Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

Going by that logic, Wood is clearly better than Sheehan.

Wood has more caps over a longer period than Sheehan, as well as winning world player of the year. So yes there is absolutely an argument to be made for Wood being 2. I think when all is said and done, Sheehan will surpass him.

Van Der Flier has more Ireland caps and more tries than Wallace and O'Brien. Wallace had a longer career, but never reached the heights Van Der Flier reached as a rugby player, as good as he was.

This isn't just about him winning world player of the year, but it absolutely holds more weight then being picked for a few games where the only thing gained from it is money for the unions.

It depends how much weight you put on longevity, as opposed to how good a player was at their absolute peak. For example, Stockdale at his very best in 2018 is the best we’ve seen from and Irish winger in the pro era. But he’s done very little outside that year, so it’s hard to justify selecting him, even though at his absolute peak he’s the best we’ve had. Bowe for example, never scored 7 tries in one 6N, but was consistently excellent for an extended period.

I personally don’t think it’s too early for Sheehan to be considered. He’s got 39 caps, he’s our 8th highest try scorer of all time, the best try scoring forward in 6N history, and has won a grand slam.

A very salient point. Wallace and SOB were both better players than VdF, in an era of better 7s.

I find it hard to pick between Wally and SOB to be honest, Wally shading it for athleticism maybe, they were both absolute monsters on the pitch. VdF's workrate is what enables him to succeed

100% agree

I hear you but the tackle was fairly innocuous and I doubt Wally holds it against Tuilagi. Just incredibly unfortunate. Wallace was one of our greatest ever players in my book.

Why was he jogging over the touchline? Did he have the ball?

He might have been, but there wasn’t anything obviously foul about that hit. Wallace was a ball carrier still well in the field of play, and angled back in (not towards the touch line). Tuilagi was well within his rights to go for the big hit.

Ah yeah, he was a nutter who actually assaulted opponents on a couple of occasions, famously. A reason I think people exaggerate the Wallace tackle. It was just bad luck though, if it was French player no-one would comment on the tackle and rather remember that it was a great player and a very unfortunate end to his carreer.

Yeah, it's a bit like saying Paul O'Connell cheap spotted Chabal!

(Not a Garryowen technically but similar concept)