PODCAST : S02E012 : “Farewell Ferg & Rob, Hello Pro 14. Or is it 12. Or is it 16?”

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With a new season about to kickoff, I assembled a panel of fellow Leinster fans for our first ever pod of 4 to discuss the careers of recently retired Leinster stars as well as looking ahead to the futures of the boys in blue in particular and league in general.

This week's guests...

Conor Cronin (aka @ccbooms on Twitter)

Richard Mifsud (@RichMif)

Kevin O'Brien (@johnshine89) - check out Kev's recent Harpin post titled "Whether it's the Euro loss or the perfect Pro14, Leinster shouldn't over-react"

Also, here's a little rant of mine from earlier in the week titled "Sarries seems to be the hardest topic"

Whether it's the Euro loss or the perfect Pro14, Leinster shouldn't over-react, writes Kevin O'Brien

No matter what way you look at it the quarter final defeat to a depleted Saracens was a bitter pill to swallow for Leinster fans. It took the gloss of what had been up to then an excellent season. The manner of the defeat, beaten up by a large English pack, was tough to take. However, the over reaction to the defeat was every bit as big as the over reaction to the undefeated Pro14 season. Before the match most commentators had Leinster as clear favourites especially as Sarries had lost Farrell. I urged caution to anyone who would listen on social media as this was still a team that contained the Vunipola brothers and the irrepressible Maro Itoje who were well capable of wining the game on their own. It was also, despite the loss of personnel, a battle -hardened Mark McCall team who had targeted this match for months. The manner of the defeat was painful with the ever physical Sarries dominating all over the field. The scrum was a shambles. What exactly is Robyn McBryde being paid for? I also felt that for once Leo and Stuart got the team selection wrong. As many have pointed out the balance of the backrow looked off and I would have stuck with Kelleher over an undercooked Cronin at Hooker. Maybe having such a big squad forces the coaches to over think things at times? On one level I was not surprised with the defeat. Leinster had not come back from lockdown in great form. There was two unimpressive wins against Munster where set price problems were again to the fore. There was a good win against another out of form team in Ulster but this did nothing to ease my mind that Leinster were out not playing with the same fluidity and confidence they showed earlier in the season. If JJ had kicked his penalties who knows what might have happened. Of course wining the Pro14 with an unbeaten season should not be diminished as an achievement, however the Sarries defeat left meant the season was a bitter sweet one for me. Despite the Quarter Final set back I still feel Leinster rugby is in good shape. Last season saw the introduction of the next generation of players. It was a real breakthrough year for Doris, Connors, Keenan and Kelleher. Baird greatly impressed towards the end of the season and showed what a talent he is going to be. These guys along with the likes of Furlong, Porter, Ryan, Laramour, the Byrne brothers and hopefully Dan Leavy will drive Leinster on over the next few seasons. There’s really not too much to change really. Yes, they lacked aggression against Sarries but for me that was a once off, though I would like to see the likes of Ryan play with more edge especially in big games like European Quarter Finals. There are some areas of concern going into next season. Cian Healy has been a true warrior for Leinster but he has looked off the pace a bit after coming back from injury. The back-ups Byrne, Dooley and Milne, whilst fine players in their own right, have yet to convince at top European levels. Scrum-half too is an area lacking true quality. I would have had Gibson Park on earlier against Sarries as McGrath was below par with his erratic passing to the fore again. Outside these two the depth at nine is relatively untired and un-tested. You also have to look at the set piece and hop the coaches get to grips with the prevailing issues next season. Denis Fogarty has been a big loss! It must not be forgotten though, that there has been a big transition over the last number of seasons with significant players like Isa Nacewa, Sean O’Brien and now McFadden and the great Rob Kearney leaving Leinster. These guys were experienced battle-hardened winners who drove standards at the club. Leinster is now a relatively young squad and its up to the new breed to drive the club on. There’s no doubt in my mind that the ability is there. It’s now up to the players to re-group and hit the ground running in the up-coming season. As a team, Leinster has taken hard knocks before and bounced back and I’m sure they will again.

Kevin O’Brien (@kmjob73) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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Leinster new season preview by Kevin O'Brien

So here we are about to embark on a new season. As ever I look forward to the campaign with a sense of optimism. From a Leinster fan’s perspective last season was about as perfect as it gets. Top of the heap in Europe and convincing winners of the Pro14. We enter the new season in very good shape. That’s not to say there won’t be significant challenges including player management, improving rivals and loss of significant experience from the squad.
Our competitors in both Europe and the Pro14 have strengthened and a tough challenge in both competitions expected. As is always the case, teams will be only to eager to knock the champions off their perch, so Leinster will have to surpass the high standards set last year. In addition, for me the squad has lost some key personnel with Heaslip and Isa’s retirement and Murphy and Carbery moving to our rivals. Murphy proved to be a key member of the squad last year after finally overcoming the injury problems which plagued him. Yes, Leinster remain well stocked in back row options however Murphy’s versatility, quality, experience and work ethic will be missed. The loss of Carbery, if I’m honest, still smarts a little. Whilst I get the bigger picture re Ireland and his playing time etc he is a young, highly talented player who I feel is destined for great things. To hear ROG say how excited he is to see him at Munster feeling Carbery could spur our Southern brothers onto big things tells you all you need to know.
The other potential obstacle to be overcome could be increased pressure brought about but the demands of the player management system in what is a World Cup year. Players and their minutes on the field will be more tightly managed by the mothership to ensure that as many guys as possible are in good nick come World Cup time. Leinster used 55 players last year and it is likely that a similar number will be needed again this term. The slight worry for me is the under-performance at times of some of the supporting cast last season as evidenced by the home loss to Treviso and the hammering handed out by Connacht in Galway. With the likes of Edinburgh, Scarlets, Ulster, Dragons, Munster and others having improved their squads it is imperative that all players called upon maintain high standards throughout the season if we want to be in the shakeup for silverware again.
There are challenges as highlighted but there are plenty of reasons to look forward to the season with great optimism. The squad, despite the departures, remains one of the strongest around. Yes, there are some areas I would like to see strengthened like hooker and perhaps another option at scrum half but by and large the playing group provides excellent depth in most positions. The arrival of Tomane will help boot options at centre where we might have been a little thin last season. It would only be fair to expect the younger guys who burst on to the scene last year like Larmour, Porter and Deegan to continue to improve with the likes of Caelen Doris, Ciaran Frawley and Josh Murphy and others expected to develop further and provide telling contributions when required. We can expect Seanie (please God let him have an injury free run) and Van Der Flier back from their injuries soon further increasing the options in the backrow. All in all, it remains a very strong, motivated and highly competitive squad capable of challenging on all fronts again this season.
Girvan Dempsey aside, the main coaches from last year are all in place again providing strong continuity in this department. After all the rumours linking Stuart Lancaster to any available job in the Premiership it’s great that he remains in situ. His contribution to last year’s success has been well documented and he remains a very important part of the Leinster set up. Much to my wife’s delight, (her fancy man), Felipe Contepomi is back involved in the set up having replaced Dempsey as attack coach. It will be interesting to see what he brings to the club with the hope being we see some of the attacking flair he was known for as a player.
It’s going to be another tough competitive season, however Leinster are well placed to challenge again with a highly talented and well coached squad who last season found out how to win again. My expectation is that we won’t stand still, that we will continue to improve and develop under the guidance of Cullen and Lancaster. The competition across the board have improved and we will have to be even better than we were last year to ensure success. Will we match last year’s achievements? Who knows. But I for one am anticipating another strong showing this season. Roll on the big kick off.
Come on you boys in blue.

Kevin O’Brien (@kmjob73) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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Leinster season review by Kevin O'Brien

So another season is over for Leinster rugby. It was a year of promise and what might have been. When looking at it as a whole, for me it was a positive season. Player development was one of the very pleasing aspects with many of the younger players getting significant amounts of deserved game time. Whilst they are not the finished article by any stretch their experiences over the season will help develop them into top professional players for Leinster and Ireland. In addition to this we saw the development of more expansive style of play thanks to the influence of Stuart Lancaster. This was very welcome given how difficult it had been to score try’s at times over the preceding few seasons. We qualified out of our pool in Europe, put in an impressive performance in the Quarter Finals to beat a highly-fancied Wasps side to reach a euro semi-final. Losing to Clermont was disappointing but the European campaign overall was a good success. We had a strong league campaign finishing second to Munster. However, again there was to be disappointment in the semi-final losing to an excellent Scarlets team who were very deserving Pro12 champions.

As mentioned one of the major positives to come out of the season was player & squad development. One of the big complaints from me through the Matt O’Connor era and to a lesser degree Leo Cullen’s first year was the lack faith the management seem to place in the younger members of the playing squad. O’Connor especially seemed to have no faith in the talented youngsters being produced by the academy. So, it was very encouraging to see the amount young, exciting, hungry players involved this season. Guys who had some first team experience like Leavy, Conan, Ringrose & Luke McGrath really kicked on to become established first team players in their own right. Their form was such that they caught the eye of Joe Schmidt and were selected for the national side. Others like Joey Carberry, Adam Byrne, Ross Byrne & Rory O’Loughlin emerged and showed real quality as they firmly established themselves in the squad. These guys will form the backbone of the team for many years and will have benefited greatly from their experiences this year.

The other significant positive aspect of the season was the changing playing style. We played for most of the season a far more expansive and exciting brand of rugby which has been attributed to the positive impact Stuart Lancaster has had on the squad. In all we scored 129 trys in the campaign and we played a very attractive brand of rugby. It was great to see both forwards and backs looking for off loads. This was something which was virtually non- existent over the last few seasons and it was great to watch. A pleasing aspect was that in a season when over 50 players were used almost all were comfortable playing a more expansive style of rugby.

Whilst I feel the season overall was positive and shows Leinster rugby in heading in the right direction, there were also some negatives aspects to the year. After excellent work, all season to get us into the semi- finals a significant dip in form came at the wrong time. We were awful in the first 20 minutes against Clermont but did manage to pull out a good performance for the remainder of the game which on another day might have went our way. After this game, our form seemed to fall off a cliff with poor performances in the remaining league fixtures and what Isa Nacewa describes as ‘the worst performance of the season’ against the Scarlets in the home Pro 12 semi -final. To me that performance was incredibly disappointing lacking in intensity & sharpness. It’s easy to apportion blame and look for excuses when we get such defeats and performances. It was a collective failure from both the players and the coaching staff. One I hope they will all learn something from.

I don’t buy into the journalistic line that the Leinster team lacks bottle or that we are back to the ‘Lady Boy’ days. This is a new young team who have come together over the course of the last season who are starting out on their own path. Their performances and results over the course of the next eighteen or twenty-four months will be defining for them. Can they get over the disappointment of losing the two semi-finals and kick on and win silverware? The talent and ability is there.

What the two semi-final defeats did highlight was the defensive vulnerability that currently exists with the team. We coughed up simple trys in both games due to individual errors and collective failure. In truth, the defence has been an issue all season and one that needs addressing if we are to win trophies. Whilst Lancaster was brought in to replace Kurt McQuilkin, he seems to have had more success developing the offensive side of the game. More attention needs to be given to the defence with perhaps a specialist defence coach needed. On the pitch another area that need to be looked at are our lineout & maul which have not worked as effectively as they should over the course of the season. We’ve lacked top drawer quality at second row for some time now and this has been very evident this season with the lineout frequently malfunctioning. A fact not helped by a dip in form from Devin Toner. For me there is also an issue with the quality of our hookers. No matter who played in the position reliability was an issue when throwing the ball into the lineout. None of Cronin, Tracy or Strauss have fully convinced in this regard. This has all contributed to a line out which has not functioned properly with possession on our throw coughed up on numerous occasions often at critical points in games. The signing of Fardy and hopefully the emergence of the talented and soon to be capped James Ryan will hopefully help this area where a big improvement is going to be needed next season.

Overall I deem the season to be a positive and progressive one for the reasons pointed out of player development, a more progressive playing style and a decent European campaign. Yes, there are issues that remain to be addressed like the the defence and perhaps lack of quality depth in some positions. On the whole I feel that this is a very talented squad of players which have the potential to bring great success to Leinster in the future. It is also positive news that the current coaching set up has been re-signed for next season as we have made excellent progress under Cullen, Lancaster and the rest of the coaches. The additions of Scott Fardy and James Lowe were a good statement of intent from the province and I’m in no doubt these guys will add excellent quality and experience to the squad. Whilst I was disappointed with how this season tailed off with the two semi-final defeats I’m sure we will come back a better team from the experiences. I for one am already excited to see what next season will bring us and am very confident that we will see the further development of this group of players and hopefully some silverware.

For now, enjoy your summer which has so much rugby to look forward to with the Lions tour, the Women’s World Cup and the Under 20’s world championship all taking place. Plenty there to get excited about.

SO, UNTIL NEXT SEASON, COME ON YOU BOYS IN BLUE.

Kevin O’Brien (@marywards) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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My Rugby Memories of 2016

by Kevin O'Brien

So here we are coming to the end of 2016 and what a momentous year it has been for so many reasons. We lost greats like Prince, Bowie, Coen, Ali and Gene Wilder to name but a few. We had the divisive Brexit vote and of course the US election which had (and still has) many of us enthralled. The world of rugby has also provided us with another memorable year with many highlights such as the continued rise of Connacht and our first win over the All Blacks in Chicago. In this piece, I want to have a look back at what were my rugby highlights over the last twelve months.

Whilst Leinster are of course my team, Connacht’s Pro12 league win was, without any doubt, one of the standout moments of the year. Of course, I was massively disappointed that Leinster didn’t win the final but I can honestly say my disappointment was quickly overcome by a great sense of joy seeing Connacht win their first ever trophy. Having lived in the province over the last eleven years I am somewhat invested in Connacht rugby and their victory brought a tear of joy to my eye. They had a great season playing entertaining, attacking rugby and were so good to watch. The positive approach of the team mirrored that of their Head Coach Pat Lam and his exit at the end of the season will leave a big void. Many argued that they won the league as some of the other teams such as the Osprey’s, Leinster and Glasgow were badly affected by player involvement during the world cup and whilst it may have been a contributory factor in my opinion Connacht won the league on merit. They were by far the best team in the league throughout the season and beat a fully loaded Glasgow team in two crucial games at the end of the season including the semi-final. In the final itself Connacht beat a strong Leinster side out the gate playing their usual brand of attacking rugby with the irrepressible Bundi Aki, as he had been all season, being a key player. The triumph was a deserved end to what had been a breakthrough season.

The 40-29 win over the All blacks in Chicago was probably my favourite moment of the year. It was a game that had everything in exciting rugby, great tries, a New Zealand comeback to keep us all on the end of our seats, a great Irish performance and finally a first win over the mighty All Blacks. Yes, New Zealand were missing a couple of players, as were we, but Ireland put in an immense performing scoring five beautifully memorable tries. We opened up a twenty two point lead with Zebo’s try early in the second half and as the All Blacks came back into the game it was hard not think of the heartbreak suffered at the outcome end of the 2013 game in the Aviva. The tension was unbearable in that second half as New Zealand kept eating into the lead. And when Scott Barrett scored a try to get to within four points the momentum was well and truly with New Zealand. I was sure we would be disappointed again. So, when Robbie Henshaw scored that great try in the last five minutes it was a moment of sheer relief and overwhelming delight. I roared the house down, much to the annoyance of my wife! To beat the All Blacks in the manner we did with positive attacking rugby and pure determination was perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the win. Those 23 players simply were not going to go through the heart ache of another near miss. It was a sweet victory and a moment to cherish.

The year 2016 will be remembered for many things one of which was the passing of so many stars from the world of entertainment and sport as mentioned earlier. Sadly, rugby was not immune to this phenomenon as evidenced by the death of Fiji and Leicester great Seru Rabini. But the death that hit us most here was of course the untimely and very sad passing of the late great Anthony Foley. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone. Of course, his passing was felt most in Munster but it’s true to say that it affected the whole rugby community both here and around the globe as evidenced by the many expressions of sympathy sent from all corners of the world. It was a tragic loss for Munster and Irish rugby but most of all to his young family. Whilst Axel has left us there was and still is some comfort, I hope, in the way the rugby community rallied around the Foley family to help them through their grief. Axel is gone but most definitely will never be forgotten.

My final thoughts on the last twelve months is one of satisfaction as to where Irish rugby finds itself. Whilst we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves the provinces are showing signs of real improvement especially Munster and Leinster, who had been struggling over the last couple of years. Leinster have definitively benefited from having a coach of Stuart Lancaster’s experience available to them and it’s great to see the team adopting a more attacking philosophy. Munster too are benefiting from a new coaching set up and performances have seen a real step up. We have, thankfully, been very competitive again in Europe so far, this season, a trend which I hope will continue. We are seeing a new generation of stars emerging in all the provinces including Sweetman, the Scannell’s, Carberry, Furlong, Kelleher and Stockdale to name but a few. It has been a positive first half of the season from the perspective of the provinces and I hope that the improvements seen will continue over the business end of the season.

Perhaps the most satisfying development over the last twelve months for me has been the improvement in the depth of the national squad with real competition now for places not only in the wider squad but also in any match day twenty-three. It was one of Joe Schmidt’s stated goals to increase the depth of talent in the squad and we are starting to see the results of his work in this regard over the last twelve months. The new emerging talent, such as Ringrose, Dillane, Van Der Flier and the brilliant CJ Stander have helped increase the competition for places and players such as Tadhg Furlong and Paddy Jackson, who have been around the squad for a while, have really kicked on and shown huge improvement. There is series depth in several positions such as backrow, loosehead and second row with probably scrumhalf and perhaps hooker being the only positions where we might lack top quality backup to Conor Murray is the best all round scrum half in the world for me but his understudies lack a little in top class quality. Though it’s fair to say Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath are improving all the time.  I feel we have a squad that can really compete with the best now and hope that the confidence gained in recent results are reflects in a strong Six Nations campaign.

The world of rugby has provided us with many talking points over the last twelve months some of which I’ve touched on here and there’s no doubt 2017 will equally provide as many highs and lows with the culmination of the domestic season, a Six nations championship and a Lions tour to look forward to. I look forward to the next twelve months with cautious optimism. Our provinces are on an upward curve and the displays of the national side over the second half of the season show real promise. We beat an albeit poor Springbok side in South Africa, scored our first ever win over the all blacks in Chicago and wrapped up a strong Autumn series with memorable victory over Australia in Dublin. Roll on the Six Nations is all I say with the final game in Dublin potentially being a championship or grand slam decider. It’s safe to say it’s going to be another epic twelve months of rugby and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Kevin O’Brien (@marywards) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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The Guinness Pro12 – It’s Better Than You Think

by Kevin O'Brien

 

 

The new season is only three weeks old and already there is a negative narrative surrounding the Guinness Pro12 from many sections of the media both mainstream and social.

In truth, before the season even started many of the previews from the Irish media portrayed the league in a very poor light. "The Pro12 is in last chance saloon territory". "It can’t compete with the Aviva Premiership (AP) and French Top 14 economically, has a poor TV deal, a small fan base and needs new markets to survive".

Some of the ideas floated regarding obtaining new markets were rubbished before they even had a proper airing and it seems as though there was a continuous stream of negative feeling towards the league. And that was just the Irish commentary. I haven’t mentioned what some sections of Welsh rugby fraternity were saying as I think we all have a handle on the love for the league amongst some of the fan base there!!!!

Now I’m not naive enough to think that the league isn’t facing significant challenges. But for me the whole conversation around it needs to change. It needs the national media in the four nations and fans to get behind the league and highlight the positives.

There have been some great games over the first few weekends like Munster, Glasgow, Cardiff and Leinster been cracking fare. How much coverage did they receive? Very little in my mind with the Glasgow v Leinster game no more than a footnote in the Scottish press despite the fact that the game was the third best attended sporting event in Scotland that weekend. Much of the coverage was about the ‘crisis’ in Connacht or an emerging one in Munster who had lost one game! Other commentators noted how low attendances were compared with the AP and who was and wasn’t playing for the various teams.

It was also pointed out that the Cardiff v Glasgow game had no TMO as there was no TV coverage. ‘It’s a joke of a league’ shouted sections of social media. This was a great game with a decent crowd yet this was one of the main headlines was the absence of a TMO. Anyway, you get the picture. It’s all doom and gloom. All negative. Sadly this downbeat narrative is not new, it has always been thus. As @threeredkings noted on Twitter recently, when RTE showed live games the panel went out if their way to tell us how bad the league was or how poor a particular game was. It’s no wonder some people think so little of the league.

I for one am totally fed up with this continual negative discussion around the Pro12.  So with this in mind I want to try and produce a few articles which highlight the good qualities of the league, as the faults have had enough of an airing in my mind. In this one I want to highlight probably the biggest asset the league has in its’ players. The quality of players on show amongst the 12 teams is very strong with some of the best players in the world plying their trade in the Pro12.  As seen in the chart below there are exciting and electrifying guys playing throughout all the teams in the league.

Below is a list made up of high calibre players who are experienced, top class internationals, exciting youngsters, Lions, World Player of the Year nominees and multiple European Cup winners. It highlights the significant amount of talent in the Pro12.

Pro 12 Player Quality Depth by Position

1  McGrath Healy R Evans Buckley
2 Best Cronin R Ford R Jones
3 W Nel Fagerson Lee Ball
4 AW Jones Henderson Dillane FVD Merwve
5 Toner Davies Gray

6   S O Brien CJ Stander P O’ Mahony Lydiate Hardie
7 Warburton Tipuric Baker Barclay T O Donnell Van Der Flier
8 Heaslip Zanni Coetzee N Williams O Donoghue
9 Webb Murray Pienaar Pyrgos Gori
10  Sexton Jackson Biggar Davies Patchell Carbery
11 Zebo Bowe Russell Trimble Sweetnam Nacewa
12 S Williams Aki McCloskey Bennett
13 J Davies R Henshaw Saili Olding Dunbar
14   L Sarto DTH V D Merve Seymour M Healy Gilroy
15 Piutau R Kearney L Williams Payne Hogg

The list is not meant to be definitive but more representative of the quality of players playing in the Pro12. I’m sure I left more than a few worthy players out and will be reminded of this later! Most if not all those named would get on any Aviva Premiership or French team. Players like Hogg, Piutau, Henderson, Seymour, Liam and Scott Williams, Bundee Aki, Webb, Henshaw, Bowe etc are all pure box office gold, marquee players who can bring great skills to any game. These are the type of players who can get you out of your seat and remind us all why we love the game of rugby. They are amongst the best and most exciting players in the world playing in great teams such as Glasgow, Leinster, Cardiff, Ospreys, Munster and Ulster in the ‘little old Pro12’. As a rugby fan I would pay money to see any of these teams given the quality of players on show.

Yes there are difficulties for the league to overcome. But despite those difficulties and the less than positive media coverage surrounding the Pro12, for me the potential is there for this league to really prosper and grow. As I pointed out previously there has been great games in the league so far this season with great try’s scored. In addition I feel that there has been an increase in attacking intent from many of the teams who are endeavouring to play a more expansive style of rugby.

So get out to a match. Bring your wife, your kids, your family and friends. Go see speedsters like Hogg, Williams, Healy and Seymour scorching to the try line or bruisers like O’Donnell, Henderson or Hardie as they tackle all in sight. Enjoy the awesome power of the likes of CJ Stander, Sean O’Brien or Nick Williams mowing down the opposition. Spread the word that the Guinness Pro12 is a quality league full of top class, exciting players. You never know you might enjoy it.

Your league needs you.

Kevin O’Brien (@marywards) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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Project Ireland 2

by Kevin O'Brien

Agustín Pichot was elected World Rugby Vice President in 2015. Amongst the first topics he highlighted as one that needed urgent attention was that of residency rules, which allow players to play for a country other than that of their birth. This remains a very live topic in world rugby as we see the continued use of project players by most, if not all, major rugby nations as they seek to improve or expand their player pools. Under the current rules as we all know, you can qualify to play for a country simply by living in that country for three years. In addition, it’s also possible to play for a country if you have a parent or grandparent from that country. This whole area causes much debate in rugby circles and raises a number of questions. Is the qualifying period too short? Should Project Players be allowed at all? Are the bigger nations hampering the development of emerging rugby nations by poaching  their players?

In an Irish context should we concentrate our limited resources on producing our own players and not bother with potentially costly project players who might never play for Ireland? I wrote an article in 2015 called ‘Project Ireland.’ In that piece I outlined that it would soon be possible for Ireland to put out a test team full of players born outside the country. Well now it is possible for Joe to pick such a team.....

1. Michael Bent (NZ - Grandparent) 9. Kieron Marmion (Eng - Grandparent)
2. Richart Strauss (SA - Project) 10. Brett Herron  (Eng – Grandparent)
3. Finlay Belham (Aus - Grandparent) 11. Alex Wotton ( Eng – Parent)
4. Quinn Roux (SA - Project) 12. Rory Parata (Aus - Parent)
5. Dan Tuohy (Eng – Project) 13. Jared Payne (NZ - Project)
6. CJ Stander (SA - Project) 14. Danie Poolman (SA - Project)
7. Sean Reidy (NZ - (Grandparent) 15. Louis Ludik (SA - Project)
8. Robbie Diack (SA - Project)

Subs – Rodney Ah You (P), W Herbst (P), Rob Herring, Mike McCarthy, Tom McCartney (P), Nathan White (P), Rodney Ah You (P), Robertson McCoy, Sean Reidy, Kieran Treadwell, Sam Windsor, Brett Herron, Peter Browne, Lorcan Dow, Rory Parata, Josh Rowland,  (P) = Project

Bundee Aki, Tyler Bleyendaal, Jake Heenan, Jamison Gibson Park, Jacob Kleyn – Current project players not yet qualified

The selection above is made up of both project players and those that qualify under the parentage rules. From those listed as the starting XV, six qualify for Ireland by virtue of having either an Irish parent or grandparent. Personally speaking I have no problem selecting players who qualify under this rule. There is a genuine connection to the country and if these guys demonstrate the required ability and are committed to the cause, well then that’s fine by me.

Perhaps there is an issue around the quality of such players though. Given the strictness of IRFU rules now regarding player recruitment the provinces often seem to take a punt on experienced journeymen or youngsters with potential who have Irish connections.  Would we be better served promoting more academy players to senior squads? This option makes sense to me given how slow I feel we are at bringing through young talent.  We could also give guys in the All Ireland League (AIL) a chance to prove themselves? After all look at the success of players who perhaps came late to pro rugby following time playing in the AIL such as Adeolukun or Joey Carberry who has come into the Leinster team this year after starring in the AIL last season. However for every success there has been plenty of players from the AIL, who were brought into the provincial squads and ultimately didn’t make it. Like recruitment of overseas guys it’s about finding the right quality.

The real issue for me though is the continued use of project players. Nine players of the starting 15 are such players with a further five named amongst the subs. These guys have no connection to the country other than the fact that they have played their club rugby here for three years.  The number of project players available to team Ireland will increase further when the likes of Bundi Aki (if he stays) Jake Heenan and Tom McCartney qualify over the course of the next year. In addition we have recent arrivals Jamison Gibson Park and Jacob Kleyn both harbouring thoughts of playing for Ireland at the end of their initial 3 year qualifying period. These guys are all quality players who would be great additions to any team and I don’t doubt their commitment to playing for Ireland. However it was Bundi Aki himself who posed the question in a recent interview as to whether it is right that he or anyone should take the place of a local Irish guy who grew up dreaming of playing for Ireland.

In an ideal world the answer to Aki’s question is no. But we don’t live in an ideal world. It is part of the modern game now that players move seeking the economic benefit that may accrue from representing another country. You can’t really blame the players seeking to maximise income from what can be short careers especially given the level of attrition involved. Many commentators have stated that the residency period of three years needs to be increased to at least five. I don’t disagree with this as it would reward players who show real commitment to a new country and might encourage countries to focus efforts on indigenous player development.

In my view Mr. Pichot is correct that the whole topic of residency rules and players being able to play for another country after three years needs to be addressed. Whilst it’s a very important issue to him, given comments from various Unions including the IRFU, who are happy with the rules as they are, World Rugby’s Vice President has a fight on his hands to change things in this regard. I would like to see at the very minimum an increase in the residency requirement to a minimum of 5 years. But given the way our rugby overlord’s deal with such issues I won’t hold my breath on it happening anytime soon. The fact that we can now field practically a full squad of project players is one that frankly saddens and troubles me. It just doesn’t feel right. It seems for now that we are stuck with the project player eh project. So good look with the crusade Mr. Pichot. Rugby needs you to be successful.

Kevin O’Brien (@marywards) : Rugby mad Leinster man exiled in Connaught. Father of 3 with wife who hates sport but tolerates rugby.

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