RWC Squadron
Well that turned out to be a pretty interesting week.
Despite the rumours that Ian Madigan had been trialled at scrum-half in training and despite Michael Cheika picking just two scrum-halfs for the Wallabies, no one really thought that Joe Schmidt would take such a major gamble by leaving Isaac Boss and Kieran Marmion at home. Tadhg Furlong and Darren Cave were also surprise inclusions, although Cave, to be fair, has earned his place after accepting that there were areas of his game that he needed to work on and returning as a more versatile centre and a better defender.
Under pressure
“We came into the Guinness Summer Series with a very open mind and we’re going into the World Cup with a pretty open mind. We’ve got some guys who’ve earned a real value with us and we’ve got some guys who are pushing and demonstrating that they’ve got equal value, if not pushing things out a little further.” Joe Schmidt
Despite some of the curveballs thrown by Schmidt, the team itself is now remarkably settled. We spoke on the show at the start of this warm-up series about how predictable the team has become and really there’s no indication that there has been any change in the overall pecking order over the past four weeks.
Irish rugby has been here before of course. The infamous hotel outside Bordeaux and the 15 untouchables are surely history lessons that are far too fresh to have already been forgotten just eight years later. Indeed, Simon Zebo and Devin Toner both spoke during the week of being glued to their phones as they hoped for an email and prayed they didn’t get the dreaded phone call instead. If the coaching team have been able to convince players of their standing that they were somehow in danger of not being selected, then they’ve done a remarkable job.
In the continued absence of Cian Healy, the pack that will start at Twickenham on Saturday is effectively the first-choice forward unit. Toner’s selection in the second-row is a pretty clear indication that he remains in the XV, despite Iain Henderson’s best efforts. Schmidt has spoken this week about the young Ulsterman giving him the “right sort of headache” and there’s no question that he’s made the strongest case for a starting role over the past month or so. However, I’ve already spoken about how vital Henderson’s impact off the bench could prove to be, while Toner’s excellence in the air remains the cornerstone of the Irish lineout maul.
The decision to keep Murray and Sexton together is as much a reflection of how little game time that either player has had as anything else. Sexton, in particular, looked rusty last Saturday with a number of sloppy kicks and a pass that Paul O’Connell won’t thank him for any time soon.
I know, I know. Dave Kearney is the intended target, but the pass isn’t getting to him either
Combinations
That really just leaves the centres and back three as units that perhaps haven’t fully blended together. The selection in the back three has chopped and changed constantly throughout this warm-up series and Simon Zebo’s second start at full-back is an intriguing prospect - especially if he’s running at Mike Brown this weekend. Also, Dave Kearney has a real chance to lay claim to a place in the starting side, which would be a real statement from Schmidt that he truly is intent on rewarding form over reputation.
Lastly, there’s the centre pairing of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne, which I hope to look at in greater detail next week. Both players have had one 80 minute run-out apiece in the previous three games but haven’t quite been able to sync with their midfield partner. Schmidt is clearly hoping that they can pick-up where they left-off at the end of the Six Nations:
“It’s the first time really that Robbie and Jared have come back in together so we’ll just be looking for them to get a bit of cohesion between themselves and if we get that we’ll be reasonably satisfied.”
Clearly Schmidt has a strong idea of what his first choice team will look like (and that’s no bad thing on the eve of a World Cup) but there’s just a hint that he’s looking for some of his more proven performers to start justifying his faith in them this weekend.
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