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1 Both great players so not bothered which one benches.Morf wrote:Gilsenan will be ahead of Leavy if fit I think. Captained a lot of A-team games.
Bent is still injured.
O'Shea has just had more surgery.
Surely you'd pick Beirne over Thornbury!
That's all the holes I can pick for the moment!
I agree re Gilsenan & Beirne but I'd also have Cathal Marsh ahead of Crosbie and I dont think Fanning is fit at present either. It looks like a few club players might have to be called in because there's a limited number of back three players as well as the THP shortage. The centres available all look a bit underdone in terms of age profile too.Morf wrote:Gilsenan will be ahead of Leavy if fit I think. Captained a lot of A-team games.
Bent is still injured.
O'Shea has just had more surgery.
Surely you'd pick Beirne over Thornbury!
That's all the holes I can pick for the moment!
Strauss' misfortune has left us exposed at hooker as I'm fairly certain Tracy has been playing loose-head with UCD. Not exactly ideal preparation especially considering the rule changes to the scrum. Brian Byrne was on the bench for Clontarf at the weekend so at least he's getting some exposure to senior rugby. Elsewhere in the front row Bent is an injury doubt and there's only one prop on the bench in the BIC, or at least there has been in the last few seasons.johng wrote:Must be time for one of these with the B&I kicking off at the weekend
Not sure if all these players are fit but......
This is the squad I would pick for the opener.
Pity the games are out of sync with the HC this year
O'Connell
Tracy
Bent
Denton
Thornbury
Marshall
Leavy
Avua'a
Cooney
Marsh
A Byrne
Reid
O'Shea
Fanning
Coghlan-Murray
B Byrne
E Byrne
Furlong
Beirne
Gilsenan/Conan
McGrath
Crosbie
Boyle
Think Conan is still out with the stress fracture, Cormac. Ed Byrne has had another operation on his shoulder and is out of action for at least a couple of months, maybe a bit longer. I think we could be looking at young Dooley on the bench. As far as I'm aware, he wasn't seriously injured for the U20 interpro championship, just rested.cormac wrote:
Strauss' misfortune has left us exposed at hooker as I'm fairly certain Tracy has been playing loose-head with UCD. Not exactly ideal preparation especially considering the rule changes to the scrum. Brian Byrne was on the bench for Clontarf at the weekend so at least he's getting some exposure to senior rugby. Elsewhere in the front row Bent is an injury doubt and there's only one prop on the bench in the BIC, or at least there has been in the last few seasons.
In the second row I'd start Denton and Marshall with Beirne on the bench. Back row would be Gilsenan and Leavy on the flanks with Conan, if fit, at 8. I suspect Leo A will start there though.
Scrum- half should be rotated between Cooney and McGrath. Fly-half is Marsh, hopefully Crosbie is pushing him hard in training. Centres will be Reid and Macken, although may need him in the senior squad this weekend.
Back three - Adam Byrne was in a boot at the Ulster U-20 match two weeks ago. Fanning was involved in the pre match warm up against Cardiff so assume he's fit. Boyle and Coghlan-Murray for the other two spots. Dardis possibly on the bench.
My team: Coghlan-Murray, Boyle, Macken, Reid, Fanning, Marsh, Cooney; O'Connell, Byrne B, Furlong, Marshall, Denton, Gilsenan, Leavy, Conan
Bench; Tracy, Byrne E, Beirne, Auva'a, McGrath, Crosbie, Dardis.
Macken could well travel with the senior squad as cover. Tom Daly or Tom Farrell (assuming they're not injured too) could play in the BIC.johng wrote:I had Macken in my HC team based on Ror's info on Drico.
Could be McFad at 13 though with Kirchner at 23.
in which case Macken could play this game.
Th prop could be an issue. Or is it still 22 man squads for the b&i
Tom Farrell played in the centre for Lansdowne against Con at the weekend. It'd be good for him to get the run-out at this level. He showed real spark during the JWC in attacking terms – good pace, the best off-loading abilities of any Irish player and a good sense of timing. He's also got pretty prototypical size for a No13 at 188cm [6'2"] and 97kg [15st3lbs], so even while he's a Year 1 man and only recently turned 20, he's not a kid in physical terms.cormac wrote:Macken could well travel with the senior squad as cover. Tom Daly or Tom Farrell (assuming they're not injured too) could play in the BIC.johng wrote:I had Macken in my HC team based on Ror's info on Drico.
Could be McFad at 13 though with Kirchner at 23.
in which case Macken could play this game.
Th prop could be an issue. Or is it still 22 man squads for the b&i
Fairly sure that Adam Byrne is out with a high ankle sprain/syndesmosis. Might see Dardis at fullback, as he was pictured training on Monday with the rest of the senior squad [source: http://www.sportsfile.com/id/800274/ ]. Agree with you that there is very little point in playing the likes of Ryan/Ruddock/Macken/Reid against a team who've been losing matches so heavily.goreyguy wrote:1. Jack O'Connell[23]
2. James Tracy[22]
3. Tadhg Furlong[20]
4. Tadhg Beirne[21]
5. Ben Marshall[23]
6. Dan Leavy[19]
7. Conor Gilsenan[21]
8. Leo Auva'a[29]
9. John Cooney[23]
10. Cathal Marsh[21]
11. Sam Coghlan Murray[21]
12. Tom Daly[20]
13. Tom Farrell[20]
14. Adam Byrne[19]
15. Andrew Boyle[22]
Maybe Reid, Macken, Fanning, Hudson, Ruddock, Ryan etc wil play for the A team but really they are all way ahead of this level now.
I believe these players are injured:
Ed Byrne
Gavin Thornbury
Jordan Coghlan
Jack Conan
Colm O'Shea
Josh Van Der Flier
Could be interesting to watch that team. Isn't Sam C-M more of a FB with Boyle more of a winger?goreyguy wrote:1. Jack O'Connell[23]
2. James Tracy[22]
3. Tadhg Furlong[20]
4. Tadhg Beirne[21]
5. Ben Marshall[23]
6. Dan Leavy[19]
7. Conor Gilsenan[21]
8. Leo Auva'a[29]
9. John Cooney[23]
10. Cathal Marsh[21]
11. Sam Coghlan Murray[21]
12. Tom Daly[20]
13. Tom Farrell[20]
14. Adam Byrne[19]
15. Andrew Boyle[22]
Maybe Reid, Macken, Fanning, Hudson, Ruddock, Ryan etc wil play for the A team but really they are all way ahead of this level now.
I believe these players are injured:
Ed Byrne
Gavin Thornbury
Jordan Coghlan
Jack Conan
Colm O'Shea
Josh Van Der Flier
