Former Ireland international Gordon D’Arcy was on OTB AM and spoke about whether Jordan Larmour is versatile enough to make it to the World Cup.
The former Leinster man explained his belief that experience will be crucial in Japan and that all players should be comfortable in whatever position they may be asked to fill.
“Exposure is one thing experience is another. There are certain players who have more experience and more game time and some of the reads in defence were naive decisions.
“You can’t be making these [decisions] three games out from a Rugby World Cup,” D’Arcy commented.
While his talent is clear to see, the Wexford native felt that Jordan Larmour may lose out as he is not yet comfortable playing on the wing at an international level.
“I think he’s a phenomenal 15 and every time he plays 15 he looks composed and he looks dangerous.
“When he plays on the wing you wouldn’t use that same description about him. He looks a little bit lost on the wing.
“I do know the Irish team defend in a very, very specific way and you need to be comfortable with it. It doesn’t look like he is,” D’Arcy said.
With World Cup squads only containing 31 players, many of those involved have to be able to play in a number of positions.
With this in mind, along with the added pressure heaped on Ireland since their loss to England, D’Arcy picked Andrew Conway as the man to bring to Japan.
“The unfortunate reality of the weekend is that it has put external scrutiny on what they’re doing and the preparation that wouldn’t have ordinarily been there.
“It looks like Andrew Conway is further along there and probably deserves the spot,” D’Arcy said.
Ireland take on Wales on Saturday at 2.30pm in the Principality Stadium and will be looking for a much-improved performance after last week’s record loss to England.
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