Ireland Season 2020/21

by **profitius** Sat 22 Aug 2020, 11:59 am

First topic message reminder :

What do you want to see this season? What players do you want to see make the squad? Don't say Ian Madigan!. Very Happy

by **profitius** Mon 23 Nov 2020, 7:43 pm

I'm none the wiser on where we stand at the moment. One thing's for sure, the lineout has been sh!te for a long time now so maybe a fresh voice is needed in the coaching staff.

by Maine man Tue 24 Nov 2020, 11:54 am

Eric O'Sullivan called into Ireland squad. Probably been one of Ulster's best and most consistent players of last 2 years.
Looking forward to seeing what team will be named on Saturday.

by Maine man Thu 26 Nov 2020, 5:02 pm

Ireland team for Georgia match.
Ireland: Stockdale; Earls, Farrell, McCloskey, Keenan; Burns, Murray; Bealham, Herring, Porter, Henderson, James Ryan (capt), Beirne, Connors, Stander.

Replacements: Heffernan, Healy, John Ryan, Roux, O'Mahony, Marmion, Byrne, Daly.

by mikey_dragon Thu 26 Nov 2020, 8:18 pm

May as well put EOS on the bench, don't see what you achieve by having Healy in the 23 any more given the other LH's that are available.

by Maine man Thu 26 Nov 2020, 9:46 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:May as well put EOS on the bench, don't see what you achieve by having Healy in the 23 any more given the other LH's that are available.

Totally agree. Seems odd plus gives Healy a rest. As an Ulster fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how McCloskey gets on.

by mikey_dragon Thu 26 Nov 2020, 10:13 pm

Maine man wrote:
mikey_dragon wrote:May as well put EOS on the bench, don't see what you achieve by having Healy in the 23 any more given the other LH's that are available.

Totally agree. Seems odd plus gives Healy a rest. As an Ulster fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how McCloskey gets on.

I think Farrell is a very limited coach. A great defence coach no doubts about that, but he seems to be clinging onto what Joe did. Irish rugby is in a strong position and I feel he isn’t utilising that. Healy is solid enough but probably a bit past it - should have a couple years left with Leinster though.

by Maine man Thu 26 Nov 2020, 10:39 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:
Maine man wrote:
mikey_dragon wrote:May as well put EOS on the bench, don't see what you achieve by having Healy in the 23 any more given the other LH's that are available.

Totally agree. Seems odd plus gives Healy a rest. As an Ulster fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how McCloskey gets on.

I think Farrell is a very limited coach. A great defence coach no doubts about that, but he seems to be clinging onto what Joe did. Irish rugby is in a strong position and I feel he isn’t utilising that. Healy is solid enough but probably a bit past it - should have a couple years left with Leinster though.

I also have my doubts about Farrell. I was very underwhelmed with his appointment. It just seems like more of the same old. It reminds of a quote I once read about the English cricket team. "It's harder to get dropped from it than get selected for it " Same goes for a few of this Ireland squad

by Maine man Thu 26 Nov 2020, 10:39 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:
Maine man wrote:
mikey_dragon wrote:May as well put EOS on the bench, don't see what you achieve by having Healy in the 23 any more given the other LH's that are available.

Totally agree. Seems odd plus gives Healy a rest. As an Ulster fan, I'm looking forward to seeing how McCloskey gets on.

I think Farrell is a very limited coach. A great defence coach no doubts about that, but he seems to be clinging onto what Joe did. Irish rugby is in a strong position and I feel he isn’t utilising that. Healy is solid enough but probably a bit past it - should have a couple years left with Leinster though.

I also have my doubts about Farrell. I was very underwhelmed with his appointment. It just seems like more of the same old. It reminds of a quote I once read about the English cricket team. "It's harder to get dropped from it than get selected for it " Same goes for a few of this Ireland squad

by Pot Hale Sun 29 Nov 2020, 2:18 pm

Cracking game against Georgia. Ireland seem to be winning in this one.

by Pot Hale Sun 29 Nov 2020, 2:19 pm

Scratch that. Georgian 13 weaves magically through the Irish defence and scores under the posts. Try of the tournament so far.

by No 7&1/2 Sun 29 Nov 2020, 2:46 pm

Harsh ruling out that as forward.

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 3:25 pm

No 7&1/2 wrote:Harsh ruling out that as forward.

I can see way its given forward but if that's forward then lots of other tries would have to be chalked off. Take nothing away from the Georgia try, the inside pass to the centre was forward as well if Stockdales pass was forward

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 3:28 pm

I've seen statues more mobile than Byrne. He just ships the ball without fixing any opposition players

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 3:59 pm

For me the highlight was the final whistle. Christ that was woeful

by majesticimperialman Sun 29 Nov 2020, 4:09 pm

Georgia made it hard work for Ireland they really had to scrap hard for the win. How did they keep CJ stander out in the dying seconds of the game.

Good score for Georgia Ireland won in the end but Georgia proving they are getting better with every game they play.

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 5:34 pm

I would love one of the home nations to play Georgia in Georgia each year. I think they should be included in the autumn internationals each year.

by **profitius** Sun 29 Nov 2020, 6:13 pm

Maine man wrote:For me the highlight was the final whistle. Christ that was woeful

It was a well worn whistle too.

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 6:57 pm

profitius wrote:
Maine man wrote:For me the highlight was the final whistle. Christ that was woeful

It was a well worn whistle too.

Indeed it was. He'll need a new one tomorrow. Some of his decisions at the scrum were odd to say the least

by LeinsterFan4life Sun 29 Nov 2020, 7:19 pm

Maine man wrote:I've seen statues more mobile than Byrne. He just ships the ball without fixing any opposition players

Who else is there? Burns is lucky to have even been capped let alone be the one to lead the line for the next WC. We will have a crisis at 10 once Sexton is gone.

by Pete330v2 Sun 29 Nov 2020, 7:41 pm

Burns played well and is still on an upward trajectory in his career. I think he's better than Byrne senior and just as good as Byrne junior who looks to be a bit of a rough diamond. He'll leapfrog Ross soon enough. Another Irish outhalf got MOTM for London Irish today, he's better than all Sexton's understudies. Just saying Wink

Ireland were utterly awful today. It was the wrong gameplan to try and outmuscle the muscular Georgia. Playing Bealham at loose head was idiotic and our attack is so blunt you'd think Deccie Kidney was back. That being said a full strength 1stXV would have made mincemeat of that side if given an appropriate gameplan.
Farrell is not the man we're looking for if that's his line of thinking with this player pool.

by LeinsterFan4life Sun 29 Nov 2020, 8:51 pm

Pete330v2 wrote:Burns played well and is still on an upward trajectory in his career. I think he's better than Byrne senior and just as good as Byrne junior who looks to be a bit of a rough diamond. He'll leapfrog Ross soon enough. Another Irish outhalf got MOTM for London Irish today, he's better than all Sexton's understudies. Just saying
Ireland were utterly awful today. It was the wrong gameplan to try and outmuscle the muscular Georgia. Playing Bealham at loose head was idiotic and our attack is so blunt you'd think Deccie Kidney was back. That being said a full strength 1stXV would have made mincemeat of that side if given an appropriate gameplan.
Farrell is not the man we're looking for if that's his line of thinking with this player pool.

Burns is solid enough but that's all he'll ever be (imo). Ross has been disappointing considering how good he's been for Leinster against much tougher opposition in Europe. It doesn't help when your only two starts have been against in England in twickers, what a great way to shatter someone's confidence before their international career has even started.

by **profitius** Sun 29 Nov 2020, 10:31 pm

LeinsterFan4life wrote:
Maine man wrote:I've seen statues more mobile than Byrne. He just ships the ball without fixing any opposition players
Who else is there? Burns is lucky to have even been capped let alone be the one to lead the line for the next WC. We will have a crisis at 10 once Sexton is gone.

Bit harsh on Burns. He looks much better than Ross Byrne.

There should not be a problem going forward. Harry Byrne and Ben Healy are coming along nicely. Jack Crowley is very highly rated too. They'll have to step up multiple levels though.

by doctor_grey Sun 29 Nov 2020, 10:44 pm

Have there been any good matches in this Autumn Nations tournament? Almost appears no one wants to be there. That last match of the Six Nations between France and Ireland was decent and probably the best match since lockdown.

I wonder if all the restrictions which go along with Covid-19 might be really impacting the players.

by Maine man Sun 29 Nov 2020, 10:46 pm

LeinsterFan4life wrote:
Maine man wrote:I've seen statues more mobile than Byrne. He just ships the ball without fixing any opposition players
Who else is there? Burns is lucky to have even been capped let alone be the one to lead the line for the next WC. We will have a crisis at 10 once Sexton is gone.

His little brother for a start. He seems to have a more all round game. I'm not a Burns fan either.

by theslosty Mon 30 Nov 2020, 12:23 am

profitius wrote:
LeinsterFan4life wrote:
Maine man wrote:I've seen statues more mobile than Byrne. He just ships the ball without fixing any opposition players
Who else is there? Burns is lucky to have even been capped let alone be the one to lead the line for the next WC. We will have a crisis at 10 once Sexton is gone.

Bit harsh on Burns. He looks much better than Ross Byrne.

There should not be a problem going forward. Harry Byrne and Ben Healy are coming along nicely. Jack Crowley is very highly rated too. They'll have to step up multiple levels though.

I agree here, there should be enough time for Healy or H Byrne to establish themselves in time for 2023, and Carbery is still young enough if he makes a sound recovery, touch wood.

However, can anyone in the know tell me why Jack Carty hasn't featured recently? Has he lost form at Connacht?

If Sexton and Carbery are unavailable, then to me Carty is our next best outhalf in terms of pure ability. He went reasonably well in the handful of caps Schmidt gave him - and I also thought there was still potential for improvement the more international time he could get. But he seems to have been strangely scapegoated for the Japan defeat... a game in which he still had some good moments and wasn't nearly as poor as the semi-fit Carbery that replaced him.

by **BigGee** Wed 02 Dec 2020, 4:39 pm

https://www.606v2.com/t69860-ireland-v-scotland-autumn-nations-cup-saturday-5th-december-2020

by Maine man Sun 20 Dec 2020, 9:21 am

Quick question for fellow Ireland fans. What's everyone's opinion on JJ Hanrahan? All the plaudits this season are for his colleague Healy but I've been impressed by JJ Hanrahan for some time. Is he an option for Ireland? I know he was rated a few years ago before he took himself to Northampton. Would just like to hear what people think especially Munster fans.

by asoreleftshoulder Sun 20 Dec 2020, 12:02 pm

I'm a Leinster fan so don't see every game but I don't think JJ is international level. A very good Pro14 player and a capable Heineken Cup option but he's inconsistent and if Carbery cones back I can see him being 3rd choice for Munster in 2 years time.
I hope Ireland can learn a lesson from Munster's win yesterday, just because you're down by a couple of scores early doesn't mean you stop kicking at goal.If teams let you stay in the game through poor discipline then punish them for it.

by **profitius** Sun 20 Dec 2020, 9:33 pm

Kicking off the ground was always one of JJs strong areas. He won the pro14 golden boot last season and won it again when he was 21 or 22. He also has excellent handling and a very good passing game.

His problem is kicking from hand and decision making. He makes some poor decisions constantly.

by Brendan Thu 24 Dec 2020, 2:59 pm

Agree on JJ does grand at club level but with less time at international would struggle. You wouldn't say that the momentum in the Clermont game changed because of anything he did in the way O'Gara would with a few in game kicks to either relieve pressure on Munster or increase it on the opposition. JJ's kick to the corner that missed is a good case in point. Where he took pressure off the opposition.

I don't know if his move to Tigers stalled him as he struggled there. In Munster he was the golden boy before he left but hadn't forced his way into the team so I think a kid with potential that never came.

I'd take Carty over JJ at international as he looks as good in a weaker team and with a weaker pack. Like R Byrne, JJ looks good behind a strong pack and a good backline to pass to. Carty has to make things happen to turn games which can be good but also bad. It is why I think he doesn't get pick for Ireland.

by Collapse2005 Mon 28 Dec 2020, 8:52 am

Ben Healy and Billy Burns look like the form guys at the moment. Would like to see more of Harry Byrne. Ross Byrne and JJ Hanrahan arent good enough for Ireland IMO. Think Carty should get another chance too.

Time to fade Sexton out.

by Brendan Mon 04 Jan 2021, 9:34 pm

Carty had a good game at the weekend. Looking forward to the 2 final inter pros if they go ahead

by Collapse2005 Tue 05 Jan 2021, 12:24 pm

Yeah he did, as did Tom Daly.

by Brendan Tue 05 Jan 2021, 1:45 pm

O'Gara talked about Carty needing to be more consistent which is fair enough. He had a good game be Racing too but not against Ulster.

It will be interesting to see how he goes against Munster.

by **profitius** Mon 25 Jan 2021, 9:58 am

Squad should be named today. Would be surprised if Coombes isn't there. Any other contenders?

by Pete330v2 Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:18 am

Backs (17):
Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht) 30
Billy Burns (Ulster) 3
Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster) 11
Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster) *
Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster) 24
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster) 1
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 88
Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster) 14
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster) 5
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 47
Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster) 6
Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 24
James Lowe (Leinster) 2
Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster) 4
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 87
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 30
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt) 95

Forwards (19):
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster) 17
Will Connors (UCD/Leinster) 5
Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 7
Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht) 17
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 25
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 104
Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht) 5
Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) 58
Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 16
Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster) 6
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 39
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) 73
Tom O’Toole (Banbridge/Ulster) *
Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster) 32
Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht) 16
Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) 26
James Ryan (UCD/Leinster) 32
CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster) 46
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 28

FFS, cut and paste, SSDD.

by mikey_dragon Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:28 am

No Cooney or Stockdale.

by Maine man Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:36 am

mikey_dragon wrote:No Cooney or Stockdale.

I think Stockdale is injured and Cooney not being picked isn't a surprise. It's a disgrace. I dont blame him if he buggers off to France or somewhere else with the way he's been treated.

by Pete330v2 Mon 25 Jan 2021, 3:04 pm

Stockdale is indeed injured so not selected.
Cooney's omission while Gibson-Park and Casey are selected boggles the mind. Gibson-Park brings little and Casey is still a prospect untested at international level. Not selecting him for the nations cup is forgivable, it was a meaningless tournament with a chance to have a look at other options but this is a real, meaningful tournament so why not select your very best players. If he's 'not the future' then there are a lot of players needing ejected from that squad.
It's recently been commented that his clash for game control with Sexton that has him cast aside but if that's the case then it's player-power again and Farrell may as well not play any part.

There are other omissions such as Coombes who would have brought much needed go forward ball etc but it's the same, tired old calls and most likely the same tired old Ireland. I hope I'm proved wrong but hopes are very low for this tournament.

by theslosty Mon 25 Jan 2021, 11:10 pm

For the most part, I think the squad picks itself. There's a few calls I disagree with but that's always the case - I'd prefer Baird over Roux, Carty over Byrne, maybe Coombes over Ruddock. But I'm reasonable and can understand why Farrell went with those selections.

However the one I don't think anyone can fathom is the omission of Cooney yet again. It might sound hyperbolic but bar Dupont I haven't seen a better scrumhalf in Europe over the last 3 or 4 years. I genuinely can't see why he couldn't compete for the Lions 9 shirt if only he was given a chance in green. I'm seriously scratching my head here - if I recall correctly Farrell cited his 'poor form' for leaving him out of the Autumn squad - I thought that was a pretty poor reason at the time and it certainly hasn't applied to Cooney recently. Perhaps it's that his goalkicking wouldn't be used for Ireland? But then he's still probably more accurate than Sexton. Maybe in his first season at Ulster I could have gone along with that but there's clearly so much more to his game - in fact again I'll say only Dupont runs better support lines atm.

There's some gossip about Sexton not taking a liking to him and basically refusing to play with him - surely that's just gossip? I can't see what Sexton's problem would be, and even if there was that would make Farrell an incredibly weak head coach. I know Sexton can be a piece of work on the pitch sometimes but is he really this monster character - he always seems to be popular with his teammates. I've just read Pete's comment that maybe Cooney takes too much control of the game for Sexton's preference, but Murray at his best is a very authoritative 9 too. SHs like Marmion, JGP and Casey are a bit different - they're more about getting the ball to the 10 as fast as possible.

Any other factors - his age? Maybe he would be getting on a bit by 2023 but he's still a year younger than Murray. Then finally there will be some that say that players from Ulster and possibly Connacht too don't get a fair shot but tbh I think there's inferior Ulster players to Cooney named in that squad i.e. Burns and McCloskey

by **profitius** Sun 21 Mar 2021, 9:54 pm

It looks like a 3rd place finish but at least we finished with a good performance. The question now is, was it a once off or is it finally the start of the Andy Farrell era.

In fairness to Farrell he looks like he's learning from his mistakes. They attacked England with pace yesterday and there were few instances of one out runners. I still think the attack looks disjointed though.

The line-out has transformed since POC took over. Just goes to show what good coaching can do and begs the question of why did it take so long to get someone else in.

Overall the pack look very well drilled. POC and Fogarty doing a fine job there.

The backs are a bit all over the place. Sexton and Murrays injuries, defensive mistakes, off form players, confusion about what they're doing etc. It has to be a lot better going forward. The England game was an improvement but they were turgid in the Scotland and France matches. Any match against Italy should be ignored at this stage.

While much of the talk has been about who will replace Murray and Sexton, the age profile of the squad is in good shape. Stander is retiring, Healy, Sexton, Murray, Earls are all in the twilight years of their careers but there are youngsters being drip fed into the squad.

The summer tour squad will be interesting. Hard to know who exactly will be the next breakthrough players. Baird is at that stage now which isnt a surprise but its not always the obvious players. At the start of the season James Lowe was being talked as a lions starter and few had heard of Hugo Keenan. He took his opportunity superbly. Still in the next year or two we have a few coming through that will boost the squad. Dan Sheehan, Ahern, Coombes, Penny, Hodnett, Dunne, Balacoune, Harry Byrne, Crowley etc.

I'd like to see a playmaker center come through. Think we need a bit more class there and a better attacking game overall.

by theslosty Sun 21 Mar 2021, 10:24 pm

I think most positions look reasonably good with the exception of 10 where we're still praying for Carbery to come good. Watching Jalibert for France gave me a tinge of sadness as he was playing like I hoped Carbery would be by this stage.

The performance yesterday was very good but without being too negative I think it's about the best we can hope for at the present time. Individually most of the starting XV played close to their best and it was just one of those days where most of the little things went out way (apart from the Earls non-try and the Aki red).

Unless we continue to evolve I think another RWC quarter final exit looks likely as I think the current crop of players are decent without having enough truly world class players. 10 years ago I would have put Healy, POC, SOB, Ferris, Heaslip, Sexton, BOD and Kearney in that category and possibly David Wallace and Bowe too. Whereas now I only see that calibre of player in Furlong, Beirne and possibly Ryan and Henshaw.

We need to keep evolving our attack and pick players like Beirne, Doris, Baird etc who have the skillet to facilitate that. I think CJ will be a miss in the short term but I think he's timed it pretty well as I don't think he was going to develop his game at this stage and his body surely would have begun to show some wear and tear. There's also players like Ringrose and Stockdale who have a bit more to give imo and we need to get those sort of matchwinning players firing.

by **profitius** Thu 25 Mar 2021, 2:39 pm

theslosty wrote:I think most positions look reasonably good with the exception of 10 where we're still praying for Carbery to come good. Watching Jalibert for France gave me a tinge of sadness as he was playing like I hoped Carbery would be by this stage.

The performance yesterday was very good but without being too negative I think it's about the best we can hope for at the present time. Individually most of the starting XV played close to their best and it was just one of those days where most of the little things went out way (apart from the Earls non-try and the Aki red).

Unless we continue to evolve I think another RWC quarter final exit looks likely as I think the current crop of players are decent without having enough truly world class players. 10 years ago I would have put Healy, POC, SOB, Ferris, Heaslip, Sexton, BOD and Kearney in that category and possibly David Wallace and Bowe too. Whereas now I only see that calibre of player in Furlong, Beirne and possibly Ryan and Henshaw.

We need to keep evolving our attack and pick players like Beirne, Doris, Baird etc who have the skillet to facilitate that. I think CJ will be a miss in the short term but I think he's timed it pretty well as I don't think he was going to develop his game at this stage and his body surely would have begun to show some wear and tear. There's also players like Ringrose and Stockdale who have a bit more to give imo and we need to get those sort of matchwinning players firing.

Carbery had a great game the other week for Munster. A small bit rusty but produced a bit of magic to create a try for Daly. We need himself and Harry to get an injury free run.

Agree about CJ. In the Scotland game alone there were a number of times he should have passed but ignored better options and butchered a chance with a bad pass. Great player but if we are to play a more skilled based game then you need most of the pack to be able to link up with others. Jack Conan's pass to Earls being an example.

Shame there are no more matches. I would love to see if they can repeat the performance.

by Collapse2005 Thu 25 Mar 2021, 2:42 pm

Stander was a great player but I alwayd thought he was a better 6 than 8 for that reason. He is a total bulldozer of a man, ideal for bossing rucks, gainlines and so on but his feet and hands arent as nimble as you might want from an 8.

by Pete330v2 Thu 25 Mar 2021, 2:53 pm

"I'd like to see a playmaker center come through. Think we need a bit more class there and a better attacking game overall."

Stewart Moore fits that particular niche. He's in his first season with Ulster and has an insane skillset for such a young player. If he can get a good run of games I think we'll see that he's on another level, classy young whipper snapper.

"Whereas now I only see that calibre of player in Furlong, Beirne and possibly Ryan and Henshaw."

I'd add Henderson to that sadly all too short list. There are a good few very exciting players that are almost ready for the big stage. I'm particularly excited about Coombes and Hodnett, Sheehan and Byrne Jr, Baloucoune and Moore etc, the list goes on. There are some slightly older hands like Stockdale who just need to find their mojo again and we'll ne sweet. We do need to have more than Joey at outhalf so Byrne Jr will be a handy addition but not guaranteed with Lowry hopefully getting more time at 10 next year and making a play for the green shirt, he's got X factor.

by **profitius** Fri 26 Mar 2021, 8:31 am

Collapse2005 wrote:Stander was a great player but I alwayd thought he was a better 6 than 8 for that reason. He is a total bulldozer of a man, ideal for bossing rucks, gainlines and so on but his feet and hands arent as nimble as you might want from an 8.

Yup that makes more sense. An 8 needs to keep defenders guessing. They knew what Stander would do although he has worked on his passing in recent seasons.

by **profitius** Fri 26 Mar 2021, 8:34 am

Pete330v2 wrote:"I'd like to see a playmaker center come through. Think we need a bit more class there and a better attacking game overall."

Stewart Moore fits that particular niche. He's in his first season with Ulster and has an insane skillset for such a young player. If he can get a good run of games I think we'll see that he's on another level, classy young whipper snapper.

"Whereas now I only see that calibre of player in Furlong, Beirne and possibly Ryan and Henshaw."

I'd add Henderson to that sadly all too short list. There are a good few very exciting players that are almost ready for the big stage. I'm particularly excited about Coombes and Hodnett, Sheehan and Byrne Jr, Baloucoune and Moore etc, the list goes on. There are some slightly older hands like Stockdale who just need to find their mojo again and we'll ne sweet. We do need to have more than Joey at outhalf so Byrne Jr will be a handy addition but not guaranteed with Lowry hopefully getting more time at 10 next year and making a play for the green shirt, he's got X factor.

Stewart Moore has the talent, no doubt. Hopefully he fulfills his potential. Hume looks a quality player too.

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