So Ireland have announced their squad for the “Insert your Commercial Partner Here” Autumn Internationals and with less than a year to go to the start of the World Cup I think it’s fair to say that we are on World Cup Countdown at The FRU.
It is with mixed feelings that I cast my eye over the starting XV for Saturday’s match. Sure it’s nice to see Sexton in there ahead of O’Gara and of course good to see Besty and Ferris starting but, really, it’s as if the summer tour didn’t happen and everyone (that is available) has just sort of slid back into their default positions.
When I say by default it’s not because there aren’t Irish youngsters out there, there are, but unfortunately over the last few years very few have been tried for a sustained period in a strong Ireland side. Outside of The Untouchables MkII your realistic chances of making an impression depends on being outstanding in an under strength Autumn International against a third tier team or being slightly less humiliated than your team mates in an humiliating hammering by a first tier side in an under strength summer tour.
Even if you do both of those you then have to hope for the present incumbent to get injured or retire before you can count on any sustained game time with the big boys.
This isn’t a bitter Ulster rant on lack of selection of our boys, for this time round Best and Ferris are playing with the big boys for exactly the reasons above. They’ve slipped into untouchable territory and are selected despite the fact that Cronin and Leamy are playing the better rugby. If they stay injury free they will remain untouchable right the way through to next September.
I think at the moment we probably know as much as we need to know about Kearney, Bowe, BO’D, D’Arcy, Best, O’Callaghan, MO’D, Wallace and Heaslip and probably Stringer and O’Gara as well. I cannot see any real rugby benefit out of selecting this side even if it does win and I don’t know why three our four of the up and comings weren’t slotted in for experience as it is an experimental South Africa after all.
It may just be the prestige of playing the first international at the new stadium and things will be genuinely mixed up a bit once this opener is out of the way. It would be encouraging if this was the case.
Or maybe the same set of players will be flaunted on the international stage in an attempt to win meaningless matches to sell overinflated tickets to fill stadiums to generate income all the way through to the World Cup where they’ll crash and burn like last time. That would truly be ignoble!
It’s going to be an interesting November after all!
Ireland:
R Kearney; T Bowe, B O’Driscoll (capt), G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Best, T Buckley; D O’Callaghan, M O’Driscoll; S Ferris, D Wallace, J Heaslip.
Replacements: S Cronin, T Court, D Ryan, D Leamy, P Stringer, R O’Gara, K Earls or A Trimble or P Wallace.
Corrections, comments or questions?