RugbyRebels

Ireland 6N Squad (first two games)

Player/Club/Province/Caps

Forwards (22)
Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht) 6 caps
Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (c) 100 caps
Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 1 cap
Ultan Dillane (Corinthians/Connacht) 8 caps
Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster) 11 caps
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster) 62 caps
Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster) (vc) 91 caps
Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 28 caps
Billy Holland (Cork Constitution/Munster) 1 cap
Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 17 caps
Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster) 1 cap
Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster) 36 caps
Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster) 44 caps

Tommy O'Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 12 caps
Peter O'Mahony (Cork Con/Munster) 37 caps
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster) 43 caps
John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster) 1 cap
Niall Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) *
CJ Stander (Munster) 10 caps
Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster) 42 caps
James Tracy (UCD/Leinster) 1 cap
Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster) 5 caps

Backs (18)
Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 67 caps
Andrew Conway (Munster) *
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster) 54 caps
Craig Gilroy (Bangor/Ulster) 9 caps
Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster) 24 caps
Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster) 19 caps
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster) 72 caps
Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 9 caps
Luke Marshall (Ballymena/Ulster) 9 caps
Stuart McCloskey (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 1 cap
Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster) 1 cap
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster) 53 caps
Tiernan O'Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht) 3 caps
Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster) 3 caps
Rory Scannell (Dolphin/Munster) *
Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster) 63 caps
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster) 69 caps
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster) 28 caps

Great servants though they have been, I am sad to see that Trimble and Bowe are in there at the apparent expense of Adam Byrne and Matt Healy (Admitting that the latter had a woeful run out in Toulouse at the weekend - but Gilroy has hardly made any impression whatsoever for the last couple of seasons). In fact, I'd take only 4 of the 9 Ulstermen in there (But 2 of them are nailed on to start). All three uncapped players come from Munster (Though Conway is a product of the Leinster Academy) and if he is fixed in time (You bastard Kirchener!), Sweetnam must get a call up. We might need McCloskey against the English and, now that Fofana is broken and Bastareaud likely to be brought back, the French.

Can't have any complaints about the forwards.

Healys defence is lamentable. cheap shot from Kitchener done us a favour keeping sweetnam fit for HCUP

Choose a back row from that lot.

paddy no 11 wrote:Healys defence is lamentable. cheap shot from Kitchener done us a favour keeping sweetnam fit for HCUP

he's the new fionn carr. he's just not good enough. if bowe and gilroy are lucky, it's byrne who's unlucky to miss out.

i would imagine joe's 15 will be....

mcgrath, best, furlong
ryan, toner
stander, heaslip, o'brien
murray, sexton
zebo, henshaw, ringrose, earls
kearney

i'd probably go with....

mcgrath, best, furlong
henderson, toner
o'mahony, stander, o'brien
murray, sexton
trimble, henshaw, ringrose, earls
zebo

looking forward to seeing more of van der flier though. he could nail down the 7 jersey given half a chance.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:Great servants though they have been, I am sad to see that Trimble and Bowe are in there at the apparent expense of Adam Byrne and Matt Healy (Admitting that the latter had a woeful run out in Toulouse at the weekend - but Gilroy has hardly made any impression whatsoever for the last couple of seasons). In fact, I'd take only 4 of the 9 Ulstermen in there (But 2 of them are nailed on to start). All three uncapped players come from Munster (Though Conway is a product of the Leinster Academy) and if he is fixed in time (You bastard Kirchener!), Sweetnam must get a call up. We might need McCloskey against the English and, now that Fofana is broken and Bastareaud likely to be brought back, the French.

Can't have any complaints about the forwards.

i suspect Trimble and Bowe are there to see if it's Ulster's fault they've been crap or if they're really done. Healy has probably played himself out of the squad but there's a good chance that TOH will be used on the wing. He'd probably be my choice to start there with Zebo at 15 and Earls and Conway fighting it out for the other wing.

Hopefully the heaslip farce comes to an end soon. Sexton not physically capable he's a write off. And I don't think much of SOB tbh. Would also have TOH starting, think he could excel at intl level

The back row is screaming out POM, VdF, CJ and given his recent form who could deny Conan the bench. When we get to Murrayfield in 10 days or so, the Jocks will be just as surely after Conor's standing leg as they were at Scotstoun 2 weekends ago and they're a bunch of cynical hoores so I wouldn't be surprised if they launch a few late hits on Sexton, too. We need a back row that is going to look after our half backs and I wouldn't be too surprised if Jaimie is in the starting XV in Rome to cover for the suspension that POM will likely pick up having floored Strauss or given Russell a dose of the Weegie medicine.

Simon is nailed-on, the best 15 in Ireland and that should be the end of any debate about squeezing any more blood from the Kearney stone. The man has given enough and its time to pass the baton. The jock centres are pretty nifty, but a combination of Robbie and Ringrose should be more than a match. The wings are where we need to make the careful call and I'd take Earls and Trimble, with TOH on the bench.

Swinson and Grey are a powerful combination and they need to be got at early. Devin is critical to securing our lineout and nobbling theirs, and I'd start Henderson to beat them up in the loose.

The game is being touted as a potential banana skin, but to be honest I think that squad has enough in it to put a XV on the park to beat them out of sight - and then another XV to go and do the same the next day.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:The back row is screaming out POM, VdF, CJ and given his recent form who could deny Conan the bench. When we get to Murrayfield in 10 days or so, the Jocks will be just as surely after Conor's standing leg as they were at Scotstoun 2 weekends ago and they're a bunch of cynical hoores so I wouldn't be surprised if they launch a few late hits on Sexton, too. We need a back row that is going to look after our half backs and I wouldn't be too surprised if Jaimie is in the starting XV in Rome to cover for the suspension that POM will likely pick up having floored Strauss or given Russell a dose of the Weegie medicine.

Simon is nailed-on, the best 15 in Ireland and that should be the end of any debate about squeezing any more blood from the Kearney stone. The man has given enough and its time to pass the baton. The jock centres are pretty nifty, but a combination of Robbie and Ringrose should be more than a match. The wings are where we need to make the careful call and I'd take Earls and Trimble, with TOH on the bench.

Swinson and Grey are a powerful combination and they need to be got at early. Devin is critical to securing our lineout and nobbling theirs, and I'd start Henderson to beat them up in the loose.

The game is being touted as a potential banana skin, but to be honest I think that squad has enough in it to put a XV on the park to beat them out of sight - and then another XV to go and do the same the next day.

Ahh.. I see that we can all look forward to yet another fine advert for our wonderful sporting game..

paddy no 11 wrote:Hopefully the heaslip farce comes to an end soon. Sexton not physically capable he's a write off. And I don't think much of SOB tbh. Would also have TOH starting, think he could excel at intl level

I've never been a great admirer of Heaslip, but fair play, he is probably playing the best rugby of his career at present. He was good in the autumn internationals and has kept up the form with Leinster. He is more of an honest grafter these days than the show-pony he used to be. I just can't see Schmidt dropping him at the moment, especially since Stander is also so effective at 6. I think the pair of them are nailed on until one of them has a real howler or gets injured. As for the 7 shirt, it's VdF's to lose - he's as good as any openside in the Brit Isles at the moment, with a great all round game, and well ahead of a half-fit and over-rated SOB.
Like you, I'd like to see TOH get a run, probably on the wing with Zebo at FB. But I don't think it will happen - prepare to see Schmidt's darlin lad, R. Kearney, at FB. He half redeemed himself against the AB's in Chicago, but still missed two crucial tackles that led to tries. I'd have Payne(if fit), Zebo and TOH ahead of him (Conway too, in curent form).

Tobylerone wrote:Ahh.. I see that we can all look forward to yet another fine advert for our wonderful sporting game..

Well, I suppose if you stop short of actually trying to throttle our stand off at the bottom of a ruck we should count it as a blessing.

Spiffy wrote:

paddy no 11 wrote:Hopefully the heaslip farce comes to an end soon. Sexton not physically capable he's a write off. And I don't think much of SOB tbh. Would also have TOH starting, think he could excel at intl level

I've never been a great admirer of Heaslip, but fair play, he is probably playing the best rugby of his career at present. He was good in the autumn internationals and has kept up the form with Leinster. He is more of an honest grafter these days than the show-pony he used to be. I just can't see Schmidt dropping him at the moment, especially since Stander is also so effective at 6. I think the pair of them are nailed on until one of them has a real howler or gets injured. As for the 7 shirt, it's VdF's to lose - he's as good as any openside in the Brit Isles at the moment, with a great all round game, and well ahead of a half-fit and over-rated SOB.
Like you, I'd like to see TOH get a run, probably on the wing with Zebo at FB. But I don't think it will happen - prepare to see Schmidt's darlin lad, R. Kearney, at FB. He half redeemed himself against the AB's in Chicago, but still missed two crucial tackles that led to tries. I'd have Payne(if fit), Zebo and TOH ahead of him (Conway too, in curent form).

Heaslip has never been a show pony. You were calling him a show pony when he was putting in 15 tackles a game. Nor is he playing the best rugby of his career now. In fact he's just starting to show his age.

The back row is enormously competitive. It's not as if there are any duds there so I'm mpre than happy to trust Joe to get the balance right. I might be inclined to go with CJ POM and Heaslip against Scotland.

To be honest it's a damn good squad. It's difficult to see how Joe could go actually wrong, rather than just making a choice that wouldn't have been mine.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:

Tobylerone wrote:Ahh.. I see that we can all look forward to yet another fine advert for our wonderful sporting game..

Well, I suppose if you stop short of actually trying to throttle our stand off at the bottom of a ruck we should count it as a blessing.

Sexton does have the look of someone who`d be none the worse of a good old fashioned throttling..

Scottish squad practice weekly down at the abandoned dog centre..

There aren't any abandoned dogs in Jockistan - they're all runaways.

SerjeantWildgoose wrote:There aren't any abandoned dogs in Jockistan - they're all runaways.

This is a trigger for another Independence Rrrufferendum..

Bad Jock! Go to your bed!

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

Spiffy wrote:

paddy no 11 wrote:Hopefully the heaslip farce comes to an end soon. Sexton not physically capable he's a write off. And I don't think much of SOB tbh. Would also have TOH starting, think he could excel at intl level

I've never been a great admirer of Heaslip, but fair play, he is probably playing the best rugby of his career at present. He was good in the autumn internationals and has kept up the form with Leinster. He is more of an honest grafter these days than the show-pony he used to be. I just can't see Schmidt dropping him at the moment, especially since Stander is also so effective at 6. I think the pair of them are nailed on until one of them has a real howler or gets injured. As for the 7 shirt, it's VdF's to lose - he's as good as any openside in the Brit Isles at the moment, with a great all round game, and well ahead of a half-fit and over-rated SOB.
Like you, I'd like to see TOH get a run, probably on the wing with Zebo at FB. But I don't think it will happen - prepare to see Schmidt's darlin lad, R. Kearney, at FB. He half redeemed himself against the AB's in Chicago, but still missed two crucial tackles that led to tries. I'd have Payne(if fit), Zebo and TOH ahead of him (Conway too, in curent form).

Heaslip has never been a show pony. You were calling him a show pony when he was putting in 15 tackles a game. Nor is he playing the best rugby of his career now. In fact he's just starting to show his age.

The back row is enormously competitive. It's not as if there are any duds there so I'm mpre than happy to trust Joe to get the balance right. I might be inclined to go with CJ POM and Heaslip against Scotland.

To be honest it's a damn good squad. It's difficult to see how Joe could go actually wrong, rather than just making a choice that wouldn't have been mine.

Looks a tad unbalanced. POM is a great 6 who can play 7, but he has not done so for some time and lacks VDF's pace. I think VDF deserves to keep the shirt after a string of good performances - he could hardly have done more. If Schmidt drops VDF he'll probably go for SOB on the openside.
Have to disagree about Heaslip/age. The last few times I've seen him play I was impressed by his fitness/stamina. He still looks to have a good engine on him.

Spiffy wrote:

Eugene Wrayburn wrote:

Spiffy wrote:
I've never been a great admirer of Heaslip, but fair play, he is probably playing the best rugby of his career at present. He was good in the autumn internationals and has kept up the form with Leinster. He is more of an honest grafter these days than the show-pony he used to be. I just can't see Schmidt dropping him at the moment, especially since Stander is also so effective at 6. I think the pair of them are nailed on until one of them has a real howler or gets injured. As for the 7 shirt, it's VdF's to lose - he's as good as any openside in the Brit Isles at the moment, with a great all round game, and well ahead of a half-fit and over-rated SOB.
Like you, I'd like to see TOH get a run, probably on the wing with Zebo at FB. But I don't think it will happen - prepare to see Schmidt's darlin lad, R. Kearney, at FB. He half redeemed himself against the AB's in Chicago, but still missed two crucial tackles that led to tries. I'd have Payne(if fit), Zebo and TOH ahead of him (Conway too, in curent form).

Heaslip has never been a show pony. You were calling him a show pony when he was putting in 15 tackles a game. Nor is he playing the best rugby of his career now. In fact he's just starting to show his age.

The back row is enormously competitive. It's not as if there are any duds there so I'm more than happy to trust Joe to get the balance right. I might be inclined to go with CJ POM and Heaslip against Scotland.

To be honest it's a damn good squad. It's difficult to see how Joe could go actually wrong, rather than just making a choice that wouldn't have been mine.

Looks a tad unbalanced. POM is a great 6 who can play 7, but he has not done so for some time and lacks VDF's pace. I think VDF deserves to keep the shirt after a string of good performances - he could hardly have done more. If Schmidt drops VDF he'll probably go for SOB on the openside.
Have to disagree about Heaslip/age. The last few times I've seen him play I was impressed by his fitness/stamina. He still looks to have a good engine on him.

He does still have a good engine but that tends to be the last thing to go. It's the top end speed that seem to have left him.

After wading through the gloop of disinformation, irony and outright balls.......looks weak.

McShinners late with his Scotland by 3 prediction

'tis still a bit on the chilly side for him to be coming out of hibernation yet.

"An Irish Legends XV will face England in memory of Anthony Foley on the eve of Ireland’s Six Nations clash with England."

http://rugbylad.com/special-anthony-fol ... e-planned/

looks like

mcgrath, best, furlong
toner, ryan/henderson
stander, heaslip, sob
murray, jackson
zebo, henshaw, ringrose, earls/trimble
kearney

scannell/tracy, healy, bealham/ryan, ryan/henderson/dillane, van der flier, marmion/mcgrath, keatley, bowe/earls

You're no expecting to win anything with a squad that are yous?

we're not coming to win.

We wanna get loaded and have a good time.
We wanna have a party.