Irish Wolfhounds vs England Saxons 30/1/15 Independent Park ko 19:45

[big ginger 8]

This is shaping up to be a very good match. The Saxons have named a strong squad with some very exciting young players while the Wolfhounds could possibly be fielding the likes of Healy, O'Brien, Henderson and Earls. Hopefully the conditions are good so we can see some of the best carriers around do their business.

EDIT:

Wolfhounds:
15. Felix Jones (captain)
14. Fergus McFadden
13. Keith Earls
12. Gordon D'Arcy
11. Luke Fitzgerald
10. Ian Madigan
9. Kieran Marmion
1. Jack McGrath
2. Richardt Strauss
3. Mike Ross
4. Iain Henderson
5. Mike McCarthy
6. Dominic Ryan
7. Sean O'Brien
8. Jack Conan
Replacements:
16. Rob Herring
17. Michael Bent
18. Nathan White
19. Robbie Diack
20. Eoin McKeon
21. Isaac Boss
22. Noel Reid
23. Craig Gilroy

Saxons:
15 Chris Pennell (Worcester Warriors)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens)
13 Elliot Daly (Wasps)
12 Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby)
11 Marland Yarde (Harlequins)
10 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
9 Lee Dickson, captain (Northampton Saints)

1 Matt Mullan (Wasps)
2 Rob Webber (Bath Rugby)
3 Henry Thomas (Bath Rugby)
4 Matt Garvey (Bath Rugby)
5 James Gaskell (Wasps)
6 Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)
7 Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby)
8 Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
17 Alex Waller (Northampton Saints)
18 Jake Cooper-Woolley (Wasps)
19 Maro Itoje (Saracens)
20 Carl Fearns (Bath)
21 Joe Simpson (Wasps)
22 Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby)
23 Christian Wade (Wasps)

 

[goodNumber10]

Isn't that just the Ireland squad?

 

[big ginger 8]

Isn't that just the Ireland squad?

Yep, we don't name separate squads.

Now that D. Kearney is injured for this match I wouldn't be surprised to see Matt Healy or Andrew Conway called up possibly another scrummie as well due to Reddan's injury but options are limited.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

With only 24 players the Saxons side basically picks itself - I imagine Harrison will be the one to miss out, especially after we've dicked around putting him at tighthead.

Backs could be very interesting. Something like
Simpson,
Slade,
Yarde,
Burgess,
Daly,
Wade,
Pennell

Could be insanely good given a platform, but then it's the Saxons coaching set up so we'll play like headless chickens and lose by 7-10.


Be interesting to see how Burgess is used - press saying he'll start at 12, and as it's him vs Devoto, and Devoto is the only 10 cover, that seems likely.
Don't like the idea of Daly playing at 13, I have no faith in his defence there, and coupled with the inexperience of Burgess it could be a very porous midfield - Wade and/or Ashton not exactly shoring up defence out wide either.
But then will they put Pennell in straight with a start? Could we see something like 12. Devoto, 13. Burgess, 15. Daly?


Does seem a bit weird only really having one lock in the squad - I mean Garvey and Itoje can play there, but both are blindsides, really.


My prediction (not necessarily my choice) is:
1. Mullan,
2. Webber,
3. Brookes,
4. Day,
5. Garvey,
6. Croft,
7. Kvesic,
8. Waldrom,
9. Dickson,
10. Slade,
11. Yarde,
12. Burgess,
13. Daly,
14. Ashton,
15. Pennell

16. LCD, 17. Waller, 18. Thomas, 19. Itoje, 20. Ewers, 21. Simpson, 22. Devoto, 23. Wade


No idea of captain. Webber? Day?

 

[munstermuffin]

Yep, we don't name separate squads.

Now that D. Kearney is injured for this match I wouldn't be surprised to see Matt Healy or Andrew Conway called up possibly another scrummie as well due to Reddan's injury but options are limited.

Few more will be added. Duncan will be 9

 

[j'nuh]

No idea of captain. Webber? Day?

I think Dickson has already been confirmed to be the captain?

 

[TheSaffycen]

Wait are we going to play an blindside, openside and 8 ? That would never work how about 3 6.5's ?

 

[Feicarsinn]

Met Eireann are predicting a 75% chance of strong bumming occurring in the greater Cork region this Friday evening.

 

[goodNumber10]

With only 24 players the Saxons side basically picks itself - I imagine Harrison will be the one to miss out, especially after we've dicked around putting him at tighthead.

Backs could be very interesting. Something like
Simpson,
Slade,
Yarde,
Burgess,
Daly,
Wade,
Pennell

Could be insanely good given a platform, but then it's the Saxons coaching set up so we'll play like headless chickens and lose by 7-10.


Be interesting to see how Burgess is used - press saying he'll start at 12, and as it's him vs Devoto, and Devoto is the only 10 cover, that seems likely.
Don't like the idea of Daly playing at 13, I have no faith in his defence there, and coupled with the inexperience of Burgess it could be a very porous midfield - Wade and/or Ashton not exactly shoring up defence out wide either.
But then will they put Pennell in straight with a start? Could we see something like 12. Devoto, 13. Burgess, 15. Daly?


Does seem a bit weird only really having one lock in the squad - I mean Garvey and Itoje can play there, but both are blindsides, really.


My prediction (not necessarily my choice) is:
1. Mullan,
2. Webber,
3. Brookes,
4. Day,
5. Garvey,
6. Croft,
7. Kvesic,
8. Waldrom,
9. Dickson,
10. Slade,
11. Yarde,
12. Burgess,
13. Daly,
14. Ashton,
15. Pennell

16. LCD, 17. Waller, 18. Thomas, 19. Itoje, 20. Ewers, 21. Simpson, 22. Devoto, 23. Wade


No idea of captain. Webber? Day?

Devoto 10, Burgess 12, Slade 13.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

With only 24 players the Saxons side basically picks itself - I imagine Harrison will be the one to miss out, especially after we've dicked around putting him at tighthead.

Backs could be very interesting. Something like
Simpson,
Slade,
Yarde,
Burgess,
Daly,
Wade,
Pennell

Could be insanely good given a platform, but then it's the Saxons coaching set up so we'll play like headless chickens and lose by 7-10.


Be interesting to see how Burgess is used - press saying he'll start at 12, and as it's him vs Devoto, and Devoto is the only 10 cover, that seems likely.
Don't like the idea of Daly playing at 13, I have no faith in his defence there, and coupled with the inexperience of Burgess it could be a very porous midfield - Wade and/or Ashton not exactly shoring up defence out wide either.
But then will they put Pennell in straight with a start? Could we see something like 12. Devoto, 13. Burgess, 15. Daly?


Does seem a bit weird only really having one lock in the squad - I mean Garvey and Itoje can play there, but both are blindsides, really.


My prediction (not necessarily my choice) is:
1. Mullan,
2. Webber,
3. Brookes,
4. Day,
5. Garvey,
6. Croft,
7. Kvesic,
8. Waldrom,
9. Dickson,
10. Slade,
11. Yarde,
12. Burgess,
13. Daly,
14. Ashton,
15. Pennell

16. LCD, 17. Waller, 18. Thomas, 19. Itoje, 20. Ewers, 21. Simpson, 22. Devoto, 23. Wade


No idea of captain. Webber? Day?

Agree about Daly. Despite the promise Daly shows he's never been a genuinely good 13. He doesn't run particularly good lines in the midfield channel, and honestly he's in danger of being seen as a utility back without a specialist position.

He's got great ball skills and as we know a good boot, but his only real tactic is to take players on by taking them on the outside shoulder, straightening, drawing, and offloading. Usually the winger (normally Wade) by this point doesn't have any space available for this to be useful.

This is a long-winded way of explaining that if Daly is to play it's probably best to put him at 15.

On another note, I'm sick and tired of the Saxons playing half-arsed rugby. This squad has huge potential and most of these players will go on to plat a part in the EPS at some point down the line. Callard really needs to do something to prove he's worth his salary. You could argue, and I would, that a strong saxons level is our missing link. Presently, Saxons rugby isn't improving those players who are part of it, where it should be a helpful transitioning squad.

 

[goodNumber10]

Agree about Daly. Despite the promise Daly shows he's never been a genuinely good 13. He doesn't run particularly good lines in the midfield channel, and honestly he's in danger of being seen as a utility back without a specialist position.

He's got great ball skills and as we know a good boot, but his only real tactic is to take players on by taking them on the outside shoulder, straightening, drawing, and offloading. Usually the winger (normally Wade) by this point doesn't have any space available for this to be useful.

This is a long-winded way of explaining that if Daly is to play it's probably best to put him at 15.

On another note, I'm sick and tired of the Saxons playing half-arsed rugby. This squad has huge potential and most of these players will go on to plat a part in the EPS at some point down the line. Callard really needs to do something to prove he's worth his salary. You could argue, and I would, that a strong saxons level is our missing link. Presently, Saxons rugby isn't improving those players who are part of it, where it should be a helpful transitioning squad.

I would move him to 12 or 10.

Agree about the Saxons not playing well, Ballard is not a good coach.

 

[TheSaffycen]

The thing is we don't have a recognised style of play, unlike South Africa or New Zealand. If you had a blueprint for English rugby than the saxons can be used for the guys who are about to make the next step and understand how you are expected to play. But we seem to change our style of play every test window. If I was picking the team

1.Mullan 2.Webber(c) 3.Brookes 4.Itoje 5.Day 6.Ewers 7.Kvesic 8.Waldrom 9.Simpson 10.Slade 11.Yarde 12.Devoto 13.Daly 14.Wade 15.Pennell
16.LCD 17.Waller 18.Thomas 19.Garvey 20.Croft 21.Dickson 22.Burgess 23.Ashton

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

I would move him to 12 or 10.

Agree about the Saxons not playing well, Ballard is not a good coach.

Yeap - I have a feeling he could make a decent 12. The problem is, he's not going to gain any clarity about this while at Wasps who have:

Leiua; Jacobs; Bell; Masi

All of whom, Masi aside, are preferred as 12s.

 

[Amiga500]

This is shaping up to be a very good match. The Saxons have named a strong squad with some very exciting young players while the Wolfhounds could possibly be fielding the likes of Healy, O'Brien, Henderson and Earls. Hopefully the conditions are good so we can see some of the best carriers around do their business.

Wolfhounds selected from:
Props
Jack McGrath, Michael Bent, James Cronin, Cian Healy, Nathan White, Martin Moore, Mike Ross.
Hookers
Rob Herring, Sean Cronin, Rory Best, Richardt Strauss
Second rows
Dave Foley, Paul O'Connell, Mike McCarthy, Devin Toner
Back row
Jordi Murphy, Sean O'Brien, Tommy O'Donnell, Peter O'Mahony, Rhys Ruddock, Dominic Ryan, Jamie Heaslip, Jack Conan, Robbie Diack.
Half-backs
Kieran Marmion, Isaac Boss, Eoin Reddan, Conor Murray, Ian Keatley, Ian Madigan, Jonathan Sexton.
Centres
Darren Cave, Gordon D'Arcy, Jared Payne, Noel Reid, Luke Fitzgerald, Robbie Henshaw
Back threes
Craig Gilroy, Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Felix Jones, David Kearney, Rob Kearney, Fergus McFadden, Simon Zebo.

Hmmm, wonder what we'll see as the team.

If it were me...

15. Payne
14. Gilroy
13. Fitzgerald
12. McFadden*
11. Zebo
10. Madigan
9. Marmion

1. Healy
2. Strauss
3. White
4. Foley
5. McCarthy
6. Henderson
7. O'Brien
8. Conan

With probably a question mark at 12. I see McFadden being the bench option for the test matches as he can cover pretty much anywhere in the outside backs and obviously kick at goal. Is Luke Marshall in the squad? Showed well on Sat evening. If he was called in, I'd probably stick him at 12 for the hounds - he could do with the game time in case he was needed in the 6N.

Its a pretty bosh-tastic pack, with big carriers in Healy, McCarthy, Henderson, O'Brien and Conan.

 

[munstermuffin]

Hmmm, wonder what we'll see as the team.

If it were me...

15. Payne
14. Gilroy
13. Fitzgerald
12. McFadden*
11. Zebo
10. Madigan
9. Marmion

1. Healy
2. Strauss
3. White
4. Foley
5. McCarthy
6. Henderson
7. O'Brien
8. Conan

With probably a question mark at 12. I see McFadden being the bench option for the test matches as he can cover pretty much anywhere in the outside backs and obviously kick at goal. Is Luke Marshall in the squad? Showed well on Sat evening. If he was called in, I'd probably stick him at 12 for the hounds - he could do with the game time in case he was needed in the 6N.

Its a pretty bosh-tastic pack, with big carriers in Healy, McCarthy, Henderson, O'Brien and Conan.

Zebo probably nailed as starter vs Italy. As is Madigan so neither of them will play. Henderson I'm expecting may play lock as that's where he probably will be utilised by Ireland. Luke Fitz probably will be held off as he will start 13 vs Italy so Earls will probably play here.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Zebo probably nailed as starter vs Italy. As is Madigan so neither of them will play. Henderson I'm expecting may play lock as that's where he probably will be utilised by Ireland. Luke Fitz probably will be held off as he will start 13 vs Italy so Earls will probably play here.

The great pretender? Christ, I hope not, Zebo is behind Bowe, Trimble, Gilroy and McFadden on this seasons form in my opinion. He's far too inconsistent, has too many gaps in his game and isn't the "gamechanger" he's made out to be. As of this moment Zebo wouldn't be in my world cup squad. Amiga's side looks good to me Madigan needs 50 minutes to put last Saturday behind him.

 

[lynam1104]

Wing is certainly an area where we have options, I think Zebo showed up very well in the Autumn did very little to nothing wrong , but I feel Ferg might get ahead of him as he is just so suited to the way that Joe likes his wings to play.

 

[collace]

Don't forget about Gilroy. He had a very good game against Leicester and has generally been in very good form over the last month or so.

 

[Amiga500]

Zebo probably nailed as starter vs Italy.

How badly injured is Kearnage Og? No way is Zebo starting ahead of him or Bowe.

 

[munstermuffin]

The great pretender? Christ, I hope not, Zebo is behind Bowe, Trimble, Gilroy and McFadden on this seasons form in my opinion. He's far too inconsistent, has too many gaps in his game and isn't the "gamechanger" he's made out to be. As of this moment Zebo wouldn't be in my world cup squad. Amiga's side looks good to me Madigan needs 50 minutes to put last Saturday behind him.

Thankfully in being inconsistent out of all Irish wingers he's in top 3 for tackles made, metres made, carries, defenders beaten and assists.
What does that's say about the rest. I'd almost guarantee he will go RWC as he's proven to be versatile and worked on what was given and did well in Autumn. It's up to others to take shirt off him now and yes Gilroy has done alright but if you mention inconsistent then look at his earlier form. So can't be 1 rule for some and not for others. Kearney isn't at the same level and hasn't played enough rugby, McFadden played well but isn't back long enough to judge and Trimble is out.

Amiga I don't think Kearney would be near starting regardless.