Ireland Team announcment

[bogboy]

The "A" was a fitness check for Best and I would say having proved the point the management didn't want him wrecked and took him off early.

Having read the Turnip board they are weeping big time that Earls is on the bench but there is a very logical reason earls on the bench provides cover outside centre wing and full back whereas Trimble on the bench would only cover wing and centre ie reorganisation is minimized .

They all still blame Trimble for the French try a couple of years ago ( from a set piece on the Irish 22) which was in fact due to Dempsey being out of position not Trimble i.e. Trimble had come in from the wing to provde extra cover if the french opened the ball out ( which must have been a management directive before the game ) but Dempsey failed to react to that change in the defensive line and took up position beyond the far post and did not have the pace to cover the corner flag and stop the try. Dempsey should have been inside the near post not outside the far post.

their are gripe is Trimble under the high ball and 2bh I can only remember one game were it was an issue and that was the game against the Scarlets when Jones was kicking into the gale which kept the ball in the air and blowing it away from the receiver and on the night nobody on the Ulster side played the high ball well that night because the flight of the ball was so uncertain.

Cullen on the bench is fine by me at least he plays every match for Leinster which is more than can be said for MoD at Munster and the only other 2 row with experince would MoK who is well past his sell by he can still perform at Magners level as a sub but International level is a big step above that which is why I wouldn't consider Quinlan either.

The big question is how long can Hayes stay on the field even last year Hayes only blocked the side of ruck and maul and scrummaged but was several yards off the pace of the game.

[Shan]

Wind it in Boggy for feck sake.There are some people on MF bemoaning the fact Earls is not starting but I think the general consensus is that Trimble deserves his place.

Unfortunately some people here cannot see any blame being apportioned to any Ulster player for anything without thinking it's some Anti-Ulster conspiracy.Now I can understand that Ulster do not get the recognition from the Dublin media they sometimes deserve and the ROI visual media can be biased primarily with the inclusion of that tool McGurk fronting their rugby coverage but not everybody is out to get them.I would say the majority of rugby people realise who is and who is not good enough to play for Ireland and no amount of wittering by some can make one believe that a player with major question marks should be a shoo in because of good provincial form.If it was Quinlan would have been picked as he is one of Munster's top performers this year in both ML and H Cup.Although I stated on here that I'd like to see him selected I'm actually glad that DK went with McLaughlin with a view to both this game and the future.

Agree about Hayes.I admire the man greatly as he has been a wonderful servant to Shannon,Munster and Ireland over the years but there is no doubt at all he is struggling to hold his own this year and obviously he is now in decline.Under normal circumstances he would have retired after the Grand Slam but we have, as everybody knows, no replacement.That said Declan is going to have to bite the bullet at some stage.

[bogboy]

I did say Shan that I thought Trimble was the right call because Earls would be a better choice on the bench and the game is no longer just the 15 players but the bench as well. My main concern with EoS was his failure to use the bench and not giving players a chance same 15-- 22 regardless of the opposition.

Earls like Fitzgerald is a jinky runner whereas Trimble is a straight line power runner and will give the Italians more problems as they are not great defenders against players who run straight at them.

My problem is not that they (Munsterfans) would prefer Earls which is understandable it is the fact he Trimble is being blame for a try when all he did was follow a management directive -- no winger would come off his wing( at a set piece) unless instructed . and the failure was that of the full back to re-adjust his position to be able to cover the corner .

[Shan]

A touch of a climb down there Boggy.One minute it was Munsterfans were weeping big time and now its just that the would prefer Earls starting, which in reality the majority don't.

Unlike you I don't think it is understandable at all for anybody to prefer Earls to start, apart from his mother etc .Any Irish rugby supporter should want what is best for Ireland and at this juncture the best thing is for Trimble to start with Earls on the bench to cover all backline positions as well as offering that impact from the bench with his elusive running ability.

I pretty much said exactly this on MF yesterday as I'm not happy about people with petty provincial bias superceding what is best for Ireland.FFS I even had to try and explain to some fecking idiots who wanted Horgan starting that moving Tommy Bowe to accomodate him was stupid in the extreme, even if you could ignore the better claims of the younger, faster Trimble.Now I've been a fan of Horgan's for years and would not have a problem with him being selected if we really needed him but we don't.

Fair enough on the Trimble being blamed thing but all players do make mistakes and we'd all be better off being able to be honest about it regardless of where the player hails from.

One of the things I really like about Declan is that, in my opinion, all his selection decisions are for the benefit of the team rather than being rooted in favouritism or provincialism.Fair enough we may have a minor quibble or two, particularly with the Boss omission, but I cannot see anything else I'm even questioning.Mind you we haven't seen a minute of play yet.

[brick]

On a less argumentative note, does anyone know why does trimble call Bowe 'weasel' near the end of the interview?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8494402.stm

[bogboy]

Shan I did not say I wanted Earls to start I said I could understand why munster fans would want him to start a different thing completely

[Setanta]

DOC is out with a knee injury and Cullen is in.
Ryan takes his place on the bench.

[FRB]

Losing DOC is a blow. His work rate is phenomenal as is his influence over the squad IMHO. Having said that we are lucky that:

a. Italy at home is first up
b. Cullen is no shirker.

Lets hope we don't lose anymore between now and Saturday.

[Neill_M]

According to munsterfans - O'Driscoll touch and go for Sat, doing tests fri morning

http://www.munsterfans.com/forum/forum_ ... 3848&TPN=1

[ColinM]

According to munsterfans - O'Driscoll touch and go for Sat, doing tests fri morning

http://www.munsterfans.com/forum/forum_ ... 3848&TPN=1

dont think BOD should be risked at all.

At least the turnips will be pleased that Earls will get a start after all.

[cheese]

why would they bring in Ryan on the ench when he is just a bench warmer for muster. surely thats a kick in the teeth to tuohy who has played out of his skin recently

[ColinM]

why would they bring in Ryan on the ench when he is just a bench warmer for muster. surely thats a kick in the teeth to tuohy who has played out of his skin recently

Touhy isnt near the level yet, he still needs another stone of weight IMO.

Ryan can cover back row or lock and is competant at both. Lets face it Touhy and the rest of our back 5 (ferris aside) would bench warm at Munster (if they were lucky)

[Jackie Brown]

why would they bring in Ryan on the ench when he is just a bench warmer for muster. surely thats a kick in the teeth to tuohy who has played out of his skin recently

i think Big Ed can feel most aggrieved. Seems to be one of Declan's policies, play a Munster or Leinster fringe player before heading north...

[Shan]

Shan I did not say I wanted Earls to start I said I could understand why munster fans would want him to start a different thing completely

F-cking hell I know that Bogboy.I'd have thought that was obvious from what I was writing.What I said was unlike you I cannot understand why anybody(There are are more people than you in the world) would want Earls starting ahead of Trimble currently.

[Ardglass2]

Well we don't know if Mr Ed even has a contract next year