Ireland 6 Nations chat

First topic message reminder :

Geoff on the Ulster thread created a clever analysis on squad depth and I am taking a crack at a similar one for Ireland in advance of the 6 nations:

My assumptions are based on a squad of 36 (not the 40 Joe named last year). Players categories into 4 ratings:

World class = top three in position in world, and/or Lions test starter
International class = would make the team for other tier 1 nations
Below international class - would not make the team for other tier 1 nations
Exciting prospect - show potential to be a real asset

Ideally we have one world class and 2 international class per position.

TH (3)
World class - Furlong
International class - Ryan
Exciting prospect - Porter

Assessment - Drop off after Furlong, but not as steep as with hooker

Hooker (3)
International class - Best, Cronin (instead of Tracy)
Below international class - Herring

Assessment - Our weakest forward position, with a big drop off after Best

LH (3)
World class - McGrath (Lions bench for all three tests, scrapes in here)
International class - Healy, Kilcoyne

Assessment - Most consistently strong position in front row, all three are great players and Healy may well rereach his world class heights in 2018. Add in Moore and its a great position for us

Lock (5)
International class - Henderson, Toner
Below international class - Dillane, Roux (instead of Treadwell)
Exciting prospect - Ryan

Assessment - good first team pair, with some exciting prospects coming through.

Flankers (6)
World class - POM
International class - VDF, Murphy (Instead of TOD, Ruddock and SOB out due to injury)
Exciting prospect - Leavy

Assessment - embarrasment of riches!

No. 8 (2)
International class - Stander, Conan
Assessment - Very strong, with multiple flankers also able to play there

Scrumhalf (3)
World class - Murray
Below international class - Marmion, McGrath

Assessment - big drop off after Murray. Marmion/McGrath neither have been able to fully translate provincial form to ireland

Flyhalf (3)
World class - Sexton
Below international class - Keatley
Exciting prospect - Carberry

Assessment - Sexton staying fit is essential to winning in Twickenham, the drop off after that is huge.

Centers (5)
International class - Henshaw, Aki,
Below international class -  Farrell
Exciting prospect -Scannell (Instead of Ringrose and McCloskey)

Assessment - strong, if not the most exciting group of players.

Wings (5)
International class - Earls
Below international class - Conway, McFadden (Instead of Byrne, Sweetnam)
Exciting prospect - Stockdale

Assessment - some exciting young players coming through, but think Earls will start

Fullback (2)
International class - Kearney
Exciting prospect - Larmour

Assessment - Kearney continues to show his class in the big games and will start 3/4 of the 6 nations, I think Larmour has a good shot of starting the others. TOH if not.

That's a big blow. Shame for him as I think he should have retained his place.

SecretFly wrote:Which one?

The 6 nations one

What happened him?

Oh I got it...training ground incident.

Oh well...........fate seems to be playing a big part in this competition for Ireland.  So far positively.  Destiny?

Maybe the next instalment was this injury.

carpet baboon wrote:Aki to 13 Mckloskey to 12?

If McCloskey does come in he better be a monster, carpet! We have to have the blood steaming hot in these starters from here on in. Vicious authority for 80.

Christ, this is some testing campaign for young Joe Schmidt!

I was confident for this tournament, did not see us losing a single home match, but I am surprised to win it a week early. 11 straight wins and 3 championships in 5 years is some going, and still have the chance of a GS next week. Whats even more impressive is that we won this tournament playing radically different to 2014/2015. Then, it was all kickchase with minority posession. Now we dominate posession stats like no one else in world rugby and our 1331 patterns are becoming more and more effective. Our points difference was not (like it usually is) based on Italy bashing, but across our matches. There are still questions on our away form with the last minute win in France tighter than it should have been. We are also overly dependent on Sexton/Murray/Best but have great depth everywhere else with Porter/Ryan/Stockdale fantastic in last couple of months. Maybe we have peaked too early for RWC, but I see alot more potential for this team. Roll on next week and hopefully our third GS ever.

I don't think we've peaked - I think we have a lot of things to smooth off and we need more time to meld the younger boys in and get them operating just that bit more efficiently, especially in defence.

But Joe is in his element when he gets time with players on a training field.  So I hope the International camp/weekends are increased a bit now in the lead in to the next WC.  I think Ireland have improved and improved when Schmidt and his coaches get their quality time with them.

But lots to improve on still.  Strong team/squad though.  Schmidt is a fine fine coach - and I like his new temperament.  It's much less nicey nice.  He's getting emotionally involved here.  He's beginning to bite back when criticised and to me that's a good sign that he's really settling into International and now believes he has the experience to be less compliant and passive in interview.

Congratulations lads!

Jobs not over yet - I'm sure the celebrations will be more subdued if you lose next week. The Irish squad will be desperate to win!

Thanks RDW The Scottish lads have been very nice over on the Match thread.

Oh we know about the come-down that might happen next week. It won't be nice to lose but after a week or two of depression, it'll still be nice to look at 2018 and see us there on top. It wasn't an easy year to be there! So all the more pleased that Ireland dragged themselves through some tough scraps.

Ireland now 2nd in world rankings.

Ireland are soundly the best team in the six nations and probably only second to the ABs by a narrow margin

https://www.theplayerschronicle.com/rugby/jamie-heaslip-the-end-is-really-the-beginning/

Anyone read this? Heaslip is some spacer.

"Ignore most of what Eddie O’Sullivan says (eventually, everyone starts wearing white boots)."

Anyway, now that the dust is settled and we find a load of Irish drunks singing in a corner somewhere (oh that's the Irish team!)...

I don't know what channels you all watched for your rugby coverage, I watched a bit of ITV and then......... TV3 for most of the Championship.

Boy did I find that stuff dreary, lifeless, listless and grey.  The presenter often looked like he was dragged out of a sci-fi movie - a semi-human looking android that occasionally looked a little interested in the rugby more than his own 'coolness'. "I do not do emotion but I do smirk from time to time to let you know I am a genuine human-being."  

Then usual suspect Horgan.  Horgan certainly talks.  He don't know how not to talk and, boy, was he needed in that studio at times.  Sometimes I often felt on RTE that he never gave anyone else a sec to get a word in but on TV3 he was worth every cent they paid him to keep some modicum of chat going.

Matt Williams, of all people, was the most colourful and cheeky and seemed the one most ready to liven up proceedings with some controversial remarks but nope - he'd look to his right and to his left and all he saw was pernickty rugby students only interested in the grey facts and glum details.

Jesus.  It needs to improve the 'colour' of the presentation format and realise the bits between the rugby are meant to be entertaining as much as they are informative.  It's TV, not radio.  People want more than accurate descriptions of what happened on the field - they can see the game for themselves, they need animation and ...character.

Hands down RTE do sport better than any network in Ireland, and I don't often praise those guys.