So after the weekends inter pros I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on players who are currently in the Ireland conversation:
Munster vs Connacht:
Haley - scored a great try, good overall game and has been in good form recently
Conway - fairly anonymous, a long way from the form he was in this time last year, no idea where he was on the first Connacht try
Farrell - had some strong carries but passing was very inconsistent, pretty standard for where he's been for a while
Daly - had a kick blocked down, one or two decent runs, doesn't really look like he should be in the squad at the moment
Casey - good service and looked to probe with snipes once or twice but not his best game, also got charged down
Coombes - would have liked to see more from him, can't really remember him doing a huge amount, apparently had 6 more carries than the next closest forward but didn't have a great metres per carry
Aki - looked busy and dynamic but gave away at least two stupid penalties, not nearly enough to displace Henshaw
Carty - embodied the inconsistency he's famous for and that a lot of players had in this game, the pass for Healy's try and grubber before the half were class but also had a pass to no one and a bunch of pointless kicks
Heffernan - had double the most metres of any forward and joint most tackles, but seem to remember a few overthrows despite Connacht having lineout dominance
Dillane - doesn't really show up on the basic stats but had some steals and blockdowns, good performance but there's a lot of secondrows around at the moment
Boyle - took his try well and held up a Munster one, probably lacks the top athletic traits of an international 8 but turns up in the right places
Ulster vs Leinster
Lowry - looked dangerous on the counterattack and showed his versatility slotting in at 10, would like to see him involved in any summer squads that happen
Baloucoune - obviously he's just back from a long term injury but this guy will be an international, makes good defensive reads and is very dangerous ball in hand as well as being a strong finisher, would love seeing him in the squad now
Hume - great feet, has a number of work ons but would also have him in a summer squad
McCloskey - had some good moments, offloading for the try, some good carries and a steal but don't think his passing game is there
Stockdale - quiet enough, winning a good highball and holding up JOB were the highlights, would still stick him in the 23 next week
Cooney - don't think he did a huge amount, outplayed by his opposite number
O'Sullivan - really feel for him, this was a pretty shocking game from him, got pulled on 25 minutes before coming back on due to Warwicks red and was subbed again for Moore, poor in the scrum and looked weak in the tackle, passing was good though
O'Toole - first missed tackle since 2019, set piece wasn't good enough but his loose play is very good, seem to remember some penalties though
O'Brien - didn't have as much time as he does at 15 but had a solid performance, arguably lucky not to see a tougher sanction early on the way such decision usually go
Ross Byrne - solid professional performance, tried to be more of a threat at the line and his kicking was at his usual high standard
McGrath - outplayed Cooney, has played some great stuff over this period
Ed Byrne - strong performance, took his try well and had thrown a lovely offload in the build up, scrummaged well and stopped Coetzee in his tracks early on
Bent - not actually in the Ireland conversation but wanted to say he's playing his best rugby at the moment
Ruddock - physical presence that was involved everywhere, smashed Baloucoune in a double hit, whatever about the legality, did get sat down a bit easily for the disallowed try and had his own yellow at the end
Van der Flier - was playing with a point to prove, looked unusually strong as a carrier, unfortunately failed a HIA at the half
Penny - unlucky that there's so many 7's at Leinster and that he's had his own injury problems, should also be involved in any summer squads
