Andrew Trimble 6th best winger in Ireland?

I am sure many of you have heard this over the 6 Nations but if he is does that mean he would be out of the summer barring injuries.

Here is why I think he is under rated by many

Defense - one of the best defense wingers Ireland have and is strong in the tackle rarely losing ground or player
                 Whenever I see him play he never seems to be caught out of position like others do

Attack - he is not Zebo or Bowe who do long runs but he often breaks the gainline and often is next to a runner for the pass
              He will rare cough up turnover aswell

Workrate - does what he does leaving nothing out there

So in the summer should Trimble be our starting winger or should he fall back below others?
For ulster would be consider him in your top two with everone back?

I do think Trimble is an example of alot of players/positions who can feel luck/unlucky to be left out of the squad with such depth in the Provinces

Toner is another who did well but may fall behind McCarthy and Ryan and what about the backrow when ferris and O'Brien come back.

Happy Paddy's Day

Trimble is a starter for me. However summer tour should be for emerging talent like Zebo and Gilroy imo.

Summer will be tricky

A) do we build with team unity bringing in a couple of new faces

B) do we give the main players the summer off as summer 2015 is to short

I am sure many of you have heard this over the 6 Nations but if he is does that mean he would be out of the summer barring injuries.

Read this sentence 5 times and still not sure what you mean?

So in the summer should Trimble be our starting winger or should he fall back below others?

JS will try different combinations in the summer you would think, but Trimble has shown what he can do and should be the man in possession of the shirt for now.

I have a question.
Did Trimble not back himself in the passage of play leading up to Sexton's 2nd try or was he trying to give BOD the ultimate send off?
He looked to me like he would have been in under the posts. The French defender had already turned his attention to BOD in expectation of the pass.

I have no idea who will play in the summer, wing is the most competitive position in Ireland with Bowe, Zebo, Earls, Trimble, McFadden, Kearney, Fitzgerald, Gilroy amongst others all pushing for two spots. Injuries will happen and players will go in and out of form between now and the end of the season.

One thing is for certain, Trimble was arguably Irelands player of the tournament and was absolutely awesome against France. Ignoring the try he scored and other he set up his work rate and commitment was incredible by any standard.

san wrote:I have a question.
Did Trimble not back himself in the passage of play leading up to Sexton's 2nd try or was he trying to give BOD the ultimate send off?
He looked to me like he would have been in under the posts. The French defender had already turned his attention to BOD in expectation of the pass.

Yeah I think he was being unselfish and would have thought BOD could have made it but if he'd have dummied he'd have scored I believe. Thankfully O'Connell ran the length of the field to secure the ball. It was a great try none the less, but it would have been great if BOD had the legs to get there.

San I mean pundits/reporters have said Ireland were playing with their 5th and 6th choice wingers.

If this is true most tours you take 4 wings at most, leaving trimble out of the squad. He is also covers less positions than other wings.


I think JS might keep looking at people for the summer and AIs and than pick the squad for the 6nations and wont really change for the WC.


What about toner, did he do enough or is he behind Ryan and McCarthy

san wrote:

I have a question.
Did Trimble not back himself in the passage of play leading up to Sexton's 2nd try or was he trying to give BOD the ultimate send off?
He looked to me like he would have been in under the posts. The French defender had already turned his attention to BOD in expectation of the pass.

I have to agree - I said it myself at the time. I think perhaps Trimble was acting too sentimentally considering it was BOD's last game. He definitely could have scored it.

Brendan wrote:San I mean pundits/reporters have said Ireland were playing with their 5th and 6th choice wingers.

If this is true most tours you take 4 wings at most, leaving trimble out of the squad.  He is also covers less positions than other wings.


I think JS might keep looking at people for the summer and AIs and than pick the squad for the 6nations and wont really change for the WC.


What about toner, did he do enough or is he behind Ryan and McCarthy

An English fan's opinion on Toner - I thought he was excellent. I was actually really surprised by his carrying and defence, which both looked excellent. Given your scrum functioned really well with him as well, I think you should have him ahead of Ryan and McCarthy.

Andrew Trimble isn't in the top two wingers in Ulster based on his form over the last few years. He is the top winger. Ahead of Bowe and Gilroy. Bowe will move to the left wing to accommodate him.

He should be first choice for Ireland given the form he is in but if Schmidt decides to try out a few different options on the Summer tour thats fair enough. But he'll definitely tour, come on!

Notch wrote:Andrew Trimble isn't in the top two wingers in Ulster based on his form over the last few years. He is the top winger. Ahead of Bowe and Gilroy. Bowe will move to the left wing to accommodate him.

He should be first choice for Ireland given the form he is in but if Schmidt decides to try out a few different options on the Summer tour thats fair enough. But he'll definitely tour, come on!

I do you think him and bowe will be the two wingers for ulster for the HC. I think Trimble is a confidence player who right now is doing well.

ROG when interviewing him said he was glad people had seen the Trimble that the players knew in training which I thought interesting

Have always rated Trimble.

Had a great 6N.

I know him so i do

What is he like? Is he as religious as is often reported?

He is a Christian and not ashamed of it.
Speaks in various churches from time to time I think. His testimony has been included in some Christian literature etc.
Pienaar is very overt about his faith too.

What I thought was good to see this 6 nations was the togetherness in the squad after tries scored etc, very much including Trimble.
I had heard bits and pieces on here about BOD and Trimble not getting on etc, though,  I had never heard why, so I don't know if it is true.

Anyway, there certainly doesn't seem to be any divisions /problems now.

No there doesn't and its great to see. I think a lot of South Africans are.

I read somewhere that very often top sports persons and high achievers are quite religious. It was reported that there is a correlation with coping really well under extreme pressure and being religious because such people believe that their faith will see them through and therefore they are able to offload some of the pressure in the belief that they are being helped or something along those lines.

Trimble may have started the tournament as Ireland's 6th winger - he is not anymore.

The person to thank is Joe Schmidt he has made Trimble feel he is an insider, to the national set up, and not an outsider and Ireland are reaping the rewards.

With everyone fit I have no doubt Schmidt would put Trimble and Bowe on the wings for Ireland - they are now the first choice wingers

GunsGerms wrote:What is he like? Is he as religious as is often reported?

Trimble is a christian as am I. But i don't think its what most people expect it looks like. I mean - he wouldn't be like Pienaar or Muller, bringing it up in media out of the blue (which I think is their right to do).

He's just a regular guy - with a dry wicked sense of humour. Sure he may not get blocked, and he most likely waited till he and wife were married for certain benefits...
but like we aren't all Ian Paisley's - most 'real' christians have not much issue with a few pints, the odd swear word and try their best not to offend.

You say 'as religious'. I think there is a conversation to be had around this - but here is perhaps not the place. I think those you would deem to be very religious are simply people who have lived a long time to a certain tradition and sometimes they respond out of fear that their traditions may be getting eroded. These traditions though are often irrelevant to the faith.

I'm sure, if Trimble has any aspirations to share his faith, it would be through meaningful friendships or at specific christian events and not through his status as a public figure. Although he would not shy away from a direct question.

What does it matter if he is religious - this is a rugby forum - and he is a darn good winger!

I don't think Trimble's religion should count for or against him come selection.... but lets be honest the big man upstairs should have whispered to Trimbs to dummy rather than pass.

clivemcl wrote: He's just a regular guy - with a dry wicked sense of humour.

Ain't that the truth

The characteristics I would say Andrew Trimble has are - complete sincerity, complete and utter commitment to the team and the wickest sense of humour.
I suppose the evil side has to come out somehow   

Geoff forget about trimbs, what's the traffic like in Belfast?

Don't ask me I working from home   

What we should be asking is:

Rob Kearney, 6th best fullback in Ireland?   


Super Rob had a ropey kick or two back to the French counter-attackers.

I think he is a fantastic player, but does he have any serious competition?
Will Payne be in the mix for fullback when qualified?

Andrew Trimble had a great tournament. He had a few deficiencies in his game which held him back though for a while - he used to be poor under a high ball and he couldn't kick which sort of ruled him out of international rugby there for a while when kicking/high balls was all in vogue. He has improved no end with these two skills.

I always got the impression he was well liked in the squad. From twitter, himself and ROG seemed to be fairly pally as they slagged each other a bit. Also, isn't he very pally with Tommy Bowe?

Whats the story with Gilroy. He seems to have regressed a bit lately. Is it injury related.

Andrew Trimble is indeed a very close friend of Tommy Bowe and indeed they are both pally with Paddy Wallace.
The three can often be seen together.

Gilroy has been trying to hard this year.
Injuries at the start of the season kept him back - had a decent game on Friday - he will return

san wrote:
I think he is a fantastic player, but does he have any serious competition?
Will Payne be in the mix for fullback when qualified?

As you mention no competition now but come the autumn that is all going to change with Payne being eligible.

Remember Payne has been given a 2 year Central Contract before he is even eligible, that has never happened before and shows he is held in very high regard by the Irish management.
He will be a key player for Ireland in the WC

Trimble.... high intensity Six Nations with much expectancy, much pressure from media and fans, and not much mileage under the clock from coaches to get everything they're looking for completely ticking over as they would please.

Under these conditions, Trimble did pretty darn good! ....as did all the players who played their part in a Championship win.  

But it will be tough now to work out how alternatives are going if some of them are given the Summer games............  Argentina won't be as tough an assignment as England and France in a highly charged 6N.

The November games, which get a little (or a lot) more serious, should also be used to try out alternatives.

Or you might put it this way - Trimble is down for the WC squad already provided he keeps fit and keeps up his Provincial form through the rest of the season and into the winter too.  But now Schmidt must honestly look to see where his depth really is in many positions.  Summer and winter should be used to see if he has an Ireland first team Mark 2.

If he finds one and seems satisfied with it in performance-marker terms and believes those players are sufficient in all areas (defence/attack/mentality to persevere under losing conditions - which I think is a biggie in Schmidt's mind; the ability to stay calm and keep going at processes even whilst losing) ...... then, come the next 6N, I think he should use combinations of this present 6N team and his Summer/Autumn team to take us through that Championship.  

If the combined selection of players truly are ready, then mix and matching should still keep us highly competitive in the 6N whilst allowing all WC prospects a true work-out in advance of that final WC squad selection.
If we have serious injuries in the run-up to or even during the WC, we'll need players who can slide in seamlessly and do the job required with confidence and a certain degree of familiarity.

I think all the Irish players who played in this tournament, especially against France, have set a new bench mark - none more so than Trimble - that anyone outside the squad is going to have to match or better to get a look in.

That includes the likes of Bowe, Zebo,Donnacha Ryan and whoever wishes to pull on the 13 jersey - maybe even O'Brien and Ferris.

Everyone is going to have to go back to their province and work harder than ever before if they want to get in that RWC squad.

Sin é wrote:Whats the story with Gilroy. He seems to have regressed a bit lately. Is it injury related.

Partially I think - he's never really found anything like top form this year after his return from injury. Given how competitive wing is at Ulster that's sort of meant he's been in and out of the side.

He played a couple of games at full back and looked like he has some potential there though.

He's still a young guy with bags of talent and pace but needs to find an extra few levels to get back in the Ireland mix I think.

rodders wrote:I think all the Irish players who played in this tournament, especially against France, have set a new bench mark - none more so than Trimble - that anyone outside the squad is going to have to match or better to get a look in.

That includes the likes of Bowe, Zebo,Donnacha Ryan and whoever wishes to pull on the 13 jersey - maybe even O'Brien and Ferris.

Everyone is going to have to go back to their province and work harder than ever before if they want to get in that RWC squad.

But they are going to have to play in a Schmidt team in International conditions to prove they too can reach the bench-mark, Rodders.

Some of these players like Bowe and Zebo (just as examples) haven't had the benefot of playing in a Schmidt team, as Trimble and Kearney have. Some of these alternatives Have to be given the opportunity to prove their worth IN a Schmidt team, not outside one. We can't be banning players we might very well need if injuries prevent Trimble from showing up at the WC in the first place. We must have a realistic squad of alternatives. We mustn't shoot ourselves in the foot. We mustn't ask too much of players (such as Bowe or Zebo, to use examples again) by thinking they can be attached to Ireland in the event of injuries and just slide smoothly in. Alternatives must be given opportunities to show what they can do under the guidance of Schmidt and his coaches. - in my mind that is now Summer and Autumn.

Trimble has consistently been Ulster's best winger (and arguably best player) over the past couple of years and it was fantastic to see him being backed by Joe Schmidt to reproduce in a green shirt, what he does week in, week out in a white shirt.

For the HC QF, Bowe will most likely move across to 11 to accommodate Trimble in his preferred right wing berth. On current form, Gilroy could consider himself fortunate if he makes the bench.

I'm not banning anyone fly but the reality is the bar and expectations of what is required have been raised under Schmidt and some players who've pulled on Irish jerseys in recent times, and some who aspire to need to find new levels in their game to have a shot.

Players aren't going to get away with lapses in concentration, no matter how classy they look at times with the ball. Big name players can't rely on reputation anymore.

Winning silverware is not about picking the best individual players, its about picking players who have ability but also that will do what ever it takes to win no matter what the opposition, occasion or score line. That's what Schmidt did and that's why we are champions and not 3rd place.

Reputation isn't the issue. Squad enhancement under squad forming conditions is. And that's genuine International games. If I see the same team as this potent one (less BOD of course) turn up for Argentina, I'll be seriously underwhelmed by Schmidt's attitude.

He's given himself and Ireland breathing space to look at alternatives (whether they prove capable or not) and those alternatives Must get genuine time.

I think a lot of front runners won't tour with the RWC next year and the Lions last.

My point is those who don't have the physical and mental fortitude, heart and lungs of those who've played over the past 6 games need not apply.

Who has those attributes?



Hmmmmm......................

Let the Pro12 and HEC final rounds commence I have a feeling Schmidt has done a lot of ground work motivation for Munster and its players in the lead in to the final rounds of each. A lot of Leinster guys in particular are going to suffer the consequences in the hits that's laid on them when the two collide in a few weeks!

Trimble has always had the tools to be a top class winger. He is brilliant for Ulster but by his own admission in the interview with Horgan and ROG has maybe not taken his chances when playing for Ireland.
That has been well and truely been put to bed now and it seems to me that he has, for whatever reason had a road to Damascus like epipheny. The penny has dropped that not only is he good enough to be in the team but by playing to his absolute maximum he has made himself first choice. I fully expect him to kick on from this and raise his game even further.
It was actually great to see the interview with the boys. It could have been very cheesy and fawning but it just came across as two former team mates who were absolutely delighted for their friend. I think I watched it 5 or 6 times over the weekend. Really starting to enjoy ROG behind the mic aswell.

SecretFly wrote:Who has those attributes?

I know who hasn't and that's why they haven't featured under Schmidt.

Players who will get a chance on this tour and have everything to play for are guys like Ruddock, Moore, O'Donnell, McGrath, Kilcoyne, Marmion, Copeland, Madigan, Jackson, Luke Marshall, Henshaw, Keith Earls, Fitzgerald.... maybe even people like Donnacha Ryan and Bowe.

A marker has been put down over the last 6 games and the guys on tour need to step up to the plate physically and mentally to put them selves in the frame for the RWC.

Nope Rodders. Proof must be proven now in Provincial, as Schmidt himself said. Time will tell where that show goes from here.

You seem to be ignoring what I am saying fly.

If you want me to elaborate - players like Zebo and Cave have a very short window to show they have the attributes to play the type of rugby Schmidt wants.

Others already have shown it over the course of the last few months. I expect Leinster to suffer a bit in the run in but will still make up the spine of the tour - given that a few front runners given the summer off this presents and opportunity for those on the periphery off the squad and match day 23.

Ah no, I'm hearing everything you say, rodders.  You just seem to pounce on anything that suggests experimentation will, could or should replace some of the present crop of 'undroppables'.

Yes, the tour will and should be used to give alternatives a shot at proving what they look like under Joe Schmidt.  That's all I've been saying.  

Again, that might suggest we're actually agreeing with each other but I still think you have more of an 'undroppable' list in your head than I have.  I not only want to see present players improve still more; and there is still quite a bit of improvement needed when you consider a loss that shouldn't have happened in England (Stand up bad containment plans and kicking strategy when we were ahead) and we didn't have to let France get so close to us in the end either (as POC was lamenting post-game)

So, still room for improvement with current selection and let's see if some of those things can't be improved with different players in certain positions.  Number 12 and 13 for a start must be looked at now anyway - so nobody is undroppable no matter how well they played through this competition.  We have to see how and what improves us more, because I guarantee you, on the evidence of this 6N, and in light of that challenge that the world cup will bring - we'll need to improve lots.  Lots.

There are no undroppables on my list fly. I think there are certain players very much in the driving seat for the RWC squad and starting XV, some others very close to this and others on the periphery who have a lot to do - at this time. There is actually a fairly short window now - 15-16 games or so.

Trimble is a very example for anyone on the fringes to not give up, take the feedback constructively and come back stronger and better.