McCloskey is a surprising call but I could almost understand it were O'Loughlin not included. As it is, I think McCloskey has every right to be a bit disappointed but he hasn't had a great season and really hasn't been given much of a chance at Ulster, between odd selections and injuries.Eggs wrote:Im very surprised to see both Stu and Craig omitted. I hope that they found out ahead of time and not the same way as us, I would have thought both would have been preparing to go.
Gilroy, though, is a logical call. I am seriously concerned that Gilroy is going to pi$h away his not-inconsiderable talent. My memories of Gilroy this year are going positionally AWOL, failing to defend with any major conviction and with so many backline moves coming to an end with the ball in Gilroy's hands in midfield on the halfway line as he tries to dance and pirouette through 13 covering defenders. His decision making capacities have seriously gone downhill in the last couple of season. Previously, he covered a lot of that with moments of absolute magic that I don't think any other player in Ireland could produce. This season, beyond possible the easiest hat trick ever scored in international rugby against an already-disinterested Italy, I can't really remember anything of note he's done. Zebo, Earls, Stockdale, O'Halleron and Conway have all offered significantly more than Gilroy. In terms of natural talent, Gilroy possibly goes straight to the top of the list of Irish wing talent; in terms of how he's currently using that talent, he's rock bottom.