THERE WAS MORE than a hint of spring in the air around Ireland today and though a good chunk of supporters felt only minor excitement when they saw the 36-man Six Nations squad, there are exciting times ahead.
This was never going to be a squad featuring lots of uncapped players and fresh faces, all the more so given that Ireland travel to Georgia and Portugal this summer when many of their frontliners will be away on the Lions tour.
Ireland have just a handful of training sessions before they open their Six Nations with a huge game against England in Dublin on Saturday 1 February. With Simon Easterby stepping up as interim head coach while Andy Farrell focuses on the Lions, it’s felt that this is not a time for major experimentation.
Ireland are going after the historic prize of a third Six Nations title in a row, which would be a remarkable achievement.
The squad won’t have pleased everyone and the provincial breakdown of 23 Leinster players, five from Connacht, five from Munster, and three from Ulster underlines current worries about the other three provinces struggling to close the gap to Leinster.
There will surely never be a scenario where each province provides an equal share of players and it’s worth remembering that Munster dominated these selections when they were winning Heineken Cups, but better balance would obviously be ideal.
Understandably, some fans of Ulster, Munster, and Connacht struggle to feel an intense connection with the international team right now. Throw in the fact that tickets for Six Nations games are €160 before you even consider the other expenses of travel, accommodation, food and drink and the frustration grows.
The 2023 World Cup showed that Ireland enjoy phenomenal support and while the Aviva Stadium will continue to be packed out – a welcome boost to the IRFU’s coffers every single time – the lack of feeling towards the team from some quarters of the island is a concern.
Those are matters for IRFU performance director David Humphreys and the union to ponder but the Ireland coaching staff are simply tasked with picking what they believe is the best squad of players to win the Six Nations.
Ireland A’s clash with England A in Bristol on 23 February will give a wider group of players the chance to wear a green jersey and that fixture should provide the Irish coaches with room to look to the future.
For now, there must be huge excitement among Jack Boyle’s family and friends after the 22-year-old loosehead was named in Ireland’s squad for the first time. He trained with Farrell’s group during the November Tests campaign, doing well enough to be kept around longer than initially planned.
And now Boyle is included in the main squad as the third loosehead option behind Andrew Porter and Cian Healy. That slot has been filled by Ulster’s Tom O’Toole recently but he is suspended for the first two Six Nations games.
Building depth at loosehead has been an obvious need for Ireland for some time. Healy is now 37. The Irish record caps holder still has more to offer than younger pretenders but Boyle has been seen as a big prospect since coming through St Michael’s College.
He isn’t a gigantic specimen but he is very explosive, mobile, and fit. As with any young prop, he will continue to learn from the likes of Porter and Healy at scrum time but a Test debut in this championship would be brilliant for Boyle and Ireland.
He is the only uncapped player named in the squad but some of the returning faces will enhance Ireland’s push for the title.
Jack Conan had been a key part of the matchday 23 under Farrell before missing last summer’s tour of South Africa for personal reasons and then the November Tests due to injury. He brings proven class back into the mix.
Tadhg Furlong was in the squad last autumn but didn’t feature at all and only made his return from hamstring and calf issues in Leinster’s win over La Rochelle last weekend. Furlong was missed in November and now brings top-level might into the group again.
First-choice hooker Dan Sheehan hasn’t played at all since suffering an ACL injury in South Africa last summer but is nearing his return for Leinster and so, is named in the Ireland squad for this Six Nations.
He and James Lowe – set to return from a calf injury that has sidelined him since November – will belatedly join Ireland’s training camp in Portugal on Sunday week, giving them a chance to feature in Leinster’s URC clash with the Stormers the day before.
Judging by previous Irish campaigns, that might leave them playing catch-up with the rest of the international squad but it’s worth remembering that Peter O’Mahony played off the bench for Ireland in their opening November game against New Zealand having only made his return from injury for Munster the weekend before.
Lowe played every minute of the November campaign in the latest illustration of his importance to Ireland, while Sheehan is among the “world’s best players,” as Ronan O’Gara stated on Sunday evening. There is always an understanding that players can take a while to hit top form after long-term injuries but it’s hugely exciting for Ireland to be reintegrating a world-class hooker who is still only 26.
With Craig Casey ruled out of this championship due to his knee injury, Connacht man Caolin Blade joins Jamison Gibson-Park and Conor Murray as the scrum-half options. It’s entirely deserved when viewed through the prism of what Blade did in South Africa last July.
Blade came off the bench along with Ciarán Frawley for the final quarter of the second Test and played a key part in Ireland squeezing to victory in dramatic fashion. We know from other examples that that kind of impact in a huge Test and Blade’s familiarity with the Ireland set-up have greater currency than other players’ current form.
Jimmy O’Brien is another player who comes back into the squad having missed out in November. The versatile Leinster back has had some excellent performances for Ireland, including off the bench in a World Cup quarter-final, so he too is a known quantity at a time when Jacob Stockdale and Jordan Larmour are out injured.
Otherwise, it’s the expected story of continuity for Ireland even if some of those carrying on from the autumn are still very inexperienced at international level.
21-year-old out-half Sam Prendergast’s involvement has gone almost unmentioned because many see him as the likely starter against England but it’s worth remembering that he only won his first three caps for Ireland two months ago.
21-year-old Leinster academy hooker Gus McCarthy also continues as one of four hookers in the squad, having impressed on his first two Ireland appearances in November.
24-year-old Leinster tighthead Thomas Clarkson is another of the fresher faces, with his first two caps in the autumn showing his potential to kick on. Like McCarthy, Clarkson was a development player at the start of the November campaign but both front rows kicked on to earn debuts.
24-year-old Ulster lock/blindside Cormac Izuchukwu is another man with a high ceiling and he will be excited to get a chance to build on his debut in the starting XV against Fiji in November.
The latest batch of development players will hope to have a similar impact as McCarthy, Clarkson, and Boyle did last time around.
21-year-old Ulster back row James McNabney is a seriously athletic talent, Connacht’s 23-year-old inside centre Cathal Forde is skillful and tough, while 21-year-old Leinster centre Hugh Cooney is combative and impressed on last season’s Emerging Ireland tour.
23-year-old Connacht scrum-half Ben Murphy is pacy and smart, with his form for the province since joining from Leinster last summer making the Irish coaches take note.
Throw in the fact that other main squad members Joe McCarthy, Jack Crowley, Jamie Osborne, Cian Prendergast, Jimmy O’Brien, Calvin Nash, Blade, and Frawley all have fewer than 20 Ireland caps each and the Irish coaches feel like there is enough freshness in this group to go along with the highly experienced crew.
Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony, and Murray have all indicated in recent times an awareness that they’re in the closing stages of their careers but they still have plenty of value to offer Ireland now as they focus on trying to retain the Six Nations again. This could be the last hurrah for some Irish rugby greats.
As ever, there are many players who must feel unlucky to miss out, including Ulster’s Nick Timoney, who was in the squad in November and has continued to impress for his province. The uncapped Munster lock/blindside Tom Ahern is someone the Irish coaches rate too but he doesn’t squeeze into a hugely competitive area of the squad.
Even on the development player front, the likes of 22-year-old Ulster centres Jude Postlethwaite and Ben Carson would have loved a chance based on their positive impression for their province.
They’ll be among the many players hoping for a shot with Ireland A next month but Easterby has confirmed his senior selection, presumably heavily influenced by Farrell even if he has stepped back for Lions duty.
They believe it’s a squad capable of winning this Six Nations for what would be an impressive and unprecedented achievement of three titles in a row.
In my opinion he deserves a pl move
@ashton oriordan: Will start for Sunderland and probably got a decent salary. Very difficult to break into a Pl midfield. Or any position indeed.
I hope it works out for him.