Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Nick Elliott
Micky Gregory
[Or some rambling thoughts on the latest 6N squad, and the current state of the Ireland rugby team in general – albeit from a personal and mainly Ulster perspective].
Firstly, and enforced absences aside, a much broader squad should have been assembled in November, resulting in a huge opportunity to develop the team having been missed.
Never mind hindsight, or the stunning performance by Munster at Croke Park – a blind man on a galloping horse could have seen that there was no merit in relying on a battle weary Leinster core to beat NZ, never mind for them to then be up to giving a decent account of themselves going forward. And Ireland were certainly not in a good place against a South African side that were probably there for the taking.
So where are we now? Some points to ponder:
A bunch of fresh faces, with a number getting another chance. But a chance at what?
Would Baloucoune even be there if Hansen was fit? Possibly, though I seriously doubt he would have gotten any significant game time. That said, other than against Italy and/or Wales, will any Ulsterman get a start, or a spot on the bench elsewhere, other than some of the forwards possibly?
Is the continuing inclusion of Aki on merit? 100% committed to the cause, and a huge fan favourite, certainly. But one of the top 2 or 3 centres in the country? Not IMHO, and I feel that this has been the case for a while now.
And what price loyalty?
Certainly we’ve had some great times in the not so distant past, yet being realistic, we’ve seen some pretty poor fare too. Leaving to one side Lowe, Gibson-Park, Aki & Hansen being parachuted into the side – what future has the almost total reliance on one Province created for Irish rugby going forward?
It can be argued that the best teams are not simply built on having the best players on the pitch at the same time. That said, where there is a plan or a collective system in place, there is an imperative that the side that takes the field is capable of executing it.
And what if the plan isn’t working? What if it simply doesn’t or won’t work?
Where is Plan B? Sorry, is there/ was there ever a Plan B? Or even a Plan A.2?
Damned if you do – and I can’t see that AF will make any radical changes for Paris. Yet if there are such – and there’s a repeat of last year?
Or a similar outcome while sticking to the-same-old-same-old? Damned if you don’t!
First time since 2000 that me & herself won’t be in Paris for 6N, and for a number of years I’ll admit to feeling somewhat detached from the Ireland team. And this is not simply because of limited Ulster involvement, who admittedly have been hard to watch, too often and for too long. This season however, like many others not from the parish, I’m enjoying watching Ulster, and it’s a joy to see folk enjoying their work – well, much of the time!
While it is deserved that the Ulster representation has grown, I’ll finish by saying that I hope that the Irish team in general can become somewhat less parochial, and more outward looking going forward.