Ireland 2016 Squad

First topic message reminder :

So what would you like to see for the 6 nations and end of season tour of South Africa? Who would you like brought in and left out? Les Kiss and POC are gone, the only definites..


Players I think should be brought in to the squad or considered:
Olding - Utility back
McCloskey - center
Garry Ringrose - center
Marmion - scrum half
Luke McGrath - scrum half
Dave O'Callaghan - blindside
Sherry - hooker
Josh Van Der Flier - openside
Dan Leavy - backrow
Jack Conan - 8
Jack O'Donoghue - 8
Cj Stander - 8
Ross Moloney - lock
Marty Moore - tighthead
Matt Healy - winger
Cathal Marsh  - outhalf
Andrew Trimble - winger

Some of the best young (except Trimble) players in Ireland to consider.

the-goon wrote:

eirebilly wrote:I disagree rodders, I believe that there are very good players in Ireland but that the coaching (provincial as well) is hindering their development.

It's funny now that during the Kidney era, the excuse/reason for failure of the Irish team given by the Kidney defenders was down to the players not being good enough. Now the same people think that the players are good enough but it's the coach or coach's tactics that is holding the team back. The shoe is on the other foot for the other group of supporters as well, ones who thought the players were good enough during Kidney's time, now think our current coach is more or less overachieving with a more limited pool of players.

Kidney had BOD, D'arcy, ROG, Ferris, Wallace, O'Callaghan, Leamy, John Hayes, Flannery - he could leave out guys like Shane Horgan, Leo Cullen, Shane Jennings, Trimble, Geordan Murphy, Bob Casey, Stringer.

He also had Bowe, Heaslip, Sexton, Reddan, Kearney, Best, O'Connell all in their prime -I don't think the player pool is comparable for quality and experience although Schmidt has more depth in a range of positions and better equipped to deal with injuries.

rodders wrote:

Kidney had BOD, D'arcy, ROG, Ferris, Wallace, O'Callaghan, Leamy, John Hayes, Flannery  - he could leave out guys like Shane Horgan, Leo Cullen, Shane Jennings, Trimble, Geordan Murphy, Bob Casey, Stringer.

He also had Bowe, Heaslip, Sexton, Reddan, Kearney, Best, O'Connell all in their prime  -I don't think the player pool is comparable for quality and experience although Schmidt has more depth in a range of positions and better equipped to deal with injuries.    

Except when Payne stubs his toe, then Ireland fail to get out of the 1/4 finals of the RWC

eirebilly wrote:

rodders wrote:

Kidney had BOD, D'arcy, ROG, Ferris, Wallace, O'Callaghan, Leamy, John Hayes, Flannery  - he could leave out guys like Shane Horgan, Leo Cullen, Shane Jennings, Trimble, Geordan Murphy, Bob Casey, Stringer.

He also had Bowe, Heaslip, Sexton, Reddan, Kearney, Best, O'Connell all in their prime  -I don't think the player pool is comparable for quality and experience although Schmidt has more depth in a range of positions and better equipped to deal with injuries.    

Except when Payne stubs his toe, then Ireland fail to get out of the 1/4 finals of the RWC  

Kidney would have loved Jared Payne alright. Poor old Drico could have put his feet up 50 caps earlier

Actually, Drico needs to lace up his boots again it seems.  He's retired 15 years too early!  Irish rugby right now is like a Samson without its highlighted locks

Well I mean if we are resorting to the likes of Earlsy or Fitz in the center then Drico could probably get another 100 caps... at least until ringrose goes through puberty anyways

Oh hell, call back D'Arcy as well...

This Henshaw fella is no good.

eirebilly wrote:Oh hell, call back D'Arcy as well...

.

What?  More hair?



Too right!  Never enough Samsonian hair strengthener in a team.

eirebilly wrote:Oh hell, call back D'Arcy as well...

This Henshaw fella is no good.

Ge easy Bill we aren't that desperate!

One player of the original list that prof has put up who is pushing very hard for international selection is Josh van der Flier. I wonder if we will see him feature at all in the Six Nations? I have a feeling he may have leapfrogged the likes of Jordi Murphy and Dominic Ryan as back-up to Sean O'Brien. It will be interesting to see if he gets a lot more game time for Leinster, especially in the Champion's Cup games.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:One player of the original list that prof has put up who is pushing very hard for international selection is Josh van der Flier. I wonder if we will see him feature at all in the Six Nations? I have a feeling he may have leapfrogged the likes of Jordi Murphy and Dominic Ryan as back-up to Sean O'Brien. It will be interesting to see if he gets a lot more game time for Leinster, especially in the Champion's Cup games.

VDF was the stand out player again last night. He has leapfrogged a few players now I'd say. Rhys Ruddock was the next in line for MOTM. The surprise of the season so far has been James Tracy. He made something like 11 tackles in his 20 min appearance last night including some bit hits. He is good at the breakdown and can carry. He has been Leinsters form hooker. Tadhg Furlong had a very good game also and whatever about scrummaging, he is several levels above Ross in terms of what he can do in the loose. McCloskey looked good for Ulster in the little ball he received.


Reddan, Madigan and Sexton were poor, especially Reddan. I'd say Luke McGrath (and Marmion) have leapfrogged himself and Boss for Ireland places. Heaslip is also under pressure.

If Van Der Flier offered the opportunity to move O Brien to 6 while O Mahony is out injured that could be a good combination in the backrow (and that's not even thinking about CJ Stander into the mix).

O Brien for me blows hot and cold at 7.

I didn't think Sexton was poor last night.

Ringrose is another who is living up to the hype albeit he hasn't played that many minutes.

Marshes wrote:If Van Der Flier offered the opportunity to move O Brien to 6 while O Mahony is out injured that could be a good combination in the backrow (and that's not even thinking about CJ Stander into the mix).

O Brien for me blows hot and cold at 7.

I think O'Brien is without a doubt better at 7 and he is one of the best turnover specialists in the world. He makes a good few turnovers each game and he is extremely hard to move at the breakdown. His pace isn't what it used to be and his ball carrying hasn't been as effective as it was for years now, so I'm not sure changing the number on his shirt will change that. His main problem is that he blows hot and cold in general, and I think injuries have played their part. However when he is on form he really is one of our best players.

Rhys Ruddock deserves to start at 6 for Leinster, and if O'Brien wants to play there he will have to prove he can do better. In fact I think Ruddock will be pushing O'Mahony extremely hard at 6 for Ireland. The competition is certainly starting to look healthy in the back row.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:

Marshes wrote:If Van Der Flier offered the opportunity to move O Brien to 6 while O Mahony is out injured that could be a good combination in the backrow (and that's not even thinking about CJ Stander into the mix).

O Brien for me blows hot and cold at 7.

I think O'Brien is without a doubt better at 7 and he is one of the best turnover specialists in the world. He makes a good few turnovers each game and he is extremely hard to move at the breakdown. His pace isn't what it used to be and his ball carrying hasn't been as effective as it was for years now, so I'm not sure changing the number on his shirt will change that. His main problem is that he blows hot and cold in general, and I think injuries have played their part. However when he is on form he really is one of our best players.

Rhys Ruddock deserves to start at 6 for Leinster, and if O'Brien wants to play there he will have to prove he can do better. In fact I think Ruddock will be pushing O'Mahony extremely hard at 6 for Ireland. The competition is certainly starting to look healthy in the back row.

I think you are right injuries have taken their toll there, as they have with Cian Healy, can't remember when his last big one was but he hasn't gotten back to the form he was at prior to it (France RWC game aside where he had a great game). When is on form he is one of the best turnover specialists, but when he is not he is a penalty machine, and the oscillation between these two states is a bit too frequent. If he is on the wrong side of the ref he doesn't tend to come back from that.

Maybe it is hopeful to this moving to 6 would change that, putting him in the position where he was best is probably unfair given how much he has adapted his game. Ruddock has grown so much since coming into the last two years (considering his injuries as well), but I think if SOB is fit Schmidt will play him over Ruddock, at least for this 6N, so it becomes a question of who else in the backrow around him.

So, do you think we are going to see a lot more Connacht players in the Irish squad this year? If they carry on with this sort of form, Schmidt will find it very difficult to ignore a few of those players. If you had to work with the World Cup squad, who would you take out and who would you put in?

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So, do you think we are going to see a lot more Connacht players in the Irish squad this year? If they carry on with this sort of form, Schmidt will find it very difficult to ignore a few of those players. If you had to work with the World Cup squad, who would you take out and who would you put in?

We would normally have a much larger squad initially for the Six Nations and then cut it down. In terms of the extended squad I would go with;

Healy, McGrath, Buckley, Cronin
Ross, Moore, Furlong
Best, Cronin, Strauss, Herring
Henderson, Toner, Ryan, Foley, Dillane
O'Brien, Henry, Heaslip, O'Mahony, Ruddock, Van Der Flier, Murphy, Stander (when is he back?)
Murray, Reddan, McGrath, Marmion
Sexton, Jackson, Madigan, Keatley
Henshaw, Cave, Reid, McCloskey, Payne (again, when will he be fit)
Fitzgerald, Earls, D. Kearney, Trimble, McFadden, Gilroy, Healy
R. Kearney, Zebo

Then you'd be looking to cut fourteen, fifteen, sixteen players from that, including any injured players.

If players are working their butts off and if the work is proving effective, then yes, the 6N should see more Connacht players involved.  Ireland can only profit from having players available (genuinely so) from yet another strong Province.  It would be wonderful if Connacht's form was proven not to be fleeting and that people started talking about Ireland's FOUR provinces in the years ahead, rather than simply stopping after mentioning a third.  

But for that to become real, the rewards for the effort must come.  Pro12 standard is not International standard but players doing the business in Pro12 have to be given the opportunity to prove they can also step up to that higher level.  That's when an intensity of pressure comes on more familiar Internationals.  They then know they have an almighty fight for their positions.

Notch wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So, do you think we are going to see a lot more Connacht players in the Irish squad this year? If they carry on with this sort of form, Schmidt will find it very difficult to ignore a few of those players. If you had to work with the World Cup squad, who would you take out and who would you put in?

We would normally have a much larger squad initially for the Six Nations and then cut it down. In terms of the extended squad I would go with;

Healy, McGrath, Buckley, Cronin
Ross, Moore, Furlong
Best, Cronin, Strauss, Herring
Henderson, Toner, Ryan, Foley, Dillane
O'Brien, Henry, Heaslip, O'Mahony, Ruddock, Van Der Flier, Murphy, Stander (when is he back?)
Murray, Reddan, McGrath, Marmion
Sexton, Jackson, Madigan, Keatley
Henshaw, Cave, Reid, McCloskey, Payne (again, when will he be fit)
Fitzgerald, Earls, D. Kearney, Trimble, McFadden, Gilroy, Healy
R. Kearney, Zebo

Then you'd be looking to cut fourteen, fifteen, sixteen players from that, including any injured players.

Think that is a good list there. Few changes for me, if O Mahony and O Donnell are still out injured come February I would say Masterson is worth a look too bring into the training squad, give him a bit of exposure.

Notable that Keatley was not given the opportunity to kick penalties against Connacht, feel for the guy, I wonder will he get a look in? I would have Ronaldson ahead, who has been playing a lot at 12 but is also a very good option there but can also play 10. Again most likely just as exposure to the training squad as I think he can be very good.

I feel bad for Cave as I am actually a fan of his, but if Schimdt isn't going to use him (and I understand from Ulster fans on here that he has been pretty average since back from the RWC) then maybe worth looking at another option. Will Olding be back by then? How is Luke Marshall going?

Tiernan o Halloran mightn't be too far away either, definitely would be pushing Healy, not only did he get the try last night but he mad a fantastic tackle on Conway I think who looked to be away. Has had a great start to the season. Would Conway be knocking on the door at all?

Luke Marshall is behind Cave, and rightly on form, and Olding has barely played any rugby for a year and a half or so.

It's not so much that Cave is a must-pick, it's that there isn't that much choice there. Munster have Saili, Leinster have Te'o, Connacht have Aki- we're short enough on specialist centres, with Munster and Leinster both looking to move Fitzgerald and Earls off their wings to compensate.

Cave will get in by default, its quite a small pool of players. I think O'Hallornan and Conway are good options for the wider training group.

Marshes wrote:

Notch wrote:

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So, do you think we are going to see a lot more Connacht players in the Irish squad this year? If they carry on with this sort of form, Schmidt will find it very difficult to ignore a few of those players. If you had to work with the World Cup squad, who would you take out and who would you put in?

We would normally have a much larger squad initially for the Six Nations and then cut it down. In terms of the extended squad I would go with;

Healy, McGrath, Buckley, Cronin
Ross, Moore, Furlong
Best, Cronin, Strauss, Herring
Henderson, Toner, Ryan, Foley, Dillane
O'Brien, Henry, Heaslip, O'Mahony, Ruddock, Van Der Flier, Murphy, Stander (when is he back?)
Murray, Reddan, McGrath, Marmion
Sexton, Jackson, Madigan, Keatley
Henshaw, Cave, Reid, McCloskey, Payne (again, when will he be fit)
Fitzgerald, Earls, D. Kearney, Trimble, McFadden, Gilroy, Healy
R. Kearney, Zebo

Then you'd be looking to cut fourteen, fifteen, sixteen players from that, including any injured players.

Think that is a good list there. Few changes for me, if O Mahony and O Donnell are still out injured come February I would say Masterson is worth a look too bring into the training squad, give him a bit of exposure.

Notable that Keatley was not given the opportunity to kick penalties against Connacht, feel for the guy, I wonder will he get a look in? I would have Ronaldson ahead, who has been playing a lot at 12 but is also a very good option there but can also play 10. Again most likely just as exposure to the training squad as I think he can be very good.

I feel bad for Cave as I am actually a fan of his, but if Schimdt isn't going to use him (and I understand from Ulster fans on here that he has been pretty average since back from the RWC) then maybe worth looking at another option. Will Olding be back by then? How is Luke Marshall going?

Tiernan o Halloran mightn't be too far away either, definitely would be pushing Healy, not only did he get the try last night but he mad a fantastic tackle on Conway I think who looked to be away. Has had a great start to the season. Would Conway be knocking on the door at all?

I don't think Schmidt rates Conway (he left Leinster after all when there looked to be loads of opportunities opening up there). Probably not big and physical enough for him.

I would not read too much into Keatley not kicking - more than likely it had to do with the weather or his ongoing groin problems and no other outhalf available.

Just pick the whole Connacht squad plus Van Der Flier and Henderson for the 6N.

Connacht have restored my faith in humanity.

Please gawd Bundi-aki qualifies soon and Pat Lamb is the successor to Schmidt because the other 3 provinces are bloody dire - they look like they are playing blindfolded with a bar of soap on an ice rink on rollerskates.

But then Pat Lam will inherit an Ireland team drawn mainly from three provinces that look like they are playing blindfolded with a bar of soap on an ice rink on roller-skates. And so...

I'm a big fan of Pat Lam, and I'm a big fan of the way he's improved the skills of his Connacht team. Thats what we need in every province.

Would you be happy to see your club change the playing style even if it pinched for a season or two? Like I say earlier Connacht benefit from not having that expectation on them so can take the experimental approach, but it doesn't yield results straight away (if ever!).

I don't think it would hurt Ulster to adopt a more skills-intensive approach, I think we could only get better. It's not like we are playing very pragmatic but very successful rugby. We are already hit and miss.

I'm not talking about Les coming in and just having them play Barbarians style right off the bat. I'm talking about slowly up-skilling the players and integrating it into our game.

Notch wrote:I don't think it would hurt Ulster to adopt a more skills-intensive approach, I think we could only get better. It's not like we are playing very pragmatic but very successful rugby. We are already hit and miss.

I'm not talking about Les coming in and just having them play Barbarians style  right off the bat. I'm talking about slowly up-skilling the players and integrating it into our game.

I think the Ulster backline plays it very well, I'm not sure the forwards would got through the hands as much or are as comfortable on the ball (but it has been a while since I have properly watched Ulster!). To get them to that stage there was definitely a bedding in period for connacht, where they would hand over possession far to easily, or they would concede easily kickable penalties in their own half (and still do although less frequently). I think if you want to get teams to a point where they are happy to play a skills-based game with pace and intensity, there defo would be a bedding in period where the players are encouraged to take those risks learning the methodology

The thing is, you would think that if you move to a wider game you are going to concede more turnovers at first due to knock-ons, offloads and passes not going to hand etc. But Ulster are already conceding those turnovers even with the rather basic, one pass from the ruck game they are playing simply because they are not clearing the breakdown effectively. So in my opinion it would largely even out after a while. But I'm saying if we took the Pat Lam approach it would be from pre-season on, not just starting now. As you say, most of our forwards don't have the skills and once the season has started rolling its difficult to change.

We really need to improve the skills and decision making of our forwards more than nearly anyone, we have too many forwards clogging up the back line and none of them ever pass the ball. Its always the same telegraphed carries. We need to get them comfortable passing and offloading, and playing with their head up, otherwise we will just continue to look pedestrian.

Ulsters back play recently has been awful. The skill levels have plummeted since Anscombe left - maybe coincidental but a fact non the less.

Jackson is standing far too deep and we are just crabbing across the field - contrast to Connacht who are picking great lines, targeting space and soft shoulders against the grain and making breaks and yards.

Other issue is the back row and work at the breakdown. We're very slow to clear out and often committing too many men then to compensate.

Personally I don't think Kiss is the guy to sort this out - he's a defense coach and that is it, Ulster need someone with real experience.

Ulster don't need to change their style of play for Ireland, they need to do it for them and quick. Leinster and Munster are in a similar boat.

rodders wrote:
Ulster don't need to change their style of play for Ireland, they need to do it for them and quick. Leinster and Munster are in a similar boat.

Ulster and Munster look poorly coached to be frank. Not sure I'd lump Leinster in with them though. Leinster played some lovely attacking rugby in one or two earlier mtches this season to which I conclude that Girvan Dempsey knows what he is doing.

I don't think Leinster looked poorly coached against Ulster either, their hands let them down on a few occasions were it looked easier to score than not to score. They were certainly creating opportunities though, and whatever you can say about Ulsters insipid attacking play and inability to control territory we defended well. They should have had three or four tries against a good defence. Small improvements in execution and they'll be decent- not as good as under Schmidt, but better than last seasons shambles.

It's not hard to defend against a Leinster side who only have one back move.

If you take out VDF, Ruddock, Nacewa. Luke Fitzgeralds boots and that young fella that looks like a 12 year old BOD there's not much going on in D4.

Rodders they've also Furlong, Moore, Tracy, Dooley, Ross Moloney, Dan Leavy, Kelleher and a few others coming through not to mention a few young 10s.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:So, do you think we are going to see a lot more Connacht players in the Irish squad this year? If they carry on with this sort of form, Schmidt will find it very difficult to ignore a few of those players. If you had to work with the World Cup squad, who would you take out and who would you put in?

Matt Healy deserves a call up. He has been the best winger in any province for a year or more.

After watching the Irish boys play for Ulster last night, I feel somewhat justified in my views that Ireland does have talented players with the ability to run good lines and offload in contact.

Payne, Kearney and possibly Earls would have to perform well to retain their Irish places if Ireland had a more adventurous coach.

It's a bit like saying that Ireland need more ball carrying options... so Sean O'Brien should feel worried about his position.

But this debate is just an endless cycle of people saying the same things over and over, so there is no point saying much else.

eirebilly wrote:After watching the Irish boys play for Ulster last night, I feel somewhat justified in my views that Ireland does have talented players with the ability to run good lines and offload in contact.

Payne, Kearney and possibly Earls would have to perform well to retain their Irish places if Ireland had a more adventurous coach.

Of course we do,we showed that during the WC against France,we just can't afford to lose 5 of our best players at one time when playing good teams.

However you can't base your opinion on just one game.You weren't on here after the Ulster v Saracens or Leinster v Bath match saying that you were wrong and obviously the Irish players don't have the skills needed so it's hardly consistent to see one big result and use that to back up your position.

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

Of course we do,we showed that during the WC against France,we just can't afford to lose 5 of our best players at one time when playing good teams.

However you can't base your opinion on just one game.You weren't on here after the Ulster v Saracens or Leinster v Bath match saying that you were wrong and obviously the Irish players don't have the skills needed so it's hardly consistent to see one big result and use that to back up your position.

Actually, I am not basing this on one game and its a pretty straw man comment from you to make there. I have been on here for a very long time and my views have not changed. Players have off games but I have said for some time that there is the talent in Ireland to play that attacking style of rugby.

I have long said that I feel that Paddy Jackson is a far better 10 than Madigan and felt that his kicking is not as bad as some think it is but even if it is, his general running of games is far superior to Madigan's.

eirebilly wrote:

asoreleftshoulder wrote:

Of course we do,we showed that during the WC against France,we just can't afford to lose 5 of our best players at one time when playing good teams.

However you can't base your opinion on just one game.You weren't on here after the Ulster v Saracens or Leinster v Bath match saying that you were wrong and obviously the Irish players don't have the skills needed so it's hardly consistent to see one big result and use that to back up your position.

Actually, I am not basing this on one game and its a pretty straw man comment from you to make there. I have been on here for a very long time and my views have not changed. Players have off games but I have said for some time that there is the talent in Ireland to play that attacking style of rugby.

I have long said that I feel that Paddy Jackson is a far better 10 than Madigan and felt that his kicking is not as bad as some think it is but even if it is, his general running of games is far superior to Madigan's.

I've said for some time that Ireland are trying to play an attacking style of rugby,the players just haven't always executed it.Notable times when they did execute it this year were against France in the WC and Scotland in the 6N.They also came close to executing it against Wales but just couldn't get over the line.The fact that we beat England and France using a totally different gameplan shows the flexibility the team have to play the game differently depending on what's needed.

I have no doubt that as the new coaching regimes at Ulster and Leinster bed in we will see a return to high skill levels and an improved Irish team.We now have coaches at those provinces who have worked under Schmidt and so understand the need for skills training to be a priority but it doesn't happen overnight.Lam and Foley also understand this as they have both been quoted in interviews talking about it.When Schmidt gets his hands on players that have been working hard on these skills then we will see the attacking play that we all want to see.

Rory_Gallagher wrote:It's a bit like saying that Ireland need more ball carrying options... so Sean O'Brien should feel worried about his position.

But this debate is just an endless cycle of people saying the same things over and over, so there is no point saying much else.

Except that we need to get the good Ulster lads playing in blue with Sexton ASAP so they are familiar with him in green.

Marshes, I am more concerned that Sexton is only 1 or 2 hits away from retirement. Great player that he is, he has suffered a large amount of concussions so I can see him thinking of retiring if he has another one and I would not blame him.

Its why I have been wanting Paddy Jackson to be more involved. During the RWC he was pretty much overlooked and I thought that was bad considering I believe him to be far better than Madigan.

eirebilly wrote:Marshes, I am more concerned that Sexton is only 1 or 2 hits away from retirement. Great player that he is, he has suffered a large amount of concussions so I can see him thinking of retiring if he has another one and I would not blame him.

Its why I have been wanting Paddy Jackson to be more involved. During the RWC he was pretty much overlooked and I thought that was bad considering I believe him to be far better than Madigan.

He was just back from injury and not playing well,do you remember his form in the warm ups.Therre weren't too many calls for Jackson to start against Argentina so this seems like hindsight being 20/20.Jackson has only come back into top form in the last few weeks but if he keeps it up I'm pretty certain he will regain his place as 2nd choice OH easily.

asoreleftshoulder wrote:
He was just back from injury and not playing well,do you remember his form in the warm ups.Therre weren't too many calls for Jackson to start against Argentina so this seems like hindsight being 20/20.Jackson has only come back into top form in the last few weeks but if he keeps it up I'm pretty certain he will regain his place as 2nd choice OH easily.

Not sure what your problem is but even if you look back to the RWC threads, you will see that I was saying the same thing then...

In fact for the last 2 years I have been singing Jackson's praises so its hardly hindsight, maybe more you wanting to have an argument or possessing an inability to read and remember.

Were you calling for Jackson to play during the WC?I read most of the threads around that time and don't remember it but if you say so fair enough.

As to singing his praises the rest of the time,what about it,he's been clear 2nd choice when he's been fit and Schmidt has stated several times that Madigan has only got on the bench due to versatility.Your implying that Schmidt has been overlooking him when in fact he has only overlooked him once during a short period when Jackson wasn't playing well.

Can you read? I said one comment about him being pretty much overlooked during the RWC not before...

I believe this and I thought that it was a case of only if everyone else was out, Jackson would play. If he had not proved his fitness before the RWC then he would not have been selected, Keatley would have been if going by the Trimble omission.

For someone who plays the victim on here so often you sure are happy to dish out abuse when it suits you.

Anyway I never said he hadn't proven his fitness so that's irrelevant.It was a case of only if everyone else is out Jackson would play because his form wasn't as strong as Madigans.

Well, I am not really going to entertain you anymore asoreleftshoulder, I would prefer to debate with posters who actually have points and are willing to discuss them, back the up and not deliberately misquote people to suit their strawman arguments

Showing your true colours,if someone doesn't agree with you abuse them then run off and sulk. Have a good one.

Uuummm, getting back to the rugby for a second, I don't think Sexton will be one of those players who goes far into his thirties given his injuries (particularly concussion). So if he does remain fit which as has been said may is a tall order, I don't think he will make the next World Cup.

So unless there is a bolt from the blue, our options will be maybe Sexton, Madigan, Jackson, JJ, Keatley. We have talked them to death, but for me I'd have Jackson there.

I would like to see Ronaldson get into the training squad for the six nations. He is Connacht player of the month, good at 10 and 12, and at 25 coming into some good form. Needs to improve place kicking but I hope Joe has the head up.

I certainly don't see Sexton at RWC19 as a player but I do believe that he will be involved in some sort of capacity. I would like to see him take up coaching once he retires, he is a very clever player and could help a lot of the young Irish 10's.

Keatley will not be involved in the Irish setup, he simply is not good enough.

As someone who believes in out and out 10's, I feel that Madigan is being turned too much into a versatile player. Good for coming from the bench as he is a very electric player but not a starter in my mind.

JJ, the years will tell. Felt pretty peed off that Munster let him go but he has been playing well.

Paddy is the one I feel that will take Ireland forward but he needs a strong 9 to support him and given Murray's recent poor form (poor again last night) there is a problem but hopefully Marmion can fulfil his potential as I see him being very good in the future.

Interesting comment from ROG about Dan Carter in his BT interview yesterday. ROG said that it was more than just Dan's playing ability, he turned up to work every day with a big smile on his face and that he had this great ability to get the team working together.

I'd imagine a big change from when Sexton was there where it seems not too many were sorry to see the back of him. I think Sexton would make a terrible coach because he loses his cool when things are not going his way.

Have to disagree with you here Sin é, I think that Sexton would make a great coach. He has great vision and awareness on the field. I think that he could help the younger 10's with their composure and help them expand their composure.

Much in the same way that I feel ROG is very good at this as well.