Former Munster player Alan Quinlan joined OTB AM to review the weekend's rugby and he also gave his thoughts on Jordan Larmour's struggles under the high ball.
Leinster continued their remarkable winning streak on Saturday night with a 27-25 win over Munster in the Guinness Pro14 at the Aviva Stadium. However, Munster kept things close and found success in the kicking game, often at the expense of Larmour.
"Munster’s box kicks were superb from Conor Murray. If they’re that good and on the money and they have players around the the ball when it’s dropping down, it’s very difficult for anybody," Quinlan said.
"Jordan Larmour will know himself. He’ll probably be disappointed that he didn’t get through the air and really dominate one or two of those kicks."
As Ireland head into a packed autumn schedule, should the fullback position be a concern for Andy Farrell?
"I still think Larmour is probably your first choice fullback but it would probably create one or two question marks if you were to play England again," Quinlan said.
"Owen Farrell will be peppering the ball there and trying to target Jordan Larmour like that. So it’s an area that Larmour still has to improve and get better at."
With Rob Kearney moving on, perhaps it's only natural that there are some questions around who will start at fullback for Ireland.
Kearney was an almost ever-present in that position, making 95 appearances over his 12-year stint with Ireland.
"He is the man, he was the best in the game at it, just soaring through the air. It didn’t matter to him whether there was bodies around him. His concentration, focus and aggression in the air was just superb," Quinlan said.
Ireland's back three is somewhat in flux at the moment and very little is set in stone.
Some have suggested that Ulster's Jacob Stockdale could be moved from the wing to fullback. This would give Ireland a bigger body at fullback to compete in the air and also remove Stockdale from the wing, a position where he has made several high-profile defensive errors.
Quinlan wasn't so sure about the idea.
"Stockdale is obviously a bigger man [than Larmour] but I don’t think he's as aggressive as he can be and needs to be in the air as a full back or as a winger," he said.
Ireland are set to play six tests in seven weekends from October through to December so Farrell and his coaching staff will have plenty of time to experiment with different combinations in their back three.
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