Not a hope “conservative Kidney” will try anyone new. His team would likely be:
Fitz, Bowe, O’Driscoll, Darcy, Earls, Sexton, Reddan, Heaslip, Wallace, Ferris, O’Connell, O’Callaghan, Buckley, Best, Healy
Heard that, absolute gimp that he is. Go back about 10 pages for my rant on the fucking RTE gimps. Hook, in his understated way, decided that Leinsters performance at the weekend was THE best performance by any Irish rugby side EVER. What a fucking cabbage. They were good like but context of performance must be looked at in terms of opposition etc.
I dont know. I cant see how SOB cannot be selected. Best looks like he popped a rib coming off the last day. Reddan deserves to start IMO. Fitz would hardly be a 'conservative’selection at FB considering he has started about 5 games there in his entire adult rugby career.
I also dispute the ‘conservative’ kidney point. Again cant be arsed going back to find my post back a few pages on it, general thrust being that Kidney actually did give plenty fellas chances during AI. And that his selection is IMHO based on his long term view of the development of the team through the succesful churchill cup team of a few years ago. Buckley Healy Cronin Toner Sexton McFadden have all come through to feature strongly at club level and to some degree international level. Softlysoftly catchee monkey is kidneys mantra. The team is somewhat unrecogniable from when he took over really
Heres EOS last team
http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/match_centre.php?section=lineups&fixid=36381
Only Bowe, POC and Heaslip are definite starters now. Reddan/Trimble/Wallace might. Big turnaround in 2 6N.
Hook isn’t even amusing anymore- his analysis is pretty poor and he’s there purely to say something controversial
O’Shea is the brains behind the operation
I’d be bulling is I was Schmidt with the way we let 2 soft tries in- plenty of work to be done on the training pitch, Leinster would do well not to believe their own press
I can think of at least three Leinster performances that I would consider better than last weekend for a start.
Yeah hooks a clown, he knows fook all about rugby too. My rant covered off Hook pope and mcgurk wondering aloud in the previoew to the Bath awy game when Ulster would break there losing streak away from home despite the fact that they had beaten bath away last week too
I do think he missed an opportunity to blood some partnerships in the November internationals. O’Brien wasn’t great against Samoa (though he was rusty as others were) but he hasn’t had a chance with the first choice back row. Sexton and Stringer looks like a partnership worth a look but they don’t get to play together. Wallace is always picked outside O’Gara when he’d me a much more natural foil for Sexton who will threaten the gainline himself. We continually pick an alternative 9-10-12 partnership in the “second team” of Stringer-O’Gara-Wallace which is ridiculous because there’s nothing for a defence to worry about apart from Wallace.
I agree with the general point that he’s picked his prospects and they’re developing but I think he is a bit conservative about how and when they are deployed and I do think he needs to consider alternatives such as Ross when Plan A isn’t working.
Buckley and TOL dropped :o
Surprising but on form it is probably the right call…Was surprised to see people call Kidney conservative, I wouldn’t consider him that, obviously he is loyal but has never been one to hold back players or keep players who are past it in the team…The likes of Hurley and O’Leary getting in the side ahead of Payne & Stringer in 2008 is a testament to this along with Foley, Kelly, Horgan etc being knocked back down the pecking order for younger players…
Have felt the biggest problem for management with Buckley in the past few months is that so much time has been invested in him to make him a tighthead were finding it hard to jettison him as it would be accepting that it was a waste of time and resources. and hoping it would come good…
Declan Kidney has announced a 32 man squad for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations with Connacht’s Mike McCarthy getting his first call-up to international duty.
McCarthy was capped for Brian Ashton’s England at the U-21 World Cup in 2002.
Luke Fitzgerald and Rory Best return after suffering injuries during the Guinness series in November.
Speaking about the squad, Declan Kidney said: 'As always the selection of the squad is never an easy one but certainly the level of competition in each position is probably as great as it has ever been over the last two years.
'Players have been really pushing their performances for their provinces, so that level of competition can only be good.
‘That translates into more competition for each place in the squad and then for the first selection against Italy, which can only be a good thing coming into the championship.’
Ireland Squad, RBS 6 Nations Championship
Backs
Tommy Bowe, Gordon D’Arcy, Gavin Duffy, Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Shane Horgan, Ronan O’ Gara, Brian O’Driscoll,
Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Peter Stringer, Andrew Trimble,
Paddy Wallace.
Forwards
Rory Best, Tom Court, Sean Cronin, Leo Cullen, Stephen Ferris,
Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Shane Jennings, Denis Leamy, Mike McCarthy, Donncha O’Callaghan,
Paul O’Connell, Sean O’Brien, Mick O’Driscoll, Michael Ross,
Rhys Ruddock, David Wallace.
An O2 Ireland Wolfhounds panel was also named today and that squad will be supplemented by further players following the weekend provincial games. The team to play Scotland A in Netherdale on Friday, 28 January will be selected on Wednesday, 26 January,
O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Squad:
Backs
Isaac Boss, Ian Humphreys, Denis Hurley, Keith Matthews.
Fergus McFadden, Johne Murphy, Niall O’Connor, Tomas O’Leary,
Eoin O’Malley, A.N. Other.
Forwards
Nigel Brady, Tony Buckley, Willie Faloon, Jamie Hagan, Chris Henry, Kevin McLaughlin, Dominic Ryan, Donnacha Ryan,
Devin Toner, Dan Tuohy, Damien Varley, Brett Wilkinson.
The wolfhounds actually look to have the makins of a half decent A team this year…M
A team of
Murphy
Hurley-O’Malley-Matthews-McFadden
Humphries-O’Leary
Mcloughlin-Henry-Dom Ryan/Faloon
Don Ryan-Touhy
Buckely-Varley-Wilkinson
is fairly young and has a decent enough balance to it…
France squad - Forwards: Mas (Perpignan), Domingo (Clermont), Ducalcon (Castres), Marconnet (Biarritz), Servat (Toulouse), Guirado (Perpignan), Nallet (Racing-Métro), Pierre (Clermont), Thion (Biarritz), Papé (Stade Français), Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt), Bonnaire (Clermont), Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Chabal (Racing-Métro), Lapandry (Clermont), Harinordoquy (Biarritz).
Backs: Parra (Clermont), Yachvili (Biarritz),Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Traille (Biarritz), Skrela (Toulouse), Jauzion (Toulouse), Mermoz (Perpignan), Marty (Perpignan), Rougerie (Clermont), Clerc (Toulouse), Palisson (Brive), Médard (Toulouse), Huget (Bayonne), Poitrenaud (Toulouse).
i wonder have the lads been dropped to the wolfhounds to guarantee them game time? Might be looking towards world cup and keeping as many players involved as possible.
possibly…some decent enough players missing from the Wolfhounds who you would have expected to feature like Spence, Ronan, Cave, Fionn Carr etc…Could be a good kick up the hole for the likes of Buckley & O’Leary…
Does anyone know how easy/difficult it will be to get tickets for the Welsh game? A gang of us are planning a trip down. Would we be better off arriving on spec and trying to get one on the day?
it will all depend on how both teams are doing, if England beat Wales in the first match then tickets might be a bit easier to come by and you would probably get one off a tout for face value
Can’t believe France are still selecting that shaper Chabal
I find the omission of Tuohy to be baffling. Don’t know what more he could have done to get into the squad to be honest.
nothing, just the fact that there are 4 far more experienced players ahead of him
I think McFadden should be ahead of Wallace.
Agree here, don’t with Puke on this subject. How can you get experience without at least being involved.
I’m bemused by Shane Horgan being ahead of Mac Fadden and i’m shocked anyone here has said 'nowt about it.
And why even bother putting Flannery on it? Its just fucking around when he’ll be out till the end of it.
Rys Ruddock is a surprise, but a welcome one, still though Dominic Ryan has played more and very well, maybe its a balance thing.
Strange selection overall, but agree with TO’L and Buckley gone.
I don’t know what reasoning there is for it though. Can’t be merely experience surely. I criticised Kidney before for not picking on internataional form but now it appears he isn’t paying too much attention to club form either. Tuohy has been considerably better than both PO’C and DO’C in past few months. In fact he was better on the summer tour than either player too. Must be frustrating for him particularly considering his recent displays.