I’ve a feeling Farrell and co have made a complete balls of this.
Serious pressure no doubt has come on to bin Crowley no matter what. The rest of the squad will know.
England are down a few key men but I think they’ll turn Ireland over again.
Ireland have a decent chance in the next World Cup but are unfortunately more interested in keeping everyone in Leinster happy.
What’s your team be?
Keenan
Nash
Ringrose
Osbourne
Jimmy o Brien
Crowley
Gibson park
Doris
Van der flier
izuchukwu
Ryan
Beirne
Clarkson
Kelleher
Porter
Is that 5 non Irish players starting?
What’s your team mate? Only change I’d have expected there would be Beirne to 6 and Joe McCarthy at second row seeing Ryan Baird drop out. I’d have expected Sheehan over Kelleher too actually if he’s fit enough.
Edit: I’ve just seen your team. A more experimental selection. We haven’t seen many of the U20 prodigies of recent years break through yet.
Nothing really experimental about it.
Lowe and Hansen have been poor for a long time now.
Wingers are like strikers. Always pick in form ones.
Lawrence Dallagios book is without doubt in the top 3 sports books I’ve read. I’d urge anybody even if you have no interest in rugby to read.
He’s an interesting back story and had different trials and tribulations in his career.
I also meet him at the Galway races and I can confirm he’s one sound man.
Anyway the chapters on the England team from 99 to 03 are brilliant. They’d one goal to win the World Cup and they didn’t hide it.
It’s the polar opposite to this never ending the process is right that Ireland have adapted.
The last World Cup was a disaster. No criticism of the management.
Now there still picking lads in their mid 30s who aren’t even playing that well.
I think we’ll loose on Saturday. It’ll be very tight anyway. England are missing a few as well.
If they do it’ll get messy.
Still two years to the World Cup to change things I guess.
Id also point out the irfu are probably paying furlong and Porter a million quid a year.
They shouldn’t be going on a lions tour.
Go back as far as 09 and the likes of Flannery was never the same player again after it.
McGrath from Leinster the same. Furlong wasn’t right for ages after the 2017 one either.
They have to prolong their careers. The concept is a dead duck.
Look at New Zealand carter and McCaw took long breaks mid cycle to prolong their careers. Barrett doing something similar now and mounga is in Japan.
It would be a real signal of intent from Ireland to bin off the whole thing tbh. Your playing into Schmidts hands as well giving Australia a huge lift if they turn them over.
Hansen has a grandmother from Castlemartyr.
“And then one morning you wake up, and you’re mid-cycle.”
The IRFU bean counters need the Team of Us to be competitive in the Six Nations each year to keep the Leinster juggernaut solvent. The underhand stuff that Gatty used to do throwing every second tournament to bring players through not an option
I see Munster got two Leinster players yesterday. Leinster are marginally better than the Landlords during the famine at least.
Year 2 already…where does it go.
That world cup QF loss will be here in no time.
How many lads have we in their mid 30s in the squad?
You’d feel sorry for the Lunsters from the midlands who jumped on the Munster bandwagon 20 years ago. They weren’t to know that the upstarts wouldn’t be allowed to remain top dog.
Those were funny times. Lads who felt a genuine connection with down to earth, rural folk like Gaillimh, The Bull Hayes et al & were attracted by the romance of Munster (they bate the All Blacks once) & couldn’t abide those posh, stuck up, Dublin 4 types from Leinster. It felt completely alien to side with Leinster against Rog, Paulie & Axel until Leinster started beating the absolute fuck out of Munster.
Much like with the General Election I sense a major apathy towards the Six Nations this year.
The first game is against England (I learned this yesterday) and that means the only game that people in general would have a genuine interest in is over as soon as the competition starts.
I sense a major apathy in society towards most things these days to be honest. Except maybe Luke Littler, online shopping and cocaine.
I know one Laois man who stuck with Munster through the last decade but the majority of the Lunsters have defected back to their native province because shur isn’t Sean O’Brien from Carla and Furlong from Wexford