The Ireland Squad Announcement Thread

[Notch]

First topic message reminder :

Following on from the discussion on the 'Ireland 2016 Squad' thread which can be found here.

Ireland squad has been announced. It contains four uncapped players- Stuart McCloskey, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier and CJ Stander. However there is no room for Garry Ringrose. Mike Ross, Cian Healy and Chris Henry have all been omitted due to injury but may feature later as they return to fitness in their provincial set-ups.

Ireland Squad RBS 6 Nations 2016 Rounds 1 & 2

Forwards (19)

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) Captain
Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
James Cronin (Dolphin/Munster)
Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht)*
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) Vice Captain
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Mike McCarthy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster)
Tommy O'Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Rhys Ruddock (St Mary's College/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
CJ Stander (Munster)*
Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster)
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster)*
Nathan White (Connacht)

Backs (16)

Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster)
David Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht)
Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster)
Stuart McCloskey (McCloskey/Ulster)*
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Jared Payne (Ulster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Simon Zebo (Cork Con/Munster)

*Denotes uncapped player

[GunsGerms]

He brings a lot of experience and a good international try scoring record. Who would you call up?

Gilroy. Healy. Someone whose last notable contribution wasn't to get sent off careening into someone in a ruck in a no-arms "clear-out" - on returning after a three-week ban for stamping.

McFadden has 30 caps and 9 international tries. Gilroy has 6 caps and Healy has none. Do you really think it is wise for a coach to draft a fairly inexperienced player mid tournament when you can bring in a perfectly good one who knows all the systems?

Personally I think he was the obvious choice albeit I wouldn't have been too worried if it was Gilroy either.

[GunsGerms]

Stander showed why he should have been picked for the World Cup but was a victim of Schmidt's innate conservatism.

Hard to pick a man who wasn't eligible

That's the problem with Schmidt apologists like you. You defend his indefensible conservative selection policies.  Look, all I'm saying is that it takes a coach with vision to make such a radical and groundbreaking decision. Schmidt just hasn't got it in him. I'm not saying he is a bad coach.  I'm just stating that he isn't as innovative as say Declan Kidney.

Haha

Needed a good laugh.

[Notch]

McFadden called up.

Christ.

The.

Night.

The point is he's running against the team in training, not that he might get near another cap. A guy who can play right across the back line is useful in that sense. Ulster would certainly not thank them for calling Gilroy up just to hold tackle bags given the injuries we have in the back three!

If anything it's better to have players who are closer to actually being selected back with their provinces preparing to put their case forward than down in camp.

[geoff999rugby]

Stander showed why he should have been picked for the World Cup but was a victim of Schmidt's innate conservatism.

Hard to pick a man who wasn't eligible

That's the problem with Schmidt apologists like you. You defend his indefensible conservative selection policies.  Look, all I'm saying is that it takes a coach with vision to make such a radical and groundbreaking decision. Schmidt just hasn't got it in him. I'm not saying he is a bad coach.  I'm just stating that he isn't as innovative as say Declan Kidney.

Your good for a laugh I'll say that

Ridiculous but good for a laugh

You really need to read my post though I am not Schmidt apologist just the opposite but even I don't expect him to do the impossible

As a coach Kidney wasn't innovative - he had a winning system at Munster that initially he transported successfully to Ireland.
As the game evolved he not able to adapt - I believe we are seeing the same with Schmidt

[GunsGerms]

Stander showed why he should have been picked for the World Cup but was a victim of Schmidt's innate conservatism.

Hard to pick a man who wasn't eligible

That's the problem with Schmidt apologists like you. You defend his indefensible conservative selection policies.  Look, all I'm saying is that it takes a coach with vision to make such a radical and groundbreaking decision. Schmidt just hasn't got it in him. I'm not saying he is a bad coach.  I'm just stating that he isn't as innovative as say Declan Kidney.

Your good for a laugh I'll say that

Ridiculous but good for a laugh

You really need to read my post though I am not Schmidt apologist just the opposite but even I don't expect him to do the impossible

As a coach Kidney wasn't innovative  - he had a winning system at Munster that initially he transported successfully to Ireland.
As the game evolved he not able to adapt - I believe we are seeing the same with Schmidt

What?

Schmidt's teams adapt all the time and nearly always employ different tactics each match. Against Wales Ireland kicked less, made more line breaks, ran for more meters and passed almost 7 times more than they kicked.

[Sin é]

Stander showed why he should have been picked for the World Cup but was a victim of Schmidt's innate conservatism.

Hard to pick a man who wasn't eligible

That's the problem with Schmidt apologists like you. You defend his indefensible conservative selection policies.  Look, all I'm saying is that it takes a coach with vision to make such a radical and groundbreaking decision. Schmidt just hasn't got it in him. I'm not saying he is a bad coach.  I'm just stating that he isn't as innovative as say Declan Kidney.

Your good for a laugh I'll say that

Ridiculous but good for a laugh

You really need to read my post though I am not Schmidt apologist just the opposite but even I don't expect him to do the impossible

As a coach Kidney wasn't innovative  - he had a winning system at Munster that initially he transported successfully to Ireland.
As the game evolved he not able to adapt - I believe we are seeing the same with Schmidt

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

[Notch]

Schmidt switches between a kicking dominated game plan and a possession dominated game plan depending on the opponents, with subtle variations and tweaks for each opponent.

Kidney started with what he knew, which was a very Munster-esque kicking, chasing and hard rucking game and then tried to transition to an expansive game he didn't have the skills as a coach to implement. He should have stayed conservative as he knew how to do that. He went away from the things that made him most successful to try new things. This was brave, probably necessary to avoid us being worked out, and ultimately his downfall.

Schmidt is able to drill players in complex systems, whereas Kidney liked players to play with their heads up and instinctively- unfortunately for the majority of Ireland players in his tenure, they didn't have the ability to do that. Without structure, they just looked lost on the pitch, didn't know their role, and confidence dropped more and more every season.

People criticise Schmidts Ireland as 'over-coached' and 'over-structured', but the players absolutely love that and rave about it. His meticulous approach fills them with confidence as they know exactly what they are meant to be doing all the time. I support this as we just looked lost when we tried to be less structured. I also believe the amount we use one pass from the ruck and recycle as opposed to throwing offloads is down to the players confidence in their own skill levels. We do have some fairly intricate backs moves we use on occassion- certainly we're not as dull as is made out. Engineering seven line breaks against a defence as good as Wales' is excellent, what I'm much more concerned about is not our ability to engineer line breaks in attack but our ability to finish them off. Our support play has a long way to go.

In many ways, the way we play just reflects the way these players are coached right through the system before they get to test level and I think Schmidt has been a genius in working out game plans that suit the player base we have. I just wish he had more time to work with the players, and we'd see better results. But this is a problem with NH rugby as a whole where the international game is structured around the club season- it needs to change so the club season is structured around the international game. I expect Irelands game plan to evolve over the next five years as the generation changes and newer players come in. The difference having someone like Olding in midfield would make is huge.

[Notch]

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

Les Kiss?

[GunsGerms]

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

Its pretty obvious that Kiss came up with that. It is a rugby league thing. Kidney's strengths were not in tactics, creativity etc. He was more a manager than a coach.

[Pete330v2]

Stander showed why he should have been picked for the World Cup but was a victim of Schmidt's innate conservatism.

Hard to pick a man who wasn't eligible

That's the problem with Schmidt apologists like you. You defend his indefensible conservative selection policies.  Look, all I'm saying is that it takes a coach with vision to make such a radical and groundbreaking decision. Schmidt just hasn't got it in him. I'm not saying he is a bad coach.  I'm just stating that he isn't as innovative as say Declan Kidney.

Your good for a laugh I'll say that

Ridiculous but good for a laugh

You really need to read my post though I am not Schmidt apologist just the opposite but even I don't expect him to do the impossible

As a coach Kidney wasn't innovative  - he had a winning system at Munster that initially he transported successfully to Ireland.
As the game evolved he not able to adapt - I believe we are seeing the same with Schmidt

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

A Les Kiss innovation.

[GunsGerms]

Notch I noticed a couple of times when Ireland made breaks that the support was there but the player in possession made the wrong decision. Better decisions may have lead to tries.

For example: When Sexton made his break he tried a Hollywood pass to Trimble. He should have popped it to his right as Zebo had made a massive effort to support him and it was the better option. I think if Zebo had got it the space would have opened up for him.

Secondly from a turnover the ball popped out to Heaslip. Cant remember who was there at the time but Heaslip missed a chance to release a support runner that could have lead to a try.

I actually think we are missing opportunities by not finding the right support runner at the right time on occasion.

[dublin_dave]

Absolutely. To be fair to Schmidt he has crafted moves that breakdown tight defences. Sexton hits Zebo with a short pop after the line break and its try time. Score then and the game is in the bag for me

Once we make line breaks we are simply not ruthless enough. Earls in the world cup is another classic example. We tried to move he ball on Saturday and looked the more creative team (not hard) but our finishing let us down.

Throw in a few selective offloads here and there in terms of general phase play and we are in business. You can see what Schimdt is trying to do in terms of dominate possession get quick ruck ball and wear teams down but with a little more variety and better support play and line break conversion we will get to the next level as a team

[Sin é]

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

Les Kiss?

The choke tackle was innovative for Ireland when Kidney was head coach, so he should get credit for being innovative.

[Notch]

Notch I noticed a couple of times when Ireland made breaks that the support was there but the player in possession made the wrong decision. Better decisions may have lead to tries.

For example: When Sexton made his break he tried a Hollywood pass to Trimble. He should have popped it to his right as Zebo had made a massive effort to support him and it was the better option. I think if Zebo had got it the space would have opened up for him.

Secondly from a turnover the ball popped out to Heaslip. Cant remember who was there at the time but Heaslip missed a chance to release a support runner that could have lead to a try.

I actually think we are missing opportunities by not finding the right support runner at the right time on occasion.

Totally agree with that- the miss pass to Trimble was a particularly poor option. Zebo would have drawn in the cover leaving Trimble unmarked. Two simple passes and we're in in the corner. But also, I'm not sure Zebo was up quickly enough on his shoulder to make the decision easier.

Sometimes we make poor decisions when we break the line but sometimes the supporting player can make the decision very easy by being quicker to anticipate the line break.

[Notch]

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

Les Kiss?

The choke tackle was innovative for Ireland when Kidney was head coach, so he should get credit for being innovative.

In the same way he should get credit for teaching Paul O'Connell to count in Afrikaans?

[GunsGerms]

The choke tackle was innovative for Ireland when Kidney was head coach, so he should get credit for being innovative.

No he shouldn't get the credit for something someone else came up with.

[Sin é]

Kidney started with what he knew, which was a very Munster-esque kicking, chasing and hard rucking game and then tried to transition to an expansive game he didn't have the skills as a coach to implement. He should have stayed conservative as he knew how to do that. He went away from the things that made him most successful to try new things. This was brave, probably necessary to avoid us being worked out, and ultimately his downfall.

Kidney developed an incredible group of players with the ability to play heads up rugby.

Just reading this morning some comments that Jerry Flannery made about Paul O'Connell being pretty useless when playing schools rugby, yet under Kidney's coaching, he became one of the best players in the world. Similarly with ROG and Stringer and a load of other players who may not have had all the natural attributes to become the players they did become, but he obviously gave them that mental edge that helped them succeed.

[Sin é]

Not innovative? Choke tackle?

Les Kiss?

The choke tackle was innovative for Ireland when Kidney was head coach, so he should get credit for being innovative.

In the same way he should get credit for teaching Paul O'Connell to count in Afrikaans?

He gets the credit for developing Paul O'Connell as a player so that he was thinking outside the box wanting to get any edge he could. Schmdit has never developed a good player yet. Kidney has plenty of them (including Brian O'Driscoll who he coached to win an U19 world cup and who didn't make the Blackrock school Senior Cup team a year previously).

[Notch]

We now have a parody poster on this board in 'Peter Stringer' and yet the satire can't do justice to the reality

[tecphobe]

I'm not interesting in rehashing the the DK Schmidt arguments. Ireland did leave several try's out on the paddock against wales and that was down to individual error's some were handling errors others were decision making Zebo and Sexton spring to mind. What was frightening also was how frequently Ireland lost depth and alignment in attack

[Sin é]

Gordon D’Arcy: Evidence Ireland adding a new attacking dimension to game
Tribute to Paulie’s legacy came with collective performance against Wales


The well-worn line about doing the jersey justice resonates in the wake of Paul O’Connell’s retirement from rugby. But a genuine tribute to Paulie’s legacy came with this collective performance against Wales.
The base expectation I’ll always have watching Ireland is that everyone plays with unbridled passion. I saw that and plenty more last Sunday.

The most encouraging aspect was the defensive excellence of Keith Earls and Andrew Trimble along with clear evidence that Joe Schmidt has added to the playbook.
I’m out of Carton House since August. On Sunday I saw moves that have never been used by a Schmidt team, even in training, dating back to his arrival at Leinster in the summer of 2011.
My only frustration, from high up in the West Stand, was during those last 15 minutes we didn’t make Wales play out of their own territory more. Maybe that’s when we missed O’Connell as the Irish forwards, in a refusal to show even the slightest sign of weakness, kept pounding away.

That’s not a criticism of Rory Best’s quietly efficient leadership but maybe Simon Zebo’s left boot or Johnny Sexton’s right could have put the ball deep into the opposing 22, like Jon Davies did to good effect on a few occasions.
But the wingers had a huge bearing on Ireland avoiding defeat with defensive reads in all or nothing situations. They were clearly under instructions to defend high up the field. This is risk-reward situation means one missed tackle, in several instances, and Wales win the game (Dave Kearney for Earls looks likely now as Dave did a similar job in Paris two years ago).
It’s rare that wingers get credit for a result when neither of them scores a try but their value in such a risky defensive approach cannot be overstated.
The positioning of Trimble and Earls was done to counter a perceived Irish weakness. Within six minutes George North attacked the wide channel but he squandered a three-on-two situation. Wales kept coming.
Gordon D'Arcy: Sexton knows what to expect from Warren Gatland’s Wales
Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland’s next main influence will emerge during this Six Nations
Earls stayed alive to make a try-saving tackle on Tom James but, knowing they had numbers on the other side of the field, Trimble had to rush up and knock the ball from Alun Wyn Jones’ hands with a smashing tackle. That was a certain try against a passive defence.
The crucial point is a dog-leg can only happen when the wide defender gets head of the man inside him. Ireland’s defence never made this error so Wales never made a line break.
Workload
When your winger defends high the blindside wing and fullback have a huge workload to cover space in behind. This triangle must be kept intact for the ploy to be effective. Ultimately it forces the ball carrier to make a decision. He has to be tackled or pass when he expected to be running into space (Only once, from a clever Davies grubber in behind was this exposed but no Irish player shoulders blame for that. Granted, that clever kick by Davies secured the foothold in Irish territory that led to Toby Faletau’s try).
Most encouraging of all from Ireland, after checking Wales’ initial onslaught, was how they laid down an attacking marker. On 10 minutes, as Best led a pod of forwards around the corner, Murray fed Sexton going back the other way. Ironically, if the ball was a second or two slower the Best pod would have seemed a more viable option and all that was needed was for one more Welsh player to fold over to leave Wyn Jones exposed. But it showed that Ireland are adding a new attacking dimension to their game. The eventual reward was another Johnny penalty to make it 6-0.
The Conor Murray try was born out of a Priestland fumble near Ireland’s 22. Tommy O’Donnell fly hacked down field, there was a brilliant chase and turnover, a clever Robbie Henshaw kick, Dev Toner blocked Gareth Davies’ attempted clearance before Priestland compounded a string of Welsh errors by kicking to touch instead of touching down for a 22. This presented Ireland with an attacking lineout tailored for CJ Stander.
Stander reminds me of Keith Wood in the way he carries with no interest in his own well-being. Jack McGrath hid CJ’s lazy run around the lineout then linked onto Dev to fake a maul. Welsh hooker Scott Baldwin, who was defending the tail, bought the dummy drive which forced Priestland to tackle the charging Stander.
From three quick rucks off the resulting scrum, an Irish player made sure to clear a Welsh man onto the ground to reduce the numbers defending the try line with each carry. Stander made a big arching run-up and when Tipuric turned his head, and stepped offside to stop him, Murray knew a dummy would yield a try (The scrumhalf played with a new level of responsibility needed for Ireland to improve).
13-0. Only Joe could have dreamt a better start.
Word clearly came on from Warren Gatland to stop committing so many bodies to rucks and that changed the game’s dynamic.

Attacking strategy
On 47 minutes came more evidence of Ireland’s evolving attacking strategy. The quality of Murray’s pass meant Henshaw didn’t break stride as first receiver. Then Robbie and Earls both passed before contact, never in-contact, while Jared Payne offloaded, after contact, for Jamie Heaslip to make good yardage.
As this season progresses we should see more of Heaslip the number eight, the link player, as Seán O’Brien and Stander do more of the heavy lifting. Murray was controlling the game’s tempo at this stage and put O’Donnell over the gainline before Payne threw a pass into Priestland for the Irish penalty. Sexton ignored the three points on offer and went in search of a try. That’s how you win in Paris.
After Zebo’s break and offload for Murray, Wales had learned not to over-commit to the breakdown so it seemed like there were more red jerseys on the field. I couldn’t help thinking of how Nathan Hines would drag two or three bodies into a ruck. It would have no value in that moment but move on another three or four phases and the hole might appear.
Sexton kept seeing opportunities to attack Wales out wide but poor execution saw one promising move fizzle out. As a teenager I was taught the value of timing my run on to the ball. You can always accelerate in a split second but you can’t go backwards.
The attack on 63 minutes was tailored-made to expose Jamie Roberts and, really, it deserved a try. It was an adventurous move, when Ireland would have been forgiven for playing safe, requiring 10 players to accurately accomplish small jobs in order to fish Roberts out of the defensive line. The beauty of it was the bluff – it had been Henshaw up the guts all game and then without warning Sexton drifted wide and Henshaw ran the decoy.
This was a clear example of extracting a weakness from a clear Welsh strength; Roberts’ lateral movement wouldn’t be as strong as other centres and he clearly decided to be the man who tackled Henshaw all afternoon. So Robbie ran straight to create the gap for Johnny. I know Robbie’s pain this week. I used to run those lines against Wales, knowing full well I would be emptied by Jamie but also knowing the net result if everyone does their job. Once Roberts comes that high up the field he has to hit somebody (Robbie) as Johnny disappeared through the gap. Tom James had the pace to put Trimble into touch but I would argue with anyone who says he should have passed inside to Zebo because Simon was ahead of him.

Analysis
Schmidt’s analysis of this will bring wisdom to all three players involved.
Thereafter Ireland needed to build a score. Easy to say from the commentators box. Any errors we saw are to be expected as this was a chance for players to get a feel for each other again. The Sexton-Henshaw-Payne combination hadn’t been together since the World Cup warm-up against England on September 5th.
Now, presuming Ireland play the same on Saturday, with high wings, is to second guess the Ireland coach. Never a smart move. Jules Plisson doesn’t like to kick, he likes to play an attacking game so the high wings might be the solution again.
What I hope to see is Ireland playing the same rapid, ball-in-hand game which Johnny Sexton orchestrates better than most but he can only do this if the forwards reach the same levels of precision at the breakdown.
This might sound strange but having played with Johnny many times, on seeing his demeanour on the field last Sunday it looked to me like he was enjoying his rugby again. When a pack shows up for Johnny he puts his team in a position to win the game. Or, as was the case here, not lose it. It will be the same as it always is in Paris – attritional. Expect a large body count. France dusted off the cobwebs against Italy. After going behind they went the length of the field with a power play, and some great hands, to score a try. With respect to Italy, it looked like they could score whenever they wanted.
Recovery is everything for Ireland this week because tactically I have no worries about Schmidt’s Ireland against France under Guy Noves. This we were reminded once again in Sunday’s, above all else, honest performance.

[GunsGerms]

Darcy says that Zebo was ahead of Sexton so he had to throw to Trimble. Not sure I agree though I do wonder if Zebo needs to improve his timing because it wasn't the only time in the game he over ran his support line.

Also nice piece Sin. I think this should dubunk the myth that Schmidt's tactics do not evolve constantly.

[Pete330v2]

Darcy says that Zebo was ahead of Sexton so he had to throw to Trimble. Not sure I agree though I do wonder if Zebo needs to improve his timing because it wasn't the only time in the game he over ran his support line.

Also nice piece Sin. I think this should dubunk the myth that Schmidt's tactics do not evolve constantly.

I don't think Zebo was ahead of Sexton so I'm not sure what Gordon means there. In that move Zebo was the shorter ball option on Sexton's right and the short pass to him may well have been the better option as he had a clearer run in as James was already committed to covering Trimble.

[Mad for Chelsea]

On the Sexton break watching at the time I didn't see Zebo as an option for him to pass to, I thought the pass to Trimble was the best option he had going, and he made a good pass, but it was an excellent covering tackle by James. Will have to see it again to spot if Zebo was around.

Overall though I felt Ireland lacked a bit of cutting edge at times. They were quite good at making the initial breaks/gains, but not good at finishing things off. In particular, as with last year, when they had multiple phases in the opposition 22 they never really looked like scoring.

Still not convinced by Payne at 13, yes he offers defensive structure, but IMO is a much better attacking threat from FB where the extra time on the ball gives him the chance to really shine. I've been impressed by what I've seen from Ringrose, and would be tempted to give him a go, or bring in McClostkey at 12 and shift Henshaw to 13.

[Golden]

Heres an image from Murray Kinsella's article on Ireland's performance.



Looks to me like Zebo might have been a bit too far back from Sexton, not ahead as Darcy says.

"Was there communication from the Ireland fullback here? It’s impossible to know, but that short slipped pass from Sexton may have been the most ideal option of all, even if it involves slightly slowing his own run as he draws in Williams."

Full Article:  http://www.the42.ie/analysis-ireland-wales-six-nations-2016-attack-2594078-Feb2016/

[Mad for Chelsea]

Here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0uw69aQaoY

Hmm. When Sexton makes the break and looks around for the support he can't see Zebo. For me Zebo isn't quite tracking the run well enough, takes him a bit too long to get on Sexton's shoulder, which he only does right when Sexton makes the pass, i.e. when his mind has already been made up.

Maybe D'Arcy is referring to Zebo getting ahead of Trimble rather than Sexton?

[GunsGerms]

On the Sexton break watching at the time I didn't see Zebo as an option for him to pass to, I thought the pass to Trimble was the best option he had going, and he made a good pass, but it was an excellent covering tackle by James. Will have to see it again to spot if Zebo was around.

Overall though I felt Ireland lacked a bit of cutting edge at times. They were quite good at making the initial breaks/gains, but not good at finishing things off. In particular, as with last year, when they had multiple phases in the opposition 22 they never really looked like scoring.

Still not convinced by Payne at 13, yes he offers defensive structure, but IMO is a much better attacking threat from FB where the extra time on the ball gives him the chance to really shine. I've been impressed by what I've seen from Ringrose, and would be tempted to give him a go, or bring in McClostkey at 12 and shift Henshaw to 13.

I agree. For me Zebo was the better option. May not have been a try but better chance of being a try.

[GunsGerms]

Here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0uw69aQaoY

Hmm. When Sexton makes the break and looks around for the support he can't see Zebo. For me Zebo isn't quite tracking the run well enough, takes him a bit too long to get on Sexton's shoulder, which he only does right when Sexton makes the pass, i.e. when his mind has already been made up.

Maybe D'Arcy is referring to Zebo getting ahead of Trimble rather than Sexton?

Who knows. It did look like Zebo had a lot of ground to make up and he bust his chops to do so. I cant imagine he wasn't screaming for the ball so for me it was a mistake by Sexton.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0uw69aQaoY

Hmm. When Sexton makes the break and looks around for the support he can't see Zebo. For me Zebo isn't quite tracking the run well enough, takes him a bit too long to get on Sexton's shoulder, which he only does right when Sexton makes the pass, i.e. when his mind has already been made up.

Maybe D'Arcy is referring to Zebo getting ahead of Trimble rather than Sexton?

Who knows. It did look like Zebo had a lot of ground to make up and he bust his chops to do so. I cant imagine he wasn't screaming for the ball so for me it was a mistake by Sexton.

I've watched it again and spotted something I didn't the first time. Sexton initially shapes to pass before seeing the gap and running through it. When Sexton shapes to pass Zebo rightly arcs his run to his right to draw in James, the last defender if he does get the pass, thus releasing Trimble down the wing. Sexton however doesn't pass, having spotted the gap, and goes for it. By arcing his run - which, again, he was right to do - Zebo loses some momentum and thus ends up a bit far behind Sexton.

So I'm wrong to say Zebo hasn't tracked the run well enough, since the reason he didn't is because he makes that initial arc to the right to draw the last defender, something he was completely right to do. If you pause the video at 0:25 you see him stepping off his left foot to make that arc, which costs him ground.

Does Zebo call for the ball? Presumably? Does Sexton hear him? Maybe. Does he think if he slows down more to throw the pass to Zebo it will allow Tipuric to get back to him? or James to come in off his wing to tackle Zebo as he gets the ball? Maybe also, and he reasons they have a better chance by him throwing the long pass to Trimble. It's a good read and covering tackle by James in any case. Could Zebo have slowed down a bit more once the pass goes out to Trimble to be an option for an inside pass? Possibly.

Overall though, I think this was just one of those things, and no one should be to blame too much. They all make I think reasonable decisions - and let's remember they do so in a spit second - which didn't quite work out on this occasion.

[Golden]

Marmion in the Connacht squad this weekend. Reddan will be back for France so.

[marty2086]

Marmion in the Connacht squad this weekend. Reddan will be back for France so.

That's disappointing, its time to blood Marmion into the squad and have him playing and developing through game time

[Golden]

No thread yet. Here is the French team

France: 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastien Bezy, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Eddy Ben Arous, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Louann Goujon, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain Doussain, 23 Hugo Bonneval

Good bit of rotation from last week. Mermoz in for Fickou strengthens the team but Picamoles is going to be a big loss.

[rapidsnowman]

Start a match day thread Golden!!

When is Ireland team announced.

[Golden]

Start a match day thread Golden!!

When is Ireland team announced.

I would but I'm sure George Carlin has already chosen the pictures for his thread. Wouldn't want to miss out on that.

Usually lunch time the Thursday before match day. So soon enough.

[geoff999rugby]

12.30pm to be precise

[whocares]

Start a match day thread Golden!!

When is Ireland team announced.

I would but I'm sure George Carlin has already chosen the pictures for his thread. Wouldn't want to miss out on that.

Usually lunch time the Thursday before match day. So soon enough.

GC hasn't posted since Sunday so I think you might as well start a thread

[geoff999rugby]

12.50pm now

[Notch]

Coaches debating the selection right up to the wire! I'm guessing the debate going with a Sexton who is just off full fitness or starting with Jackson and giving him a week to recover. I'll be bowled over if Madigan starts.

Could be proven totally wrong within minutes

[Pete330v2]

They are tying Sexton together with cellotape as we speak

[carpet baboon]

[quote="Pete330v2"]They are tying Sexton together with cellotape as we speak[/quote

Wouldn't string be better for Tying

[lostinwales]

They are tying Sexton together with cellotape as we speak

Surely they could break out the duct tape, just for him

[Pete330v2]

Sexton starts, Madigan covers

[geoff999rugby]

3 Leinster men in - SOB, Kearney x2

3 Munster men out - Zebo, Earls, TOD

Not sure who is alongside Toner in the row

[carpet baboon]

Well Im abit confused by things now

[eirebilly]

Sexton starts, Madigan covers

That's a surprise. Poor Jackson is the defibrillator of Irish rugby, only dragged out in extreme emergencies...

[geoff999rugby]

Whatever it is it isn't a surprise.

Predictable, tedious, wrong but not a surprise - same goes for the Kearneys returning

[Pete330v2]

Whatever it is it isn't a surprise.

Predictable, tedious, wrong but not a surprise - same goes for the Kearneys returning

Very much Geoff, I mean the Kearneys ??? What the hell do you have to do to get off this Irish side because as far as I can see the Kearndassions have been trying their utmost to play themselves off the team?

[Golden]

[geoff999rugby]

McFadden is going to be a busy man he is on the bench for Leinster as well !!

Also I do not like to denigrate players but his selection is a farce and I have to say the bias towards Leinster is starting to become totally unacceptable

[profitius]

Thats a shockingly bad selection from Schmidt. It really is the dullest, most conservative Irish selection ever when you take into account some of the players who are left out.

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