Ireland Team Talk X: The Long Hard Road to a Semi. MOD WARNING POSTS #1, #1474, #5707

Former Former wrote: »

The guy chairing the disciplinary committee is the same guy who overturned Steff Evans' red card against Leinster a couple of years ago, after deciding that another guy made the challenge dangerous.

If he decides that Murphy was a factor and follows his own precedent, then Henderson could be OK.

You heard it here first folks.

Awec...buy that man a Harp

He dialled in from Carton House. Didn't miss anything.

JUSTICE

troyzer wrote: »

To be fair to Adam Byrne, he's a ****ing unit who's great in the air and a serious carrier.

The only thing ever stopping him from making a run at a starting Jersey for Leinster and Ireland was his poor decision making at time, his aversion to contact and his questionable defense.

He's improved noticably in all of these areas so far this year. I think it's a year too late for this world cup but I think he has a good chance of contesting for the 14 jersey for Ireland and Leinster after the world cup.

Has his defence improved? Thought he was still prone to the misreads. Any player can do that from time to time obviously but he seems to have a consistent issue when there's traffic coming his way


This is all moot anyway, I doubt he'll get gametime

ionadnapokot wrote: »

Clegg wrote: »

I'd start Ryan and Hendo together on Sunday. Get them primed for France.

Ryan surely needs a break?
Don’t want him to suffer like Itoje did - 2016 to 2017 included that 16-month, 31-game unbeaten streak.
But by last years 6 Nations he was played out.

Ryan is coming up on 40th game in 15 months.

There was no game last week and there'll be no game next week. Plenty of time for recuperation. Itoje played almost every game for Saracens as well as England. Ryan hasn't been flogged in the same way.

He's one of our most important players already and the only nailed down starter in the second row. We need him playing. Especially in away games.

Clegg wrote: »

There was no game last week and there'll be no game next week. Plenty of time for recuperation. Itoje played almost every game for Saracens as well as England. Ryan hasn't been flogged in the same way.

He's one of our most important players already and the only nailed down starter in the second row. We need him playing. Especially in away games.

I think he’s played allot of rugby for a 22 year old Lock
& it’s ****ALY away! Ireland will bonus point them with Henderson & Nagle!

Looking at the squad named for the Italy match, would guess the following is how Joe has them lined up this week to prepare for it:

Probable team:
Cian Healy, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, Jacob Stockdale, Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Keith Earls, Rob Kearney.

Training team:
Dave Kilcoyne, Sean Cronin, John Ryan, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Jordi Murphy, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Adam Byrne, Tom Farrell, Chris Farrell, Andrew Conway, Jordan Larmour.

Reserves:
Jack McGrath, Niall Scannell, Jack Carty, Caolin Blade.

sydthebeat wrote: »

Surely a game to rest best and give scannel and cronin full reign

Ideally would rest Healy, Best and Sexton.

troyzer wrote: »

You can't rest Sexton. He's undercooked as it is, he has very little recent gametime.

He can do with 20 minutes. He's not injured and looked sharp in his 25 minutes against Scotland.

There is a more pressing need. Carbery needs game time in green desperately and this is the last genuinely competitve match before the RWC.

I don't see much point in Sexton starting this. The Championship is more or less gone anyway.

1. Healy
2. Scannell
3. Furlong
4. Ryan
5. Henderson / roux (if Henderson isn’t fit enough)
6. Pom
7. Sob
8. Conan
9. Murray
10. Sexton
11. Stockdale
12. Bundee
13. Henshaw/ c Farrell / t Farrell (who ever is fit)
14. Larmour
15. Kearney

16. Best
17. Kilcoyne
18. Ryan
19. Dillane / beirne
20. Murphy
21. Cooney / blade
22. Carbery
23. Conway

conf101 wrote: »

Maybe you can write off France, but you don't think Wales is a competitive game?

I meant it's the last genuinely competitvely match where Carbery has an opportunity to start. There's no chance that he starts against France or Wales.

Former Former wrote: »

I don't see huge value in rotating large numbers of players. This is a very, very poor Italy team.

I don't doubt that Cronin would run riot, that Roux would look like a titan of the pack and that Carbery would run the show with guile and elan. What would it really tell us? That these guys can hack it against an XV that would be mid-range in the Pro14? Sure we already know that.

If we really want to test players out, we need to see them playing against France and Wales.

It's a poor Italy team but I think someone like Carbery would get a lot of value playing alongside the first team.

Former Former wrote: »

I don't see huge value in rotating large numbers of players. This is a very, very poor Italy team.

I don't doubt that Cronin would run riot, that Roux would look like a titan of the pack and that Carbery would run the show with guile and elan. What would it really tell us? That these guys can hack it against an XV that would be mid-range in the Pro14? Sure we already know that.

If we really want to test players out, we need to see them playing against France and Wales.

Is there much more benefit in sending out a team of Lions and tearing them apart?
We still have a handful of positions where our depth is either inexperienced or uncertain (no clear hierarchy). This is the kind of game where we can work on that a little.
I'd also like to see some rotation in the France game for what its worth.


edit: Just re-read your post and saw your next reply. Yeah we shouldn't rotate a huge number. but there's surely room for 3 in the starting 15 and maybe another one or two on the bench.