Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

To go back to the question of whether Keenan walks back into the Irish side - I think we can comfortably say that the answer is yes, although most could have said that a few weeks ago.

I don't recall hearing anything about that.

Pity the Churchill Cup doesn't exist anymore.

Has that been superseded by the Emerging Ireland tours? Those have helped as far as I can see. Better development model too, with a series of matches and a longer camp.

Australia has close to zero stocks of Jet fuel at the moment.

It will be a locals only match I reckon.

I'll be watching from the costa del sofa.

It won't run out though. It just won't be enough to run the full schedule schedule of flights we currently run. Supply and demand will mean prices go up until demand goes down to meet the level of fuel for a reduced number of flights.

It might cost a fortune to get there, or might be rescheduled.

Crowley is the most underrated 10 in NH it’s just he’s only coming good now and had a lot of back noise to contend with . If he can crack consistency he is absolutely 22 nailed on

I think this 6N's campaign has been his most encouraging set of Ireland performances. His Scotland, England and cameo performance against Italy were all very encouraging. His place kicking (like vs Wales) is still his biggest issue, and while his kicking from hand can be really good, he seems to have a habit of throwing in one stinker as well.

Also, the things he was previously criticised for - not putting shape on the attack, being that linking 10 - are things we certainly saw from him this 6 Nations.

He only turned 26 in January, which is sometimes forgotten because of just how young Prendergast is by comparison, but think back to where Johnny Sexton was when he was 25/26.

I'm not saying I expect him to get anywhere near Sexton's level, but I think we can reasonably expect some more consistency now as he begins to enter his peak years.

We need to see more of Crowley to really know what we have on our hands.

His form this season - like last - has swung wildly up and down. On balance, he's neither as good nor as bad as he's sometimes made out here. He finished the season as our best 10, but equally he started it with some performances that justified his dropping.

Bigger sample size = better info, basically.

If his inconsistency continues, someone will come along and displace him, sooner or later.

I’d broadly agree with all of that FTD.

I think Farrell has an interesting selection decision to make coming up, especially in the Japan game.

Does he give a start to Harry or Sam. There’s a reasonable argument for either. And then there’s the case for Frawley at 22.

Is Byrne's passing that much better than Crowley? I wouldn't have thought so.

The fact that Frawley got the nod on the bench said a lot. If he goes well early doors with Lancaster (who has a brilliant track record of improving players) he might well be our bench 10. Added bonus of cover elsewhere (12/15) in a pinch.

But, lots of rugby to be played still as Podge said

you’re hardly a neutral in that debate?

This seems fairly facile. Nobody is neutral.

I'm with leaky, it's not at all clear to be that Harry Byrne's passing is superior to Crowley's; I'd rate Crowley's passing and offloading as one of the strength's to his game.

Also, it doesn't overtly appear that Farrell is a massive fan. I think his last full cap was in 2021?

I think TRC's summary above is broadly correct, Crowley is now the incumbent 10, and seems to have widen the gap from the others, and the closer calls are now for the start in the Japan game or the 22 jersey. That of course can all change, but I think it's as large as gap as we've seen since Crowley came on the scene.