Ruckedtobits wrote:
There's four 6N Tournaments before the next Rugby World Cup. November 2021 is the date we need to be looking at who are potential contenders for RWC2023.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote:Yeah...because COB and Frawley will still be behind Robbie, De Allende will be at Munster, and the Connacht and Ulster lads aren't good enough IMO.
Not sure what you're not getting here, it would be better for Ireland if one of COB or Frawley were going to be starting games in Europe over the next couple of years.
Edit to add: Like I said, it's contingent on Aki's future but even if he stays he'll be 33 at the next World Cup so we could really do with another option elsewhere.
Whether De Allende is signed or not they'll be behind Robbie anyway and Tomane will be gone. Is your point one of them should move to Munster in place of De Allende?
I've given in and no longer hope to see Henshaw fulfill his test potential(France 2015 RWC was it), he's just to injury prone to pin your hopes on. I've high expectations that one of the 2 to get minutes. I don't get any of the energy from either you get from Henshaw(or Aki) though.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014 Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles
15. Mike Haley 14. Andrew Conway 13. Chris Farrell 12. Rory Scannell 11. Keith Earls 10. Tyler Bleyendaal 9. Conor Murray
1. Jeremy Loughman 2. Niall Scannell 3. John Ryan 4. Jean Kleyn 5. Billy Holland 6. Peter O’Mahony (captain) 7. Tommy O’Donnell 8. CJ Stander
Replacements:
16. Kevin O’Byrne 17. James Cronin 18. Stephen Archer 19. Tadhg Beirne 20. Arno Botha 21. Alby Mathewson 22. Sammy Arnold 23. Dan Goggin
Go Jeremy!
You know I'm going to lose,
And gambling's for fools,
But that's the way I like it baby, I don't want to live FOREVER!
LeRouxIsPHat wrote:It'll be interesting to see how Kleyn gets on, I think he's under a lot of pressure to keep his place for Munster never mind Ireland.
Surprised JOD isn't involved, thought he was finally beginning to deliver on his potential.
Who's putting him under pressure? He's a hero who walked onto the Ireland team for the warm ups, made the squad ahead of Toner and didn't mess up hugely.
He shouldn't need to do much to get picked ahead of Holland (or Beirne).
LeRouxIsPHat wrote:It'll be interesting to see how Kleyn gets on, I think he's under a lot of pressure to keep his place for Munster never mind Ireland.
Surprised JOD isn't involved, thought he was finally beginning to deliver on his potential.
Who's putting him under pressure? He's a hero who walked onto the Ireland team for the warm ups, made the squad ahead of Toner and didn't mess up hugely.
He shouldn't need to do much to get picked ahead of Holland (or Beirne).
On the basis that you are being sarcastic about Kleyn then.
+1
Which isn't to say that he can't do a job for them in the the Pro14 and at a stretch the HCC pool games.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall who's the greatest player of them all? It is Drico your majesty.
LeRouxIsPHat wrote:It'll be interesting to see how Kleyn gets on, I think he's under a lot of pressure to keep his place for Munster never mind Ireland.
Surprised JOD isn't involved, thought he was finally beginning to deliver on his potential.
Who's putting him under pressure? He's a hero who walked onto the Ireland team for the warm ups, made the squad ahead of Toner and didn't mess up hugely.
He shouldn't need to do much to get picked ahead of Holland (or Beirne).
The competition isn't great but I just don't think he's very good and he was taken off early last week despite the game being in the balance.
Holland is a really good player, a big leader for them and just a smart and reliable guy to have around. Beirne is obviously very talented and personally I'd have them both ahead of Kleyn, and tbh I'd have Wycherley ahead of him as well.
Outside of scrummaging (which is obvuously hard to judge for a lock) I just don't think he's doing anything well at the moment.
Snyman is irrelevant to this season though. Beirne will surely come back in as a starter soon and once he does I think it's very much 50/50 between Kleyn and Holland unless Kleyn's form improves.
If Holland isn't first choice at the end of this season, Snyman looks more like a necessary acquisition than a luxury one. This narrative seems to be important to Munster.
I think the 50:50 calls will be favouring Kleyn over Holland.
Kleyn has established himself with the rugby public as an enforcer. He doesn't need to carry, pass or win many lineouts. It makes him a safe selection.
ronk wrote:Holland is underrated, sure. But he's at the end of his career and Munster have a signing next year at lock.
It'll fit the narrative to ease Holland out. Plus it's a South African coach picking a South African player who has been getting picked so far.
I actually don't feel that Billy Holland was underrated for most of his career, for me it's more a case that he's been a very late bloomer.
Possibly because of a lack of opportunity due to POC and DOC being unmovable for so long and when one of them was out
Mick O'Driscoll always seemed to be first in line.
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An earlier scrum near the start of the second half when score was 13-6 Munster (or something like that) Ospreys won a scrum penalty and the number 4 stood over CJ and was goading him. Don’t love it but what’s good for the goose...
"Horrocks went one way, Taylor the other and I was left holding the bloody hyphen!"
I think the Ospreys had gone a bit OTT celebrating a scrum penalty just before it. I sped through the recording though so wasn't paying 100% attention.
Kleyn played alright tbf to him. Thought himself, Holland, and POM played well. Stander was brilliant, seemed to be his best game in ages. I wasn't paying much attention to Loughman tbh but by all accounts he played really well (got MOTM) and he did have some really good moments.
Rory Scannell played very well too, best I've seen from him in a while.
Edit: Take OTT's explanation over mine, I wasn't disputing what he said!