606v2 picks the best Irish Rwc 22: STARTING CENTRES

First of all wanted to say thanks to everyone who has contributed over the past few days the debates have been pretty good for the most part. We have had nearly 1000 votes and nearly 600 comments and a lot of people have contributed to what has been a really good couple of days debating. It's been great to hear so many opinions (even ones I have disagreed with) and to get a feel for what everyone thinks of certain players. There were a number of very tight calls between Hayes and Buckley, O'Leary and Murray and McFadden and Fitzgerald so it's been interesting to see people's opinions being tested against those of others.

In this series gets the same great reaction and that we hear some more great debates that were started or were not touched on in the previous series. Calls like; should Jennings be on the bench, the backrow selections, the fullback selection, should Stringer be selected on the bench are all going to be very interesting and am looking forward to hearing everyones opinions.


The idea of this series is to establish the first choice front row, second row, backrow, halfbacks, centres, back3, forwards subs and backs subs. These debates I may leave a little longer than the previous series as more can be said about them. The idea is to chose the best 22 that we have be it on form, experience, partnerships, balance, fitness whatever.

Perhaps think of this as the team you want to line out against Australia

IN THE SERIES PLEASE LOOK AT THE PLAYERS WHO HAVE BEEN/YOU THINK WILL BE PICKED LATER IN THE SERIES, AS TO CREATE BALANCE IN THE TEAM
eg: Playing Flannery would mean needing a work horse somewhere else in the pack as Best does a lot of the donkey work.

IF A PLAYER IS IN OUR SQUAD PLEASE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT THEY CAME THROUGH THE WARM UPS AND THUS HAVE SOME FORM (IF NOT A LOT) AND ARE SOMEWHAT FIT. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION.

We are going to use the squad that we (the 606v2 community) have chosen.

Healy, Ross, Buckley, Court
Best, Cronin, Flannery
O'Connell, O'Callaghan, Cullen, Ryan
Ferris, O'Brien, Wallace, Jennings, Heaslip
Reddan, Stringer, O'Leary*
Sexton, O'Gara
O'Driscoll, Darcy, Wallace
Bowe, Earls, Trimble, Kearney, Jones, McFadden

*O'Leary just beat Murray yesterday evening in the poll by one vote.

So far the team is

Healy-Best-Ross
O'Connell-O'Callaghan
Ferris-Heaslip-Wallace
Reddan-Sexton

Enjoy


O'DRISCOLL: First and foremost a superb leader. Outstanding defence in terms of tackling and positioning. Decision making is unqestionably excellent. Not as quick as he was over 40m or as agile but still quick enough over 60m+. Kicking game has improved remarkably. In attack very good at drawing more than one defender on to him and releasing other players around him with a huge range of passes. Excellent hands, low centre of gravity, fantastic rugby brain and top notch defender and defensive organiser.
DARCY: Recent ankle injury has sidelined him for 6+ weeks. Will miss at least 2 warm up games. Straight line runner with excellent leg drive. poor 6N but good post it for Leinster. Not so much a poor distributor skill wise he just elects not to distribute the ball the vast majority of the time. Doesn't have a great offloading game and is typically a crash ball/take it up the gut style centre. No real kicking game but generally solid on defence and generally makes few mistakes (6N aside)
WALLACE: A 12 with a lot of vision and would act as a second playmaker. Underrated defence and has improved his attack a lot also and frequently enough makes good breaks/half breaks. Capable of playing 10 and 15 (it would seem). Very good distribution, releases others into space and also is a good offloader of the ball. Has a good while not fantastic kicking game.
EARLS: Primarily a winger who may well be our fullback. Very quick and great acceleration. If given an inch of space is an expert at exploiting it and can be a good support line runner as well as primary/strike line runner. Has played centre internationally but not often and has played more in the back3. Passing and handling may not be up to international centre standards and also while a good tackler, can be caught out positionally at 13, be it not reading the play correctly or marking the wrong man.
MCFADDEN: Primarily a 12 but can play 13 and either wing also. Deceptively strong and can ride a tackle and pump the legs for yards extremely effectively. Deceptively quick as well over 40m or 100m. Good kicking game from hand and is also an accomplished goal kicker. Has a good range of passes and distributes well, while mixing a running and distributing game. Good defence also, but inexperienced, hasn't got that much game time at 12 due to Darcy and has 2 caps but on the wing.
BOWE: Primarily a winger but has played centre a number of times for the Ospreys and also in a Lions test match. Is quick over 40m and picks and runs some excellent lines. Is a good offloader in the tackle and looks to recieve offloads also. Strong and reliable defence at 13 but while a good passer elects to go himself more often than not. Doesn't have much experience at 13 internationally if any.


PLEASE THINK ABOUT BALANCE HERE....
ie: IF YOU PICK WALLACE WILL YOU PICK TRIMBLE ON A WING TO BALANCE DISTRIBUTORS AND CARRIERS

Remember...

a) think of balance of the whole team
b) assume if they are in the squad they have some form and some fitness (not necessarily full fitness or good form)
c) play nice and no provincial stuff, attack the arguement not the person making it
d) to place your votes
e) back up your points with examples, clips etc if possible

I don't think there's much debate with this one as we haven't really looked at any options beyond D'arcy and O'Driscoll here.

In the past few season Wallace has played a number of games at 12 so is is the only realistic alternative. McFadden has only one cap on the wing and Earls has only played 13 for one half of international rugby. Bowe did a job their for the Lions but Ireland have never tried him at centre and I don't suspect they will now.

If D'arcy is anyway fit he will start. My only concerns are that D'arcy didn't have a great 6N and in the past he has struggled to regain his form after lay offs, therefore his injury could be a big problem even if he does recover.

He also looked a bit on the fat side in recent photos which is a bit worrying as D'arcy is world class when on top form but can be pretty mediocre when unfit or low on confidence.

Rodders

"If D'arcy is anyway fit he will start. My only concerns are that D'arcy didn't have a great 6N and in the past he has struggled to regain his form after lay offs, therefore his injury could be a big problem even if he does recover."

I think this is very accurate. I voted for wallace because I believe Darcy won't be entirely fit and on form but will be selected. If it's a choice between Wallace at 12 and Trimble at 11 or Darcy at 12 and Earls at 11 (and I think it may be) I'd choose the former with Earls at 15.

Why is it that darcy who played up to the end of the season is a worry, but everyone voted ferris in who by all accounts has not cartilage left and hasnt played in months

mental stuff

D24tress wrote:Why is it that darcy who played up to the end of the season is a worry, but everyone voted ferris in who by all accounts has not cartilage left and hasnt played in months

I can't speak for anyone else but I did it because of Ulster bias....

No seriously Ferris is a big concern but perhaps more so D'arcy because apart from Wallace we haven't tried any alternatives. If Ferris is fit then it's a big bonus but if not we still have O'Brien, Jennings, Leamy and McCloughlin(sp). Donnacha Ryan should travel aswell so we have more than adequate back row cover.

Ferris will be available for all the warm up games
Darcy may be available for 2 more likely 1 (and the squad will be announced before that final one game)

It's pretty shakey at the moment and yeah there do seem to be double, triple, quadruple standards, Flannery, TOL, Ferris, keanrey and now darcy.

Think a lot of it is down to how good the cover is for the player

Rodders i have completely abandoned any bias from yesterday on, we are close enough now to the serious stuff to stop the messing.

Wallace should get two games at ic and mcfadden should get one over the next few weeks, not sure about the make up of the connacht match.

presume its a straight shootout between these two, wallace with the majority as he has played and performed for us at center

I voted for D'Arcy/BOD because I think he'll make it.

But it looks very likely that he will miss the first few warm-ups at least, and that means other players (Wallace most likely, but don't rule out McFadden or even Earls) will get the chance to partner O'Driscoll in the centre.

Therefore I believe D'Arcy is the incumbent, but the jersey is potentially up for grabs for whoever comes in and plays well in the summer.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:
Think a lot of it is down to how good the cover is for the player

For me age is also a factor pete as older players usually take more time to get up to full fitness and need to be playing regularly. That is something that worries me about Flannery and Murphy.

The biggest factor though is perhaps the form they were in before the injury and how long they've been out for. Ferris was in awesome form for Ulster, just prior to the HEC ko games, before he got injured whereas Kearney has been in poor form for a while prior to his injury and has missed the entire season.

You have to look at age case individually.

If Ferris isn't fit in time for the warm up games though then I wouldn't take him.

Darcy was already walking on thinning ice during the 6N so IMO that jersey is definitely up for grabs.

Due to Wallace probably getting a lot of game time in the warm ups I voted for him.

Also think Darcy isn't very suitable to play Australia. he will be running at Faainga most likely and can't see Darcy making too many yards there really.
Wallace will vary our attack much better and can still make those halfbreaks but crucially gets his hands free and looks for the offload which darcy doesn't really do

I'd love if McF put in some unreal performances and got the jersey.

roddersm wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:
Think a lot of it is down to how good the cover is for the player

For me age is also a factor pete as older players usually take more time to get up to full fitness and need to be playing regularly. That is something that worries me about Flannery and Murphy.

The biggest factor though is perhaps the form they were in before the injury and how long they've been out for. Ferris was in awesome form for Ulster, just prior to the HEC ko games, before he got injured whereas Kearney has been in poor form for a while prior to his injury and has missed the entire season.

You have to look at age case individually.

If Ferris isn't fit in time for the warm up games though then I wouldn't take him.

Rodders, no need to worry about Flannery - surely you saw him in his cameo against Ulster when he came on for Munster. The best hooker in the match day squad by a country mile even though he hadn't played for months.

I don't think you can generalise about how a player comes back from injury - it depends a lot on the kind of injury. Felix Jones has been fantastic whereas Luke Fitz has been finding it difficult, both young players. Unfortunately, I think Ferris might be being a bit optimistic about his chances. If he was coming back from a leg break, he'd probably be fine, but his injuries are far more complex.

Good point about Flannery Sin except you neglect a couple of things. The first is that it was "only" a magners league game and the pace of an international will be far higher and the other key point is that he was carried off in that game and hasn't played since so yes I am concerned.

I'm glad you are so up to speed on Ferris injury. You also make a very good point there that Munster players tend to come back from injury more effectively....

of all ferris darcy and flannery, it would be flannery i would hope to make the best recovery for the world cup

roddersm wrote:Good point about Flannery Sin except you neglect a couple of things. The first is that it was "only" a magners league game and the pace of an international will be far higher and the other key point is that he was carried off in that game and hasn't played since so yes I am concerned.

I'm glad you are so up to speed on Ferris injury. You also make a very good point there that Munster players tend to come back from injury more effectively....

Flannery came on and got his man in the lineout which is more than the rest of them were doing that day, even if it was only a Magners, he was the best hooker on show out of 4 potential hookers to play for Ireland. The Munster scrum improved as well. I wouldn't be worried about Flannery form when he comes back, more whether his problem is fixed and he won't brake down again which we will find out about.

If it makes you feel better, Keith Earls, a Munster player, is slow to come back into good form after an injury. O'Leary is also another very obvious example as well.

Not another thread please.......

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Not another thread please.......

Agreed.

roddersm wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Not another thread please.......

Agreed.

Don't be making comments like this one then

"You also make a very good point there that Munster players tend to come back from injury more effectively.... Whistle

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Not another thread please.......

Would you mind explaining to me what the purpose of the thread is please. Am I now allowed disagree with your opinion?

Sin é wrote:Don't be making comments like this one then

"You also make a very good point there that Munster players tend to come back from injury more effectively.... Whistle

Fair enough sin but there is a recurring theme in nearly all your posts and it seems you are the only one who can't see it.

No Sin of course you are it's just your manner kills threads or brings them to their knees with provincial bickering. Not saying you start the bickering but you are always in there when it all kicks off IMO.

On top of that there is the selective stats, which can prove anything yet nothing. I'm not going to believe stats unless it is a very simple survey due to how complex rugby can be

And then you always seem to be on the Munster side of things (kearney being an exception) you feel the need to fight for Munster's or a Munster player's reputation to the very end.

Just my opinion but it makes me not want to continue this series as the debate and banter is getting worse and worse

Pete IMO thats a bigger factor in the lack of comments on these threads rather than the who subsection thing.

roddersm wrote:

Sin é wrote:Don't be making comments like this one then

"You also make a very good point there that Munster players tend to come back from injury more effectively.... Whistle

Fair enough sin but there is a recurring theme in nearly all your posts and it seems you are the only one who can't see it.

There is also a theme on how these thread teams are selected. I wouldn't be too hard on Pete though, like most people/coaches, he will promote/select the players in his team which he is most familiar with.

I see very clearly people's biases. And I'm fully aware that some of you don't like anyone who won't go along with what the general concensus is.

red_stag wrote:Pete IMO thats a bigger factor in the lack of comments on these threads rather than the who subsection thing.

I agree Stag. It was noticeable about a week ago.

"There is also a theme on how these thread teams are selected. I wouldn't be too hard on Pete though, like most people/coaches, he will promote/select the players in his team which he is most familiar with.

I see very clearly people's biases. And I'm fully aware that some of you don't like anyone who won't go along with what the general concensus is."

I feel I have given everyone a fair chance and I've been honest. I've stated my opinions and haven't held punches on Leinster players.

Yes I said earls could be weak defensively at 13 but I also said darcy doesn't pass. I voted Wallace at 12.
Yes I said TOL couldn't passs very well and is a snail at ruck time but I freely admited he was a better defender than reddan.
Yes I said Wallace may not have 80mins left in him but I also said Ferris may not have any minutes in him.
Yes I said Jones is lacking experience but I also said Kearney is lacking game time.

This series of threads is being destroyed and belittled by bickering about non-important matters and provincial favouritism as well as nit picking, whinging and people not listening to eachother out fully.

Supporting Ireland is being destroyed and belittled by bickering about non-important matters and provincial favouritism as well as nit picking, whinging I would nearly say.

Sin everyone has their favourite players and little bias but most of your posts tend to be to argue that a munster player is better than everyone else.

There is a lot of cross provincial support for most of the players selected or discussed so I think Pete has got it pretty spot on.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:No Sin of course you are it's just your manner kills threads or brings them to their knees with provincial bickering. Not saying you start the bickering but you are always in there when it all kicks off IMO.

On top of that there is the selective stats, which can prove anything yet nothing. I'm not going to believe stats unless it is a very simple survey due to how complex rugby can be

And then you always seem to be on the Munster side of things (kearney being an exception) you feel the need to fight for Munster's or a Munster player's reputation to the very end.

Just my opinion but it makes me not want to continue this series as the debate and banter is getting worse and worse

Well what is provincial bickering? Why does 'provincial rudey poo' kick off just because I disagree with someone on the issue of O'Gara's defence. Why do I get stick for having different opinions. Why should I give in all the time. Maybe if some of you went easy on the slating of some of the Munster players, it might not be such an issue.

For the record, I've also said to give Luke Fitz a break as well.

I've said I would start Sexton & O'Leary (provided he shows some form) against Australia so its obvious.

red_stag wrote:Supporting Ireland is being destroyed and belittled by bickering about non-important matters and provincial favouritism as well as nit picking, whinging I would nearly say.

+1

Where is that Irish flag smiley when you need it?
If this team played in RWC I'd be a little confused but I would still definitely cheer them on and support them.

Court Best Buckley
POC DOC
Ferris Leamy Wallace
Stringer ROG
Wallace Earls
Trimble Jones Bowe

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

red_stag wrote:Supporting Ireland is being destroyed and belittled by bickering about non-important matters and provincial favouritism as well as nit picking, whinging I would nearly say.

+1

Where is that Irish flag smiley when you need it?
If this team played in RWC I'd be a little confused but I would still definitely cheer them on and support them.

Court Best Buckley
POC DOC
Ferris Leamy Wallace
Stringer ROG
Wallace Earls
Trimble Jones Bowe

Fairplay Pete. I suppose you will now be admitting that your claims that Leamy had discipline issues are inaccurate.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:

red_stag wrote:Supporting Ireland is being destroyed and belittled by bickering about non-important matters and provincial favouritism as well as nit picking, whinging I would nearly say.

+1

Where is that Irish flag smiley when you need it?
If this team played in RWC I'd be a little confused but I would still definitely cheer them on and support them.

Court Best Buckley
POC DOC
Ferris Leamy Wallace
Stringer ROG
Wallace Earls
Trimble Jones Bowe

I'd be the first to cheer them on in the churchill cup

But seriously we have plenty of time to talk provincial trash after the world cup

Sin é wrote:
Fairplay Pete. I suppose you will now be admitting that your claims that Leamy had discipline issues are inaccurate.

People wonder why these threads aren'tthat popular,no wonder with tripe like this!

Darcy and BOD,
Easy enough, next question please.

Feagh McHugh wrote:Darcy and BOD,
Easy enough, next question please.

Agree. Lets make it more interesting. Darcy fails to regain fitness. McFadden or Paddy Wallace to start?

Paddy, great distributor and acts like a second playmaker. Wouldn't mind him starting to be honest. He won't take much ball into contact and Trimble would be a must then (Think Trimble deserves to start anyway though)

red_stag wrote:
Agree. Lets make it more interesting. Darcy fails to regain fitness. McFadden or Paddy Wallace to start?

Wallace for me. I'd love to see McFadden to see how he goes but for me we really needed to see him at 12 in the Autumn or at some point in the 6N.

I couldnt honestly say who Id select at this moment in time Stag.
I think perceptions of both players are a little off, with Mc F slightly over rated and P Wallace under rated.
.........McF lacks game time at 12 and Wallace hasnt been spectacular for Ireland either .....Id probably lend towards Mc F but would make them shoot it out in the warm ups.

Tweaking the circumstances slightly make this far more interesting !!

Thomond wrote:People wonder why these threads aren'tthat popular,no wonder with tripe like this!

So how do you disagree with people's opinion then? Do you just go along with whatever the opening poster claims? (if so, whats the point of the thread in the first place?).

Can you not call them up on some statement they make?

I get accused/abused about my supposed provincial bias towards Munster. Yet, some Leinster fans were completely shocked by the non-provincial bias team I selected to start against Australia (which had neither O'Gara or Leamy in it!).

Maybe posters might grow up a bit and stop shouting 'provincial bias' when someone makes a comment that they can't refute. That would sort a lot of the issues on these threads - stop accusing people of provincial bias even if you feel they are. It might be just that they see them a lot more than you do.

For me, McFadden's best performances this uear have been on the wing rather then centre. He has done decent there but he has performed superb on the wing.

Feagh McHugh wrote:
I think perceptions of both players are a little off, with Mc F slightly over rated and P Wallace under rated.

That's an interesting comment. I do agree that Wallace is underrated. I accept that he has rarely delivered anything substantial for Ireland but he had very limited game time and having watched him play plenty of times for Ulster I don't have any concerns over his ability.

In contrast I've heard a lot of hype about McFadden but I haven't seen a lot to get too excited about so far. I've seen him play well on the wing and I thought he did very well against France in the 6N. At center however I haven't seen a lot of him. He looked strong against Ulster and he seems to be in the D'arcy mode of center with plenty of pace. I haven't seen him display a great array of skills yet though or do much to warrant the hype.

Like I say I would have love to have seen him play in the AI or get some game time at 12 in the 6N but I think it is too late to start tinkering with key combinations at this stage.

D'Arcy and BOD with Wallace to replace D'Arcy if injured.

If Darcy is injured and we were starting the world cup tomorrow you have to go with Wallace, a 10/12 axis of Sexton/Wallace could be very tasty.

If McFadden gets some pre-WC gametime he could well be starting though, I believe he's THAT good. Wicked speed, step, offload, leg pump. He'll be as good as Darcy was in his hayday.

Mickado wrote:
If McFadden gets some pre-WC gametime he could well be starting though, I believe he's THAT good. Wicked speed, step, offload, leg pump. He'll be as good as Darcy was in his hayday.

Sounds good Mick. I'm not being funny here but if he is as good as D'arcy in his hayday (who was exceptional) then why hasn't he shifted D'arcy from the Leinster team? He's behind Fitzgerald and Horgan in the pecking order too.

I have seen evidence of good speed and the leg pump and strength but I have to be honest and say that I haven't seen any evidence (yet) of a side step or offloading ability which would put anywhere near the level of a 2004 or 2006/7 Gordon D'arcy.

Rodders he said he WILL be as good.

Personally I'm not convinced by that. Darcy has been Player of the 6 Nations on multiple occasions and was once nominated for IRB World Player of the Year. Dozens of caps for Ireland and has featured in 2 Lions tours.

Thats a big claim Mick for McFadden who isn't even first choice for his province at aged 25.

roddersm wrote:

Feagh McHugh wrote:
I think perceptions of both players are a little off, with Mc F slightly over rated and P Wallace under rated.

That's an interesting comment. I do agree that Wallace is underrated. I accept that he has rarely delivered anything substantial for Ireland but he had very limited game time and having watched him play plenty of times for Ulster I don't have any concerns over his ability.

In contrast I've heard a lot of hype about McFadden but I haven't seen a lot to get too excited about so far. I've seen him play well on the wing and I thought he did very well against France in the 6N. At center however I haven't seen a lot of him. He looked strong against Ulster and he seems to be in the D'arcy mode of center with plenty of pace. I haven't seen him display a great array of skills yet though or do much to warrant the hype.

Like I say I would have love to have seen him play in the AI or get some game time at 12 in the 6N but I think it is too late to start tinkering with key combinations at this stage.

Mcfadden was poor against munster because he looked like a wing playing in the centre, the runs he was making were those of a winger.
He is a good player and has a lot of potential but I wouldn't want him starting ahead of wallace or dacry. D'arcy wasn't great in the six nations but beside the rougerie miss, he was solid enough in defence. Its his attack that is the major worry imo, he favours taking contact over attacking space and he has a habit of cutting back into traffic instead of passing the ball to the wingers. We are going to have some very exciting options on the wing but if the ball keeps dying with darcy its not going to make a difference.
Wallace is a very good player who has had a decent season but he hasn't done anything spectacular or anything to force himself into the team. I think wallace would probably be the better option against australia and obviously especially if darcy isn't fully fit.
I voted for earls and bod, we're not going to see it, but I like the idea of it because it would allow us to play earls, trimble and a proper fullback.

Yeah that is one of the things people tend to miss, McF isn't that young. Personally I think darcy shouldn't get the Leisnter 12 jersey back by christmas so we can let Mcf have a good run of games and show us what he can do consitently. I really rate the guy as a wing and a 12 (not a 13).

I think with more game time he could be brilliant. Luke Marshall and he are going to have many a tussel for the 12 jersey for ireland one day.

I think wallace would start if darcy was injured but if McF puts in some standout performances in August.

Just thinking but for a bad pass from BOd McF would have 2 tries in 2 games for ireland aginst Italy away and france at home. Granted on the wing but that is still an impressive record I feel.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Yeah that is one of the things people tend to miss, McF isn't that young. Personally I think darcy shouldn't get the Leisnter 12 jersey back by christmas so we can let Mcf have a good run of games and show us what he can do consitently. I really rate the guy as a wing and a 12 (not a 13).

I think with more game time he could be brilliant. Luke Marshall and he are going to have many a tussel for the 12 jersey for ireland one day.

I think wallace would start if darcy was injured but if McF puts in some standout performances in August.

Just thinking but for a bad pass from BOd McF would have 2 tries in 2 games for ireland aginst Italy away and france at home. Granted on the wing but that is still an impressive record I feel.

I've always thought that mcfadden looks most comfortable at 13. I think marshall will be a bit special so I'm not sure there will be much of a fight but with hanrahan(?) in munster and those two the future looks bright enough at 12 and there are plenty of options at 13 who should come through in years to come. Also I'd be surprised if mcfadden gets much of a chance at 12 during the warm ups.

roddersm wrote:

Mickado wrote:
If McFadden gets some pre-WC gametime he could well be starting though, I believe he's THAT good. Wicked speed, step, offload, leg pump. He'll be as good as Darcy was in his hayday.

Sounds good Mick. I'm not being funny here but if he is as good as D'arcy in his hayday (who was exceptional) then why hasn't he shifted D'arcy from the Leinster team? He's behind Fitzgerald and Horgan in the pecking order too.

I have seen evidence of good speed and the leg pump and strength but I have to be honest and say that I haven't seen any evidence (yet) of a side step or offloading ability which would put anywhere near the level of a 2004 or 2006/7 Gordon D'arcy.

Can’t remember the exact game, but it was his first start at center after playing on the wing for so long. A League game like. He ran the show anyway, was stepping inside and outside everyone and set up at least 2 tries (it’s the one where Niall Morris scored and baby Kearney got a brace if you really want to look it up).

I’m not saying he’ll ever be as decorated as Darcy, but he’s got all of the attributes that made Darcy a fantastic player plus he’s got a kicking game and he’s faster. I think next season is going to be massive for him and I really hope he fulfills his potential.

valjester wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:Yeah that is one of the things people tend to miss, McF isn't that young. Personally I think darcy shouldn't get the Leisnter 12 jersey back by christmas so we can let Mcf have a good run of games and show us what he can do consitently. I really rate the guy as a wing and a 12 (not a 13).

I think with more game time he could be brilliant. Luke Marshall and he are going to have many a tussel for the 12 jersey for ireland one day.

I think wallace would start if darcy was injured but if McF puts in some standout performances in August.

Just thinking but for a bad pass from BOd McF would have 2 tries in 2 games for ireland aginst Italy away and france at home. Granted on the wing but that is still an impressive record I feel.

I've always thought that mcfadden looks most comfortable at 13. I think marshall will be a bit special so I'm not sure there will be much of a fight but with hanrahan(?) in munster and those two the future looks bright enough at 12 and there are plenty of options at 13 who should come through in years to come. Also I'd be surprised if mcfadden gets much of a chance at 12 during the warm ups.

McFadden rarely plays 13 tbh, there have been McF-Darcy centre partnerships in a few games and darcy played at 13.
I think Marshall is pretty special too but I expect McF to put in a good fight.

mick-think that was a game against either glasgow or the scarlets. He was unbelievable.

McFadden has played a lot of rugby at 13, Pete, to be honest. He's certainly versatile enough to play both centre positions to a good standard. If anything his outside break and pace is the hallmark of a classic 13.