606v2 picks the Irish RWC squad: SCRUMHALVES

First topic message reminder :

Morning all.

I have seen the Welsh and English have already started these kinda articles and it did seem like a good idea to try and have them all together.
So the series will determine who will be the Irish RWC squad according to the 606v2 community.

I will try and post up the next part of the series every weekday morning so we all have plenty of time to debate each position. Obviously everyone has their own opinions but try and keep a level head and back up your points with examples or clips or something.

I am going to go for a 16/14 split between the backs and forwards.
4 props
3 hookers
3 locks
6 backrow (1 able to play lock)
3 scrumhalves
2 flyhalves
3 centres (1 able to play flyhalf)
6 back 3

This is Kidney's 43 man squad.
http://www.irishrugby.ie/ireland/23313.php

So far the Squad is:
Healy, Ross, Buckley and Court
Best, Cronin and Flannery
O'Connell, O'Callaghan and Cullen
Heaslip, O'Brien, Ferris, Wallace, Jennings and Ryan


Scrumhalf options:

Reddan- Good form for Leinster post Dec. Average passing. Gets the ball out of the ruck in a reasonable amount of time. Fine defence and good break. Links well with SOB, Heaslip and Sexton. Ok box kick. Can be inconsistent.
Stringer- Slowly dropping down the pecking order. Lightening quick pass and quickest at getting the ball out of the ruck. Poor defence and poor break. Good impact sub to quicken the game tempo. Ok box kick. Links well with ROG.
O'Leary- Least accurate and slowest passer of irish 9's. Slowest at getting ball out of the ruck. Can take wrong options and can take a long time to decide on options. Most physical, best defence, versatility. Has been injured for some months. Ok box kick.
Murray- Form scrumhalf, least experienced. Average passer and average service. Very composed and takes the right option almost always. Very good defence and good break. Good box kick.
Boss- Ok passer and ok at getting the ball out of the ruck. Can take on the ball himself too often. Good at keeping the fringe defence honest and offloading. Links well with SOB and Heaslip. Good defence and good box kick.

NB: Passing accuracy/speed and speed of getting the ball out of the ruck is being based against other International scrumhalves not against just the Irish scrumhalves.

NB: The primary duty of a scrumhalf is to give his team good attacking ball be it quality service and distribution to the 10 or quick and accurate service to forwards looking to take the ball on.

Again gentlemen play nice. Keep provincial stuff out of it and but fair

Very true Stag but we agree that Murray is good. It will make it harder for the teams we face to do their homework on him, I am sure they have resources we don't know about though realistically.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:TOL and Murray currently drawing and Stringer a vote behind Reddan.

Stringer has to go the same way Jennings does just because he offers something the other options do not. Just my opinion obviously.

The only problem with bringing stringer is he isn't good enough to play a full game, like seen against wales, is that he isn't a good enough player to compete at international level anymore. Its not good enough to be just a passer, a scrumhalf has to be much more than that.

Scrumhalf is probably the weakest position we have as all our options have problems. I think that Kidney will pick TOL, Reddan and Stringer and although there will arguments I don't think it really matters because the options are poor anyway.

TOL can be brilliant but he hasn't been for a while now. He tends to take on ball his own to often and his service/passing is not really the required standard for an international player. On the plus side he brings excellent defence and physicality.

Reddan is hopefully first choice at this stage, but he can put in poor performances such as the first half of the hec cup final and the magners final. He makes stupid decisions too often and needs his pack to be on the front foot to play to his best. If he has time to make a decision he is more likely to take the wrong one, at his best playing without thinking about what he is done.

Boss; I'll admit from the start that I don't rate him at all, so this will be biased against him. My main problem is his willingness to run with the ball, yes he is strong enough to mix it with the forwards and i've no problem with a scrumhalf making an occassional dart, but boss runs more than he passes and is far too fond of contact. He will not get away with it at international level. Thankfully Kidney doesn't rater him and he won't be selected.

Stringer is no longer capable of starting an international match and there is a risk of him being on the bench incase there is a repeat of the wales match.

Murray is probably the most complete option we have but lacks experience. He has a good accurate pass which although not as fast as stringer isn't far behind. Doesn't take a step when passing, can break, can actually box kick unlike any other option, can offload in the tackle, is big and strong and good defensively. Has a tendancy to be dragged into rucks in order to protect ball, I'm unsure if this is his fault or the munsters pack's for not being there to support quick enough, I'd probably give him the benefit of doubt. He can also goal kick. Yet I'd still nearly prefer if he was left at home, if he goes spends the whole world cup as 3rd choice and then comes back to sit on the munster bench for the rest of the season it would be a disaster. If he stays at home, he will probably be Ireland scrum half in 2012 six nations which would be better.

Not that this discussion really matters as since Kidney has taken over TOL, Reddan and Stringer have been his three and they will be again for the wc

Reddan
O Leary
Murray

Murray is the dark horse in this equation and it would not surprise me one bit if Deccie takes him and also gives him decent gametime in NZ.

valjester wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:TOL and Murray currently drawing and Stringer a vote behind Reddan.

Stringer has to go the same way Jennings does just because he offers something the other options do not. Just my opinion obviously.

The only problem with bringing stringer is he isn't good enough to play a full game, like seen against wales, is that he isn't a good enough player to compete at international level anymore. Its not good enough to be just a passer, a scrumhalf has to be much more than that.

Scrumhalf is probably the weakest position we have as all our options have problems. I think that Kidney will pick TOL, Reddan and Stringer and although there will arguments I don't think it really matters because the options are poor anyway.

TOL can be brilliant but he hasn't been for a while now. He tends to take on ball his own to often and his service/passing is not really the required standard for an international player. On the plus side he brings excellent defence and physicality.

Reddan is hopefully first choice at this stage, but he can put in poor performances such as the first half of the hec cup final and the magners final. He makes stupid decisions too often and needs his pack to be on the front foot to play to his best. If he has time to make a decision he is more likely to take the wrong one, at his best playing without thinking about what he is done.

Boss; I'll admit from the start that I don't rate him at all, so this will be biased against him. My main problem is his willingness to run with the ball, yes he is strong enough to mix it with the forwards and i've no problem with a scrumhalf making an occassional dart, but boss runs more than he passes and is far too fond of contact. He will not get away with it at international level. Thankfully Kidney doesn't rater him and he won't be selected.

Stringer is no longer capable of starting an international match and there is a risk of him being on the bench incase there is a repeat of the wales match.

Murray is probably the most complete option we have but lacks experience. He has a good accurate pass which although not as fast as stringer isn't far behind. Doesn't take a step when passing, can break, can actually box kick unlike any other option, can offload in the tackle, is big and strong and good defensively. Has a tendancy to be dragged into rucks in order to protect ball, I'm unsure if this is his fault or the munsters pack's for not being there to support quick enough, I'd probably give him the benefit of doubt. He can also goal kick. Yet I'd still nearly prefer if he was left at home, if he goes spends the whole world cup as 3rd choice and then comes back to sit on the munster bench for the rest of the season it would be a disaster. If he stays at home, he will probably be Ireland scrum half in 2012 six nations which would be better.

Not that this discussion really matters as since Kidney has taken over TOL, Reddan and Stringer have been his three and they will be again for the wc

I understand the worry with Stringer as a bench option. If x gets injured in the first 5 mins or 1 min in reddans case then he has to play the whole game. Personally I didn't think he played badly against Wales.

Your summary of Reddan is pretty good but I would argue that he was one of the players who had a good HCup final 1st half. his dart off teh scrum nearly set up Strauss for a try and his service was quick as it could be regarding the NorthH pack dominance.

Your summary of TOL is fair but I believe too much emphasis is placed on physicallity and defence, they are important but are far less so thatn passing and getting the ball out of teh ruck quickly.

I play scrumhalf (not to a high level) was a winger before hand so had to learn scrumhalf in a very short space of time (2 months). My passing improved due to ahrd work and just because i was passing all the time. My tackling was poor and getting the ball out of the ruck quickly was poor too. Our team are very open about what each of us needs to work on, we say the fullback has to work on his kicking and the 6 has to work on his rucking technique for example. Its a very positive open enviroment. The guys and coach prioritised me getting the ball out of the ruck far more than tackling. I could scrag tackle the big fellas and properly tackle everyone else. There were about 35 people talking through it and everyone said getting the ball out quick was more important.

I worked on it and I can get the ball away much quicker now and can tackle better also but worked on getting the ball at ruck time much much more.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

I understand the worry with Stringer as a bench option. If x gets injured in the first 5 mins or 1 min in reddans case then he has to play the whole game. Personally I didn't think he played badly against Wales.

Your summary of Reddan is pretty good but I would argue that he was one of the players who had a good HCup final 1st half. his dart off teh scrum nearly set up Strauss for a try and his service was quick as it could be regarding the NorthH pack dominance.

Your summary of TOL is fair but I believe too much emphasis is placed on physicallity and defence, they are important but are far less so thatn passing and getting the ball out of teh ruck quickly.

I play scrumhalf (not to a high level) was a winger before hand so had to learn scrumhalf in a very short space of time (2 months). My passing improved due to ahrd work and just because i was passing all the time. My tackling was poor and getting the ball out of the ruck quickly was poor too. Our team are very open about what each of us needs to work on, we say the fullback has to work on his kicking and the 6 has to work on his rucking technique for example. Its a very positive open enviroment. The guys and coach prioritised me getting the ball out of the ruck far more than tackling. I could scrag tackle the big fellas and properly tackle everyone else. There were about 35 people talking through it and everyone said getting the ball out quick was more important.

I worked on it and I can get the ball away much quicker now and can tackle better also but worked on getting the ball at ruck time much much more.

They are both important, the way the game has gone you have to be able to do both. Stringer did nothing wrong against Wales but he offered no threat to the welsh backrow so they were free to put pressure on sexton. The way the Irish defence works every player has to pull his weight, or more than his in stringer's case, or the system breaks down. The injuries tol has had in the last two years have screwed him over, before the injuries his passing was much better but it has regressed. I wouldn't disagree with you on the priorities of a scrumhalf but at international level one or the other is no longer good enough. At lower levels the standard is, obviously, a lot lower and you were asked to change position but for an international service should be a basic skill, another fault against tol, but defence, physicality and brains are important.

I though Reddan was poor in the hec, in that he didn't take enough control, he had one or two nice touchs but he should have been bossing his pack around a bit more.

The more I think about the position the worse state we seem to be in. The forwards and backs can play as well as the like but if the link plays like a drain it won't make a difference.

"I wouldn't disagree with you on the priorities of a scrumhalf but at international level one or the other is no longer good enough."

In this case surely Stringer and TOL are both ruled out as Stringer can only pass and TOl can only defend. Obviously they can each do the oher but not to anywhere near the acceptable international standard.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:"I wouldn't disagree with you on the priorities of a scrumhalf but at international level one or the other is no longer good enough."

In this case surely Stringer and TOL are both ruled out as Stringer can only pass and TOl can only defend. Obviously they can each do the oher but not to anywhere near the acceptable international standard.

Yep pretty much unfortunately we have no one else

I voted with my heart moreso than my head here and went for:

Reddan - current no.1 SH
TOL - physical SH with proven international pedigree. Not everyone's favourite (there's an understatement) but I'd have him there.
Murray - very much a heart over head decision. I just really rate the guy. I think he has a massive future ahead of him. I'd at least like to see him get some game-time in the warm ups. Realistically, Stringer should go in that he offers something completely different off the bench.

******
WARNING - COMPLETE AND UTTER SPECULATION ALERT!
I've heard from someone very close to the Munster camp that Murray will definitely be capped in August but will lose out to Stringer where it comes to going to the RWC. The way this was said to me had a "set-in-stone" vibe about it but I'm not sure how that could be the case when there's still 3(4 with Connacht) games to be played before the squad is announced.
******

Yikes! Cheers MMC.

That's a pretty big deal isn't it!? To know this far in advance. i guess this is before someone could get injured however. i'd be very worried if Reddan got injured just he is the 9 with the best balanced game other than Murray who lacks exp

I doubt that is true though. Stringer could be in pole position for the jersey alright, but surely DK will not have made any decision until he has viewed all the contenders through the camps and warm ups.

It would very depressing to think the tight calls are made prior to warm ups.

Kinda has to be rumour maybe he has a pecking order nw but knows it could change. DK does make some surprise calls don't forget, "Hurley"

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Kinda has to be rumour maybe he has a pecking order nw but knows it could change. DK does make some surprise calls don't forget, "Hurley"

Like I said earlier, Kidney has had his three scrumhalves in mind since 09, unless Murray plays exceptionally well in his chance kidney will go with what he knows, Tol, Stringer and Reddan.

Hurley and tol was a surprise but not unexpected; stringer had been dropped by ireland and hadn't recovered from the world cup and age was beginning to catch up on payne and hurley had impressed in the league.

And that was only hec. The step up for murray will be from playing well in the league to having to play well in international rugby, it will be a huge step, I think it will be ready for it but he won't do enough to force kidney to select him.

I wouldn't think its a tight call with regard to Murray. A big factor would be the lack of gametime with Sexton and both of them are not that experienced internationally.

Stringer is being sold a bit short by saying that he only has a great pass - no one knows how to marshall a pack like he does.

Sin é wrote:I wouldn't think its a tight call with regard to Murray. A big factor would be the lack of gametime with Sexton and both of them are not that experienced internationally.

Stringer is being sold a bit short by saying that he only has a great pass - no one knows how to marshall a pack like he does.

I agree on the Stringer point. Also the amount of pace he brings to the game off the bench is scary. I'd say defences hate seeing him come on after 65mins when they are already pretty tired.

I'd go for Reddan, Stringer and Boss. Unfortunately all our scrum halfs are average.

valjester wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Kinda has to be rumour maybe he has a pecking order nw but knows it could change. DK does make some surprise calls don't forget, "Hurley"

Like I said earlier, Kidney has had his three scrumhalves in mind since 09, unless Murray plays exceptionally well in his chance kidney will go with what he knows, Tol, Stringer and Reddan.

Hurley and tol was a surprise but not unexpected; stringer had been dropped by ireland and hadn't recovered from the world cup and age was beginning to catch up on payne and hurley had impressed in the league.

And that was only hec. The step up for murray will be from playing well in the league to having to play well in international rugby, it will be a huge step, I think it will be ready for it but he won't do enough to force kidney to select him.

Stringer was a complete shock. He had started every game in the HCup game to that Quarter Final. Hurley was a bit of a surprise too as Shaun Payne had been playing very well. Don't forget Munster had a very difficult pool to get out of that year, and Munster made it.

Dropping Foley shows that Kidney doesn't do sentimentality.

I have to say, I don't think Murray is anything special. I hope I'm wrong. The stand out youngster at Munster was Felix Jones.

I think so too, however Murray has got a lot of promise about him doesn't he? I feel he could become one of the best that we have churned out just because he seems so natural and is so well rounded.

The point I'm making is, even if Kidney seems set on a particular player or a praticular combo he has no problem changing it up. he's not that conservative.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Yikes! Cheers MMC.

That's a pretty big deal isn't it!? To know this far in advance. i guess this is before someone could get injured however. i'd be very worried if Reddan got injured just he is the 9 with the best balanced game other than Murray who lacks exp

I'd expect management teams of World Cup squads to know at least 20-25 of their final squad at this stage.

I just had a horrible thought. What if the squad chosen is a real Steady Eddie style squad full of tired old faces who have "done this all before"? I think I'd cry.

I don't think it'll happen with Kidney though, thankfully. I do think his options will be hampered by the size of the squad he has to choose though. Even a 32 man squad would offer far more options. I can see it being pretty conservative on the whole with no real bolters, like Murray and possibly even Jones.

Whatever happens though, it'll be a damn sight better than EOS's "Untouchables".


EDIT: To clarify - by tired old faces I mean a squad containing ALL of these players; Hayes, Stringer, Murphy, MOD, Duffy ahead of the likes of Ross (not going to happen obv.), Murray, Jones, Cullen, McFadden.

Feckless Rogue wrote:I have to say, I don't think Murray is anything special. I hope I'm wrong. The stand out youngster at Munster was Felix Jones.

Fullback & scrumhalf are hardly comparable positions. And Murray is 2/3 years younger than Murray. I think Murray should be given a lot of credit for how quickly he moved up the pecking order (4th choice at the start of the season).

Murray- Form scrumhalf, least experienced. Average passer and average service. Very composed and takes the right option almost always. Very good defence and good break. Good box kick.

Murray is a well above average passer and his service is very good.

He tackles like a forklift and his box kick is a few notches above "good".

If TOL is fully recovered I'd take Reddan, TOL and Murray.

If TOL is going but there are doubts about his fitness (match or otherwise) I'd take Reddan, TOL and Stringer as I'd like to have a bit of experience to step into TOLs shoes if he break down.

Even at that I'd be sorely tempted to take Murray instead especially if he's given a chance in the warmups and does well.

MMC wrote:To clarify - by tired old faces I mean a squad containing ALL of these players; Hayes, Stringer, Murphy, MOD, Duffy ahead of the likes of Ross (not going to happen obv.), Murray, Jones, Cullen, McFadden.

Hayes- probably won't go
Stringer- will go and definitely should go
Murphy- probably won't go but would back him to do well if he did
MOD- Probably won't go
Duffy- Probably won't go

Ross- Certain to go
Murray- Probably won't go
Jones- Probably won't go
Cullen- Almost certain to go
McFadden- Probably won't go

TOL and Murray are back level again

TOL was in the lead for quite a while then Murray led for a stint and now they are evens again. This is gonna go down to the wire me thinks.

Yeah MMC a 32 man squad would give us another second row to chose (leaving 6 out and out backrow players) and probably another back 3 player would be helpful in our situation

Mac-
"Murray is a well above average passer and his service is very good."- Not compared to International level scrumhalfs, yes compared to the other Irish

"He tackles like a forklift and his box kick is a few notches above "good"."- He is a very good tackler yes but don't think his box kicks deserve anything more than good against the likes of Du Preeze or Pienar or Genia.

Mac-
"Murray is a well above average passer and his service is very good."- Not compared to International level scrumhalfs, yes compared to the other Irish

"He tackles like a forklift and his box kick is a few notches above "good"."- He is a very good tackler yes but don't think his box kicks deserve anything more than good against the likes of Du Preeze or Pienar or Genia.

So he's the best passer of any Irish SH, is a very good tackler and his box kicks compare well with some of the best in the world.

Tell me again why we wouldn't take him

Notch wrote:

MMC wrote:To clarify - by tired old faces I mean a squad containing ALL of these players; Hayes, Stringer, Murphy, MOD, Duffy ahead of the likes of Ross (not going to happen obv.), Murray, Jones, Cullen, McFadden.

Hayes- probably won't go
Stringer- will go and definitely should go
Murphy- probably won't go but would back him to do well if he did
MOD- Probably won't go
Duffy- Probably won't go

Ross- Certain to go
Murray- Probably won't go
Jones- Probably won't go
Cullen- Almost certain to go
McFadden- Probably won't go

Oh I agree with you on all points Notch, I was merely emphasising the point I was trying to make (perhaps badly), that I'd prefer to see a sensible balance of old heads and, youth and exuberance. I think too much of either would be disastrous. We're actually very lucky that many of the players we have are both young and vastly experienced. Fans of other nations seem to think we're a bit of a Dad's Army team - or so it seems at times.

Which international scrumhalf has a better pass than Peter Stringer?

Oh Mac, I think we should. I think we could really benefit from him being there.

The safe option would be to leave him at home but I reckon if you're good enough you're old enough or in this case ready enough. That is a very simplistic way of looking at it.

Don't think his box kicks compare well with some of the best in the world I don't think he can kick it so the ball lands exactly where he wants a la Du Preez but he is the best box kicker in Ireland by some distance. IMO

ps: how'd you do that emotocon???? it's awesome!

Sin-

I honestly can't think of a best passer than Stringer at scrumhalf. Peel once upon a time was very good. Du Preez is very good.

Any others you can think of?

MunsterMac wrote:

Mac-
"Murray is a well above average passer and his service is very good."- Not compared to International level scrumhalfs, yes compared to the other Irish

"He tackles like a forklift and his box kick is a few notches above "good"."- He is a very good tackler yes but don't think his box kicks deserve anything more than good against the likes of Du Preeze or Pienar or Genia.

So he's the best passer of any Irish SH, is a very good tackler and his box kicks compare well with some of the best in the world.

Tell me again why we wouldn't take him

No time to build up a partnership with Sexton (which is probably why Kidney usually started Sexton with O'Leary over the last year or so to everyone's annoyance.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Sin-

I honestly can't think of a best passer than Stringer at scrumhalf. Peel once upon a time was very good. Du Preez is very good.

Any others you can think of?

No I can't think of any SH who had a pass better than Stringer.

Why are you saying his pass is not as good as international SHs, yet you say its better than all the other Irish SHs - just I'm a bit confused now as to what you are saying.

I think his pass is nearly as good as Stringers - which would put him on a par with the vast majority of international SHs.

Sin é wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Sin-

I honestly can't think of a best passer than Stringer at scrumhalf. Peel once upon a time was very good. Du Preez is very good.

Any others you can think of?

No I can't think of any SH who had a pass better than Stringer.

Why are you saying his pass is not as good as international SHs, yet you say its better than all the other Irish SHs - just I'm a bit confused now as to what you are saying.

I think his pass is nearly as good as Stringers - which would put him on a par with the vast majority of international SHs.

I'm saying it because I don't think his (Murray's) pass is anywhere near as good as Stringer's.

I think MOST of us agree that Murray is indeed potentially something very special but unfortunetly this WC might have come a year too early for him.

If he stays injury free and continues to progress from and build on this years form then come this time next year the debate might be who will be the no 2 Irish SH.

Pete - I found the emotocon by clicking on the smiley face icon at the foot of the page

Aha I can see they put new ones in! That would do it. :Eire:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Aha I can see they put new ones in! That would do it. :Eire:

Let's now start a debate about why there's no flag smiley there that properly represents the Ireland rugby team.

But Stringer has an exceptional pass! I think a lot of that might have to do in that he has fewer decisions to make (i.e., break or pass). I think Murray is as good as Stringer at rooting the ball out quickly though, unlike the rest of them.

Murray's box kick is very, very good. He really gets the ball to hang in the air.

Interesting thing, I rewatched the Toulouse v Munter game of 2000 with a very young Stringer & O'Gara, and I was really surprised at the number of tap & goes that Stringer took. That might have had something to do with O'Gara's kicking not being so great back then, though. But he was pretty good at it.

Yes I agree:
Stringer's pass is exceptional
Murray's box kick is very good

Would say Murray is very quick at getting the ball out but not Stringer quick.

MMC you young hooligan don't be at that!

could use an Irish rugby player like this though!

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:could use an Irish rugby player like this though!

Stephen Ferris is kind of like that. The man seems to have no respect for his body at times. What a player...

I was just thinking, should we even bother with the Outhalf debate? Sexton and ROG, NEXT! As for this one, I think the best thing to do is have a mixture of skills. We have Reddan the all-rounder, TOL the physical bruiser and Stringer the whippet.

Murray for 2015!

I was thinking of doing the Outhalf and centre one in one day?????

Yeah Ferris is a bit of a bezerek! The lad must see Red most of the time on a pitch.

Not sure what to do if by tomorrow or possibly Monday when I'm doing the next article the 3rd scrumhalf is still a tie

I couldn't be bothered reading through all the answers (us Irish posters talk far too much), so will just put down mine.

Reddan, Stringer and Murray. I'd only have Stringer as a substitute option where I think he provides all we need off the bench. Reddan is the starter and Murray is the wild card.

MBTGOG wrote:I couldn't be bothered reading through all the answers (us Irish posters talk far too much), so will just put down mine.

Reddan, Stringer and Murray. I'd only have Stringer as a substitute option where I think he provides all we need off the bench. Reddan is the starter and Murray is the wild card.

Go on MBTGOG!!!

Ya I think that's a good idea Pete. At least it'll be clear anyway who's been selected for which position. cough, Paddy Wallace as an outhalf, cough.

I suppose it'd be best to wait til Monday for it really. I think this one has some legs in it yet...

IVe gone for Reddan, Stringer and Murray.

I think Boss is the one thats hard done by, his form for Leinster really hasnt been far behind Reddan's. I think it a lot closer between those 2 at Leinster in the past season than people realise, Reddan was the first choice at Leinster so he was the one that got the nod for Ireland as well.

O'Leary, I dont like as a scrum half, I have never liked the big physical scrum halfs like O'Leary or Phillips, I also cant put up with O'Leary's "cappucino time" at the base of the ruck. Granted he offers a lot in defense and in attack through his physicality, he also offers something different from the other 3, but I never go for those sort of scrum halfs.

Therefore Im going for Reddan as first choice, Stringer because he is good to come on in the last 20 with O'Gara and still has a lot to offer with his service and pass. Murray as a great future prospect who for me may well become first choice at Munster ahead of O'Leary in coming seasons.