Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Aki doesnt have as many strings to his bow as McCloskey.

McCloskey is the most skillfull centre in the Irish squad, his passing is top notch and hugely underrated outside of Ulster (witness his passing to set Baloucoune off down the wing) And he is obviously a quality carrier.

McCloskey has actually kicked goals for Ulster as well.

Aki is a pretty average (being kind) passer, certainly off his weak hand, but has serious footwork and power as well.

Shur, I'm surprised Crowley can do anything except defend..

Go ahead and post them then.

There's no way the ten debate is over, but surely it's at least on hold for now?

Crowley made some mistakes against England but on balance it was a good display. Prendergast did some good things against France and Italy but on balance, he wasn't great.

Until something happens to shift that balance again, it isn't really a question who should play.

I wouldn't describe the pass as awful. It was millimetres away from being a great pass that Marcus Smith did very well to intercept. On another day it would have been a slap down and yellow card against him. Also the grubber kick, hits off an opposing players foot, happens all the time!

I really don't get where this narrative of Crowley being a poor offensive player comes from. When on song, he has a whole range of passes and can break the gainline on numerous occasions. He can also kick pass very effectively (perhaps not his best execution at times on Saturday).

What he suffers from is pushing it too hard at times. Trying to get every inch out of a kick or pull off the glory play. What he did really well last Saturday was reign that in and let others around him shine by facilitating them with nice crisp passing and organisation. His place kicking has come on a lot too (one bad shank aside).

But we get it, you want Harry Byrne to get a shot (even though you're apparently not a fan) and think both Crowley and SP are a waste of a jersey until someone more deserving comes through. Don't worry, we'll be all aboard the Casper Gabriel hype train soon enough!!😅

Ok lets play. JGP wasn't 10 out of 10 either, threw a few shaky passes including one to nobody. ToB missed a straight up tackle that lead to a try on 52 minutes. Dorris knocked on from a simple pass from JGP around his own 5M, Osbourne's handling was poor at times. I could literally go though the whole team making mistakes, except for Bobby B who was pretty flawless. We made plenty of mistakes, but England didn't punish them.

Perfect time for Farrell to depart, and good luck to him.

The end of 2027 will see him involved in the Irish team for fourteen and a half years, an extraordinarily long time in any coaching scenario.

These things always need a refresh and it will be an ideal time for Richie Murphy to take over.

If Farrell has a big deal like that on offer from Sarries, he'd be stupid not to take it.

You'd wish Farrell all the best for sure, but will be too soon for Richie Murphy, imo. (Fwiw, I understand why, but I really don't like the idea of going into a RWC with the players knowing the coach is leaving immediately post-tournament).

It'll be interesting to see who the IRFU go for after Farrell; they seem to like an internal appointment so Easterby could be on the cards, but I think it would be a little on the underwhelming side.

I don't think Cullen is a viable candidate, the only thing that might change that would be successive Champions Cup wins this season and next, imo.

You'd imagine ROG is a name that'll be linked with it a lot too with his CV. I do wonder if an outside appointment could be on the cards.

Lancaster as well is a name who will be linked with it at some point too, you'd imagine.

James Lowe will miss the rest of the Six Nations with a groin injury. It's a shame for him as he was coming into good form. Thought he was excellent against Italy.

In his absence I hope we continue on with TOB and Baloucoune as starting wings. Was very refreshing seeing the speed at which we counterattacked last weekend. For all of Lowe's undoubted qualities, he isn't a speedster like the former.

It was steph du toit. Aki might have been in team of the tournament, or maybe Irish player of the tournament. But defo not player of the tournament.

I dunno - for me it just confusing that a player can show this form for the first time for the country at age 33. I know he was in the squad previously, but I guessing he has started less than 10 times?