Ireland 2021/22

First topic message reminder :

The squad will be named in about 4 weeks time so that should give players the chance to play their way in or out of the squad.


I think this season will see a number of players breaking into the squad or forcing their way up the pecking order. A few that spring to mind are Dan Sheehan, Hume, Coombes, Casey, Harry Byrne..


Porter to loosehead gives that position a boost although Furlong becomes even more important.
Sheehan has looked very good. Darts seem good and he's good around the pitch.


Doris, Conan and Coombes battling for 6 and 8. Good options. Can Leave get back to near his best.


Casey is pushing hard and there's also the emergence of Doak. All of a sudden a traditional problem position is looking strong.


Carbery has been very poor in the first 2 games. He has to get a grip. Harry Byrne is the hot new talent but I don't think the man can stay fit. Ben Healy could be in with a shout.


I'd have Hume ahead of Ringrose now. Henshaw leading the 12s.


Options in the outside backs also but nearly every option has a question mark around them. Lowes defence, Stockdale errors, Earls' age etc. I think Keenan is first choice 15.

geoff999rugby wrote:Got tickets  for Ireland v Tonga (almost certainly) in Nantes
for the World Cup next year thanks to a French contact.

That’s four of us on a Rosslare to Roscoff ferry next autumn.
Happy days  

Sounds like fun, I got tickets for all the Ireland Paris group games including Ireland v SA, Ireland V Scotland, Ireland v Romania? or Spain? and Australia v Georgia.

Should be good, shame this RWC wasnt in Ireland though.

Given that it looks likely that Ireland will play Tonga at the world cup I think our group is shaping up to be the hardest we have ever had. With the new eligibility rule change the Tonga squad will likely include a number of former ABs and Aussie internationals including:

Augustine Pulu
Charles Piutau
Malakai Fekitoa
Israel Folau

They are assembling a fairly scary looking squad quite a few of whom now play super rugby together with Moana Pasifika.

Tonga's biggest problem is that their team will have very few games together. Tonga's most capped player of all time only has 48 caps for example, I think that says it all really.

The change in the eligibility rule certainly looks to have strengthened Tonga and will provide us with a real challenge. I think this will make the squad depth critical with 3 big games in the group stage. Tonga followed by SA a week later will be a tester, and in a dark dismal universe somewhere the game against Scotland could be a 2 bald men fighting over a comb.

I've got tickets for the SA and Scotland games and thought I had the key ones, seems like the Tonga game would have been better (and significantly cheaper!).

Unclear wrote:The change in the eligibility rule certainly looks to have strengthened Tonga and will provide us with a real challenge.  I think this will make the squad depth critical with 3 big games in the group stage.  Tonga followed by SA a week later will be a tester, and in a dark dismal universe somewhere the game against Scotland could be a 2 bald men fighting over a comb.

I've got tickets for the SA and Scotland games and thought I had the key ones, seems like the Tonga game would have been better (and significantly cheaper!).

Im the same, tickets for all group games bar Tonga

When is the squad announced for the tour to New Zealand?

As long as Hume, Timoney, Lowry, Baloucoune, Frawley, Coombes, McCarthy etc are in it Im ok

geoff999rugby wrote:As long as Hume, Timoney, Lowry, Baloucoune, Frawley, Coombes, McCarthy etc are in it Im ok

I like watching Lowry, Hume and Baloucoune a lot. Think Lowry will miss out through injury though. Likewise Kilcoyne and Carty.

Maine man wrote:When is the squad announced for the tour to New Zealand?

Think NZ announce their squad on Monday, not sure about Ireland. NZ do have some injuries, Sam Whitelock (may be back on time), Ethan Blackadder (definitely out), Dalton Papalii (short term), Aaron Smith (short term)