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Ireland Team Talk XII: Farrell's First Fifteen

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Comments

  • #7652
    sprucemoose
    Registered Users Posts: 2,193 ✭✭✭sprucemoose


    Deleted User wrote: »
    My research leads me to believe: He's fat and old

    according to wikipedia hes 31 and 98kg, which is apparently 4kg less than stockdale and theyre both the same height.


    so try again


  • #7653
    Paul Smeenus
    Registered Users Posts: 4,315 ✭✭✭Paul Smeenus


    sprucemoose wrote: »
    according to wikipedia hes 31 and 98kg, which is apparently 4kg less than stockdale and theyre both the same height.


    so try again


    Muscle weighs more than fat.


  • #7654
    connachta
    Registered Users Posts: 7,963 ✭✭✭connachta


    sprucemoose wrote: »
    according to wikipedia hes 31 and 98kg, which is apparently 4kg less than stockdale and theyre both the same height.


    so try again


    So he's old

    Let's do a Rob Kearney again and bring a 33 y/o FB to RWC it worked so well


  • #7655
    thomond2006
    Registered Users Posts: 45,433 ✭✭✭✭thomond2006


    There's enough available options that I probably wouldn't call up Zebo at this point.


  • #7656
    sprucemoose
    Registered Users Posts: 2,193 ✭✭✭sprucemoose


    Paul Smeenus wrote: »
    Muscle weighs more than fat.
    youre confusing weight (mass technically) with density
    connachta wrote: »
    So he's old
    Let's do a Rob Kearney again and bring a 33 y/o FB to RWC it worked so well
    in fairness, a 40 year old zebo would still be more of an attacking threat than a 20 year old kearney


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  • #7657
    Neil3030
    Registered Users Posts: 16,981 ✭✭✭✭Neil3030


    Forget the Ireland squad, is Zebo eligible for a Lions call up, if Williams or Hogg get crocked?


  • #7658
    Podge_irl
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 25,254 Mod ✭✭✭✭Podge_irl


    sprucemoose wrote: »
    according to wikipedia hes 31 and 98kg, which is apparently 4kg less than stockdale and theyre both the same height.


    so try again

    That's 10kg more than me and I guarantee I'm fatter.


  • #7659
    Former Former Former
    Registered Users Posts: 5,444 ✭✭✭Former Former Former


    Neil3030 wrote: »
    Forget the Ireland squad, is Zebo eligible for a Lions call up, if Williams or Hogg get crocked?

    He is eligible.

    I can't see any way he'd be called up, however


  • #7660
    nerd69
    Registered Users Posts: 9,632 ✭✭✭nerd69


    Former Former Former wrote: »
    He is eligible.

    I can't see any way he'd be called up, however

    Best back available he's not even a fullback he's made the position his own he could be brought in as a zeback


  • #7661
    lawrencesummers
    Registered Users Posts: 8,471 ✭✭✭lawrencesummers


    At this pint in his Irish career when compared to this point in Caelan Doris’s Irish career I’m of the opinion that Gav Coombes is far superior.

    Now let me qualify this just so you all don’t have a meltdown.

    Before Doris got capped for Ireland Im mature enough to say I was ignorant to his ability, I doubted his selection and was proven very wrong. He wasn’t as established a first team club player as many internationals in pivotal positions are, but he got his chance and he took it.

    This season coombes has shown himself to be a top class Pro 14 league player, and his time in European games has shown he is well able for it. As an uncapped international when you compare both careers coombes is far ahead of Doris.

    Now maybe coombes has hit his ceiling, maybe Doris is going to improve from here and gav isn’t. Maybe I win the lotto next week, Who knows interesting times ahead.

    It’s clear the Munster mgt see him as CJ’s successor, hopefully the Irish mgt have the balls to reward the player who has easily had the best debut season in league and cup for a long time.

    I look forward to seeing coombes at the back of the scrum at some stage over the summer.

    What a season he has had.


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  • #7662
    Burkie1203
    Registered Users Posts: 11,121 ✭✭✭✭Burkie1203


    lawrencesummers wrote: »
    At this pint in his Irish career when compared to this point in Caelan Doris’s Irish career I’m of the opinion that Gav Coombes is far superior.

    Now let me qualify this just so you all don’t have a meltdown.

    Before Doris got capped for Ireland Im mature enough to say I was ignorant to his ability, I doubted his selection and was proven very wrong. He wasn’t as established a first team club player as many internationals in pivotal positions are, but he got his chance and he took it.

    This season coombes has shown himself to be a top class Pro 14 league player, and his time in European games has shown he is well able for it. As an uncapped international when you compare both careers coombes is far ahead of Doris.

    Now maybe coombes has hit his ceiling, maybe Doris is going to improve from here and gav isn’t. Maybe I win the lotto next week, Who knows interesting times ahead.

    It’s clear the Munster mgt see him as CJ’s successor, hopefully the Irish mgt have the balls to reward the player who has easily had the best debut season in league and cup for a long time.

    I look forward to seeing coombes at the back of the scrum at some stage over the summer.

    What a season he has had.

    Doris and Coombes at 6 and 8
    VDF at 7

    Bench is interesting. Connors maybe.


  • #7663
    Clegg
    Registered Users Posts: 16,668 ✭✭✭✭Clegg


    I mean Coombes is good and I probably agree that at Pro 14 level he's impressed more than Doris. But the latter has has proven himself at a higher level. Doris was Ireland's top performer in the Autumn Nations thingy and would have been our starting 8 in the Six Nations but for injury. And fwiw Doris has been Leinster's best player against Dragons tonight and consistently been one of our best since his return from injury a few weeks ago.

    Good problem to have for Farrell or whomever actually coaches Ireland in the summer tests. We'll probably see Coombes and Doris combine in the same backrow.


  • #7664
    lawrencesummers
    Registered Users Posts: 8,471 ✭✭✭lawrencesummers


    Burkie1203 wrote: »
    Doris and Coombes at 6 and 8
    VDF at 7

    Bench is interesting. Connors maybe.

    Not sure how much coombes can do at 6, I think 8 might suit him more, but that’s a backrow what should be able for anything Japan or the US have.


  • #7665
    lawrencesummers
    Registered Users Posts: 8,471 ✭✭✭lawrencesummers


    Clegg wrote: »
    I mean Coombes is good and I probably agree that at Pro 14 level he's impressed more than Doris. But the latter has has proven himself at a higher level. Doris was Ireland's top performer in the Autumn Nations thingy and would have been our starting 8 in the Six Nations but for injury. And fwiw Doris has been Leinster's best player against Dragons tonight and consistently been one of our best since his return from injury a few weeks ago.

    Good problem to have for Farrell or whomever actually coaches Ireland in the summer tests. We'll probably see Coombes and Doris combine in the same backrow.



    The latter has had the chance to prove himself at a higher level (and deservedly so)

    There is no question about how high doris’s ceiling is, the interesting Thing to watch is how high coombes ceiling is.


  • #7666
    clsmooth
    Registered Users Posts: 3,553 ✭✭✭clsmooth


    Coombes is a beast. Seen him miss a few tackles though which is a concern when you get to international level. One notable one was against Racing in the Champions Cup this season. I assume that’s why he hasn’t got his first cap yet.


  • #7667
    Locke_Lamora
    Registered Users Posts: 1,306 ✭✭✭Locke_Lamora


    lawrencesummers wrote: »
    At this pint in his Irish career when compared to this point in Caelan Doris’s Irish career I’m of the opinion that Gav Coombes is far superior.

    Now let me qualify this just so you all don’t have a meltdown.

    Before Doris got capped for Ireland Im mature enough to say I was ignorant to his ability, I doubted his selection and was proven very wrong. He wasn’t as established a first team club player as many internationals in pivotal positions are, but he got his chance and he took it.

    This season coombes has shown himself to be a top class Pro 14 league player, and his time in European games has shown he is well able for it. As an uncapped international when you compare both careers coombes is far ahead of Doris.

    Now maybe coombes has hit his ceiling, maybe Doris is going to improve from here and gav isn’t. Maybe I win the lotto next week, Who knows interesting times ahead.

    It’s clear the Munster mgt see him as CJ’s successor, hopefully the Irish mgt have the balls to reward the player who has easily had the best debut season in league and cup for a long time.

    I look forward to seeing coombes at the back of the scrum at some stage over the summer.

    What a season he has had.

    Think it's worth pointing out that Doris essentially jumped straight from u20 to senior international whereas Coombes is breaking through at 23, so their careers as 'uncapped internationals' are difficult to compare.

    Still feel that Doris is the much more complete player right now, then there's Conan who has been playing some of his best rugby for Ireland this year. Think Coombes definitely needs to be given minutes though, he brings size to the pack. Not too sure Conan or Doris have ever really excelled at 6 though so I'd prefer to play Bierne there probably and rotate the others.


  • #7668
    The Parish King
    Registered Users Posts: 168 ✭✭The Parish King


    Sounds as though the squad will be announced later this morning.

    Hopefully the intention is to give the newer internationals who look to have very high ceilings (e.g. Kelleher, Baird, Casey and Doris), a chance to familiarise themselves with international rugby and even take on some leadership duties.

    From a new cap perspective, I’m most excited to see Coombes, Hume and Balacoune - hopefully all three make the cut.

    It’s also a chance to blood a new young 10, but I don’t think any of the options have really shown the form of 6 months ago due to injuries and the likes. I’d expect Healy or Byrne might get named in the squad without playing a huge amount, which seems like the right call as they’ll probably learn more from being in camp rather than 10 mins against a tired US side.


  • #7669
    Poorside
    Registered Users Posts: 2,098 ✭✭✭Poorside


    Decent squad, delighted for Paul Boyle, kind of scratching my head as to my PoM is there


  • #7670
    thomond2006
    Registered Users Posts: 45,433 ✭✭✭✭thomond2006


    Dave Heffernan (Connacht/Buccaneers) 5 caps
    Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 21 caps
    Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 11 caps

    Ed Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 4 caps
    Peter Dooley (Leinster/Lansdowne) uncapped
    Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 43 caps

    Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 14 caps
    Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) uncapped
    John Ryan (Munster/Cork Constitution) 23 caps

    Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 3 caps
    Ultan Dillane (Connacht/Corinthians) 18 caps
    Ross Molony (Leinster/UCD) uncapped
    James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 35 caps
    Fineen Wycherley (Munster/Young Munster) uncapped

    Paul Boyle (Connacht/Lansdowne) uncapped
    Gavin Coombes (Munster/Young Munster) uncapped
    Caelan Doris (Leinster/UCD) 7 caps
    Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 75 caps
    Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge) uncapped
    Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 31 caps

    Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 1 cap
    Caolin Blade (Connacht/Galwegians) uncapped
    Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 9 caps

    Billy Burns (Ulster) 6 caps
    Harry Byrne (Leinster/Lansdowne) uncapped
    Joey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 22 caps

    Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 4 caps
    Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 34 caps
    Tom Daly (Connacht/Lansdowne) uncapped
    Chris Farrell (Munster/Young Munster) 14 caps

    Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 24 caps
    Shane Daly (Munster/Cork Constitution) 1 cap
    Will Addison (Ulster/Enniskillen) 4 caps
    Robert Baloucoune (Ulster/Enniskillen) uncapped
    Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 11 caps
    Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 29 caps
    Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan) 34 caps

    https://www.irishrugby.ie/2021/06/14/ireland-squad-confirmed-for-vodafone-summer-series/


  • #7671
    stephen_n
    Registered Users Posts: 12,920 ✭✭✭✭stephen_n


    Few interesting calls, probably more for depth and experience bringing in Dooley and Moloney. No Hume is a bit disappointing but Daly probably deserves a spot in the squads after the season he has had. Lots of uncapped players, with a good balance of experience, can’t ask more than that.

    No Ross Byrne is a bit of an odd one. Don’t think Carberry deserves to be there based on his performances since coming back.


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  • #7672
    lawrencesummers
    Registered Users Posts: 8,471 ✭✭✭lawrencesummers


    Well done Tom Daly, Fineen and Blade.
    Well deserved call ups.

    Pity it’s only two games they are due to play. Maybe a third fixture should have been arranged to give more gametime against the like of the English or other home nations.


  • #7673
    yerrahbah
    Registered Users Posts: 1,366 ✭✭✭yerrahbah


    Wasn't expecting such an inexperienced squad.


  • #7674
    OneLungDavy
    Registered Users Posts: 367 ✭✭OneLungDavy


    POM is the only other 7 in the squad apart from VDF. Thought Penny might have been given a chance but POM hasn't played a lot recently for Ireland. Glad to see Blade included, still no McGrath is interesting.


  • #7675
    Richie_Rich89
    Registered Users Posts: 1,066 ✭✭✭Richie_Rich89


    Thornbury, Josh Murphy and Hume are the ones I think should be in there. Wycherley's a bit small for lock at international level, but would make a good blindside.

    If they don't deploy Wycherley at 6 then there's a real lack of a big, hard 6 in the mould of a Jerome Kaino. Boyle, Coombes, Doris and Timoney are all better used as footballing 8s and O'Mahony should stick to openside.

    John Ryan and McCloskey seem like dead end selections a bit. Is Martin Moore injured? Based on how little McCloskey has actually been used over the years, I think it would have been better to consider Farrell as a 12 and have Hume in there.


  • #7676
    Clegg
    Registered Users Posts: 16,668 ✭✭✭✭Clegg


    stephen_n wrote: »
    Few interesting calls, probably more for depth and experience bringing in Dooley and Moloney. No Hume is a bit disappointing but Daly probably deserves a spot in the squads after the season he has had. Lots of uncapped players, with a good balance of experience, can’t ask more than that.

    No Ross Byrne is a bit of an odd one. Don’t think Carberry deserves to be there based on his performances since coming back.

    I think there's a good chance that Ross Byrne is carrying a knock, but had to play as every other 10 at Leinster was unavailable. He needs some time off.

    As for Carbery, I think they're desperate to give him as many chances as possible. Was earmarked as Sextons successor a long time ago. Makes sense that they don't want to abandon that right now. He may eventually improve with more time at 10.


  • #7677
    Bazzo
    Registered Users Posts: 7,047 ✭✭✭Bazzo


    Delighted for Blade, Boyle and Daly from a Connacht perspective, good form being rewarded. Boyle especially in such a competitive position, but has really put his hand up.


  • #7678
    molloyjh
    Registered Users Posts: 24,745 ✭✭✭✭molloyjh


    No Hume is the one that jumps out to me. I'd have had him as a more like for like replacement for Ringrose. That said Addison can fill that role too if need be.

    Is EOS injured? LH is looking more and more like a problem position ATM.

    Otherwise little to argue with in that squad. Dooley, O'Toole, Molony, Whycherley, Boyle, Coombes, Timoney, Blade, H Byrne, T Daly and Balacoune all brought in with E Byrne, Baird, Doris and Casey all there to build on their experience. Plenty of new or almost new faces.


  • #7679
    Former Former Former
    Registered Users Posts: 5,444 ✭✭✭Former Former Former


    Wow, did not expect quite such an inexperienced squad, but great to see it.

    Timoney, Dooley and Wycherley really jump out as surprise picks.


  • #7680
    Jump_In_Jack
    Registered Users Posts: 3,606 ✭✭✭Jump_In_Jack


    molloyjh wrote: »
    No Hume is the one that jumps out to me. I'd have had him as a more like for like replacement for Ringrose. That said Addison can fill that role too if need be.

    Is EOS injured? LH is looking more and more like a problem position ATM.

    Otherwise little to argue with in that squad. Dooley, O'Toole, Molony, Whycherley, Boyle, Coombes, Timoney, Blade, H Byrne, T Daly and Balacoune all brought in with E Byrne, Baird, Doris and Casey all there to build on their experience. Plenty of new or almost new faces.

    Shane Daly is there


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  • #7681
    Clegg
    Registered Users Posts: 16,668 ✭✭✭✭Clegg


    I wouldn't have brought Conway. But I suppose there aren't many wings around who have out their hand up recently. Would have liked to see Jimmy O'Briens form get rewarded, but he's a 15 rather than a wing and we already have two better fullbacks in there.


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