6N 2016 : Super Saturday Game 2 Ireland vs Scotland Dublin 17h00 KO

  
IRELAND v SCOTLAND
19 March 2016
KO: 17:00 local
Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Referee: Pascal Gauzere
Assistant Referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa) & Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A. Head to Head

130 Played 130
59 Won 66
5 Drawn 5
66 Lost 59
1,416 Points 1,420

B. Recent Form

21 March 2015
BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
10 – 40 to Ireland

2 February 2014
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
28 – 6 to Ireland

24 February 2013
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
12 – 8 to Scotland

10 March 2012
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
32 – 14 to Ireland

6 August 2011
Murrayfield, Edinburgh
10 – 6 to Scotland

27 February 2011
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
18 – 21 to Ireland

20 March 2010
Croke Park, Dublin
20 – 23 to Scotland

C. Teams

IRELAND

FB 15 Simon Zebo
RW 14 Andrew Trimble
OC 13 Jared Payne
IC 12 Robbie Henshaw
LW 11 Keith Earls
FH 10 Jonathan Sexton
SH 9 Conor Murray

N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Tommy O'Donnell
BF 6 CJ Stander
RL 5 Devin Toner
LL 4 Donnacha Ryan
TP 3 Mike Ross
HK 2 Rory Best (c)
LP 1 Jack McGrath

Replacements:
HK 16 Richardt Strauss
PR 17 Cian Healy
PR 18 Nathan White
LK 19 Ultan Dillane
FL 20 Rhys Ruddock
SH 21 Eoin Reddan
FH 22 Ian Madigan
WG 23 Fergus McFadden

SCOTLAND

FB 15 Stuart Hogg
RW 14 Tommy Seymour
OC 13 Duncan Taylor
IC 12 Alex Dunbar
LW 11 Tim Visser
FH 10 Duncan Weir
SH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c)

N8 8 Ryan Wilson
OF 7 John Hardie
BF 6 John Barclay
RL 5 Tim Swinson
LL 4 Richie Gray
TP 3 WP Nel
HK 2 Ross Ford
LP 1 Alasdair Dickinson

Replacements:
HK 16 Stuart McInally
PR 17 Rory Sutherland
PR 18 Moray Low
FL 19 Rob Harley
FL 20 Josh Strauss
SH 21 Henry Pyrgos
CE 22 Peter Horne
WG 23 Sean Lamont

Could be a cracker guys!  

Nice work on the post! Owens would be ideal for this contest.

I dunno who the ref was. Isn't it Nige?

Speaking of officials a certain Craig Joubert is running the lines, but hopefully not prematurely up the tunnel, on Saturday

It's some French guy Pascal Gauzere I'll ammend the thread accordingly. Or some admin person can, Notch? Geordie? RDW?

Good job Radge!

Is there a concern for this game that the 'job done' mentality will have crept in to the players, even subconsciously?

The 6N is usually a pretty traumatic experience for the players (and fans!) so I wonder given we've regained our dignity and gained plenty plaudits whether the desperation to win will still be there.

We absolutely had to beat Italy, we really really wanted to beat France - will the players still have the same edge against Ireland?

Of course the answer is 'they bloody should do' but this is elite professional sport - these things can make a difference.

Got a feeling this is going to be a superb match

GLove39 wrote:Speaking of officials a certain Craig Joubert is running the lines, but hopefully not prematurely up the tunnel, on Saturday

It's a shame it isn't at Murrayfield, as I'm confident the supporters on the touchline would welcome the opportunity to wish him a good day.

maestegmafia wrote:Got a feeling this is going to be a superb match

Agreed - I think this should be a cracker. Nothing to play for and both sides can play a bit with ball in hand.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Good job Radge!

Is there a concern for this game that the 'job done' mentality will have crept in to the players, even subconsciously?

The 6N is usually a pretty traumatic experience for the players (and fans!) so I wonder given we've regained our dignity and gained plenty plaudits whether the desperation to win will still be there.

We absolutely had to beat Italy, we really really wanted to beat France - will the players still have the same edge against Ireland?

Of course the answer is 'they bloody should do' but this is elite professional sport - these things can make a difference.

Very good point, complacence after a couple of good games is a problem or at least has been a problem for Scotland in the past.

I get the feeling Vern and the coaching team will drum the message home that they must win this game. I think the players - especially the young guys, have a real hunger to win on the whole, a lot moreso than previous incarnations.

I've said it before, we can win this game if we play at the top of our game and snuffle out Ireland's, but Ireland are very capable of snuffling ours out. I get the feeling that the boys will be knocking seven bells out of each other on Saturday and we'll see a few injuries, this could be key for either side. If both sides play like they did last weekend then we're in for an end-to-end game with plenty of momentum shifts!

Well based on the pics above I may support scotland. Who is she? Is it Karen Gillan?
I can see the game being brutal. Neither team will want to lose any momentum.
Hope high scoring victory for Ireland. 39-34

carpet baboon wrote:Well based on the pics above I may support scotland. Who is she? Is it Karen Gillan?
I can see the game being brutal. Neither team will want to lose any momentum.
Hope high scoring victory for Ireland. 39-34

yes

Karen Gillan, is just great. My mate actually went on a date with her to the cinema in Inverness when we were still in school, the idiot didn't ever follow it up.

Regarding the game, BVC has a couple of cruical decisions to make if Russell and J.Gray are judged not fit.

At 10, I would go for Jackson and have Horne on the bench. I have been a critic of Jackson in the past, but he provides good continuity in terms of style with Russell and has been unlucky to have been left out following his performance in Wales. I think Swinson will undoubtedly be given a starting spot, but on form it should be B. Toolis.

EST wrote:Karen Gillan, is just great.  My mate actually went on a date with her to the cinema in Inverness when we were still in school, the idiot didn't ever follow it up.

Regarding the game, BVC has a couple of cruical decisions to make if Russell and J.Gray are judged not fit.

At 10, I would go for Jackson and have Horne on the bench.  I have been a critic of Jackson in the past, but he provides good continuity in terms of style with Russell and has been unlucky to have been left out following his performance in Wales.   I think Swinson will undoubtedly be given a starting spot, but on form it should be B. Toolis.

Does your mate cry himself to sleep every night?

We are obviously a classy bunch given no one as mentioned the NSFW girl not wearing very much!

EST wrote:Karen Gillan, is just great.  My mate actually went on a date with her to the cinema in Inverness when we were still in school, the idiot didn't ever follow it up.

Regarding the game, BVC has a couple of cruical decisions to make if Russell and J.Gray are judged not fit.

At 10, I would go for Jackson and have Horne on the bench.  I have been a critic of Jackson in the past, but he provides good continuity in terms of style with Russell and has been unlucky to have been left out following his performance in Wales.   I think Swinson will undoubtedly be given a starting spot, but on form it should be B. Toolis.

I don't see how you can drop Horne after Sunday. He was magnificent and did everything that was asked of him.

Jackson would take the bench spot if I were picking.

RDW_Scotland wrote:We are obviously a classy bunch given no one as mentioned the NSFW girl not wearing very much!

most would say she is wearing enough.

Ireland by 10 points. Ireland badly need to win this as it is crucial for year end ranking points to keep Scotland down.

Also I feel off the back of a massive win Scotland will not feel as under pressure to win in Dublin.

GunsGerms wrote:Ireland by 10 points. Ireland badly need to win this as it is crucial for year end ranking points to keep Scotland down.

Also I feel off the back of a massive win Scotland will not feel as under pressure to win in Dublin.

Pretty much how I see it.

Ireland need this win more than Scotland, notwithstanding what a Scotland win would mean for the team.

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:

EST wrote:Karen Gillan, is just great.  My mate actually went on a date with her to the cinema in Inverness when we were still in school, the idiot didn't ever follow it up.

Regarding the game, BVC has a couple of cruical decisions to make if Russell and J.Gray are judged not fit.

At 10, I would go for Jackson and have Horne on the bench.  I have been a critic of Jackson in the past, but he provides good continuity in terms of style with Russell and has been unlucky to have been left out following his performance in Wales.   I think Swinson will undoubtedly be given a starting spot, but on form it should be B. Toolis.

I don't see how you can drop Horne after Sunday. He was magnificent and did everything that was asked of him.

Jackson would take the bench spot if I were picking.

Given that he didn't start then I don't think you can say he would be dropped. I wouldn't have many complaints with Horne starting, as you say he was good against France. However, I think he is primarily a centre who covers 10 rather than the other way aroundand would prefer to have specialists in each position.

I think Ireland will win too, but to win by 10 I think is a little much. I just hope it's a high scoring game. I reckon it will be.

The battle upfront will be key and I also think we can put the Irish scrum under a lot of pressure. If Best can keep his composure in the lineout Ireland will have a distinct advantage there though.

Where do the Irish boys see us troubling them?

RDW_Scotland wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Ireland by 10 points. Ireland badly need to win this as it is crucial for year end ranking points to keep Scotland down.

Also I feel off the back of a massive win Scotland will not feel as under pressure to win in Dublin.

Pretty much how I see it.

Ireland need this win more than Scotland, notwithstanding what a Scotland win would mean for the team.

Agreed. I think Ireland's desire to win (and not to lose at home) will be greater. As depressing as it is to say this, I think the Scotland boys will feel that it's job done to a certain extent in this 6 Nations. They'll say the opposite, and Laidlaw will be going his utmost to motivate the team, but ultimately I expect Ireland to throw the kitchen sink at us and I don't think we'll have enough.

I think Ireland by 10 is possibly conservative on the part of the Irish. We'll struggle with Murray/Sexton and I think the Irish back have the skill to get the ball wide where our defence typically struggles. Trimble was really good against Italy, and I think his direct running and his pace will hurt us.

I'd counter this with when Ireland have come up against powerful forwards they have struggled. England, Wales and France in the 6N this year.

I think our breakdown work and scrum will count for something in this match.

Do you really think the "job done" mentality will prevail in the Scottish camp? This is effectively a third/fourth place play off.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

GunsGerms wrote:Ireland by 10 points. Ireland badly need to win this as it is crucial for year end ranking points to keep Scotland down.

Also I feel off the back of a massive win Scotland will not feel as under pressure to win in Dublin.

Pretty much how I see it.

Ireland need this win more than Scotland, notwithstanding what a Scotland win would mean for the team.

Agreed. I think Ireland's desire to win (and not to lose at home) will be greater. As depressing as it is to say this, I think the Scotland boys will feel that it's job done to a certain extent in this 6 Nations. They'll say the opposite, and Laidlaw will be going his utmost to motivate the team, but ultimately I expect Ireland to throw the kitchen sink at us and I don't think we'll have enough.

I think Ireland by 10 is possibly conservative on the part of the Irish. We'll struggle with Murray/Sexton and I think the Irish back have the skill to get the ball wide where our defence typically struggles. Trimble was really good against Italy, and I think his direct running and his pace will hurt us.

I actually see this differently. I agree that Ireland are likely winners given our struggles in defence out wide and poor lineout, however I dont think lack of motivation will be the factor; the memory of the scalping that Ireland dished out at home last year will be fresh in the minds of most of the Scottish players, coupled with seeing Ireland celebrate victory on their home patch - I think Scotland will be right up for this.

I hope to be proven wrong, don't get me wrong. I think we should approach each and every game with febrile intensity, and defend each yard of grass as if our very existence depended on it. Problem is, that hasn't been my experience of supporting Scottish teams. The very moment we build confidence, the passion and intensity that hauled us into that position tends to dissipate.

Ireland will be hurting. They've been pretty hopeless at defending their title, particularly the games against England and France. They'll want this badly.

funnyExiledScot wrote:I hope to be proven wrong, don't get me wrong. I think we should approach each and every game with febrile intensity, and defend each yard of grass as if our very existence depended on it. Problem is, that hasn't been my experience of supporting Scottish teams. The very moment we build confidence, the passion and intensity that hauled us into that position tends to dissipate.

Ireland will be hurting. They've been pretty hopeless at defending their title, particularly the games against England and France. They'll want this badly.

Don't get me wrong, I have seen enough false dawns, mental capitulations and abject defensive performances from Scotland to be too carried away. However, the implication that Ireland will want this one more, I don't think is correct in this instance. Scotland are a much improved team to this time last year, and will desperately want to right the wrongs of the game in Murrayfield in 2015.

If we lose, and I think we probably will, I think it will be because Ireland has the best 9/10 in the competition and will get the ball past Taylor where we have been defensively weak, and put our struggling line out under a lot of pressure.

Murray and Sexton were quite poor for Ireland IMO. Particularly in the tight games.

Our lineout will be under immense pressure on Saturday, however our Scrum should compensate for that somewhat.

Not sure if anyone has watched the 6 Nation Extra with Beattie Snr, Tom English and Al Kellock but with regards to the scrum, Tom English made an interesting comment in that Scotland now have a positive reputation in this area, especially in the eyes of referees.

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Not sure if anyone has watched the 6 Nation Extra with Beattie Snr, Tom English and Al Kellock but with regards to the scrum, Tom English made an interesting comment in that Scotland now have a positive reputation in this area, especially in the eyes of referees.

That is very important - for far too long we've been on the receiving end of dodgy ref scrum calls due to a perceived weakness compared to the other team.

Refs are definitely more likely to favour the perceived stronger team when it comes to scrums.

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Not sure if anyone has watched the 6 Nation Extra with Beattie Snr, Tom English and Al Kellock but with regards to the scrum, Tom English made an interesting comment in that Scotland now have a positive reputation in this area, especially in the eyes of referees.

That is very important - for far too long we've been on the receiving end of dodgy ref scrum calls due to a perceived weakness compared to the other team.

Refs are definitely more likely to favour the perceived stronger team when it comes to scrums.

I haven't seen it but will give it a watch. Tom English really is an excellent journalist, his work for the BBC covering Scotland this year has been the best rugby journalism I have read in a long time.

EST wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Not sure if anyone has watched the 6 Nation Extra with Beattie Snr, Tom English and Al Kellock but with regards to the scrum, Tom English made an interesting comment in that Scotland now have a positive reputation in this area, especially in the eyes of referees.

That is very important - for far too long we've been on the receiving end of dodgy ref scrum calls due to a perceived weakness compared to the other team.

Refs are definitely more likely to favour the perceived stronger team when it comes to scrums.

I haven't seen it but will give it a watch.  Tom English really is an excellent journalist, his work for the BBC covering Scotland this year has been the best rugby journalism I have read in a long time.

Agree with that. He probably sees it as light relief given all the abuse he gets from football neanderthals when he dares to criticise Rangers or Celtic!

RDW_Scotland wrote:

EST wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:

Tattie Scones RRN wrote:Not sure if anyone has watched the 6 Nation Extra with Beattie Snr, Tom English and Al Kellock but with regards to the scrum, Tom English made an interesting comment in that Scotland now have a positive reputation in this area, especially in the eyes of referees.

That is very important - for far too long we've been on the receiving end of dodgy ref scrum calls due to a perceived weakness compared to the other team.

Refs are definitely more likely to favour the perceived stronger team when it comes to scrums.

I haven't seen it but will give it a watch.  Tom English really is an excellent journalist, his work for the BBC covering Scotland this year has been the best rugby journalism I have read in a long time.

Agree with that.  He probably sees it as light relief given all the abuse he gets from football neanderthals when he dares to criticise Rangers or Celtic!

He does a particularly good line in winding up Rangers fans on Twitter.

I think Scotland will win this.

Ireland will make the mistake that they now think they can score tries at will and their ability to be caught napping out wide will give people like Hogg and Seymour a field day.

Scotland by 6 or 7

This is another must win for Ireland, if we can bring the intensity we had against Italy and add some extra grunt we stand a decent chance. Take one eye off the importance of this match and we'll lose. Scotland are a very handy side at the moment and we're somewhat off the pace. It could be a cracker, lets hope so.

If Scotland win this, they overtake both France (presumably) and Ireland in the world rankings, up to 7th.

Given the fixtures this summer and autumn I could then see them retaining top 8 and having a favourable WC draw.

That is a huge thing to play for. Although sods law we will probably draw whoever is 9th in our group nonetheless (a bit like Samoa drawing us!)

Ineffable wrote:If Scotland win this, they overtake both France (presumably) and Ireland in the world rankings, up to 7th.

Given the fixtures this summer and autumn I could then see them retaining top 8 and having a favourable WC draw.

That is a huge thing to play for. Although sods law we will probably draw whoever is 9th in our group nonetheless (a bit like Samoa drawing us!)

That is a good point - the rankings are currently:

7 - Ireland (79.7)
8 - France (79.29)
9 - Scotland (78.95)

Now you need the computational power of the Death Start to be able to calculate how these ranking points actually work, but it would probably be a fair assumption that if Scotland won and France lost we'd leapfrog (see what I did there?) both!

Is anyone selling tickets for this match. And when I say sell, I mean sell. Not 'drybum any fans stupid enough to pay this kind of money' like Viagogo or any other merchants.

Only need two now.

Cheers!

What Scotland need to do is spread it wide - quickly and often because if they do, we're cooked.  We so easy fall into the trap of defending in tight batches and let's face it, if a guy like Toner then finds he has to spread out and spread those legs to get to the next target of attack............ well, he'll spread those Daddy Long legs of course!!!...but unfortunately he won't be travelling anywhere fast enough.
And we have a number of players who can feel the puff when the defending begins to saw over and back too violently and too quickly.  One of our Achille's heels right now.

What Ireland need to do is be clinical again in choosing best options for making space.  Yes, Italy were easy pickings so not a great Go Compare site to be looking at - but I still think Ireland played with a welcome heads-up awareness of space-rather-than-collision that I haven't really seen in a long time.  Continue down that path - be aware of space, look for it, (it won't be as easy to come by of course but there will be opportunities) - and create it with an offload or two if need be.  
It truly does pay dividends for Ireland to be more opportunistic and less 'safe'.  The players must respect the different challenge that Scotland is - and will of course because they ain't dumb.  But they also have to believe that they can repeat what they did against Italy and play open, fast and attacking rugby.  Don't go back to their more familiar defensive bunkers for the day.  It's too easy to say space ain't there against better sides.  You have to go look for it... meaningfully.

That's Denton ruled out - can cope with.
That's also Ickle Gray ruled out -

Surely he won't promote Swinson to starting??

Of course we know he will...but why!

RuggerRadge2611 wrote:I think Ireland will win too, but to win by 10 I think is a little much. I just hope it's a high scoring game. I reckon it will be.

The battle upfront will be key and I also think we can put the Irish scrum under a lot of pressure. If Best can keep his composure in the lineout Ireland will have a distinct advantage there though.

Where do the Irish boys see us troubling them?

Out wide. Irelands defence isn't great and you Scots look like a well coached team in attack.

Also the scrums and lineouts could be an area of weakness for Ireland.

Yeah, the thought of tiny Tim starting doesn't inspire confidence.
Couldn't we just persuade Hines to play!?

For us? Yeah...I'll get Heaslip to ring him and see.....

Denton probably wouldn't have made the squad anyway. For reasons that continue to elude me the coaches like Ryan Wilson as an impact sub.

Jonny Gray being ruled out is frankly fatal to our chances. Cotter will mistakenly pick Swinson to start and probably Ben Toolis to bench. Swinson will work hard and tackle away, but he lacks the size and power to really influence Test matches.

Playing Ireland away from home without Jonny Gray and Finn Russell. Not ideal.

Losing Russell is not completely destructive to our hopes when Jackson is in form. Weir has not been terrible either recently so there are options with Horne if they continue him on the bench.

Losing Gray is a bit of a disaster. I think Swinson could maybe survive 20 minutes and will work hard. Just lacks the power and dynamism for this level. Ben Toolis must start. Had a good season at Edinburgh as part of a devastating scrum. Thank god Ireland are struggling in their tight 5 so far. The other 4 should be good enough to make up for Swinson at scrum time. Our lineout will struggle. Swinson will probably do a Jonny Gray lite in the loose. 8 tackles and 8 carries with less effect than Gray.

Losing Denton is a bit of blow. Coming off the bench for the last 20 would be devastating for an opposition that has had Strauss running at them for an hour. Denton could make the hard yards and carry 10 times without losing the ball (not going to pass it at any rate). Wilson has been okay. Denton is a different kind of 8 and his ball carrying at the end of the game could secure a lead.

We have actually been quite lucky with injuries this tournament, so we can't really complain about losing Jonny G.

I don't think that there is any doubt that Swinson will start, if he was not seen as the next best option, then why would he have been on the bench for the whole tournament. Toolis has 5 mins of international rugby under his belt, hopefully he will get a better run out this time and show that he is up to the task and will get himself into the mix for future engagements. Swinson will give everything and won't let us down. He has played well for Glasgow the last couple of games.

Ryan Wilson as well has played well when he was given his chance, I am happy for him to carry on.

FH is more of a concern, though I have a suspicion that Finn may well be fit. If not then surely Horne will start after his game on Saturday, he may well anyway even if Russell is fit. I would go for Jackson on the bench on the basis of how well he played against Wales. I will also declare an interest as I want Glasgow to have a FH for their game against Leinster on Friday night!

GLove39 wrote:That's Denton ruled out - can cope with.
That's also Ickle Gray ruled out -

Oh no - ickle jonny hurt? We will miss him and thats a big loss. FFS not swinson - he is a liability. Toolis please

BigGee wrote:We have actually been quite lucky with injuries this tournament, so we can't really complain about losing Jonny G.

I don't think that there is any doubt that Swinson will start, if he was not seen as the next best option, then why would he have been on the bench for the whole tournament. Toolis has 5 mins of international rugby under his belt, hopefully he will get a better run out this time and show that he is up to the task and will get himself into the mix for future engagements. Swinson will give everything and won't let us down. He has played well for Glasgow the last couple of games.

Ryan Wilson as well has played well when he was given his chance, I am happy for him to carry on.

FH is more of a concern, though I have a suspicion that Finn may well be fit. If not then surely Horne will start after his game on Saturday, he may well anyway even if Russell is fit. I would go for Jackson on the bench on the basis of how well he played against Wales. I will also declare an interest as I want Glasgow to have a FH for their game against Leinster on Friday night!

I think we all agree that Swinson will start, my question is why? He is an honest, hard working player who is a very solid performer at Pro12 level. However, he just doesn't make enough impact at international level. BVC is a very good coach, but I do wonder what the continued justification for picking Swinson over Toolis is.

EST wrote:

BigGee wrote:We have actually been quite lucky with injuries this tournament, so we can't really complain about losing Jonny G.

I don't think that there is any doubt that Swinson will start, if he was not seen as the next best option, then why would he have been on the bench for the whole tournament. Toolis has 5 mins of international rugby under his belt, hopefully he will get a better run out this time and show that he is up to the task and will get himself into the mix for future engagements. Swinson will give everything and won't let us down. He has played well for Glasgow the last couple of games.

Ryan Wilson as well has played well when he was given his chance, I am happy for him to carry on.

FH is more of a concern, though I have a suspicion that Finn may well be fit. If not then surely Horne will start after his game on Saturday, he may well anyway even if Russell is fit. I would go for Jackson on the bench on the basis of how well he played against Wales. I will also declare an interest as I want Glasgow to have a FH for their game against Leinster on Friday night!

I think we all agree that Swinson will start, my question is why? He is an honest, hard working player who is a very solid performer at Pro12 level. However, he just doesn't make enough impact at international level. BVC is a very good coach, but I do wonder what the continued justification for picking Swinson over Toolis is.

Toolis may well overtake Swinson in the pecking order but at the moment, Swinson is the player with international experience (including a WC) and Toolos has none (bar 5 mins and a yellow card!) So to say that he should be starting ahead of Swinson is a little bit fanciful as we really do not have any sort of idea whehter he will be able to make the international step up. Plenty decent club players don't make the grade as we know.

That is not to say that I don't rate or think Toolis will make it. He is a player with plenty of potential and given the chance may well show us what he can do. To throw him straight in as a starter though is a very big ask. Not many players, particularly forwards just get chucked straight into the white heat of an international test match and thrive.

What this has shown us though is that we have a good starting XV but we do need to develop some depth, particularly in certain key areas such as the second row. We have been lucky wiht injuries so far in this tournament and would not have done as well as we have should we have coped a few more. The summer tour that is comming up and the next set of autumn internationals are surely the opportunity to blood some more of these promising players, like Toolis. Ease them into international rugby a bit. If he gets called up in next years six nations, he may well be ready then.

The current Ireland pack is not England, Wales or France and we will cope against them with Swinson in the boiler room. If Toolis is on the bench, then I hope he does get a decent chunk of the second half to show us what he can bring to the party!