Ireland vs England - Sat 4.45pm

[Banquo]

I don't know that a last minute DG counts as plotting a way to victory

Chapeau

[Danno]

Lmao

[paddy no 11]

Prendergast starting

Dan Sheehan on bench
Baird starts at 6 with James Ryan in the row over Mccarthy

Ye won't be throwing to 6 much I'd say but definitely room yo win the breakdown/jackal contest

[jngf]

Prendergast starting

Dan Sheehan on bench
Baird starts at 6 with James Ryan in the row over Mccarthy

Ye won't be throwing to 6 much I'd say but definitely room yo win the breakdown/jackal contest

Is O’Mahony not eligible for selection?

[jngf]

One a different tack why did Borthwick release his selection so early? - surely this gives Farrell and go plenty of time to select to mitigate the impact of having 3 openside sized players with no ball carrying and modest line out presence, accordingly?

[paddy no 11]

Prendergast starting

Dan Sheehan on bench
Baird starts at 6 with James Ryan in the row over Mccarthy

Ye won't be throwing to 6 much I'd say but definitely room yo win the breakdown/jackal contest

Is O’Mahony not eligible for selection?

Dropped

[jngf]

Prendergast starting

Dan Sheehan on bench
Baird starts at 6 with James Ryan in the row over Mccarthy

Ye won't be throwing to 6 much I'd say but definitely room yo win the breakdown/jackal contest

Is O’Mahony not eligible for selection?

Dropped

I know he was getting on but his doggedness would have come in handy for Ireland

[paddy no 11]

Is O’Mahony not eligible for selection?

Dropped

I know he was getting on but his doggedness would have come in handy for Ireland

It's time to move on, and if we lose we shouldn't revert back

[paddy no 11]

Oh and Lowe starts he's played once since November, yer paciest winger should run rings around him, he cannot defend

[Spiffy]

Well that's not what I expected. Are we doubling down on line speed and going with maximum blitz for the first half, looking to be a niggly menace at the breakdown and then playing at tempo in attack or probably more likely with a big kick chase game. As the game breaks up we presumably unload the bench for ball carrying physicality and look to attack.

Not sure about Murley in this one, he might be targeted but his tache is fantastic and will surely mesmerise the Irish. It also means we now have a rapid back three...

Not a lot of weight in the back three, not sure that helps us take advantage of Ireland missing Furlong. Some weight to try and take advantage at scrum time was what I was expecting.

You can’t be serious.

Also do you mean the back three of the scrum re: weight advantage? I don’t honestly know how Furlong’s backups compare in that area.

Is Furlong still the scrummaging force he was? His loose play is still very good.

For the past 2-3 seasons Furlong's scrummaging has been pretty average. He is not the force of old. His replacement, Bealham, is a pretty good all-rounder in tight and loose and is perhaps underrated by some.
Would agree the England back row looks unbalanced but Willis and Cunningham-South, a large and powerful pair, could make significant contributions off the bench against a tiring Ireland.

[FKAS]

One a different tack why did Borthwick release his selection so early? - surely this gives Farrell and go plenty of time to select to mitigate the impact of having 3 openside sized players with no ball carrying and modest line out presence, accordingly?

Farrell isn't with Ireland this 6N as he's prepping for the Lions. Simon Easterby (another northern lad, from Yorkshire) is taking the reins for the 6N. Doesn't have much head coach experience and so Borthwick confidently laying out a surprise team selection early in the week might be a bit of mind games. "Here you go Simon, what you going to do with this then". Whether that works or not who knows. Feels prime Eddie/Gats style media tactics from Borthwick.

[Mikey Brown]

4. Ryan 6. Baird 10. Prendergast confirmed, though seemed like the team was basically anounced already. I think they were the only spots in doubt.

[FKAS]

IRELAND TEAM TO FACE ENGLAND

Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Iain Henderson, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Robbie Henshaw.

[Banquo]

MccCarthy's an odd omission imo, always looked the busines to me? Injured

[p/d]

Is our lack of club combinations a factor towards shortcomings in key areas of play when under pressure- be it attack or defence?

[Puja]

Is our lack of club combinations a factor towards shortcomings in key areas of play when under pressure- be it attack or defence?

I would say it's definitely a factor, although it does have the advantage that there's a lot more ideas coming into the international environment, rather than just everyone conforming to the Leinster plan. I don't think it's a critical factor though - Scotland and South Africa seem to manage all right with half their teams spread over the globe.

Puja

[p/d]

Is our lack of club combinations a factor towards shortcomings in key areas of play when under pressure- be it attack or defence?

I would say it's definitely a factor, although it does have the advantage that there's a lot more ideas coming into the international environment, rather than just everyone conforming to the Leinster plan. I don't think it's a critical factor though - Scotland and South Africa seem to manage all right with half their teams spread over the globe.

Puja

Aye. I was just considering those stats of entry into oppo 22 and the points return.

[Oakboy]

MccCarthy's an odd omission imo, always looked the busines to me? Injured

Yes, injured per BBC.

[Oakboy]

IRELAND TEAM TO FACE ENGLAND

Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Iain Henderson, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Robbie Henshaw.

21 year old FH! He must feel like he's got loads of grand-dads around him.

[Mikey Brown]

Semi-interesting article here about how England are hoping to address the midfield observations many have had - that Smith is an incredibly talented runner but hasn’t necessarily looked in sync with those around him.

I don’t know why it’s got such a weird headline.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union ... x-nations/

I guess we’ll see if those plans run in training survive real contact with an opposition, but at least it’s on the cards.

[Banquo]

-----Reviews of the autumn campaign revealed that given England’s “cohesion deficit”, something as simple as Smith’s first step outwards, sometimes with a skip, at first receiver would have a ripple effect on the back line’s alignment because it forces those players outside him to change their start positions and their running lines.

Exactly this- I may have said similar - and tbh it's as much about familiarity and 'reading' him; plus I think he does need someone to bail him out when it's out of synch (commonly known as big Andre).

[Captainhaircut]

-----Reviews of the autumn campaign revealed that given England’s “cohesion deficit”, something as simple as Smith’s first step outwards, sometimes with a skip, at first receiver would have a ripple effect on the back line’s alignment because it forces those players outside him to change their start positions and their running lines.

Exactly this- I may have said similar - and tbh it's as much about familiarity and 'reading' him; plus I think he does need someone to bail him out when it's out of synch (commonly known as big Andre).

Strange to talk about “cohesion deficit” and then pick a side with no more than 3 players from each club and with not a single club relationship in place (front row, hooker to lineout, 8 to 9, 9-10, centre pairing, back 3). It’s no surprise we’re disjointed when this is the case.

If you want cohesion you can easily get it- pick Mitchell and fin smith at half back, Dingwall at 12 with Freeman (with Hendy, furbank, sleightholme back 3?) or ojomoh and Lawrence. Or go Porter and smith with Northmore, beard and Murley outside.

These things aren’t impossible and you might actually get a better side even if you pick lesser players in some cases.

You can’t complain about it and do nothing to fix it.

[Banquo]

-----Reviews of the autumn campaign revealed that given England’s “cohesion deficit”, something as simple as Smith’s first step outwards, sometimes with a skip, at first receiver would have a ripple effect on the back line’s alignment because it forces those players outside him to change their start positions and their running lines.

Exactly this- I may have said similar - and tbh it's as much about familiarity and 'reading' him; plus I think he does need someone to bail him out when it's out of synch (commonly known as big Andre).

Strange to talk about “cohesion deficit” and then pick a side with no more than 3 players from each club and with not a single club relationship in place (front row, hooker to lineout, 8 to 9, 9-10, centre pairing, back 3). It’s no surprise we’re disjointed when this is the case.

If you want cohesion you can easily get it- pick Mitchell and fin smith at half back, Dingwall at 12 with Freeman (with Hendy, furbank, sleightholme back 3?) or ojomoh and Lawrence. Or go Porter and smith with Northmore, beard and Murley outside.

These things aren’t impossible and you might actually get a better side even if you pick lesser players in some cases.

You can’t complain about it and do nothing to fix it.

well yes....

They are trying to fix a problem they've created in effect.

[Mellsblue]

So pick players you think are inferior just to get cohesiveness! If they can’t get M. Smith to work then try F. Smith. It’s a bit of indictment that they can’t given how much time they’ve had in camp to get it to work but I think the weaknesses in the coaching setup are pretty well known.

[Oakboy]

How many games do decent international players need together to be cohesive?

Might, say, 5 international games be more useful than 10 club games or whatever? Club pairings in a completely different game style (club to country) might even be counter-productive, arguably.