendergast is.
