Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

I honestly don't think Sheehan has earned his place based on his performances so far this 6n. If we are serious about finding new options and combos it should be Kelleher to start with Stewart on the bench. JPG to start with Doak on the bench.

Please enlighten me as to the benefit of sacrificing a shot at the 6 Nations (which we have proved we can win) for an appearance in the WC semi final (a tournament we are highly unlikely ever to win). I cannot fathom this line of thinking. I think people like me (who supported Ireland through barren decades) want to see our best team fielded all the time. If a youngster shows better than the incumbent, pick him then.

frawley at 10 is a nonsense proposition and he knows it. Utter gibberish.

no no, some posters on here are saying he was terrible so it must be true. they must be the special ones who have access to more info, tv angles or something because i certainly didnt see things like that but they probably just have a much superior knowledge of the game

none of that is 'established fact', its just absolute hyperbole from some people on here

as said before, sexton is working off what he learned from Wilkinson's kicking coach Dave Alred, who is generally accepted to be the best kicking coach out there. they both definitely have some more improvement and refining to do but i think they both are likely to come good soon enough. i also think SP's misses on saturday were more of a mental thing than anything.

continuity with JGP, trying out an alternative, feeling SP fits 'the system' better?

that wasn't the point i was making though, i was pointing out that some posters are repeatedly claiming that crowley was 'playing like a drain'/ rubbish/ in 'terrible' form/ had played badly against NZ last year etc, when it is simply untrue. i dont think anyone can dispute that he was average at best against NZ in 2024 and he was up and down for munster at times but there is also massive overexaggeration as to how poorly he was playing (SP and some of the other options get this treatment too) and the fact that he had went quite well against argentina is conveniently left out, as is how the attack against aus improved when he came off

a bit of reality when talking about all the options is required - none have quite hit the level they are certainly capable of getting to but none are/were as bad as they are being made out to be by some posters either

Pollock, curry and Lawrence starting for England. Interesting how farrell will counter that.

you have also missed the point of what i was saying. i dont necessarily agree with how you have framed the 2024 AIs to be honest, but thats not the point of what i said either - my point was the hyperbolic rubbish about crowley 'playing like a drain' etc, is completely untrue and people need to be realistic in their criticism. again, i have said he wasnt shooting the lights out at the time or anything like that but he was in no way playing as badly as some people are making out either

i said the same in response to the poster's who were speaking in a similar way about SP after the France game - players generally arent ever as bad as they are made out to be by some

I think if we were playing Wales or Scotland this weekend, that's nearly what I'd expect to happen. Unless he pulls out a big performance against England, I think that's what needs to happen.

Personally, I'd drop him entirely from the 23 because he's been so poor.

Start a back 5 of Ryan, Beirne, Conan, Timoney and Doris. With Izuchukwu, Edogbo and VdF on the bench.