Ireland Summer Tour and Churchill Cup Squad

[monkeypigeon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thingimubob @ Apr 23 2009, 08:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Surely a few of the succesful Irish u20's team will get a chance in the Churchill Cup team? With quite a lot of the regulars in the A team stepping up to the main team, should be a good opportunity to give the youngsters a chance.[/b]

The guy has a point! Where's Snoopy? This is his area of expertyness.

From watching that, I think Madigan was probably the best peformer and played in a variety of positions.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thingimubob @ Apr 23 2009, 08:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Surely a few of the succesful Irish u20's team will get a chance in the Churchill Cup team? With quite a lot of the regulars in the A team stepping up to the main team, should be a good opportunity to give the youngsters a chance.[/b]

I could be mistaken but i think the u20 World Cup starts at the beginning of June. While i believe it would be better for the top u20 players to play in the Churchill Cup (higher standard of competition), I expect they'll be in Japan on World Cup duty.

Something I would advocate is bringing the u20 squad to North America to train with the senior squad in advance of the World Cup. Working with Declan Kidney, Gert Smal, Les Kiss and Alan Gaffney would surely give the underage squad a huge confidence boost ahead of the competition.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Now we've a clearer picture of who's available for the first summer test.

Out:
The entire Leinster squad (HC final)
Johne Murphy (HC final)
Geordan Murphy (HC final)
Andrew Trimble (injured)
Tomas O'Leary (injured)
Alan Quinlan (Lions/suspended)
Jerry Flannery (Lions)
Paul O'Connell (Lions)
Donncha O'Callaghan (Lions)
David Wallace (Lions)
Ronan O'Gara (Lions)
Keith Earls (Lions)
Stephen Ferris (Lions)
Tommy Bowe (Lions)
Neil Best (ECC final)
James Downey (ECC final)
Roger Wilson (ECC final)

With that in mind, the team for the Canada game (I don't think Hayes will travel):
15. Gavin Duffy
14. Fionn Carr
13. Barry Murphy
12. Paddy Wallace
11. Ian Dowling
10. Ian Keatley
9. Peter Stringer
1. Marcus Horan
2. Rory Best
3. Mike Ross
4. Mick O'Driscoll
5. Bob Casey
6. ????? John Muldoon ?????
7. ????? David Pollack/Niall Ronan ?????
8. Denis Leamy

 

[An Tarbh]

Squads have been named for both the Ireland tour and Churchill Cup with Rory Best captaining the senior squad and John Muldoon leading the Churchill Cup team.

Ireland Tour Squad (25):
Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) Captain
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)
Bob Casey (London Irish)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
John Muldoon (Buccanneers/Connacht)
Barry Murphy (UL Bohemians/Munster)
Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (London Wasps)
Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Ross (Harlequins)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)
AN Other

Ireland A Churchill Cup Squad (27):
John Andress (Exeter Chiefs)
Neil Best (Northampton Saints)
Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster)
Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
Fionn Carr (Galwegians/Connacht)
Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
James Downey (Northampton Saints)
Dennis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)
Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Felix Jones (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Simon Keogh (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)
John Muldoon (Buccaneers/Connacht) Captain
Frank Murphy (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers)
Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Ed O'Donoghue (Instonians/Ulster)
Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster)
Devon Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)

 

[feicarsinn]

well they're pretty even squads at first glance. If I was to pick two starting teams twould look something like this:
1) Mike Ross
2) Rory Best
3) Tom Court
4) Bob Casey
5) Donnacha Ryan
6) Mick O'Driscoll
7) Niall Ronan
8) John Muldoon
9) Eoin Reddan
10) Ian Keatley
11) Ian Dowling
12) Barry Murphy
13) Darren Cave
14) Denis Hurley
15) Gavin Duffy

and for the churchill cup:
1) Tony Buckley
2) Sean Cronin
3) Cian Healy
4) Devin Toner
5) Donnacha Ryan
6) Neil Best
7) Sean O'Brien
8) John Muldoon
9) Frank Murphy
10) Johny Sexton
11) Fionn Carr
12) Gavin Duffy
13) Fergus McFadden
14) Johne Murphy
15) Felix Jones

Fairly evenly matched I'd say. Obviously the Leinster players aren't in the Test squad due to HC commitments, same for Johne Murphy. The 1st team would probably just about eek out a victory but it would be close.

 

[durbutter]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (feicarsinn @ May 11 2009, 07:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

well they're pretty even squads at first glance. If I was to pick two starting teams twould look something like this:
1) Tom Court
2) Rory Best
3) Mike Ross
4) Bob Casey
5) Donnacha Ryan
6) Mick O'Driscoll
7) Niall Ronan
8) John Muldoon
9) Eoin Reddan
10) Ian Keatley
11) Ian Dowling
12) Barry Murphy
13) Darren Cave
14) Denis Hurley
15) Gavin Duffy

and for the churchill cup:
1) Cian Healy
2) Sean Cronin
3) Tony Buckley
4) Devin Toner
5) Donnacha Ryan
6) Neil Best
7) Sean O'Brien
8) John Muldoon
9) Frank Murphy
10) Johny Sexton
11) Fionn Carr
12) Gavin Duffy
13) Fergus McFadden
14) Johne Murphy
15) Felix Jones

Fairly evenly matched I'd say. Obviously the Leinster players aren't in the Test squad due to HC commitments, same for Johne Murphy. The 1st team would probably just about eek out a victory but it would be close.[/b]

fixed?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

The following players are only going on the test tour:

Barry Murphy (U.L. Bohemians/Munster)
Bob Casey (London Irish)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (London Wasps)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)*
Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)*
Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mike Ross (Harlequins)*
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) Captain
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)*
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)

With that in mind, they are likely to start both tests, thus a possible team looks like this:
15. Duffy
14. Barry Murphy (since he's played wing for Munster and there's only one other specialist wing in the squad)
13. Cave
12.
11. Dowling
10. Keatley
9. Stringer
1. Court
2. Best
3. Ross
4. Casey
5. O'Driscoll
6.
7.
8. Leamy
Subs: Reddan ,Caldwell (both of whom will see significant gametime)

Positions up for debate are 12, 6 and 7. Since Keith Matthews shepherds Keatley with Connacht I suspect he'll get the 12 shirt. John Muldoon is captaining the A squad so it's obvious that Declan Kidney sees something he likes in him. He's a natural blindside so he looks favourite to start there. The other flanker spot is a direct shootout between Donnacha Ryan and Niall Ronan. Ronan deserves the chance but Ryan can potentially have the longer career. I wouldn't be overly surprised to see Ryan start at 6 and Muldoon at 7.

A few players in the test squad (O'Connor, Hurley, Henry) don't deserve to win international caps yet. Hopefully Kidney won't just empty the replacements bench for the sake of it and these players will have to earn their caps rather than pick up cheap ones on a depleted squad.

 

[monkeypigeon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ May 11 2009, 08:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

The following players are only going on the test tour:

Barry Murphy (U.L. Bohemians/Munster)
Bob Casey (London Irish)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (London Wasps)
Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)*
Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)*
Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mike Ross (Harlequins)*
Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) Captain
Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)*
Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)

With that in mind, they are likely to start both tests, thus a possible team looks like this:
15. Duffy
14. Barry Murphy (since he's played wing for Munster and there's only one other specialist wing in the squad)
13. Cave
12.
11. Dowling
10. Keatley
9. Stringer
1. Court
2. Best
3. Ross
4. Casey
5. O'Driscoll
6.
7.
8. Leamy
Subs: Reddan ,Caldwell (both of whom will see significant gametime)

Positions up for debate are 12, 6 and 7. Since Keith Matthews shepherds Keatley with Connacht I suspect he'll get the 12 shirt. John Muldoon is captaining the A squad so it's obvious that Declan Kidney sees something he likes in him. He's a natural blindside so he looks favourite to start there. The other flanker spot is a direct shootout between Donnacha Ryan and Niall Ronan. Ronan deserves the chance but Ryan can potentially have the longer career. I wouldn't be overly surprised to see Ryan start at 6 and Muldoon at 7.

A few players in the test squad (O'Connor, Hurley, Henry) don't deserve to win international caps yet. Hopefully Kidney won't just empty the replacements bench for the sake of it and these players will have to earn their caps rather than pick up cheap ones on a depleted squad.[/b]

The Outhalf situation is very interesting. with O'Connor in both, Keatley only in the test squad and Sexton only in the As.

At first I thought it very wierd that O'Connor was in both and sexton wasn't in the test squad. But Kidney seems to continue his with his intelligent planning...what I think is happening is:

Keatley has the two test games while he gets to see Sexton fore more games at a level that isn't exactly lower than what the test team is playing at while O'Connor on the bench for both test and A games to give back-up.

Andrew Trimble is probably crying himself to sleep. No room for Ian Humphries either. Looking forward to seeing the A team in action....not coached by Bradley! HURRAH! I'm hopeing for them to win the thing this year with a funfun final against the old enemy!

 

[feicarsinn]

i cant believe we haven't made one A-Team Joke yet. We're really letting the ball drop

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Monkeypigeon @ May 11 2009, 11:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Andrew Trimble is probably crying himself to sleep. No room for Ian Humphries either. Looking forward to seeing the A team in action....not coached by Bradley! HURRAH! I'm hopeing for them to win the thing this year with a funfun final against the old enemy![/b]

Trimble is injured, as his his Ulster compatriote David Pollock. Both will be back at the start of next season.

Having had time to properly look over the test squad, the only player I can think of as being unlucky is Fionn Carr. He scores tries for fun with Connacht and with Ian Dowling as the only proper winger in the squad, I think there should be room for one more. Denis Hurley is extremely lucky to be named.

As for the Churchill Cup squad, I would have liked to have seen some alterations. Ian Whitten has impressed in limited action with Ulster. He's only had a handful of games for them and while he's not in the class of Darren Cave, he's more than capable of progrssing along the lines of Fergus McFadden or Barry Murphy. He should have been an addition to the squad rather than taking somebody else's place.

Another change I'd make would be at scrumhalf. There's little we don't know about Isaac Boss. As for Simon Keogh (who has been a great addition to the Leinster squad) and Frank Murphy, neither are ever going to play for the full Ireland team. Why not give them the summer off and promote Paul O'Donohoe, Paul Marshall or Cillian Willis?

It's not well known but there is a young Irish player who's begun getting regular games in the Premiership as a loosehead prop - Callum Black of Worcester. He's only been given his opportunity because of an injury to Matt Mullan and I haven't seen him play but he may be worth keeping an eye on since he's only 23. If a Division 1 prop like John Andress (who has apparently signed for Harlequins next year) gets in the Churchill Cup squad, then I believe room could be made for a Premiership prop. We aren't exactly blessed with viable options in that area.

 

[MunsterMan]

Tests:

1.Tom Court
2.Rory Best ©
3.Mike Ross
4.Ryan Caldwell
5.Bob Casey
6.John Muldoon
7.Niall Ronan
8.Denis Leamy
9.Peter Stringer
10.Ian Keatley
11.Ian Dowling
12.Keith Matthews
13.Darren Cave
14.Barry Murphy
15.Gavin Duffy

16.Sean Cronin
17.Tony Buckley
18.Donnacha Ryan
19Chris Henry
20.Eoin Reddan
21.Niall O'Connor
22.Denis Hurley


Mick O'Driscoll and Bryan Young in reserve.

Would look a lot stronger with someone like Paddy Wallace their IMO.


Churchill Cup:

1.Cian Healy
2.Sean Cronin
3.Tony Buckley
4.Donnacha Ryan
5.Devin Toner
6.Neil Besy
7.Sean O'Brien
8.John Muldoon ©
9.Frank Murphy
10.Jonny Sexton
11.Johne Murphy
12.James Downey
13.Fergus McFadden
14.Fionn Carr
15.Denis Hurley

16.Denis Fogarty
17.John Andress
18.Ed O'Donoughue
19.Chris Henry
20.Isaac Boss
21.Niall O'Connor
22.Keith Mathews

 

[alexrugby]

It's very interesting whether our teams will face off on Churchill Cup

 

[monkeypigeon]

Ireland team for the Canada match:

IRELAND Squad (v Canada, Saturday May 23, Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, kick-off 2pm local time/10pm Irish time (live RTE Two):

15. Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht)
14. Barry Murphy (UL Bohemians/Munster)
13. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
12. Ian Whitten (Ballymena/Ulster)*
11. Ian Dowling (Shannon/Munster)*
10. Ian Keatley (Galwegians/Connacht)*
9. Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster)
1. Tom Court (Malone/Ulster)
2. Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt)
3. Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
4. Bob Casey (London Irish)
5. Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster)
6. John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)*
7. Niall Ronan (Shannon/Munster)*
8. Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster)

Replacements:

16. Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)*
17. Mike Ross (Harlequins)*
18. Ryan Caldwell (Dungannon/Ulster)*
19. Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
20. Eoin Reddan (London Wasps)
21. Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)*
22. Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)*

* Denotes new cap.

Looking forward to seeing Keatley working his magic at an international level even though it isn't gonna be all that intense. Would havr preffered to see Ross, Reddan and Ryan or Caldwell starting. ahead of Micko,, Buckley and Stringer. Looking forward to Whitten and Cave.

 

[monkeypigeon]

IRELAND 'A' TEAM & REPLACEMENTS (v Canada, 2009 Churchill Cup Pool A, Infinity Park, Glendale, Colorado, Wednesday, June 10, kick-off 4.30pm local time/11.30pm Irish time (live Sky Sports 1)):

15 - Denis Hurley (Cork Constitution/Munster)
14 - Fionn Carr (Galwegians/Connacht)
13 - Fergus McFadden (UCD/Leinster)
12 - Keith Matthews (Buccaneers/Connacht)
11 - Johne Murphy (Leicester Tigers)
10 - Niall O'Connor (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
9 - Isaac Boss (Ballymena/Ulster) (capt)
1 - Bryan Young (Ballymena/Ulster)
2 - Sean Cronin (Buccaneers/Connacht)
3 - Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster)
4 - Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
5 - Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
6 - Neil Best (Northampton Saints)
7 - Sean O'Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
8 - Chris Henry (Ballymena/Ulster)

Replacements:

16 - Denis Fogarty (Cork Constitution/Munster)
17 - Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
18 - Trevor Hogan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
19 - John Muldoon (Galwegians/Connacht)
20 - Frank Murphy (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21 - Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
22 - James Downey (Northampton Saints)



Seems a strange set of half backs with Frank Murphy and Sexton only making the bench and I've found Keith Mathews to be a bit rubbish when I've seen him. 2 decent wings though and Denis Hurly is quite good on the days when he rememberss how to catch the highball.

Strong pack though and a very nice backrow with two good young players. Particularly interested in Sean O'Brien

 

[Leinster777]

Very Impressed by the Ireland 'A' boys over there, it was their time to shine as replacement players and just shows that we may have more strength in depth then we previously thought.

 

[monkeypigeon]

I'm still a bit worried the Fergus Mcfadden won't get get the oppertunities over the next two years that he needs.

Very happy that Felix Jones moved to Munster. Imagine if the Churchill Cup was only a sign of things to come. A fullback challenging Rob Kearmey for his place. To think 3 years ago I was worried about what would happen once Girv was gone!

 

[feicarsinn]

Yup the backs are actually very promising at the mo. I used to have this worry that you could always predict the Irish team in 5 years but you just cant anymore. The likes of Trimble and Barry Murphy have faded and McFadden and Felix Jones have come on leaps and bounds.

I was thinking about our future options and as pompous as it sounds I was shocked to see how many of them came from around here. The likes of Cian Healy, Niall Ronan, Keatley, Sexton, Felix Jones, McFadden, O'Brien and the 2 boys already in there are going to be around for quite a while. What talent is coming from the south these days? (apart from that Etaoin Ã" hAilpín, looks slightly too much like Sean Ã"g for my liking though)

 

[monkeypigeon]

Have to agree that we're hitting a bit of a dry spot. (though Niall Ronan doesn't get to be on your list because he's like 27!)

But I think we are doing our bit. Two good Hookers in Denis Fogarty and Sean Cronin (who's the yonger and more talented of the two in my eyes). Keith Earls obviously. Donnocha Ryan though he's in his mid 20s.

Still hold high hopes that Darragh Hurley will be a quality prop.

And I'm looking at Scott Deasy to be another fantastic back 3 or centre player to merge this year. And hopefully Andrew Burke who I think will be a better centre than outhalf. And Peter O'Mahony who was Ireland U20 captain is a prospect.

Oh, and Brian Hayes who was calle upto the under20 team for the Junior WC squad the second he was finished his leaving cert. Mark my word. The gonna be an amazing player. Was playing Senior Cup rugby when he was in 4th yr if I remember correctly.

So yeah...and we have a good number of diaspora who probably should have been retained but we let them go. (Reddan, Frank Murphy, Mike Ross).

 

[feicarsinn]

Kewl lots of players for Munster to ship off to Connacht in the next few years. Not that thats anything against them but you have to be pretty special these days to break into one of the big 2 from the academies, also good for Connacht = good for Irish rugby.

What age is Darragh Hurley now, he seems to have been around for a while without having stepped up.

 

[monkeypigeon]

I think it's great for Connacht. And looking at the amount of backs and backrows we're producing they'll have a good team before you know it! They won't win anything though with mr Bradley in charge. What a useless *******.

Darragh Hurley's 23 Young for a prop still. He's been getting bits of experience over the years. 24 appearances he has in 3 years. He's a better scrommager than Buckley and I'm getting fed of uckley being a monster around the park and doing nothing else. It's kind of depressing to have a great half-player.