Ireland under 20s 6 Nations thread

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

McGrath has been excellent. Cocky *******! 11-6

 

[Feicarsinn]

Luke McGrath you ****ing beaut!

 

[big ginger 8]

Yep and nice drop goal there good thinking.

 

[Saintjay]

The welsh 12 needs a talking too really terrible play. He was to busy *****ing at the ref and his players and left McGrafth a free shot.

 

[lucky number 7]

would Husband mcGrath

 

[big ginger 8]

I remember shouting "Jason Derulo" at McGrath last year long story. Made to much work of that Leighton deserved MoTM

 

[Peat]

I remember shouting "Jason Derulo" at McGrath last year long story. Made to much work of that Leighton deserved MoTM

Leighton?

edit: You mean Layden?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

11-6 win for Ireland. Not that the result matters a whole lot. There are some very good players in that bunch and some, ahem, not so good.

It looks like Connacht have found a new fullback in Shane Layden and a possible successor to Johnny O'Connor in Aaron Conneely. Ulster have a new second row in Iain Henderson, I'll reserve judgement on Paddy Jackson and two players worth keeping an eye on in Chris Farrell and Kyle McCall. Munster finally have a back in JJ Hanrahan who may be the most talented player on this team. Leinster already have backrowers coming out of their ears and appear to have a couple more in Jack Conan and Conor Gilsenan. Luke McGrath lived up to the hype.

A fully fit under 20 team could be quite tasty:
15. Peter Nelson
14. Shane Layden
13. Chris Farrell
12. JJ Hanrahan
11. Sam Coghlan Murray
10. Paddy Jackson / Cathal Marsh
9. Luke McGrath
1. Kyle McCall
2. Niall Scannell / James Rael
3. Tadhg Furlong (c)
4. Iain Henderson
5. Danny Qualter
6. Conor Gilsenan
7. Aaron Conneely
8. Jack Conan

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Leighton?

Jim. Former Scotland goalkeeper.

Layden. Shane. Ireland under 20 fullback.

 

[big ginger 8]

Yep sorry brain fart.

 

[King_D'Arcy]

McGrath was pretty class when he came on. He should get a full Leinster contract this summer. He's something special. Dont understand why he wasn't starting.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Coming along at the perfect time too. Boss and Reddan are both 31 so in two years he should be starting at 9 week in, week out.

 

[Jockstap]

Leighton?

edit: You mean Layden?

Peat since you're fairly neutral Ireland wise was McGrath any good or are these Leinster boys just losing the run of themselves with tinted glasses?

 

[Peat]

Peat since you're fairly neutral Ireland wise was McGrath any good or are these Leinster boys just losing the run of themselves with tinted glasses?

:lol:

McGrath's a wee bit special. His vision and top 4 inches are really good, plus he's a physical little nugget. Showed all that and was very good today. However, he wants to work on his pass, which is still a little haywire. It was reaching Jackson quicker than Marmion's, but he still frequently had to adjust for it. That's the counsel of perfection though, he'll play for Leinster soon enough just as he is. Marmion has improved a lot since last year, but there is still no way in hell he should be ahead of McGrath.

Layden looked talented enough but wants to remove the blinkers as he rarely seems to be looking for the pass. Has he played for Connacht yet? He's good enough to be worth a punt. Will be interesting to see what happens when Nelson and Sherlock return; my guess is that Nelson will go into the centres (with Horan missing out) and Layden shifting to take a wing spot.

The other standout players were Henderson (who I've been getting quietly excited about since I saw him play vs London Welsh), Conan and Hanrahan. Jackson mixed bad (place kicking and first 20 minutes) with good (everything else) - in the lad's defence, I said before the game that he was rusty as hell. This Irish pack looks a lot heftier than last year's - and that's with 2 or 3 lads I'd expect to be in the mix missing.

 

[big ginger 8]

Layden looked talented enough but wants to remove the blinkers as he rarely seems to be looking for the pass. Has he played for Connacht yet? He's good enough to be worth a punt. Will be interesting to see what happens when Nelson and Sherlock return; my guess is that Nelson will go into the centres (with Horan missing out) and Layden shifting to take a wing spot.

Nope still only in the first year at the academy. Three players in the 22 for Connacht getting better and better.

 

[Peat]

Nope still only in the first year at the academy. Three players in the 22 for Connacht getting better and better.

Duffy, O'Halloran and...?

Ulster played Gilroy, Jackson, Marshall et al in their first year at the academy. If you're good enough, you're old enough, and I reckon there's a fine chance he's old enough.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I think Layden has played for Connacht. He came on against Leinster in the RDS unless I'm mistaken.

 

[dullonien]

Bloody hell Wales were poor. Unable to keep hold of the ball for more than a couple of phases. Some of the outside backs looked half decent, but went on to lose the ball in contact after making decent little runs/half breaks. Very winnable game there, but ultimately Ireland deserved the win for being th best of two poor teams.

If Wales and Ireland don't improve on that display, then they'll both get a pasting from England if they're anywhere neer as good as they usually are!

 

[Peat]

Dull - I believe the final score was 59-3 in the England-Scotland game.

Be afraid. Be very afraid

 

[dullonien]

Dull - I believe the final score was 59-3 in the England-Scotland game.

Be afraid. Be very afraid

England are always quality at this level. Always seem to be a few inches taller and a stone or two heavier than Ireland or Wales. That makes a difference at U20 level where sheer strength can win you games, although it's advantages diminish at seniour level where things even out.

I don't see this Welsh team doing much this year. Seems to be a lack of quality in important positions. If I think back a few years, when we had the likes of Warburton, Halfpenny, Turnbull, Jon Davies, Biggar, Tovey etc. all in the same U20 team.