Ireland v Scotland, RBS 6 Nations 2014

[ronk]

Tuohy was good in contact at the weekend. He certainly offers something.

[domhnallj]

Not a bad squad, surprised Zebo is not in, surely has a little more match fitness over McFadden or as blockhead as alluded to is there something going on with him (I would have him ahead of Dave Kearney, as well as Dave is playing he doesn't offer much more than either Trimble or McFadden and Zebo and Fitzgerald - Earls too - have that something different about them, that extra bit of class), Kilcoyne might consider himself unlucky but 50/50 between him and Moore (maybe we will see Moore starting and Ross on the bench). Happy to see Touhy in there as he has been good all season, playing alongside Mueller has done wonders for him (still can give away stupid penalties tho)

Excited what this squad might be able to produce against the Scots on Sunday.

I can see Strauss, Zebo and Bowe being called up to future match squads - Zebo even for the Wales game.

They play on different sides so don't think it was 50:50 between them.

[johng]

Quite a meteoric rise from Marty Moore, well deserved.

Absolutely. Especially seeing as there are no other THs other than him and Ross. Defo bench at a minimum and almost certainly his first cap.

He could conceivably play in the 2027 WC barring injury

[CiaranIrl]

I'm sure some of the Munster lads will lose the plot over McFadden making the cut despite very limited gametime, so I'll pre-empt.

My read of this squad is that he has kept an entire second choice team for bibs duty. McFadden plays 14, Zebo and Gilroy don't. That means you have a complete second team lining up against the first team - McGrath, Cronin, Moore, Henderson, Tuohy, Ruddock, O'Donnell, Copeland, Reddan, Jackson, Kearney, D'Arcy, Henshaw, McFadden, Felix Jones. This is the only way it makes sense to keep someone like Felix Jones in the camp. He is probably third or fourth choice fullback, but Henshaw and Dave Kearney are lining up in different positions as the opposition training team.

My guess is that McCarthy is still injured from the gash to his face and isn't going to play or train, hence keeping both of Henderson and Tuohy. Keeping Jordi Murphy might suggest that someone in the back row is carrying a knock.

[ronk]

I'm sure some of the Munster lads will lose the plot over McFadden making the cut despite very limited gametime, so I'll pre-empt.

My read of this squad is that he has kept an entire second choice team for bibs duty. McFadden plays 14, Zebo and Gilroy don't. That means you have a complete second team lining up against the first team - McGrath, Cronin, Moore, Henderson, Tuohy, Ruddock, O'Donnell, Copeland, Reddan, Jackson, Kearney, D'Arcy, Henshaw, McFadden, Felix Jones. This is the only way it makes sense to keep someone like Felix Jones in the camp. He is probably third or fourth choice fullback, but Henshaw and Dave Kearney are lining up in different positions as the opposition training team.

My guess is that McCarthy is still injured from the gash to his face and isn't going to play or train, hence keeping both of Henderson and Tuohy. Keeping Jordi Murphy might suggest that someone in the back row is carrying a knock.

I like that theory, but Trimble is a right winger.

Maybe it's easier to explain in terms of saying that McFadden is the most versatile player because he can also play centre.

[Golf Man]

Not a bad squad, surprised Zebo is not in, surely has a little more match fitness over McFadden or as blockhead as alluded to is there something going on with him (I would have him ahead of Dave Kearney, as well as Dave is playing he doesn't offer much more than either Trimble or McFadden and Zebo and Fitzgerald - Earls too - have that something different about them, that extra bit of class), Kilcoyne might consider himself unlucky but 50/50 between him and Moore (maybe we will see Moore starting and Ross on the bench). Happy to see Touhy in there as he has been good all season, playing alongside Mueller has done wonders for him (still can give away stupid penalties tho)

Excited what this squad might be able to produce against the Scots on Sunday.

I can see Strauss, Zebo and Bowe being called up to future match squads - Zebo even for the Wales game.

The Zebo one is very hard to understand. He has more rugby than McFadden. He had an hour against Edinburgh and was outstanding, really didn't seem to be be off the pace at all. With Earls and Bowe out we are missing finishers out wide - for all Fitzgeralds form and D Kearney solidity they are not exactly great finishers. I fail to see why he would have Jones in the squad and not keep Zebo there. Schmidt isn't a conservative coach, but he has a tendency to conservative selection - we are now likley to see an all Leinster 11-15 -> that unit haven't been particularly exciting this year (Saints away aside)

I doubt if there are issues with Zebo off the field - yes he has a life outside rugby, but there are plenty of players who have this and it hasn't affected them.

CiaranIrl - think you are overstretching it - yes Jones is probably there to fill a role in training (as Copeland probably is). I don't think that these roles stretch to wingers though - he has picked Fitz, Kearney, Trimble and McFadden - I'm not sure what the issue with Zebo is but with Bowe and Earls out we look a bit pedestrian there now. McFadden is a favourite and has obviously been treated differently from Zebo and Gilroy - not sure he is good/influential enough for this. Not sure if Kearney deserves to be in teh squad either - its easy to pick on Kearney - he has been good lately, but his plus points really aren't up there with the others. If he had his mind made up on Kearney thats not good either

[All Blacks nil]

No real issues with the squad.
A finishing front row of McGrath, Cronin and Moore might struggle for the last 20 mins of a tight Six Nations match. That could be said about any pair of inexperienced props. Still they will have plenty experience by the time France come knocking.

Copeland offers another ball carrying option and POM's ability to cover openside certainly would help is inclusion on the bench. The fact that he won 3 of 11 of the Wolfhounds turnover on Saturday will surely have impressed Joe. Ruddock was the only other forward to win 1 turnover. He put in a shift defensively with 13 tackles and 2 missed. He was also Ireland's top ball carrier in terms of gainline success 6/7 and total metres gained.[/u] An impressive outing and a nice debut under Joe Schmidt and he might have played his way onto the bench.

Trimble's selection is interesting as aside from McFadden he is the only right wing in the squad. If he is selected I would expect to see McFadden selected as replacement.

From a Munster point of view 5 players (Earls injured) is a disappointing figure in a 34 man. Kilcoyne, Archer and Zebo will all be disappointed but I will be surprised if at least two of them don't play a part in the tournament. Having said that Felix Jones is possibly the least likely of the 34 to play a game.

[CiaranIrl]

I'm sure some of the Munster lads will lose the plot over McFadden making the cut despite very limited gametime, so I'll pre-empt.

My read of this squad is that he has kept an entire second choice team for bibs duty. McFadden plays 14, Zebo and Gilroy don't. That means you have a complete second team lining up against the first team - McGrath, Cronin, Moore, Henderson, Tuohy, Ruddock, O'Donnell, Copeland, Reddan, Jackson, Kearney, D'Arcy, Henshaw, McFadden, Felix Jones. This is the only way it makes sense to keep someone like Felix Jones in the camp. He is probably third or fourth choice fullback, but Henshaw and Dave Kearney are lining up in different positions as the opposition training team.

My guess is that McCarthy is still injured from the gash to his face and isn't going to play or train, hence keeping both of Henderson and Tuohy. Keeping Jordi Murphy might suggest that someone in the back row is carrying a knock.

I like that theory, but Trimble is a right winger.

Maybe it's easier to explain in terms of saying that McFadden is the most versatile player because he can also play centre.

Yeah, but Trimble and Fitzgerald are in the team without bibs and probably starting against Scotland. Makes sense, and that's how they have been lining up in training. Two right wingers, two left wingers and two full backs in the squad.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Our pack looks infinitely stronger than last year aside from the loss of SOB.

Props - McGrath and Moore are big steps up on who we had last year IMO. Even though Ross is a concern, the back up is much better.

Hookers - Cronin may have issues in the scrum but overall he's improved hugely this season. Best is in really good form too and Toner and POC should help avoid any implosions like last year.

Second row - POC is back and playing well. Toner is in superb form, McCarthy much better than this time last year, Henderson and Touhy both had brilliant games last weekend. One thing that does concern me slightly is the defensive maul. Ulster's is poor and it was poor again for the Wolfhounds. Considering Ryan is out I'm very happy with who've we've got.

Back row - POM has another year under his belt, Henry is in brilliant form, TOD is too, Ruddock has improved hugely. Copeland has emerged from nowhere. As much of a loss as SOB is, we had Henderson as our back row sub for at least some games last year. Good player and everything but I'm much happier with the other guys above. Had this been last year then I reckon Jordi's form would have seen him pushing very hard for a bench spot, I think we've come a long way in the space of 12 months.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I don't really get the fuss about the wingers. Zebo is unlucky but I think nearly everyone would have Luke pencilled in as the first choice winger. He's been playing exclusively on the left wing so it would seem stupid to move him to the right and Zebo isn't a right winger. No Bowe or Earls means we have to look further down the pecking order. Gilroy had a poor game on Saturday so no reason he should be in the mix and that leaves DK, Ferg and Trimble.

Personally I don't think Trimble is good enough but that said I don't think he'd let anyone down if he played over the next couple of weeks. DK played very well against NZ and has been good since so there shouldn't be any issues if he does start. Ferg is lucky but is the most versatile of the guys he was battling with and played well against Oz.

My main point is that I think we're looking for more options on the right wing than the left because we're more likely to want a change there given how well Luke is playing.

[flustered]

ooops got my prop positions mixed up!

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Also as some people have already pointed out, a back three of Kearney, Zebo and Luke would be entirely left footed.

[ronk]

Scrum.com stats have McGrath making 10 tackles in his 31 minutes on the pitch. One thing I was really noticing lately is how many of the Irish props are going low for tackles so often, especially the young props. Moore, Kilcoyne and McGrath have been brilliant at chopping down anyone when they get a chance, which is making life super easy for the backrows to steal ball. "Choke tackling" is still getting the attention, but I'm seeing Irish front rows who've clearly been working on their tackling technique so much that they're actually becoming masters of the art.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

McGrath and Moore are an outstanding double act defensively for Leinster. They're more like a centre partnership in the way they go hunting together. They seem to be comfortable defending anywhere, not like Ross or Hayes back in the day who you'd want to stick to the pillar position.

[mhow]

Regarding selection of McFadden v Gilroy and Zebo - McFadden was in the Autumn internationals squad until after Australia game (16 Nov) and was already familiar with Schmidt's coaching requirements. See autumn squad below - "unavailable through injury" did not list Gilroy but did list Zebo. Zebo (injured 12 Oct) missed the Autumn internationals through injury and was not previously familiar with Schmidt's coaching. Gilroy was out with a number of injuries in the middle part of 2013 and again recently. There were comments made by some players that were not previously exposed to Schmidt that it took time to get to grips with what the coaches required. There were comments regarding a degree of information over-load in a short period of time being hard to process in the intensity of a game for those new to the head coach's regime after the Australia game. It may be that players are being given time to fit into the system and work on matters required by coaches and will come into the squad as 6N progresses.

IRELAND (Squad for the autumn internationals) – Backs (15): Rob Kearney (Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Tommy Bowe (Ulster), David Kearney (Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), Luke Marshall (Ulster), Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro 92), Paddy Jackson (Ulster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Isaac Boss (Leinster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster). Forwards: Cian Healy (Leinster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Stephen Archer (Munster), Tom Court (Ulster), Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), Rory Best (Ulster), Seán Cronin (Leinster), Mike Sherry (Munster), Paul O’Connell (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), Mike McCarthy (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), Seán O’Brien (Leinster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), James Coughlan (Munster).

Unavailable through injury: Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Richardt Strauss (Leinster), Tommy O’Donnell (Munster), Jordi Murphy (Leinster), Simon Zebo (Munster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Iain Henderson (Ulster).

[Leinster Lout]

My preferred lineup:

1 Healy - World's best imo
2 Best - close one with Cronin but Best's breakdown work wins it.
3 Moore - not as sure on this as Moore's hardcore fans, but I do like him and it might get a reaction from Ross too.
4 Toner
5 O'Connell
6 O'Mahony/ Copeland - Tricky call. If Copeland is in any way decent in the lineout (?) then him for his superior carrying.
7 Henry
8 Heaslip
9 Murray
10 Sexton
11 Fitzgerald - in vintage form
12 Marshall - Darce would be safer but I trust Joe to ensure Marshall clicks. He's gotten noticeably more powerful this season too.
13 Drico
14 Henshaw - has he played here much? Bit of a punt if not, but he's very good defensively and worth a shot v Scotland at least. Ferg not on top form
15 Kearney

16 Cronin
17 McGrath
18 Ross
19 Henderson/ Tuohy - tricky one
20 O'Mahony/ Copeland
21 Boss - very impressive v Saxons
22 Jackson - I'd have Madigan though for sure
23 McFadden

[enby]

Turnips losing it big time especially in relation to Zebo but also about Archer(!!) and Kilcoyne. All sorts of predictable comments about how both teams will be playing in blue. An enjoyable few minutes can be had over there

[Logorrhea]

Turnips losing it big time especially in relation to Zebo but also about Archer(!!) and Kilcoyne. All sorts of predictable comments about how both teams will be playing in blue. An enjoyable few minutes can be had over there

Meh. Usual mouths spouting the usual nonsense. It never changes with a few of them but thems the ones that tend to dominate the conversation.

[Ruckedtobits]

McFadden place kicks; JS has constantly selected McFadden to "man mark" big wingers - think Nalaga and Sivivateu. Zebo doesn't do right wing; Zebo needs game time i.e. in Munster Squad and will definitely come back into 6N squad if we have beaten Scotland and Wales.

Kilcoyne played a stormer on Saturday and his tackling was high quality. Front row is now a real contest and that will probably be seen in training sessions. McGrath v Ross might be a very tough encounter.

O'Donnell put himself right in the frame and might be a bolter for the bench against Wales unless Henry is pitch-perfect against Scotland.

Finally, Jackson or Madigan for the bench might be determined by whether Ferg is on the bench. Can JS afford to depend on Jackson to place kick for a win in the last 15 mins? Too big a risk for me.

[Raydollard]

I think that Zebo should have made it. I'm not sure that management will place Jackson ahead of Madigan though in subs.