LIKE THE REST of us, Stuart McCloskey has been playing the guessing game when it comes to figuring out how Andy Farrell will settle on the last few places in Ireland’s World Cup squad.
The Ulster centre admits he has been looking at past squads, examining how many players have been brought in each position, and pondering what the increased squad size of 33 means when it was only 31 before.
McCloskey points out that the bulk of the Ireland squad is fairly predictable, but it remains to be seen how Farrell uses the last five or six spots that will cause debate in pubs and press boxes.
Key for McCloskey will be whether Farrell decides to bring four centres. It’s generally agreed that Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, and Garry Ringrose are certainties to travel, but the question seems to be whether Farrell needs McCloskey too.
“Four centres went to the last World Cup,” pointed out McCloskey on Saturday night after Ireland’s win against Italy. “Hopefully there’s four that go to this World Cup and I’m one of them.”
Aki, Henshaw, Ringrose and Chris Farrell went last time. The Irish midfield has been an ever-changing beast in recent years given that someone is usually injured, and that will surely be in Farrell’s thoughts. There’s also the fact that Farrell has often picked a centre at number 23 in recent times.
Farrell may decide he has cover for Aki, Henshaw, and Ringrose from elsewhere, with someone like the versatile Jimmy O’Brien capable of playing at 13.
Aki is an out-and-out 12 and while Henshaw is best known as an inside centre too, he has started as many games at number 13 as at 12 under Farrell. Ringrose is first-choice at 13 but has played at inside centre for Ireland before and can even move to the wing.
McCloskey doesn’t have the versatility card but doesn’t see it as a major disadvantage now.
“Not so much in this team but when Joe [Schmidt] was coaching, it definitely hindered me in terms of getting games as I just play 12 but Robbie is a world-class 13 when he plays there, Ringer is the best 13 in the world at the minute.
“I think I’m a pretty good 12 and if I play there, the other guys can move around and be just as good in other positions, so I hope it doesn’t hinder me. But if it does, it is what it is.
“I like to play 12 pretty well and I think I’ve played it very well over the last 10 years of professional rugby, so it is what it is. If I don’t get selected because I just play 12 then that’s just what it is.”
It would be cruel if McCloskey is left out. He points to his body of work with Ireland in the past 10 months.
Three starts last autumn against South Africa, Fiji, and Australia. All wins. Three starts in this year’s Six Nations. All wins. And a start last weekend against Italy. Another win.
“Hopefully that puts me in fairly good stead that I can be trusted in fairly big games,” said McCloskey.
“I felt I trained pretty well coming into this. Obviously, it wasn’t my best game out there but it wasn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.
“Hopefully I’ve shown I can really achieve and perform at this level over the last year or so.”
It has been a remarkable turnaround for McCloskey, who looked like he was completely out of the frame last summer.
“When I wasn’t involved in the tour to New Zealand, I probably thought that I wouldn’t play for Ireland too much again,” he said.
“To get that opportunity and come back in to play so many games has been a dream. I have really enjoyed being here. I just want to keep enjoying it while I’m here and hopefully, I’ll get on that plane and play a pretty big role when we get out there in what should be a pretty big World Cup for us.”
