Ireland v France - The 6N decider

First topic message reminder :

With such a strong points advantage if Ireland can just win in Paris then the Championship is there's. Now it's never been a happy hunting ground for Ireland - can they do it?

I think it's there year and I'm going to say yes.

I might get accused of being a big meanie to the Munster fans again?

GunsGerms wrote:Difference with BOD is he can intimidate opponents without getting rattled himself. Its controlled aggression. POM last year would run around like he was going to blow a valve. Big difference.

Are you referring to Ferris' only yellow v Wales a few years ago? It was a pretty ridiculous decision by Barnes that cost Ireland the game. Still dont think it should have been a penalty.

The point is, POM didn't blow a valve and Toner looks like a doormat in comparision.

I said the penalty was awarded incorrectly. I was making the point that Ferris felt guilty about it, but it was POM (the kid of the team), was the who reassured his much more senior playing colleague and Ferris was very open about how he reassured. That just shows his leadership credentials that someone of Ferris's standing would actually look to him at that stage of his career.

Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

http://www.joe.ie/rugby/thank-you-brian-this-adidas-tribute-to-brian-odriscoll-will-leave-you-a-little-teary-eyed/

Nice to see the tributes rolling in but could they not have waited until after Saturday?

Notch wrote:Back to Bizarro World as per usual.

No-one is saying that POM is a bad player or will get dropped[/b]. We're saying IF the world class blindside we've had missing for a while gets back to full fitness- which is a very big if- then he'll come under pressure for his place in the team and there'll be excellent competition for places. Are you really going to rule out changing POM? We shouldn't be in the business of ruling out changing anybody unless there are no viable options.

Sometimes it feels like with the very provincially minded types that they'd rather we had no strength in depth so their favourite players were guaranteed a spot in the 23. We're hopefully working towards a situation where absolutely no-one is guaranteed a start except maybe the Captain, or even if they are there isn't much drop off between them and the guy behind them. We're getting their in the tight five, we're getting there in the back three and if a player of the calibre of Ferris is available for Ireland for the summer tour we'll be getting there in the back row.

Actually, Guns is saying exactly that.

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Im saying Id pick Ferris at his best over POM. Soooooooooo contraversial.

GunsGerms wrote:Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

Well, POM seems to be quite the multitasker. Making all those turnovers and puffing his chest out as well. Bravo POM.

Just think how many turnovers he'd get if he wasn't busy puffing his chest out  

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

Well, POM seems to be quite the multitasker. Making all those turnovers and puffing his chest out as well. Bravo POM.

Id rather he wasnt a multitasker and he just focussed on his role.

GunsGerms wrote:Im saying Id pick Ferris at his best over POM. Soooooooooo contraversial.

I'd say there is a greater chance that Ferris might get used off the bench as an impact sub.

While Ferris, O'Brien & Heislip had a great game against Australia in the world cup (missing Pocock), they had a poor game against Wales (with Warburton).

GunsGerms wrote:Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

    line of the day for me

quinsforever wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

    line of the day for me

Look no disrespect here, but POM played really well in the three games prior to last weekend. He will bring that threat around the breakdown and that sort of physicality that he expresses on the field.

Sin é wrote:

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Dropping all Leinster players would be a might foolhardy at this stage though, Sin.  Even POC would be getting a sick feeling in his gut if that happened.
How come you keep seeing Leinster players where there are none?  I only see Irish players.  The Leinster boys are back in base with that O'Connor fella.

Sin é wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Im saying Id pick Ferris at his best over POM. Soooooooooo contraversial.

I'd say there is a greater chance that Ferris might get used off the bench as an impact sub.

While Ferris, O'Brien & Heislip had a great game against Australia in the world cup (missing Pocock), they had a poor game against Wales (with Warburton).

You may be right.

Sin é wrote:

Notch wrote:Back to Bizarro World as per usual.

No-one is saying that POM is a bad player or will get dropped[/b]. We're saying IF the world class blindside we've had missing for a while gets back to full fitness- which is a very big if- then he'll come under pressure for his place in the team and there'll be excellent competition for places. Are you really going to rule out changing POM? We shouldn't be in the business of ruling out changing anybody unless there are no viable options.

Sometimes it feels like with the very provincially minded types that they'd rather we had no strength in depth so their favourite players were guaranteed a spot in the 23. We're hopefully working towards a situation where absolutely no-one is guaranteed a start except maybe the Captain, or even if they are there isn't much drop off between them and the guy behind them. We're getting their in the tight five, we're getting there in the back three and if a player of the calibre of Ferris is available for Ireland for the summer tour we'll be getting there in the back row.

Actually, Guns is saying exactly that.

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Your worried about that famous Leinster player, er, Stephen Ferris getting in ahead of O'Mahony. I get that. But it's not a coincidence that the Leinster Academy is lightyears ahead of the Ulster and Munster Academy and Leinster players dominate the age-group sides. It's been that way for several years now and that trend was already seeping into the senior national team under Declan Kidney. They just have the largest of contingent of quality Irish players, there's little doubt about it. Not that there aren't some guys from the other provinces who are always going to be in if fit; Best, O'Connell, Murray, Bowe, O'Mahony (for now). As guys like Henderson, Jackson, Marshall, Henshaw, Payne etc. establish themselves Leinsters representation will recede a little bit.

I remember earlier in the tournament you went through every player you thought should be in the squad ahead of the current options and maybe at best some were 50/50 calls. Thats it. There's no smoking gun anyone can hold up and say 'Oh, he definitely should be in the team'. And the team is in the middle of a period of improvement- if Leinster players getting picked wins us the Six Nations, I'm all for it. Did you get a warm glow last year when we finished 5th because there was exactly one more Munster player starting in our Round 5 game than there is this year?

I've got to correct Guns on O'Mahony as well, because this idea he just runs around with a big red face and people sing his praises for it is bull. He's a great player. He's been probably the most effective back rower of the Six Nations. I would have him second in line for the Captaincy and I would back him to start and perform well against any test side. But, if a guy who has power in the contact area becomes available we have to look at getting them involved as much as possible because we lack real power athletes, which probably means there will be a degree of rotation.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Dropping all Leinster players would be a might foolheardy at this stage though, Sin.  Even POC would be getting a sick feeling in his gut if that happened.
How come you keep seeing Leinster players where there are none?  I only see Irish players.  The Leinster boys are back in base with that O'Connor fella.

I reckon if we win the 6 nations it will be because Pom plays out of his skin. However if we lose its because Zebo wasnt picked. All agree?

Notch wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Notch wrote:Back to Bizarro World as per usual.

No-one is saying that POM is a bad player or will get dropped[/b]. We're saying IF the world class blindside we've had missing for a while gets back to full fitness- which is a very big if- then he'll come under pressure for his place in the team and there'll be excellent competition for places. Are you really going to rule out changing POM? We shouldn't be in the business of ruling out changing anybody unless there are no viable options.

Sometimes it feels like with the very provincially minded types that they'd rather we had no strength in depth so their favourite players were guaranteed a spot in the 23. We're hopefully working towards a situation where absolutely no-one is guaranteed a start except maybe the Captain, or even if they are there isn't much drop off between them and the guy behind them. We're getting their in the tight five, we're getting there in the back three and if a player of the calibre of Ferris is available for Ireland for the summer tour we'll be getting there in the back row.

Actually, Guns is saying exactly that.

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Your worried about that famous Leinster player, er, Stephen Ferris getting in ahead of O'Mahony.

No, I'm not. POM is more or less undroppable.

GunsGerms wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

From what I can see, if you are a Leinster player you are more or less guaranteed a start in the present set up.

Dropping all Leinster players would be a might foolheardy at this stage though, Sin.  Even POC would be getting a sick feeling in his gut if that happened.
How come you keep seeing Leinster players where there are none?  I only see Irish players.  The Leinster boys are back in base with that O'Connor fella.

I reckon if we win the 6 nations it will be because Pom plays out of his skin. However if we lose its because Zebo wasnt picked. All agree?

We lost the England game because Schmidt didn't trust his bench and Dave Kearney's lack of pace and no cutting edge in the backs.

quinsforever wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Why doormat? Is that usually what someone like ROG was called because he was accused of not being able to tackle? Toner has been one of our top tacklers. I dont get it.

You dont see guy like Launchbury or Parling puffing out their chests all the time but like Toner they are highly effective.

No one is saying POM isnt a nice guy. Im sure he is but I can never understand why people think that just because you belt out the words of the anthem with uber pride and motor around the field all day with a red face that makes you a really good player.

    line of the day for me

If POM annoys the opposition even half as much as he annoys Guns, we have a winner  

Sin é wrote:

We lost the England game because Schmidt didn't trust his bench and Dave Kearney's lack of pace and no cutting edge in the backs.

Don't be coy now. You can mention Zebo, Sin.

So Schmidt who wants POM, who really was glad he was back for the French game, he's a coach who needs lessons in the fine art of bench use? From who? And Zebo was the missing link?

Fine. Both noted.

See, thats the problem. Undroppable? Once you have guys who are undroppable thats a problem... fair enough if they are a once in a generation player, but we have a few guys who are as good as O'Mahony is. He'll probably hold onto his place but there's no part of me wants him to be undroppable.

Notch wrote:See, thats the problem. Undroppable? Once you have guys who are undroppable thats a problem... fair enough if they are a once in a generation player, but we have a few guys who are as good as O'Mahony is. He'll probably hold onto his place but there's no part of me wants him to be undroppable.

Don't get your knickers in a twist. He will be undroppable as long as he continues to play as he is now.

Why?

Sin é wrote:

If POM annoys the opposition even half as much as he annoys Guns, we have a winner  

  Gotta hand that one to you Sin.

SecretFly wrote:Relax whocares,

Have some of No 7&1/2's   ...and tell us all about the secret French gameplan they have prepared for us.

Popcorn wont do am afraid. If you have some peyotl I might be able to give you some hindsight of what's going on in PSA mind.

His all round game, his leadership and his ability to turnover ball and his ability to annoy Guns.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

If POM annoys the opposition even half as much as he annoys Guns, we have a winner  

  Gotta hand that one to you Sin.  

  

Notch wrote:
I've got to correct Guns on O'Mahony as well, because this idea he just runs around with a big red face and people sing his praises for it is bull. He's a great player. He's been probably the most effective back rower of the Six Nations. I would have him second in line for the Captaincy and I would back him to start and perform well against any test side. But, if a guy who has power in the contact area becomes available we have to look at getting them involved as much as possible because we lack real power athletes, which probably means there will be a degree of rotation.

Im not saying that that is all POM offers but just that I feel some people see that and see it as a strength and as a result gush over POMs performances. I dont really. I have said all along he has played very well, better this season than ever. I would have about 4/5 guys ahead of him for captain. Best, Sexton, Jamie and this technicoloured wonderpants, POC etc. for sure.

Sin é wrote:

Notch wrote:See, thats the problem. Undroppable? Once you have guys who are undroppable thats a problem... fair enough if they are a once in a generation player, but we have a few guys who are as good as O'Mahony is. He'll probably hold onto his place but there's no part of me wants him to be undroppable.

Don't get your knickers in a twist. He will be undroppable as long as he continues to play as he is now.

The only player who has played for Ireland, in the last decade, who was undropable was BOD - not POC, not Ferris, not Hayes, not Wallace.
Hard to see any of them being droped but they were not undropable.

Looking at the backrow, if Ferris comes back all guns blazing, who of the undropable Ferris, Heaslip, SOB, POM gets dropped

I do sometimes get it when outside fans tune in to specifically Irish threads and find them all over the place but generally entertaining to read.

"Jamie and this technicoloured wonderpants"  You just don get players described so hue-esquely on other threads.

I want to say Joe Schmidt is clearly a genius of the highest order in the team he has picked for tomorrow.

Guns you must have wet your pants over Ferris coming back...another angle on POM...

Ferris isnt good enough and I wouldnt pick him over O'Mahoney. Also luckily with Copeland coming through we have a ball carrying No.8 who can actually give us go forward ball (plus he isnt that old which went against coughlan). Old J'aime stats showed he had a good game (didnt notice him myself) but was lucky Sergio wasnt around to give him his yearly spanking.

ME-109 wrote:Guns you must have wet your pants over Ferris coming back...another angle on POM...

Ferris isnt good enough and I wouldnt pick him over O'Mahoney. Also luckily with Copeland coming through we have a ball carrying No.8 who can actually give us go forward ball (plus he isnt that old which went against coughlan). Old J'aime stats showed he had a good game (didnt notice him myself) but was lucky Sergio wasnt around to give him his yearly spanking.

Yes Ferris is one of my favorite players of all time and probably one of Ireland's best ever back row players.

I'm an England supporter but I'd actually rather Ireland win tomorrow. I normally root for France but they are pretty dull, and just as a player, I'd like to see BOD get a worthy send off. I think Ireland are much better than this French team, but I don't want to jinx it so I'm going to say France will win by a tiny margin!

geoff998rugby wrote:

Sin é wrote:

Notch wrote:See, thats the problem. Undroppable? Once you have guys who are undroppable thats a problem... fair enough if they are a once in a generation player, but we have a few guys who are as good as O'Mahony is. He'll probably hold onto his place but there's no part of me wants him to be undroppable.

Don't get your knickers in a twist. He will be undroppable as long as he continues to play as he is now.

The only player who has played for Ireland, in the last decade, who was undropable was BOD - not POC, not Ferris, not Hayes, not Wallace.
Hard to see any of them being droped but they were not undropable.

Looking at the backrow, if Ferris comes back all guns blazing, who of the undropable Ferris, Heaslip, SOB, POM gets dropped

Are you saying that no matter what BOD's form was, he wouldn't have been dropped.

Heislip has been undroppable so far (he went balistic when he was rotated once).

geoff998rugby wrote:

Looking at the backrow, if Ferris comes back all guns blazing, who of the undropable Ferris, Heaslip, SOB, POM gets dropped

Why 'drop'?  If they all have qualities that are second best to no other colleague then that's when Schmidt feels ready to 'rotate'.

I'll say it again.  One of the most constant calls back in the grim days of later Kidney years was the one that stated we shouldn't have a side filled with 15 undroppables.  It was said we should have a genuine squad.  
What is a genuine squad?  Something to look at on a bench that might never get used or something we actually see on a week on, week off basis, or competiton on, competition off basis.  What gives the right to certain players to expect long meaty International careers with many caps and all the fame if there are players with Genuine equal talents that might get and perhaps deserve the honour of caps too?

Schmidt says he doesn't like the word 'rotate' and so be it, but he knows he likes what it does because it allows him to test for even more improvement.  He will always be testing for more.  He's a man who is never satisfied.  And I like that intensity of interest in him about the theories of the game and making the most of what he's got.  He's stuck to his deck in this competition because I think even he is surprised that he's already playing for a title.  So he's sticking for pragmatic's sake.

But if there are players with different talents yet with equal ability to an International level, then why not use the idea of rotation and keep the opposition guessing not only about gameplans but also about the players we might use to inflict them.  

That's the ideal that I hope would be a general approach to our genuine squad formation.  Of course the truth will be that in time though, single distinct players will prove more effective than others and will be readied with a mind towards WC and beyond.  But we're far too early into Schmidt's time to have many undroppables yet.

Sin é wrote:His all round game, his leadership and his ability to turnover ball and his ability to annoy Guns.

Sure, but that doesn't make him undroppable because the other guys are also pretty handy.

Sin é wrote:

Heislip has been undroppable so far (he went balistic when he was rotated once).

That's post traumatic stress from the war. You have to take him sensitively...those flashbacks destroy his rhythm.

Fly, Schmidt has done very little rotation in the back 3. He hasn't even given Fergus McFadden a start. He has stuck with something like 18 starters with no rotation. Only changes came because of injury.

Added to that, some players on the bench got only a few minutes - i.e., Isaac Boss got on for 1 minute in two games. Other one he got about 5 mins.

for those who are interested , here's the line for the U20 game

14 march 2014 Stade Maurice Trélut (Tarbes), France – Irlande

K.O. 20h55 (live on France 4)
ref : Lloyd LINTON (Eco)

FRANCE -20 : Justes – Hamdaoui, Mignot, Bouvier, Blanc – (o) Fajardo, (m) Serin – Cros (cap), Camara, Thomas – Singer, Iturria – Raynaud, Ruffenach, Ishchenko

subs : Ardiaca, Amrouni, Courcoul, Lambey, Lespinasse, Lambey, Daubagna, Roux, Fontaine

IRLANDE -20 : Kelleher – Wootton, Goggin, Robb, Byrne – (o) McKeon, (m) Cullen - O'Donoghue, Moloney, Timmins – Molony, O'Brien (cap) – Burke, Abbott, Dooley
subs : McNulty, Coulson, Heffernan, Gardiner, Taggart, McCarthy, Byrne, Busby

1st GS o nthe cards for France U20

Notch wrote:

Sin é wrote:His all round game, his leadership and his ability to turnover ball and his ability to annoy Guns.

Sure, but that doesn't make him undroppable because the other guys are also pretty handy.

I think POM has the edge on when it comes to leadership. None of them can turnover ball like he can. Ferris & SOB are a bit too alike and that is why in a team with a ground hog like Warburton, they didn't work well together.

Sin é wrote:Fly, Schmidt has done very little rotation in the back 3. He hasn't even given Fergus McFadden a start. He has stuck with something like 18 starters with no rotation. Only changes came because of injury.

Added to that, some players on the bench got only a few minutes - i.e., Isaac Boss got on for 1 minute in two games. Other one he got about 5 mins.

I'm after saying he hasn't done much rotation in this competition - because it became quite serious quite quickly, so he's into Play-off mode practically from the second game in.

Has he rotated?  No.  Did I expect him to?  I didn't expect us to be in line for a 6N so yes, I expected him to give more guys a shot (not a stampede of them but a few more than he has used to date)  He himself alluded more than enough at the idea that he probably intended to try out more people himself but.. it got serious quickly and obligations to the title (and IRFU) meant that his opportunities to tempt fate and test more were sliced.

But I believe that if we do win in France and win the title (or even if we don't) he'll feel more free now to add other ingredients to the team to see will it weaken or strengthen them.  We gotta have more tried options leading into next year than the present 23.

You see there are droppables droppables, droppable undroppables and undroppable undroppables....

rodders wrote:You see there are droppables droppables, droppable undroppables and undroppable undroppables....

You forgot the Undroppable droppables... (of which I suspect we might have a few.)

ME-109 wrote:

rodders wrote:You see there are droppables droppables, droppable undroppables and undroppable undroppables....

You forgot the Undroppable droppables... (of which I suspect we might have a few.)

  

No point argueing about the best backrow. SOB, Ferris, POM and Heaslip are all good players and guess what, they're all different from one another. Schmidt will pick a horses for courses selection I'm sure. Does he want a more technical or physical? Well the options are there. Henry has showed that he is international class and Ruddock and Henderson are going to get better.


Moving forward I think Ferris will be used as an impact sub for a few reasons. 1, He is very physical and coming on as teams tire would really show that. 2, Schmidt likes impact subs as seen with his current selections. 3, The main reasons is Ferris' injury record isn't the best so a shorter time on the pitch could prolong his career.


Moving on to the match, surely its Irelands to lose. France are a mess and no matter how much anyone talks them up this is about Irelands ability to perform on the day. If Ireland perform as they have been doing I think they'll have advantages in too many areas for France to win.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:Fly, Schmidt has done very little rotation in the back 3. He hasn't even given Fergus McFadden a start. He has stuck with something like 18 starters with no rotation. Only changes came because of injury.

Added to that, some players on the bench got only a few minutes - i.e., Isaac Boss got on for 1 minute in two games. Other one he got about 5 mins.

I'm after saying he hasn't done much rotation in this competition - because it became quite serious quite quickly, so he's into Play-off mode practically from the second game in.

Has he rotated?  No.  Did I expect him to?  I didn't expect us to be in line for a 6N so yes, I expected him to give more guys a shot (not a stampede of them but a few more than he has used to date)  He himself alluded more than enough at the idea that he probably intended to try out more people himself but.. it got serious quickly and obligations to the title (and IRFU) meant that his opportunities to tempt fate and test more were sliced.

But I believe that if we do win in France and win the title (or even if we don't) he'll feel more free now to add other ingredients to the team to see will it weaken or strengthen them.  We gotta have more tried options leading into next year than the present 23.

Ah he has Fly. He rotated, Boss, Zebo, Jackson, TOD, Jones & Ryan out of contention to play in this competition, and he rotated Ruddock, Madigan & Murphy in.

In fairness to him though, he is bring Robbie Henshaw to France for the spin.

rodders wrote:You see there are droppables droppables, droppable undroppables and undroppable undroppables....

Weazel war-mongering non-commital words there, rodders. Don't worry, you're not going to be attacked as a hater.... just tell us straight. Which is POM?

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:Fly, Schmidt has done very little rotation in the back 3. He hasn't even given Fergus McFadden a start. He has stuck with something like 18 starters with no rotation. Only changes came because of injury.

Added to that, some players on the bench got only a few minutes - i.e., Isaac Boss got on for 1 minute in two games. Other one he got about 5 mins.

I'm after saying he hasn't done much rotation in this competition - because it became quite serious quite quickly, so he's into Play-off mode practically from the second game in.

Has he rotated?  No.  Did I expect him to?  I didn't expect us to be in line for a 6N so yes, I expected him to give more guys a shot (not a stampede of them but a few more than he has used to date)  He himself alluded more than enough at the idea that he probably intended to try out more people himself but.. it got serious quickly and obligations to the title (and IRFU) meant that his opportunities to tempt fate and test more were sliced.

But I believe that if we do win in France and win the title (or even if we don't) he'll feel more free now to add other ingredients to the team to see will it weaken or strengthen them.  We gotta have more tried options leading into next year than the present 23.

Ah he has Fly. He rotated, Boss, Zebo, Jackson, TOD, Jones & Ryan out of contention to play in this competition, and he rotated Ruddock, Madigan & Murphy in.

In fairness to him though, he is bring Robbie Henshaw to France for the spin.

You forgot Marshall...

profitius wrote:No point argueing about the best backrow. SOB, Ferris, POM and Heaslip are all good players and guess what, they're all different from one another. Schmidt will pick a horses for courses selection I'm sure. Does he want a more technical or physical? Well the options are there. Henry has showed that he is international class and Ruddock and Henderson are going to get better.


Moving forward I think Ferris will be used as an impact sub for a few reasons. 1, He is very physical and coming on as teams tire would really show that. 2, Schmidt likes impact subs as seen with his current selections. 3, The main reasons is Ferris' injury record isn't the best so a shorter time on the pitch could prolong his career.


Moving on to the match, surely its Irelands to lose. France are a mess and no matter how much anyone talks them up this is about Irelands ability to perform on the day. If Ireland perform as they have been doing I think they'll have advantages in too many areas for France to win.

I don't know Fly. We couldn't beat them for the last two years even though they were contenders for the wooden spoon. This year, despite the poor performances, they are pulling it out of the bag and are still in contention for the championship.

Its not unusual for them to lose to England, yet this year they pulled it off when they were least likely to.