Ireland Squad

[An Tarbh]

Ireland Coach Declan Kidney has announced a 39 man squad for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship which begins for Ireland when they take on France in Croke Park in just over two weeks time.

The squad includes seven uncapped players such as Cian Healy and Ryan Caldwell, with Ulster centre Darren Cave making his first appearance in a senior squad. The panel also includes Leinster’s Gordon D’Arcy who made a welcome return recently to playing following a long term arm injury. Leo Cullen, Tony Buckley, Neil Best and Roger Wilson were not considered for inclusion in the senior squad due to either injury or suspension.

The squad size is designed to allow the national management to work with a greater number of players for the start of the Championship in the important first week of camp. The squad size covers for the fact that the overseas based players will most likely be returning to their clubs on the Wednesday of the first week.

Ireland Coach Declan Kidney said, “We want to continue to develop a panel and bringing in 39 players allows to us to work with the players on this basis. As well as bringing the players through the systems of the team, it allows for the usual knocks the players might pick up. The core group of players who were part of the November squad have maintained their form but it is also pleasing to be able to bring in players who are really developing this season like Darren Cave and Tom Court as well as more established players who have performed well over the last number of weeksâ€.

A nine man A team panel of players has also been selected by the Ireland Management which includes Ulster’s Ian Humphreys, Leinster backrow Sean O’Brien and Connacht’s Sean Cronin. This panel will be supplemented by players from the senior panel for the A game against the England Saxons on the eve of the France game which is being played in Donnybrook Stadium and will be live on RTE TV. The senior squad for the France game and the squad for the A game will be announced at the end of the first week of camp on Friday, 30th January. Both teams will be announced on Tuesday, the 3rd of February.

Commenting on the A panel announced, Declan Kidney said, “The A games are important in building our panel and exposing as many players to international level games. Players will benefit from this opportunity and it allows us to track their progress. At the same time we will continue to monitor all of the other Irish qualified players who have been playing consistently well in the Magners League and the European competitions.â€

Speaking overall about the tournament, Kidney said, “The RBS 6 Nations Championship is one of, if not the best annual international tournament in the world and a great sporting occasion in Ireland. The Guinness Series in November was mission accomplished from a ranking point of view and the win against Argentina, although not the prettiest game anybody may have seen, was vitally important. The France game is another step above that as they can bring so much to their game and are incredibly dangerous in this tournament. The players focus for the first week will be to set the foundations for the tournament and after that, the only focus we will have will be on our opening game against France.â€

Ireland Squad, RBS 6 Nations Championship 2009

Backs
Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Ian Dowling (Munster), Girvan Dempsey (Leinster), Darren Cave (Ulster), Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Shane Horgan (Leinster), Robert Kearney (Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster)
Tomas O'Leary (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Wasps), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Peter Stringer (Munster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster)

Forwards:
Rory Best (Ulster), Ryan Caldwell (Ulster), Bob Casey (London Irish), Tom Court (Ulster), Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Jerry Flannery (Munster), John Hayes (Munster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Bernard Jackman (Leinster), Shane Jennings (Leinster), Denis Leamy (Munster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Paul O'Connell (Munster), Mick O'Driscoll (Munster), Malcolm O’Kelly (Leinster), Alan Quinlan (Munster), Mike Ross (Harlequins), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), David Wallace (Munster)

From - Irish Rugby

 

[kicklikeaprop]

surly ian humphreys deserves to be in the full squad ahead of sexton
he is playing week in week out and is in good form................ at the moment sexton has neither

 

[An Tarbh]

yeah I thought it would have made sense to have Keatley, Humphreys and Pollock in the squad, with such a big squad why leave them out, you can say the same about the likes of O'Brien and Ronan.

 

[shazbooger]

Not to make a huge deal out of it, but its clear to everyone the Humphreys should be in there ahead of Sexton.

Outside of that, delighted to see Cave included but as usual the panel is so big it pretty much includes everyone.

 

[An Tarbh]

that's what makes his exclusion all the more baffling.

 

[monkeypigeon]

Who the fock is John Andress?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Winners
Darren Cave
Ryan Caldwell
Bob Casey
Tom Court
Cian Healy
Mike Ross

Lucky
Ian Dowling
Shane Horgan
Jonny Sexton
Andrew Trimble
Mick O'Driscoll
Shane Jennings

Losers
Ian Humphreys
Sean O'Brien
John Muldoon
Frank Murphy
David Pollack
Johne Murphy

 

[JohnBE]

Leaving Humphrey's out is a massive mistake.. what was he thinking


sexton doesn't even get a start for leinster..and you don't pick the guy who's playing excellently for ulster.. huge mistake

 

[An Tarbh]

the only positives you can take is that he'll start both A games which at least gives Kidney a decent look at him rather than having on the bench and him having no chance to impress. Still would have had him there mind.

 

[monkeypigeon]

I do think its right to have to have Dowling in the squad. He's hard working and though he's not neccesarily a fantastic player it does show that hard work will get you places.

 

[An Tarbh]

well as long as it's this squad and not the match 22 I'll be a happy camper, that would be the ultimate of **** takes by Kidney.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkeypigeon @ Jan 21 2009, 09:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I do think its right to have to have Dowling in the squad. He's hard working and though he's not neccesarily a fantastic player it does show that hard work will get you places.[/b]

I know most Leinster fans don't appreciate Dowling as a player but I do. He's made the most of his ability, is a solid player and rarely if ever lets his team down. His defensive positioning is quite good and he's not afraid to put his tackles in. He's come back strongly this season after a couple of below par years.

Having said all that, I don't think he's international class. He doesn't possess breakneck speed, is an average finisher at best (in 69 competitive games for Munster he's scored 11 tries) and can be hot headed too. He isn't skillful or strong enough to be a linebreaker at the top level. For those reasons, I think he was lucky to make the squad.


I've a lot of time for Dowling but don't believe he offers the international squad more than Johne Murphy who in 52 starts and 11 sub apearances for Leicester Tigers has 21 tries. This season alone Murphy has 9 tries compared to Dowling's 2. Some of it may be down to the service each player receives but it's too big a gap for that to be the only factor. Since Murphy can cover fullback as well as wing whereas Dowling only covers the left wing, added to Murphy being a couple of years younger (not that Dowling is over the hill by any means), the Leicester player would have been a better option in my opinion.

At the end of the season I'd love to see Michael Cheika make a bold decision and replace the out of form (for the last 18 months) Shane Horgan with Johne Murphy and Shane Monahan (who's ripping defences apart in the AIL) added to the squad to bolster depth on the wing.

 

[monkeypigeon]

Oh I totally agree that Jonny Murphy should be a main contender for playing on the wing for Ireland, he's a quality player and it's a disgrace that he's getting ignored.

 

[JohnBE]

there is genuinely so much politics in the irfu, one thing is they don't like having to go outside players in ireland..

 

[JohnBE]

no buckley!.. he hasn't been playing great.. but I expected him to be in the 39 man squad.. not even in the A team.. even people who arn't particular buckley fans (I'm kinda in the middle on that one)..it's still a surprise


edit: woops he's injured

 

[An Tarbh]

he wouldn't have deserved to be in regardless.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I don't know whether or not anybody noticed the A squad. It features a few players who I wouldn't have expected to see in it. One is Keith Matthews who has been quietly effective at inside centre for Connacht. With Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Brian O'Driscoll, Gordon D'arcy, Andrew Trimble and Keith Earls all capable of covering the centre spots in the senior squad, Matthews being named in the squad is surprising.

John Andress is an interesting call. Coming from Exeter Chiefs I can't help but feel that he's on his way back to Ulster at the end of the season. Why else would a Division 1 prop be deemed good enough? Gert Smal was quoted recently saying that he's searching for props who can help the national team. Perhaps Andress is one player who impressed him.

Another interesting call is Sean Cronin. His addition to the A squad is proof positive that a move to Connacht need not sound the death knell for a players career. Rather than Connacht being designated the "development province", would it not make more sense for the IRFU to have them compete on an equal footing with Leinster, Ulster and Munster? Obviously their finances would dictate that they couldn't attract top level players to the province just yet but removing the "development" tag would give supporters out west the feeling that the province aren't just a stopgap until a better offer comes in from elsewhere for one of their players. If Connacht can keep hold of Cronin, Keatley, O'Connor, Duffy, Carr, Campbell, Farley, Matthews, Murphy, Morris, Wilkinson, Ofisa, Muldoon and Ta'auso and add a few other names from other provinces to their ranks for added squad depth (Darragh Hurley, Timmy Ryan, John O'Sullivan, Tom Gleeson, Jamie Hagen, Fergus McFadden, Trevor Hogan, Ian Whitten for example), they'll be well on their way to competing seriously for a Heineken Cup spot. At the moment their backups don't cut it; 75-5 away to London Irish was disgraceful.

Connacht being allowed compete on an equal footing could potentially increase Declan Kidney's options by 25%. With the other provinces being permitted sign more non-Irish qualified players than ever before, it makes sense to filter some of the Irish players being pushed down the depth chart at their home province out west.

 

[shazbooger]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkeypigeon @ Jan 21 2009, 09:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I do think its right to have to have Dowling in the squad. He's hard working and though he's not neccesarily a fantastic player it does show that hard work will get you places.[/b]

Agreed. Hes a damn fine option on the wing.

On the Humphreys / Sexton debate. Its all moot really as Wallace will cover 10 from the bench. Whomever was selected wont get a game for either the A's or the Main team. So on that point, Humphreys is better off.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Logorrhea @ Jan 23 2009, 11:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

On the Humphreys / Sexton debate. Its all moot really as Wallace will cover 10 from the bench. Whomever was selected wont get a game for either the A's or the Main team. So on that point, Humphreys is better off.[/b]

How much of a factor is Alan Gaffney in choosing Sexton over Humphreys? Gaffney coaches Sexton at Leinster and in my opinion chose the Leinster man since he'll be more familiar with the backline calls. It's the wrong decision.

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Jan 23 2009, 03:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Logorrhea @ Jan 23 2009, 11:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On the Humphreys / Sexton debate. Its all moot really as Wallace will cover 10 from the bench. Whomever was selected wont get a game for either the A's or the Main team. So on that point, Humphreys is better off.[/b]

How much of a factor is Alan Gaffney in choosing Sexton over Humphreys? Gaffney coaches Sexton at Leinster and in my opinion chose the Leinster man since he'll be more familiar with the backline calls. It's the wrong decision.
[/b][/quote]

I thought he was a decent appointment coming back from Saracens but to be honest the backline performance this season from Leinster has been well below par and given the calibre of player we have you've got to lay some of the blame at Gaffney's door. It's easy saying he's only had half a season but he also had a spell with most of the current players before he went to Munster.

Still would have given Humphreys the nod though.