@Niall Boyle: Ha!….yeah!!

@Gary Galligan: ….no….Pollock would walk straight onto any Irish Provincial side bar Leinster and would give JVDF a run for his money.

@Michael Murray: Absolutely. Could easily make a senior squad. The underage talent in the English game is frightening. Only France on a par. It’s a 2 horse race between the 2.

@Ray Ridge: ireland could have had a serious pack of usanov, walker, Smyth, spicer, corrigan, foy, Mccarthy, Murphy, which would have been very competitive v England & france

@munsterman: Not convinced by this spicer. Big man, yes, but out on his feet after 15 minutes blowing hard. If he can get in shape and work on his fitness and be more aggressive, then maybe.

@Ray Ridge: I saw him for leinster A and he was outstanding. He’s huge so he’s not going to be that agile or mobile. But in the scrum, maul and tight defence & carrying, he’s very very good. Decent passer too. I think leinster are gonna fast-track the guy

@munsterman: Well, he must have spent the past year working on his aerobic fitness. For he was panting like a dog after 15 minutes in the Under 20 championship last year.

@Ray Ridge: yea he looked lacking in conditioning then. We still missed him whenever he wasn’t on the field though. I’d imagine he’s well conditioned now though being in the academy. It’s hard to replace a 6’10, 135kg monster. Add to that a 6’5, 120kg no8 and a very very highly rated tighthead

@munsterman: who is the no 8 ur talking about? Also is niall Smyth (I assume that’s the tighthead) out for the tournament?

@scott casey: luke Murphy, started last yr when gleeson was out. I dunno how bad those 3 are injured. With a bit of luck they’ll all be back for the wc at least cos this is potentially a very talented u20 group

@Gary Galligan: First impressions are that this fella is gonna be busy. He’s very entertaining. Some generation this one coming through..

@munsterman: Really hope we get props from this years u20s that can kick on over the next few years. Casper Gabriel might be another player who might make the world cup if he gets his residency sorted. Could make for a very interesting u20 world cup campaign

@Ray Ridge: I’d put us with those two. Per budget, we’re getting the most bang. I’d say physically we’re up against it, but we’re the ones producing most full internationals from u20 imo. I’ll go look at stats…

@Michael Murray: He definitely wouldn’t. JVDF is the best in the world and is a master in that position. Pollock has had a good breakthrough season but often finds himself running sideways and holding onto the ball unnecessarily in crucial moments against average opposition. He’s a bit reckless and does the flashy stuff off the back of his teammates hard work. Brian Gleeson was similar when he played u20s, brilliant and obviously ones to watch out for but it’s an entirely different beast when you go up to professional level as Gleeson is finding out. It’s not as easy.

@scott casey: usanov is very promising. Emmett calvey too but he’s unfortunately injured aswell. And Smyth is very highly rated, went straight into the leinster academy from school which is pretty rare

@Harry O’ Callaghan: gleeson injured his shoulder with the u20s last summer and is only back a few weeks. From what I’ve seen he’s making the step up pretty easily & since he’s been back has featured in pretty much every munster 23

@munsterman: He went straight onto a senior deal as other provinces were sniffing about. Issue with that is the hype just grows. He ideally should be doing sub academy like any 18 yeat old kid, and learning how to lock a scrum. Big, big talent though. A shame he’s injured.

@Ray Ridge: Well your comment just shows that you haven’t seen Spicer since last year and are ignorantly unaware of the long term plans being taken with him. They have him in S&C now, they didn’t last year due to his size, age and joint considerations. Ireland does not produce fellas of his height and bulk so Leinster and Ireland are taking a very long term planning view with his development. He probably won’t reach peak physical condition until at least 2 years. But of course that won’t cross your mind, and you’d prefer to just throw shade at a 19 year old kid. Grow up man.

@Carmine Lorenzo: yea it’s a shame. I’ve only seen a bit of him playing in a Blackrock game last yr that was on Premier I think. He looked a big unit. I don’t think jackman coming out and saying he’ll be the new furlong will do the lad any favours, let the young fella develop away

@Carmine Lorenzo: No I haven’t seen him since last year. Can’t see everyone. Yes my comment was based on last year. Glad to hear he’s bit fitter. However, I’ll be the judge of that when and if we see him in the under 20 championships.

@scott casey: World Rugby have already decided that his residency had to commence again when he returned from Austria during COVID. I am not sure when that is but I would imagine he didn’t bother returning until school returned, which was September 2020 which make him intelligible until next years 6N.

@Ray Ridge: No, you won’t be the judge of that actually. You need to up your rugby IQ and watch more games baby.

@Sea Point: And avoid scrums.